Archive of Our Own

Sebastian stood up from his computer and stretched. Shadows dappled the wall, interspersed by rays from the evening sun. His wife’s cat was stretched out in a puddle of sun by the desk. He stepped over it and padded to the kitchen.

When he and Mousy had first met, Sebastian hadn’t liked her. He had been looking over the ocean when footsteps pounded up behind him and suddenly the new farmer was there trying to introduce herself. Her hair was clinging to her like seaweed and her arms were covered in mud. With no prompting, she pulled a wilted dandelion out of her pockets and shoved it into his hands with a toothy grin. The flower still had dirt-clumped roots and aphids crawling on it.

At the time he was repulsed, but now he felt a strange sentimentality towards the encounter.

Sebastian held his nose and opened the fridge. A wave of smells crashed over him, nevertheless. Mousy did all the cooking in the house, so it wasn’t his place to question the fish, algae, cave carrots, or twelve jugs of maple syrup. However, he did wonder why it had to be packed into the same fridge to make the most totalizing smell in existence. He grabbed the sashimi from the top shelf and slammed the door shut.

As soon as he sat down, the cat jumped up on the table. It eyed the sashimi expectantly.

“Go get your own fish,” Sebastian said.

The cat flopped over to display its fluffy belly like a bribe. Sebastian got up and moved to his desk. The cat followed. Sebastian got on the bed. The cat followed, even crawling into his lap and headbutting the plate. Sebastian tried to push it away to no avail.

“Scram, or I’ll tell Mousy you threw up on the bed again.”

In a real “speak of the devil” moment, Mousy burst through the front door. Her face was flushed and the backpack she always hauled around looked close to bursting. The cat ran over to her, its tail held straight up.

This was all perfectly normal, except for the fact that there were the sunflowers braided into Mousy’s hair; even at their wedding she only had a simple boutonniere pinned to her suit. Sunflowers also seemed like an interesting choice. Sebastian only knew one person in Pelican Town who like sunflowers and braiding in equal parts.

“Did you have fun with Haley?” Sebastian asked.

“How did you know I was hanging out with—oh right!” Mousy’s hand shot up to touch the flowers. “Do you like them? We did a whole photoshoot and everything! Haley’s gonna give me some of the pictures when they’re done developing.”

Mousy shrugged off her backpack. It hit the floor with a hearty thunk. She began her play-by-play of everything that had happened since they last saw each other. Sebastian tried to keep up, but his head was still stuck in the muck with Haley. Why did it have to be Haley?

“-that’s when I saw Haley by the river with her camera and I thought ‘she would love one of these flowers’ so I went and gave her one and then she braided them into my hair and took a bunch of photos,” Mousy said. She was digging around in her backpack and separating the miscellaneous items into different piles. It was a lot of the usual—gemstones, raw materials, seed packets, etc. The cat was busy sniffing everything, so Sebastian could return to his dinner.

“She takes such good photos! I was thinking…” Mousy sauntered over to the bed with her hands behind her back. Then she dropped down onto one knee and held out a ring; it was a golden band with a gloppy green resin on top. It was ugly in a charming sort of way. Sebastian held out his hand and let Mousy slip the ring on. She clasped his hand and said, “Why don’t we have Haley take some wedding photos for us? We can get all dressed up and pretend we haven’t been married for a month.”

Her face is so bright and hopeful that Sebastian had to force the words out. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Mousy’s whole body deflated, but she kept a big smile on her face to cover for it. “That’s okay! I know you don’t like having your picture taken.”

“It’s not that. I’m fine taking wedding pictures, just not with Haley.” Guilt curled in his stomach; he should have told her this a while ago. They had gotten married in such a rush that they had missed a lot of important steps in getting to know each other. Sebastian squeezed Mousy’s hand, mostly for his own nerves, and said, “Haley and I dated a while back, so it would really awkward.”

Sebastian’s heart sunk as Mousy drew her hand back. Her face was stony.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were exes. Did I…miss something again?” she asked.

“No, you didn’t miss anything. It was so long ago, and we only dated for a year. I never thought to mention it.”

“A year is longer than we’ve been together,” Mousy said, not bitterly but matter-of-factly. She sat down on the edge of the bed and began unweaving the braids. “Haley never said anything.”

“I would be surprised if she even remembers,” Sebastian replied, immediately cringing at how bitter it sounded. He didn’t have a grudge against Haley; the breakup was mutual. Since then, he had spoken to her maybe once or twice, and only in passing. Keeping some distance was the best for everyone.

Two Weeks Later

Sebastian was trying to line up a shot. The key word was “trying”. His concentration thrown off by the scene to his right. Abigail was sitting in her usual spot on the couch, flanked by Mousy and Haley. Mousy was several drinks deep and practically sitting in Abigail’s lap to talk to Haley, who was sitting in Abigail’s lap. It was hard to tell if Abigail was in a state of shock or nirvana.

“She’s, like, my knight in shining armor,” Haley was saying. “I never would have gotten my camera back without her.”

Mousy leaned in way too close and asked way too loud, “And then she gave you the bouquet?” This was the third time she’d asked the question, as Haley lazed her way through a series of tangentially related events involving her and Abigail. The only enjoyable part of the entire experience was glancing over to the saloon’s bar, where Pierre was going through the five stages of grief while leaned over a beer.

“Are you actually going to make a shot, or…?” Sam asked.

Sebastian jerked the stick forward, knocking the cue ball right into a pocket. Instead of cheering like expected, Sam fixed Sebastian with a concerned look.

“You’re not letting me win, right? You’ve never done this bad before.”

Sebastian stood up and pushed the hair out of his eyes. “No, I’m just tired.” Even as he said it, Sebastian’s attention was drawn back to the couch containing his wife, his ex, and the girl he thought he would marry before meeting his wife.

Mousy was staring at Haley with pure devotion. Her drink was spilling out of its glass and onto the hardwood floor. “And then she gave you the bouquet?” Mousy asked again, this time in a reverent whisper.

“Huh? No,” Haley said, as if hearing the question for the first time. “I gave it to her right before we came here.”

A high-pitched squeal burst out of Mousy’s throat. She excitedly threw herself back onto the couch, repelling off the stiff leather and launching herself onto the floor. Her drink was everywhere, but at least she was still giggling.

Sebastian ran around the table to help her up (Haley also helped, but Sebastian was trying not to look at her). Mousy gleefully fell against his chest in another fit of giggles. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

“I’m taking Mousy home,” he said, looking only at Sam. Sam, who was already taking pictures of the pool table with his phone.

“Okay, but you’re not getting out of this. We’re starting where we left off next week.”

Next week Sebastian wouldn’t be distracted by the parlor reeking of vanilla perfume. He guided Mousy out of the saloon with one hand wrapped around her waist. They got a lot of looks of sympathy or amusement. Mom and Demetrius even stopped dancing to watch. It was a relief to step out into the quiet night.

“Gus makes those drinks so goooood,” Mousy drawled. “Can’t even taste the potato juice.”

“I can tell,” Sebastian said, mostly to himself.

Mousy sang an off-key tune as they walked back to the farm. It echoed up into the night sky and scared several birds off their perches. When they got to the farmhouse, Sebastian had to drag Mousy up the front steps and dig the key out of her pockets. He opened the door and used his elbow to lip on the lights. Mousy wriggled out of his grasp.

The cat was on the table, tucked in a bowl of freshly picked blueberries. Its white fur was stained purple around the legs and muzzle. So of course Mousy scooped up the little furball and smothered it with kisses. It made quite a sight—both of them covered in juice and dirt.

When the cat had enough attention it leapt out of Mousy’s arms. This allowed Sebastian to lead her to sit on the trunk at the end of their bed. When he came back with a glass of water, she was drunkenly trying to peel off her pants without removing her boots first.

“Hold on…I got it, I got it,” she was saying to no one in particular.

Sebastian pressed the glass into her hands then knelt to unlace her boots. She took a hesitant first sip, then downed the entire cup.

“Hey Seb, ‘s it weird your exes are dating now?”

Mousy was so drunk that it wasn’t worth reminding her that Abigail wasn’t an ex (even if it felt that way sometimes). He just sighed and said, “No, it’s not weird.”

Her first boot fell to the floor with a soft thud.

“Tha’s good, cause they’re gonna be at the book club t’morow.”

The book club that was being hosted at the farmhouse. The other boot dropped and Sebastian sighed again.

One Week Later

Hot, muggy air clawed at Sebastian’s face. Summer had been dying at autumn’s hands, but the past few days had come with another heatwave. On days like this, Sebastian preferred to rot in the sanctity of his own home. Except that Demetrius was at the farm taking soil samples, and Mousy had invited him inside for a long conversation about fertilizer. Work was impossible in those conditions.

So, Sebastian was on a walk. Mom was still at her dance aerobics class, so there was no reason to swing by the house. He tried heading to the train station, but for some reason there was a hot air balloon there. The next best option was the mines. Maybe he could find one of those icy sections that Mousy talked about.

Just as he saw the mine entrance, a familiar, airy voice reached his ears.

“Turn to the right. Like, my right. Now tilt your head down but keep your eyes up. Perfect!”

Haley was taking pictures of Abigail by the lake. Abigail had a bundle of sweet peas in her arms and was posing at Haley’s instruction. There was a smile on her face, but it wasn’t the big, shit-eating grin that Sebastian was used to. It was small and borderline bashful.

Sebastian turned around before he had to see anymore. A bead of sweat trickled down his back. If he had to spend another second in the heat, he was going to go insane. He missed when he could stay huddled in the basement with no risk of being bothered.

He was at the door to his old house before he made a conscious decision. The house was quiet. It wasn’t the heavy kind of quiet where Demetrius was in the lab and Sebastian had to tiptoe past to avoid a lecture about the smell of weed in the house. It was one of those rare, comfortable types of quiet. He started down the stairs and immediately noticed that the basement lights were on.

Mom was the only person who ever went downstairs, and the thought of her going down there made him shudder. During the move to the farmhouse, he had elected to leave the bulk of his things in the basement (there was a part of him that was still waiting for his hasty marriage to fall apart). Many prized possessions were left to the mercy of his mother, who had thrown away far too many of Sebastian’s things while cleaning.

The musky smell of basement air greeted Sebastian as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He took a deep breath in of it and walked in to see the damage.

His soul leapt out of his body when he saw another person there.

Maru was sitting in the middle of the floor, hunched over her bulky laptop. There was a large book in her lap, and every so often she would stop typing to look down at it and frown. Sebastian realized it was one of his coding textbooks.

There was a part of him that wanted to leave and find somewhere else to hide, but there was also another part of him that wanted to ask:

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Maru jumping, causing her hands to fly up and smack the laptop screen. The textbook slid out of her lap and landed page-down on the filthy floor.

“Ah, hi Sebastian,” Maru hissed while shaking out her hands. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Yeah, I’m just dropping by.”

“Sorry for intruding.”

“It’s okay. It’s not my room anymore.”

They stared at each other for a moment before looking away. Sebastian scanned his old room. His things seemed untouched, but there was a pile of lab equipment in the corner. In his peripheral, Maru gathered her things and stood up.

“I’ll get out of your way—” she started.

“What are you working on?” Sebastian asked. He could see the gears turning in her head as she processed the question. Then the metaphorical light bulb.

Maru sat back down and opened her laptop.

“I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with my code. I got it to work one time, but it’s been stubborn ever since.” She frowned at the screen again. He had a better look at the genuine frustration on her face. Sebastian didn’t think he had seen that expression on her face since they were kids and Mom told her she couldn’t eat mud.

Some of his most recent memories of Maru were from years ago. Without thinking, he sat down beside her.

“I can look at it,” he said, “fixing code is the only thing I do all day.”

Maru looked surprised, but not upset. She handed the laptop to him.

The code was very rudimentary. It looked like she was trying to run a simple “Choose Your Own Adventure” simulation. The culprit turned out to be a single missing semicolon that Sebastian could quickly add in. The program easily started up, but he wanted to go through it a few times to make sure it would continue working.

As he clicked through the text options (the scenario reminded him of Solorian Chronicles), he spared a glance over at Maru. She looked…embarrassed. That was not the reaction Sebastian meant to create.

Maru caught him looking and smiled sheepishly. “Thanks for helping. It’s been a pain trying to learn a new programming language.”

That explained the simple nature of the code, but it didn’t entirely make sense. Sebastian recalled Mousy saying that Maru created an entire robot once. With skills like that, he could imagine why she needed another language.

“What are you learning a new language for?”

Maru drew her legs up and rested her arms on her knees. “This whole time I’ve just been using the language I made when I was sixteen. Then I realized that if I ever wanted to work with other people, I should probably learn a common language.”

Sebastian’s eyebrows shot straight up. “You made your own programming language when you were sixteen?” He shouldn’t have been so surprised; Demetrius had been gushing about Maru’s genius since the day she was born.

“I did. Not all of us could be dating the reigning flower queen,” Maru said, distinctly looking anywhere but at Sebastian.

“You heard, huh?”

“I can’t believe you kept that hidden from Mom and Dad. Not just you dating someone, but you dating Haley of all people.”

“Yeah, well I wasn’t the only one who wanted to keep it secret.”

The screen froze up as he tried to click “smite the dragon”. He opened the code again, and tilted the screen so Maru had a clear view of what he was doing. She scooted closer until her shoulder bumped against his. It took all of Sebastian’s self-control to not move away. He didn’t hate physical contact; just wasn’t used to it.

“How did you two even get together?” Maru asked.

“Remember when Lewis tried to make that schedule for event planning, so it wasn’t the same five people always helping?”

“Yes! But you and Haley did such a bad job at the Egg Festival that he scrapped the whole thing.”

Despite himself, Sebastian smiled. “That was how we started talking to each other. It snowballed after the whole town got mad at us.”

A bright laugh escaped Maru’s throat, but she quickly cut it off. Sebastian wished that she didn’t feel the need to do that; he wasn’t an insecure teenager anymore. Of course, Maru had no way of knowing what Sebastian was like these days.

“How did you break up?” Maru asked after smothering all the laughter from her voice.

Sebastian sunk a little into his sweatshirt. “We got in a big fight. It was mutual.”

“Huh,” Maru said with no inflection.

That was a concerning reaction. Sebastian glanced at her, and it was very clear she was trying to school her expression. Panic bubbled in his chest

“What?” he asked.

Maru started picking at a hangnail. “Nothing it’s just…Haley came by the other day to ask for an invention,” Maru said. “We talked for a while about her and Abigail, then it got onto the topic of exes. According to her, you dumped her hard.”

The Next Day

The sound of clanging metal cut through Sebastian’s sleep. He shot up in bed, dumping Mousy’s cat off his chest. His wife—his wonderful, beautiful wife—was holding a pickaxe and looking very guilty. Very slowly, she slid the pickaxe into her backpack, where it clacked against various other metal objects. Sebastian had no clue how she could fit everything in there.

He rubbed his eyes and threw off the blankets.

“Good morning,” Mousy whispered, “I’m sorry.”

After his vision cleared up, Sebastian noticed that she wasn’t wearing her usual get-up. The pants were dirtier than anything she had ever worn outside before, covered in black grease and green flecks.  She had thick pads on her elbows and knees that made her resemble a marionette. Finally, a bright yellow hardhat was strapped snugly to her skull.

“Where are you going?” he rasped.

“I’m taking Abigail spelunking! We’re going to see if we can go any lower than the 120st floor in the mines.” After a very long stare from Sebastian, Mousy added, “We are going to be completely safe! I packed extra warp totems in case there’s any trouble.”

Despite his worries, Mousy always came back in one piece. He kissed her on the forehead and said,  “Please be careful.”

Three Hours Later

The ground was shaking, the trees were groaning, and Sebastian was pinned beneath his motorcycle. He tried to focus on keeping the bike from fully collapsing on top of him, but it was hard when he could hear the farm animals losing it just a few yards away.

After what felt like an eternity, the earthquake stopped. With one great heave he pushed the motorcycle off and shakily got to his feet. The farm didn’t look too bad: a few broken flowerpots and the chickens still in a frenzy. But before Sebastian could settle into his relief, he was hit with the mental image of his wife in full spelunking gear.

He beelined to the warp statue. At the first signs of an earthquake, Mousy and Abigail should have teleported back to the farm. His heart dropped when he saw the statue just sitting there, solitary and dumb. Then his heart had a second, surprise drop when he saw the crack in the base of the statue.

The crack was thin but ran up to the embedded green gem. Mousy had once said the gem was what made the statue work, and everything else was just decoration. He knelt beside the statue and followed the thin crack up to its destination. Deep in the rich green, there was a splinter of yellow.

“Shit.”

He ran to the farmhouse. As soon as he opened the door, the cat bolted out between his legs. Kitchenware was strewn across the floor, several paintings had fallen, and Sebastian’s monitor had faceplanted onto the hardwood floor. None of it made him pause.

There were seven chests that Mousy used to store everything she collected during the day. She had a rigorous sorting system, but Sebastian had no clue what it was.

The first chest he threw open was full of jars. There were labels for, “clay”, “tree sap”, “ectoplasm”, and other foul-smelling substances. A log fell onto Sebastian’s foot when he opened the second chest. The third chest was filled entirely with identical gaudy boxers (he would ask questions later). It wasn’t until the sixth chest that he found what he needed.

Sitting on top of dingy swords and rusted daggers was an obsidian box. Mousy had commissioned Clint to make Sebastian a real mace as a wedding gift. It was far heavier than any of the replica weapons that he practiced with, but after a few swings it felt familiar in his hands.

Under the bed was a crate full of warp totems. Sebastian didn’t know what the different colors meant, so he dumped half of them into a backpack and threw it over his soldier. He grabbed a glow ring from Mousy’s bedside table before heading out the door.

The path to the mountains was uneven—the quake having shifted the dirt. Things weren’t much better at the top. Linus’ tent was collapsed, but the man was nowhere to be seen. There was no sign of Mom or Maru in the area. Hell, Sebastian would have been relieved to even see Demetrius. Everyone was probably gathering at the saloon to discuss what had just happened.

Sebastian would have to go in alone.

The entrance to the mines was thankfully still intact. Sebastian stepped inside and was relieved to see someone else. They were standing by the elevator and hitting the button incessantly. Dust was clouding the air so he couldn’t quite see them. Sebastian assumed it was Marlin until he walked closer and saw the blonde hair and mini skirt.

“Haley?”

Haley shrieked and spun around, swinging a curling iron. The iron passed right in front of Sebastian’s face, barely singeing the tip of his nose. When she saw it was him, she let out a heavy sigh.

“Thank goodness. Are you here to get them, too?” she asked.

Haley didn’t resemble her usual self. Half of her hair was in tight coils, while the other half was flat. She was wearing mismatched pumps and didn’t have any makeup on. It looked like she had dropped everything to come to the mines.

“Well?” Haley asked.

“Of course I’m here to get them.”

The elevator door opened with a cheerful ding. Haley stepped inside, and Sebastian squeezed in next to her. His backpack acted as a barrier between them in the cramped elevator.

As the doors slid shut, he felt the first wave of regret. The last time he and Haley had been alone together was during the fight that ended their relationship. Except this time there was no escaping—it was just the two of them and the drone of machinery.

Sebastian spared a glance over at her. There was nothing to indicate the floor they were on, so Haley’s gaze was fixed forward. Her expression had softened into something more scared than steely. She was cradling her curling iron like a baby. Engraved on the iron’s handle was a familiar decorative “M”.

“Did Maru make that?” Sebastian asked before he could stop himself.

Haley turned to him with pursed lips. “Hmm? Yeah, I asked her to make it solar powered so I can always have it when Abby and I go camping.”

Bile rolled through Sebastian’s chest. Okay, maybe he was bitter about Abigail and Haley dating. Haley never took pictures of him or tried to engage with his interests. One time he tried to play Solorian Chronicles with her and within the first minute she said, “I’m bored. Wanna make out?” If that wasn’t bad enough, now she was telling people that he had dumped her.

Haley was staring at him. Sebastian realized that a scowl had made its way onto his face. To his horror, she started talking.

“Hey Sebastian, I should say sorry for—"

 “It’s fine, we don’t need to talk about it.”

There was a glorious ten seconds of seconds before Haley asked, “Are you doing that thing again?”

He frowned. “What thing?”

“The thing where you say everything is fine then get all mad about it later?”

There was loud, creaking groan. Sebastian gripped the backpack straps; if they broke into a freefall he would have to grab the totems fast. But unfortunately, the elevator continued its slow descent. Sebastian couldn’t ignore the accusation that sat heavy in the air.

Surprisingly, Haley didn’t look mad. Her tone hadn’t even been accusatory, like she was making a simple observation. It was the same way Demetrius spoke—the way that always set Mom off.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sebastian said, trying to keep his tone level. He couldn’t look at her.

“Like how you agreed to go to the Flower Dance with me then freaked out the day before.”

Sour spit flooded Sebastian’s mouth. He had avoided thinking about their last fight for as long as possible. It sat in the back of his mind, still leaking pain and betrayal.

Haley had wanted to go to the Flower Dance with him because of course she did. It had been stupid to think that she wouldn’t. Sebastian had agreed, but the thought of dancing with her in front of everyone made his mind freeze up in panic.

Everything came to a head the day before the dance. Haley had hounded him about their outfits while he lost his mind in panic. There was shouting, but he couldn’t remember who started it or what was said. All he could remember was the pressure building up in chest until he couldn’t take it anymore. He ran out and didn’t look back. For a month afterwards he didn’t leave the house. Even Demetrius was made to try and coax him out.

 From Haley’s perspective, that would look a lot like being dumped.

The memory still hurt, but not enough to cloud his perspective. Haley had been so excited about the Flower Dance—constantly practicing the steps and talking about how she would style her hair. But all Sebastian could do was selfishly think about his own martyrdom.

He groaned and rubbed his face. “I did do that, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, it was pretty shitty.” She pushed some hair out of her face. “Anyway, I’m sorry for making you agree to the dance. Abby said that social stuff freaks you out.”

The elevator lurched to a halt. Its doors slid open, and a blast of hot air hit Sebastian’s face. He had never been this deep in the mines before. The stones were a deep indigo, with crimson grass sprouting out from the cracks. There weren’t any clear signs of the earthquake. He took a careful step out of the elevator, keeping a sweaty grip on the mace.

The 115th floor was silent except for Sebastian’s own heavy breathing. Mousy and Abigail must have cleared out all the monsters when they went through. That was what Sebastian thought until an animalistic shriek rang through the cavern. He spun around in time to see Haley smack a red bat out of the air with her curling iron. More bats came swooping down from the ceiling. Sebastian reared back and knocked them out with a single arc of his mace.

Haley smiled at him hesitantly. He smiled back.

The ladder down was only a few feet from the elevator. As soon as Sebastian’s foot touched the floor, more monsters swarmed him. He and Haley warded them off then continued down. The earthquake must have agitated the monsters, because Sebastian had never seen them act with such unified viciousness. After what felt like an eternity, they reached the ladder leading to the 120th floor.

Sweat trickled down Sebastian’s back like a horrid little insect. Haley was breathing heavily and fanning herself.

“Are you ready?” he asked her.

Haley steeled her expression. “Always.”

A rancid smell smacked Sebastian in the face as he leaned over the hole. It smelled like a barbecue gone wrong. He tugged his shirt over his nose and stepped onto the first rung of the ladder. Even with the glow ring, he couldn’t see the bottom.

There was a loud squelching sound, and Sebastian was knocked to the ground. He landed hard and his head was filled with sharp ringing. Something heavy and wet was on top of him. With what little of his conscious mind was functional, he pointed the glow ring up.

On top of Sebastian was a slime; viscous, red, and dripping. Its body was the same gelatinous substance as other slimes, but it had seven limbs splitting out of its bulbous center. There was no sign of a face.

Through its body, Sebastian saw the searing glow of Haley’s curling iron. She stabbed one of the limbs, causing the slime to rear back.

With the weight off his chest, Sebastian grabbed his mace and swung. He missed, and the slime whipped around to leap at Haley. She dove out of the way, and the slime slammed against the cave wall.

Sebastian jumped to his feet and slammed his mace into the slime’s center.  The outer membrane resisted for a few brief moments before bursting. Gooey droplets splattered Sebastian’s front, but he only had a second to be disgusted before Haley shoved him out of the way.

One of the slime’s limbs struck out and knocked Haley to the ground. Haley cried out and a burning smell filled the air. Sebastian finally noticed that the slime itself was boiling. There was a green glow in his peripheral, and he looked down at that Mousy had given him weeks ago. He didn’t know how, but it was protecting him.

The slime gurgled and two new limbs budded out of its body. Sebastian swore and, before he could fully think it through, threw his body forward. The slime’s outer membrane stuck to his skin, but it didn’t burn. He pressed the glow ring against the slime’s body, illuminating it from the inside. At the very center was a filmy nucleus. Sebastian’s mace wouldn’t be able to cut that deep, but…

He grabbed the two limbs closest to him and yanked. The slime—with some freshly severed limbs thanks to Haley—toppled on top of him. Its underside was exposed.

Haley didn’t need any instructions. She stood up and stabbed her curling iron into the slime, piercing the nucleus. The slime rumbled, shaking the whole room with it before exploded. Sebastian gagged as red chunks rained down. Haley’s expression was pure disgust.

She held out a hand and helped him to his feet. There were blistering burns on her arms and legs.

Sebastian took a totem from his backpack and held it out. “You should take this and head to Harvey’s,” he said.

Haley pushed the totem back. “I’m not leaving until we find—"

“Over here,” a voice croaked out from the darkness.

Sebastian had never been more relieved to hear Abigail in his life. She was wedged into a large crevice that must have been created by the earthquake. A round shield covered the entrance until Abigail kicked it away. She looked—in the kindest terms—like shit. Most of her hair was a blackened crisp, her eyes were completely bloodshot, and every inch of her was covered in dust.

After Abigail extracted herself from the crevice, Mousy fell out. Quite literally, Mousy rag dolled out and hit the floor without catching herself. Sebastian dropped to his wife’s side, his soul threatening to collapse. Mousy didn’t have the same concerns, however, because when he rolled her over there was a loopy grin on her face.

“You’re here,” she whispered giddily. Her nose was pointing in the wrong direction and her long-sleeved shirt had been burned into a tank top. It was hard to see the extent of her injuries beneath the layer of dust that was also covering her.

“We found this weird chest while digging,” Abigail said. “And then this witch showed up with a bunch of monsters.”

“Sounds like a bitch,” Haley replied, her voice muffled against Abigail’s shoulder.

“You’re here,” Mousy repeated, with stars in her glazed eyes.

Sebastian gripped her hand in his; the glow ring illuminated their faces. “Always will be.”

The Next Day

“…and those are my feelings,” Sebastian said, grateful that his voice didn’t wobble.

He was sitting at the table across from Mousy, who was covered in enough bandages to be mistaken for a mummy. She and Abigail had stayed overnight at the hospital under Harvey’s watchful eye. Half the town had made them get-well meals. So now the kitchen counters were overrun with soups, casseroles, salads, pies, and every kind of fish under the sun. The cat was having the time of its life.

Mousy had been listening attentively while Sebastian spoke. Now she reached across the table and gripped his hands with a (loving) vice.

“I’m sorry all the guests have been stressing you out,” she said. “I want you to feel at home here.”

“And I do. I just need alone time now and then.”

Mousy nodded, but her brows were furrowed. Sebastian stood from his seat and walked around the table. He knelt beside her and pulled her into a hug. Showing affection still made him feel vulnerable and jagged, but he was getting better at it.

“Thanks,” she whispered. There was still that scrunched look on her face. Now that he was closer, he realized that she wasn’t upset, just deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“I’m thinking…what if you had your own room? Like, one with a door.” Now that she was speaking, Mousy’s expression relaxed, and excitement began to take over. “We can get your mom to add an extension and design it however you like! The harvest was great this season, so money shouldn’t be an issue. And I know a place that sells super cool wallpapers! It can be your own little den! What do you think?”

Mousy was inches away from his face, beaming with the full force of her personality. Looking her in the eyes when she was like this felt like being on a rollercoaster, just toeing the line between exhilarating and unbearable. If he just took a deep breath focused on the color of her eyes and not the heat of them, he could manage.

“It’s just me. You don’t need to do all that,” he said.

Mousy’s smile quirked to the side. “What do you mean ‘just you’? I want to do all that because it’s you!”

A lump formed in Sebastian’s throat that he quickly swallowed down. “Okay, let’s do it.”

She gave him a peck then pushed him back so she could stand. With a crutch under each armpit, she flew towards the phone. As she turned the rotary dial, he recognized the similar pattern of his mom’s phone number.

While she chattered away, Sebastian grabbed a bowl of pumpkin soup. It was fresh from the container, so there should have been no opportunity for contamination, but a long white hair wound up in Sebastian’s mouth anyway.

The cat stared at him smugly from the kitchen sink. That would have to be another discussion, but not right now. He had to rebuild his stamina after one heart-to-heart. He was still learning.