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Description
Title: Experimenting Part 5
Pairing(s): Bloodshed/Thornstriker; mentioned Bonecrusher/Thornstriker; mentioned Warpath/Thornstriker
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, angst, het, human, language, mentioned non-con, office/company setting

XXX

Waking up to the sounds of someone just using the toilet, Thornstriker groaned into her pillow. She did not expect to be woken up like this and she wasn't very happy that she was. She turned over a bit, reaching out to grab her glasses. When she put them on, she looked over her digital clock on the end table.

Her eyes widened when the time read 9:48 a.m. Primus, it was almost ten! How could she have allowed herself to remain asleep so long?! How could Bloodshed allow her to be in bed this late in the morning?!

Then her mind suddenly flashed back to the night before, where she was made love to by three different men three different times. She turned bright red when all the memories came rushing back to her, biting her bottom lip as she buried her face into her pillow, screaming into it with complete embarrassment.

What. The. HELL?!

Why had she agreed to that? Why?! What in her right mind would say that lying back and opening her legs up for all three was a great idea? What would they think? Bloodshed?! Warpath?! Oh god... Bonecrusher had walked in on them... and she had just casually invited him to join their orgy!

She screamed. She screamed and screamed into her pillow, the fluff, feathers, and cotton muffling her ear-piercing screams.

She would never be able to look at anyone, especially them, ever again! She had just turned herself out like a whore! A cheap whore who doesn't even ask for money! Only that she just be satisfied with someone in between her legs!

It was some time later before she lost all energy to keep screaming. Lying there with her face in the pillow, she wondered if she could just shift into the sheets and mattress where she had done all the dirty deeds and disappear. Why could the world never open up and swallow you up when you really needed it too?

Now that she was finally letting reality settle in, she had to wonder now what to do. It was almost ten; someone would come to check up on her soon, most likely Bloodshed since he knew her schedule best. Or would they leave her alone to recuperate? Bonecrusher would be the likely candidate to suggest that. But Bloodshed and Warpath might be too worried to not take a peek in and...

She pivoted her head into her pillow. Damn, her head was hurting too much to think too hard just after waking up. As was the lower half of her body and her throat from screaming.

Looking back up at her end table, she blinked when she saw a glass of water and a few pills lied out on a tissue. She managed to get herself to sit up with a groan as she leaned forward to look closer at the pair of objects.

The pills turned out to be two Advils, well more than she needed to take care of the headache and the soreness of body. After only a minute of debating with herself, she picked them up and drank them down along with three-fourths of the water in the glass. Its coolness was an instant relief to her sore throat. It would take a while for the Advil to kick in, but she figured she would be all right.

Just as she put the glass down, she could hear the men talking from the kitchen. She couldn't make out who was who, but from the tones of their voices, it didn't seem as if anyone was trying to get into a fight. That was definitely a good sign...

She gave a small sigh. Though she didn't want to face them due to her shameful behavior, she couldn't very well hide inside her room all day long. For one thing, she needed to eat and shower. Then she had to run to the grocery store and stock up for the upcoming week. It would be incredibly awkward and embarrassing to look them all in the eye, sure, but she had to do what needed to be done.

Giving a small huff, she threw the covers off of her, shifting herself on the edge of the bed. She hissed a bit at the pain in her lower half, but ignored it for now. Then, carefully, she rose to her feet, her sore hips groaning at the pressure. She bit back a whimper as she stood up straight, taking a step forward.

She fell to her hands and knees with a sharp cry, hips far too heavy at the moment for her to walk. She could feel the slight rug burn from her knees having dug into the carpet to stop her fall.

Holding back the other cries of pain that tried to come out, she bit her lip as she dug her nails deep into the fiber below her. It hurt. It stung. It was numb. It was like her legs had turned to lead.

She had to swallow back the horrible memories of when she had to almost crawl her way back to her room after that horrible night in college.

It wasn't the same... It wasn't like that time. She had agreed to this. She had asked for this. She had even invited a third man into it. She had wanted this, though it was evading her mind at the moment as to why she had decided to sleep with both her boyfriend and her best friend. And then her neighbor when he had interrupted them.

A knock at the door broke her thought-process. "Thornstriker?" Bloodshed's voice softly asked through the closed door. “Are you awake? Um... are you okay?"

She couldn't come up with a response. What could she say? She didn't want Bloodshed to come in and find her like this! It would make him think that last night had hurt her and he would blame himself, even despite that fact that two other men could possibly share the blame! But she was having trouble standing at the moment. Should she ask him for help or convince him somehow to leave her be so she could sort herself out before facing them?

"Y-Yes," she said. "I... I'm awake..." She slowly tried to force herself to her feet, but to no avail. Everything was much too sore for her to just get up and go. Yeah, there was no way she was moving without any help. At least for now anyway.

Still, she didn't want the younger man to panic. With a weak and awkward laugh, she chuckled nervously, "Um... what's your definition of 'okay?'"

There was a long pause, making Thornstriker bite her bottom lip. Had she said the wrong thing? So much for trying to shed some humor onto the situation. She just seemed to make things worse! Primus, could she not do anything right?!

The door was finally pushed open, Bloodshed rushing into the room. His eyes widened when he saw her on the floor, sitting back on her bottom. He could see that she was struggling to stand up, but to no avail, which could only mean one thing.

She was in pain.

And it was because of what he and the others did to her.

Guilt spread like a wildfire throughout his body. Primus, what the hell had he been thinking?! He had hurt her! He had allowed her to be hurt! Again... He had swore to her when they started to make love that he would never hurt her this way again. He only wanted her to feel pleasure, not this sort of pain... Primus, what had he done?

He immediately rushed to her side. "Thornstriker, are you okay?" he demanded, kneeling down beside her. He reached out to touch her, but quickly took back his hands, as if his touch would hurt her even more. "What's wrong? Does it hurt that bad? Are you okay?"

Oh no, this is what she had wanted to not happen. She hated it when Bloodshed would start feeling so guilty because of something they did. It was because of something out of their hands or because of something that was both their fault. But he would always blame himself. It was never her fault.

"Bloodshed. Bloodshed, it's all right. I'm just a little sore."

He still didn't touch her, still afraid that he would do something wrong and hurt her again. He looked up to see that the pain killers were already gone. "Are the pills not working? Do you need me to get you something else? I could get the heat pads or-"

“It’s okay, Bloodshed. It's okay." She put out her hands to seize his face, bringing his face to look at her. "I'm all right. I just took the pills, so it'll be a while before the pain stops. Please, please don't worry about me."

He opened his mouth, as if to say otherwise. But nothing left his throat, because he knew it was true. Though she had taken the pills, they didn't work right away. It took time for them to kick and lessen the pain.

Still, he felt guilty for causing her unnecessary pain. He had been as gentle as he could have... But he hadn't been the only one to touch her last night. His expression darkened as he thought about the other two men who had put their hands on her. They had pushed her too hard. Did they not understand how delicate her body was?!

"Bloodshed?"

The voice snapped him out of his raging thoughts, expression softening when he saw his girlfriend looking at him with concerned eyes. He gave a soft breath and shook his head, removing her hands from his face and holding them in his. "It's hard not to worry," he murmured softly, leaning down to kiss her petite hands. "You know I'm always worried about you... Always."

She blushed at that, looking down at the floor.

Bloodshed gave a soft huff, shaking his head. He couldn't dwell on it now, considering the guests that were in the other room. Last thing he needed was for them to walk on this conversation. He reached a hand out to her cheek, gently stroking over it. "Are you hungry?" he asked. "Warpath's making breakfast right now."

Now that she thought about it, she did feel a bit famished. It might have been the exercise from last night... Her cheeks reddened a bit at the thought. But she gave him a small nod, not being able to look him in the eye.

"Can... Can you stand?"

She shook her head.

He huffed. Then, as carefully and gently as he could, he wrapped her arms around her and brought her into his chest. She was confused for a moment, only to give a small squeak when he suddenly lifted her off the ground, cradling her against his chest. Her bottom stung a bit from leaving the floor so quickly, but it became a numbing tingle as he adjusted her to better hold her up without touching the areas that were the sorest.

Thornstriker kept her arms around his neck, still too embarrassed to look at him in the eyes. She was always embarrassed whenever Bloodshed needed to pick her up. Not that she minded in scenarios where she really needed to be carried to Point B from Point A, but still. It was so... well, the position itself was embarrassing to be in. Not that she minded being in Bloodshed's arms, but the position was so personal and romantic and...

She let out a small groan as she pushed her forehead into her boyfriend's chest. Stupid headache...

Bloodshed watched as the woman in his arms moved closer into his chest. It always bugged him how he was always carrying her like this when she was in scenarios where she needed help walking. He didn't mind it; it made him feel needed when he carried her. But she was always in distress or hurt or something that he had a hand in causing. It pained him where of all the memories he could think of involving him holding her like this, he had more of where she was hurt and needed it rather than her just wanting to be carried in his arms.

The only good one he could recall fondly was when someone had knocked over the concession stand at their prom. As they were evacuated to clean up the dance floor, many girls had gotten their gowns dirty from having to walk through the mess. She almost had to, but she had asked him if he could help her swing over it like a child jumping over a puddle since he was so tall and could step through most of it without ruining his pants. He had flung her off her feet and carried her across, something that had startled her at first, but soon became a wonderful moment when she laughed and hugged him back. It was almost as if they were together, as if they were a loving couple in that moment…

He gave a soft breath at the memory, shaking his head. Holding her a little more closely to his chest, he pecked her forehead. “You okay?”

She blushed. “Y-Yes…”

“You sure?”

She nodded, holding onto him a bit tighter.

Once he felt he had her in a stable hold, he carried her out of the room and down the hallway. She felt like a little kid by the way he was carrying her. And when he carried her into the living room, Bonecrusher, who was sitting on the couch and reading the paper, put down the article he was reading to look up at the two.

His eyes widened when he saw Bloodshed carrying her. He was confused as to why at first, but he recalled the night before and saw the issue.

Shit, they went overboard. Though he had had some pretty rough nights with some of the women he had brought home, they were used to being practically man-handled in bed; their bodies were experienced. Thornstriker, however, was much smaller and much less experienced than any of those women. She was not prepared for three giant men (well, giant compared to her) to pound into her weak, little body.

“Thornstriker, are you okay?”

She blushed. Great, now he was concerned about her too. “R-Really, I’m just a little sore,” she said as Bloodshed carried her into the living room, gently sitting her down on the large recoiling chair. “I-I’m all right.”

Warpath came into the room after hearing what Bonecrusher had said. He looked worried, just like the rest of them, which made her inwardly groan. She wasn’t dying! She was just a bit sore! She was fine!

“Thornstriker, what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine!” she cried. “J-Just my hips are a little sore and a little heavy, that’s all!”

“But you–”

“Warpath, I’m perfectly fine,” she said. “Please. Don’t worry about me.” Then she huffed, shaking her head as she could see all the men look at her with concern. They were acting as if she were paralyzed or something!

She had to change the subject. It was suffocating! Not to mention embarrassing... She sighed, looking up at Warpath. "Bloodshed said you were making breakfast. Is it ready yet? I'm hungry."

"Ah, yes! Yes, it's almost done." He turned back to the pan still cooking on the stove.

Thornstriker looked around as Warpath finished up breakfast. She was curious as to what had been going on since before she woke up. "Did you all just get up as well?"

"I got up about an hour ago. Bonecrusher was up before I was."

"And I think Warpath was up before me." The older man jerked his head in the direction of the cook. "I thought I was the first one up until this guy walked in from his jog."

"I woke up and did my morning stretches. I didn't know if you were up or not."

"Then he thought about waking you up to give you breakfast in bed," Bloodshed interrupted, ignoring the glare from the personal trainer.

"We decided to wait for you to wake up on your own because of your... busy night." Bonecrusher also had to look away at the mentioning of last night. "He made us breakfast-"

"More like he gave us the cold omelette he had made for you originally."

"I had already eaten before; I didn't want to waste the food."

Thornstriker gave a soft sigh, shaking her head. “Please, don’t start fighting,” she begged. She didn’t have the strength to stop anything if they actually got into a fight. “It’s too early for this.”

They all mumbled out an apology. Still, they understood where she was coming from. Her body was sore and the last thing she wanted – or needed – to hear was a bunch of men arguing. For her sake, at least for a little bit, they could put aside their differences.

As Warpath was setting up her breakfast for her, Bloodshed sat down on the floor by her feet, leaning up against the chair. She glanced down when she felt a hand on her knee, Bloodshed gently rubbing it. She bit her bottom lip and blushed, looking away.

“You sure you’re okay?”

She nodded, cheeks still red.

Bloodshed seemed satisfied with the answer, resting his head against her legs as he rubbed and massaged her knees. Bonecrusher just watched as he sat down on the couch across from the scene.

It was... odd. Not in a bad way, no. He just simply wasn't expecting a man such as Bloodshed to be so... affectionate towards his lover. He remembered when the younger man would come to the club with whatever girlfriend he had at the time and he was hardly affectionate with them. He gave them a kiss when they asked for it, but nothing like how he was with Thornstriker.

The position was a bit... weird as well. Bloodshed was, quite literally, at the girl's feet. He never expected to see Bloodshed's at anyone’s feet. If anything, girls were throwing themselves at him just so he would look at them. He wondered if Thornstriker was aware of the reversal. And maybe she was, which was why she was as red as she was.

Warpath came back in with her breakfast. He placed the tray down on the side table next to the chair, Thornstriker looking at what he had made. It was simple egg and ham omelette with a side of hash browns and Primus, it smelled divine. There was also a glass of milk on the side as well. She swallowed and looked up at Warpath, who just gave her a small smile.

"Go on, eat."

"B-But what about you-"

Bonecrusher waved his hand at her. "Don't worry, we've already eaten. You haven't though, so eat up."

"O-Oh..." But it felt awkward that they were all staring at her while she ate her meal! Did they all have to just stare at her?! Wasn't there anything else they could do?!

But she gave a small sigh, turning away from the three men as she picked up her fork and began to eat. She hadn't had Warpath's cooking in a while and she had forgotten how good he was at it. Not that Bloodshed's cooking was bad, because it wasn't. But Warpath was just a better chef. She remembered that the culinary teacher back in high school was very disheartened when Warpath didn't express an interest in attending culinary school.

"How is it?" Warpath asked, sitting down on the couch next to Bonecrusher.

She smiled. "Very good. Thank you."

The men simply nodded to show that they heard her. But even as she continued to eat, the question in their minds was still hanging over them. Though it was consuming their thoughts, none had any idea how to even approach her with it.

Did Thornstriker truly love Bloodshed? Or was it just the sex?

"So... um-" The petite woman paused during her meal to ask them. "H-How was the futon last night, Bonecrusher?"

"Huh?" The eldest was caught off guard. "Oh. It was fine."

"You didn't have any problems with it last night? I know it’s a bit small and it hasn't been used in a while, so I don't know if it’s still in good shape-"

"I-I slept well last night." The poor man couldn't answer anything else, too embarrassed to have it relate back to their... excursions from last night.

She turned to her friend. "Wh-What about you, Warpath?"

He shrugged. "I slept good too. Really, don't worry so much. Just eat and enjoy your breakfast. You need it after..." Then he stopped himself when he realized what he was about to say. He cleared his throat and looked away, feeling a bit stupid as to how he brought it up.

The girl's cheeks turned bright red as she looked down at her food. Right... They had all slept with her last night. Now things just became completely awkward. She shifted a bit uncomfortably in her seat, keeping her eyes down on her plate. She couldn't even look at them she was so embarrassed... Primus, why had she done that?!

Bloodshed sent another glare at his rival before he went back to rubbing her knees again. "Thornstriker. I-We know you don't want us to worry, but last night... it was a long night. You and I have never done something like that and the last thing we three want to do is leave you sore to the point you can't walk on your own. Or bruises or anything like that."

"What he's trying to say is that we just want to be sure you don't regret last night." The bouncer didn't like how bold he had made that statement, but they had to break the ice somehow. As much as he respected the woman and her choice as to whether she wanted to talk about it or not, it was suffocating them all. They all needed to sort out last night and let bygones be bygones.

Besides, something was up with the three before him. He had only heard snippets from last night and there was still the half-an-hour or so that they were all in there that led to her wanting to sleep with them. Now the girl was not promiscuous or the type to try threesomes and foursomes out of the blue. And after thinking it over a bit on his futon last night, he could definitely say that Warpath and Bloodshed were the ones who must have been the brains behind it.

Now, he was ninety-nine percent certain that Thornstriker had consented to it. She did want it; but now the issue was how they had convinced her into it. But it wasn't any reason he could think of off the top of his head. In all seriousness, what would convince Bloodshed to let Warpath, someone he seemed to hate with all his guts, have sex with his girlfriend?

Thornstriker bit her bottom lip, looking to her boyfriend. "I... I'm all right," she murmured softly. "I... I don't regret... I... don't..."

She had to look away, gaze falling down to her lap. All right, no. That was a lie. She did regret it a little. But it wasn't because of the pain or anything of the sort. She just felt... awful that she had used a method like this because she was too stupid to figure out her own feelings. She even dragged Bonecrusher, an innocent bystander, into the whole matter! She didn't want to use him like that. He was her friend too.

And Warpath... She had, in a sense, given him some false hope that she would return to him after this night. Because she had come up with the idea to begin with, he probably thought this would make her come back to him. As he had said, he still loved her and didn't feel Bloodshed deserved her.

Bloodshed too. She had made him feel awful. She could still remember how upset he was last night when she first brought up the idea of sleeping with other men. If she didn't know him better, she would have thought he was going to break down. But, in a way, he did break down. He lashed out at her and she had deserved it. She knew how much he loved her and yet, with her suggestion, she practically spat in his face.

The decision to do this had been so stupid, so ignorant of her! She had made herself out to be nothing but a common whore, just wanting as many men in between her legs as possible. And she had used all of them for her own stupid reasoning. How could she have done something like this to them?!

"Thornstriker?" Bloodshed said, voice full of concern. "Are you all right?"

She opened her mouth, trying to find the words, but her throat closed up. Then she let out a choked sob, burying her face into her hands as she started to cry, completely and utterly ashamed.

The man at her feet flinched back. "T-Thornstriker?" He got up onto his knees to get closer to her in an attempt to comfort her. "What's wrong? Why are you-?"

"Damn it, what did you do to her?!"

"Will you just stop arguing with him?!" Bonecrusher had to lean over to hold back the man from getting off the couch and tackling the other.

"He made her cry!"

"Now you're acting like a child! And it's not helping that you're trying to pick a fight with him while he's trying to find out what's wrong with her."

Warpath stuttered, unable to come up with an answer.

As the two on the couch were in a tense moment, Bloodshed had returned to try and soothe the crying woman. "Thornstriker. Please, please, don't." He was hesitant to put his hands on her still, only able to hold them a few inches from her shoulders. "Thornstriker, what's wrong? Please tell me what's wrong!"

She tried to stop the hiccups, but it was no use as she tried to explain herself. "I…! I-I used you!"

"...What?"

"I used all of you!"

The other two turned with their faces frozen, completely dumbfounded. She... used them? How did a sweet and pure soul like Thornstriker use them?

"Thornstriker, what're you talking about?" Bloodshed said, much more gently his time. He allowed himself to put his hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to look at him, but to no avail. "What do you mean you used us?"

She was still sobbing hard, guilt stabbing her chest as she thought about what she had made them do. If she hadn't suggested it, none of them would have agreed to it! This was her fault. Because she just had to be some stupid slut to find answers that were already right in front of her.

"I-I'm sorry...!" she sobbed. "I-I didn't mean to...! I never meant to...! I-I'm sorry! I-I'm so sorry...!"

"Shh, shh..." Bloodshed moved himself to sit down on the chair, carefully pulling her up to bring her into his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, keeping her face buried in her chest. He rubbed her back and stroked her hair, even as she fruitlessly tried to wiggle out of his grip. "No, no, don't," he said softly. "What's wrong, Thornstriker? Tell us - what is it?"

"I-I m-made you sleep with me...!" she whimpered out, shaking her head. "I-I used you...! For selfish gain and reasoning...! I-I'm sorry...! I didn't want to hurt you...! Any of you...! I-I'm sorry...!" Her sobs grew, the girl now crying harder than before. "I-I know I'm st-stupid...! A-And s-selfish...! And-And horrible...! Oh Primus, I'm the worst...! I-I'm s-s-sorry...! I'm so sorry!"

She cried harder into Bloodshed's chest than before, wanting to do nothing more than disappear off the face of the Earth. She was such an idiot... a slut. A cheater. She hated herself for doing this to them. She never should have allowed herself to be swayed by words. She should have had more confidence in her feelings. She was so stupid. She was always so stupid...

"Thornstriker, you're not-" Warpath got up to go to her and rub her back. "Thornstriker, you're the most selfless person I've ever met. You're not a horrible person."

Bloodshed hated their space being invaded, but consoling his girlfriend was the one priority he had at the moment and the other man wasn't fucking it up again like he had been doing so the whole morning. He continued to rub her back as he kissed her head. "Don't say that. Please... You're not any of those. You're better than all that. You know you are."

Bonecrusher felt guilty for causing her to break down like this, but his anger was getting to him now. Something had happened before he had joined them last night. Something that was the reason Thornstriker was crying and blaming herself for using them last night. And seeing the two men comforting her just set him off.

"Okay you two. I'm tired of dancing around the whole subject." He interrupted their focus on the girl and made them turn to look at him. "What happened before I barged in last night? What did you two talk about with her that lead to all this?"

"What are you talking-?"

"I cannot imagine Thornstriker suddenly expressing interest in bedding you two at the same time." His narrowed gaze made the two younger males freeze. "She's not like that. And you two have only been 'together' for a short time. I doubt she's experimenting that fast."

Seeing the boyfriend twitch was all the confirmation he needed. "And Warpath... I know you were with her for a while before Bloodshed joined you. I find it hard to believe that you two didn't have anything to do with this when she's perfectly normal thirty minutes before you two are turning her into a screaming pile of putty while she's stark naked on her bed!"

Neither man responded. Thornstriker, whose cries had turned to soft crying, hid her face in Bloodshed's chest at the mention of the scene the bouncer had caught them in.

"I've been easygoing with just letting last night go, with letting it past over with no regrets or whatnot. We've all had nights like that where it’s best not to ask." He took another deep breath to try to keep calm. "But now I need to know. What did you two do that led to last night? That led to Thornstriker breaking down and confessing to using us?"

Thornstriker flinched at the mentioning of using them, pushing herself into her lover's chest even more.

The younger men remained silent on the issue for a few moments, glancing at each other before looking back down at the whimpering woman. Shit, this was basically their fault. But while they were inwardly blaming the other more, they were aware that they both had a hand in this.

Finally, Warpath huffed and turned to look at the bouncer. "I... I told her that she didn't know whether or not if she loved Bloodshed or the sex they had. I... I said for all she knew, this was pity because... because she had never been in love before."

Bonecrusher's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent on this issue for now. He just nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"And I overheard it," Bloodshed said, the two other men looking at him. "We got into an argument and she was just... thinking. Then she-"

"She said that, in order to find out if her feelings for Bloodshed were love or not, she should have sex with other people," Warpath interrupted, seeing Thornstriker flinch at his words and pressing even further into Bloodshed's chest.

Bonecrusher's eyes widened. Thornstriker had been the one to suggest it all? He couldn't believe it. It just didn't seem plausible, considering she was as reserved as she was with sex. He looked to the girl and said softly, "Thornstriker, is he telling the truth?"

She flinched at the sound of her name, refusing to look at him.

"Thornstriker, look at me."

Biting her bottom lip and trembling, she swallowed and obeyed, though she only peeked up at him by turning her head a bit in his direction. Though his expression was gentle, it was still firm and his eyes were demanding her answer. Humiliated, she could only nod her head before breaking down again, turning her head away to bury her face in her boyfriend's shirt, crying softly once more.

He huffed. Though he didn't enjoy seeing her cry, at least he had gotten an answer out of her. He would have thought she was lying, had it not been for last night and the way she had defended them from Bonecrusher's wrath. If she hadn't been consenting and this hadn't been her idea, she wouldn't have gotten in front of them like she had.

He turned to Bloodshed. "Then, what?" he said. "She decided have you both do her?"

"... Not exactly," the dark-skinned man murmured. "I... was upset at the suggestion and said that she either sleeps with some random strangers off the streets or Warpath before or after me so she could compare."

"But it was ultimately her choice!" Warpath cried, knowing this was starting to sound bad. "We told she didn't have to do it if she didn't want to! She agreed to it!"

Bonecrusher just stared at them for a good minute before he lowered his head to rub his forehead. A low groan exhaled from his mouth.

"Let me get this straight," he said in a monotone voice that definitely showed he was trying to not lose it at the moment. "Last night, a night I will admit was a damn good one that I will probably never forget, was only able to happen because you two dickheads couldn't agree over a decision that was ultimately Thornstriker's to begin with."

He slowly stood up and slowly began to make his way to the trio. "So through some dumb thought that you," he pointed to Warpath, "managed to conceive in your head, you somehow used it to make Thornstriker doubt her relationship with Bloodshed. And then during your argument, she suggests sleeping with other people to which Bloodshed not only agrees, but follows up with something equally as unexpected."

Bonecrusher pointed at Bloodshed. "Him," he turned it to Warpath, "allowing you to be the 'other person' for her to compare sex with. On whether or not she loves him or not. Because of what your opinions are on the whole matter. And all of this led up to you all having a threesome just out of the blue."

An uncomfortable silence felled the room. The trio stole glances from each other before finally nodding.

The bouncer let out his breath, slowly nodding his head as he looked around befuddled. He rubbed his hand through his hair before moving to sit down in a chair, still completely bewildered.

"Are... Are you okay?" Warpath asked nervously.

"...I'm fine." the man answered. "It's just... It shouldn't make sense. But it does. In context, it does." He blew out a deep breath through his lips. "I'm just... juggling a lot of emotions right now."

Bloodshed and Warpath exchanged glances. Well, at least the older man wasn't trying to kill them like they thought he was going to a moment ago. They turned back to look at the man, who was shaking his head as he gave a humorless laugh.

Warpath blinked. "What?"

He gestured to the girl in Bloodshed's lap. "Whenever it concerns her, we're like dogs. We bark like them, we bite like them, and we most certainly fight like them. “He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes. “But that doesn't mean we have a right to do it."

The other two men said nothing, looking at Thornstriker, who had stopped crying as she stared out at the men before her, looking terrified at the scene before her. It was almost as if they were all angry with her when they weren't. Bloodshed stroked her back, even though she flinched and trembled at the touch.

"It's okay, Thornstriker," he said gently, almost as if he were talking to a child. "There's nothing to be scared of, okay? No one's mad at you or anything. It's okay, calm down..."

But she just trembled and started to cry softly again, feeling horribly guilty. She had caused this. She had caused all of this. All because she had allowed herself to doubt her own feelings. She should have known better than that, but she foolishly hurt all three men in the room in different ways.

She had caused Bloodshed to fear that she had only loved out of sex, out of pity. She forced Warpath into being some sort of test subject for her own “experiment,” toying with his feelings for her. And then she dragged Bonecrusher into the mix as well, using him as if he was some sort of disposal object.

She was a whore. That was all she was and all that she would be.

She buried her face into her hands again, crying softly to herself in complete shame, whimpering out pathetic and probably meaningless apologies. She wanted to run to her room, but her hips were still too heavy for her to run. She would fall flat on her face if she tried to get away. Primus, she just wanted to die.

Bloodshed rubbed her arms, trying to get her to calm down but to no avail. “No, no, Thornstriker…” he said, voice going weak and wrapped in pain. “Don’t cry, don’t cry…”

As she broke down once more, Bonecrusher huffed. He slowly rose to his feet and walked over to the other three, eyes focused on the girl. She was certainly a sensitive creature, vulnerable and weak… Of course she would blame herself for something she had been manipulated into. He glared at Warpath when he thought about it, who flinched back in shock.

He rested his hands on her shoulders, causing her to stiffen. She tried to shrug out of his grip, but he kept a gentle, but strong hold on her.

“N-No…” she whimpered. “N-No, please…”

He shushed her. “Calm down. It’s okay, Thornstriker. No one’s hurt or anything. It wasn’t your fault what happened. It’s these two.” He glared at both her boyfriend and her friend, who just remained silent as they looked at the girl.

She blinked, confused as she looked up at him. There were still fresh tears in her eyes and she was still visibly trembling. Carefully, he took her out of Bloodshed's embrace (though he resisted slightly, only stopping when Bonecrusher glared at him) and lifted her up into his chest. She gasped and clung to him, blushing at the sudden hold, as he moved back over to the couch, keeping her in his lap with her back against his chest. It may have been a little bold with him, but he had just had sex with her the night before; he doubted he could do anything bolder than that.

He rubbed her shoulders. "Look, I know you feel like you did something wrong, but you didn't. Like I said, Dumbass One and Two did."

"B-But I-"

He shushed her again. "It all started because he-" he pointed to Warpath "-made you doubt your own feelings, right?"

"Well, he-"

"And he likes you, right?"

She and Warpath blushed a bit at that, Bloodshed's hands balling up into fists. That certainly answered Bonecrusher's question.

"Thornstriker, I may not know you as well as they do, but I know enough," he said. "I know you're not the type of person do just do things like that on a whim. You're not spontaneous. But I... and I don't mean it to be insulting, but I know you're pretty oblivious to things and easily tricked into stuff."

Thornstriker let out a small sigh, knowing that it was true. She just didn't like it being pointed out because it was too embarrassing... Who really enjoyed having their flaws pointed out to them?

"And let's face it... those two are like high school cheerleaders..."

That... sort of caused everyone in the room to look at him bewildered. "What-?"

"The fuck-?"

"The hell-?"

"What I mean," Bonecrusher interrupted them all, "is that Betty and Veronica over there do nothing but argue about everything, including you."

Both younger men looked offended. "Betty-?"

Warpath interrupted the other. "We don't argue about everything."

Bonecrusher gave the man a look. "So what was all that about the remote? And who washes the dishes? And who would be driving Thornstriker to the grocery store? And TV schedules? And where your workout equipment goes? And who cooks? And who takes Thornstriker out? And who should help her with getting more paper for her printer? And who should help her with the laundry? Would you like me to go on? I've heard you idiots arguing about everything ever since Betty here," he pointed to Warpath, "moved in last week!"

Both men couldn't really retort. As much as they hated to admit it, they did argue about almost everything.

He looked back to Thornstriker, who was biting on her bottom lip. "Look... We all know it. They hate each other... And they hate each other even more because of you. Both of them will do plenty to make sure you aren't with the other." He looked over at Warpath, giving him a hard look. "And that's what you did last night. You tried to shove yourself in between her relationship with Bloodshed just because you don't like him."

"No!" Warpath snapped, glaring at him. "She doesn't know! She-"

"For the sake of argument," he growled. "Let's say that she didn't love him. Let's say she came to the realization that she didn't love Bloodshed. How would that help you in anyway?"

"Wha-"

"It's obvious you love her, kid," he said. "You'd have to be blind not to see it. But did you really think that once she and Bloodshed broke up, you would suddenly be crowned champion and she'd become your girlfriend again? She told me about you. I know you dated in college. If she broke up with you then because she didn't see you that way, she probably still doesn't. All you would have done is broken her and Bloodshed up and then she would move onto the next guy that comes into her life. You gained nothing. Did you think of that?"

Warpath felt his organs drop. He... couldn't say that he wasn't trying to do that. While half of him was worried for Thornstriker's safety and didn't want her to be with someone like Bloodshed only because of the sex, the other half had wanted to do just that. In the most disgusting and dirtiest part of his soul, he wanted to get Thornstriker back. He would come up with any excuse to make her break up with that man. He would use any means to make Bloodshed seem like the worst possible scum on the planet, even if some of what he said wasn't entirely true. He would use every fault and mistake the other had to turn Thornstriker away from him and back into his arms.

Because in that horrible part of himself that he didn't want to admit existed, he truly believed that he was the only man she deserved to be happy with.

Bonecrusher watched the man get eaten up from the guts out. Glancing over to the third member of this tumulus triangle, he narrowed his eyes slightly upon seeing the other look somewhat... glad at his rival's chewing out.

"Don't think you're the good guy in all this either."

Bloodshed snapped out of his thoughts to look at the man. Realizing he was also in the other man's crossfire, he got caught between getting defensive enough to arguing with the man and feeling some guilt for he knew that this whole mess was also partially his fault.

"I give you a little sympathy. JUST a little." He held out his fingers, barely touching each other, to prove his point. “Your girlfriend's friend/ex-boyfriend just goes and makes all these accusations that your relationship with her isn't real. It's hard when shit like that happens in a relationship."

Bonecrusher moved his fingers, positioning them in a point, but not at anyone. More like a teacher or parent disciplining a child. "What I can't stand about how you handle the whole thing is that while you had the right to defend yourself against a jealous ex, you didn't seem to take Thornstriker's feelings into consideration after he started to make her doubt your relationship."

Bloodshed flinched. While he wanted to say that he always took Thornstriker's opinions and feelings over his own in almost every situation, he knew the bouncer wasn't in the mood for backtalk.

"And when it seemed like Thornstriker, confused and having doubts, suggested something like seeing other people to sort her feelings, what do you do? You don't give her any space to think about it. You don't let her have the night or even the next few days to think about it! You just assume she's going to throw herself into some strangers' beds. Then you try to settle it then and there by making her have sex with both of you! Just to prove a point! You didn't think about giving her time! You just cornered her into it!"

Bloodshed's internal temperature dropped, his entire body going cold. No... No, he didn't corner her! He didn't force her into this! She-She had ultimately agreed to it! It had been her choice! If she didn't want to do it, she didn't have to... No, he didn't force her... He didn't…

There was a lump in his throat as he tried to swallow. But he knew Thornstriker better than either of these men. He knew how she felt obligated to abide by others' requests or demands. Just like that time long ago when they had been college seniors playing that awful Limitless Truth or Dare game. She didn't have to do it and he knew she didn't want to, but she had anyway... And she had been so hysterical afterwards... because he had cornered her into it. He had forced her to kiss him.

Bloodshed could not say anything. He looked down at the hands in his laps, which were trembling slightly. Was that how it had been? Had he really forced her to do something she ultimately didn't want? Had he... raped her again?

"N-No."

The three men all looked up at Thornstriker, who was shaking her head at Bonecrusher's accusation.

"N-No," she repeated, trembling a bit. "No, don't say that... Th-They didn't hurt me. They're not bad people... Bonecrusher, please..."

Bonecrusher shook his head at her, stroking her arm. "I know that," he said gently. "I know they're not bad guys, Thornstriker... But they're both idiots. Despite having their best intentions for you, they let their emotions take over and they made it into some pissing contest over... Well, over who gets to have you."

Thornstriker looked down again and bit her thumbnail. He was right. While she loved and cared for them both, they could be... frustrating sometimes.

"But that's what makes them themselves."

She looked back up again to the bouncer, who was now smiling softly.

"Even though they act like half their age sometimes…" The other men looked away in shame. "Most of the time, they do act like decent human beings. And for the both of them, you're someone important to them. And sometimes all of us, including myself, do stupid things when it comes to the people closest to us."

She nodded. She could remember a few moments in her own life where she had done... silly things for them and others like her brother and her other friends.

Seeing her more uplifted, Bonecrusher thought it was best to finally put an end to this whole mess. "I guess there's only one thing left to do..."

He had the room's attention again.

"I think we need to put some sort of resolution to the question that started this whole mess."

Thornstriker's cheeks turned red again. The men, finally a little more calm after their chewing out, both gulped.

He was right. This whole thing had started because of the idea (Warpath's idea mostly) that Thornstriker didn't really love Bloodshed. That she only 'loved' him because of the sex and her inexperience with it and others.

After last night, the question still hung over them. Did she truly love Bloodshed or had she misinterpreted her passion with him in the bed to be love?