Klonoa's Grandpa slowly walked up to his grandson's bedroom. He hadn't come down for breakfast, so he wanted to make sure he was okay.

He slowly knocked on the door. "Klonoa?"

No answer.

Grandpa slowly opened the door, and saw Klonoa sitting on his bed, faced away from him, seeming deep in thought.

It didn't take a lot of guessing to figure out what was upsetting him after their talk the previous night. Grandpa gave a slow, understanding nod as he closed the door behind himself.

"Perhaps my concerns have thrown you in a loop somewhat. You're at an impasse, it seems."

Klonoa finally looked over at him, telltale signs of crying on his face. He seemed more stable now, though whether he had cried himself out was unclear. He slowly turned away again. "Maybe."

Grandpa walked closer to his grandson, wanting to let him have some space but also wanting to give some support. "You love them both equally, don't you?"

Klonoa gave a sad nod. "Of course. But I don't know if it matters. I have to pick one, don't I? That's how it always works, two's company and three's a crowd, isn't it? But I don't… know if I can… I don't want to choose… I don't want to hurt either of them… I care about them too much to… want to…"

He slowly trailed off and buried his face in his hands. Grandpa came closer and placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder, choosing his words carefully.

"It's both a blessing and a curse that love comes in the most unexpected ways, Klonoa. You have great opportunities, but sometimes it does not work out like you expected. Did you know before I met your grandmother, I once had eyes for a fellow I knew?"

Klonoa shook his head.

"It's true. I cared for them almost as much. And for a long time, a part of me still felt great pain in having to let him go. But it doesn't have to be like that for you."

Klonoa finally looked up at him again, a hopeless look upon his face.

"I don't know what to do, Grandpa."

Grandpa smiled. "I know you, Klonoa. You're a strong boy, and a caring one. You look for the best in people and want to help those who need it. And I know that, in time, you'll find a way to put things right."

And with that, Grandpa slowly left the room to give his grandson some alone time, and Klonoa returned to his thoughts wondering what he could do.

It didn't have to be that way…

Hmm…

…

Guntz walked along the street, a slight smile on his face. His day out with Klonoa had not gone as planned, but the two had gotten along swimmingly and it had easily been worth it. What a date it was! And he was much more comfortable calling it a "date" by now. Even at that very moment he was planning their next one, thinking about what Klonoa might find fun, so they could bond even more—

Suddenly his thoughts were cut off by a loud angry "YOU!" that reverberated around the courtyard he was passing. He turned to see Lolo, standing nearby, in a really bad state. Her clothes were dishevelled, her hair was messy, and her face was a mixture of both anger and sadness as she stared him down. Guntz stopped when he saw her, confused.

She walked up to him, eyes blazing, before getting up in his face and jabbing a finger into his chest. "Homewrecker! Lecher! Adulterer!"

Guntz could only give a bewildered look in response. "What in the hell is this about?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know!" Lolo yelled out, not caring who would hear. Glancing round to see passersby were starting to take notice, Guntz, in an oddly rare moment of concern, motioned for her to follow him into an adjacent alleyway so they would have more privacy.

"Listen, whatever you think I've done, I have no idea, so you're better off actually telling me instead of making vague insults." Guntz said.

Lolo tried to calm herself down to the point she could think clearly, but it was just so hard in her current frame of mind, she was so upset, and she was left unable to pull herself out from her angry state. "You really need me to tell you? You, who's been gallivanting around with Klonoa, getting all lovey-duvey with him like you think no one would notice!"

Now it was Guntz's turn to get angry, as he got closer to Lolo and looked her straight in the eye, her gaze not wavering. "Now listen here, what I do with the people I care for is none of your business. And whether me and Klonoa have a relationship does not concern you and your little jealousy pity party."

Lolo let out a bitter guffaw. "Me? Jealous?! Like hell I am! Me and Klonoa were already becoming an item, and you didn't even bother to think if he was already taken before getting your grubby mitts on him!"

The anger drained from Guntz's face as he suddenly blanched in shock. "Wait… you two were both… a thing…?"

"Yeah. Went out for a date just a few days ago in fact. Don't go acting like you didn't know that!"

Guntz began to back away, his world spinning as he clutched at his stomach, which felt like it was doing flips. "I… I didn't know… he didn't… tell me…"

As if flipping a switch, Lolo's face suddenly lost its anger from the unexpected nature of that comment. "Wait so, he didn't tell you we'd gone out on a date? You had no idea about me and him? You don't know I love him?"

Guntz nodded.

Lolo quivered in place, tears beginning to well in her eyes as the weight of the realisation came down on her before she suddenly began hitting her fists against her forehead hard.

"I'm so stupid! How could I be such an idiot?! I got all angry at you for no reason! I'm so awful! Evil! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!"

In a panic Guntz rushed over and grabbed Lolo's hands to stop her from hurting herself. "Please, for the love of all that is holy, don't. Just… don't do that."

He held her hands in his own without saying a word, letting Lolo slowly come down from her panic attack. He didn't quite know what to say but he knew he had to do something for her. Her breathing slowed back down and though her eyes were still tearful, when she looked up at Guntz she seemed much more of her old self. They weren't exactly close, but Guntz had a degree of respect for Lolo, and Lolo had respect for him in turn.

"I… I'm sorry, Guntz." Lolo said quietly. "That was out of line. You didn't… deserve any of that."

Guntz shrugged. "Forget it. I've heard worse in my time. But I don't understand… why would Klonoa not mention he'd already been starting to go out with you?"

Lolo shook her head. "I don't know. He never mentioned you to me, either."

Guntz's face darkened. "I just don't get it… Klonoa's not the fast and loose type, he'd never play with our feelings like this. It's just so… unlike him…"

Lolo couldn't give an answer, even if she agreed with that assessment, but she knew what they now needed to do. "I think we should pay Klonoa a visit and get to the bottom of this ourselves."

…

A knock came on Klonoa's door, for the third time in a week. This time, Klonoa was nervous to go over and answer it, but knew that he wouldn't feel right just ignoring it. Especially since his Grandpa was out, so it could very well be important.

As he began to open the door, he saw both Lolo and Guntz standing on the other side, grave expressions on their faces. Letting out a panicked yelp, he began to shut the door again, only for Guntz to stop it with a hand before it would close fully.

"Klonoa…" he paused for a moment, seeming more vulnerable than the cabbit was used to seeing him, his usual bravado stripped away. "I know you might not want to hear it, but we need to talk to you. Can we come in?"

Klonoa didn't move for a moment, his thoughts going a mile a minute, before he finally nodded and stepped aside to let them in. Lolo and Guntz slowly walked into his living room, Lolo sitting down while Guntz stayed standing up.

"Alright…" Guntz began, deciding to take the initiative while Lolo was still feeling quite raw emotionally. "I need you to be honest with us, ok?"

Klonoa nodded nervously.

"Ok, let me start from the top. This morning, Lolo ran up to me accusing me of trying to ruin her relationship with you. Apparently you'd both had something of a dinner date a few days before our own day out. And yet you never mentioned it. Why?"

Klonoa's face filled with shame as he looked at Lolo's upset form sat in front of him. "Oh god, Lolo. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I'm so sorry."

Lolo looked at him slowly, having trouble maintaining eye contact. She expected, nay, wanted there to be some deceit or bad intentions behind his eyes, but all she saw was sincerity, and that somehow made her feel even worse.

"You didn't answer my question." Guntz said a bit more forcefully, stepping up to Klonoa and looking down at him. "Why didn't you mention it to either of us? Why did it take Lolo calling me a homewrecker for me to find out she was courting you as well? Why would you keep this from us both?"

A tear rolled down Klonoa's cheek as he stared down at the floor. He felt so bad that he'd hurt his friends like this, after all. "I… didn't know they were dates… I thought they were just… fun days out with friends…"

Guntz gave a worried look to Lolo before turning back to Klonoa. "Hang on, so… you had no idea those were dates?"

Klonoa shook his head. "I… didn't even realise that you both had romantic feelings for me until Grandpa mentioned it last night."

Both Guntz and Lolo stared at him in blank exasperation at their own lack of communication for a moment, which was broken as Guntz suddenly threw a punch at a nearby wall.

"IDIOT! THE ONE THING YOU WERE MEANT TO GET ACROSS AND IT WENT OVER HIS HEAD!"

Lolo jumped up from the chair and pulled Klonoa into a hug. "Oh Klonoa, I'm so sorry! I was so upset I assumed the worst about you! I shouldn't have done it!"

Klonoa wanted to hug back, but he didn't feel as though he deserved it. "It's alright Lolo… it's my own fault for missing the cues, I guess."

Guntz managed to pull himself out of his blind anger at himself before stepping up and placing a hand on Lolo's shoulder, which she took as a cue to pull away from the hug. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. I apologise for the lack of proper communication, Klonoa. But that still leaves us with one problem."

"What's that?" Klonoa asked.

Lolo looked at the floor, still crying a little. "Which of us… you're going to choose."

Klonoa blinked, a pit welling up in his stomach. "Choose?"

"You know the saying, Klonoa." Guntz said quietly, trying to swallow the lump in his throat as he forced down his own emotions. "Two's company, three's a crowd. It may have been miscommunication at the start, but now you should probably let us know which of us you want to stay with, to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Lolo choked back a wave of tears. "Or… or neither… of us… at this point I wouldn't blame you… for the mess we both made…"

Guntz looked down at his feet, unable to meet Klonoa's gaze. "Whichever choice you make…" A tear rolled down his cheek, finally betraying his rawer emotions. "We will understand…"

This was Klonoa's worst fears about the situation made manifest. He was being forced to pick between them both. He didn't want to choose. He knew that whoever got the short end of the stick would be emotionally devastated, and in the worst case scenario it could spell the end of their friendship. He didn't want that. He wanted so badly to keep them both close to him… to love them both…

Wait a minute…

What Grandpa had said before…

"It doesn't have to be like that for you…"

A thought began to form in Klonoa's mind, and it left his mouth before he had properly thought about it.

"Why not… both of you…?"

They both looked at him with an odd expression.

"Both of… what?" Guntz said with a puzzled face.

"Why don't we all just… stay together? The three of us? That way no one has to be left out."

Lolo stared at him for a moment before she shook her head, her tears having dried up slightly from her disbelief at what was being proposed. "N… no, Klonoa… it can't be both of us."

"Why not?"

Guntz stuttered, trying to get his words out. "Be-because it can't! It—relationships don't work like that, Klonoa!"

"Who says?"

Guntz threw his hands up in exasperation, so Klonoa quickly chimed in to explain himself better.

"Think about it, you guys! I love you both just as strongly, and I don't want to lose either of you. And I'm sure neither of you want to stop loving me, right?"

Neither Guntz or Lolo could meet his gaze as they glanced around bashfully, but finally nodded.

"Exactly. If I have to pick one of you, the other is going to get hurt from it, and I couldn't live with myself knowing that I did that to you. So, why don't we all get into a relationship with each other? So no one feels unloved from it!"

Guntz and Lolo said nothing, but Klonoa could tell gears were turning in their heads, his words making a little bit more sense to them than they cared to admit.

"We could always give it a try." Klonoa said encouragingly. "See how it goes, and if we can make it work. There's no reason that we shouldn't, right? Better than the alternative at least."

Guntz and Lolo looked at each other, weighing their options, wondering if it was a good idea. It was so scandalous and out of left field! People would surely gossip about it… and yet… the alternative… potentially losing the cabbit that they loved… left them unable to disagree…

Finally, they turned to Klonoa, at last able to look him in the eye properly.

"I… guess we could give it a try…" Lolo mumbled.

Guntz took a steady breath as he came to a decision. "It doesn't seem right… but if that's what you would like to go with… I can try and make it work. For both your sakes."

Klonoa beamed.

Perhaps things weren't going to go so badly after all…