Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

(Vent Time Fuckers)
2:23 AM

Emerald: fuck h*nry

Kunzite: Well... Yeah but why right now

Sodalite: did something happen?

Ruby: you okay Bo?

Emerald: no but wait a sec.

(Emerald changed Ruby's name to Mookaite)

Mookaite: ?

Emerald: forgot to do that

Emerald: anyway fuck h*nry

Kunzite: Annie what happened

Emerald: ok so context for joany

Sodalite: Okay?

Emerald: well i guess I never told anyone this but 

Emerald: i totally blanked out on the abuse from h*nry just suppressed the FUCK outta it

Emerald: then had a panic attack sometime after coming back and relieved it

Emerald: but BEFORE that i kept having vague nightmares where i felt like i was watching it happen to me but couldnt quite put together what happened

Sodalite: yikes

Emerald: so after the panic attack i would have nightmares where i like knew what was happening and jesus fucking christ

Emerald: then it stopped for a while

Kunzite: Are you reliving stuff again?

Emerald: yeah

Emerald: and so i keep waking up like “what the FUCK man” or “thats how i go that scar”

Emerald: but now i have the fun addition of the voices

Mookaite: oh fuck

Emerald: now im in a spiral of “well thats fucked up” to “well i deserve it” to “well THATS fucked up”

Emerald: but its usually manageable 

Sodalite: did smth change?

Emerald: YEAH

Emerald: because i just had a vivid dream and i just dont get it but the voices keep saying i should and i just am upset

Mookaite: get what?

Emerald: .

Kunzite: Anne if you don't tell us we can't help you

Emerald: why

Sodalite: why?

Emerald: why did he do that 

Mookaite: Bo...

Emerald: why did he hurt me even when i didnt hurt him

Emerald: why did he fight so fucking hard to get me then treat me like that

Emerald: no scratch that

Emerald: how come everyone treated me like that?

Emerald: it cant just be a coincidence 

Emerald: it had to be something i did 

Sodalite: Anne that's not how that works

Emerald: then how come my own fucking father only cared about me if I was giving him something

Mookaite: Anne...

Emerald: just what the fuck

Emerald: i dont get it

Kunzite: Annie... I don't know why people treated you like that

Kunzite: But we'll never know

Emerald: …

Kunzite: Why did I get raped by four whole all different people, blamed for it each time, then beheaded at the ripe old age of 19?

Sodalite: we all got treated like shit some more than others

Mookaite: I don't think there is a reason

Emerald: h*nry gave reasons sometimes

Kunzite: Do you mind saying what they were?

Emerald: well

Emerald: idrk if these count but like

Emerald: usually because i was being ‘rude’ or ‘annoying’ or ‘talking back’

Emerald: sometimes if i was sad he would get mad and ask if it was because of lina

Emerald: or if we were,,, I know doing that and i didnt seem.... into it he would be mad

Kunzite: I get that one

Kunzite: My abusers would be mad because it was selfish 

Mookaite: oh fuck that

Kunzite: Especially when they were doing something so special that no one else my age got to experience 

Sodalite: fuck them

Emerald: well that sucks

Kunzite: And it wasn't fair

Emerald: it wasnt fair

Mookaite: was anything that happened to us fair?

Sodalite: I don't think so

Emerald: emotions were dangerous back them

Sodalite: elaborate?

Emerald: being sad wasnt okay being happy was only okay if you didnt express it in an ‘unladylike’ way which is torture my adhd ass being scared was weakness 

Emerald: being mad at anyone with more power than you which was like everyone that actually made you mad just got you hurt

Kunzite: Oh shit you right

Mookaite: o h

Sodalite: well Goddamn

Emerald: and everything just sucks which would suck on its own but thinking i deserved it makes it suck more

Emerald: because im arguing with myself on whether or not i should exist??? idek what im supposed to do if i did deserve the abuse like

Emerald: wtf do u want

Kunzite: Wanna come to my room?

Sodalite: aren't you with Catherine?

Emerald: no not rn

Mookaite: why isn't Catherine with u

Emerald: i was having a bad day and i knew i would probably have nightmares but i didnt wanna have them in front of her

Emerald: always the voice said i shouldnt and i wouldnt be able to sleep if i did and i wanted to sleep

Mookaite: ah

Emerald: this is so much worse than before because now i know i shpuldnt be thinking like this so i hate myself for thinking like this and i hate myself for THAT

Sodalite: is there something we can do to help?

Emerald: i dont think theres anything to be done

Emerald: i mean i just have bad days sometimes

Emerald: i dont even care about the voice at this point its more the nightmare 

Emerald: because ive always had this scar on my hip and when lina pointed it out i said i didnt remember but she said, ”well it wasnt there in your past life or from childhood because this is the first time ive seen it”

Mookaite: oh

Emerald: AND NOW I KNOW THAT FUCKING H*NRY WAS MAD AT ME FOR SMTH DUMB LIKE, ”oh you embarrassed me by being so loud and jumping around and stimming” AND I DIDNT JUST LAY DOWN AND TAKE IT

Sodalite: guessing he didn't like that?

Emerald: NO

Emerald: he hit me but fucking shocker i hit back and idek how it happened but he like shoved me into something and i got that scar

Emerald: then he called me stupid and left me there which sucked

Kunzite: Damn

Emerald: so now im mad at myself for not backing down and the voice just isnt helping in any way shape or form

Mookaite: you know that even if you didn't back down you still don't deserve it right?

Sodalite: fighting back against abuse isn't the same as abuse

Emerald: yeah yeah i know

Emerald: well part of me doesnt rly believe that but i know

Kunzite: If it helps I get the whole nightmare dream reliving thing 

Emerald: u do?

Kunzite: I repressed stuff

Kunzite: I mean it's scary to say no and it happen anyway especially if you thought they loved you

Emerald: yeah...

Mookaite: well fuck all of them

Sodalite: they're not here and we are

Kunzite: Yeah!!

Emerald: yeah...

Mookaite: Anne do you want to come to someone's room?

Kunzite: Or at least go get Catherine?

Emerald: no its just

Emerald: smth about that

Sodalite: that's vague

Emerald: are we sure theyre gone?

Kunzite: We've been here for over a year Anne of course we're sure

Emerald: h*nry came back

Emerald: he had other ppl with him

Emerald: i dont know what happened to them

Emerald: how do we know they arent back

Mookaite: they would've found us somehow

Kunzite: H*nry did

Sodalite: and if all of the shitty ones come back the good ones would too right?

Emerald: ig but

Emerald: what if they come back 

Emerald: because i dont think i could face my dad again

Kunzite: I don't think I could face them either

Sodalite: even if theyre back who cares

Mookaite: we got through h*nry

Sodalite: no matter what happens itll be okay

Kunzite: I hope

Emerald: point is

Emerald: fuck h*nry

Sodalite: is there something we can do

Mookaite: u wanna hang out in the living room

Emerald: sure

Kunzite: We're watching fucking Disney movies

Sodalite: bitch put on Mulan I'm coming 

Emerald: hell yeah

Emerald: wait joany are you really coming here

Sodalite: it isn't that far

Kunzite: I'll open the door when you get here

Sodalite: don't start without me

Mookaite: I'll make some fucking popcorn

Sodalite: oh hell yeahhh

Emerald: thanks guys

Mookaite: no problem

Sodalite: we love you Annie

Kunzite: <3

Emerald: ily guys 2

Emerald: now put on mulan you sappy fuckers

Sodalite: WAIT FOR ME

Chapter Text

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Anne grinned as she saw her cousin in the kitchen, holding a glass of water.

“Whoo!” Kat walked over, “Been a while since just the two of us hung out, huh?”

“Yeah...” Anne hummed, rubbing at her neck before promptly pulling it away. She took off her choker a while ago, which was nice, but she didn't want to accidentally scratch.

“Any thoughts, in particular, keeping you awake?” Kitty looked at her cousin.

“What isn't there to think about?” Anne bitterly joked, “Shitty childhoods, depression, losing Lina, abuse, dying, coming back, the Henry situation, depression again, then a suicide attempt in-” Anne blinked and looked at Kat, “How long have we been back?”

“Coming up on two years,” Kat hummed, before pausing, “I think. Damn. It really has been a lot.”

“There's been a lot of good, too,” Anne nodded, “I know there is. It's just hard to remember sometimes. You know?”

“I know,” Kat gave a soft smile, memories of her past temporarily flooding her mind. She shook her head, “What d'ya wanna watch, Annie?”

“Fine with anything,” Anne shrugged, “Although, there was that one show you were talking about, what was it... Kiro?”

“Kipo?” Kat smiled as Anne nodded, “Oh, yeah, that show is great! All three seasons are out and it isn't that long. I bet we could finish it by the morning.”

“Oh, fuck yeah!” Anne grinned, “Binge time!”

“I can't wait for you to cry at the ending like a baby!” Kat playfully teased, “It'll be hilarious.”

“No way,” Anne shook her head, “No way I cry at a show this short. What, three seasons with around ten episodes each?”

“I cried,” Kat reminded her.

“You cry at everything,” Anne rolled her eyes.

Kat jumped at her, laughing as the two of them fell onto the couch. Kat sat up and Anne handed her the remote.

“You feeling any better?” Kat hummed.

“Yeah,” Anne nodded, Kat smiling as she saw a genuine smile on her cousin's face, “I am. Thank you, Petit Chaton.”

“No problem, Annie,” Kat tapped her nose, giggling at the little noise of offense her cousin made, “It's what family does.”

“Does our family do this?” Anne questioned.

Kat looked down before deciding it didn't matter, “We're family and we do.”

“Good family does this,” Anne declared with a satisfied nod, “We're good family.”

“We're good family,” Kat repeated.

“I'm glad you're here, Kit,” Anne looked at her, “I'm sorry you had to be his wife and go through everything, but... But I'm glad that we're here. Together.”

“Me, too, Annie,” Kitty held out her hand, “I... I hope you know that no matter the bad, no matter how bad it gets, I'll be here until I'm dead. That is, if death sticks this time,” She added with a small smile.

The two of them laughed a little before Anne wrapped her arm around her, “I know, Kat. The same goes for me. I swear, I'll never let someone hurt you again.”

“You know, I can take care of myself,” Kat responded, her tone only half-joking, “I appreciate the care, but I'm not completely helpless.”

“I know,” Anne's voice was surprisingly soft and sincere, “I know you can. But I still want to stop anything bad from happening to you, Kit-Kat. It's my job as your older cousin.”

“I guess so,” Kat pressed herself closer to her, “But I'm gonna make sure you're safe, too.”

“If you need to,” Anne nodded, “I guess that's how it works, isn't it? We should protect each other.”

“Yeah,” Kit giggled, “Now enough of the sappy shit, we're watching Kipo!”

“Alright, alright!” Anne laughed and looked at the screen.

The two of them might not have had the best families, none of them did. But they were family. And they had each other, and that's all the really mattered, wasn't it?

They found themselves relieved that they got to be reincarnated and grew so close to each other. They were basically sisters at this point.

“Why the fuck is she pink?”

“You'll see~!”

“Kat, why the fuck is she pink?”

“Did I not just say, ‘You'll see?’ Annie?”

“Okay but she's literally you. You guys are the same person.”

“Wh- You know, what, I'm okay with it! I'll be a Kipo Kinnie.” Kat shot Anne a look.

“Well- Not what I expected, but okay!” The two of them began laughing before shushing each other and whispering.

The next morning, the others found them crying over the finale. Kat would be telling Anne, ‘I told you so!’ if she wasn't crying just as bad as Anne.

Chapter Text

(Queens)

KittyKatherine: Okay so

I<3Coffee: Kat please I beg you not to tell anyone else

I<3Coffee: I'm not ready for this discussion 

BeheadedBoleyn: bitch im scared

KittyKatherine: Araleyn as Catradora

PalaceInRichmond: fuck yes

BasicallyOurMum: Wait, who would be who?

GoldenQueen: Anne is a self-hating, self-sacrificial dumbass so Adora

BeheadedBoleyn: thanks love you too...

GoldenQueen: I mean that as a compliment 

BeheadedBoleyn: alr lina

GoldenQueen: I love you

BeheadedBoleyn: ily 2

BeheadedBoleyn: anyway parrward is glimbow

KittyKatherine: Y E S

I<3Coffee: CLEVEMOUR IS SCORFUMA

PalaceInRichmond: Jane being Perfuma of course

BasicallyOurMum: Oh, okay! Would that make Anna Scorpia?

BeheadedBoleyn: lina would be catra

KittyKatherine: Damn she'd try to kill you like five times then

BeheadedBoleyn: hot

GoldenQueen: Wait but that confession scene would hurt

BeheadedBoleyn: oh fuck i would almost be dead

BeheadedBoleyn: i mean thats happened like three times before not that big of a deal

KittyKatharine: Well shit you're not wrong

BasicallyOurMum: Would that mean Anna would have a crush on Catherine?

PalaceInRichmond: we're cutting that out

GoldenQueen: Agreed

BeheadedBoleyn: who would be glimmer and who would be bow

I<3Coffee: I'm going to hesitantly give Kat Glimmer as I am more responsible and would therefore be the Bow

BeheadedBoleyn: does that mean kat would be siding with my abuser over me

KittyKatharine: I-

PalaceInRichmond: mm

I<3Coffee: Fuck

BasicallyOurMum: Oh.

BeheadedBoleyn: yeah alr my bad i probably shouldnt have said that

BeheadedBoleyn: i know you wouldnt do that in real life KitKat

KittyKatherine: I forgive you but only because of the rare capitalization

BeheadedBoleyn: n i c e

KittyKatherine: :)

BeheadedBoleyn: :)

GoldenQueen: Wait this means that Anna would be a villain with me

PalaceInRichmond: oh fuck yes

PalaceInRichmond: we would totally dominate them

BeheadedBoleyn: lina dominates me anyway so

GoldenQueen: Not reacting to that

KittyKatherine: I AM WHAT THE F U C K ANNE

(I<3Coffee left Queens)

(PalaceInRichmond re-added I<3Coffee to Queens)

PalaceInRichmond: we suffer together bitch

BeheadedBoleyn: sorry

BeheadedBoleyn: a n y w a y  anna and lina villain team up

BasicallyOurMum: Wait, the mind-control arc.

BeheadedBoleyn: HOLY FUCK LINA WOULD GET MIND CONTROLLED

KittyKatherine: SO WOULD ANNA

BasicallyOurMum: I wouldn't give up on Anna, either.

PalaceInRichmond: I love you but shut the fuck up and run from me bitch you're gonna die

BasicallyOurMum: Wha- Scorpia didn't kill Perfuma!

PalaceInRichmond: okay but in this scenario you would probably die and I wouldn't be able to deal with the guilt from that

BeheadedBoleyn: damn i wouldnt be able to deal with the like five seconds lina dies in that one scene

GoldenQueen: I wouldn't be able to deal with any of this

KittyKatherine: This wouldn't be that fun, would it?

I<3Coffee: We would win in the end

BeheadedBoleyn: yeah but damn the ptsd would sucks

I<3Coffee: We already have PTSD that sucks

GoldenQueen: You're not wrong

KittyKatherine: Fair point

BasicallyOurMum: I think we would actually have less PTSD in this story.

PalaceInRichmond: well if we follow the characters no rape which is a big one

KittyKatherine: No suicide attempt either

BeheadedBoleyn: doesnt catra try to kill herself like a million times

KittyKatherine: Well,,, kinda?

I<3Coffee: It's not the same but it is pretty traumatic

GoldenQueen: No Anne suicide attempt?

BeheadedBoleyn: ok but lina suicide attempt would be a million times worse

GoldenQueen: Debatable but you have a point

BasicallyOurMum: H*nry wouldn't exist, which is a plus.

PalaceInRichmond: nah he's definitely Horde Prime

BeheadedBoleyn: oh i would be so pissed is h*nry mind controlled my gf

KittyKatherine: WAIT GUYS GUYS CATHERINE IS A CATGIRL

PalaceInRichmond: WHEEEZE

GoldenQueen: Oh fuck

I<3Coffee: Catgirl!Aragon

BasicallyOurMum: Oh, God...

BeheadedBoleyn: but the haircut,,,,

KittyKatherine: Cathy would be having abs out all the time

I<3Coffee: The outfits are so good

KittyKatherine: WAIT I COULD FUCKING TELEPORT

BeheadedBoleyn: I CAN TURN INTO A VERY TALL WOMAN

GoldenQueen: Hot

BasicallyOurMum: I can control plants!

PalaceInRichmond: the second I get powers everything goes to even more shit!

BeheadedBoleyn: WHOO!

GoldenQueen: Well damn Anne would almost die in my arms

BeheadedBoleyn: eh im sure thatll happen eventually 

KittyKatherine: Please don't jinx it Annie

I<3Coffee: Watch Anne dead-ass die tomorrow, in Catherine's arms, because of this

BasicallyOurMum: I would tell this story at her funeral.

PalaceInRichmond: I would say, “Anne was my best friend and I love her” and cry and shit and then be like, “Anyway, this dumb bitch really said, ‘Eh I'm sure that'll happen eventually!’ and expected not to die.”

GoldenQueen: I would be crying because my fucking girlfriend would be dead what the Hell guys

BeheadedBoleyn: yeah what the fuck wouldnt you mourn me

KittyKatherine: Obviously but only after we make fun of you for this conversation 

BeheadedBoleyn: fuck all of you im gonna live just because you said all of this

GoldenQueen: And because you just wanna live right?

BeheadedBoleyn: oh uh that too

KittyKatherine: A n n i e  n o

PalaceInRichmond: you know we were joking right 

BeheadedBoleyn: ofc ofc i am too i do wanna live

BasicallyOurMum: Good.

I<3Coffee: Well what other major plot points are there?

BeheadedBoleyn: me leaving the horde and lina being sad before meeting anna and they bond some

PalaceInRichmond: in a platonic way in our version 

GoldenQueen: Anne meets Kat and Cathy

BeheadedBoleyn: fuck yeah

KittyKatherine: Teleportation time bitches

I<3Coffee: The next big thing would be Catherine kidnapping Kat and I

KittyKatherine: Oh my teleportation powers are gone :/

BeheadedBoleyn: i save yall cause im amazing

GoldenQueen: And I let you guys go but yes you are amazing 

PalaceInRichmond: and then Aragon leaves you for dead after you guys go through a bunch of memories

BeheadedBoleyn: o.....oh......

GoldenQueen: Well shoot

GoldenQueen: “Do you promise?”

BeheadedBoleyn: “I promise.”

GoldenQueen: Yeah well wHERE WAS THAT PROMISE WHEN YOU LEFT ME IN THE HORDE

BeheadedBoleyn: BITCH COME WITH ME

GoldenQueen: I'm Catra in the scenario I can't make good decisions

KittyKatherine: That's it that's the show

BasicallyOurMum: Then, there's the portal plotline.

GoldenQueen: Anne punches me

BeheadedBoleyn: after you open a portal to an interdimensional reality you fuck

KittyKatharine: OH MY MOM IS GONNA DIE

KittyKatherine: Actually that happened anyway so

BeheadedBoleyn: rip

GoldenQueen: I spiral and treat Anna like shit

PalaceInRichmond: so I say, “fuck this shit I'm out” and join you guys

PalaceInRichmond: and I meet Janey!

BasicallyOurMum: Yeah!

KittyKatherine: And I get fucking kidnapped by h*nry

KittyKatherine: Again not too far off from what actually happened

BeheadedBoleyn: lina saves you

GoldenQueen: Yeah don't worry I try to sacrifice myself

BeheadedBoleyn: but i save you like the dumbass i am

GoldenQueen: And I get mind-controlled and almost kill Anne being almost dying

BeheadedBoleyn: buT I SAVE YOU

I<3Coffee: AND THEN WE'RE ALL GAY

BasicallyOurMum: And we save the world!

BasicallyOurMum: After saving all of the people who were chipped.

PalaceInRichmond: wait

I<3Coffee: What?

PalaceInRichmond: wait we need to talk about how this mean Aragon is a catgirl more we totally just brushed over that

BeheadedBoleyn: oh yeah IM DATING A CATGIRL

GoldenQueen: F U C K

BasicallyOurMum: Oh, God.

BeheadedBoleyn: CATherine

(I<3Coffee changed “GoldenQueen” to “CatgirlCATherine”)

CatgirlCATherine: Change it the fuck back Cathy or so help me

KittyKatherine: WHEEEEZE

BasicallyOurMum: This is a very bad idea.

BeheadedBoleyn: no no please keep it

CatgirlCATherine: I love you but no

(CatgirlCATherine changed their name to “GoldenQueen”)

I<3Coffee: Damn

GoldenQueen: There

BasicallyOurMum: Okay, we're good again!

PalaceInRichmond: I will forever remember CatgirlCATherine

BeheadedBoleyn: me too

KittyKatherine: Fuck that I'm calling her CatgirlCATherine at least once a week

BeheadedBoleyn: n  i  c  e

GoldenQueen: God fucking dammit

Chapter Text

This thing started innocent enough. Anne yelling at Anna about toothpaste in her Oreos before Anna yelled at Anne about a water bucket on the door.

Then, after days of back-and-forth, Jane accidentally got caught up in it. Kat thought Anna was gonna murder Anne when Jane walked into the living room, covered in fucking honey (Anne never explained how she managed to get her hands on so much honey and sat that whole thing up with no one noticing.)

Anne immediately jumped behind the counter, yelling, “THAT WAS MEANT FOR ANNA, THAT WAS MEANT FOR ANNA-”

“I JUST TOOK A SHOWER, ANNE!”

“I KNOW THAT, JANE, I JUST REALIZED I SHOULD WARN YOU TOO LATE!”

“NO SHIT, ANNE!”

It was then Anna had walked in, taking one look at the room, Cathy and Kat on the couch while Anne was hiding in the kitchen and Jane was cursing, and realizing what happened. 

Anne gave a small, nervous, laugh, “A-Anna, I swear, it-”

“Did you prank my girlfriend?” Anna's voice was terrifyingly even.

“...” Anne blinked and mumbled, “On accident?”

“You BITC-” Anna lunged forward, Anne yelping and further crouching behind the counter, being held back by Kat and Cathy.

“NO, ANNA, PLEASE!”

“Hey,” Kat looked at Anna, voice stern, “Take a fucking breath, okay? Don't be so damn violent.”

Anna opened her mouth before wincing as the realization hit her. She sighed and looked down, “Sorry, Anne... You know I wouldn't really hurt you, right?”

“‘Course,” Anne gave a nod of affirmation, though still hiding behind the counter. At this point, it seemed like she was doing it as a joke and not out of actual fear.

Anna nodded back, “Cool. Now, why the FUCK is my girlfriend covered in honey?!”

“What the Hell is going on?!” Maggie stormed in, the other four behind her.

Catherine winced as she saw Jane, “Oh, Bo, please tell me you didn't...” Catherine looked at Anne

“It was an accident!” Anne yelled, “For the millionth time, I didn't mean to dump honey on Jane, just Anna!”

“This is gonna be such a pain to get out!” Jane snapped.

“Well, you did it,” Joan joked, “You made Jane snap for the third time in her life.”

After they all calmed down, Maria suggested they work it out in a fair, productive way.

“TWO TEAM PRANK WAR!” Maggie called out.

“Not at all what I meant,” Maria sighed.

“YES!” Anne grinned, “I am the head of one team and Anna is the head of the other.”

“I'm picking first!” Anna raised her hand.

“Do we get a say in this?” Joan asked.

“No,” Anna smiled, “I pick Janey!”

Anna and Jane stepped to one side of the room while Anne stepped to the other, the kitchen.

“I pick...” Anne hummed, “Kitty.”

“Hey!” Catherine glared at her while Kat excitedly ran over.

“I love you, Lina, but Kat is my Prank Protege!” Anne explained, “I have to pick her! I'll pick you next.”

“Then I choose Aragon!” Anna smirked.

“Wh- H-” Anne glanced around, “Lina!”

“Sorry, Anne, you had your chance,” Catherine shrugged and walked over to her, “Besides, I don't have a choice in this.”

Anne huffed, “W-Well... I choose Maggie!”

Maggie shrugged and walked over, “Alright.”

“I choose Bessie!” Anna pointed at Bessie, who mumbled something under her breath and walked over.

“I choose Joany!” Anne nodded. Joan rolled her eyes and joined them.

“I pick...” Anna hummed, “I will pick Cathy.”

“No!” Kat whined, “I wanted her to be on our team.”

“It's fine, we'll still hang out, Kit,” Cathy assured, “This whole thing is beyond stupid anyway.”

“And I guess I'm with Anne,” Maria walked over to them and sighed, “Can I say one last time this was a bad idea?”

“We're aware,” Anne reassured her, “Now! I'm taking my team outside for strategy planning shit! Come along, Team- Team... We need Team Names.”

“What about Green and Red?” Cathy suggested, “Just to keep it simple.”

“Boring, but I have no alternatives,” Anna nodded, “Red Team Away!”

“Come along, Team Green!” Anne grinned and the two parties went their separate ways.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next couple of days were chaos.

Water buckets were set up on almost every door all the time, half of the cups were glued to tables, people's things were going missing and popping up in the most random, annoying places.

Though they weren't all exactly excited for this whole thing, everyone was surprisingly getting competitive. 

Kat and Cathy still shared a room, obviously, but there was a lot of teasing and playful arguments between them now. Hell, the two of them even joked about how they were like Romeo and Juliet until Joan reminded that how that story ended.

Anne stayed one night away from Catherine, in the name of ‘War’ but went back midway through the second night because she missed her.

Jane and Anna were on the same team, which they were both thankful for, so they were the only couple completely unphased.

At some point, Maria actually set up a prank on Cathy, independently.

On the second night, Cathy hadn't been able to sleep because of some clicking noise. She couldn't find the source no matter how hard she searched. How Kat managed to sleep through this was beyond her. At some point, she left a note for Kat, explaining why she had left, and went to her own room.

The next morning, Cathy was complaining about it and noticed the smug look that Maria had. She didn't say anything until a little outburst from Kat made everything you.

“Wait, is that way Maria told me to wear earplugs?!”

Cathy turned to Maria, who burst out laughing and snapped. She was exhausted and this was beyond frustrating.

“WHAT THE FUCK, MARIA?!” She shot Anne a look, “DID YOU PUT HER UP TO THIS?!”

“N-No!” Anne yelled, “I don't know shit about this.”

“I did it on my own, Parr, calm down,” Maria rolled her eyes, “I thought this whole thing seemed fun and decided to try it out. Didn't expect it to be so... Effective.”

“Oooh,” Joan and Maggie said, simultaneously.

Cathy glared at her a whispered, “Oh, you have no idea what you just started, De Salinas.”

“Oop-” Kat took a step closer to Anne.

Maria went through the day genuinely terrified. She stayed in the living room, leaving only to go to the bathroom. 

It was pretty late when she figured it wouldn't happen that day. She went to get a drink. She pulled out some pink lemonade- it was Kat's favorite drink, Cathy wouldn't dare mess with it- and poured a drink.

She took a sip and an overwhelmingly salty taste hit her tongue.

She spat it out and yelled, “GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, PARR!”

Cathy ran out with a grin on her face, Kat tiredly following.

“I TOLD YOU I WOULD GET YOU!” Cathy looked at her, everyone else coming out, looking just as tired at Kat.

“You messed with Kat's favorite drink just to get back at me?!” She demanded, noticing Kat stiffen.

“The pink lemonade...?” She looked at Cathy.

“I'll get you more tomorrow,” Cathy shrugged, “Besides, we're on opposite teams, Kit. All is fair in love and war.”

Cathy was too tired and proud over her win to notice that Kat was genuinely upset and Kat didn't actually voice or express it that much.

That night, Kat slept in her own room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It only went downhill from there.

After a full week of all of them staying at the same house, they were getting antsy and it was getting a little less fun.

People would push doors open without stepping underneath to make sure it was safe, double-check snacks like Oreos or chips.

They were all losing sleep at this point. And even more tensions were rising.

Anne and Catherine had stopped sleeping in the same room when Catherine sided with Cathy in the whole “Pink Lemonade” situation. Instead, Anne and Kat stayed in the same room. Catherine and Cathy began staying in the same room as well.

After Anna, somehow, managed to set up a little bucket trick in Anne's room and got her covered in spaghetti sauce, which she knew she hated, Anne was genuinely pissed.

“FUCK!” Anne's voice echoed through the house and everyone internally groaned before going to check it out, finding Anne and Anna outside of Anne's room.

“HA!” Anna was gloating, “Now you how Jane felt!” Jane couldn't help but let out a laugh.

“You know for a fact that this texture makes me want to peel my fucking skin off!” Anne was screaming at this point, it wasn't a joking, playful tease anymore, “YOU KNOW THAT, ANNA!”

“Just wash it off!” Anna huffed, “I'll clean up the mess and you can just take a shower.”

Anne just stared at her before storming off, mumbling, “Fuck you...”

They were all left with a bad taste in their mouth at that. 

“Maybe fucking with a sensory thing wasn't the best idea,” Kat shot Anna a look, who shrunk a little.

“Maybe this whole thing wasn't the best idea,” Maggie walked away.

Jane, Anna, and Catherine cleaned up the mess while the others went on with their day. Even when Anne had taken a shower and seemed fine, there was an air of uneasiness...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kat just... Wasn't feeling okay.

Today was an especially sensory-sensitive day and everything that happened with Anne... This whole thing had gotten wildly out of hand.

She would probably bring it up tomorrow, but it was late and she was exhausted and all she wanted was a quick drink of pink lemonade.

Kat hummed as she pulled the carton out of the fridge. She poured it into a pink cup and pulled out her favorite silly straw, the one that formed a circle had tiny cat ears.

She giggled to herself before taking a small sip. When the drink hit her tongue, she felt all of her senses seem to shut down and spike at the same time.

It was salty.

She stumbled back and spat it out. Oh. Oh, yeah. It was still laced from the prank on Maria. Cathy... Didn't replace it?

No. No, Cathy would definitely replace it. Cathy cared about her, she had to have replaced it. She said she would, she...

Kat walked over to the fridge and opened it- Stop shaking so much, Kat- praying there would be another carton of pink lemonade in there.

Oh.

Oh, thank fucking God, there was.

She just grabbed the wrong one.

She pulled out the new carton and set it on the counter. She poured out the cup and ran water through the straw.

She poured it in and hesitantly took a sip, a weight falling from her shoulders as it was just pink lemonade.

“Hey, Kitty,” Cathy nodded as she walked out before stiffening, “Shit, did you grab the right carton, beca-”

“Don't worry,” Kat nodded, leaning against the counter as she fiddled with the straw, “I got the right one the second time.”

“I'm so sorry,” Cathy walked forward, “I completely forgot to throw out the old one... I shouldn't have messed with it in the first place.”

“You probably shouldn't have,” She hummed, “But I don't think we should've done half the things we did.”

“This was fun for a couple of days,” Cathy sighed, “It isn't anymore, is it?”

“I think even Anne is tired of it,” Kat looked at her, “She was so excited at the beginning, planning pranks. You know, she told me she didn't want to push anyone's buttons like she did with Jane at the beginning of this?”

“Anna very specifically wanted to press buttons,” Cathy recalled, “But she never meant to hurt anyone and made a point to remind us not to be aggressive and to keep the teasing playful and insults at a minimum.”

“How did it get so fucking messy?” Kat took another sip, “I mean... It shouldn't have gotten like this.”

“I guess throwing ten people with trauma in a house and making a hostile environment where the goal is to do things that agitate people wasn't a good idea,” Cathy dead-panned, “Who would've thought...?”

“That's a fair point,” Kat gave a bitter laugh, “I mean, the yelling was okay, at first, but now I can't tell when people are joking or not.”

“We've all been taking this way too far,” Cathy leaned against the front side of the counter, “We need to talk about this. We didn't set up nearly enough boundaries or take breaks in-between and we all ended up agitated and stressed, which led to the aggression we were trying to avoid in the first place.”

“We should've talked about this days ago,” Kat sighed and walked over to Cathy, “I... I'm sorry for the part I played in this whole thing.”

“I'm sorry, too,” Cathy held out her hand, which Kat gladly took.

Their moment was interrupted by a shout from Anna.

“ANNE, GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!”

They both let out noises of frustration and ran over.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Anne, what the fuck?” A sopping wet Anna demanded. 

“Uh...” Anne blinked, “Yeah?”

“Why did you set up a water bucket in the laundry room?!” Anna snapped, gesturing to the bucket by the laundry room, “You knew that I had promised to clean up your clothes after the whole sauce shit- I was trying to help you and you pull this?!”

“I didn't do that!” Anne defended herself, “I don't even want to do this fucking Prank War anymore!”

“Bullshit, why else would there just so happen to be the same prank I pulled on you in there?!” Anna took a step forward, “Fuck, Anne, I was trying to end this whole thing!”

“I wanna end it, too-”

“THEN WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!”

“Anna, it's just water,” Maggie groaned, clearly just as done with this entire thing as everyone else was.

“It's what it represents!” Anna argued, “I was trying to fix this entire thing and Anne treats it as a way to get back at me!”

“I told you I didn't do it, dipshit!” Anne fired back, rubbing her eyes, “Just wait for everyone else to get here and let's talk-”

“I wanted to talk and you did this!” Anna gestured to herself.

“I DIDN'T DO IT!”

“THEN WHO DID?!”

“I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT WASN'T ME!”

“Guys-” Catherine sighed.

“I STILL CALL BULLSHIT, ANNE!”

“GOOD FOR YOU, BITCH, I DIDN'T DO IT!”

“I wanted to make up with, but noooo!” Anna gestured with her arms, “Anne just had to make it DIFFICULT!”

At this point, they were all beyond exhausted. None of them had gotten a good sleep for a few days and all of the ‘pranks’ weren't feeling like simple little ‘pranks’ anymore.

“I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T DO IT, HEN-”

Anne stopped and they all froze. Anna stepped back as the realization hit her. Anne blinked, surprised by her own words. The others all glanced at each other, no one knew what to say.

“I-I did it,” Joan spoke up, “I planet the bucket in the laundry room, like, two days ago... I guess no one went in until now.”

“Oh, fuck, Anne...” Anna reached out only to hastily pull her hand back, “I-I'm sorry, I-” Anne cut herself off and looked down, guilt overwhelming her.

“I was telling the truth,” Anne mumbled, feeling both confused and tired.

“You were telling the truth,” Anna dully repeated.

“I think we all need a break,” Jane stepped in-between them, “To calm down and get some rest.”

The others agreed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In the morning, the ten of them gathered in the living room to talk.

“So,” Cathy began, “This needs to stop.”

Everyone else mumbled in agreement.

“I think we all owe each other an apology,” Kat continued, “We... We all got carried away.”

“I'm sorry for starting this whole thing,” Anne mumbled, “I probably shouldn't have done that honey thing.”

“I shouldn't have reacted at all the way I did,” Anna looked at her, “Especially last night, I-I took it way too far.”

“If I was in your shoes, I would've been passed, too,” Anne reassured her, “And, I honest to God don't know why I said Henry. I wasn't having PTSD or getting extra anxious. I think saying his name is just an immediate reaction to being called a liar when I'm not lying.” She winced and gave a small laugh, “That doesn't make this sound better, does it?”

“Regardless, I'm sorry and I shouldn't have done it,” Anna sighed.

“I'm sorry for my part and I forgive you,” Anne smiled.

“I totally pushed Cathy way too hard,” Maria nervously rubbed her neck, “Messing with your already fragile and non-existent sleep schedule probably wasn't fun. I'm sorry.”

“I forgive you, and I'm sorry for the way I reacted,” Cathy nodded, “I should've just talked with you about how that was genuinely upsetting to me instead of hurting you, and Kat in the process.”

“I forgive you.”

After that, they all took turns apologizing and forgiving each other. 

“So... If we were to ever try this again... What would we do?” Bessie prompted, “To make sure that this didn't happen.”

“Set up boundaries,” Joan nodded, “I mean, what types of pranks are and aren't okay.”

“And space it out,” Maggie added, “I would be fine with a lot of these if it wasn't hit after hit.”

“Honestly, all of the arguing quickly turned from entertaining teasing to stressful fighting,” Jane agreed, “We were all getting snappy, myself included, and it stopped being fun.”

“We would probably have to take full breaks in-between if it's gonna last for than a few days and involving so many people,” Anne hummed, “When it was just me and Anna, it was just us and everyone else was there to make sure nothing got out of hand.”

“Maybe two people should sit out as mediators,” Catherine suggested, “To go through the prank ideas and make sure it's okay or to handle any arguments?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!” Kat smiled, “Are we all okay now?”

After confirmation from everyone, Anna leaned against Jane, “Now what?”

“We could always go to our default movie night-” Anne hummed, “Day? Whatever.”

“I'm making popcorn,” Joan stood up.

“I'll help!” Kat ran after her, “Cathy, Catherine, blankets?”

“Alright,” Catherine stood up and the two of them went to get blankets.

“Maggie and I will grab the candy!” Anne jumped up, “The rest of you decide on a show or movie or whatever!”

After around ten minutes, they settled on a movie and all cuddled up together, previous tensions gone. This was nice.

No matter what, they would always make up. Sure, fights were inevitable, but that was just was family did. And family also forgave.

Chapter Text

(FlowerVents)
5:23 AM

Azaleas: Hey, this is out of nowhere but...

Azaleas: Is it normal to miss people who hurt you?

Magnolia: Well... I believe so

Lavender: Even if they hurt you, you can still love them

Begonia: Just to be clear is this about H*nry? You don't have to say if you don't want to

Azaleas: No, it's about him.

Begonia: We need another name to call him

Lavender: How about a flower? We have flowers

Magnolia: What would be a good flower for him?

Begonia: Petunia.

Azaleas: That was a very fast reaction.

Begonia: It means anger and resentment.

Azaleas: Fair.

Azaleas: It is about Petunia, though.

Azaleas: I know he was a horrible person, I know that, but it wasn't a complete lie when I was saying how great he could be in the musical.

Magnolia: He could be great to me too

Magnolia: I mean we were both young and I was stupid and he was charming

Magnolia: Then he divorced me

Lavender: And locked you up and didn't let anyone see you that was fucked up

Begonia: He was a shitty person

Azaleas: I know...

Magnolia: But sometimes he was nice

Azaleas: Sometimes, he gave me things and showered me in compliments and gifts, and he was great.

Lavender: I remember that

Lavender: He was great when he wasn't being a dick

Azaleas: And that's the thing. He was also a massive dick.

Magnolia: The biggest

Begonia: Most definitely a dick

Azaleas: He hurt me and all of you guys! A lot of times!

Azaleas: So why do I miss him?

Magnolia: Well... How often and how much do you miss him?

Azaleas: Not all of the time. It's pretty rare, actually.

Azaleas: For some reason, though, I just... I want to be with him again?

Azaleas: Not really, no. No, if he popped up today, I wouldn't go with him.

Lavender: If he popped up again I would be pissed

Azaleas: I don't think I love him...

Azaleas: No, no, I'm sure that I don't love him. I don't think I can love him.

Azaleas: And I don't know why I miss him, but I do.

Magnolia: What do you miss about him?

Magnolia: This isn't meant as an insult it's a genuine question 

Magnolia: What is it that he did that you miss?

Azaleas: I... I don't know. Maybe it was the nice moments.

Azaleas: They were few and far between, but they were there, you know? And I never got positive attention from anyone else back then. No one else could give me as much as him, either.

Magnolia: He was the king.

Begonia: He had more money, power, and status than anyone else

Azaleas: I know that he was a bad person. I know he was... But he could be so nice. He could be so sweet and caring.

Lavender: Maybe you don't miss him you just miss that

Lavender: You miss the positive attention

Azaleas: Well, I guess that makes sense.

Azaleas: I have plenty of positive attention, though.

Begonia: Well here's the thing

Magnolia: She's totally about to infodump on us just stay quiet and let her do her thing

Begonia: Whether or not he was a good person, he was a big and important part of your life. It makes sense that you're gonna think of him

Azaleas: Okay...

Begonia: The reason that you miss him is because you miss the good feelings that you would sometimes get. 

Begonia: Your brain does what it has to to make you feel good in the moment

Azaleas: Okay, but this isn't making me feel good.

Azaleas: Missing him isn't helping the situation. Maybe a second or so of, “Well, that was nice when he did that.” before I remember everything else he did.

Begonia: Your brain doesn't know that

Begonia: All your brain can think is, “Sad feelings? Well remember those happy times??” in an attempt for dopamine and happy chemicals

Lavender: Which leaves the question

Magnolia: Jane, have you been feeling sad recently?

Azaleas: Well... I suppose so.

Azaleas: I don't know.

Azaleas: I have no reason to and it's nothing worse than I've felt before.

Begonia: That doesn't mean that you can't feel sad Jane

Azaleas: I know, I know, I just...

Azaleas: Maybe I don't know.

Lavender: Okay so you're remembering when Petunia doted on you right? And you're missing that?

Azaleas: Yeah, I think.

Lavender: Maybe you're feeling unloved or neglected and you're craving attention 

Azaleas: No one's been neglecting me, though.

Begonia: That doesn't mean you can't feel neglected or need affection 

Azaleas: I don't have a reason, though.

Magnolia: Okay here let me ask Anne something 

Begonia: What

Magnolia: Okay so

Magnolia: Sometimes Anne is feeling down

Magnolia: There's no particular reason and everything is going good 

Magnolia: But she's just feeling bad

Azaleas: Okay...

Magnolia: When she is, she'll ask me if I love her or ask me to tell her I still want her

Magnolia: She needs reassurance

Begonia: Oh

Magnolia: Don't worry she's doing a lot better and she said I could say it

Magnolia: But just because she has no reason, does that mean she can't feel sad?

Azaleas: Of course, not!

Azaleas: I see your point.

Lavender: Maybe you should talk to Anna about this

Magnolia: If you need affection or reassurance just ask

Begonia: If you're not comfortable you can try asking just one person you feel comfortable around

Begonia: But know that we won't judge you or think you're selfish or annoying if you need affection

Azaleas: Thank you, guys.

Azaleas: This really helped.

Magnolia: No problem

Lavender: You would do the same for ha

Begonia: Hell you do the same for us all of the time

Azaleas: I still appreciate it.

Azaleas: I love you guys, and a lot more than I've ever really loved Petunia.

Azaleas: I'll start talking to Anna about it.

Lavender: If you ever need anything else we're always here!

Magnolia: Yeah

Azaleas: I know. Thank you!

Begonia: No problem

Lavender: Good luck talking to Anna!

Magnolia: Love you, Jane

Azaleas: <3

Chapter Text

The Queens had some very strange habits. Not ‘chewing your nails’ or ‘twirling your hair’ kind of habits, more ‘leaving the room when someone gets loud’ or ‘staying quiet to stay safe’ kind of habits.

It was common to see someone getting a drink at 3 am or knocking at your door for comfort.

Nightmares were usually the cause of this, and they all reacted differently.

Catherine would wake up in the middle of the night, a shooting pain in her chest, and pull Anne just a little bit closer or even wake her up if it was that bad. Some days, she would just look exhausted from not being able to get sleep.

Anne didn't wake up screaming nearly as much, but she still had nightmares, and a whole new brand. She usually went to Catherine or Kitty. Her neck was always still red in the morning, other than the one or two times they managed to get to her before she could scratch it.

Jane never really trashed it screamed. It was usually quiet sobbing or shaking. She rarely ever reached out for help, but ever since her and Anna started sharing a room, it was better. Anna would wake her up and make sure she was honest about how she was feeling.

Anna was similar to Jane, she never woke up screaming. Hell, she usually didn't wake up in the middle of the night because of her nightmares. After a night of whatever her mind decided to torment her with then, she woke up to an alarm or someone else waking her up and went on with her day.

Kat was similar to Anne, not waking up screaming as much, but still having horrible nightmares. A lot of times, the only thing there was to do was to let her calm down, as touch didn't really help. She openly had nightmares way more than the others, not feeling the need to hide them.

Cathy, on the other hand, was similar to Anna. Her nightmares were memory and guilt-based and didn't wake her up in the middle of the night. Unlike Anna, though, when she woke up, she usually needed some time to calm down and, on rare occasions, would just start crying.

They had been learning how to deal with it, together and on their own. Their nightmares would usually fade until they were given some new traumatic thing to get nightmares about.

There were rarer habits, new habits.

Catherine never really cried, but sometimes, she would get overwhelmed or need a second. She began to just step away or gently poke Anne and gesture away if she was embarrassed about it. Anne would lie and say that she needed a sensory break and take Catherine with her so she could calm down.

Sometimes, Anne would walk into someone's room and hand them a blade, usually a small razor, before walking out. There were times she would go over to someone and ask them to make sure she ate. There had been a couple of times she would downright ask for affection or ask for a distraction from the voices.

Jane usually went to Anna for affection, but on rare occasions when Anna wasn't around or Jane had the confidence, she would ask someone else. They were obviously fine giving it to her, which she was glad for. There were also a couple times she would leave the room when there was an argument, no matter how sincere or joking it was.

Anna was still very hesitant to show her emotions. She would usually stay quiet or play it off with jokes when she was nervous or her anxiety was getting bad. There had been a couple times when she started shaking and asked Jane for a hug to help her calm down.

Kat was usually fine showing her emotions, why wouldn't she be? She knew the Queens well. There were, however, a couple little quirks she had only done a few times. Sometimes, she would ask the others, usually Anne, how they were doing and if they had eaten enough today, drank enough water, taken care of themselves. This came from the trauma of almost losing Anne, she was still terrified that someone else like that.

Cathy was like Anna, but she had shown her vulnerabilities more often than her. So far, it was just select times when they had all broken, or to Kat. Though, there were a few times that she had opened up to Anne of their now almost daily rooftop routines.

They had plenty of bad habits that formed. But they also had a lot of good habits.

They had picked up on the fact that they weren't great at talking about things, so they would check up on each other.

They had learned how to deal with each other, even if they didn't know everything.

There were times when they would assure Catherine that they wouldn't kick her out or that they loved her if she seemed a little off. Or asked her if she needed a break or just reassure her that she could talk to them.

If Anne seemed quiet or someone noticed she was scratching at her scar or arms, they would talk to her and ask what they could do or try and cheer her up. Cathy had sent them plenty of articles about how to help with it.

When Jane seemed anxious or flighty about every little mistake, they would mention that mistakes were part of being human or make sure not to raise their voice and keep their tone soft and just help her clean up.

They would all shower Anna in compliments or ask her if she wanted to go on a walk or do something when she seemed to be dissociating or just seemed off.

If Kat seemed jumpy or quiet, they would ask her what was wrong or make sure not to touch her. Anne and Cathy would give her their stimmmy toys or ask her if she wanted to go take a sensory break.

When Cathy looked exhausted and was on her 5th cup of coffee in an hour, someone would recommend she sleep or give her something healthy, something other than coffee to help.

Sure, they had some bad formed some habits in their new life, but, they also had a lot of good ones and there was always someone there to help with those bad habits.

Besides, this life was way better than their old one, habits or not. That wasn't even debatable.

So... Habits. The Queens had some very strange ones, but, considering all they went through, they made sense

Chapter Text

They had been talking about going up to the snow for a while, and finally decided to do it, very spontaneously.

Jane, Kat, and Anna were in the living room, watching TV, when Anne ran in, Catherine following.

“GUYS!” Anne yelled.

“Anne, please-” Catherine sighed.

“GUYS!” Anne looked at them, “WE NEED TO DRIVE UP TO THE MOUNTAINS AND GO TO THE SNOW!”

“What?” Jane tilted her head.

“There was a big blizzard and now it's calmed down and the snow is so high and fresh and we need to go!” Anne said, all in one breath.

Kat hummed, “That does sound cool, but d-”

“No buts we have to go!” Anne whined, “We've been saying that we'll go forever and making excuses, we have to go!”

“Anne, if the others don't want to go now, we can do it another time,” Catherine looked at her, “Besides, there was just a blizzard, who's to say there won't be another one while we're going up there?”

Anne opened her mouth before looking down, “Yeah, yeah, alright. I guess we'll go another time.”

Kat and Jane glanced at each other. After a few seconds, Jane sighed and gave a small smile, “Well, what's the worst that could happen if we go? Wh-”

Anne immediately tackle-hugged her, yelling, “MÈRE! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!”

“Ow-” Jane gently shoved her away, laughing, “Don't kill me, ma fille!”

Anne pulled away and gave a nervous giggle, “Sorry!”

“I'm gonna go get Anna and Cathy,” Kat stood up and walked away.

“I'll get the car ready, you two get snacks,” Catherine nodded before walking away.

Anne jumped up, “Okay! What snacks do you want?”

“How long is the drive?” Jane asked as the two of them walked to the kitchen.

“Around an hour and a half,” Anne hummed and opened the cabinet.

“Let's just get chips and some candy, then,” Jane suggested, “Since it's a long drive. We can get actual food there.”

“Okay!” Anne smiled and pulled out some chips before pausing, “You think they'll have a restaurant there?”

“There is a town,” Jane noted, “I'm sure there'll be something.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Anne shrugged as Cathy and Anna walked out, following Kat.

“So we're going to the snow because there was a big blizzard recently so there'll be a lot of snow?” Cathy recapped.

“Yes!” Kat affirmed, “We have some sleds, it'll be fun!”

“Yeah,” Anna nodded, “I've never been up to the mountains or gone sledding before, so.”

“WHOO!” Anne ran out of the kitchen, stuffing snacks in Kat, Cathy, and Anna's arms, “Help me carry these.”

The door opened and Catherine smiled, “I put the sleds and stuff in the car, so, go get Winter clothes on and get ready to go.”

“Cool!” Kat handed Catherine the snacks and ran off to her room, Anne running to her own room as well.

When they had all gotten dressed, Jane suggested seeing if the Ladies would want to come, in a separate car, and meet them there. Catherine texted Maria who texted back saying they would probably be there a little later, but they would be there.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After around ten minutes, they had settled into the car. Catherine was driving, Anna in shotgun next to her. On the second row, Jane and Cathy sat next to each other, leaving Anne and Kat in the back row.

“How long is the drive?” Anna glanced at Aragon.

“Around an hour and a half,” Catherine hummed.

“Kat and I brought our Switches, so we'll be good for a solid few days,” Anne joked.

“Damn, I should've brought mine,” Cathy sighed.

Jane gave a soft, “Language,” and Cathy rolled her eyes but still smiled.

“You know, we still have music,” Anna pulled out her phone, “Here, I'll connect my phone, what do you guys wanna listen to?”

“Put on musical soundtracks,” Anne and Kat said, simultaneously.

“It's like you plan this,” Catherine sighed, “Anyway, if you're putting on a musical soundtrack, put on Heathers.”

“You're into Heathers?” Cathy blinked at her.

“Well, it was one of the first musicals Anne got into and she made me watch it a million times with her,” Catherine explained, “I grew to like the songs.”

“Yo Girl is a fucking bop and J.D. is a mood, what do you want from me?” Anne rolled her eyes.

“Do...” Cathy looked at her, “Do you relate to J.D., Anne?”

“Do you wanna blow up a school, Anne?” Anna glanced back at her.

“No, I relate to having a shitty Dad and mental issues,” Anne corrected, “I mean, I would kill for Lina- well, I'd kill for any of you- but that's not really way.”

“To be fair,” Kitty added, giggling, “I, too, would kill Ram and Kurt, if given the chance.”

“Absolutely valid,” Anna nodded, “I think we all would. Anyway, I'm putting on Heathers, then DEH, and I'll figure it out from there.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“FREAK! SLUT! BURNOUT! POSER! LARD ASS!” Anne and Kat yelled at the top of their lungs.

“We were so tiny, happy and shiny!” Cathy giggled.

“I regret this,” Anna groaned, though she was laughing.

“I find this entertaining!” Jane smiled, “I'm waiting for Catherine to start singing.”

“Oh, she sings Heathers to me all the time,” Anne leaned forward with a smirk, “She serenades me.”

“Come on, Conejita, don't expose me,” Catherine joked, “But I'm not singing.”

“Please, Mon cœur, for m-?” Anne whined, before going red as Cathy burst out laughing and Jane giggled.

“‘Mon cœur?’” Cathy repeated, “Wow, Anne, I didn't know you were that into her.”

“SHUT UP!” Anne leaned back and crossed her arms.

“Wait, what does it mean?” Catherine glanced around, “She never explained it and didn't want me to look it up.”

Cathy straightened up, “It means-”

“Cathy, you better shut the fuck up right now,” Anne looked at her, “I will expose all of the cutesy nicknames that you and Jane use.”

“I'm not snitching!” Jane argued.

“Exactly, if Cathy sells me out, we're all going down,” Anne smirked, “Including Cleves and Lina. I will look them up.”

Cathy sighed, “Fine, fine.”

“Imagine not knowing any other languages well enough to come up with cutesy nicknames, couldn't be me,” Kat huffed.

“Aww, Petit Chaton-!” Anne began, but Kat interrupted her.

“I've looked everyone's up, though,” Kat giggled, “Funny you call me that when I'm taller than you, Anne.”

Anne blinked and looked away, “I meant like... Metaphorically, okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Kat rolled her eyes and looked at the others, “Well, I still don't know what the one Anne just called Catherine is.”

“And you never will,” Anne shot her a look, though her tone was very obviously joking, “I thought Cath and Jane were the only ones who could know what my nicknames meant, but my own Kit has been using Google Translate against me!”

Kitty burst into giggles, softly hitting Anne's shoulder, “Shut up! I used it against everyone, not just you. I don't discriminate.”

“If nicknames in other languages that are mysteriously endearing aren't sacred, what is?!” Anna demanded, before everyone burst out laughing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“FREEZE YOUR BRAIN!” Anne, Anna, Cathy, and Kat all sang together.

“Suck on that straw get lost in the pain!” Anne and Anna sang, Cathy and Kat pausing to catch their breath.

“Happiness comes when everything numbs!” Kat and Cathy joined Anne and Anna again, all of them beginning to giggle.

“Who needs cocaine?” Anne and Kat put out their hands before laughing and taking a break.

“Freeze your brain,” Anna and Cathy glanced at them and laughed before going back to singing, “Freeze your brain!”

“Care for a hit?” Anna looked at Jane, who rolled her eyes, smiling.

“Does your Mommy know you eat all this crap?” Jane replied, Anna grinning.

“NOT ANYMORE!” Everyone other than Jane and Catherine yelled.

“When Mom was alive-” Anne, Anna, Kat, and Cathy burst out laughing for a solid few second.

“W-We're less formal!” Anne began to sing, though she was still laughing along with the others, “I learned to cook pasta.”

“I learned to pay rent,” Kat and Anna joined.

“Learned the world doesn't owe you a cent!” Cathy sang alone, the others having paused.

“You're planning your future, Veronica Sawyer,” Catherine sang, the others starting in astonishment, “You'll go to some college and marry a lawyer.”

“BUT THE SKY'S GONNA HURT WHEN IT FALLS!” Anne yelled, Catherine still singing a little softer, “SO YOU BETTER START BUILDING SOME WALLS!”

“That was loud-” Cathy blinked.

“I got excited!” Anne grinned, “Lina sang!”

“I sing a lot!” Catherine argued.

“Not really, other than our Musical,” Kat hummed, “And to hear you sing as J.D. from the Heathers soundtrack is insane.”

“It's not monumental or anything,” Catherine rolled her eyes, though she was smiling.

“Oh, I disagree,” Anne smirked, “But anyway-”

Anne, Kat, and Anna began to sing the song again, Cathy, Jane, and Catherine joining in every so often.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Shit, shit, shit, Kat!” Anne yelped, playing on the Switch, “HELP!”

“COMING!” Kat replied.

“Anne,” Jane sighed and looked at her,
“Just... Can I get an attempt to not cuss so much?”

“Jane, I love you and will try, but I'm about to get killed by a creeper and I have so much stuff on me,” Anne glanced up before grinning, “Oh, thank you so much, Kit!”

“Minecraft?” Cathy glanced back at them.

“Yep,” They both answered, still starting at the Switch.

“How many hours have you put into that game?” Catherine asked.

“No idea, but we have full enchanted diamond and we're looking for Netherite,” Kat hummed, “And we have a few big houses.”

“Cathy goes on every once in a while, too, but she's mostly a builder type,” Anne added, “Sometimes, she messes with our houses.”

“I just make them look better,” Cathy argued, “And I stick to the color schemes.”

“Anne went on for a few days, stole a bunch of stuff, and blew stuff up,” Kat glanced up at Anna, “She went on one more time after that and Anne killed her, then trapped her in obsidian.”

“Yeah, and I barely even stole anything,” Anna huffed.

“Stole enough,” Anne answered, still staring at the Switch, “Maybe I'll give you another chance if you wanna play again.”

Jane hummed, “I think I'd like to try that game!”

“You know, I play Minecraft on my Switch all the time,” Catherine glanced at them.

“You should join our server at some point!” Kat grinned, “It would be fun if all of us played together.”

“It would!” Anne agreed, before looking back down at the Switch, “Oh, shi-shoot, Kitty, there's a bunch of zombies-”

“DAMN IT, I DIED!”

“I'll put your stuff in a chest...”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“My kindergarten boyfriend and I!” Anne and Kat sang.

“And a horse with wings,” Cathy added.

“Shouldn't it just be a unicorn?” Anna tilted her head.

“That doesn't rhyme as well,” Jane shrugged.

“Yeah,” Catherine nodded, “I mean... No, it would work fine.”

“And a un-i-corn,” Cathy softly sang, before humming, “Yeah it would be fine.”

“Oh, y-”

“AND THIS TIME I'M NEVER WAKING UP!” Anne and Kat yelled, the other jumping and looking back.

“A warning, please?!” Cathy shot them a look.

“You were talking about unicorns and shit!” Anne argued, “We just wanted to sing!”

“Yeah!” Kat giggled, “And a horse with wings. What's the difference?”

“The way that it's said!” Cathy looked at them, “Does anyone casually talk like that?!”

“Does anyone casually blow up a school?” Kat tilted her head.

“I would,” Anne shrugged.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Did I even make a sound?” Anna and Kat sang, “Did I even make a sound?!”

“It's like I never made a sound,” Anne and Cathy joined, with a grin, “Will I ever make a sound?”

They all paused before everyone burst out, “ON THE OUTSIDE, ALWAYS LOOKING IN!”

“Will I ever be more than I've always been?!” Anne dramatically leaned against Kat, who giggled, “‘Cause I'm-”

“Tap, tap, tapping on the glass,” Cathy looked at Catherine, who was singing along, though quieter than the others, “Waving through a window!”

“This is a fun car ride,” Anna glanced back at them.

“We're almost there,” Jane smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“WHOO!” Anne jumped out the car, “It is SO COLD!”

“I should've worn five more layers of clothes,” Kat sighed.

Anna rubbed her eyes, “I'm still tired, I napped half the ride.”

“Lucky bastard,” Anne muttered.

“The Ladies will be here in a half-hour,” Jane looked at them.

“We should walk around the town and find a place to eat,” Catherine smiled, “We should hold off playing in the snow so we're not all wet and cold the whole time-  KAT AND ANNE, GET BACK HERE!”

Anne and Kat froze, a snowball in each of their hands.

“In my defense, I didn't hear anything after, ‘We should walk around-’” Anne dropped the snowball, Kat following suit.

“Just... At least, wait until the Ladies get here,” Catherine sighed.

“Can do!” Kat grinned.

“Let's go see what they have,” Cathy hummed, “Why don't we split up and meet when the Ladies get here.”

“I CALL KAT!” Anne grabbed her hand, Kat nodding.

“I'll go with Aragon so we can stick with the duos we did in the car,” Anna hummed.

“Okay, I'll text everyone, let's meet here!” Jane smiled.

“Let's go find a candy store!” Kat yelled, running off with Anne.

“Jane, you cool finding a library for a bit?” Cathy asked.

“Of course!” The two of them walked off.

“Boy, I hope Anne and Kat don't die,” Anna joked, “Got anything you wanna do, Aragon?”

“We can just walk around and see if anything piques our interest,” Catherine shrugged and the two of them walked away.

Chapter Text

“Hmm...” Anne hummed and looked around, “Not many people around.”

“No,” Kat shook her head, “There isn't. You see anywhere that you're interested in?”

“Not really,” Anne shrugged, “You?”

“Ooh, look!” Kat grinned and pointed to a tiny candy store, “Look!”

“Oh, cool!” Anne ran over, Kat following.

The two of them opened the door and stepped inside. It was warm and cozy, unlike outside, a pleasant bell going off.

The two cousins hadn't gone to many shops and never a place like this. It looked old, like one of those candy shops in those old movies. The old man behind the counter simply nodded at them.

“Annie, look!” Kitty walked over to some candy, “Watermelon candies!”

“Nice!” Anne grabbed a bag of the watermelon-flavored gummies. The pink and green Queens had grown fond of pink and green candies, for obvious reasons.

“I'm gonna go find some sour green apple candies,” Anne walked off. The store was small so neither of them was concerned about anything bad happening.

Kat hummed and walked off. She perked up as she noticed one of those big pink and blue boxes of Nerds. When she crouched down to get it, she noticed a little girl, without any adult, staring at her.

She gave an awkward smile and waved to the girl.

“Um...” As Katherine stood up, the girl fiddled with her little purple skirt, “Are you Katherine Howard?”

“Oh, uh-” Kat smiled and tilted her head, “Yep! How do you know that?”

“My older sister shows me all guys' stuff and tells me all about you!” The little girl beamed, “You were the second beheaded Queen, right?”

“I was,” She nodded before glancing around, “Is there anyone else here with you?”

“My Momma's outside and D’lilah is somewhere in here,” The girl explained, “D’lilah is my sister.” Kit guessed she meant, ‘Delilah.’

“What's your name?” She asked her.

“I'm Denice!” The girl grinned and turned around to an older girl, “See! That's D’lilah!”

The older girl- Delilah?- blinked before rushing over, “O-Oh! Denice, were you bothering her?”

“No, no, don't worry!” Kit assured her, “She said you listen to our songs?”

“Y-Yeah!” Delilah gave a small smile, “I'm Delilah.”

“Hey, Kat, you do-” Anne paused and blinked, “Who are they?”

“Oh, this is Denice!” Kat gestured to them, “And Delilah. They know our songs and stuff.”

“Hi!” Anne smiled and waved, “That's cool!”

The four of them talked for a bit before Anne and Kat took a couple pictures with them and said they had to go.

“Can I ask a question?” Denice asked.

“Sure,” Anne shrugged.

“Did getting beheaded hurt?” The girl blinked at them.

“Delilah!” Denice scolded, “You can't ask that!”

“Why not?”

“It's rude!”

Anne burst out laughing, “Don't worry about it!” She crouched down and ruffled the girl's hair, “It only hurt for a second, and then I woke up and I had a bunch of friends!”

“Cool!” Denice smiled, “I'm glad!”

Anne and Kat said their goodbyes and walked over to the counter to buy the candy.

“That was a lie, right?” Kat glanced at Anne as put the candy on the counter.

“Oh, yeah, totally,” Anne affirmed, “The pain always lasts longer in hindsight. And nightmares.”

“Mood.”

The two of them paid for their candy and walked out the door. Kat opened the bag and handed Anne a watermelon gummy.

“Thanks, Kit!”

“No problem, Annie!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jane hummed and pushed the door open. It was a tiny shop, but it was lined, wall-to-wall with books.

Cathy was already flapping her hands and looking around. The store was a lot warmer than outside so she took off her gloves and stuffed them in her pockets.

She glanced at Jane, “You sure you're cool with this? I know you're not as into books as me and it could be boring.”

“I'm fine with waiting,” Jane assured, “Besides, I can get some books for Anna to read to me.”

“Anna reads to you?” Cathy asked, walking over to one of the bookcases.

“Oh, all the time!” Jane smiled, “I can still read on my own, but it's easier to listen to her. Plus, she'll do the dumbest voices sometimes...”

“Really?” Cathy hummed as she looked at the different books.

“Yep,” Jane giggled a little, “If I'm in a bad mood, she can always make me laugh. No matter what.”

“I'm assuming she acts a lot softer when it's just you guys than with us, huh?” Cathy pulled out on book called ‘Frankenstein.’ She had heard the name thrown around a lot and briefly wondered if it was an original or remake.

“Oh, totally,” Jane nodded, “She does have a bit of a reputation... I mean, she's getting better, but she's still not great at vulnerability...”

“Are any of us?” Cathy tilted her head, “I mean, even Kit has a hard time talking about it. And Anne, well... Y’know.”

“I would hesitantly call Catherine the worst,” Jane hummed, “But I don't think it's a competition.”

“No, it is not,” Cathy agreed, “Are there any books you're interested in?”

“Honestly, I'm always a sucker for a romance drama book with a happy ending,” Jane looked at her.

“That's on brand for you,” Cathy nodded and glanced around. After a few seconds, she saw one called ‘Sense and Sensibility.’

She pulled it out and flipped through it before handing it to Jane, “Here! I've heard of this, it's a cheesy romance classic. Old, too.”

“Seems interesting,” Jane hummed, “A little hard to read, though. I'm sure Anna will help, though!”

“Let me try and find a more modern one,” Cathy walked away and looked around for a bit.

After around a minute she came back and handed Jane a book balled ‘The Fault In Our Stars.’

“Apparently, it's really good!” Cathy hummed, “I think it got made into a movie so we can watch it when you finish.”

“Oh, I'd like that!” Jane stood up, “Thank you, Cathy.”

“No problem!” Cathy nodded, “Should we check out now?”

“Sure.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Aragon and Cleves had just been wandering around for a while, not really finding anything too interesting.

“This place is pretty calm, but not much that interests me other than the snow,” Cleves commented, “Is there anything you would be interested in?”

“Not that I see, no...” Aragon shook her head, “But I could kill a half-hour just walking around here.”

“Yeah.”

And so they walked for a little while longer, making some small talk with long, comfortable pauses.

“Oh, hey, look!” Cleves pointed at one shop, “Looks like they have jewelry there!”

“Wanna check it out?” Aragon asked.

“Can't hurt to!” Cleves shrugged and the two of them walked in.

The jewelry wasn't that expensive, it also wasn't like the ones they saw in the bigger cities. It didn't look any worse, but it wasn't all diamond and gold.

But there was a kind of charm to it that more expensive, modern jewelry didn't have. Weirdly reminded them of their past.

“See any you like?” Aragon glanced at Cleves before realizing Cleves had already left her side to look at them. Aragon laughed a little and followed.

“If $40 a lot for a ring?” Cleves mumbled, almost talking to herself, “Because it doesn't seem like it.”

“I think it's a fair price, but it depends on the jewelry,” Aragon shrugged, “Why? You like it?”

“It's a mookaite ring,” Cleves nodded, “I kinda have to get it.”

“Why?”

“It's an inside joke, I guess. Anne and Kat will get it.”

“Well, I'll buy it for you!” Aragon smiled.

“You don't have to do that,” Cleves assured, waving her hands, “I have money.”

“I know, but I wanna get it for you,” Aragon hummed, “As a gift.”

“I can get it myself, I-I swear-”

“I know, but I insist!” Aragon walked over to the counter before Cleves could protest anymore.

“What can I do for you?” The girl behind the counter asked.

“Can I get the mookaite ring, over there?” Aragon gestured over to where the ring was.

“Of course!” The girl smiled as Aragon handed her her credit card, “I'll get that right away!” The girl walked away.

“You really didn't have to do that...” Cleves mumbled, looking down.

“I know, but I wanted to,” Aragon smiled and put her hand on her shoulder, “Besides, it's not like that's gonna bankrupt me or anything. We basically share all of our money, anyway.”

“Well... Thank you, Elternteil,” Cleves hesitantly returned the smile, “I'll get you something, to pay you back!”

“Sure, Hija.”

“...what does that mean?”

“What does ‘Elternteil’ mean?”

“I'll drop it if you do.”

“Deal.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(The Bois)
2:32 PM

ChaosOne: we're here the fuck are y'all

BeheadedBoleyn: oh fuck yeah

BasicallyOurMum: Anne, Maggie, please.

BeheadedBoleyn: sorry mère

ChaosOne: sorry Jane

LiteralChild: What a sight to behold

PalaceInRichmond: fuck you two I can cuss all I want

BasicallyOurMum: Don't be rude, Anna.

PalaceInRichmond: I can still cuss though

BasicallyOurMum: Yes.

PalaceInRichmond: SWEET

BeheadedBoleyn: blasphemy

KittyKatherine: What does that mean

BeheadedBoleyn: fuckin dumb

BasicallyOurMum: Anne, that's both incorrect and cussing.

PalaceInRichmond: yeah Anne what the fuck

BeheadedBoleyn: B L A S P H E M Y

ChaosOne: notice how I just stopped talking and didn't cause all of this 

I<3Coffee: How did we get so far off-topic in such a short amount of time

ChaosTwo: So anyway where are you guys

GoldenQueen: We'll meet up in the park

KittyKatherine: Anne and I already there!

BeheadedBoleyn: were eating candy and sitting on the swings

MomFriendThree: Isn't that for kids?

KittyKatherine: They aren't here right now so fvck them

BeheadedBoleyn: oh yeah that isnt technically cussing

BasicallyOurMum: I guess not.

BeheadedBoleyn: FVCK YEAH

LiteralChild: ANYWAY

ChaosOne: we're on our way

GoldenQueen: See you guys there

PalaceInRichmond: yeah

I<3Coffee: Cool

Chapter Text

“Maggie!” Anne grinned as Maggie and the others ran over.

“What are we gonna do now?” Joan asked, looking around, “God, it's cold...”

“We're gonna play in the snow, duh,” Anna rolled her eyes and pointed down the hill, “We can sled, too!”

“Oh, nice!” Cathy smiled, “We should get the sleds.”

“I can do that,” Catherine nodded, glancing at Anna, “Mind helping me, Cleves?”

“‘Course not, Elternteil!” Anna smiled.

“We brought a couple sleds, too,” Maria looked at Bessie, “Bessie, help me get them.”

“Cool, cool,” Bessie waves to the others, “Don't wait for us, go make a snowman or some shit.”

The four of them left and the other six stood there for a few seconds.

“Hey, Anne?” Kat looked at her cousin.

“Yeah?” Anne looked at her.

“Wanna throw ourselves down the hill.”

“Yes.”

The two ran off while Jane yelled, “NO NO NO NO!” and ran after them.

“Oh, God-” Joan sighed, “This is gonna be so, so fun...”

“I'm surprised you're not throwing yourself down there, too, Maggie,” Cathy hummed and looked at her.

“Fuck no, I am not getting hurt,” Maggie rolled her eyes, “I would rather watch those two be dumbasses and make fun of them.”

“Yeah, that's fair,” Joan shrugged, saying, “I just didn't expect it from you.” as she walked away.

“Why not?” Maggie asked.

“‘Cause, it's a smart thing to do.”

“And?” Maggie narrowed her eyes at Joan.

“You're not smart.”

“HEY! TAKE THAT BACK, MOTHERFUCKER!” Maggie ran after Joan, who started running the second the words left her mouth.

“WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, MAGGIE, I WAS KIDDING, COME ON-!”

“TAKE IT BACK!”

“I CAN'T TAKE IT BACK IF IT'S TRUE!”

“HEY!”

“Please don't kill each other,” Cathy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “I do not wanna have to deal with three dead bodies today.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jane managed to stop Kat from just throwing herself down the hill, so Anne agreed not to do it.

“It wouldn't be fair to do it without Kitty,” Anne shrugged, “Or as fun.”

“Oh, thank God,” Jane sighed.

“Calm down, Jane, I'm sure they would've been fine,” Joan crossed her arms and looked down, “This slope isn't that steep and probably only, what, twenty feet?”

“I'd say twenty-five,” Anne nodded.

“We would've been fine,” Kat looked at Jane, “You were totally being dramatic.”

“Please don't jump down anyway,” Jane sighed, “I don't think there's a hospital around here and the drive is very long.”

“We won't, we won't!” Anne assured, “Can we roll down?”

Jane was silent for a few seconds before mumbling, “I mean... I don't think it could hurt-”

“FUCK YES!”

“LANGUAGE, KITTY!”

Anne flopped onto the ground before rolling down the hill, Kat following quickly. Jane opened her mouth before sighing and shaking her head, mumbling, “Why do I even try?”

“WHOO!” Anne yelled, rolling to a stop. She let out a loud laugh and sat up, “Kat, are yo- SHIT!”

Kat yelped as she rolled into Anne, sending them both rolling a couple more feet.

“ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?!” Cathy called down.

“YEP!” Kat called back while Anne just laughed and gave a thumbs up.

“They're basically invincible, aren't they?” Maggie tilted her head.

“Yeah,” Cathy nodded, “I mean, they did come back from getting their heads chopped off.”

“I can't wait for one of them to break their leg being a dumbass,” Joan joked, “I bet that would make them chill out.”

“Oh, please, Kat broke her leg before, she was still bouncing around the house with Anne, who had a dislocated arm,” Jane replied, looking down, “They'd be fine.”

“What the fuck-” Joan mumbled.

“We got the sleds!” Anna jumped over, holding a sled in her arms, “Who wants to go first?”

“Joan,” Maggie looked at Joan.

“No, thanks,” Joan rolled her eyes, “I'm good.”

“You owe me for calling me stupid!” Maggie argued with a smirk.

Joan sighed and crossed her arms, “Fine. How does this work?”

“Wait, you're agreeing to that?” Cathy blinked.

“Yeah,” Joan shot Maggie a glare, “I did call her stupid.”

“You sit down, pull your legs in, and hold the sides!” Anna explained, “Right, Aragon?”

“I think,” Catherine nodded.

Joan mumbled under her breath as she got in. She settling into the plastic red sled and glanced at Anna, “So, now wh-”

Anna pushed her down and Joan yelled, everyone else bursting into laughter.

“That looks like so much fun!” Bessie grinned.

Joan eventually stopped, the sled spinning a little as she did.

“How was it, Joany?” Anne asked, offering Joan her hand.

“I'm gonna be sick...” Joan shook her head, before looking back up the hill, “I WOULD'VE APPRECIATED A WARNING!”

“SORRY!” Anna called down.

“Kitty, you wanna race on them?” Anne looked at her cousin, who nodded.

“LET'S GO!” Kitty giggled as the two of them ran up the hill.

“This is so fun...” Joan muttered, grabbing the sled and walking up the hill.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kitty and Anne raced down a few times before letting the others have a turn and playing around in the snow.

Cathy went down once, Anna teased her, declaring that she could do it way better.

“How do you even go on a sled ‘better’ than someone?!” Cathy demanded, “You just go down a hill!”

“Sounds like something a shitty sledder would say.”

“Oh, you-”

“Guys, please!” Maria looked at them, “Just race once and get it over with.”

The two blinked at each other before grinning.

“Best two out of three?” Cathy held out her hand.

“Three out of five,” Anna countered.

“Fine,” Cathy took Anna's hand before they ran to get their sleds.

“This is gonna end bad,” Maggie nodded.

“Obviously,” Jane sighed, “Catherine, why aren't you stopping this?”

“Why aren't you stopping this?” Catherine looked at her.

“I'm trying to make sure the other two children don't die,” Jane gestures to Anne and Kat, who were throwing snowballs at each other.

“Wait, that looks fun, I'm joining!” Joan ran down the hill.

“Same!” Maggie ran after her, “HEY, ANNE, I'M ON YOUR TEAM!”

“Sweet!” Anne grinned.

“Then I get Joan!” Kitty looked at Joan, who nodded.

“Four children,” Jane corrected herself, “I am looking after four children.”

“You ready to lose, Cathy?” Anna glared at Cathy as she set down the sled.

“Shut up and race me, Anna!” Cathy snapped.

“Don't die!” Catherine called after them as they went down the hill.

“How helpful,” Maria nodded.

“SUCK IT, ANNA!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, IT'S NOT OVER YET!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After Cathy and Anna raced for a solid fifteen minutes, everyone forced them to call it a tie. They eventually agreed.

“Guess I'll call it even,” Anna shrugged.

“A tie?” Cathy held out her hand, which Anna took with a small smile.

“A tie.”

The other four ended their snowball fight and Kitty and Anne began to make a snowman.

“What are we gonna name ‘em?” Kat asked, placing the middle ball on.

“I don't know,” Anne shrugged.

“How about...” Kitty tilted her head, “Elmur.”

“Why?” Anne picked up the head and placed it on.

“Seems fitting,” Kat replied, picking up a few rocks.

“Alright,” Anne shrugged, “Elmur Boleyn-Howard.”

“Elmur with a ‘u’,” Kat clarified.

“Elmur with a ‘u’!” Anne grinned as they finished it. It was around a foot shorter than Kitty, so a little more than a half a foot shorter than Anne.

“HEY, GUYS, LOOK AT ELMUR!” Anne pointed at the snowman, “WITH A ‘U’!”

“Looks great!” Catherine smiled.

“Yeah!” Cathy smiled.

The two cousins admired their work for a little longer.

“I'll give whoever can knock it down while riding the sled fifteen bucks,” Joan looked around.

“What?!” Anne looked at her.

“GIMME THE SLED, ARAGON!” Anna grinned.

“Fuck that, I'm getting the money!” Kat ran up the hill.

“DON'T YOU DARE, KITTY, I AM GETTING THAT!” Anne ran after her.

After a few tries, Kat managed to knock it down. It wasn't hard, Anna and Anne were distracted sabotaging each other, and no one else wanted to mess with that situation.

“Give me the money in the car, Joan!” Kitty smiled.

“Damn, didn't expect that,” Joan mumbled.

“You killed our child, Kat,” Anne looked at her, “How do you feel?”

“Great, I got fifteen bucks.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After a couple more hours, everyone but Joan, Kitty, Anne, and Jane left to go back to the car and wait.

Joan just watched from the sidelines while Jane tried to convince Anne and Kat not to do any dangerous thing that popped into their heads.

“Hey, Jane?” Anne looked at her.

“Yes, Anne?” Jane looked back.

“Can you guys bury me in snow?”

They were quiet for a few seconds before Jane looked down, “You know what? Out of morbid curiosity and the knowledge that you will find something worse to do, sure.”

“SWEET!” Anne flopped into the snow, “THANKS, MÈRE!”

“Anne, I'm gonna bury you so good!” Kat grinned and began shoving snow onto her cousin.

It had been around five minutes when Anne began squirming.

“Anne, you have to stay still,” Jane reminded.

“Wait, really?” Anne blinked. After Jane nodded, she popped up, “Yeah, I change my mind.”

“Aww!” Kat whined.

“I hope you don't have frostbite...” Jane mumbled.

“Hey, Joan!” Anne looked at Joan, who was sitting a few feet away.

“Yeah?” She tilted her head.

“Can we bury you?”

“.....yes.”

“YES!” Kat grinned.

“Oh, boy...” Jane looked down.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Hey, guys!” Maria called, walking down the hill, “We're gonna go now.”

“Guys?” Catherine looked around, being seeing the three cousins huddled together on the ground.

The three cousins stared at them with a blank expression.

“Where is Joan?” Maria narrowed her eyes.

Anne shuffled to the side to reveal a lump of snow with Joan's head and feet poking out.

“GET HER OUT, GET HER OUT-!”

“JANE, WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!”

“I WAS CURIOUS! YOU LEFT ME ALONE WITH THEM, THEY BROKE MY WILL!”

“WHOO!” Anne held out her hand, with Kat high-fived, “WE BROKE JANEY'S WILL!”

“Get me out!” Joan mumbled, “I think I'm losing touch. Everywhere.”

“Oh, that's not good,” Kat blinked.

“I know, know get her out!” Catherine snapped.

“Okay, okay, we're going!”

“Joan, are you still breathing?”

“Yes, of course, now dig faster or whatever!”

Chapter Text

One night, Anne, Kat, and Jane were on the couch watching TV, Cathy sitting at the kitchen counter, with her laptop. It was around 9 when Anne said she wanted to get Starbucks.

“Mère, can you drive us there?” She looked at Jane.

“Anne, we aren't getting Starbucks,” Jane responded, still staring at the TV.

“McDonald's?”

“No.”

“Subway?”

“No.”

“Can we go to Tesco and pick up something?”

“No, Anne.”

“Is KFC still open?”

“No.”

“...Domino-”

“Anne!” Jane snapped, looking at the girl on the other side of the couch from her, “Why do you want to go somewhere so bad?”

“I'm craving a car ride and unhealthy food,” Anne answered, glancing down, “But, never mind, we probably shouldn't be getting stuff this late anyway.”

Jane looked back at the TV, briefly considering it before deciding it was a good idea. What was the point, anyway? They had food here. She felt a little guilty, though...

“I would like some coffee...” Cathy mumbled from the kitchen, “And a car ride sounds nice.”

“Yeah!” Kat grinned from between Jane and Anne, “Mum, can you drive us?”

Jane stared at the three for a few seconds. She sighed, “Fine-”

“Yes!” Anne jumped up, “Mère's driving!”

“Why do I have to drive?” Jane asked as the four walked to the door.

“I haven't slept in 30 hours, and Kat and Anne barely drive at all,” Cathy looked at her, “Do you prefer one of us to drive?”

“I am forcing you to take a nap in the car,” Kat looked at Cathy.

“Fuck that, I call shotgun!” Cathy ran out the door.

“CATHY!” Kat ran after her.

“No, wait, I wanna sit up front!” Anne whined, running after them.

“Guys!” Jane sighed and shut the door before walking over to them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In the end, Jane was driving, Cathy in the front, and Kat and Anne in the backseat. It was dark, but Starbucks was open, though only for around an hour longer.

“Should Cathy be having any more coffee?” Anne shot Cathy a look, “You seem to have a problem.”

“Fuck you, I'm completely fine,” Cathy mumbled, “‘Sides, I have gone way longer.”

“That doesn't help,” Anne tilted her head.

“Says who?” Cathy glanced back.

“Science?” Kat suggested.

“Whatever.”

“What do you guys want?” Jane looked at them.

“Ooh, ooh, I know!” Anne raised her hand before pausing, “Um... Let me look it up-”

“You wanted to go here!” Kat giggled.

“Shut up, I just forgot the name!”

“You go here all the time,” Cathy shot Anne a look.

“Let me look it up!”

“This was a mistake,” Jane nodded.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Okay, we got your coffee, should we go home?” Jane looked at them.

“No, I wanna drive for longer!” Kat whined, “Or, sit in the car while you drive longer!”

“Oh, my God...” Cathy sighed, “Where do you wanna go?”

“Go to any little twenty-four-hour thrift store, I bet it'll be dope!” Anne suggested, “We can buy twelve five-hour energy drinks and all have four, we'll be good for twenty hours.”

“That is NOT how that works!” Jane looked at her.

“I don't know, I wanna try it,” Cathy hummed.

“What's the worst that can happen?” Kat shrugged.

“You could die,” Jane looked up, “Or pass out. Or hallucinate from not sleeping. There's a lot of things.”

“Okay, first of all, I can't die,” Anne rolled her eyes and took a sip of the drink, “People have tried, I have tried and it just never works out so I'm sure I'll be fine.”

“I mean... You're not wrong,” Kitty blinked, “But that concerns me.” 

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” Anne assured, “I still want to take those things.”

“I will find one but we are not getting those,” Jane looked back, “And I'm getting you all a water that you have to finish.”

“Fine,” Kat hummed, “I can do water.”

“If it appears Mère, I shall,” Anne nodded.

“The Mum friend energy is strong tonight,” Cathy took a sip of her drink.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They found a small thrift shop, there was one worker and a couple of guys inside.

“This is creepy,” Cathy whispered.

“Just stay close,” Jane assured, “I'm sure nothing will happen, and if it does, we'll be togethe-”

“Race you to the candy!” Kat grinned, running off.

“Wait!” Anne ran after her.

“Guys!” Cathy sighed and followed them, Jane not far behind.

“Do they even listen?” She mumbled.

“They definitely don't,” Cathy nodded, “But they'll be fine, anyway.”

“What candy do you guys want?” Anne smiled as they turned the corner.

“Get me a blueberry Push-pop,” Cathy hummed.

“I'll have white chocolate,” Jane glanced around, “And now let's go grab the water.”

“Damn, forget about that,” Anne stood up.

“Hydrate or diedrate,” Kat nodded, “I'll have water.”

“What of I choose diedrate?” Anne tilted her head.

“Bold of you to assume any of us would let you choose diedrate,” Cathy patted Anne's arm, “Come on, Bo, let's get the water.”

“We should all go to the bathroom while we're here, too,” Jane reminded, “How much later are we going to be out?”

“We've barely been out,” Anne shrugged, “Besides, this is fun! We can go back any time, but I'm doing fine.”

“I'm probably gonna take a nap in the car,” Cathy said, “But other than that, it's fine.”

“I'll sit in the front so you and Kat can cuddle,” Anne volunteered.

“Sounds good to me!” Kat grinned.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When they went back to the car, Jane driving, Anne in shotgun, and Cathy and Kat cuddling in the back, they were lost on where to go.

“Just drive,” Anne said, staring out the window, “We have plenty of stuff, water and candy. We don't need anything else or have anywhere to go.”

“Drive up that one mountain!” Kat grinned, “It has a really good view.”

“It'd be too dark to see anything,” Cathy pointed out.

“There are the lights of the city,” Kat argued.

“I guess, but that isn't gonna be that good of a view,” Cathy shrugged.

“I promise you it is!” Kat reassured.

“I'm cool with it,” Anne nodded, “Janey?”

“Sure, let's drive there,” Jane shrugged and began driving, “But then we're going home.”

“Sounds fair to me,” Anne smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Within ten minutes, Cathy crashed, Kat telling Jane and Anne to whisper as to not wake her.

“She looks so peaceful when she's asleep,” Jane hummed.

“No, she looks peaceful when she's not crashing on the couch or table after no sleep for three days,” Kat softly corrected with a small giggle, “But she does look really cute right now.”

“You're so fucking gay,” Anne joked.

“You're gayer for Catherine,” Kat rolled her eyes.

“I mean...” Anne looked down, “Damn, I guess I am.”

“Haha,” Kat stuck out her tongue, though it was hard to make fun of Anne when she was still trying to stay quiet.

Anne opened her mouth before glancing at Cathy and flipping Kat off.

“Hey-!”

“Shhh!”

Kitty opened her mouth to argue before stiffening as Cathy shifted. Anne froze as well, but Cathy didn't wake up. Kat sighed and smiled.

“You almost woke her up!” Anne whispered.

“You were being just as loud,” Kitty argued, though making sure to stay quiet.

“Kitty, Anne,” Jane glanced back, “Stop arguing, if Cathy wakes up, she'll never sleep again.”

“Yes, Mère...” Anne mumbled, “Sorry, we wouldn't wanna wake up Parr.”

“Yeah,” Kat agreed, “Sorry.”

“You're forgiven, just stay quiet and don't wake her up,” Jane smiled.

“M'kay,” Anne hummed, “So what do we do while she's asleep?”

“I don't know,” Kat shrugged, “Hmm... We can talk.”

“Is it ever a good idea to talk when it's semi-late and we're tired?” Jane tilted her head, “We always end up talking about vaguely traumatic events.”

“Your point?” Anne questioned, “Trauma dumping is great, casual trauma dumping is even better.”

“Is it, though?” Jane asked, “Is it really?”

“Works for me,” Kat shrugged, “Who's going first?”

“Why don't we just talk more casually about lighter topics first?” Jane glanced at them, “Even if we do eventually trauma dump, or whatever Anne called it?”

“Sure,” Anne nodded, “Sounds reasonable. How about... What do you miss most about our past lives, other than a person? Like, something about the world.”

“I miss how fresh the air was,” Jane answered, “I mean... It isn't top horrible of a difference, nothing I can't deal with, but it was more natural.”

“I miss the nature,” Kat smiled, “So many flowers, trees, berries, the forests. It was so calming, whenever was stressed- which was almost all of the time- I would go into the forest and just look around... What about you, Annie?”

“Hmm...” Anne looked down before smiling, “I can remember, uh, when I was living in France, I would go down and pass a bakery that just had this really fresh, pure smell of bread and pastries and I would always buy some. We have better-made bread and pastries today, but it doesn't hit the same.”

“Yeah,” Jane nodded, “There's a lot I miss about our old word, but I would never choose it over this life.”

“Definitely agreed,” Kat nodded while Anne mumbled in agreement.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They had been driving and talking for another twenty when Cathy woke up. She was still tired, and she and Kat were still cuddling.

“Hmm...” Kat looked up, “You know what's funny?”

“What?” Cathy mumbled.

“When I, uh, first heard of Anne I kind of hated her because everyone in our family said she ‘ruined this bloodline’ or some shit and now she's the only one in my bloodline I trust,” Kat looked at Anne, “Oh, and Janey, but they didn't shit talk you.”

“Oh, yeah,” Anne nodded, “That is kind of funny.”

“Henry talked shit about everyone other than Jane,” Cathy snorted, “And it was always so weird, not even insults just hyperspecific things you did.”

“That's whack,” Anne hummed.

“Henry was a strange one when it came to complaining,” Jane agreed, “Strange in general, but that was annoying.”

“He was so fucking whiny,” Anne groaned, “Like, we get it, you didn't like your food, it's fine, you'll have another entire meal in five seconds.”

“He are a lot,” Kat nodded, “Goddamn was he obnoxious.”

“Really just salt in the wound that we got an annoying abuser,” Cathy joked, “But at least he was usually sleeping with me, considering he was dying.”

“Even when he was being sweet, he complained about everything else,” Jane sighed, “I feel like that should've counted as some sort of red flag.”

“My red flag, or one of many, was that he complained about how my sister was bad in bed and said that he hoped I was better when he was still fucking married to Catherine,” Anne huffed, “What kind of asshol-”

“He complained about how your sister was bad in bed,” Cathy repeated.

“And he hoped you were better,” Kat finished with a blank stare.

“That...” Jane cut herself off and looked down, “Wow.”

“You know, Anna was completely wrong in her song,” Anne shrugged.

“About?” Cathy tilted her head.

“Henry had a small dick,” Anne answered.

“Anne!” Jane shot her a look while Cathy and Kat burst out laughing.

“What?!” Anne stifled a laugh, “I'm not wrong!”

Jane sighed, “I mean... You're not, but, Ann-”

“MUM ADMITTED HE HAD A SMALL DICK!” Kat grinned.

“That's not what I said!” Jane looked at her.

“No, no, no, it's fine, Mère!” Anne assured, “I'm proud, you're popping off.”

Jane sighed and smiled, “Well... Thank you, I guess?”

“Your welcome,” Kat replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Are we almost there?” Anne asked, staring out the window

“I believe so,” Jane glanced back at Kat, “Kitty?”

“Yep, I think we only have, like, ten minutes left!” Kat smiled.

“How do you know about this place?” Cathy looked at her girlfriend.

“I drive up here all the time,” Kitty answered.

“You can drive?” Anne looked at her.

“Can't you?” Kat tilted her head.

“Technically...” Anne looked down, “Yes. But should I? No.”

“That's true,” Cathy nodded.

“You're not that bad,” Jane hummed, “I wouldn't want you driving while I'm in the car, but I would let you if no one else could.”

“Thanks, Mère,” Anne rolled her eyes, “I'm a last resort driver.”

“You can't complain when that's who you are,” Cathy shrugged.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They got there soon and all got out of the car.

“See?!” Kat grinned and pointed at the view. You could see the lights from the buildings and the moon in the sky. There were a few bushes and small trees along as well as some flowers.

“Okay, I'll give it to you,” Cathy nodded, “This is pretty.”

“It's beautiful,” Jane smiled.

“Kitty, did you plant these flowers?” Anne gestured to the flowers littered around the area.

“Yeah...” Kat gave a bashful smile, “How did you know?”

“They're all pink,” Anne smiled.

“I like pink,” Kat responded, “And this place was a little barren without them.”

“I think it's sweet,” Jane hummed.

“They make it look better,” Cathy nodded.

“Definitely a good touch,” Anne looked around, “I didn't take you for the gardening type, though.”

“I'm not, this was an exception,” Kitty looked around at the little ‘garden’, if that's what you would call it. She was proud of it. It was peaceful. Calming. Not quite like the forests she would go to in her past life, but it was good. Besides, now she had friends to share it with.

“Let's just stay here for a bit,” Jane suggested, “Then home.”

They all agreed and just stared for a while, taking in the view and making minor conversation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jane sighed and opened the door when they got back, “Be quiet, they might be asleep-”

“JANE!” Anna snapped, she and Catherine both staring at them.

“Oh, hey, Lina!” Anne smiled, “I didn't expect you to be up.”

“It is 1 in the Goddamn AM and you four didn't think to mention that you were going out?!” Catherine looked at them, “What the Hell?!”

“We thought it would be faster!” Kat argued, “We just wanted Starbucks.”

“Then we went a lot of other places,” Cathy shrugged, “And I fell asleep for a bit.”

“Don't be mad at Jane, we pressured her into it,” Anne mumbled before giving a nervous laugh, “Well, I kinda pressured everyone into it because I wanted Starbucks and a car ride.”

“Well, we enjoyed ourselves!” Kat smiled, “But, sorry, we will tell you next time.”

Anna sighed, “It's fine, you just scared us for a bit.”

“Don't worry, we were fine!” Jane assured.

“I know,” Anna nodded and walked over, “Can we go to sleep now.”

Jane nodded, “‘Course, Anna!”

“Simps,” Cathy joked as the two walked away. Anna flipped her off before going into the room with Jane.

“Come on, Cathy, we should go to sleep, too,” Kat held out her hand and the two went to their room.

“Hey, Lina?” Anne looked at her.

“Yes, Bo?” Catherine looked back.

“Are you mad?” Anne asked.

“No, not really,” Catherine tilted her head, “Why?”

“I wasn't sure,” Anne shrugged, “Can we cuddle now?”

Catherine rolled her eyes but smiled, “Of course, Bo.”

Anne grinned and the two went to their room to cuddle.

Chapter Text

(Queens)
8:32 PM

KittyKatherine: @I<3Coffee Hey hey hey babe

I<3Coffee: Uh

I<3Coffee: Yes?

PalaceInRichmond: never seen you call her babe before

KittyKatherine: What's the longest you've stayed up before?

I<3Coffee: 52 hours give or take

BeheadedBoleyn: WE BEAT YOU RECORD BITVH

BeheadedBoleyn: BOTCH

BeheadedBoleyn: FUCK

GoldenQueen: I'm sorry you haven't slept in how many hours?

BasicallyOurMum: Go to sleep

KittyKatherine: Yo no period

KittyKatherine: Also roughly 70 hours

BeheadedBoleyn: nearly three dats

KittyKatherine: Days

BeheadedBoleyn: thx luv ya kat

PalaceInRichmond: GO TO BED

I<3Coffee: Not even I stay up this long without sleeping

KittyKatherine: Yeah but we did so

BeheadedBoleyn: haha

BasicallyOurMum: Why aren't you sleeping?

KittyKatherine: Bingong shows

BeheadedBoleyn: binging

KittyKatherine: Thanks

GoldenQueen: Well you're going to sleep now

BeheadedBoleyn: no

GoldenQueen: No?

BeheadedBoleyn: sry

BeheadedBoleyn: no <3

KittyKatherine: Oop-

I<3Coffee: Never seen her say no to her before at least not with sleep

GoldenQueen: Anne Boleyn, you can not go this long without sleep, you will start hallucinating.

GoldenQueen: You too, Katherine Howard.

BeheadedBoleyn: fuck you you dont get that until like after 72 hours

KittyKatherine: Yeah we're just under that fuck off Catherine

BasicallyOurMum: I'm legitimately concerned now.

PalaceInRichmond: I have never seen either of them disrespect Catherine this much

I<3Coffee: It's really weird I don't like this side of them

GoldenQueen: Neither do I 

BeheadedBoleyn: lina donr be mad

KittyKatherine: Don't dump Anme

KittyKatherine: Annw

KittyKatherine: Snne

KittyKatherine: Fuck

BeheadedBoleyn: @GoldenQueen lina m sorry are u still mad

GoldenQueen: Anne, I'm not mad, I'm just worried

BeheadedBoleyn: u sure

GoldenQueen: Yes

BeheadedBoleyn: k luv u

GoldenQueen: Love you too 

GoldenQueen: I'm more concerned now

I<3Coffee: Hold on let me

I<3Coffee: Okay I have sleep deprivation symptoms up

BeheadedBoleyn: nice

KittyKatherine: Yeah cool

I<3Coffee: Okay uh

I<3Coffee: “The effects of going without sleep for 24 hours can include:
•Drowsiness
•Irritability
•Concentration and Memory Difficulties
•Reduced Coordination
•Impaired Judgment
•Short-term Memory Problems
•Raised Levels of Stress Hormones
•Increased Blood Sugar Levels
•A Higher Risk of Accidents
•Muscle Tension”

KittyKatherine: Uh

KittyKatherine: Yeah got most of those a while ago

BeheadedBoleyn: ye

GoldenQueen: Again concerning

I<3Coffee: “The effects of sleep deprivation intensify the longer a person stays awake. After going without sleep for 48 hours, a person’s cognitive performance will worsen, and they will become very fatigued.”

BasicallyOurMum: Oh.

BeheadedBoleyn: my cognitive performance is always worsened

KittyKatherine: I'm always very fatigued 

BeheadedBoleyn: damn we have the same mind

KittyKatherine: We  d o

I<3Coffee: “At this point, the brain will start entering brief periods of complete unconsciousness, also known as microsleep. Microsleep occurs involuntarily and can last for several seconds.”

BeheadedBoleyn: wack

KittyKatherine: THAT'S what that is??

PalaceInRichmond: and Cathy you have experienced all of this right?

I<3Coffee: Yeah totally

I<3Coffee: Uh now

I<3Coffee: “Some effects of staying awake for 72 hours include:

•Extreme Fatigue
•Difficulty Multitasking
•Severe Concentration and Memory Issues
•Paranoia
•Depressed Mood
•Difficulty Communicating With Others”

KittyKatherine: I usually have those all anyway

BeheadedBoleyn: my adhd cancels out the bad at mulittasking thing so

KittyKatherine: Multitasking*

BeheadedBoleyn: im always depressed

KittyKatherine: None of us can communicate with each other

BeheadedBoleyn: my adhd causes severe concentrating and memory issues

KittyKatherine: I'm always paranoid

BeheadedBoleyn: im always tired because im always depressed

KittyKatherine: Bam debunked them all

BasicallyOurMum: We're forcing them into bed.

BeheadedBoleyn: hey im not into that kinky shit

KittyKatherine: Yes you are

BeheadedBoleyn: ok im only into that with lina

GoldenQueen: That is not what she meant and you know that 

KittyKatherine: @PalaceInRichmond YOUR GF IS HITTING ON ANNE 

PalaceInRichmond: no she isn't go to sleep

BeheadedBoleyn: no <3

GoldenQueen: Anne come on

KittyKatharine: Anne I thimk we made them mad

BeheadedBoleyn: shit im sorry

I<3Coffee: No one is mad

BasicallyOurMum: If you go to sleep, you will feel better when you do.

KittyKatherine: I wouldn't make it more than ten minutes 

BeheadedBoleyn: ye neither would i

GoldenQueen: Why?

KittyKatherine: Nevermind

I<3Coffee: You know it is extremely difficult to stay up for this long alone

I<3Coffee: Especially considering coffee wouldn't be too effective on Anne because of her ADHD

I<3Coffee: Also more symptoms are, “Illusions
Delusions
Disordered Thinking
Depersonalization”

I<3Coffee: Why are you two actively staying up this much when you're probably experiencing/going to experience hallucinations?

BeheadedBoleyn: uh

KittyKatherine: Next question

GoldenQueen: Anne, Kat, what's going on?

BasicallyOurMum: Should we meet up in person?

BeheadedBoleyn: ttping is so hard

KittyKatherine: It  I S

PalaceInRichmond: everyone go to the living room
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Anne and Kat nodded as Cathy walked in and sat on the couch. Kat and Anne were on one of the chairs while everyone else was on the couch.

“Why won't you go to sleep?” Cathy looked at them.

“...no reason?” Anne glanced at Kitty.

Kat nudged Anne and mumbled, “Maybe they can help?”

The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds before Anne nodded and Kat nodded back.

“What just happened?” Catherine narrowed her eyes.

“We have come to the decision to tell you what's happening,” Kat smiled.

“The way you guys have mastered non-verbal communication never ceases to amaze me,” Anna hummed, “Now, what's wrong?”

Anne and Kat glanced at each other before Kat sighed and looked at the other four.

“Well, I've been having a burst in nightmares so I talked to Anne about it,” Kitty began, “And it turns out she was having nightmares, too. Neither of us could sleep that well so we didn't.”

“We've finished so many shows so many times,” Anne let out a small laugh, “And drank a lot of coffee.”

“Does coffee work on people with ADHD?” Jane tilted her head, “How effective is it?”

“If I have enough, sure,” Anne shrugged, “I think it depends on the person, though.”

“Why didn't you guys ask us for help?” Catherine asked.

“I mean, I asked Anne for help,” Kat blinked, “And she and I haven't had nightmares in a few days.”

“You also haven't been sleeping,” Jane pointed out, “Which is worse than just having nightmares.”

“Highly debatable,” Anne rolled her eyes and Kat nodded in agreement.

“You know, if you stay up much longer, you're gonna get intense paranoia and hallucinations, right?” Cathy glanced up at them from starting at her phone.

“Yeah,” Kitty looked at them, “What's your point?”

“If your having nightmares, won't you also be having hallucinations about what your nightmares were about?” Anna looked down before nodding, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

The two cousins looked at each other before nodding.

“Okay,” Anne looked back at the others, “Yeah, we're gonna try and sleep now.”

“Good,” Catherine nodded, “Do you guys want to have a movie night or something?”

“I mean, it's more of a movie day,” Cathy hummed, “A midday movie.”

“Honestly, I'm really tired, I'd rather just go to bed,” Anne stood up, Kat followed, “Night. Day? Midday? Whatever, you get the gist.”

Kat gave a small wave and smile before following Anne. Anne glanced at Kat and gestured to her room. Kat hummed before nodding and the two of them went into Anne's room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“You sure about this?” Anne glanced at Kitty, genuinely surprised that she suggested this.

“If we stay up longer, then we can crash and be out for longer,” Kat reasoned, “Besides, I really don't wanna deal with nightmares.”

“What about the hallucinations?” Anne tilted her head, “Won't those be just as bad?”

“I'm sure they won't be,” Kat glanced around, “Probably just seeing stuff in the shadows. I don't know. We can look it up.”

“And do we tell the others we've slept?” Anne checked.

“Yep,” Kat pulled out her phone.

“Cool,” Anne hesitated before mumbling something.

“Hmm?” Kat was staring at her phone.

“I don't think...” Anne's voice trailed off into a mumble again.

“Annie, I can't hear you,” Kat squinted at the screen and clicked on an article.

“I don't think we should be lying to them.” Anne pushed the words out, keeping her eyes glued to the bed.

“Why not?” Kat looked at her before wincing a little, “Oh- Yeah...”

“It feels gross,” Anne sighed and laid on her back, “Why can't we just... I don't know... Not having nightmares to begin with?”

“I know, this shit is annoying,” Kat turned her phone off and set it down, “It's 9 pm. We've been awake for... Uh...”

“Roughly 82 hours,” Anne narrowed her eyes at the ceiling, “83-ish.”

“I don't think that we should be up anymore,” Kat huffed and laid on her back.

The two were silent for a bit, staring at the ceiling.

“Hey, Kitty?”

“Yeah?”

“...is it bad that I really wanna stay up for 100 hours just to say I did?”

“...is it bad I was thinking the same thing?”

“No, but I really don't think we should,” Anne gave a small laugh.

“Yeah, neither do I,” Kat smiled and sat up, “You in the mood to cuddle and sleep?”

“Yeah,” Anne sat up as well, “You?”

“Mmhmm,” Kat nodded as Anne crawled over. Anne pulled her blanket over the two of them and hummed.

“If you have a nightmare, wake me up,” Anne mumbled as she shut her eyes.

“Same goes for you,” Kat responded.

The two quickly fell asleep and crashed for about all of the next day. Everyone else was vaguely concerned that they were dead. Jane checked up on them several times and left some snacks in the room for when they woke up. Anna and Catherine both checked that they were breathing at some point and Cathy looked up how long you can sleep without being dead.

Their cousins' sleep schedules don't recover for a week, but they did stop immediately not sleep when they had a nightmare.

Chapter Text

Hey! I am working on the next big fic, each chapter will be pretty long, other than the first one, and I am absolutely out of ideas but I want to keep providing content while I work on that so if you have any suggestions/requestions please comment them!

Chapter Text

They weren't exactly sure when Catherine and Anne's banter turned into this full blow argument, but they didn't like it.

It started with a simple conversation, teasing, the remarks slowly becoming laced with more venom and becoming louder until the two were screaming at each other.

Cathy and Kat were staring from the couch while Jane and Anna watched from the kitchen.

“You don't take me seriously!” Anne snapped, “You never have and you never will!”

“You don't act serious about shit, Anne!” Catherine argued, “You treat everything and everyone like a joke!”

“No, I don't!” Anne glared at her.

“Guys-” Jane attempted, but her voice was quickly drowned out.

“Yes, you do!” Catherine glared back, “You don't listen to people, you make your little jokes and the move on-”

“YOU TREAT ME LIKE A CHILD!” Anne yelled, “EVEN IF I TRY TO BE SERIOUS OR I DON'T MAKE JOKES, YOU STILL TREAT ME LIKE A KID-”

“YOU ACT LIKE A KID!” Catherine yelled back, “I TRY TO TREAT YOU SERIOUSLY AND YOU STILL ACT LIKE ON-”

Anne looked down, shaking her head, “You're not-” Her head snapped up as she glared at Catherine, “-LISTENING TO ME!”

“Yes, I am, you're just not saying anything!” Catherine looked down at her, “All you're doing is yelling!”

“You're both yelling, to be fair...” Kat pointed out from the couch.

“Really fucking loudly,” Cathy muttered.

“Yeah, how about we just calm down-” Jane attempted to calm them down again.

“Oh, my God, can you just take my concerns seriously for once?!” Anne snapped.

“I do!” Catherine protested.

Anne rolled her eyes, “Yeah, when I'm trying to off myself-”

“Anne!” Jane's eyes widened.

“What?” Anne shot Jane a look, “It's true. You guys only take me seriously when I'm taking pills or slashing my arm up or something!” She looked back at Catherine, “Especially you.”

“I take you seriously!” Catherine argued, “What, you think I don't care about you?!”

“You treat me like a fucking JOKE, Catherine,” Anne gave a bitter laugh, “So, yeah, maybe I can get the impression you don't care about me.”

“You say that like you don't also treat me like you don't give a shit,” Catherine hissed, her eyes narrowing, “You dismiss me, call me boring, and do your own thing all of the time-”

“NO, I DON'T!” Anne yelled.

“YES, YOU DO!” Catherine yelled back.

“You- GOD!” Anne stamped her foot and glared up.

“You know, what?!” Catherine stormed past Anne, “I am leaving and taking a walk-”

“THEN LEAVE!” Anne snapped, swiveling around to glare at her, “SEE IF I CARE!”

Catherine glared back, opening her mouth before shutting it and shaking her head. She walked out the door, slamming it harder than necessary.

“Anne-” Jane began, tone scolding.

“SAVE IT, MÈRE!” Anne held up her hand to Jane before leaving the room, going to her own.

The other four stayed quiet for a bit.

“Goddamn, when did we time travel to the Pre-Araleyn phase?” Anna tilted her head.

“I'm glad I'm not the only one getting intense Deja Vu from that...” Cathy nodded.

“Should we go after them?” Kat titled her head.

“No, no, it's fine,” Jane shook her head, “Just let them cool off. If we get concerned, we can text them or something, but they should be fine.”

They all mumbled in agreement and went back to what they were doing, but none of them could settle the uneasy feeling in their stomach. Obviously, the two were adults, they were fine. They could recover and maturely talk it through, but none of them would be fully calm and secure until they did.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Catherine had calmed down a bit and replayed the argument through her mind.

She could begrudgingly admit Anne had a point. She had a tendency to baby or talk down to her. Of course, it wasn't like Anne didn't dumb herself down. It wasn't like Anne didn't also have a tendency to act immature.

It depended on the context of the situation as well, Anne wouldn't be Anne if she didn't make jokes from time to time. And she could act serious when she wanted.

She also had to admit that... That she didn't notice Anne wasn't doing okay- or at least didn't do anything about it- until she was ‘trying to off herself.’

And Catherine really wasn't listening, not in the moment. She was so focused on ‘winning’ she didn't realize that there was no winning there. She should've taken a breath and tried to have an actual conversation with Anne instead of repeating the same thing with different wording.

It wasn't like Anne wasn't being... Difficult during their argument. Maybe Catherine wasn't listening, but Anne wasn't explaining as well as she could've.

Catherine took a deep breath and looked down. She just had to calm down, cool off a little more, and then they could have an actual conversation.

“I am leaving and taking a walk-”

“THEN LEAVE! SEE IF I CARE!”

Catherine couldn't help but cringe as she remembered the end of their argument.

“SEE IF I CARE!”

She knew... She knew that Anne did care. She was just lashing out. But it was still... It still kinda stung.

Catherine shook her head and looked around. She would cool off a little more and go back and they could both apologize and actually listen instead of just screaming at each other.

Yeah.

That's what they'd do.

Catherine glanced around at the stores and smiled a little.

Maybe she could get Anne a gift, too...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Anne was in her room, thinking.

She had cooled down a little but was still pretty upset. She couldn't help but play and replay the argument in her mind, a million times.

She should've said something else, did something else. Should she have? What could she have said?

Anne groaned and flopped on her back. Catherine had a point. She acted childish a lot. She acted like a kid. Why would she expect to get treated any differently?

“You treat me like a fucking JOKE, Catherine, so, yeah, maybe I can get the impression you don't care about me.”

Anne winced at the memory and rolled over.

“What? It's true. You guys only take me seriously when I'm taking pills or slashing my arm up or something! Especially you.”

She shook her head and sat up. Catherine would be back soon. Of course, she would. They... They could... They could talk it out, right?

“I am leaving and taking a walk-”

“THEN LEAVE! SEE IF I CARE!”

What if Catherine did leave? Not just for a walk, but forever?

No. No way. No way she would just leave after one argument. Why would she do that? They'd been through so much-

But was all of it good?

Did she finally have enough of Anne's arguments and just leave?

Would she come back only to tell her she was leaving her and then be gone together? How would Anne tell the others?

What if they sided with Catherine and told Anne to get out? Then what would she do? She would be alone.

It wasn't that bad.

Was it?

No.

No, no, no, stop! Anne bit back a sigh and looked down, You're letting your mind run and it's not- You're wrong.

Catherine wouldn't leave her.

“THEN LEAVE! SEE IF I CARE!”

Anne pulled her blanket over her and curled up, shaking her head and trying to get her mind to shut up for once. 

It did not, which was really fucking rude.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Catherine gently opened the door, holding a green bunny plushy in her hand. Jane and Cathy were on the couch and Kat and Anna were in the kitchen.

Catherine couldn't help but be embarrassed after what they saw earlier, “Um, is Anne-”

“Still in her room,” Kat said, blinking.

Catherine nodded and went upstairs. She walked to Anne's room and took a deep breath before gently knocking on the door.

“Anne...? You there?”

No answer.

Catherine bit her lip, before shaking her head. She probably just... Fell asleep. Yeah. That's all.

She turned to walk away when the door opened.

“Sorry, hey...” Anne's eyes were trained on the ground, only glancing up every so often. 

Catherine winced a little, “Anne are you-”

“Do you wanna come in...?” Anne asked, hesitantly, as if she were afraid of the answer, “To-to my room, I mean.”

“Yeah, sure,” Catherine stepped inside, Anne stepping behind her and shutting the door before sitting on the bed.

They were quiet before Catherine spoke, “I, uh, g-”

“Are you gonna leave me?” Anne interrupted, looking up at her, “I-I mean, did I push you too far this time?”

“What?” Catherine stepped forward, crouching by Anne, “No, no, Anne, I wouldn't leave over one argument. I-I can't see a reason why I would leave at all.”

“Yeah, I-” Anne sniffed and gave a small smile, “I, uh, I didn't think so. Well, I did for a bit. It-It was weird.”

“I'm not leaving you, Conejita,” Catherine smiled, “I mean, we should try and discuss what happened in the argument in a-”

“Less screamy way?” Anne suggested, tilting her head.

“I was gonna say, ‘more civil way’,” Catherine laughed a little, “But that works, too.”

“I'm, uh, sorry for what I said,” Anne mumbled, shuffling a little.

“So am I,” Catherine sat down next to her, “Sorry, I mean.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Anne nodded, “So, um... What's that?”

“Oh, uh-” Catherine felt her face got hot, handing Anne the green bunny plushie, “I got you this. As a sorry gift.”

Anne grabbed it and stared at it for a bit before smiling, “Thank you. It's... It's beautiful.”

“Are you gonna name it?” Catherine asked as Anne leaned on her.

“Hmm...” Anne hummed, “How about... Réconcilier?”

“What does that mean?” Catherine tilted her head.

“Don't worry about it,” Anne smiled and sighed, “You wanna... Take a nap? And talk later?”

“‘Course, Conejita,” Catherine smiled and wrapped her arms around her.

The two laid back and Catherine pulled the blanket over them.

“Hey, Anne?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you just gonna cuddle, um-”

“Réconcilier.”

“Recon-see-er instead of me?”

“Putting aside your horrible pronunciation-”

“I don't know French that well.”

“Sometimes, I will. Your fault for buying me something so cute.”

“Damn.”

“You and your shitty pronunciation still get plenty of cuddles, don't worry.”

“R... Réconciler?”

“Better, but it's Réconcilier.”

“Réconcilier?”

“There we go!”

“Did I get it?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, good...”

“Goodnight, Lina.”

“Night, Anne.”

Chapter Text

The ten of them stayed at the Queen's house for a movie night.

They made a bunch of snacks and got a bunch of blankets and pillows. They moved a few of the mattresses in front of the couch so they could lay there easier.

“We're watching ‘The Fault in Our Stars’!” Jane smiled, “I finished the book and it made me cry a lot so I was curious to see how the movie would hold up.”

“Did Anna read it with you?” Maggie titled her head before smiling, “Oh, my God, did you cry?!”

“Yes, I read it to her,” Anna shot her a look, “And, yeah, I cried, you all will.”

“Yeah, right,” Cathy rolled her eyes, “I don't cry at movies and stuff. That's Anne and Kat.”

“Fuck off, I don't cry that much!” Anne glared at her.

“Yeah, except at-” Kat took a deep breath, “She-ra, Kipo, The Notebook, Keith, Voltron-several times at Voltron- um, Steven Universe, My Girl, Grey's Anatomy- why did we watch that show again?- The Office, Parks and Rec, New Girl, Supernatural, Her Lie in April, The Umbrella Academy, Criminal Minds, The Dragon Prince, Rosw-”

“Okay, you could've stopped at My Girl,” Anne looked at her, “You did not need to call me out THAT HARD.”

“Damn, Kat had a whole list, didn't she?” Cathy tilted her head.

“She really went for it there,” Joan nodded.

“Sorry,” Kat giggled a little and handed Anne some skittles.

“You are forgiven,” Anne smiled and took them, “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Kat returned the smile, “Now turn it on, Mum.”

“Okay, okay,” Jane smiled and pressed play.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I am not depressed!”

“Damn, main Protag and I have nothing in common,” Anne ate some popcorn.

“Annie, no,” Kat looked at her.

“I don't know, I think she's lying about not being depressed, which would give you a lot in common,” Maggie commented.

“Shut the FUCK up,” Anne glared at her while everyone else laughed. She laughed after a few seconds, too.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“We are gathered here today, literally in the heart of Jesus,” The leader of the support group gestured to the carpet on the ground that had a picture of Jesus with a heart on him.

Hazel-the main protagonist- stifled a laugh and looked down.

“Maybe we do have something in common,” Anne joked.

“Ooh, who's that other guy she's looking at?” Bessie asked.

“They're gonna fall in love, I swear,” Maggie nodded.

“That's not as an impressive guess, it's and guy and a girl looking at each other,” Bessie rolled her eyes, “Of course, they're falling in love.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Maggie glared at her.

“Both of you, stop,” Maria reprimanded, “No arguing during the movie.”

“Hazel is hot,” Anna commented.

“She is,” Anne agreed, “I love Lina, but... Hazel. No offense, love you, babe.”

“None taken, me too,” Catherine nodded.

“Catherine's just into depressed girls with a bunch of issues,” Cathy shrugged.

“What the Hell, why is everyone calling me out tonight?” Anne demanded.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Oblivion is inevitable,” Hazel told Gus, after he said he feared fading into oblivion, “If it scares you, I suggest you ignore it, like everyone else does.”

“Damn, alright,” Kat narrowed her eyes, “That was a lot.”

“She isn't wrong, I just don't like that she's right,” Jane mumbled.

“I don't know, we should have faded into oblivion when we died, and now look at us,” Anna shrugged, “Who knows?”

“Huh,” Joan hummed, “Yeah, I guess you're right.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Isaac!” Gus says to his roommate, Isaac, who was having a breakdown and punching a pillow, per Gus’ advice, “Pillows don't break.”

Gus hands Isaac a basketball trophy, “You need to break something.”

“Go to town, my friend,” Gus says.

“Are you sure?” Isaac asks.

“I’ve been looking for a way to tell my Dad that I kinda hate basketball,” Gus answers, “Think maybe we’ve found it.”

Isaac goes on to start smashing it.

“WHOO!” Kat cheered, “Go off!”

“Smash that shit!” Anne grinned, “Fuck your ex for leaving you!”

“Yeah!” Anna laughed, “Fuck the ‘always’!”

“Yeah!” Jane smiled, “I like this movie.”

“Is it like the book?” Cathy tilted her head.

“It's okay,” Jane hummed, “I can't expect it to be just like it, though.”

“I suppose that's true,” Cathy nodded.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So,” Gus looked at her, “‘An Imperial Affliction.’”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Hazel said.

“But that ending, Hazel...” Gus sighed.

“It is rather abrupt,” Hazel nodded.

“Are you kidding!?” Gus argued, “It’s evil!”

Isaac continues loudly smashing the trophy to bits. Gus and Hazel try to talk over the noise.

“I mean, I totally get that she died or whatever- Anna,” Gus said.

Everyone turned to Anna, who rolled her eyes.

“Guess I died,” She joked.

“But there is an unwritten contract between author and reader and I think ending your book in the middle of a sentence kind of violates that contract,” Gus continues.

“But that’s part of what I like about it. It portrays death truthfully,” Hazel argued, “You die in the middle of your life, in the middle of a sentence. But I do- God, I do want to know what happens to everyone else.”

“Yeah like her Mom,” Gus agreed.

“The Dutch Tulip Man...” Hazel continued.

“Sysiphus the Hamster...” Gus smiled.

“They're so fucking cute,” Anne sighed, “I want that.”

“You have that,” Maggie looked at her, “What is Catherine, chopped liver?”

“Yeah, Anne,” Catherine agreed, “What am I, chopped liver?”

“Not Augustus, that's what,” Anne huffed, before stiffening a little, “.../j?”

“What the fuck, Anne?” Catherine demanded.

“/J, /J!” Anne sat up and handed her some popcorn, “See?”

“You're getting dumped,” Anna joked.

“No, no, Lina, wait!” Anne whined, “Take the popcorn! I'm sorry!”

“Fine, you're forgiven,” Catherine grabbed the popcorn, “But only because you're not Hazel.”

“Damn,” Cathy winced.

“I'll take that, that's a fair hit,” Anne nodded and turned around.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“That's the thing about pain... It demands to be felt.”

“It does,” Kat sighed.

“Yeah...” Cathy nodded.

“That hits different,” Anna mumbled, everyone else nodding in agreement.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I gotta go to sleep,” Hazel says to Gus, both of them on the phone.

“Okay...” Gus says.

“Okay...” Hazel repeats.

Neither one of them want to hang up the phone.

“Okay,” Gus responds.

“Okay,” Haze says.

They both laugh at this.

“Perhaps ‘okay’ will be our ‘always’,” Gus suggests.

“Aww,” Maggie tilts her head, “For a het couple, they're cute.”

“That implies they're both straight,” Anna rolls her eyes, “Try and tell me Hazel isn't Bi and Gus isn't Pan.”

“That...” Kat hummed, “Is surprisingly fitting.”

“Yeah, you're right on the nose with that one,” Anne agreed.

“Why do you think Bi and Pan?” Jane glanced at her.

“They just give off those vibes,” Anna shrugged.

“Fair,” Maggie nodded.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Can we go to Amsterdam?” Hazel asks her Mom.

“Hazel, I... I love you and... I want nothing more than for you to have everything in the world but I...” Her Mom responds, “Amsterdam? I mean...”

“How would we do that? You know money’s tight around here and...” The Mom continues, “...getting the equipment there alone would cost-”

“No, yeah, of course...” Hazel responds.

“Let her go to Amsterdam so she can talk to the author dude and know what happens at the end of the book!” Cathy huffed, “She has cancer! You can't deny a simple trip to Amsterdam to a girl with cancer!”

“Don't worry, I'm sure she'll get there,” Anne waved her hand, “We're, like, 20 minutes in.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“And then this happened.”

“Holy shit, is she dying?!” Anne sat up, “Hold on-”

“Oh, my God, oh, my God,” Kat ate some gummies, “No, she isn't dying.”

“We're a quarter of the way through this, no one is dying,” Cathy assured.

“We're only a quarter of the way through?” Maggie glanced at her, “That- That's... This is gonna hurt like a bitch.”

“Yeah, obviously,” Anna nodded, “What did I say? You're all gonna cry.”

“I told you, I don't cry at movies,” Cathy protested.

“Bullshit,” Anna glared at her, “You will, you'll get all sappy and imagine if it was happening but with you and Kat and cry.”

“Now, I'm gonna imagine it with me and Cathy and cry!” Kat glared at her.

“See, she isn't dead,” Bessie gestured to the screen.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“You can let go, sweetie,” Her Mom says in a flashback, “Don’t be afraid.”

A 13-year old Hazel nods. The doctors get to work. The anaesthetic takes hold and Hazel goes under. But not before she hears her Mother talk.

“Oh Michael...” Hazel's Mom sobs, “I won’t be a mom anymore...”

“Well, that's fucking traumatic,” Joan commented.

“Not the Mom telling her to let go-” Anne shook her head, “Damn.”

“And she was only 13!” Maggie nodded, “Geez!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Oh, my God, let her go to Amsterdam you dicks,” Cathy glared at the screen.

“Don't say she's too sick!” Anne whined.

“Yeah, going to a mall is just dangerous as flying!” Kat protested, “Let her live before she dies.”

“I would wanna live before I died,” Jane agreed.

“Ho, don't do it-” Anne started.

“You're just too sick.”

“HO DID IT!” Anne yelled, everyone else laughing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Look, Augustus, I-” Hazel sighed, “I like you. I like hanging out with you. But I can’t let it go any further.”

“Why not?” Gus asks.

“Because.” Hazel responds.

“Bitch, that ain't an answer,” Anne looked at the screen.

“Don't call a girl with cancer a bitch,” Catherine reprimanded.

“Bitch(Complimentary)?” Anne tilted her head.

“Oh, my God,” Catherine sighed.

“Because why?” Gus asks.

“Because I...” Hazel looked at him.

“Tell me - tell me what the problem is-” Gus looked at her.

“I don’t want to hurt you-” Hazel answered.

“I wouldn’t mind-” Gus smiled.

“You don’t understand-” Hazel shook her head.

“No, you don’t understand, Hazel Grace-” Gus begins.

“Augustus-” Hazel interrupted.

“It would be an honor to have my heart-”

“I'm a grenade!” She snaps.

“Oh-” Kat winces.

“Rip,” Anna nods.

“I’m a grenade,” Hazel explains, “And at some point I’m gonna blow up, and everything in my wake will be obliterated and I really... I just... I need to minimize the casualties. Do you understand?”

“Oh, no...” Anne whimpered, “Me, too, but oh, no...”

“Anne, you need to stop, I'm getting concerned by how much you relate to her,” Bessie looked at her.

“Okay, but are you gonna tell me we don't all relate to her?” Joan glanced around. Everyone went quiet and she nodded, “What I thought.”

Chapter Text

“Do you like him?” Isaac asks Hazel, referring to Gus.

“Of course I like him,” Hazel looks at him.

“But you don't want to hook up with him?” Isaac asked.
    
“It's complicated,” Hazel answered.

“Me, too, Hazel,” Anne nodded, “Me, too.”

“I would like to say I get messy relationships but I have had one thing that I can actually classify a real relationship,” Kat commented, “I also don't get hook-up culture.”

“The life of an Asexual,” Joan joked, Kat giggled a little.

“Well, yeah, but even out of Asexuality, you can like someone without wanting to hook up with them,” Bessie pointed out, “The fuck kind of a question was that, Isaac?”

“Yeah, Isaac,” Anna rolled her eyes, “The fuck?”

“I think we're reading too far into this,” Maria hummed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Oh, holy shit, they're going to Amsterdam!” Anne grinned and sat up, “They can go see the author dude about the book!”

“Anne, hon, we can't see,” Jane patted Anne's head before adding, “Language.”

“Oh, sorry-” Anne laid back, “And, uh... Shoot. Holy shoot? That doesn't work-”

“‘Holy crap’, Anne,” Joan corrected, “Come on.”

“Fuck off, Joany, I don't need to memorize the baby curse words,” Anne glared back, “I am an adult.”

“Language,” Jane looked at her.

“Fuck off, Mère,” Anne smirked and flipped her off.

Jane gave an exaggerated gasp, “Anne!”

“What the fuck, Boleyn?” Anna glared at her, “You messing with my girlfriend?!”

“Oh, my God...” Cathy groaned and leaned down from her place on the couch to be a little closer to Kat. Kat glanced back at her and smiled.

“You fuck off, too!” Anne grinned, “Everyone can fuck off!”

“Annie, please, they're talking about Amsterdam!” Kat whined.

Anne rolled her eyes and looked at the screen, “Fine, fine. Is the Amsterdam trip gonna be good, Janey?”

After no answer, Anne tried again, “Jane? Janeeey? ...Jaaaaan-”

“Anne, can't you tell I'm trying to give you the silent treatment?” Jane looked at her.

“...Sorry?” Anne tried.

Jane sighed, “The Amsterdam trip is... A lot.”

“Do they die?!” Kat turned around.

“No one dies,” Jane assured, “Trust me, just watch.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“We're just friends, Mom!” Hazel shot her Mom a look.

“She is,” Gus corrected, “I'm not.”

“Awww,” Joan cooed, “One-sided love.”

“It isn't one-sided!” Kat argued, “She just doesn't want to admit it.”

“Eh, he seems to be a lot more open to relationships than her,” Cathy shrugged, “Maybe not completed one-sided, but one person is more committed than the other.”

“Neither of them truly know what ‘love’ is,” Anne hummed, “Neither of them have had a relationship, their knowledge on relationships are limited and either end in break-ups or the tail-end of one, being their parents or other adults around them. How can they differentiate between romantic or platonic love?”

“I...” Maggie paused, “You're right.”

“You're so analytical,” Kat smiled.

“Not to mention, they both seem to have opposite views on how to act with their illnesses,” Anne continued, “She sees herself as a grenade, wanting to contain damage by isolating herself. She wants to fade into the oblivion. Gus, on the other hand, wants to live as much life as he can before he dies. While I love him and their relationship, he would probably be in a romantic relationship with any girl who he became close with,” Anne paused before adding, “To summarize, he wants to speedrun life, she wants to speedrun death.”

“You're so right,” Anna looked at the screen, “Also, that last line really helped me understand and I'm being serious and that kind of concerns me.”

“Oh, I didn't understand a word she said until that last sentence,” Kat nodded, “I appreciate you dumbing it down for us.”

“I'm still processing everything else she said, but I think I get it with the last line,” Jane smiled.

“You guys are giving me too much credit for one line,” Anne glanced back.

“It was a good line,” Catherine shrugged.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Oh, my God, the author guy is a DICK,” Maggie groaned, “They're two sick kids, throw them a bone and tell them what happens to everyone else when she dies!”

“She's obviously projecting onto the kid who died and needs someone to tell her that everyone else around her will still have a life when she dies,” Cathy rolled her eyes, “Just make something up, asshole.”

“I won't indulge your childish whims,” The author looked at Hazel and Gus, “I refuse to pity you in the manner in which you're accustomed.”

“I don't want your pity-” Hazel began.

“Of course you do,” The author continued, “Like all sick kids, your existence depends on it.”

“Peter!” His assistance snapped.

“You are fated to live out your days as the child you were when diagnosed, the child who believe there is life after a novel ends,” The author continues, “And we, as adults, pity this, so we pay for your treatments, for your oxygen machines. We give you food and water though you are unlikely to live long enough-”

“PETER!” His assistant yelled.

“You are a side effect of an evolutionary process that cares little for individual lives,” The author said, “You are a failed experiment in mutation.”

“WHAT THE HELL, PETER?!” Anne snapped, “He's such a dick!”

“‘Failed experimentation in mutation’, she is a girl with cancer!” Catherine looked at the screen, “What the Hell?!”

“I absolutely despise him,” Kat mumbled, “If I had the chance, I would stab him in the chest, no hesitance, no remorse.”

“I mean, blunt,” Cathy nodded, “But I agree.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Are they gonna have sex?” Kat scrunched up her nose, “Ew-”

“It won't show anything,” Anna grabbed the remote, “But I will fast forward.”

“Good, this is gross,” Joan hummed and groaned, “And we're out of popcorn. I blame this on the sex.”

“Sex ruins everything,” Kat sighed and stood up, “But I'll make more.”

“Get me some with extra butter!” Anne raised her hand, “Please?”

“Alright, any other requests?” Kat glanced over.

“Get me some kettle corn?” Cathy raised her hand.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What's Gus saying...?” Anne mumbled and looked up at them, “Is- Wait I thought Hazel was gonna die at the end-”

“You thought wrong,” Jane nodded, “But oh it gets so much worse.”

“Augustus, no,” Kat sniffed, “No, wait-”

“Oh, my God, is he gonna die?!” Joan glanced around, “Wait, but they were so cute!”

“Please don't say ‘were,’ I'm still in denial,” Maggie shook her head.

“Come on, Cathy, you know you're gonna cry~” Anna teased, leaning towards her.

“Well, it's sad, but...” Cathy tapered off before looked down, “...Kat are you already crying-?”

“I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Oh, my God, wait, hold on-” Kat sniffed, “Is-Is he gonna die?! Now?!”

“Oh, this is horrible,” Anne mumbled, trying (and failing) not to cry like Kat, “No, Gus-”

“He can't die now, there's more of the movie left!” Bessie argued, “He- He can't!”

“You know, watching your guys' reactions is really fun,” Jane hummed, “I mean, not fun but, uh-”

“Amusing,” Anna suggested with a smirk, “Hey, Cathy-”

“Not crying,” Cathy responded, “Now, I'm not gonna cry specifically to spite you.”

“How do you even do that?” Catherine tilted her head.

“Spite is a powerful force, Catherine,” Cathy smiled, “Very powerful.”

“Oh, my God...” Maria sighed.

“Oh, he isn't dead!” Maggie grinned.

“Yet,” Anna mumbled.

Kat groaned and buried her face in a pillow, Anne giving her a small shoulder pat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Oh, Isaac and Hazel are doing a little fake funeral for Gus!” Cathy smiled, “He's still alive, but y’know, he probably won't be soon.”

Kat whimpered and shoved her face into the pillow.

“Stop reminding Kat that death exists,” Anne glanced back at them.

“Anne, are you crying?” Catherine looked at her.

“Of course, I'm crying!” Anne looked at the TV, “They're- They're reading eulogies for him...”

“I wonder if anyone did a eulogy for us,” Joan hummed, “I mean, we did die.”

“Henry shit-talked Catherine, shit-talked me,” Anne began, “Probably talked about how Jane was the only good one.”

“He shit-talked Kat, and Anna and I outlived him,” Cathy finished.

“I mean, some people were nice about our deaths,” Catherine hummed, “Right?”

“I mean, I mourned Kat,” Anna shrugged, “So I'm assuming someone else did. Probably Elizabeth or Edward. I bet Mary would, too. It wasn't hard to see how fucked up all of our situations were.”

“Yeah...” Anne nodded.

“I mean- OH HOLY SHIT GUS JUST DIED!” Maggie looked at the TV.

“Ahhhh!” Kat let out a whimper before sobbing into the pillow.

“Oh, I'm not emotionally prepared for any of this!” Anne shook her head.

“Cathy, are you-”

“Nope.”

“GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Oh, not the shitty author dude!” Catherine groaned, “Fuck off.”

“Hazel seems to be saying ‘Fuck off,’ too,” Joan nodded, “Good on her.”

“Is Hazel effectively utilizing girlpower by telling this dude to fuck off?” Maggie asked, “I believe the answer is yes.”

“Totally yes,” Cathy agreed.

“Oh, Gus wrote-” Kat whimpered, “He wr- he wrote her an ending... And asked the dick author dude to help him polish it up...”

“This is so fucking sad,” Anne wiped her eyes, “I hate this.”

“How aren't you crying?!” Anna glared at Cathy, “Everyone else is crying! I'm crying!”

“Pure spite, bitch,” Cathy flipped her off.

“Oh, you little-”

“Stop it!” Catherine shot them a look, “The rest of us are busy having breakdowns.”

“This is the saddest day of my life,” Kat whined, “This is worse than the day of my execution.

“It is,” Anne pulled her knees to her chest.

“Anna, stop glaring at Cathy and cuddle me,” Jane demanded.

“Cathy, stop glaring at Anna and comfort your fucking girlfriend,” Kat looked up at Cathy.

Cathy and Anna sighed and went to cuddle their respective partners. Anne went over to Catherine and cuddled her.

Maria was the one to turn off the TV and everyone agreed to go to sleep. They cleaned up their snacks and adjusted until they were comfortable.

Chapter Text

After they all passed out in cuddle piles, at around 2 am, the house was silent and still.

Cathy was the first to wake up, very annoyed that she did, considering it was only 5 am when she did.

To be more precise, after checking her phone, it was 5:43 AM. Great.

Cathy figured she would put her insomniacness- insomniacility? No, insomniac... Tendencies? Whatever, the fact she never fucking slept to good use.

She slowly moved away from the others, trying not to wake them up. She went into the kitchen, trying to remember what everyone's favorite breakfast foods and drinks were.

Pink lemonade for Kat, that horribly unhealthy sour green apple juice for Anne, pineapple juice for Catherine...

She began to mumble to herself, not really noticing, “Maggie and Bessie like apple juice, Maria likes milk, Joan likes chocolate milk, and... And, then cider for Anna! Apple cider.”

“Hmm?” She heard a small noise from the cuddle pile, “‘id someone say my name...?”

“Oh, no,” Cathy walked over, seeing Anna sit up, “I, um, didn't mean to wake you up. I just couldn't sleep, so... Decided to make breakfast for everyone else?”

“Cool, cool...” Anna rubbed her eyes, “I can help. I can't sleep, anyway.”

“Why?” Cathy tilted her head as Anna shifted away from the others.

“Why can't you sleep?” Anna looked at Cathy.

“...Touché,” Cathy nodded.

“I don't speak French, fuckhead,” Anna yawned and followed Cathy to the kitchen. 

“That's a common saying, dumbass,” Cathy rolled her eyes, “Anyway, you know everyone's favorite breakfast meals?”

“Catherine likes fancy toast with berries and shit, Anne likes waffles with a bunch of powdered sugar and syrup, Jane and Maria like simple bacon and eggs, Maggie likes Eggos waffles with syrup and peanut butter,” Anna hummed, “Bessie likes toast with peanut butter and sugar...”

“Kat likes chocolate pancakes,” Cathy nodded, “And Joan says she isn't hungry and then steals off of everyone else's plate, so we can give her a plate full of scraps.”

“Sounds great, Parr,” Anna grinned, “Let me turn on a dim light so we don't wake the rest.”

“We should good the eggs and bacon last, so they don't get cold,” Cathy grabbed some bread, “I mean, everything here will get cold so we can also just heat it up or put paper towels around it.”

“Let's just start and roll with it,” Anna shrugged.

“I-I guess...” Cathy shifted a little, “I just like being prepared.”

“I get that,” Anna grabbed some pancake mix, “But we can't plan everything. Besides, we can wake them up if they don't get up naturally in an hour.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cathy smiled, “Alright, Anna, let's... Start and roll with it.”

“So, hey,” Anna turned the stove on, “How didn't you cry at the movie?”

“Spite,” Cathy responded, “But I was close. Although, only one show has actually made me sob before.”

“Really?” Anna blinked at her.

“Yep,” Cathy nodded, “I've teared up at others, but only one show emotionally wrecked me like that.”

“I must know what show got the great Catherine Parr to sob,” Anna joked turned back to the pancakes.

“...You know that kid's show, Bluey?” Cathy glanced at her.

“I've watched an episode or here with Kat,” Anne nodded before turning to her, “Wait, the fucking dog show got you?!”

“Listen-” Cathy began.

“Oh, my God!” Anna whisper-yelled, “Bluey got you?! Which episode?! We have to watch these together sometime!”

“Fuck off!” Cathy whisper-yelled back before the two giggled together, “It's an emotional show.”

“I mean, what I saw was good, but damn,” Anna turned back to the pancakes, “I'm serious, though.”

“Hmm?” Cathy asked as she put some toast into the toaster.

“About watching it together,” Anna replied.

“...we can do that someday.”

“Cool.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They were almost finished with everything by 6:21 AM.

Jane was the first to wake up, her shifting causing Catherine and Maria to wake up.

“What are you two doing?” Jane softly called out to the two in the kitchen.

“Is... Is the bacon and eggs?” Maria tilted her head.

“It's too early for this,” Maggie groaned before sitting up, “Is... Are those waffles?”

“You mean those shitty waffles you make everyday that the scent of make me sick now?” Bessie sat up, “Because, yes, I recognize the smell anymore.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Maggie gently punched Bessie's shoulder.

“Asshole,” Bessie shoved her back.

“You know what?” Maggie shoved Bessie harder.

“Okay-” Bessie tackled Maggie and the two fell out of the cuddle pile and off the couch.

“Shut the fuck up, you're gonna wake Kat!” Anne glared at them.

“I'm up...” Kat mumbled and sat up, rubbing her eyes before jumping off the couch, “Are those pancakes?!”

“Yeah, actually-” Anne turned toward the kitchen, “WHAT ARE YOU GUYS MAKING?!” She yelled, everyone else groaning and covering their ears.

“Shut the fuck up and get in here!” Anna yelled back.

They all mumbled before going into the kitchen.

“Whoa!” Maggie grinned, “It is those waffles!”

“Ugh...” Bessie groaned before parking up, “Ooh, toast!”

“Specifically for you,” Cathy smiled and slid some chocolate chip pancakes onto a plate, “And, for Kat-”

“Chocolate pancakes!” Kat grinned and jumped into the chair, “Oh, and pink lemonade!”

“Green apple juice!” Anne sat down and grabbed the cup, “And waffles and powdered sugar!”

“Also known as ‘Diabetes: The Meal,” Maria glanced at her.

“All of your favorite breakfasts!” Anna nodded, “And the eggs are ready!”

“This is so sweet!” Catherine smiled as everyone sat down.

“Joan, we made you a plateful of scraps because you always eat the scraps off of everyone else's plate like a vulture,” Cathy scared a bit of eggs and bacon onto Joan's plate, “Is that cool?”

“This is actually ideal,” Joan nodded, “I'm hoping you don't mean that for the drink, though.”

“We got you chocolate milk,” Cathy put the glass of chocolate milk down on the table.

“Choccy milk,” Joan nodded.

“Choccy vodky,” Anne grinned.

“No,” Joan took a sip of her chocolate milk.

“When did you two wake up?” Jane looked at them.

“Like...” Anna trailed off and glanced at Cathy with a shrug.

“A quarter till six,” Cathy answered.

“Cathy,” Kat looked at her, “Wha... What does that mean?”

“5:45,” Anne nodded.

“Yeah, I noticed Cathy awake and asked decided to help her make all of your guys' favorite breakfasts and drinks,” Anna smiled.

“Well, thank you,” Bessie took a bite of toast, “This is delicious!”

“You're welcome!” Anna nodded before she and Cathy sat down and began eating.

“So... Anne?” Jane glanced at her.

“Hmm?” Anne looked up, before taking a drink of her green apple juice.

“Do you just naturally analyze movies like that?” Jane asked.

“Oh, yeah, you've never really spat out analysis like that,” Cathy nodded.

“Yeah, that's Cathy's job,” Anna joked, earning her a playful glare from the blue Quern.

“Annie does that all the time when we binge shows,” Kat hums, “She went on a whole rant about how they were never really Entrapta's friends and treated her really poorly overall as well as the fact no one ever accounted for her autism, which makes sense considering they probably didn't know,  but it's still unfair. And none of them directly communicated the issue to her, just kinda lashed out at her and treated her like a nuisance. Which they always did.” She paused before glancing at her cousin, “Right?”

“Well, I mean, yeah, Perfuma literally leashed her, which I get, but there are better ways to handle autistic people,” Anne nodded, shifting in her seat a little, “But I don't analyze that many shows, Kat, w-”

“What about your whole essay about the flaw in Mabel criticism you sent me at three in the morn-”

“Okay, moving on!” Anne shot her cousin a look, “Anyway, how did we feel about the movie compared to the book, Janey?”

“Well,” Jane hummed, “Honestly? The book is always better, by default, but it came pretty close! The movie was almost exactly like the book and really enjoyable. But I wasn't paying too much attention to the similarities and differences, I was just enjoying the book!”

“Yeah,” Anna nodded in agreement, “Both made you cry just as much, too.”

“Shush,” Jane giggled and gently pushed Anna.

“Get a room,” Bessie joked.

“You're just jealous you don't have an Anna,” Joan rolled her eyes.

“Neither do you,” Bessie glared at her.

“And I am completely fine with that,” Joan nodded, “You, on the other hand, consume so much cheesy romance media to compensate for the fact you're single, you ran out and watched Twili-”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Bessie snapped, going red.

“You mean the shit that Fifty Shades of Grey was based on?!” Cathy looked at her with a grin.

“I'm sorry, what?” Catherine blinked.

“Fifty Shades of Grey was initially a Twilight fanfiction,” Maria explained, “And, if you don't know, Fifty Shades of Grey was a BDSM movie.”

“A what?” Jane looked at her, “Wait, what's BDSM?”

“What Anne and Catherine do during sex,” Maggie explained.

“Okay, can you guys stop bringing up what Anne and I do in the bedroom?!” Catherine glared at Maggie.

“You know, Twilight said that My Chemical Romance inspired them,” Kat added before taking a bite of her chocolate pancakes.

“And 9/11 inspired MCR so 9/11 caused Fifty Shades of Grey,” Anne smiled.

“I still don't get how 9/11 changed that much,” Jane hummed, “Also, this entire conversation told me multiple things I would've been happy never knowing.”

“None of us were around during it and it was in a different country,” Cathy shrugged, “I don't expect us to.”

Chapter Text

Cathy and Anna were competitive as Hell. Everyone knew that. It was pretty obvious. They were basically siblings at this point.

It was usually fine, but lately, they would start arguing about the dumbest things.

“I've always been really good with sour candy, so I'm assuming I'll be fine with lemons.”

“I bet I'm better.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

“Let's see who can finish a whole lemon first!”

“You're on, Cathy!”

“Let's go, Cleves!”

“Can you guys keep it down?” Anne snapped from the living room, “Lina and I are trying to watch a documentary about some dude named the Night Stalker.”

“Catherine, why don't you stop this?” Kat glanced at her from the kitchen- Jane trying to stop Anna and Cathy from getting lemons in the background- “I mean, you have a weird Mom relationship with both of them.”

“Exactly, I can't pick sides,” Catherine rolled her eyes, “Just let them compete, they'll calm down.”

“I'd pick sides if I had more than one kid,” Anne shrugged, “Like, yes, Tiffany, beat Greg's ass.”

“You are never allowed to have more than one kid,” Kat said.

“I would divorce you if you ever tried to name out children ‘Tiffany’ or ‘Greg’,” Catherine cringed, “What the Hell, Anne?”

“I wouldn't actually name our kid that, Lina, I just said the first thing that popped in my head,” Anne explained.

“No, no, no!” Jane sighed, “Okay, they're cutting the lemons, I can't stop them, anymore.”

“So, what would you name your kids?” Kat looked at Anne.

“I like Grace,” Anne hummed, “But we're also kinda popular so we have to name our kids something kinda weirdly pretty like Song or Hope or Apple or-”

“Okay, I am not naming our child Apple,” Catherine argued before parking up and looking at the TV, “Oh, we're missing something!”

“What if we name our kid after one of his victims?” Anne shrugged.

“That's a bit disrespectful,” Kat tilted her head.

“I don't want our kids named after people who got murdered, Anne,” Catherine looked at her.

“I'm a people who got murdered,” Anne looked back.

“Oh, you're right-” Catherine began, but was interrupted.

“FUCKIN’ DONE!” Anna yelled, making Jane flinch and Kat cover her ears.

“Me, too,” Cathy rolled her eyes, “Just because you aggressively screamed it first doesn't mean you finished it first.”

“Take the knife out of the lemon juice, it messes it up,” Jane sighed.

“Jane, you saw me, right?” Anna looked at her.

“N-Not really...” Jane glanced at Kat, who shrugged.

“Anne, Catherine?” Cathy called out to the two.

“I don't take sides,” Catherine replied.

“I've been paying attention to this and also don't care,” Anne nodded.

“Okay, we need to find something else, something one person undeniably wins or loses,” Anna hums, “It wouldn't be fair to base it on just strengths or just smarts, considering one of us is considerably better than the other in both of those categories.”

“What are you calling me weak?” Cathy looked at her.

“I called you strong, too, dumbass,” Anna glared at her.

“You know what, asshole-?” Cathy began.

“You should both get a job at Starbucks and see who quits first,” Anne looked at them.

“Why would you say that?!” Jane demands, “You know they're actually gonna do it now!”

“It isn't super easy to get a job there,” Anna nodded, “We should both apply, go the interview, and if only one of us gets in, they quit and we give up, if neither of us are in, we're done, and if we both get in...”

“We see who lasts the longest,” Cathy held out her hand.

Anne grinned and took it, “Yep!”

“Get me free drinks if you get the job,” Kat grinned.

“You basically just have milk,” Cathy rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” Kat shrugged, “Still nice to get it free!”

“If Cathy wants to lose her job to get you free milk and sugar, that's on her,” Anna shook her head, “I am playing it safe.”

“Yeah, that's like you,” Cathy scoffed.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” Anna glared at her.

“Both of you shut up,” Anne shooed them away, “I am trying to watch a murder documentary with my girlfriend!”

“I'm interested, too,” Jane sat down.

“Girlfriend and a cousin,” Anne corrected.

“I wanna watch it if you guys are,” Kat smiled.

“Girlfriend and two cousins,” Anne corrected again.

“I have nothing better to do than watch it,” Anna walked over, Cathy following.

“Then, we are all watching it so shut up!” Anne looked at the TV screen.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“GUESS WHAT?!” Anna ran into the living room, Cathy behind her.

“Shut up, I am watching something,” Anne glared at them.

“Not the Night Stalker documentary, right?” Cathy tilted her head, “It's been a week...”

“No, she's a dirty True Crime junkie so we're binging a bunch of cases,” Catherine clarified, “We're on... What are we on?”

“Charles Manson,” Anne smiled, “Next is Hinter... Hinterkayfek? That murders.”

“Hinterkaifek,” Anna corrected, “Anyway, shut up, Cathy and I both got the job!”

“Whoo!” Jane smiled from the kitchen, “Does... Does that mean you're doing the competition?”

“Fuck yeah,” Cathy grinned.

“Language,” Kat joked, giggling as she earned a playful glare from Cathy.

“Anyway, we are gonna work there!” Anna nodded, “Get ready to watch Cathy lose.”

“Ooh, you gonna take that?” Anne joked, glancing back at Cathy.

“Don't antagonize them,” Catherine chided, “They're already riled up enough.”

“I am going to crush you,” Cathy rolled her eyes, “You'll get bored and quit in a week.”

“No way!” Anna looked at her, “I'm gonna kick your ass.”

“I have the power of hyperfixation on my side,” Cathy argued.

“But if you don't hyperfixate, it'll become a chore, and you'll be screwed,” Anna protested.

“You both have good points,” Anne nodded.

“Anne, just watch your True Crime,” Catherine looked at her.

“Well, when is your first shift?” Kat asked.

“Tomorrow at...” Anna looked at her phone before blinking, “Uh... 4:30 AM.”

“Bitch, that's usually the time I go to sleep?” Cathy groaned.

“Go to sleep at an earlier time?” Jane suggested.

“Take a nap with me for a bit?” Kat tilted her head and smiled.

“Kat taking the opportunity to take a nap with her girlfriend, nice,” Anne joked.

“This is gonna be great,” Jane sighed.

“I'll just pull an all-nighter and nap during my breaks,” Anna hummed.

“Nope, you're going to sleep at 8,” Jane looked at her.

“But, Janey!” Anna whined.

“Trust me, you'll thank me later,” Jane walked into the kitchen, “I'll make dinner early for you two.”

“Thanks, Jane!” Cathy smiled.

“What's this case about?” Anna asked as she sat down on the couch.

“Bunch of people got murdered,” Anne hummed, “A whole family.”

“That's a lot,” Kat tilted her head.

“What Podcast is this?” Cathy asked.

“Morbid,” Anne answered, “Morbid: A True Crime Podcast to be specific.”

“Cool, cool,” Cathy nodded.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Parr,” Anna whispered, gently pushing the door open, “You-”

“Shh!” Cathy got out of bed, “Kat is asleep.”

“Not anymore,” Kat mumbled, sitting up, “You going to your shift?”

“Yep,” Cathy nodded and gently kissed Kat's forward.

“Get a room,” Anna rolled her eyes.

“This is our room,” Kat stood up.

“Come on, you ready?” Anna tilted her head.

“Give me ten minutes,” Cathy rubbed her eyes and Kat walked out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Anna tilted her head and followed Kat as she shut the door.

“Anne,” Kat said, simply.

“...Anne?” Anna asked.

“She's probably still watching True Crime in the living room,” Kat explained as the two walked downstairs.

“Oh,” Anna blinked as she saw Anne sitting on the couch, laying on Catherine, “Why are you s-”

“Lina's asleep,” Anne glanced at them, “So shh.”

“Cool,” Kat sat down on the couch by her, “What's this?”

“Salem Witch Trials,” Anne answered.

“That's not triggering?” Anna asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“Eh, kinda,” Anne shrugged, “I don't know, maybe it helps to know other people went through what I went through. Roughly. Worse for a couple. They killed two dogs and imprisoned a four-year-old for over a year.”

“They what?” Kat looked at her.

“The fuck did the four-year-old do?” Anna whisper-yelled.

“Had a Mom who got accused of being a witch,” Anne nodded, “Boy, am I glad they didn't, like, kill Elizabeth.”

“The fuck did the dogs do?” Kat asked.

“No idea, they just kinda killed them,” Anne shrugged, “For being witches.”

“Those damn dog witches,” Anna opened the fridge and pulled out the coffee that she made the night before and put in the fridge.

“You're making coffee to prepare to make coffee,” Anne hummed, “Ironic.”

“Shut up,” Anna took a sip, “I need a pick-me-up. I'm going to my new job.”

“You really think you're gonna win?” Kat asked.

“Totally,” Anna grinned, “I know Cathy is your girlfriend, but I can hold out way longer.”

“I don't know, you're stubborn, but so is Cathy,” Anne pointed out, “She'll stay up for hours out of spite. And she the was Survivor, maybe she'll survive this job longer.”

“Okay, we both know I was the real survivor,” Anna retorted, “You guys gonna visit us?”

“Hell, yeah,” Anne smiled, “After this episode is done.”

“I'm ready,” Cathy walked out of the room, “You-”

“Shh!” Anne glared at her, “Lina is asleep.”

“Oh, sorry,” Cathy blinked, “Anyway, c’mon, Anna.”

“Coming,” Anna smiled, “Goodbye, you two.”

“See you two in a bit,” Anne nodded.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I'm so fucking tired,” Anna groaned.

“You're lucky you aren't the one driving,” Cathy mumbled, “Besides, this shift is only a couple of hours long. You can drop out anytime you want.”

“I'm not dropping out,” Anna glared at her, “I'm just tired.”

“Is Jane gonna come see us, too?” Cathy asked.

“Not until later,” Anna shook her head, “Catherine will probably come with her, and Anne and Kat will leave and hopefully take a nap.”

“I think they're just gonna watch True Crime,” Cathy laughed a little.

“Is it okay that Anne's watching a case about people getting accused of being witches and publically executed in a way that involves their neck?” Anna looked at her, “I'm not the only one concerned, right?”

“There is a 50/50 chance this will end in a breakdown,” Cathy replied, “Maybe she'll let it go, maybe she'll get obsessed and look into every detail of the case before breaking down. Maybe she'll find someone who is eerily similar to her and that'll be her breaking point.”

“If that actually happens, I'll give you twenty bucks,” Anna grinned.

“I don't know if we should be betting on our friend's mental health, but deal,” Cathy smiled.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They got there around twenty minutes early, as they were instructed to. There were two other workers there, who gave them the rundown on how everything worked. They left around five minutes before opening, leaving Cathy and Anna alone.

“Okay,” Anna looked at Cathy, “All of my machines are working.”

“Did you remember everything?” Cathy asked.

“Mostly?” Anna tilted her head, “I'll figure it out. It won't be too busy for our shift.”

“It's from 4:30 to 6:00,” Cathy looked at her phone, “Then, 6:30 to 9:00-”

“Jesus, that's-” Anna paused, “Wait, give me a second... Three hours?”

“It's six, what the Hell kind of math did you do?” Cathy narrowed her eyes, “And that's not it, we then have 10:00 to 12:00, 1:30 to 3:30, and then we're done.”

“Six... To seven and a half...” Anna mumbled. Cathy opened her mouth but she waved her off, “Nine and a half. Right?”

Cathy paused before switching to her calculator, “Yep, that's right.”

“Whoo!” Anna grinned, “I did the math.”

“Simple math,” Cathy rolled her eyes.

“I'm gay, I can't help it,” Anna retorted.

“So am I,” Cathy argued.

“And you had to use the calculator app,” Anna glared at her.

Cathy paused before nodding, “Touche.”

“I don't know French, fuckhead,” Anna walked over to the front door.

“I already told you it's a common saying,” Cathy rolled her eyes before nodding, “Okay, we're open.”

“This day is gonna suck,” Anna mumbled, unlocking the door and flipping the sign before walking back behind the counter.

They didn't get their first customer for around ten minutes and spent that time figuring out how to make certain drinks and mixtures.

Their first customers were a guy and a kid.

“Hi,” The guy smiled, “I'll have a Caffè Latte and she'll have...” He glanced at the kid.

“Um, a Chai Latte,” The girl mumbled, “And a cake pop.”

“Cool, cool,” Anna nodded, “Name?”

“Sam,” The guy- Sam- answered.

“We'll have that for you soon,” Anna smiled before turning around, “Cathy, can you make a Chai Latte?”

“...mayhaps,” She responded, narrowing her eyes, “I'm gonna 80/20 chance I can versus can't.”

“Jesus Christ,” Anna mumbled.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Luckily for them, she could make a Chai Latte. They handled their few customers fine for the next hour. It wasn't too busy yet.

At around 5:30, Anne and Kat came.

“Hey, guys!” Anna smiled.

“How has it been?” Anne asked, leaning onto the counter.

“Fine!” Cathy nodded, “The drinks aren't as hard to make as I thought they would be.”

“There aren't too many customers yet, either, which is a plus,” Anna put a cup down on the other side of the counter before calling out, “Michael!” 

“Cool,” Kat tilted her head, “Do... You know how to make a Mocha Cookie Crumble...?”

Cathy paused, “Uh...” She hummed before pulling out her phone before nodding, “I think I can do that.”

“And a White Chocolate Mocha?” Anne asked, “And two cake pops, obviously.”

“Yep,” Anna smiled, “We're professionals now!”

“How was the documentary?” Cathy asked as she began to make the drink.

“Oh, great!” Kat grinned, “Horrible, but interesting!”

“You know, they pressed a guy to death?” Anne nodded.

“They what?” Anna blinked.

“Oh, they-” Anne began.

“Explain it later, Anne,” Kat shook her head, “A bit gruesome.”

“More gruesome than, like, anything we've gone through?” Anne tilted her head.

“No, but...” Kat gestured around, “Do you really wanna publically, loudly, explain what pressing a guy to death is?”

“Damn, alright,” Anne nodded, “I guess I'll tell them later.”

“Well, we have, like, seven more hours of work,” Anna mumbled, “Quite a few breaks in between, but, still.”

“That sucks,” Kat hummed, “You think you can do this for more than a few days.”

“I mean, we still have musical practice and stuff,” Anne looked at them, “Like, you have a job, outside of this.”

“Oh, shit, you're right,” Cathy put a drink down, “Also, Kitty's drink is ready.”

“Nice!” Kat walked over and grabbed it.

“And Anne's and the cake pops,” Anna put them down, “But you're right, we can't do this for more than a week, even if we wanted to.”

“I would die two minutes in, so, props to you guys for lasting so long,” Anne shrugged and took a sip before wincing, “Hot, hot!”

“The fuck did you think it was gonna be, cold?” Anna rolled her eyes.

“Shut up,” Anne grabbed Kat's drink, “I'm gonna have some of this to cool my tongue down.”

“Hey!” Kat whined.

“...please?” Anne looked at her.

“Fine,” Kat mumbled, “Now give me my cake pop.”

“Thank you, cousin!” Anne handed her the cake pop and took a sip.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Anne and Kat hung around until their break, which only lasted a half-hour.

“We'll text Jane and Catherine to visit during your next shift,” Anne nodded, “Kat and I are gonna binge True Crime after this break is up.”

“We should get food somewhere,” Anna glanced around, “Maybe go to McDonald's?”

“Yep, sound great,” Kat was bouncing as they walked. Anna and Cathy quickly noticed both Anne and Kat were bouncing at staring at them with smiles on their face.

“...So...” Cathy gave a small smile, “How was the Salem With Trials case?”

Anne and Kat both beamed and immediately began rambling in turns, surprisingly not talking over each other the whole time. It was like they practiced it.

By the time they got to the cars to drive to McDonald's, Cathy and Anna were genuinely hooked and interested. It was an interesting case.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After they finished eating, Cathy and Anna went back to their shift without much happening until Catherine and Jane cane.

“Hi!” Anna grinned and waved at them, before wincing and looking at the lady at the register, “Sorry, my friends- anyway, your order?”

As Anna took her order, Cathy gestured them over to a different part of the counter.

“How are you two doing?” Jane smiled.

“Great!” Cathy nodded as she made a drink, “It isn't too hard to make them. If you forgot, they have instructions again. There was someone else with us for a half-hour, but they left a while ago. What time is it?”

“7:28,” Catherine answered after glancing at her phone, “When does your shift end?”

“We have multiple shifts,” Anna walked over, beginning her drink as Cathy finished an order, called out a name, and went over to the cash register, “This one ends at 9:00. Anyway, what're Verführerin and Kätzchen doing?”

“Watching more True Crime,” Jane mumbled, “I think it's becoming a problem.”

“I genuinely had to force them to switch to a different case because it must've upset them,” Catherine sighed, “It was horrible. There are some horrible cases.”

“It would've been interesting if it didn't make me wanna throw up,” Jane made a face.

Anna nodded and called out a name as Cathy stepped over and Anna went to the register. It as obvious they had a system, and it was working very well. Surprisingly well.

“What are we talking about?” Cathy asked as she worked on a drink.

“Anne and Kat's debilitating True Crime addiction,” Catherine answered.

“That's probably gonna end with Anne spiraling,” Cathy hummed, “I hope she doesn't drag Kat down with her, but I wouldn't be surprised.”

“You really think so?” Jane tilted her head.

“Totally,” Cathy nodded and finished a drink before working on another, “Especially if they keep focusing on the Salem Witch Trials or any case similar to anything they've gone through, which isn't unlikely.”

Anna walked over, “That's the last one for a bit. The line is done. For now.”

Cathy nodded and pushed the drinks on the counter before calling out a name.

Jane and Catherine glanced at each other before they both laughed a little.

“What's funny?” Anna blinked.

“You two were supposed to be competing, but just a few hours at this job has put you in almost complete sync,” Jane explained, “It's... Kinda cute.”

“My kids are finally getting along,” Catherine joked.

Anna and Cathy both looked at each other before mumbling and fidgeting.

Jane and Catherine laughed as they both went back to work.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It went on like that all day, them using their breaks to get food and go home. 

Anne and Kat would visit, order some coffee and other treats, tell them about a new case, and then leave.

Jane and Catherine would visit, inform them that Kat and Anne were still watching True Crime, lightly teasing them about how well they worked together and leaving.

By the end of the day, the two were exhausted. As Cathy drove there in the morning, Anna was the one driving them both back.

“If Anne and Kat are watching True Crime at 3:30 AM, I'm going to fucking riot,” Anna mumbled.

Cathy laughed a little, “Oh, they're gonna have even more nightmares than usually for weeks!”

“Yeah,” Anna nodded, tapping the wheel, “...so-”

“Can we both just quit at the same time?” Cathy looked at her, “Because I will perish if I do this for much longer.”

“Yes, oh, God, yes!” Anna sighed, “I was gonna say the same thing.”

“Good,” Cathy smiled, “Call it even?”

“Even.”

Chapter Text

Anne and Kat sure were a duo to be reckoned with. Anyone could see that the two just meshed so well together. Maybe it was the family relation, the shared beheadings, the personalities that complemented each other so well. Or maybe it was a mix of all those.

Lately, the two had been obsessed with True Crime, no matter how triggering and gruesome it is. 

“Ew, what the Hell?!” Joan looked at the screen, “What are you two watching.”

“True Crime,” Anne answered.

“This is a pretty wack case,” Kat nodded, “But interesting.”

“Why are you watching this?” Maggie tilted her head.

“It's so intriguing,” Anne smiled, “What was going through their head? Did they feel bad? Did they do it because of their childhood trauma, did they have something else going on, is there a chance they were born this way? Who knows? Oh wait, sometimes, they just tell us.”

“The talkers are the most interesting,” Kat glanced back at the others.

“God, I wanna interview a serial killer,” Anne sighed.

“You talked to Henry all the time,” Catherine pointed out, “That was basically good enough, right?”

“Okay, a serial killer who didn't kill me and my closest friends, family, and girlfriend,” Anne corrected herself.

“Alright, fair enough,” Cathy nodded.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was common for the Beheaded Cousins to get in some kind of trouble because they went out on their own. This was definitely one of those times.

It also wasn't uncommon for the trouble to be funny, like a skit you'd see in a TV show, that had no real consequences in the end. This was definitely not one of those times. 

“Aw, come on, Kat!” Anne grinned as the two ran in a forest, in the middle of the night - They realized it wasn't such a good plan pretty soon - “It's right around here!”

“Are you sure this spooky abandoned cabin even exists?” Kat asked, running a little faster until she was right next to her cousin, “What if it's just a legend?”

“You're a legend,” Anne rolled her eyes as she and her cousin slowed to a stop.

“No, I'm not!” Kat protested, “I'm a historical tragedy that got reincarnated as a mess with five other messes.”

“Well-” Anne opened her mouth before nodding, “Actually, we are all messes, aren't we?”

“Yep!” Kat grinned, before shaking Anne by the shoulder and pointing, “Look, look, look! There it is!”

“Yes!” Anne ran forward, Kat not far behind, “I wonder if there are ghosts!”

“I used to not believe in ghosts, but now I'm like 500 years old because of reincarnation, and I'm not so sure,” Kat hummed as they walked up to the cabin.

It was broken, a mess, dusty, full of cobwebs. They had heard about it on some YouTube video they stumbled onto at 3 AM, as you do, and decided to sneak out and go see it, also at 3 AM... As you do. They brought their phones but turned off their locations. They wanted to see if they could get away with it but they would definitely tell the others when they got back.

Anne gently pushed open the door, using her phone as a flashlight, “Whoa...”

“Whoa indeed,” Kat pushed past her, also using her phone as a flashlight, “It's all broken. And-” She paused to cough into her sweater, “Dusty.”

“I wonder if the fireplace still works,” Anne stepped past Kat and over to the fireplace, crouching, “Mmm... I bet it would work if we had a lighter.”

“I think we would accidentally cause a forest fire...” Kat mumbled, walked over to a broken bookshelf, “Which might get us arrested.”

“Arson pog,” Anne stood up and turned to Kat, “Do any of the books look cool?”

“There's a leatherbound diary in here,” Kat shook the book in an attempt to get the dust off, but it just made her sneeze.

“Aww, Kitten sneeze!” Anne cooed.

“Fuck off,” Kat tossed Anne the book, making Anne stumble as she caught it.

“Ow-” Anne tilted her head and opened it, “Whoaaa! This is from the 1950s!”

“Really?!” Kat grinned and ran over, “This place is that old?!”

“Oh, shit, the lady who wrote this was racist as fuck,” Anne narrowed her eyes, “She would definitely have called me a witch.”

“She would've totally called me a slut,” Kat nodded, “Lame.”

“Let's try going upstairs,” Anne gestured to the stairs, “I wonder if there's a bed.”

“Come on,” Kat ran past her, “Race you!”

“Wh- Not fair!” Anne turned and ran, “You're ahead of me!”

“Ha!” Kat jumped up the last two steps, wincing as it creaked, “This is not steady-”

“Cheater!” Anne jumped next to her before walking, “What's up here...?”

“Anne, wait, this wood might not hold u-”

CRACK!

“FUCK!” Anne yelped as she fell, roughly eight feet.

“ANNE!” Kat turned and ran downstairs, stumbling a little as she did.

She only sped up as she heard her cousin scream for a couple seconds before it abruptly cut off.

“Annie, Annie, Annie!” Kat slid and crouched by her cousin, who was biting her lip and awkward sitting up, “Ate you hurt?! Where?! Are you bleeding?!”

“I think my ankle is broken,” Anne managed, “I'm not bl-” She glanced back at her ankle before quickly turning away, “I am bleeding.”

“This was a horrible idea,” Kat paused before pulling at her sleeve.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Anne blinked at her.

“Don't you tear off your sleeve and wrap it around the ankle?” Kat asked, before whimpering, “I don't know and I'm panicking!”

“Let's call the others,” Anne rolled her eyes, reaching for her phone before seeing it around a foot away from her, shattered, “Okay, you call the others.”

“No service,” Kat shook her head, “Okay, okay, okay... We're gonna die here.”

“We are not dying here!” Anne groaned and pulled her ankle closer to her, wincing at all of the shallow cuts from the wood, “Find me two- wait...” Anne paused, “Th-Three...? Fuck, I don't know!”

“I think it's two sticks,” Kat mumbled, “If that's what we were doing?”

“Yeah... Yeah,” Anne nodded, “Two. And some cloth from that couch? If you can?”

“Of course!” Kat pushed herself up and walked away, looking around the house but not straying too far from her injured cousin.

She came back a couple minutes later and Anne sat up and made the makeshift splint, straightening the ankle the best she could and trying the fabric around it.

“Here-” Kat pulled her up and let her wrap her arms around her shoulders, “Let me help you walk.”

“How far is this place from home?”

“Well, we got here in an hour, but we were either running or briskly walking,” Kat recalled, “So, maybe an hour and a half or two hours to get back?”

“Fuuuuck...” Anne groaned as the two began walking, “I'm never going to be impulsive like that again.”

“Tell that to your ADHD,” Kat joked.

“I'll take so much Adderall,” Anne replied, “So much...”

“Don't worry, we'll fix it and you can pester Catherine about your injury and get major sympathy points instead,” Kat said, looking forward, “It'll be fine.”

“I know, I just wish we brought Tylenol or something, you know?” Anne sighed and pushed her hair out of her face, “It was pretty cool while it lasted, though, huh?”

“The diary was interesting,” Kat smiled, “Outside the bigoted rantings.”

“Yep.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes longer. Kat heard Anne let out a pained groan or mumble a curse word in French every so often. Kat's back and shoulders were growing tired from her leaning on her, but she wasn't going to complain. She just wanted to be home...

Not to mention, she noticed she had some scrapes and splinters on her from God knows when. Maybe when she slid over to Anne or when she was grabbing sticks.

“Hey, Anne, can you tell me about something?” Kat looked at her.

“About what?” Anne asked.

“Anything,” Kat shrugged, “I just want to be distracted, ha... It's fine if you don't want to-”

“No, no, no, it's fine!” Anne assured, “I got this! I've been hyperfixating on species of starfish lately, I can ramble for hours!”

“How many species are there?” Kat asked with a smile.

“Over 2,000!”

“That is a lot.”

“Some have up to 40 arms they can regenerate!”

“Really?”

“Yep! And...”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“HOLY SHIT!” Kat straightened up, making Anne stumble, “SERVICE!”

“Whoo-hoo!” Anne grinned and leaned off of Kat a little, “What time is it?”

“4:48 AM,” Kat nodded, “And we left at roughly 2:00 AM so we made good time!”

“And you learned a lot about starfish,” Anne joked.

“I did,” Kat paused, “Who do we text?”

“We know Catherine isn't up,” Kat hummed, “And Jane usually isn't up... Anna wakes up 5:00 AM to go jogging like a sociopath so she or Cathy is our best bet!”

“Call Cathy then Anna,” Anne took a few steps forward, “Tell them we're by... Bentley Street!”

“Nice,” Kat paused before groaning, “Cathy didn't pick up!”

“Try Anna,” Anne stepped back, “Ugh, there's gonna be cars going soon. We're gonna get kidnapped, Kitty.”

“We are not gonna get kidnapped,” Kat rolled her eyes, before grinning, “Oh! Yes! Anna, hi!”

“Put her on speaker!” Anne grinned.

“-e Hell are you calling me from?!” Anna's voice cut in.

“Bentley Street,” Kat answered, “Or- The forest around there.”

“My ankle is broken,” Anne said.

“Her ankle is broken,” Kat repeated.

“...how the FUCK did you break your ankle and do I need to kill someone?!”

“No, no, no!” Anne assured, “Kitty and I went to an abandoned house, went upstairs, and the floor cracked and I fell! That's all.”

“I am on my way, do you want me to get the others?” Anna groaned.

“I want Lina cuddles,” Anne smiled, “And if you don't tell them all, I think they'd be mad.”

“Anna, why are being so loud?” They heard Jane's voice through the phone.

“Nothing, Mein Süßer,” Anna whispered to her.

“My ankle is broken,” Anne smiled, wincing as Kat gently shoved her, “Kitty-”

“Why would you just say that and no context-”

“The context doesn't make it better?”

“Still!”

“WHAT?!” Jane yelped, “WE'RE COMING!”

“Okay, I guess we're all going,” Anna mumbled, “We should be there in ten, I'll stay on the phone with you, don't die.”

“We'll try our best but no promises,” Anne joked, making Kat giggle.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They picked them up and took them to the hospital, Cathy freaking out over Kat's injuries, Catherine freaking out over Anne's injuries, and Jane freaking out over them both while she and Anna chided them for sneaking out.

“That wasn't exactly responsible of you,” Jane sighed, looking back from the passenger's seat.

“Yeah it was fucking dumb,” Anna said from the driver's seat, “Why are you guys being dumb?”

“We thought it was cool!” Kat argued.

“Yeah, you would've dumb the same!” Anne rolled her eyes, “And the ankle is barely broken. Don't worry!”

“Any amount of broken is bad, Anne,” Catherine said.

“And Kat has so many splinters,” Cathy winced, “It looks so uncomfortable...”

“Oh, it's minorly uncomfy,” Kat shrugged, “But the roughly hour-long walk through the dark forest was worse.”

They were all silent for a second and Kat realized she made a mistake.

“The HOW LONG walk with a broken ankled Anne and scratched up Kat?” Jane looked at them.

“...well anyway-” Anne began.

“You two are in so much trouble,” Anna chuckled.

“Yeah, actually, you are!” Catherine looked at them, “That was a horrible idea and you're lucky something else didn't happen! Why wouldn't you at least leave a note?!”

“We didn't think we would break any bones!” Kat protested.

“Yeah, you didn't think when you did this,” Jane looked at them, “You can't just go and do things because you think they're fun. I know this will probably seem funny and fine because no one was seriously hurt, but that's not how life works every time. You cannot do this kinda thing anymore. There will be consequences, you two. And you won't always get service in time.”

Anne and Kat just stared at her before glancing at each other. They nodded before they both said, “Sorry, Jane...”

“We won't do it again. Right, Kit?” Anne promised while Kat nodded along with her.

Jane looked at them for a second longer before her gaze softened and she smiled, “Alright, good. Come on, we're at the hospital.”

“Can we get drinks?” Kat asked, “I'm parched.”

“Me, too,” Anne nodded.

“Fine, but first water and then you can have something else,” Jane nodded.

“Ughh, fine, Mère,” Anne sighed, “Come on, let's go inside.”

“Let's fix up her ankle,” Kat smiled and opened the door, “And get some bandaids for me.”

“Yeah!” Anne grinned.

“You two are so irresponsible...” Catherine mumbled.

“Yep,” Cathy patted Catherine's back, “Irresponsible, constantly getting injured girlfriend club?”

“Irresponsible, constantly getting injured girlfriend club!” Catherine agreed.

Chapter Text

I'm almost done with chapter 2 of the new big angsty fic but I still wanna upload here so any suggestions? They can be fluffy or angsty but there's going to be primarily angst for a WHILE after this so you might want to stock up on fluff but I'm cool writing whatever 

Chapter Text

Jane was fine. She was great, in fact! If you ignore the nightmares. Which were fine. Not a big deal.

So, sure, okay, she had been having frequent nightmares over the past week, but that was fine! They would pass and she didn't need to bother anyone with her problems. Because she was definitely fine.

Of course, Jane had been losing a bit of sleep over it. If a bit means ‘Roughly 13 hours of sleep over the past week’ but it was fine!

Maybe she almost burned herself while making bacon this morning, but it was fine. She was completely fine.

Maybe she passed out on the couch for a bit before having another nightmare and waking up with a blanket draped on her. But she couldn't see anyone around. She quickly disregarded it as she realized she was shaking and sweating. 

Okay, Jane! She pushed herself up, Get a glass of water and keep going on. What did she have to do today?

“We don't have practice today, but we do tomorrow...” She mumbled to herself as she poured a cup of water, “I don't think we have anything to do today. Right?”

Jane took a sip of water and shivered, suddenly craving that blanket from before. When did it get so cold?

Come to think of it, she had been pretty cold the past few days. Whatever. Again, she was fine! Completely fine!

She sat down on the couch and wrapped her blanket around her while holding her water.

“Hey, Mère,” Anne jumped over the couch and sat down, which Jane would've scolded her for if she had the energy, “Enjoy your nap?”

“Mmhmm,” Jane nodded, “Where are the others?”

“Grocery shopping,” Anne replied, turning the TV on, and Jane winced a little, “I stayed behind.”

“Shi- Shoot, that's what I forgot-” Jane muttered, “Sorry.”

Anne gave her a confused look, “Jane, it's fine, you don't always have to get the groceries. You can relax from time to time, you know that, right?”

“Of course!” Jane assured, “I just... Nevermind. I just woke up. Do they have the list?”

“Yes, Mère, they have the list,” Anne smiled, “Don't worry, Catherine and Cathy are with them, and they aren't that immature.”

“Alright, alright,” Jane nodded, “Are you watching Bo Burnham's new special again?”

“Yep.” Anne leaned back, popping her ‘p.’

“Anne, this isn't healthy,” Jane blinked, “This is, like, the fourth time this week.”

“No, it's the seventh,” Anne corrected, “But I'm fine.”

“...Anne, what the Hell?” Jane asked.

“Ooh, Mère cussed!”

“Anne, this isn't okay.”

“You cussing isn't okay!”

“Anne, why are you watching this so much?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After the new special finished, Jane decided to go to her room. It was six in the afternoon, but she was exhausted and cold and just- In general, she wasn't having a great time.

She watched New Girl on her phone for around an hour before deciding to try and crash, which she did very quickly. After she wrapped herself in a million blankets, at least.

As she passed out, she thought about how little she had eaten today. She was out before she could do anything about it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jane was standing in court, quiet, and submissive. Like always. Anne Boleyn would be gone soon... But is that really what she wanted?

She wanted to get ahead, to marry Henry, he said he loved her, but she didn't want to get rid of Annie like this.

Annie-? Jane blinked and looked down, When did that nickname happen...? Why di-

“The trial is over!” A voice shook her out of her thoughts, “On accounts of treason, incest, adultery, and witchcraft, you have been sentenced to death by beheading-”

Jane's breath hitched in her chest. Beheading? No. No, she did- Why not just a divorce? He divorced Catherine... Poor Catherine...

“-Jane Seymour.”

“What?” She stuttered out, looking around. Suddenly, she wasn't in court, she was on the scaffolding, on her knees, and there was a crowd of people yelling.

This wasn't right, she was supposed to be in the crowd. No- This wasn't supposed to be happening, no one was supposed to die! Nobody needed to die...

“Any last words?” Someone asked, but she wasn't looking at them. Her eyes were glued on the, oh, so familiar girl who was staring at her, eyes wide, and tearful.

“A-Annie-” Jane choked out before something swung down and-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jane's eyes opened and she was sitting up in bed, shaking and sobbing, with the others staring at her.

“Jane, hey,” Anna slowly reached her hand out, “You were- You were having a nightmare and you said Anne's name...”

“O-oh,” Jane rubbed her eyes and gently shook her head to Anna's silent offer of trust. Anna pulled her hand back as Jane continued, “I, uh, don't worry! I'm fine. Just a nightmare, b-but it was fine!”

“Jane, you can-” Catherine began, but Anne cut in.

“Okay, okay, I got this,” Anne walked over by Jane, “Can everyone else leave for a second? If Mère is okay with it.”

“I-I suppose,” Jane scooted over so Anne could sit down if she wanted.

“But-” Anna began, before pausing and nodding, “Okay. But call us if you need...”

“Of course!” Anne grinned and sat down by Jane as the others left.

After a few seconds, Anne sighed and looked at her, “Jane. Have you been having nightmares before this?”

“....well, a little,” Jane mumbled, “But it was fine!”

“I have never seen you knock out of the couch midday like that before,” Anne said, “You've seemed... Really tired lately. I'm worried.”

“I've been losing a bit of sleep, but it isn't horrible!” Jane gave a small smile, but it fell as more tears filled her eyes, “Just... Some nightmares.”

“Nightmares are really shitty, aren't they?” Anne looked forward, “You move past some shitty experience and then your brain reminds you of it for no reason. It's not fair, but it isn't a little thing.”

“...yeah,” Jane sniffed and let tears fall from her, “It's not... Fun.”

“You wanna tell me about it?” Anne looked at her with a soft smile, “Don't have to, but you it might make you feel better?”

“I mean...” Jane leaned back, “I was... In court. They were talking about... It was your trial- or I thought.”

“You... Thought?” Anne asked.

“They said my name and- and then I was on the scaffolding when I'm usually in the crowd watching-” Jane paused and looked at Anne, “you... But you were watching me and you look so scared. You looked how I felt... At your execution. And Henry was there which didn't help.”

“Well, I can promise you, I would get myself beheaded trying to rescue you,” Anne grinned, “And, honestly, I don't know why you're having the dream. Maybe you feel like we're switching roles and that's scary?”

“Maybe...” Jane shrugged, “I feel... Weird being comforted. Shouldn't I be comforting you?”

“It's okay to need to lean on your family from time to time,” Anne hummed, “You always take care of us, we can do the same.”

“Yeah...” Jane paused before smiling, “Yeah, okay.”

“Also, can I just feel your forehead?” Anne reached out her hand, “I think you might be sick.”

“Sure?” Jane tilted her head as Anne gently touched her forehead, “But I do-”

“Yeah, you have a fever,” Anne nodded.

“Wha-” Jame blinked, “How do you know?”

“A mother always knows,” Anne joked.

“I'm a Mom, too,” Jane protested as Anne stood up, “And aren't I your mother figure?”

“I'm not sick and suffering right now,” Anne refuted, “Are you okay coming out or do you want me to bring you some medicine and melatonin?”

“I would rather stay in here,” Jane admitted, “But... Can you send Anna in?”

“‘Course, Mère!” Anne smiled and left.

There was a knock on the door, “Jane?”

“Come in,” Jane nodded. The door opened and Anna walked in before gently closing the door again.

“How are you feeling?” Anna sat down across from her.

“Anne thinks I have a fever,” She explained, “But I talked to her and I feel a little better... Anne is getting me medicine now.”

“She's surprisingly good at this mental health stuff,” Anna nodded, “It makes sense, all things considered, but it's still surprising when she spits out something I would expect from a therapist.”

“Okay!” Anne opened the door, holding some medicine, a cup of water, and a bag of cough drops, “Here you go, Jane. If you need anything else, you can always ask us.”

“I know,” Jane smiled and quickly drank the medicine, wincing at the bitter taste before drinking some water, “Ugh- Thank you, Anne!”

“Anytime, Mère!” Anne set the bag of cough drops down, “If you start coughing and your throat hurts. And try not to wrap yourself up in too many blankets. And you should probably take a kinda cold shower in the morning.”

“I will, Annie!” Jane waved as Anne opened the door, “And thank you. Really.”

“I'll always be there for you,” Anne smiled, “We all will.”

Jane nodded as Anne shut the door. She looked at Anna, “You know, you don't have to sleep in here if you don't wanna get sick.”

“No way,” Anna shook her head, “I can't abandon my sick girlfriend.”

“Alright,” Jane laughed a little, “Cuddles?”

“Cuddles,” Anna scooted closer and hugged her, “You are really hot.”

“I guess I do have a fever,” Jane hummed, wrapping her arms around Anna, “Guess Anne was right...”

“Guess she was,” Anna nodded.

Jane slowly drifted off, thinking about how lucky she was to have people to take care of her. She frequently forgets that, considering she's usually the one taking care of them. But they could be there for her. And they would be.

She didn't expect Anne to be the one to do it, but it was nice. Anne was definitely way more mature and responsible than she usually gave her credit for...

But, as most people- including Jane a lot of the time- usually forget that Anne is also a mother.

Chapter Text

My wisdom teeth are getting removed today so there might be a bit of a delay in posting

Hopefully I can write by tomorrow but idk

Chapter Text

Anna bit back a groan as her alarm went off. She quickly turned it off, glancing at Jane and smiling as she saw she was still asleep. Good.

She sat up and quickly and quietly got dressed, with a simple tank top and some shorts. “Love you,” She whispered, gently kissing Jane's forehead before leaving the bedroom.

Anna, like usual, went out to walk at roughly 5 AM, but she was mildly surprised to see Anne standing at the door, dressed, grinning when she saw Anna walk out.

“Hey, Anna!” She waved, “I couldn't sleep so I wanted to walk with you.”

“Really?” Anna tilted her head, “I didn't think you'd liked doing that.”

“I'm bored,” Anne replied, fiddling with her tangle, “So, come on, you ready?”

“Isn't your ankle broken?” Anna hummed.

“It was only mildly sprained and it's fine now,” Anne whined, “Now, come on!”

“Yeah, yeah, let's go,” Anna opened the door, “You sure you're ready? Do you need water or anything?”

“I have my tangle and I had some water earlier, I'm fine!” Anne assured, “Now, come on!”

“Alright, alright, let's go!” Anna laughed as they left.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They were walking and making conversation as Anne fiddled with her tangle the whole time. The topic had moved onto Mitski, a song artist that the entire group was honestly pretty fond of. It made sense.

“So, what's your favorite song of hers?” Anna asked.

“Hmm...” Anne hummed, “Well, I love all of them, but I gotta say ‘Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart’. It slaps for no reason. You?”

“‘Drunk Walk Home,’ the lyrics hit really hard to some reason,” Anna nodded, “The lyrics to ‘Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart’ are really fitting for you.”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” Anna shot her a look.

“I just mean it's fitting for you,” Anna defended, “I mean, your relationship with Aragon, your- you know- everything!”

“Oh, damn you're right,” Anne paused, “Maybe there is a reason I like that song so much.”

“Well, duh,” Anna rolled her eyes, “How many mental breakdowns you had to that song and not realize the lyrics were literally you?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Anne joked, gently shoving her with her shoulder.

“You shut up,” Anna pushed her back, making Anne stumble a little, “Oh, shit, you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm-” Anne stiffened and look at the sewer grate they walked past, “...oh my fucking God.”

“What-?” Anna followed as Anne took a few steps closer and crouched, “Oh, did it fall?”

“Yes!” Anne snapped, leaning closer and pushing her hand in, “Where- It's too far-”

“Whoa!” Anna grabbed her shoulder and pulled it back, “No, no, no! Don't do that! You're gonna fall in?”

“And?” Anne pulled away from Anna, “I can climb out or you can pull me out.”

“Or we can just get a new one?” Anna suggested, “Like, we have money, Anne.”

“Not an option,” Anne shook her head and stood up, “Okay, I'm going in-!”

“The fuck you are!” Anna grabbed her wrist, “You can't go into a sewer grate! Like, physically, could you even fit?!”

“If I tried hard enough,” Anne stuck her tongue out, “Besides, I need my tangle! It's special!”

“And you're sure we can't just buy a new one?” Anna examined the sewer grate. Like a lot of the sewer grates in this area, it was pretty broken down, it probably wouldn't be hard to squeeze into, especially since she and Anne were both tiny...

“This one is special!” Anne insisted, “It's mine! It's special, Anna!”

“Okay!” Anna groaned, “But do we have to climb down into it? Why can't we just get, like, something to get it out?”

“What do you propose we use?” Anne asked.

“...oh,” Anna paused, “I mean... I guess, you're right. Damn, I can't think of anymore arguments against this.”

“Guess I'm going in!” Anne sat down on the concrete and began to scoot closer.

“No!” Anna grabbed her arm, “This still isn't good! Just because I'm too dumb to think of a reason why not doesn't mean we should.”

“We don't have to do anything, but I want my tangle!” Anne pushed her away, “Besides, I can see there's no water down there, and I can see the tangle!”

“Anne-” Anna began, but as Anne shifted to turn to her, she slipped and fell back. Anna winced as Anne fell in and there was a soft thud! from inside the sewer, “Anne!”

“Fuck!” Anne groaned, “That hurt a little more than it should've!”

“Anne, wait!” Anna panicked and sat down, “I'm coming, watch out!”

“No, no-”

Anna slid down and stumbled a little, it was wetter than she expected, so she fell back.

“This is disgusting,” Anna groaned and pushed herself up, “Why did you make me do this?”

“I only fell down because I turned to look at you,” Anne protested, shaking off her tangle, “And I didn't ask you to come in.”

“You think I'm gonna abandon you down here?” Anna shook off her hands and looked up, “Okay, this is only around five or six feet underground. This seems really badly built... Shouldn't it be deeper? And it was way too easy for you to get down.”

“It's old and broken down,” Anne rolled her eyes, “Here, I'll push you up and you can pull me up.”

“Why can't you put me up?” Anna asked.

“I have no upper body strength, we'll be lucky if I get it you up at all,” Anne looked around, “Although, we could explore and try to find a different way out.”

“Well...” Anna paused and looked around, “It could be fun, but this place also really stinks.”

“You're right,” Anne nodded, “Also, that fall wasn't very fun. Nothing's broken or anything, it's just a little sore.”

“Okay, come on,” Anna stepped over the opening, “How are you lifting me up?”

“You're getting on my shoulders,” Anne crouched, “Come on, Cleves, this is simple.”

“Okay-” Anna gently sat on her shoulder and Anne pushed up, “Slow, slow, this isn't very tall, I'm gonna hit my head!”

“Okay, I got it!” Anne shifted a little, so Anna was facing the opening, “Do I need to go closer?”

“A little,” Anna hesitantly reached out as Anne inched closer, “Okay, I got this!”

She grabbed the ledge and scrambled up, Anne complaining that she was stepping on her.

“How else-” Anna panted and she paused for a split second before pulling herself up again, “-do you expect me- to get-” She paused before getting herself completely out, “Out?! Whoo!”

“Can you pull me out now?!” Anne called up.

“Give me a few seconds!” Anna groaned and sat there for a bit, catching her breath, “Oh, God, pulling you up is gonna be harder isn't it?”

“Hold on!” Anne threw her tangle up, “Can you put that somewhere safe?”

“Fine,” Anna muttered, grabbing the tangle and setting it on the sidewalk. Thankfully, she couldn't see anyone around and it was still a little dark, “You ready?”

“If you are!” Anne replied.

“Okay,” Anna turned around and put a hand down, “I will pull you up until you can grab the ledge and then I'll help you up. Okay?”

“Yep!” Anne jumped up and grabbed Anna's hand. Anna groaned at the weight, slipping a little, but catching herself and pulling Anne up.

“oookAY!” Anne grinned and grabbed the ledge, scrambling up as Anna pulled her, “Almost... Got it-!”

They both let out a yelp as they fell back as Anne got up. They sat there for a few seconds before Anna started laughing.

“What's so funny?” Anne asked.

“We just climbed out of a fucking sewage things,” She explained, pausing to catch her breath every few seconds, “To get your stupid tangle because for some reason we can't get a new one. What is our life?”

“Oh, my tangle!” Anne jumped up and grabbed it, “Yes! Okay, we can go home now.”

“Yep,” Anna stood up, “Let's go home and take showers before we are covered in sewage.”

“It was worth it for the tangle!” Anne grinned and skipped ahead of Anna.

“Really?”

“Yep!”

Anna paused before giving a tired chuckle and following her. Anne immediately had all her energy back, while Anna was still exhausted. But, hey, it was a better workout than she would've gotten in a normal walk.

Whatever, life was getting too bland, anyway. Anna figured, Hanging out with Anne is guaranteed to spice it up.

Even if you have to get a little bit of sewage on you.

Chapter Text

Cathy liked structure. She liked having a routine and sticking to it.

She went to sleep at roughly 3 am, woke up at around 12. Kitty would usually already be awake by then, out watching something with Anne, playing video games with Anna, talking to Catherine, or helping Jane bake something- and by that she means talk to Jane while Jane bakes.

Cathy would get up, go out and get some coffee and either go back to her room or hang out with the others, depending on her mood.

She would continue to have coffee until Jane or Catherine cut her off, she would pout and complain, but they all knew it was light-hearted so it was fine. She would cuddle with Kat for a while, work on her various writings, or read.

That's what Cathy loved. The simple routine of life. Of course, that routine has only lasted a week, tops.

Back in her old life, before the reincarnation, she had a mostly normal life, as normal as it could be. She would find a guy, marry him, come to love him, he would die, she would mourn for a short period, and move on.

Looking back, she didn't think she ever truly loved them, you know? She had to get married, she came to enjoy their company, but she never had great standards, as we saw with her first break from her structure.

Thomas Seymour.

Cathy fell for him. Every touch, every look, butterflies erupted in her stomach. He was so charming, so kind. He was a rogue, he seemed dangerous, an outsider of sorts. He intrigued her, and that curiously led to some emotion that we naively assumed was love. And the worst part?

She was stupid enough to think he loved her back.

Cathy was prepared to marry him, but then the second big break from her plans happened. Fucking Henry. That dick. Old, dying, little bitch messed up her plans.

She was pissed and devastated. She wrote Thomas Seymour a letter and married him, what other choice was there?

It didn't last long, only five years. They didn't do much more than talk or kiss, he was old and dying, so he spent a lot of time eating or sleeping. She was guilty to admit she was absolutely elated when he died. She could finally marry the guy of her dreams, Thomas Seymour.

He seemed to have... Changed, though. He probably didn't, he just stopped pretending after their marriage. 

She didn't know about the letter proposal to Elizabeth at the time, she wants to say if she did, she wouldn't have married him, but... She wasn't completely sure.

God, she couldn't lie to herself. She saw the way he looked at her back then. The ‘horseplay’, wasn't as innocent as he swore it was. And poor, poor Elizabeth seemed terrified.

Then, the garden incident. The sick fucker chopped up her dress. With a sword. In the garden. Cathy held her on the ground, but there was a silent understanding it was for protection for both of them. At least then, Cathy could make sure he didn't go too far. But Elizabeth just... She looked so apathetic to it, empty. 

The three of them gave fake smiles and laughs afterward, but they all knew it was just a show. An act. Who they were performing for, Cathy couldn't tell you. What's the point in acting when everyone around knows it's an act?

That night, Cathy went into her room and began to apologize, but Elizabeth cut her off with a hug and whispered, “I know.” Cathy hugged her back and they stood like that for a few minutes. No tears were shed, no more words exchanged, they just knew.

God, she loved that girl like her own daughter. And she would forever be ashamed of how she failed her. Forever. 

Cathy was planning on doing something, but Thomas got more violent and she got pregnant, and then it was all... It was all fucked up.

Her breaking point was when she heard word of him ‘grabbing and holding Elizabeth's arms’ in the garden. She didn't get much cleared of a picture, but his reaction when she asked about it told her everything.

She snapped, she yelled at him, he yelled back. For at least an hour, they screamed at each other. Surprisingly, there was no hitting. The fight ended when he abruptly stormed out the room.

Cathy went up to Elizabeth's room and explained to her that she had to send her away. Elizabeth just nodded while Cathy explained the situation and apologized for how shitty it all was until the end. 

“What do you think Mom would've done?” She looked at Cathy, “About... Him.”

“...You mean, Anne Boleyn?” Cathy tilted her head, and continued after a nod from Elizabeth, “Well, I didn't know her, but I've heard a lot about. She was smart, like you, good at her studies. But she was also very emotional and outspoken, which isn't a bad thing, but sometimes her words got her in trouble.”

“Isn't that part of the reason she died?” Elizabeth phrased it like a question, but it was a question they both knew she knew the answer to. She was too clever, too aware, for a kid.

“Yeah,” Cathy nodded, “Honestly? She probably would've knocked Thomas out after a week.” That caused a giggle from Elizabeth, “She probably would've gotten in trouble, but, hey, it can't be worse than a beheading, right?”

Elizabeth laughed a little more, “Y-Yeah... Hey, Cathy?”

“Yes, Lizzie?” Cathy's heart ached knowing she wouldn't see her in person for a long time.

“Are you gonna write me?” Elizabeth asked, seeming to be thinking the same thing.

“Of course, Lizzie,” Cathy nodded, “Do you want me to stay in here for tonight? Since it's your last night...”

“That would be... Nice,” Elizabeth scooted over as Cathy got in bed with her, “I love you, Cathy, you know that?”

“I love you, too,” Cathy smiled at the young girl, oh, how much she'd gone through at such a young age...

The next day, Elizabeth was sent away. Gone. Cathy was there to send her off, Thomas didn't know until after she was gone. They... Argued. Cathy was sure he would've hit her if she wasn't pregnant.

Her life quickly became Hell. He was mean and always out and he didn't care about her. Whatever. Cathy could survive, she would give birth, and maybe leave. Run. She would figure it out.

Then, Cathy gave birth, and her life came to a bitter end. That was it. The death of the ‘Survivor.’

Okay. She was dead. That was it.

But, nope, suddenly she was jolting up in a house with several other people around. She didn't recognize any of them, at first.

Two of the others were awake, one in red she recognized as Anne of Cleves- though she didn't know how considering she didn't look the same. She could just tell by the energy?- and one in white.

“Oh, hey!” The one in white perked up, “Uh, which one are you? Are you okay? I-I'm Jane Seymour.” She seemed very flighty and nervous.

“Catherine Parr,” She realized she had a blanket over her, “Um... I don't... You're Anne of Cleves, right?” She gestured to the dark-skinned girl in red.

“Anna,” She nodded, “And yep.”

“C-Call me Cathy?” She stood up and rubbed her eyes, “Where... Am I?”

“We aren't quite sure...” Jane mumbled, “But it's obviously in the future from when we died. There's the rest of Henry's, since he apparently had six.”

“And you were the last of us!” Anna laughed, “I mean, technically, I outlived you, but, whatever.”

“Oh, you did...” Cathy tried not to take offense at it, but it seemed mildly backhanded... “Oh! Did you talk to Elizabeth?”

“Yep, I stayed in contact with both her and Mary until I died,” Anna's gaze softened, “Sweet kids, but I think Mary was getting a little too violent by the end.”

“What-” Cathy began, but the first Queen began to stir and the conversation was over.

After Cathy learned what a computer was, she frequently used her laptop to learn about this world. She read the articles about Elizabeth and... God, it was awful. Some of them suggested that she joined Thomas in that, which, fuck no. She didn't handle that situation well, but she would never do that.

Cathy stayed quiet about it. Life gained another routine, Anne and Catherine yell at each other, Jane and Anna end the arguments in completely different ways, and she would hang out with Kat and comfort her in her nightmares.

And Cathy was left with no one to help her... But that was fine. She was fine.

She read Kat's Wikipedia article until she got to the part that said something about a ‘relationship’ with a teacher at 13 and closed it. That's when it hit her she shouldn't have read any of the articles.

She just wanted to learn about them, but they were right outside, and she knew their lives.

Later, she learned she didn't know the half of it, historians missed a lot of shit.

Her routine changed again when Anne got kidnapped, then the hospital, then several times as they continued, then they met the Ladies, but it calmed down.

The couples got together, they met the Ladies, their life fell into a pattern with minor disruptions, but nothing huge. They decided to start the musical and life was going good.

Then, Anne started to change.

Then, quarantine hit.

Then, Anne sent that stupid text.

Cathy was quite alarmed, waiting up to long text, but reading the contents made it worse.

‘I fucking lied

I can't do it.’

Oh, God, how Cathy panicked.

‘It's her death day. I wasn't there to see any of it. I miss her a lot. I just wanna be with her. That's all I've ever wanted to be honest

So I'm doing it. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna kill myself and be with her.’

Cathy wanted to get up, text her, call her, do anything, but she just kept reading it...

‘I know I know. ”If you kill yourself, you'll go to Hell!”

But the thing is I've been praying, crying, begging to be let it. Just... Let me see her again. That's all I want.’

Cathy understood. She missed Elizabeth. There were days she felt the same. But she wouldn't go through with it.

‘Thank you, for taking care of her. Thanks for telling me stories about her. You raised her more than I ever did. I doubt that she actually registered me as her Mom. I wasn't even around. Thanks for being there for her than I ever was.’

Don't thank me, She wanted to scream, her eyes already filled with tears, You know how I failed her...

‘Thank you for everything, Cathy. Take care of Kat. Treat her right. Make sure she doesn't do anything bad. Make sure she doesn't do what I did. Frankly, no one will ever be good enough for Kitty, since she deserves the world

But you're pretty close.’

Damn it, Anne. It was clear that Kat loved Anne as much as someone could love a family member. Clear as day. 

‘I know I'm not good enough for her, in any way. I'm broken, insensitive, weak, annoying. She deserves a better cousin. 

So I'm sorry. Goodbye.

Love, your Cousin in law (or whatever)’

She couldn't believe that Anne thought like that and she didn't see. Then, the others texted and everything went by so fast.

They slowly started to get better and fall into a comfortable pattern, with the addition of her and Anne's rooftop talks, her and Anna's sibling rivalry, her and Catherine's talks about how childish their girlfriends were, she and Jane began to read and discuss books, and she and Kat opened up to each other more. 

But since then, she's realized life doesn't stay in that rhythm. People are unpredictable, her included. But that was fine. More than fine. She preferred it. Life would get boring without it like that.

So, okay. Cathy's life... Was less than ideal, a lot of the times, there have been some low points.

But there have been so many high points, it was fine. God, she loved the people in her life. Catherine, Anna, Jane, Anna, Kat, Maria, Bessie, Maggie, and Joan. She couldn't imagine life without them.

Even if they messed up her ‘order’ and ‘routine’ it was worth it to be close to them.

Besides, she doubted anything else big would happen anytime soon.

Chapter Text

The True Crime Cousins are indeed dumbasses. They were warned several times not to watch cases that they knew were triggering, they did it anyway, and had panic attacks or nightmares or just general discomfort. Because they were dumbasses.

But it was mild, and it didn't last quite as long as their unhealthy obsession with the ‘Toy Box Killer.’

“The ‘Toy Box Killer’,” Anne began to explain to the others one night, Kat enthusiastically nodding, “Also known as David Parker Ray. He's suspected to have killed at least 60 people, but they could only get him on three people he kidnapped tortured who all survived.”

“How could they only get him on three?” Anna asked, earning glares from the other three, who really didn't want to hear any more details.

“‘Cause after he kidnapped and, uh... tortured them,” Kat glanced at Anne, who nodded, then continued, “He would with either kill them and throw them in some huuuuge lake or a canyon. But if he didn't wanna kill them, he drugged them up with some really strong stuff for a few days so they didn't remember it.”

“And that worked?” Anna blinked, adding, “I'm curious!” as Cathy gently smacked her shoulder.

“The two other victims that got drugged were already addicts so they just figured they went on a drug bend and that's why they couldn't remember it, but they would have nightmares about being tied up,” Anne explained, “The only reason they found them is because he would film it and they found tattoos or other identifying marks and the girls recognized themselves, but they still didn't really remember anything other than the nightmares and most of them are still going about life with no idea it happened to them.”

“...huh,” Cathy paused, “That's... So what kind of torture, exactly? Cause you paused weirdly.”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask about that,” Jane nodded and the four looked at the two beheaded cousins.

“So, here's the thing,” Anne began, “He did... Rape them, bu-”

Anna and Cathy both groaned as Catherine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose and Jane began to lecture the two.

“Did we not learn our lessons about research triggering cases with the Salem Witch Trials and the Night Stalker?” Jane demanded, “Do we not remember that?”

“We know better now!” Kat protested, “We're not gonna listen to anything too bad. And we're gonna have each other for support.”

“You said that last time, with the Salem Witch Trial, then we walked in on you both having separate panic attacks in different corners of the room,” Anna shot them a glare, “And you two were in shambles for a solid few days.”

“We were not!” Anne argued, “A little shaken, but we're always like that.”

“You punched me when I tapped you to tell you dinner was ready,” Cathy looked at Kat.

“Only in your arm and it didn't bruise,” Kat huffed, “And I apologized!”

“Anne, you shoved me to the ground when I woke you up,” Anna recalled, “Like, sat up and shoved me down to the ground.”

“I said that I was sorry,” Anne rolled her eyes, “What do you want from me?”

“The point is your guys’ mental health deteriorates when you look into these cases,” Catherine sighed, “And not only does it hurt yourselves, you've accidentally hurt us before. Do you really wanna risk that for a cool case?”

“Yes,” The two said, immediately and simultaneously.

“Damn, they didn't even think about it,” Anna shook her head.

“We aren't kidding, you two,” Anna looked at them, her tone flat and deathly serious, “Don't do it. You've been warned, if you do it anyway and go into a panic attack, it's on you.”

“Fine, we won't,” Anne huffed and stood up, “We'll find some other case to freak out about.”

“Yeah, come on, let's look for a non-triggering case,” Kat stood up as well and the two left the room.

“Why do I feel like they won't stop looking at that case?” Cathy mumbled.

“Because they're idiots?” Catherine suggested.

“I'm mostly just concerned,” Jane looked at the other three, “I don't want them to get upset again...”

“Well, I meant what I said,” Anna looked away, “If they keep looking into it knowing full well it's going to upset them, that's on them. I'm not just gonna coddle them when they come crying about nightmares and panic attacks.”

“You say that, but when they come crying about nightmares and panic attacks, you're gonna breakdown and comfort them,” Catherine rolled her eyes.

“No way, we all warned them!” Anna protested, though keeping her voice down so the two cousins couldn't hear her, “They aren't babies, they should know better.”

“We all know they don't,” Cathy shrugged.

“Maybe they won't actually look into it,” Catherine looked at them, “They may be kinda dense, but they know what's gonna happen and I doubt they enjoy the panic attacks.”

“Yeah, you have a point,” Anna nodded, “I bet they know better than now.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They, in fact, did not know better now.

“So, any other cases you got in mind-?” Anne sat down on the bed and looked at the laptop before Kitty cut her off.

“No!” Kat whisper-yelled, “This is bs, they aren't our parents! And even if they were, we hate our dads and our moms are dead so fuck it, let's look at whatever cases we want!”

“Well...” Anne blinked at her, “Are you sure, caus-”

“How whipped are you by Catherine?” Kat demanded, “What, she tells you not to do something and you just listen? No, this case is interesting and we wanna look at it! Let's look at it.”

Anne paused before grinning, “Hell, yeah! I am loving this energy from you, Kit!”

“Well, I'm tired of them treating us like immature children when we've gone through a lot, we can handle ourselves,” Kat sat down on Anne's bed, “Now, let's look at the David Parker Ray case and learn every single detail.”

“Yeah!” Anne nodded.

The two stayed like that for a good four or five hours, looking up details of the case and listening to a podcast. At some point, they heard about a tape he would play to his victims when he kidnapped them. They had a transcript as well as audio said by a different person, not the Toy Box Killer himself.

That was when they decided to listen to the audiotape on Anne's phone, using earbuds with chords so they could easily yank it out if it got to be too much.

The first sentence that was said was, “Hello there, bitch.”

They both flinched heavily and Anne paused it, “Do- Do you need to stop?”

“No, no, it's- it's fine,” Kat gave a small smile, “Just didn't expect it to be that harsh in the first sentence. You okay?”

“Yep,” Anne nodded, “Ready?”

“Yep.”

And with that, Anne pressed play. It was a little tamer, just with him explaining why they kidnapped the girl who would be listening to the audiotape, that he and his girlfriend(? It was never confirmed who was helping him when he made the tape) that they would be raping the girl.

The two quickly realized they bit off way, way too much to chew. It was their fault. They went too far, they should've known better. Listening to an audiotape of a man explaining how he was going to rape a girl, as victims of rape, was honestly not smart. They should've known it was too far, and a part of them did, but they thought they could handle it anyway. Why did they think they could handle it anyway?

“Now, you are obviously here against your will, totally helpless, don’t know where you’re at, don’t know what’s gonna happen to you.” Oh, God, oh, God...

At some point, Anne blanked out, the voice sounding more and more like Henry.

Kat, on the other hand, focused on the voice talking to distract her from the other four men's voices trying to be heard.

Anne snapped back into the present when she heard Kat's shaky breathing. Kitty? Wha- Oh, shit-! She yanked the earbuds away from both of them and shoved her phone.

“Kat, hey, Kit,” Anne began, though her own voice was as shaky as Kat's breathing, “They are- They're not he-ere. They're...”

“I kn-” Kat began, but she froze and let out a sob, covering her mouth to muffle it, “I- this was a sh-shitty idea...”

“It was,” Anne nodded, her own years spilling down here face, “B-But they aren't- fuck, he's not here. He's not...” But she sounded like she didn't believe it, to be fully honest.

“He's not her-here,” Kat tentatively held out her hand to Anne, “He is-” hic “isn't here.”

“And they're not here,” Anne took her hand and gave a weak smile, “Th-They are never gonna hurt you again. Okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Kat gently hugged her cousin, who hugged her back, “We're okay...”

“We're here and they're in the past,” Anne mumbled, her voice still shaky, “They're gone, Kitty. Gone.”

“Gone,” Kat repeated.

The two stayed like that for a few minutes, promising each other it was okay, until they calmed down enough to grab Anne's phone and turn off the audio.

“Wanna listen, uh, t-to some music?” Kat suggested, “To calm down.”

“Sure, but what?” Anne clicked on Musi.

“Penelope Scott?” Kat smiled.

“Oh, yeah,” Anne nodded, “Earbuds or no?”

“No earbuds,” Kat shook her head, “I just wanna hear it.”

“Cool.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The two didn't sleep that night.

They agreed not to tell the others because they were embarrassed they had been told it was a bad idea and did it anyway. And it didn't go well.

But the next morning as the two walked out, still in pajamas and looking exhausted and disheveled, it wasn't hard to guess what they did. Still, no one said anything.

Jane served breakfast and they sat down at the table, Anne and Kat poking at their pancakes and sitting next to each other as the others made conversation.

“So what did you two do last night?” Anna looked at them.

“Found non-triggering cases to enjoy,” Kat glanced up at them, but kept her gaze down.

“Is that true?” Catherine looked from Kat to Anne.

“No,” Anne mumbled.

“God fucking dammit, Anne, the moment your girlfriend looks at you,” Kat mumbled, shooting Anne a glare.

“I can't lie to her, she can tell!” Anne defended herself, “It's Lina!”

“What happened?” Jane asked, sounding genuinely so exhausted, the cousins shared a glance and there was a silent understanding to sugarcoat it. 

“We just got a little stressed hearing about the victims more,” Kat explained, “So we actually did go look at different cases. It was nothing bad.”

“Yeah, we really only got mildly uncomfortable, not really panic attack level of anything,” Anne agreed. It was a lie. A complete lie. But they didn't wanna stress them out.

“Well, guess you two are more mature than we thought,” Anna hummed, and they returned to some other conversation.

The beheaded cousins both went on autopilot for a bit, waiting until they could go crash, as they were exhausted. They finished breakfast, put up their dishes, and then went on the couch.

They watched TV and cuddled for hours and at roughly 10 am, passed out for the rest of the day. After the fifth hour of their ‘nap’ the other four decided to stay out of the living room as to not wake them up until they woke up. The two would wake up for a few minutes before passing out again and were only ever half-conscious, so they just stayed out of the living room for the whole day. After all, the two looks like they needed sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
At God knows when, Anna was jolted awake by a scream. It wasn't completely uncommon in this household, honestly.

So, she sat up and ran out of her room, Jane not far behind her, and quickly realized the scream had come from downstairs, where Catherine and Cathy were running.

Anna couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance that it was the cousins, probably because they did more than they let on at breakfast, even after being warned.

But the second she followed the others and saw Kat sitting up, eyes wide and panicked and Anne on the other side of the couch, curled up and scratching her arm, her heart fell and any and all annoyance she could've felt was replaced by concern and fear.

“Hey, hey, Kitty,” Cathy began, trying to calm her down, “Just breath?”

“Do you want me to get you some pink lemonade?” Anna asked, while Catherine and Jane were attempting to calm Anne down.

“I- She scre-” Kat paused, nodding at Anna before continuing, “Annie scre-” hic “-eamed, not me.”

“Okay, here, I'm gonna go grab some,” Anna quickly went to the kitchen, pouring the pink lemonade into a pink cup with a blue twisty straw. She went back and set it down by Kat, “I got you a cool straw?”

“Tha-” hic “-anks...” Kat gave a small chuckle and took a sip, “Is A-” hic “-Annie okay?” Kitty was still shaking and crying, but it was obvious she was more shaken by Anne's scream than anything else.

Anna glanced over at Anne, who was hugging Catherine and being comforted, “I think she's okay. Well, not horrible.”

“Kitty, I need you to be honest, okay?” Cathy looked at her, “Did you guys look at anything triggering?”

“W-Well,” Kat began, nervously, and Anna felt just a small jolt of annoyance again, but it quickly faded as she saw that Kat seemed genuinely afraid to tell them anything, “Just a little.”

“Kat, we aren't mad,” Anna made sure her tone was soft, “We just want to help you.”

“There's this audiotape,” Kat mumbled, fiddling with the blanket, “It's a tape that guy played to girls after he kidnapped then and before raping them... So we decided to listen to it- it was a different person reading a transcript. We got like ten seconds in before having mild panic attacks and calming each other down...”

“Why didn't you tell us?” Cathy asked.

“We didn't want you to be mad or worried,” Anne spoke up from the other side of the couch, apparently having calmed down enough to talk, “Cause it was our fault for not listening to you. I just- I didn't like that you guys treated us like babies, but I get it, we act immature. I guess we deserve it.”

“Anne, Kat...” Anna sighed, “I'm not gonna pretend you guys don't act immature sometimes, but we definitely have a tendency to make you feel... Stupid about it. And I think I speak for all of when I say, we're sorry.” The other three nodded.

“But you two really need to stop putting yourselves in triggering situations,” Jane looked at them, “It isn't healthy and we can't help you much if you keep doing it.”

“I am taking a break from True Crime for a couple of weeks,” Anne sighed and Kat nodded along with her, “I just wanna watch dumb gay teenagers play with swords now.”

“She-ra?” Catherine tilted her head.

“Yeah,” Anne nodded.

“We're sorry, too,” Kat looked at them, “We shouldn't have looked at something triggering to prove a point about being mature than lied about it.”

“We shouldn't have made you feel like you had to lie about it,” Cathy mumbled.

“Can we just watch She-Ra now?” Anne sighed, “I'm tired.”

“Yeah, sure,” Anna chuckled and jumped over the back of the couch, sitting down.

“Stop jumping over the furniture,” Jane softly lectured.

“Who has the remote?” Cathy sat next to Kat.

“I got it,” Jane grabbed the remote before sitting down by Anna, “I'll put on She-Ra.”

Yes!” Anne grinned.

“Let's watch the dumb lesbians,” Catherine nodded.

“Dumb lesbians, dumb lesbians!” Kat smiled.