Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It seemed like such a trope to say that one day could change everything, but in some cases it was certainly true.

To find out that all of your fears and suspicions were true, even when everybody around you barely believed your demented ramblings, was without a doubt, a life-changing event. To come so close to death added an extra layer to that package, even if it was seemingly becoming an unwelcomely regular occurrence.

Mae's experience with the Black Goat had taught her that death would be the only way to end her torment, and heck, from the way things had been going, that seemed to be a pretty likely thing to happen. But she wasn't going to give in that easily.

She would hope beyond hope. She would fight tooth and claw. She would live, when everything seemed to be against her.

But unfortunately, that didn't mean she'd be happy.

She was, for a while, at any rate, but as more and more time passed, she could feel those tendrils of darkness worming their way back into her lightly-bandaged psyche.

After what had transpired in the mines, the group of four each did their best to return to whatever could be considered a 'normal' life, but after finding out that there were literally people being sacrificed in an attempt to sustain Possum Springs, that was unsurprisingly not the easiest thing in the world for any of them.

Gregg and Angus rapidly accelerated their plans to move out to Bright Harbour, wanting to start their own life, and leave the Eldritch horror behind them, whether they actually believed in it or not. From the various video calls that she had shared with them since, they did seem truly happy out there together, and Mae was glad for them, somewhere deep down… It hurt that they had left her behind, and whilst she mostly succeeded in not doubting that she was part of what they had been trying to escape, the truth remained that two of her closest friends were no longer in Possum Springs.

She couldn't go and hang out with them each day, there was no more smashing lightbulbs behind the Snack Falcon with Gregg, no more impromptu scouting lessons from Angus, no more campfires where they could all just lay back and watch the stars… No more band practice.

They had moved on with their lives in the best way that they possibly could, but it just meant that the number of close, trusted friends whom Mae Borowski had remaining in Possum Springs was increasingly limited. She couldn't deny that she was still friends with some of the others around town, but everybody had their own life commitments going on, and those showed no signs of slowing down.

After the constant praise from Mae, and the other townsfolk, Selmers had actually started compiling her poems into a book, which she was going to look to get published once it was finished. She had always been damn good at it, so the chance of her actually being able to make some money from it was an incredible opportunity.

Lori was busy working on the script for her first feature-length horror movie, with the aim of getting it submitted to the entry boards for a number of film schools, and hopefully, earning a scholarship. Whilst she was keeping tight-lipped about the plot details, Mae had managed to find out that it was about a deranged cat who goes on a murderous rampage around a small town. When she had revealed that the title was simply going to be 'Killer', Mae didn't know whether to be honoured, or horrified. She settled for somewhere in between.

Germ's dad had started teaching him about fixing computers, and was trying to get him to start working at his repair store, even just part time. He had resisted admirably at first, but whether he had gotten older, or whether he'd been won over by money, he was now there part-time, leaving him less time to hang out.

But on top of all of that, and really, more than any of that, none of them had been there in the mines. They hadn't witnessed the unspeakable evil that the original four of them had. None of them had seen the cultists down there, or felt the darkness of the Black Goat, and whilst it was clear that something had undoubtedly happened in the town, there was always an element of disbelief whenever it came up in conversation with anyone else.

Which really just left her with Bea.

That statement shouldn't have carried any negative connotation with it in the slightest, but whenever the teal crocodile crossed her mind, it seemed that every possible atom of doubt wormed it's way into Mae's fractured brain.

She didn't deserve Beatrice Santello as a friend. Full stop. Certainly not her best friend. Let alone anything more than that…

Bea was her rock, she was the only person that was always there for her, through ups and downs, thick and thin, no matter how much she pushed her away, intentionally or not.

In the first six months since Mae had learned to hope again, she had spent nearly every day with her reptilian friend, who had even pushed to get the nightmare-eyed cat a part-time job at The Ol' Pickaxe, just to try and keep her occupied throughout each day.

If any other mammal had attempted to offer Mae Borowski some form of employment, it would have been swiftly answered with a sarcastic comment, followed up with a confusing remark, the end result of which would quite firmly be a resounding 'no'.

Bea was different though, Mae couldn't say no to her, no matter how hard she tried. Well, that was a lie… She had said no to her a number of times, but these occasions always resulted in either being talked round to the idea, or somehow being dragged along with it anyway.

Her stint at the Pickaxe honestly wasn't the worst job in the world, it was boring as eff, but it put some money in her pocket, gave her some much-needed responsibility, and meant that when the shop was quiet (which was ninety-nine percent of the time) she could do very little work, and instead chat with Bea about everything under the Sun.

Bea's job satisfaction had subsequently improved, and they both started to actually enjoy their time there. However, nothing in Mae Borowski's life could stay that simple for that long.

After the aforementioned six month period, things started to deteriorate… Very rapidly.

Mae replayed the day in her head frequently, she could clearly designate the moment where once again, she'd succeeded in turning her life to shit.

She didn't want to do so, but any time those regrets crept up on her (which was every second she was on her own, at the very least), her brain delivered her a healthy reminder of why she deserved to be alone. Not just now, but forever more.

The fact that she'd somehow convinced Bea, Gregg, or Angus into sticking around for as long as they had was nothing short of master trickery and manipulation, and she knew that it wasn't something that she'd be able to repeat in the future.

Gregg and Angus had tired of her constant problems and neediness, jumping ship as soon as they had a convenient excuse to, whilst Bea was stuck, because of her dad, because of the store, and she therefore had no escape from Mae's constant presence.

The job offer had been one made out of pity, and all she had done was throw it back in her good friend's face, as expected. It had been two weeks since she'd effed up again, two weeks since she'd even seen Bea, and two weeks since she had bombarded her with a number of instant messages that she wished she could unsend.

As Mae sat on her unmade futon, her knees pressed up to her chest, she dwelled on recent events for only the third time that day, hoping that the Sun would set soon, and she could sneak out of the house without inviting even more worry for her parents. She'd put them through enough already, just by being herself.

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Mae's alarm blared from her laptop, shaking her from a dreamless sleep, and almost causing her to roll out onto the floor. She had been sleeping deeper and longer the last few weeks, but still never managed to feel well-rested, her dreams had abandoned her, and the daily grind was beginning to wear her down a little more than it had done before.

Maybe that was just it, maybe she was just getting used to working life, and the exhaustion was beginning to set in. Either way, it was frustrating for Possum Springs' very own Trash Queen, she had previously been sleeping better than ever since vanquishing the dad cult, and it was something that she was kind of getting used to.

She sat up groggily, propelled her laptop up onto the bed, and dismissed the alarm program that she'd begrudgingly set up, before clicking on Bea's ever-constant avatar and wishing her a good morning.

Gone were the days of waking up to a message from Gregg, telling her to come and save him from the boredom of the Snack Falcon, he had his own shit going on now, and Mae was determined to leave him to it.

After a quick sigh, she began typing out her morning message to Bea, which was weirdly, without a doubt, one of the highlights of Mae's day. They had established a certain routine over the last few months of working together, where the crocodile would start opening up shop, and her feline co-worker would stop off to get them coffee and breakfast on the way in, usually in the form of tacos. Because what meal weren't they perfect for!?

M: "Yo BeeBee, what deeeelish offerings can I scavenge for you on this wondrous day?"

There was a long pause, and Mae took this opportunity to struggle with her boots, wedging them onto her feet, and then swinging her legs idly off the side of her bed whilst she waited for a response.

B: "Morning Maeday, black coffee will suffice."

B: "Bring a handful of the sugar sachets as well. Whenever you do it, you always put way too much in."

Mae grinned, she couldn't help having a sweet tooth, plain coffee was just too bitter for her flamboyant personality.

M: "You got it boss!"

M: "Wait, you actually are my boss, aren't you? That's weird Boss/Bea."

Mae hit the Enter key, made sure that her wallet was stuffed into her back pocket, and checked back for a reply.

B: "You better hurry. You'll miss the horde of customers that are about to walk through the door."

She smirked at Bea's patented sarcasm, slammed the lid of the laptop shut, and strolled out of her bedroom door, wishing her dad's bird a good morning on the way down, before circling into the kitchen to greet her mother, who was endlessly surprised by her daughter being awake so early each day.

"Morning hun!" She called out as Mae approached. "Still not used to the fact that you're almost up earlier than me these days!"

"You know me mommers, I've always been your responsible little girl."

"No, you haven't actually." Candy chuckled. "But I'm happy to see you with some drive behind you, you know how worried we were a while back."

"Yes mom. Things are going well though, working is a lot less terrible than I thought it'd be, and I get to spend most days with Bea!"

"Yeah?" Mrs Borowski looked up from her book, this time one about the mysteries of ancient owl culture, with a warm smile.

"Yes actually, is that alright?"

"Oh, of course sweetie! We're very happy for you both!"

"You're very happy that we're working together?"

"Well, you know, I was young once too, and it's important that you spend your time together wherever you can."

Mae stared down Inspector Mom intently, receiving nothing but an irritatingly warm smile in return.

"Right, good chat. I better get going then, bye mom."

She hopped down from the counter and started making her way over to the front door as swiftly as possible, wanting nothing more than to avoid the next words that were tumbling out of her mother's mouth.

"Oh, goodbye Mae!" Candy called after her. "Why don't you invite Beatrice round for dinner tonight? You're with her all the time lately, and we haven't seen her in quite a while."

"Um, she's probably busy, mom!"

"Nonsense! I'm sure she'll make time for you, now that the two of you are-"

"Working together?"

Mae stopped in the open door, glaring down the hallway at her overbearing mother, whose smile had waned slightly.

The elder Borowski sighed. "Whatever you say sweetie, you have a good day, alright?"

"You too mom, I'll see you tonight."

"I love you!"

"Love you too, mom."

And with that, she slammed the front door behind her, only being partially blinded by the early morning sunlight, but anything was better than that conversation.

She shook her head as she started up the road into town, readying herself to greet Selmers, and hear a wondrously upbeat poem to start off her day. But alas, it was once again too early for most people, something that Mae was thoroughly not used to yet.

This disappointment deactivated the part of her brain which was trying to ignore her mom's 'subtle' comments. It was lovely how idyllic her outlook could be on everything, but yes, whilst she was closer to Bea than she probably ever had been before, and yes, there was a long-buried part of Mae's mind that desperately hoped for the day where Bea would sweep her off of her feet, that didn't change the two very concrete facts that A) Bea deserved someone monumentally better than Mae could ever be, and B) Bea was quite rigidly straight.

Mae kicked a stone across the pavement in frustration. Life was good at the moment, it had ups and downs, but it was… nice. She was still in the comfort of her hometown, she had a reason to get out of bed each morning, and she had a friend who she was finally starting to accept wouldn't abandon her. She wouldn't ruin that by giving in to thoughts that shouldn't even have existed, and she didn't need her mom to add fuel to that non-existent fire.

Up the hill she went, passing a few assorted townsfolk who all seemed to double-take at her presence before midday. It made her smile somewhat, made her feel like she was going in the right direction, being an… adult. She shuddered, that didn't feel good to admit, but again, maybe that was a sign of getting older.

Strolling past The Ol' Pickaxe, she threw open the door in dramatic fashion, shooting finger guns at the unamused crocodile behind the counter, before following up with a blinding smile, and continuing on her way.

She had all day to annoy BeeBee, but Mae knew from experience that the younger woman would put up with a lot less of her shit if there wasn't strong coffee to help her through the morning hours.

It didn't take much longer to get over to the Taco Buck, which, in the absence of a proper coffee shop in Possum Springs, was where Mae had been treating her colleague to breakfast from for the past few weeks.

Oddly enough, the coffee wasn't as bad as you'd have expected, and as an added bonus, you got to indulge in Taco Buck's (possibly) world famous Deluxe Breakfast Taco, which Mae had found herself coming back to more often than she probably should have done.

But, that being said, it was almost impossible to resist the early morning appeal of crispy bacon, smoked sausage, and scrambled eggs in an open soft tortilla. Either that, or Mae was far too influenced by the company's flagrant advertising, but it was hard to work out which.

Twelve minutes later, the chaotic cat once again swung the door of the local hardware store open, this time brandishing a slightly-damp paper bag, which noticeably lessened the displeasure on Bea's face.

Mae jumped over the counter with effortless grace, plopping the bag down in front of her friend and co-worker with yet another wide grin.

"Madame, one coffee, sans sugar, as ordered."

"Much obliged. You've bought yourself one additional day of friendship."

"That isn't a great reward BeeBee, you're already stuck with me forever."

"Well, consider it one extra day of mutual friendship then, Mayday."

Mae frowned, before reaching into the paper bag, pulling out her rolled up breakfast taco (which was pretty much just some kind of protein-heavy wrap), and aggressively taking a bite out of it, keeping eye contact with Bea the entire time.

"Point taken." The crocodile cracked a small smile. "Thanks for coming in early, it really helps with getting things ready. Last few weeks have been, ugh…"

"I gotchu boo. You need help, you hit me up, you know my track record for fixing things."

"Yeah, no, that's not the word I'd use…"

"Hey! I fixed that furnace, didn't I?"

"You fixed the situation, but you did not fix the furnace. I fixed the furnace. You thoroughly re-broke the furnace."

"See, I hear what you're saying, but you just repeated what I said."

Bea sighed, shook her head, but the smile was evident on her face. She warmed her hands on her cardboard cup of coffee for a few more seconds, before taking a sip, wincing at the bitterness.

Expecting the reaction, Mae was standing with her paws outstretched, an unnecessarily large number of sugar sachets contained atop them.

"You know, I could actually get used to you working here."

Mae thought about hiding it, even just a little bit, but she beamed back at Bea without hesitation.

"I knew it. Ladies can't resist the pearly whites."

"Or the free coffee. One of those. Definitely."

Mae shot her a wink, which earned a chuckle from Beatrice.

"So, how much shop is left for us to set up?"

"Honestly? None. We've still got to finish doing the stock take, but we can do that during downtime."

"Soooo… We've got nothing to do but sit here and talk nonsense?"

"Pretty much. Unless you fancy getting started in the stock room already?"

Mae intentionally ignored the question, returning her attention to her breakfast tortilla, and chowing down on it noisily.

"Always the pinnacle of class, Mayday."

Between obnoxiously loud bites, Mae replied. "Only the finest for you, BeeBee."

The morning went by without incident, with the number of customers being easily trackable using nothing but their fingers, but that was to be expected for a specialist retail store in a sleepy town.

This meant that by the time lunchtime came around, both women were rather bored of the monotony, and were excited to be able to stretch their legs. The Pickaxe didn't have much in the way of relaxation, but there was an old kitchen table with a few folding chairs that had been pushed together in one of the back rooms, and that, combined with a mini fridge, made up the entirety of the breakroom.

In exchange for on-demand breakfast each morning, Bea had started bringing in lunch for them to share every day, whether it was pasta, salad, or even just sandwiches, it was yet another thing that Mae looked forward to each day. And surprisingly enough, it wasn't just the food that she enjoyed.

Today was a sandwich day, chicken salad to be precise, which was one of Mae's favourite filling choices. She was certain that Bea knew what she liked, and the subtle, knowing smile that the goth girl wore when Mae asked what she'd made for them seemed to confirm that theory.

They ate primarily in silence, only shattered by the loud crunching and chewing from the cat's side of the table, and the subsequent sighing from the crocodile's. They were content, they were happy, and then Mae did her usual thing, and ruined it.

"Oh! Momma Borowski wanted me to invite you over to dinner tonight, if you're free?"

Bea raised an eyebrow, premeditated dinner invites had never really been common for Mae's household, not with how much her parents worked, and how late they were usually due home. "Any particular reason?"

Mae winced as she bit the inside of her cheek, almost definitely drawing blood. "Um, yeah, I think it's a thank you for all your help, and also… ithinkshethinkswemightbedating."

Bea choked on the mouthful of water she was using to wash down her most recent bite of sandwich, coughing slightly and bringing one hand to her mouth to cover it. "Sorry, I think I must have misheard that last part."

Mae sighed. "She was grilling me this morning, and it really seemed like she thought we were a thing. I tried to shut her down, but you know what she's like with all her conspiracy theory books, she's always looking too much into things."

Bea was characteristically silent for a little bit longer than was comfortable, and when Mae glanced over, she could see her gripping the table tightly. "You know that I'm straight, Mae, don't you? Doesn't she know that as well?"

"Of course I do, and hell if I know what she's thinking, but hey, easily fixed, BeeBee, don't fret! Come over for dinner, talk to-"

"Mae, I'm not your… girlfriend." She hesitated before finishing the sentence with an unnecessary amount of vitriol. "Surely you don't need me there to explain that?"

Mae was confused, it's not like she was trying to convince Bea of anything. "Come on, it's not like she thinks you're a no-good criminal like her daughter. There are worse things in the world, aren't there?"

Bea was silent. She stared down at the worn wood of the table, avoiding the question with every inch of her mind, body, and soul.

"Bea…?"

"I don't know how to answer that, Mae."

"I'm sorry, what!? You can't think of anything worse than my mom thinking that we're a couple!?"

"That's not-"

"What? So the death cult? Casey? Every-damn-thing that we've been through together!?" Mae was standing now, staring down at Bea with bile rising in her throat. "None of that is as bad as people thinking you might be gay with the best friend who actually treats you like you're worth something!?"

"Mae, that isn't-"

"Do you know what, Bea? You know what? Eff this job, eff your way of thinking, and eff me for even saying anything."

"Mayday, please… I-"

But she was gone.

She was home before the adrenaline wore off, and then she was crying into her pillow before she regained any form of sentience.

When Mae came to, everything burned… Her eyes, her throat, her chest. Her battered laptop sat open on the corner of her bed, as it usually did, and her heart sank, seeing the torrent of messages that she'd flooded their shared chat window with.

"M: If it wasn't clear, I quit"

"M: Knew that things were going too well"

"M: I almost thought we were"

"M: Actually, I dunno how to even finish that sentence"

"M: I'm sorry for even trying"

By the time her parents returned, they were confused to find Mae fast asleep, who later told them that she had come home early because she wasn't feeling well, and that Bea was too busy to come to dinner.

Neither were exactly lies.

Chapter Text

Two weeks. Not a word from Bea.

She had read all of Mae's messages almost instantly, but hadn't replied, not even once. As far as she could tell, she hadn't come to the house asking after her either, but why would she? Why would anyone come asking after Mae Borowski, feline piece of garbage?

Mae swung her legs out of bed, kicking over various objects, and exhaling as her feet finally found the floor. She groggily looked down at the state of her room, her eyes still stinging from the crystallised sleep that still resided in them, and observed the vast array of bottles which littered her carpet, some alcoholic, others medicinal.

But hey, at least she was sleeping again, right? Old habits did well and truly die hard.

Rising to her feet, Mae collided with her door frame as she exited the attic, and grunted wordlessly. She took the stairs slowly, her balance wasn't as great as it maybe had been previously, especially not in the dark, but she'd get there eventually.

It was late enough now that both her parents had already gone to bed, and whilst it was obvious that neither of them truly believed the story that she'd been repeating to them, they didn't exactly push hard enough to get any straight answers. As far as they were concerned, Mae still had her job, but she just got called in whenever they needed her. That way she would always have an excuse for being home during the day, or not, as the case may be.

Some days, it was so much easier to stay in bed, to just curl up in a ball, and ignore the world. To spend the entire day not attempting to speak to another soul, because that way, nobody could judge her for who she was, and what she was. Other days, the silence in her room got too much to bear, even with a little something extra to help her along, and when that happened, she'd go out, stretch her legs, and talk to nobody somewhere else instead.

The days indoors were spent doing very little other than moping, and playing the occasional run of Demontower until she got bored, which didn't take long, as much as she loved the game. Gregg had seemingly gone quiet as well, a sign that he was either busier than ever, or that Bea had spoken to him, and they'd agreed to jointly ignore her. In Mae's current mindset, either was as likely as the other.

That was just how Mae spent her time these days… Jeez, what even were these days?

She was crushed.

She was broken.

She was scared.

Not of the consequences of her actions, no no no, never that, because why would it even matter? But of… of that look. The look that Bea gave her, that she couldn't remove from her stupid, stupid brain. The one to say 'how dare you think that we could be something more?'

And then again, why did she ever think that would be the case anyway? Just thinking about the premise of that ridiculous, misguided dinner invitation was enough to make Mae's blood boil. Why was she so damn stupid?

Leaning on the wall, only partially due to her own laziness, Mae silently made her way down to the front door, and rested her head against the hard surface, the large wooden rectangle cool against the skin beneath her fur. It held so much power over her, being the only thing that ever separated her from the outside world.

But night was different. Quiet. Nobody around to judge her, and that came as a somewhat freeing concept compared to the claustrophobia of social interaction.

Mae unlocked the door, and the handle turned, letting in the cool night air, which she allowed to absorb her silent form completely. A few deep breaths had the feline feeling remarkably more attentive, and as she set off on tonight's journey, she wondered if it would actually help her in any way, shape, or form. It never really had done before.

She didn't pass a single soul on the way out, exactly as she had hoped, even the wildlife was scarce tonight. It was always amazing how deserted Possum Springs became when the moon was out, especially the old cemetery. Owls hooted as she approached, and she growled in their general direction, their presence was not required, and they were interrupting the tranquility of her silence.

Tracing her footsteps like she'd done so many times before, Mae collapsed to the ground in front of one of the stone rectangles, and sighed heavily.

"Evening Granddad."

The wind blew softly through the surrounding foliage, eliciting a pleasant rustling sound in response to her greeting.

"Yeah yeah, I know I look like trash. Been another rough couple of days."

Another owl sounded off somewhere in the distance, the hoot resounding through the empty air.

"It's just difficult, even after everything that happened, I didn't realise I still had anything left to lose."

Another short breeze, and a chill pricked at the skin beneath Mae's fur.

"What am I supposed to do, Granddad? You were the only one that ever really 'got' me. Mom and Dad try, but they don't know what to do with me any more. Bea's the only friend I had left, and she…"

Mae paused to catch her thoughts.

"She doesn't want anything to do with me, surprise surprise. Why would she, eh?"

Another obnoxiously loud owl hoot made Mae flinch slightly.

"Alright alright, calm down! If you have anything to offer, I'm all ears."

A crow landed on her grandfather's headstone, tilting it's head towards the feline visitor, before pecking at the granite tentatively.

"Hey! Knock it off!" She swatted aggressively at the bird, but it didn't flinch or move away.

It did however cease it's attack on the memorial, looking directly at her, and cawing once, before taking flight, brushing uncomfortably close as it flew away from her, and swooped down the hill.

"Dumb bird. Sorry 'bout that, you were saying?"

Silence.

Mae sighed. "I thought as much, thanks for always listening at least."

She stood, dusted herself off, and placed a hand on the gravestone tenderly, letting the warmth of her fingertips soak into the frigid stone. Turning to leave, that same crow cawed from somewhere along her path, and she squinted to make out it's location… Getting attacked by birds was not on her to-do list, even if it would be a topic of conversation that might cause Gregg to reply to her messages.

The little bird stood impatiently, hopping around atop another obelisk at the base of the hill, waiting for her to approach. And as she did, it once again took flight, and soared even further into the cemetery, down to where…

A shiver traversed Mae's spine, and her feet autonomously started following the bird's path, finding that it hadn't gone too much further, and was now pecking at another tombstone, but this time it was one that she knew all too well. She shouldn't…

The crow watched her approach cautiously, and cawed again as she got close, but this time, it didn't fly away at first.

"Thank you?" Mae murmured, unsure of whether she was giving thanks to a bird, the spirit of her grandfather, or even just thin air.

Sitting down on the floor once more, the feathered creature tilted it's head at her again, snapped it's beak a few times, and then disappeared into the night, leaving the feline alone once again, just as she had expected to be. A cold wind whipped up around her, but she wasn't sure that was the cause for the chill in her bones.

"Hi… uh, Mrs Santello…" She whispered as delicately as possible.

It felt wrong to be here, especially without Bea, but then again, she wouldn't exactly be sitting here alone right now if it wasn't for what had happened with her anyway.

"I'm sorry for, um, not bringing flowers or anything…"

A cricket chirped what felt like a million miles away, but could have been ten feet.

"Well, I guess I'm sorry for a lot of things…" Mae took a deep breath, running her eyes across the worn lettering of the tombstone. "I'm sorry for not being there for Bea when she needed me, sorry for always pushing too hard on everything, for putting her in danger, time and time again, and for just being the jerk that I always am."

"I'm sorry for being such a lousy friend to your daughter, Mrs Santello. I know you would have wanted a lot better for her."

Mae's eyes were heavy with a mixture of unshed tears and exhaustion, both mental and physical. She stood once again, sniffling slightly, before turning away, and staring blankly back up the well-worn slope which led to the exit.

She paused, whispers on the breeze holding her in-place, before they danced off and disappeared into nothingness. Mae took another long look at the resting place of her friend's mother, and shook her head sombrely.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

The moon was high in the sky when the young cat once again stood before the simple monument, a mish-mash of different flowers and stems stuffed together in her small hands. It may not have been anyone's idea of a pretty bouquet, but it was all that she could find without desecrating other graves, as tempted as she would usually have been to do so.

She knelt to place the offering down upon the muddy ground, and as she got back to her feet, she could actually feel the air become heavier around her, as if she was standing neck-deep in treacle. Her heart pounded in her chest as a piercing screech erupted around her, partnered with what must have been forty different birds fleeing the nearby trees abruptly. Owls, crows, ravens, pigeons alike, all gone in a heartbeat.

Mae suddenly became aware that the crickets had stopped chirping.

That the consistent breeze had died without warning.

That everything was silent, and still.

Mae's breath pooled into clouds in the frigid night air, infinitely colder than it had been only moments earlier, and she found herself unable to move her legs, whether out of fear, panic, or any other unworldly reason.

The silence drilled into the feline's sensitive ears, the sound of static beginning to build until once again, that simply stopped.

Mae felt pressure on her right shoulder, as if someone had rested their palm upon it, but she couldn't turn to look. Besides, she knew she was alone, there was nobody else here, especially at this time.

From the source of the weight, a warmth began to flow through her frozen torso, slowly at first, but it began to build steadily, creating a fuzzy sensation which scratched at the edge of Mae's consciousness, pulling at loose threads until she found herself on her paws and knees, desperately struggling to stay awake.

And regardless of her broken sleeping pattern, that was a fight that she was never going to be able to win.

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Mae woke coughing and gasping for air, her dreams were unpleasant and horrendously trippy, but that was certainly nothing new to report.

She had been arrested for Casey's murder, given a show trial, and convicted without being able to put up any kind of fight. Her family and friends all watched on from the stands, each of their mouths had been stapled shut, and whenever she begged them for help, they hissed at her menacingly, a sound comparable to air slowly escaping from an incredibly high-pressure balloon.

Mae wiped the sweat from her brow, and pulled the blanket over her head, hiding her eyes from the morning Sun, it was a stay-in-bed day for certain.

Wait. Blanket? Bed? She was home?

How in the name of Mallard was she home!?

Her paws reached up to grasp the edge of the fabric, and pulled it down slowly, visibly wincing at the brightness of her room. She heard a dry chuckle off to the side, and those infamous nightmare eyes flicked nervously to the source.

"You can't smoke in here." Mae said softly, doing her best to hide the pit that reactively formed in her stomach.

"I told you before, Mayday, it's not real, trying to cut down on the deathsticks."

Mae pushed herself up onto her elbows, and eyed the crocodile cautiously. "How am I here, Bea?"

"Perceptive, aren't you?" She stood from the folding chair that she'd set-up in the corner, and moved to sit on the edge of Mae's futon. "You were passed out in the graveyard, I came to visit mom, and figured that laying face down in the mud probably wasn't where you'd like to wake up."

"There's definitely a good joke in there somewhere about a dirt nap…"

Her guest chuckled, her voice was… warm? No, Bea Santello was never warm, she was cold, sarcastic, and kept people at an arm's length, Mae was sure she was mistaken.

"Thanks, I guess… And you're still here, because?"

"Because I want to be."

"And if I want you to leave?"

"If that was the case, you'd have swung for me by now."

Mae was silent for a while, she really didn't understand what Bea was doing here. As far as she was concerned, she'd made it pretty clear that they were done, but she couldn't bring herself to dismiss the younger woman.

"Why were you out there anyway?

"Trying to appease ghosts and crows."

"If you were anyone else, I'd think that was a deflection. But I wouldn't put it past you."

Mae shrugged, the knot in her stomach grew tighter, painfully so, she moved one paw from the hem of the blanket to place against her navel, trying to soothe the tempest within her.

"Thank you, Mae."

"What?? What for?"

"For the flowers. She'll… she'll really appreciate them, I'm sure."

Mae didn't realise she'd started crying, and she wasn't really sure why she had either. The thought of Bea losing her mother, especially so young, was painful to comprehend. The feline hadn't had the smoothest ride with either of her parents thus far, but at least they were both still around, and at least they could work on things.

Bea didn't have that chance. Not with her mom, not any more. And not with her dad, who had gone from being a stable family man, to both an alcoholic and a burden following her death.

Mae drew a shaky breath, and only then noticed that Bea's arms were around her, holding her tightly, protecting her from the world. She wasn't warm, per say, but as a cold-blooded creature that didn't exactly come as a surprise, yet some kind of heat still managed to transfer into the cat's chest, and it softened her, somehow.

She thought about pushing her away, thought about telling her to stop wasting her time with the broken Borowski girl, but as she opened her mouth to deliver any kind of protest, she only managed to start sobbing in earnest, clinging desperately to the black fabric of Bea's dress.

"It's okay Mayday, you're gonna be okay…"

Mae bawled until she physically couldn't any more, and Bea held her the entire time. Even when her tears had subsided, she still didn't know what to say to the other girl, and sat in silence for quite a while. An apology would probably be a good place to start, but she still felt uncomfortable with the way that Bea had reacted previously, and it would take more than this to patch over that tear in their relationship.

But she could at least start things off…

"I'm sorry, Bea. For quitting on you like that, I imagine it's effed a lot of things up…"

Bea had taken to tidying various elements of Mae's room while waiting for the other girl to speak, including the bottle collection which earned a raised eyebrow, and more than one concerned look. At the sound of her voice though, she looked over at her, not smiling, but not upset either.

"It's never easy losing a worker, but to be honest with you, the shop's been dead, we would have just stood around talking all day."

Mae felt her heart sink with that statement. She missed those quiet days with Bea so much, heck, not so long ago they were her reason for getting up each morning.

"That would have been nice."

"I mean, you can come back whenever you want, you know? You can't officially quit via a messenger app, it's in your contract."

Mae almost, almost broke into a smile at that, but did everything in her power to subdue it. She wasn't ready, not just yet, not until Bea had acknowledged how much her words had hurt.

"Maybe another day, thanks BeeBee. You want to talk about… Ya know? What happened?"

Bea was quiet for a few moments too many, and then stood, dusting herself off. "Maybe another day, thank you Mayday."

She motioned for the door, but paused, resting a scaled hand against the frame. "I better get going, but be safe, Mae, I'm serious. No more midnight visits to the cemetery where we literally almost got murdered, okay?"

Mae rolled her eyes, but after noting the genuine concern in Bea's dark features, she nodded sincerely.

The door closed, and she was once again on her own. The air wasn't quite the same though, it was quieter, still, and Bea's faint, smoky scent lingered in the dark room.

Chapter Text

Being 'rescued' by Beatrice Santello was a strange high point in Mae's current scheme of things, but her unwillingness to talk about what had happened had massively undermined Mae's confidence, which was sorely-lacking as it was.

The rest of that day was primarily spent in the relative safety of her bed, failing to beat Demontower again and again, and contemplating her existence in between runs. It was, however, the first day in quite a while where she didn't feel as utterly broken as she'd usually expect. Progress? Maybe.

The next day was… not quite so good.

The trash queen of Possum Springs awoke to the sound of her parents clearly having some form of heated disagreement, and it didn't take a genius to deduce that it was either about her, or money. Combining that with the fact that Mae was well aware that she was the sole source of their financial issues, their arguments were really only ever going to be about her.

She grumbled at the intrusion on her sleep, but understood entirely why they were so highly strung. They had spent their entire lives working dead-end job after dead-end job, just to afford their 'miracle' daughter the opportunity to go to college and make something of herself, who had then subsequently decided to quit and come home, wasting their money, and then uncovering a murder cult, and almost killing herself several times in the process.

She wasn't a great daughter, she did understand that, but she was at least trying… No, who was she kidding, she couldn't even go along with that right now. Weeks ago? Yes. Now? Heck no.

Swinging her legs out of bed, she expected to be greeted by the numerous bottles that had become part of her daily wake-up routine, and flinched at their apparent absence. That was right, Bea had tidied things up, hadn't she?

Mae's chest tightened somewhat at the thought, but she pushed it aside, that wasn't what was important right now.

She stood, steadied herself, and pulled on her boots, which her reptilian friend had left in a much more orderly fashion by the side of the futon, eliciting even more confusion from the feline, she'd have to have a word with Bea about this organisation fiasco.

Her chest tightened again, did that mean she intended to speak to Miss Santello again?

Grumbling, she pushed open her bedroom door, and headed downstairs, taking note of the instant silence that occurred as soon as one of the stairs creaked, announcing her presence, and making things wonderfully awkward for everyone.

As expected, both of the elder Borowskis were in the kitchen, Candy in her usual seat, with Stan stood against the counter, both staring sheepishly at her as she approached. She had tried to listen in to what they were 'discussing', but hadn't had much luck, so the goal here was pretty much just blind damage control.

"Morning mom, morning dad."

"Morning sweetie." They said in unison, about as rigid as a wooden board.

"Everything okay?"

Candy opened her mouth, but Stan managed to answer first. "Of course it is, honey. Oh, look at the time! I better head off to work!"

The grumble from Mrs Borowski was audible, but her husband seemed to pay no mind, shooting Candy a short, but sympathetic smile, before strolling down the hallway, giving Mae a quick hair ruffle, and making sure to slam the front door closed behind him.

"It was about me, wasn't it? Dad never leaves that quick otherwise." The youngest Borowski said, before jumping up to her usual place on the kitchen counter.

"No sweetie, of course not. We-"

"Mom, please, I know I'm not easy to have around."

"Mae, honey, it's not that. We're just worried about you is all. You've not been the same recently… Barely going out, certainly not working, and we just thought that you had been doing so much better after all of that unpleasantness had passed."

"I don't know what you mean, mom, I am working, they've just changed my-"

"Margaret Borowski, don't you sit there and act like I'm stupid!" She snapped, raising her voice for a rare moment. "You haven't left your room before dark for weeks now."

"Mom-"

"Look madam, we can sit here and pretend that I have no idea what is going on, and I can eke the details out from you one by one, or you can just talk to me, as your mother."

"It's not that, mom…" She sighed heavily. "I'm just not in a great headspace at the moment, something happened a little while back, and it's just knocked my confidence, is all."

"Honey, I don't know what happened between you and Beatrice, but you need that stability in your life. And I don't just mean the job, I mean her, and the kinship she brings you."

"I… I don't give you enough credit, do I, Inspector Mom?"

"No, no you don't." Candy said with a proud smile. "Look sweetheart, I'm not denying that things are tough for you right now, but sitting up there all alone? That doesn't help anyone, certainly not you."

"I don't really know where else to go, mom. I only had work, and that's… yeah."

"If it's broken beyond repair, find a replacement, but if it isn't, do your best to fix it. Make that your goal for today, okay, honey?"

"How did you get to be so wise, mommers?"

"Years of experience, dotters."

Mae kicked herself back onto her feet, and shot her mom a weak smile, before moving back out into the hallway, ready to go back upstairs and prepare herself for the task ahead.

"Mae?"

"Yes, mom?"

"Eels, honey."

Mae effortlessly broke into a much-needed smile.

"Eels, mom."

The conversation had unexpectedly raised Mae's spirits, and also given her some focus. She needed to get this fixed, obviously. It was just that simple, wasn't it?

But the more she thought about what she needed to do, sitting in her room and planning it out, the more those usual doubts began to creep back in, and she knew she was never strong enough to hold them all off.

Bea won't want to talk to you about this, Mae. You've tried twice, why would the third time go any better?

She just brought you back here yesterday because she didn't want your frozen corpse on her conscience, not because she actually cared. You saw how quickly she disappeared after you woke up, didn't you?

You're an idiot for even trying, Mae Borowski, but if you insist… You know what would help, don't you? Calm the nerves, steady the mind, God knows you need it.

Mae had never been anything short of a lightweight, she knew that for a fact. But equally, it wasn't necessarily that she couldn't handle her liquor, it was simply that when she started, she would drink, and drink, and drink until she was nothing short of a hot mess.

Tomato, tamato.

When she staggered down the stairs a few hours later, it was probably a good thing that both of her parents had already gone to work, as the current state of their daughter would not do anything to abate their worries.

A few steps too many caused Mae to faceplant the wall at the bottom of the stairs, before she flung open the front door, causing it to loudly collide with the inside wall.

Fresh air bathed her hazy psyche, and whilst some people found that being outside sobered them up, Mae was in the other group where it just made the alcohol in her bloodstream hit her so much harder.

She blinked a few times, stumbled down the front steps out onto the pavement, and began her proud stroll into the centre of town. Mama Borowski said that she needed to fix this, so that was exactly what she was going to do.

She received a few strange looks on her way into town, but no more than when she had been getting up early to provide her colleague with breakfast, so she wasn't going to let that stop her.

Good, upstanding, responsible adult? Weird looks.

Drunk, barely upright, questionable individual? Weird looks.

See? No winning!

The entrance to The Ol' Pickaxe loomed over her now, and without a moment of hesitation, she burst through the door, announcing her presence to all inside.

"Don't worry Beeeeeeeea! Iym here!" A poor attempt at trumpet fanfare followed. "You telled me to come back, so heeeeere I am! Whyyooo so grumpy? You need to smile more BeeBee!"

Rather thankfully, the shop was entirely empty other than her scowling friend, who was honestly doing an incredibly good job at containing her anger at this precise moment.

"Mae. Get over here now. Get your ass into the back, and sit down somewhere out of sight."

"Alright a'right! Jeesh, so effin' pushy BeeBee, at lease buy me dinner firsht!" That heralded a full ten seconds of exaggerated cackling. "Taco Buck ain't far, you wanngo get something? You sheem cranky, you hungry Bea?"

"Mae Borowski! Go and sit down, drink some water, or get the hell out of my shop!"

"Sheeeesh, I'm getting the feeling I ain't wanted…"

Bea barged past her unexpected visitor to lock the shop's door, and spin the 'closed' sign around, before turning to face the cat who was very slowly making her way across the shop floor, towards the back room.

"That's because you're not, Mae, not like this! When did you take up day drinking!? I thought you were doing better!?"

Mae stopped, resting a paw against the edge of the counter, and swaying slightly.

"Well… I wash, ya know? Then, you and me, blerggghhhhh… and it's all jusht effed up again. Thought I'd come and fix shings, but isss scary."

Bea resisted the urge to soften at Mae's words, instead marching over to the other girl, placing both hands firmly on each of her shoulders, and walking her into the back-room, before essentially pushing her into a chair.

She left for only a few moments to get some water for the inebriated feline, returning to find her sliding off one side of the chair, and needing to be repositioned.

"Mae. Drink this. Slowly. It'll clear your head up."

"Buh I don' wanna clear head, BeeBee. If iss clear, I think, and I don' need to think, just to fix."

"Well, you aren't fixing anything in that state, so sip that water, and try sobering up."

"Why you hate meee, BeeBee?"

The teal crocodile sighed. "I don't hate you, Mayday. But this isn't helping anything, I'm worried about you, I don't want you to be like you were before."

"S'all good, you look after me, huh?"

Bea was silent, and turned away briefly to fetch herself a glass of water too.

"Yeah, I'll always try. Just try and make my job easier, please."

"I missed chu Bee, lonely without you errday."

"Well, you could have swallowed your pride, and come back whenever you wanted to."

Mae snorted, and leaned dangerously far back on her chair. "No no no, couldn' do that… You were mean, din wannto see you."

"I was mean? What are we, five? You have a job and a life, Mae, you need to take these things seriously!"

"It hurt. Still hurss. You don' care annway, jus work work work."

"Whatever it was, I wasn't trying to hurt you, I can tell you that much."

"Mom wanted you t'come fer dinner, fought we were…" Mae blew a raspberry, tilting off to one side of the chair. "You were like no, stup'd ideer."

"Well, it was stupid, wasn't it? We're not together, and I didn't want your mom getting the wrong idea."

Mae grumbled exaggeratedly.

"If it means that much to you, and would even slightly make you feel better, I'll come for dinner, but you need to make sure you talk to her first."

"Hmmmm, dinner with BeeBee…"

"Yes, wonderful, isn't it? Look, I need to get you home, I can't keep the shop closed forever. You think you can at least stand?"

Mae flopped out of the chair she was in, her legs turning to jelly as she made contact with the floor, and made some kind of strained groan as she tried to right herself.

"Nooooo cando, not shure where me legs are."

"Give me strength…"

Bea moved over to Mae's collapsed form, and hooked her hands under her armpits, lifted her back to her feet. The feline slumped against her savior's chest, feigning a swoon, but really just reiterating the fact that she couldn't stand on her own.

"Ooooo so strong, my hero."

"Don't make me regret this, Mayday. Come on, we need to get going."

The five minute walk back to the Borowski household took closer to half an hour, with Bea essentially acting as a crutch for her friend the entire way there.

The stairs up to the front door were the hardest part, with Mae seemingly unable to support her own weight, but the years of working in a hardware store had paid off, and Bea managed it with only minor effort.

Opening the front door proved another challenge, but one that was remedied rather quickly once Bea located Mae's key on her person, and that presented the final hurdle… the double staircase leading up to her bedroom.

"Mae, I've changed my mind, I actually do hate you."

"Whaaaa, whyyyyy!?"

Fifteen minutes later, and Mae was flung rather unceremoniously onto her futon, with a rather pissed-off crocodile standing over her, before she too collapsed onto the foot of the bed as well, leaving them both motionless.

Bea quickly came to her senses, and made an effort to check that Mae was still breathing, before getting back to her feet, and finding an empty basin, some water, and a notepad.

She put the basin down on the floor next to the bed, in case her friend awoke and needed to remove some of the alcohol from her system the old-fashioned way, then pulled her stool closer, before balancing the glass of water on it, alongside a quickly written note.

'Mayday.
Oddly enough, it was still good to see you, try being sober next time though. Please.
If you need anything when you wake up, drop me a message, and remember to tell your mom about dinner.
Let me know which night, I'm looking forward to it already.
Bea'

She shut the door quietly behind her on the way out, and sighed as she closed the Borowskis' front door.

The rest of the day was definitely going to drag.

------------------------------

Dinner was scheduled for a few days later, and in that time, Mae had made the effort to visit Bea on two separate occasions.

The first time was the day after her drunken incident, where she forced herself to wake up early, trudge into town, and bring her friend some taco-heavy breakfast as a peace offering. It seemed like her offering was well received, but it may just have been that Bea was quite clearly pleased to see Mae up and about once again, this time sans alcohol.

The antisocial cat chose not to stay for work though, much to the crocodile's dismay, deciding that all wasn't completely forgotten, not just yet, although she'd keep that to herself for now. She wasn't okay with what had originally happened, but she knew Bea, and knew that she'd only apologise if and when she was ready to.

Which was assuming that Bea even knew that Mae was still angry with her, and understood what the issue was in the first place. It wasn't that she didn't care, of course she did, but what had she really done wrong? Mae had joked about being in a relationship with her best friend, who had subsequently shut it down so clearly and unequivocally, that it kinda felt like the feline had been punched in the gut, and the heart, simultaneously.

I mean, there was that, wasn't there.

But did Bea even understand why such a small thing would hurt so much? Of course she wouldn't.

For there to be any kind of understanding, she'd have to know the way that Mae truly felt deep, deep, deep down, and that was a secret that, at this rate, she was going to be taking to the grave.

Sure, it was a secret so badly contained by Mae's general way of being, and style of humour, that it could have been exposed without either party trying too hard, but it was also one that she couldn't risk fully letting slip. To confess to your straight best friend that you'd been harbouring a crush for them since seventh grade was an incredibly dangerous move to make, for an ever-growing number of reasons.

She just couldn't take that risk, if she lost Bea, she'd…

Yeah, she couldn't lose her.

The second visit came a couple of days after the first, purposefully leaving a day's gap between the two occasions so that Bea wouldn't get the impression that it was going to be a daily thing, not just yet anyway.

By this point, Mae had spoken with her mom once again, and thoroughly explained that no, she was not 'with' Bea, but that she had accepted the dinner invitation very firmly as a friend, and nothing more.

Candy Borowski merely sat at her kitchen table, sipping her coffee with a bemused look on her face as her daughter ranted at her about how she wasn't allowed to make things awkward during their meal. She replied with a knowing nod, and a warm smile, and the date was set for three days away.

Which meant that Mae woke up the next morning feeling oddly apprehensive, knowing that she'd have to go and formally tell Bea the plans. Well, apprehensive was most certainly the wrong word… Nervous, definitely nervous though.

You know what would help, don't you? Nope, go away.

As the feline tentatively walked along the sidewalk towards The Pickaxe, she contemplated how weird it was that she was so nervous about her best friend simply coming to her house for dinner. It had happened several times before, and she had eaten at Bea's place a bunch of times as well, so why was this one so different?

It was all down to what her mom had put into her head that prior morning, and the thought made her stomach tie itself in knots. Did she really think that they were… together? Where had she even gotten the idea from? Would she have approved? Would Dad? Did they both think it!?

All pointless and redundant questions. Bea was not interested, and Mae was completely and utterly fine with that. Yup, one hundred and ten percent.

Maybe she'd ask her mom later anyway. Just to quell her curiosity, obviously.

"BeeBee!" Mae announced as she violently swung the door open to their shared place of work. The teal crocodile didn't even flinch at the interruption, but the poor customer that she was in the process of serving responded by launching the handful of screws, nuts, and bolts that he was holding directly into the air, and damn near having a coronary.

"Mae Borowski! How many times have I told you not to do that!?" Bea snapped. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Sullivan, let me get everything all finished up for you here."

The older gentleman looked in Mae's direction concernedly, before motioning to kneel down and start tidying the assorted bits of metal that he had just dropped all over the floor.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Sir, we'll sort that out. Let's get you checked out, and we can go from there."

A few minutes later, and the elderly goat was just leaving the store, with Mae holding the door open for him, smiling sheepishly.

"Mae, get your ass over here, pick up that dustpan and brush, and clean up those fasteners."

"Yes ma'am…"

"I swear, you need to stop doing that, you're going to give someone a damn heart attack one of these days."

"Sorry BeeBee…" Mae said sadly, getting to work on tidying the mess that she'd unwittingly made. "I always forget that there's the possibility of a customer actually being in the store, it's a very rare occurrence."

Bea was unamused. "You may be correct, but my point still stands, stop frightening old people. It's gonna cause a lot of issues for the store when you do eventually kill someone."

"Been there, done that, come on Bea, lighten up!" She forced a smile at her friend, who grumbled and rolled her eyes.

"To what do I owe the pleasure anyway? I assume that you're once again ignoring my desperate pleas to come back to work?"

"I am indeed, and Taco Buck have stopped serving breakfast by now too. The horror of it…" She visibly shuddered. "No, I was just popping by to let you know that mom's said you can come by for dinner on Thursday, if that works for you?"

"I think I'm free, yeah. I'll need to go to the store and grab dad something easy to cook on his own, so did you need me to bring anything?"

"Nope, Mama Borowski will be providing you with a feast the likes of which you've never seen!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Well, probably, I have absolutely no idea what she'll be making. It'll be good though!"

"And… Did you talk to her about, ya know?"

There was that gut punch, once again.

"Oh… Yeah, I've made it very clear for her, don't worry. She's promised not to be weird."

Bea noticeably relaxed at that, although Mae still couldn't work out why it was such a touchy subject for the crocodile, it wasn't like she had ever actually tried to make a move on her.

"So, I'll see you after work on Thursday then, BeeBee?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then, Mayday. Unless you fancy sticking around? It is the job you're employed to do, after all."

Mae was already over by the exit, her paw on the handle, ready to leave.

"Don't worry about it, Mae, I'll message you later, okay?"

The cat grinned widely, and bolted out of the door before she was coerced into changing her mind.

------------------------------

There was only one stop that Mae wanted to make on her way back to the sanctity of her bedroom, and that was at the town church.

Not for any religious reasons, God forbid, but to see her mom, and get to the bottom of a number of questions which wouldn't stop plaguing her mind.

Mae strolled over there briskly, eager to get herself back home, and equally eager for some answers. This wasn't going to be as much of an uncomfortable conversation as she was suddenly thinking it would be, right?

Heck, who was she kidding? She should have just kept walking.

"Hey sweetie!" Her mom called out as she entered, lowering her book on the indigenous insects of the Eastern hemisphere to address her daughter. "Gosh, it's been so long since you visited me at work, is everything alright?"

"Hey mom! Yeah, everything's okay, was just letting Bea know about the dinner plans, I've promised you're going to cook up a storm!"

Candy chuckled. "I'll have to see what I can do, you know I make a mean pasta bake."

"Garlic bread too?"

"Oh, of course, we're not animals."

"Excellent, well that's one less thing for me to ask anyway!"

"Oh? Have you got something on your mind, honey?"

"Yes mom, I do actually… Do you have, like five minutes?"

"For you, I have all the time in the world sweetheart, what can I do for you?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Mae, sweetie, asking questions usually goes a lot better if you actually ask the questions."

"Sorry mom, I'm just…" She scratched at her arm uncomfortably. "Do you mind if we go into the library room? Kate won't mind, will she?"

"Oh, of course, darling. Go and get yourself comfortable, give me two seconds to let her know, and I'll be right there with you."

Mae found herself pressed up into the corner of the small sofa, her back somewhat to the window, in a somewhat protective pose. Candy entered, closing the door behind her, and placing herself down next to her daughter, smiling warmly.

"There you go, sweetie, just the two of us. Is everything alright?"

Mae glanced back out of the window briefly, locking eyes with the statue of Rubello that adorned Church Hill, and taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Why did you think that Bea and me were like, ya know, a thing?"

Candy chuckled softly at her daughter, who's attention was primarily focused on her lap.

"We just know you, Mae, that's all, and there's nobody else in your life that you interact with in the way that you do with her."

Mae squirmed uncomfortably against the cushions of the couch.

"I mean, granted, we don't get to see you guys together too often, but you're always so happy when you've spent any amount of time with her, I don't ever need to ask, I can just tell by your mood."

"Seriously!? Have I really been that obvious this whole time?"

"Well, it took your father a while longer to pick up on it, but even he did eventually, so… yeah, it's quite apparent."

"Wait, Dad thought so too!? How long have you guys been cooking this one up!?"

"Oh, just about a week or two after you came back home from college, you were spending so much time with her, and you always came back with such wonderful stories." Mae blushed, and looked back at her feet.

"And then when you weren't well, I've never seen someone so upset, she came round asking after you every single day. You were always asleep, but sometimes she sat by your bedside, and she even read to you once or twice!"

Mae's face was a picture, her mouth was wide open, overflowing with shock and an array of questions, very few of which she could actually manage to articulate.

"Mom! Why is this the first I'm hearing about this!?"

"Well, I thought you knew! You started doing better, then once things were back to normal, you almost immediately started working with her, I just put two and two together!"

Mae's heart was thumping in her chest so vigorously she was certain that it was audible.

"That… That's…"

"And jeez, just the way you look at her, and she looks at you… I didn't realise I was so far off base, I'm sorry!"

"Wait, what? What do you mean? Beatrice Santello does not look at me in any way whatsoever, other than with frequent disdain and annoyance."

Mrs Borowski loosed an exaggerated sigh, and placed her paws together in a neutral stance. "Whatever you say, honey, I'm obviously no expert."

"Did she really read to me when I was down for the count?"

Candy nodded with a smile. "A few times, at least, not sure what she read though, we just left her to it. You'd have to ask her."

Mae swung her legs off the edge of her seat idly, as she contemplated the enormity of that idea. Yes, it was almost entirely likely that Bea was just being the good friend that she always was, and always had been. But what if that wasn't all that it was? She shivered involuntarily.

"Look, um, thanks for this, mom, I better get going. But I'll see you later for dinner, okay?"

"Yes of course darling, I'm happy to have helped. Enjoy the rest of your day!"

"Yeah, you too, mom."

Mae managed to wander a small handful of steps away, and even opened the door back out to the main hallway, before her cheeks flushed red, and she spun on the spot.

"Mom? Do you not mind that Bea is a girl?"

The elder Borowski just chuckled. "Mae, sweetie, your father and I said it to you a long time ago, but I'll say it again now… Love whoever you want to love, just as long as you love someone. We're just happy to see you happy again."

Mae closed the distance between them in the blink of a nightmare eye, and wrapped her arms around her mom tightly.

"Thank you, mom." She sniffled. "You really are the best."

Chapter Text

The day of the dinner arrived before Mae even had a chance to notice, what with her busy schedule, and all.

She found herself increasingly nervous as the minutes ticked by, but firmly decided that she didn't want to put any proper thought into the reasons behind those emotions. Deep down, she knew the answer, well, actually not very deep down at all, but either way, that was a problem for another day.

She stared at her unkempt form in the mirror, still as 'sturdy' as ever, but she was fine with that, she was Mae Borowski, and she'd battled off more terrifying things than having dinner with her best friend.

Okay, yes, she was aware of how ludicrous the whole thing was.

Mae contemplated getting changed, and wearing something, anything other than her standard Null t-shirt, but she knew she couldn't give the impression of trying too hard, and a change of attire would be akin to a bouquet of a dozen red roses, followed closely by getting down on one knee.

Mae's heart did a flip, and she felt an uncomfortably gooey sensation well up inside her at that thought, which took her a long second to choke down.

No. Stop that, stop all of that. It is a perfectly normal dinner, with my family, there is nothing romantic about it, it is not a date, not even slightly. Bea has made that abundantly clear.

Those thoughts are the whole reason we're in this damn mess, and why we're lucky that BeeBee is even still talking to us. Enough of that, let's get psyched up, and go and check whether Mom needs help with anything.

Candy Borowski had, in fact, got everything under control. The decision to go for a pretty run-of-the-mill pasta dish turned out to be an excellent one, it was easy to prepare, would fill everyone up nicely, and with garlic bread on the side, would be downright enjoyable.

No fanciness, no pressure, no mess, just simple home-cooking. Perfect.

Whilst Bea was due to arrive in approximately fifteen minutes, Stan had been forced to stay late to cover somebody else's shift, which unfortunately meant that they'd have to wait another two hours for dinner. This meant that Candy wouldn't have to start prep work for another hour or so, and even then, it was all mostly oven time, much to her relief.

The situation did, however, throw an unexpected spanner in the works for the younger feline, who had realised that she was now going to be responsible for entertaining Bea until dinner was ready, and she had absolutely no idea where to start on that front.

She could do this, it wasn't hard, it was just a little bit of forced social interaction with the source of all of her current sorrow and joy, combined with the fact that Bea was still showing an emphatic unwillingness to talk about the elephant in the room.

"It's all going to be fine." Mae repeated to herself in the bathroom mirror, splashing a small amount of cold water on her fur to try to work out those last minute nerves.

She towelled herself off, and stared her reflection down for a few more moments, before the spine-chilling ring of the doorbell snapped her to attention, and heralded her friend's arrival. It was time.

Bolting down the stairs, Mae grasped the worn handle tightly, took a deep breath, and swung it open, beaming as excessively as she could manage. She was happy that Bea was here, she was just still unsure of where they stood, and didn't want this to be an awkward evening for either of them.

Bea stood a few paces away, wearing her usual black Ankh dress, and wielding a mixed bouquet of vibrant flowers, the bright reds and purples standing out massively against the monotone attire of their owner.

"Hey Mae, I'm not late, am I? Had to run home to grab these before I came by."

Mae's mouth was suddenly much drier than she was anticipating, and she stumbled over her greeting as a blush crept up her neck, threatening to grace the dark blue of her cheeks.

"Um, ha, hey, hi Bea, that's uh, you really didn't need to!"

The crocodile rolled her eyes, and smiled at the flustered cat, taking a few steps forward and brushing past Mae to allow herself into the relative warmth of the Borowski household.

"They're not for you, Mayday. They're for your mom, just saying thank you, and… returning the favour from the other day."

Mae's ears initially drooped at the revelation, but then recovered, and she nodded her head in understanding.

"You really didn't have to, BeeBee, but thanks. She's just down the hall if you wanna go and say hi."

Bea nodded, and set off on her own, quickly managing to find Candy on the sofa in the living room, reading another novel. Mae followed idly behind, it wasn't a big house, after all.

"Hey Mrs. Borowski, thanks for having me over. It's been a little while hasn't it?"

"Beatrice! It's no problem at all, it's always lovely to have you!" She smiled warmly, resting her open book on the free couch cushion. "And it has been far too long, I've been meaning to suggest this to Mae for a while, you've been so good to her."

Bea's eyes widened, and a slight pink tinged her scales. "Not at all, just helping however I can. These are for you, by the way."

"Oh my! Beatrice, they're lovely, how did you know that Freesias are my favourite!?" She stood to accept the bouquet, and inhaled deeply as she took them. "Thank you, honey, you are more than welcome to come round every night!"

"Lucky guess, I think… I'm glad you like them though."

"Right, let me get these into a vase so they don't wilt, and you girls are more than welcome to go off and do whatever you fancy until Stan gets home. Did Mae mention that he'd been held up at work?"

Bea hesitated slightly, but nodded anyway. "She hadn't, but that's no problem, I don't need to be home at any particular time."

Candy re-entered the room, sans flowers, and plopped herself back down onto the couch. "Perfect, well, thank you again, Beatrice, it really is wonderful to see you."

She picked her novel back up, and turned back to whatever page she was on. "Now you two go and waste some time, and I'll call you once dinner is ready, okay?"

Bea smiled, and turned to find an uncomfortable Mae stood behind her, doing the feline equivalent of twiddling her thumbs.

"Ya hear that, Mayday? I've been so good to you." She chuckled dryly. "Come on, let's go and chill for a bit."

Mae nodded wordlessly, spun on her heels, and headed back towards the staircase. This evening was already taking some unexpected turns, but things seemed positive, so far anyway.

The attic room felt so much smaller with two people in it, but that may have been due to all of the uncomfortable air that Mae was imagining to be taking up the space, along with the obvious elephant in the room. Why was she finding this so difficult? Nothing had changed, the mask had not slipped… But it nearly had, hadn't it?

She couldn't ruin her friendship with Bea, she just couldn't, and if that meant just swallowing all of these feelings, then-

"Mae, you look like you're about to burst a blood vessel, are you alright?"

The cat's eyes went wide, and she exhaled in a panic, turning away from her guest, which earned a short laugh from Bea.

"Look, I know things have been weird between us lately, but you know you can talk to me about anything, don't you Mayday?"

"I… ugh, yeah I do, I just dunno if you can help with this one BeeBee, feel like I just need to let it go."

"If it means something to you, then never give up, Mae, but if there's anything at all I can do, just let me know, alright?"

"Mhmm, will do." She nodded glumly, might as well get this out of the way. "There is one thing, now that you don't have the option of running away…"

Bea raised a cautious eyebrow, unsure of what was about to come her way.

"I wanna talk about what happened a few weeks ago, and you keep avoiding me whenever I bring it up."

Bea took a deep breath, and sighed. "I'm not avoiding- I'm not trying to avoid you, Mayday, it's… Ugh, it's just a- I'm sorry, okay? I am, honestly, I really, really am, I didn't mean for what I said to come across like that, and I know it must have hurt."

Mae had to pick her jaw back up off of the floor. "Wait, you're sorry? I thought I was the one who-"

"You overreacted Mae, you definitely did, I'm not denying that, but I… I pushed you away, when you were just trying to pull me closer. So, yeah, I am sorry, and thank you for organising this to give me a second chance."

"I don't even… Thank you, that's fine, that's- Apology well and truly accepted, I wasn't expecting that… What changed your mind?"

Bea's cheeks darkened immediately, but in the dim light of Mae's bedroom, it was hardly noticeable. "Oh! Well, I just… I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and-" Her voice cracked, and she paused to clear her throat. "You know what? Let's talk after dinner, okay? I'll explain then, I don't wanna get too heavy before we have to see your folks, you know?"

Mae nodded with a sigh, and her smile faded somewhat, things were back on track, but the constant excuses were beginning to get to her. She glanced around her room for anything that she could use to change the conversation, her eyes locking onto her bass guitar, the thin sheet of dust lingering on the greenish-blue instrument making it look rather sad in the dark corner of the room, having not been played in months.

"I miss band practice, Bea…" She exhaled heavily. "Gregg and Angus too, obviously, but I miss just getting together to jam, no matter how terrible we were. It never mattered anyway."

"Uh uh, some of us were not terrible. Most of us in fact."

"Hey! That's easy for you to say, you're not even playing an instrument, you're just pressing buttons on your laptop!"

"I happen to think I'm very good at pressing those buttons."

Mae snickered. "Ya know what? You're actually not bad."

She swung her legs idly from her position on her futon, almost content in the comfortable silence, as she felt Bea's scaled hand rest upon her shoulder.

"I know it's just the two of us, but you wanna play something?"

"Uhhhh, haha, I dunno, Bea… I don't wanna, um-"

"Please? I can use your laptop, it has been a while, it'd be nice."

"You've heard me play bass many times, BeeBee, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but-"

"Just one song?"

"Ugh! Beatrice Santello, you are the worst. One song. But don't say I didn't try to warn you."

Bea's face lit up like a toothy Christmas tree, something that Mae had not seen in a very long time, and it made her smile too, to see her friend so happy. All that did though was pile on more pressure though, she had to play well…

Fifteen minutes passed whilst the bass was tuned, the laptop was configured, and the two girls locked eyes to signal they were ready to begin their impromptu jam session.

Die Anywhere Else seemed like the obvious choice for them to play, and as the tune kicked in from the tinny laptop speakers, Mae closed her eyes to get into the zone, and let the familiar melody seep into her mind.

The song held the status of being the first thing that the band played together after Mae got back from college, and in doing so, it symbolised the dawn of their new lives, and the brief good times before Possum Springs became an absolute chaotic mess.

But, they were past that now, done with the pain and the horror, and back to leading normal, happy lives.

It was a song about standing still, but wanting to move forward.

It was a song about wasting away on your own, but reaching out for somebody to save you.

It symbolised Bea wanting nothing more than to escape this dead-end town, but being stuck here out of circumstance, and it symbolised Mae's lonely life needing that warm push from Bea to get it all moving again.

And she had needed that push. She truly, desperately had. The darkness was always on the edge of her periphery, eternally threatening to creep in and eat her alive, but with Bea, it all just melted away.

Despite the goth girl's dark clothes, fashion sense, sense of humour, and general way of being, she brightened up every aspect of Mae's life.

Apart from one.

Mae missed a note, and scowled at herself for the error. She had practised this song dozens of times since she'd messed it up so badly the first time, she just needed to stay focused.

She misplayed another two chords as she endeavoured to push those feelings for Bea out of her head once again, but knowing that at this very moment, the other girl was sitting only meters away, made doing so into more of a challenge than she had expected.

The last few notes of the song rumbled out of Mae's bass guitar, and she breathed a long sigh of relief, she hadn't done too bad of a job after all, it always helped when you did actually know the song that you were playing!

Slowly opening her nightmare eyes, her gaze met Bea's, and the pair smiled warmly at each other. Mae looked away, but the crocodile kept her vision locked firmly on the kitten in front of her.

"You've gotten so much better, Mayday…"

Mae beamed with pride, she knew she had, but it was nice for it to be recognised. "You bet! Don't think you need to worry about covering my bass parts any more."

Bea slid the laptop from atop her legs back onto the bed, and stood gracefully, standing still for an oddly timed moment, before taking what seemed to be a very calculated step towards Mae's location.

The cat raised an eyebrow, but thought very little of the motion, instead looking down at her guitar to unplug the amp, followed by lifting the strap, and-

And there was no weight to the instrument, as Bea's clawed fingers clasped the neck and body, helping it over her head, and gently lowering it down to the floor.

"Oh, thanks BeeBee, you didn't have to do-"

Bea closed the short distance between them so swiftly that Mae didn't even have time to react, other than attempting to let out a confused gasp, which became increasingly difficult as the crocodile's lips pressed firmly against her own.

She looked on in complete shock, as scaled hands brushed against her cheeks so tenderly, almost pulling her into the kiss and holding her there, as if Mae would ever have wanted to go anywhere else. Honestly, her brain was currently incapable of processing a single thought, other than trying to work out what was happening in this wonderful, exquisite moment.

"-that." Mae squeaked, as Bea pulled away, every muscle of her body coiled ever so tightly like an industrial spring.

Her widened eyes betrayed her complete disbelief as she scanned Bea carefully, trying to work out what in the everloving eff had just happened.

Bea smiled sheepishly as she took Mae's trembling hands, doing little to calm either of their nerves at the situation. "That… wasn't too forward, was it?"

Before Mae could even stammer a reply, Bea's face filled with colour, and she snatched her hands away to cover her own face. "Wait! You do, uh, like me, don't you? I haven't just horribly misread this, and-"

Bea flinched as warm, furred arms wrapped around her, and the shorter girl pulled herself in close, nuzzling into the crook of her neck. "There's nobody I'd rather give my first kiss to, BeeBee. It's always been yours, I just never thought you'd actually take it."

Mae felt Bea's body simultaneously melt against her, and go rigid at the realisation of her words. "Your what!? There's no way! With Cole, and-"

"Bea, I bit him hard enough to draw blood, and ruined prom for both of us, I refuse to count that for anything at all."

"But-"

Mae whined lowly, dangerously close to Bea's ear, and the cold-blooded girl shuddered involuntarily. She was not used to her best friend making those kinds of noises, or being this close to her.

"Let me have this one, Bea… Feels a lot more romantic, at the very least. Plus, it gives me another shot at it, to make it right."

"Mmhmm…" Bea nodded in acknowledgement, but everything was beginning to catch up to her all at once, panic was starting to set in, this was all-

This time, Mae was in the driver's seat, catching Bea entirely off-guard as she returned the stolen kiss with her usual amount of enthusiasm, and she hummed happily as soon as she realised that it wasn't a fluke, and her partner definitely wasn't going to pull away.

She had been so shocked by the suddenness of their first attempt, that she didn't realise how awkward it was to fit their mouths together successfully, but with a slight tilt of the head, things started to fall into place. It would take some work, but she was more than happy to practice.

Eager to continue, she parted her lips slightly, and Bea did the same shortly afterwards, although Mae could tell from her slight hesitation that their contrasting anatomy had crossed her mind. She was thankful for this, though, as much as she wanted to explore this newfound closeness with the crocodile, she'd draw the line at at an impromptu inspection of her vast array of teeth… for now anyway.

Her paws hadn't left Beatrice's sides, and they gripped her tightly, claws digging into the material of her dress without care, and potentially even marking the delicate flesh beneath. If that was the case though, her partner didn't flinch or complain in any way, and if anything, the encouraging noises she was beginning to make were painting a very different picture.

Despite her insistence, Mae was actually the one to break their second kiss, leaving Bea looming over her in a similar state of bewilderment to how she had been only moments before, and leaving herself with a very satisfied smile on her furred face.

Bea's head was up in the clouds, and very unlikely to come down for a long while, whilst Mae was simply lost in the proximity of her best friend. She ran her cheek along the length of the crocodile's neck, up to the underside of her chin, and paused for a moment.

With Bea so close to her, she could easily pick up the girl's usual earthy aroma of cigarette smoke and coffee, something that she had come to find amazingly soothing over their years together, but tonight, this was accompanied by a slightly different scent.

There were floral notes, and a hint of something sweeter, maybe even fruity? Apples, perhaps? Mae gasped as the realisation hit her.

"Bea, are you wearing perfume!?" She exclaimed, staring up to the taller girl's face, who immediately looked away in embarrassment.

"I- I thought I'd make an effort." She blushed, and kept her gaze pointed elsewhere. "For your parents. Obviously!"

"Obviously. Not for me, no?" Mae said with a smirk, displaying no intention of moving even an inch away.

"No… Do you- Do you like it?"

"I'm not sure, let me check…"

The cat buried her nose in the exposed scales where the collar of Bea's dress left her bare, and the younger girl squirmed at the attention. Mae pulled away a few agonizing moments later, and visibly shivered all over.

"Ooooooh yeah, you smell real good, BeeBee. I like."

She accented the comment with a flurry of quick kisses against that softer patch of scales, and try as she might, Bea couldn't stop a very small moan from escaping her lips at the sensation.

Mae shuddered at those noises coming out of her best friend's mouth, a sound she never thought she'd hear, and with that, her attention faltered. It was only for a split second, but her brain had already acknowledged the wildly important question which she needed an answer to. Her trail of kisses paused, and she rested against Bea's shoulder, refusing to look up at the taller girl as she spoke.

"Bea, I hate to be the responsible one here, I really, really do, but…" She took a deep breath, and finally took a step back, the distance between them already feeling unbearable.

"I thought you didn't like girls? Like, I was so sure that this was never, ever going to happen, and everything in my head was just…" Her eyes met the crocodile's once again, and her paws trembled uncontrollably.

"I just need to know that you actually want this, like I do, and you're not just trying to… I dunno, appease me, or something?"

Bea did what could only be described as the crocodile equivalent of biting her lip, and closed the gap between them again, cupping Mae's cheek, and stroking a claw over the soft fur.

"Being honest with you, Mayday? I'm still trying to work this out myself… I've been fighting with myself for months, and I'm just done with this stupid internal argument… I don't want to lose you." She sighed, pressing her forehead against Mae's tenderly. "You make me feel like nobody, male or female, ever has before, so… I'm not sure if I do like girls yet, but I know that I like you. That… doesn't make any sense, does it? Sorry, I'm still new to all of this."

Mae's heart was aflame, her paws clumsily found Bea's claws, and squeezed tenderly. "That's okay, BeeBee. If this is definitely what you want, then we can work it out, together."

Their lips met again, on shared ground this time, tenderly, lovingly, both parties just enjoying the incandescent heat that was radiating from within them both. Mae felt so very complete then and there, as if everything leading up to this moment had been worth it, if only to feel Bea pressed up against her once again, which very thankfully, she was.

Bea broke their kiss reluctantly, but she couldn't stop the giggle that snuck it's way out of her mouth. She nuzzled against Mae's much softer form, and pulled her as close as she possibly could, wrapping her arms around the smaller feline, and hugging her tightly. "You know what I just realised, Mayday?"

Mae didn't budge, far more interested in the queer warmth of Bea's lithe body than anything else on the planet. "Hmmm?"

"I made you give your mom all of that crap about how we weren't together, and now we're going to go downstairs, and be like 'By the way!'" She chuckled softly, relishing the sensation of holding the cat against her.

Bea paused at the soft growl that was emanating from the region between her neck and her chest. "Is that your way of saying that we are together now, BeeBee?"

Ordinarily, it would be quite difficult to see a crocodile blush, but at that moment, there wasn't a single scale on the younger girl's body that didn't tinge a slight shade of pink. "Well! I, uh, what I meant was that, um-"

Mae silenced the panicking reptile with another firm kiss, and thoroughly enjoyed the hum of Bea's lost thoughts reverberating wordlessly around her mouth. With a little bit of work, the cat managed to get her partner to shimmy backwards, and after a few small steps, Bea was very much aware of the edge of the futon pressing firmly against the back of her knees.

There was a single moment of hesitation, where she wondered if she was in way over her head, but the cat's rough tongue beginning to press hungrily against her own quashed that instantly, and she fell backwards onto the 'bed', with Mae coming down with her, their increasingly heated kiss never breaking, despite their newfound horizontal nature.

When Candy finally called up to inform the pair that Stan was home, and dinner was ready to be served, they emerged from the attic room hand-in-hand, blushing slightly, but oh so happy with how the evening had progressed.

As they reached the foot of the staircase, their fingers separated with a knowing nod, and Mae pushed up onto her tiptoes to give Bea one last parting kiss before rounding the corner. Both elder Borowskis were already seated, and as they approached the dinner table together, Bea smiled at the pair, before taking her place, and asking Stan about how his day had been.

Mae watched the exchange with a strangely proud twinge in her chest. She was definitely right in her previous observation, tonight had gone massively off piste, but she certainly wasn't complaining about a single second of it.

Those nightmare eyes managed to tear themselves away from the beauty of her girlfriend (oh my days, this was actually real!), and glanced around the table, catching Candy's knowing gaze. Mae couldn't hide the smile from her face, and Candy could only chuckle softly.

Inspector Mom never missed a beat.