finn only looked up from his book to frown - or rather, look offended. “ma! tell her to let me have the wine!” he complained, in exactly the same tone that maebh had used earlier. it was an effort not to smile at the familiarity of it all. new zealand was nothing like this. his mother’s quick response helped.

“maebh, give your brother some wine. be fair.” mary said as she moved to sit herself down at the kitchen table with them. “mine. she’s taken up some kind of community centre club. be nice when it comes up, even if it’s boring, okay?”

“from that chinese place down the road. finn, stop reading,” mary said as she opened the fridge to pour herself a glass of juice.

“dad’s bordeaux. and no,” finn answerer, taking a seat at the kitchen table. he leaned forward on his elbows, obviously just being stubborn to annoy maebh. they’d been apart for some time now, he was behind on his irritations.

“i tried,” mary shrugged. they were old enough to fight their own petty battles - not that that would stop maebh from enlisting her parents to help. “are you going to be here tomorrow? your grandmother’s coming around for tea.”

never in his life had finn been happier to be home. although he’d enjoyed his time in new zealand — he was a homebody at heart, and he and adam both knew that the moment they returned it was going to be for good. whilst they were house hunting, they were staying in finn’s childhood room. whilst adam was out with lena, he was happy to be spending time with his family. he’d taken his spot at the kitchen table to read and had only moved briefly to greet his sister.

mary was more than happy to have all of her kids under one roof again, although most of them now lived at home — maebh was the missing puzzle piece. although she was pottering around the kitchen, of course it wasn’t to cook. “our rider is called-” she checked her phone to confirm, “-petyr. he’ll be here in twenty minutes if you can wait that long. i see you’re already prepared.” as she walked past, she patted maebh’s side to get her to step out of the way as she went to put a pot away in the cupboard behind her. upon realising she couldn’t reach, finn swooped past and put it away for her without lifting his eyes from his book.

"dad's bordeaux. and no," finn answerer, taking a seat at the kitchen table. he leaned forward on his elbows, obviously just being stubborn to annoy maebh. they'd been apart for some time now, he was behind on his irritations.

The guilt weighed heavy on Mary’s chest. She found herself wanting to tell her what had happened, right from the start, but she couldn’t risk it ruining everything. She noticed then, that she still had the stamp from the nightclub on her hand. She tucked it into the sleeve of her nightgown. “Yeah, I’ll go do that,” she agreed, backing up towards the bathroom. She hesitated at the door before turning to leave her alone.

Malcolm had heard things that he probably shouldn’t have from his sister, usually when she was in no state to comprehend the secrets that she was telling him. “So why’d you get together again?”

Laura did catch, out of the corner of her eye, how Mary seemed to hide something in her sleeve. She had been a detective half a year ago, it wasn’t like little things like that just were easy to ignore. She didn’t want to pry, but once she heard the bathroom door close she did find herself looking through the apartment. She didn’t know what she was thinking to find, but with her hiding her arm or hand or something and her past- well, drugs couldn’t be out of the question. Still, she came up empty handed in the brief search. Before Mary would realize that she was even looking, she knew she had to step out and bring down some food from her own apartment, which was exactly what she did. She came back and knocked lightly again for Mary to open up the apartment. 

The guilt weighed heavy on Mary’s chest. She found herself wanting to tell her what had happened, right from the start, but she couldn’t risk it ruining everything. She noticed then, that she still had the stamp from the nightclub on her hand. She tucked it into the sleeve of her nightgown. “Yeah, I’ll go do that,” she agreed, backing up towards the bathroom. She hesitated at the door before turning to leave her alone.

Malcolm had heard things that he probably shouldn’t have from his sister, usually when she was in no state to comprehend the secrets that she was telling him. “So why’d you get together again?”

Laura did catch, out of the corner of her eye, how Mary seemed to hide something in her sleeve. She had been a detective half a year ago, it wasn’t like little things like that just were easy to ignore. She didn’t want to pry, but once she heard the bathroom door close she did find herself looking through the apartment. She didn’t know what she was thinking to find, but with her hiding her arm or hand or something and her past- well, drugs couldn’t be out of the question. Still, she came up empty handed in the brief search. Before Mary would realize that she was even looking, she knew she had to step out and bring down some food from her own apartment, which was exactly what she did. She came back and knocked lightly again for Mary to open up the apartment. 

The guilt weighed heavy on Mary’s chest. She found herself wanting to tell her what had happened, right from the start, but she couldn’t risk it ruining everything. She noticed then, that she still had the stamp from the nightclub on her hand. She tucked it into the sleeve of her nightgown. “Yeah, I’ll go do that,” she agreed, backing up towards the bathroom. She hesitated at the door before turning to leave her alone.

Malcolm had heard things that he probably shouldn’t have from his sister, usually when she was in no state to comprehend the secrets that she was telling him. “So why’d you get together again?”

Laura did catch, out of the corner of her eye, how Mary seemed to hide something in her sleeve. She had been a detective half a year ago, it wasn’t like little things like that just were easy to ignore. She didn’t want to pry, but once she heard the bathroom door close she did find herself looking through the apartment. She didn’t know what she was thinking to find, but with her hiding her arm or hand or something and her past- well, drugs couldn’t be out of the question. Still, she came up empty handed in the brief search. Before Mary would realize that she was even looking, she knew she had to step out and bring down some food from her own apartment, which was exactly what she did. She came back and knocked lightly again for Mary to open up the apartment. 

“Laura that’s not nece- okay. You’re in my house.” Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her bedroom door remained half open, but it was almost always a mess so the crumpled dress on the floor wasn’t too out of place. The made bed might have been considering it was only like that in case she had scored last night. “I have whatever’s in the cupboard.”

Mac shrugged. “Maybe. If she’s ugly.” Although he tried not to be, he was rather judgemental right off the bat based on looks. One commonality he had with his sister. “Have you heard from Mo?”

Laura made her way to the kitchen, which she knew was usually pretty sadly barren. She really needed to start teaching her some cooking basics, she was sure. “You should take a shower,” she said, glancing through the cupboard. “And I suppose while you do that I’ll be grocery shopping for you from my apartment.” She did that occasionally, which showed from the random assortment of empty mason jars that sat in Mary’s cupboards. 

Mary blushed, but she kept her composure. Usually, she had no trouble telling a good lie. But there was something about lying to Laura - the woman that had taken a chance on her when she didn’t have to - that felt like a betrayal. “I… threw up,” she lied. “I didn’t think you’d want to smell that. I think I’ve caught a bug. You should probably go. You don’t want to get sick.”

Mac gasped dramatically. “What!? Again!?” Considering the length of time in between, he came to his own conclusions. “You’ve been seeing her this whole time and you didn’t think to say something!?”

Laura frowned, studying her and starting to let herself in. “Then unfortunately, I can’t let you have this pastry I got you,” she said, holding up the bag. “But I can cook you something for breakfast that will be good for you. Do you have tea?” she asked, not caring at all about getting sick herself. 

Mary had closed the door not a few minutes earlier. She put her phone on charge and hurriedly changed out of her dress into a much more appropriate house coat. She was going to get in the sbower but then the knock came. Still certain she smelled too much like a party, she grabbed some deodorant and sprayed it aggressively across her whole body before opening the door. “Hey, what’s up?” she asked, casually leaning across the door frame. She made her eyelids heavy to give the illusion she was unwell and not in fact hungover.

Mac would never give up on trying to get something. “Yes.” He walked around the counter and leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “How was she? How were you? Where did you find her? Or him.”

Laura waited at the door, rocking impatiently back and forth on her heels. When Mary opened the door, she made a face at the strong scent of some kind of perfume or deodorant. “Did you fall into a vat of perfume?” she asked. “You look like shit,” Laura observed immediately, but she didn’t jump to a conclusion that it was anything other than maybe a bad night. 

Outside, Mary decided that the car that had the fanciest driver was surely the kind that he would call. She wondered if there was an elitist Uber of some kind. As she climbed inside and told them the address, she tapped her nails nervously against the door. By the time they pulled up at her building, she was pleased to find that her keys were still on her person. “Um… thank you. Do I pay you or- no? Okay. Thank you! Sorry!” She climbed clumsily out of the car, dropping her phone on the ground in the process before rushing towards the door.

Mac sat in his room for a while, but when he heard the front door close be was up immediately. “Who is she?” he asked the moment he entered the kitchen and leaned against the counter.

Laura had went to stop by Mary’s in the morning, a pastry in her hand from a vegan bakery she’d stop by on her way home from Mac’s. She couldn’t say she was entirely surprised that Mary didn’t answer - she’d seen how knocked out the woman could sleep sometimes - but it was still more often than not that she would answer. She texted her and pretended not to be worried when the text didn’t send. Instead of lingering awkwardly in the hallway, she decided to go back to her own apartment and try back in an hour. Luckily, that would only be shortly after Mary already got back to her apartment. Soon enough, she was knocking again. 

Mary noticed the ease in which his hand rested on her thigh. Her skin tingled with anticipation, memories of the night before warping her judgement. If not for how heavy her limbs felt and the weight of his next words, she might have used that feeling to her advantage. The thought of Laura at her door — Laura, who knew she shouldn’t be doing what she was doing. Who, although they seemed closer to friends now, had started off as more of a guide and a mentor than anything else. She could already see the disappointment. “Shit, I have to go.” She quickly scrambled to her feet, moving around the room in desperate hunt of discarded underwear. In record time, she had pulled off his sweater and was dragging the dress back onto her body on the off chance that, if she was to see Laura, she might recognise it. The comfort and warmth was almost painful. “Have you seen my phone?” Before she could get an answer, she found it on the floor. The battery was dead so she couldn’t even fire off a quick excuse. “Shit, shit, shit! What’s the fastest way from here to Euston?”

Mary noticed the ease in which his hand rested on her thigh. Her skin tingled with anticipation, memories of the night before warping her judgement. If not for how heavy her limbs felt and the weight of his next words, she might have used that feeling to her advantage. The thought of Laura at her door — Laura, who knew she shouldn’t be doing what she was doing. Who, although they seemed closer to friends now, had started off as more of a guide and a mentor than anything else. She could already see the disappointment. “Shit, I have to go.” She quickly scrambled to her feet, moving around the room in desperate hunt of discarded underwear. In record time, she had pulled off his sweater and was dragging the dress back onto her body on the off chance that, if she was to see Laura, she might recognise it. The comfort and warmth was almost painful. “Have you seen my phone?” Before she could get an answer, she found it on the floor. The battery was dead so she couldn’t even fire off a quick excuse. “Shit, shit, shit! What’s the fastest way from here to Euston?”

Mary noticed the ease in which his hand rested on her thigh. Her skin tingled with anticipation, memories of the night before warping her judgement. If not for how heavy her limbs felt and the weight of his next words, she might have used that feeling to her advantage. The thought of Laura at her door — Laura, who knew she shouldn’t be doing what she was doing. Who, although they seemed closer to friends now, had started off as more of a guide and a mentor than anything else. She could already see the disappointment. “Shit, I have to go.” She quickly scrambled to her feet, moving around the room in desperate hunt of discarded underwear. In record time, she had pulled off his sweater and was dragging the dress back onto her body on the off chance that, if she was to see Laura, she might recognise it. The comfort and warmth was almost painful. “Have you seen my phone?” Before she could get an answer, she found it on the floor. The battery was dead so she couldn’t even fire off a quick excuse. “Shit, shit, shit! What’s the fastest way from here to Euston?”

Mary noticed the ease in which his hand rested on her thigh. Her skin tingled with anticipation, memories of the night before warping her judgement. If not for how heavy her limbs felt and the weight of his next words, she might have used that feeling to her advantage. The thought of Laura at her door — Laura, who knew she shouldn’t be doing what she was doing. Who, although they seemed closer to friends now, had started off as more of a guide and a mentor than anything else. She could already see the disappointment. “Shit, I have to go.” She quickly scrambled to her feet, moving around the room in desperate hunt of discarded underwear. In record time, she had pulled off his sweater and was dragging the dress back onto her body on the off chance that, if she was to see Laura, she might recognise it. The comfort and warmth was almost painful. “Have you seen my phone?” Before she could get an answer, she found it on the floor. The battery was dead so she couldn’t even fire off a quick excuse. “Shit, shit, shit! What’s the fastest way from here to Euston?”