Longest Night continued for awhile, meandering with a ponderous, pleasantly slow pace.
Ann's mom showed up before long, and she and Candy talked for most of the night, catching up. They all ate whatever food came off of Stan's grill, and it was pretty good.
Germ and his dad left after another hour or so.
About an hour after that Ann's mom left.
After another hour, Bea's dad finally left. Bea got into a small fight with him about where she was going to sleep tonight. She wanted to stay where she was, he wanted her to come home. In the end though, she won out because Bea was pretty tough and stubborn. Trent got into a brief and painful squeezing competition when her dad shook his hand one more time, but he seemed to have at least walked away from it holding his own.
After that, they ended up back around the firepit in his backyard with the group and Mae's parents, who seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. Mae seemed vaguely annoyed by them, and at one point had, in as subtle a manner as she could, suggested Trent maybe should find a way to kick them out. But he'd hedged on this one, because he was getting the impression that they maybe didn't get all that many opportunities anymore to have social interactions like this with their daughter, and he didn't want to cut them off from that.
"All right, Angus," Mae said when things had settled down a bit and they were all drinking hot chocolate or hot cider, relaxed in their chairs around the fire, "what can you tell us about the constellations?"
"Oh. Right. This was part of your dream," Angus said.
"You had a dream about constellations?" Stan asked.
"Yeah, awhile ago. But I forgot it was a dream. I thought it was real. But it was just a dream. And now Trent tried to put together this whole thing to make it, like, real. Instead of just a lost dream," Mae explained.
"Wow. That's remarkably thoughtful," Stan said.
"It was Ann, uh, Selma's idea, to be honest," Trent said.
"Yeah, but you made this happen. This is like all you dude," Ann replied.
"I mean, not all me. I guess I got the ball rolling but everyone here absolutely stepped up and helped out," Trent said.
"Psh, I didn't. I showed up and totally lazed about and ate all your food," Bea said.
"You've earned it," Trent replied, reaching over and touching the back of her hand, "you work very, very hard Bea."
"...thanks," she murmured.
Trent pulled his hand back, abruptly realizing that might be a bit more obvious, and he saw Candy looking at him with one raised eyebrow and a small, amused smile. He cleared his throat and shifted around. Mae was still sitting in his lap.
"Well," Angus said, "I did some research. I learned how to identify them and also what they're called, but not what they're about. Mae said I told her all these facts about what they are and their history, but I didn't know them, so I was always curious about what, in her mind, I said. I figured the best way to recreate that, or at least honor it, would be to make things up on the spot. So I figured I'd just start looking, and talk about them as I see them."
"You put a lot of thought into this," Ann said.
"Yeah. It seemed important to Mae, and I want her to be happy, and this to be a happy memory," Angus replied.
"Happy memories!" Gregg agreed. "Those are so awesome."
"Yeah! So far you guys are all doing a totally brutal job of it. This is like so super happy. Thank you, Angus. I really appreciate it. I'm ready!"
"Okay...uh...first one I see," he murmured, looking up, "is the Mice Writers."
"What do they do?" Candy asked.
"They write, I guess. I think...once a man's wife, in the oldentimes, wanted to write a story. But he didn't like the idea of her writing. So she would wait for him to go to sleep, and she would sit at his desk and write. And after awhile, became more and more annoyed that he didn't want her writing. So one day, she left what she had written so far on his desk, and when he woke up the next morning, he was amazed and then worried about what was happening. He asked her where it had come from, and she lied and said she didn't know, wondering if he would figure it out on his own. But he didn't. He tried to catch whoever it was in the act, and she wouldn't write on those days, or would wait for him to give up and go to sleep. Finally, they began having a problem with mice, and at one point a mouse got onto his desk and knocked over the inkwell and got ink all over its paws. And it ran all over the desk, leaving pawprints. When he saw that the next day, he decided that it was mice writing this story, spirit mice, and told everyone," Angus said.
"What happened to his wife?" Ann asked.
"Hmm. He died the next year and his wife inherited everything and she managed to successfully get several books published," Angus said.
"Good ending," Candy murmured.
Mae cackled. "That was so cool! What else!?"
"Hmm. I see Lucio, the Fox. He's…" Angus glanced over at Gregg, who was grinning at him. "A super cute fox who had an awesome, loving relationship with his awkward boyfriend, and lived happily ever after. In a castle. In the sky."
"Aww, that's so cute!" Mae cried.
Bea laughed. "Yep."
"Did they do crimes?" Gregg asked.
"Mmm. Some. Occasionally. But they were simple cries."
"Fun crimes."
"Yes. Fun crimes." He looked back up. "Uh...I see the fish."
"I don't think I've heard of that one. Like...just a fish? No fancy name?" Trent asked.
"Yeah. I don't really know what the deal is. It's just called 'a fish'. Not even 'the' fish."
"What's so special about it?" Mae asked.
"Uh...maybe the people who made this stuff up decided there had to be twelve of them. And then went through a long, intensive brainstorming session, and got through eleven of them, but by the time they got to twelve, they were drunk and tired and wanted to go relax or do something else. And someone was like 'uh...how bout a fish?' And everyone was else was like 'yeah okay'. And so they wrote down 'a fish', and then the, like, copiers or whatever they call the people who mass-produce papers back then, came in and did all the copying while they were sleeping off the booze. And a few days later they finally get a chance to see it, and are like, 'oh God, did we seriously write 'a fish'? What do we do?' and the guy in charge is like 'Too late now'. So it's just a fish. And no one asked any questions, and now it's stuck there forever."
Mae laughed, and so did most everyone else.
"You're pretty good at this," Stan said.
"It's kinda fun," Angus replied.
They spent another hour out there, finding the rest of the constellations and talking about them. By the time they were wrapping up, he could tell that Mae's parents were getting tired.
"Well, kids, it's been fun," Stan said, getting up and stretching, "but one of the sad realities of growing up is you get tired early."
"Also that your back hurts. And your knees. And your shoulders," Candy said. "It's been very wonderful tonight. I had a really nice time. Trent, thank you for hosting, Selma, Angus, Gregg, Bea, thank you for helping out in whatever ways you helped out. Stan and I really appreciate you helping make this a special night for Mae."
"Ugh, mom...you're embarrassing me…" Mae groaned.
"In front of your boyfriend?" Candy asked with a smile.
"Yes!"
"Then give your father and I hugs and tell us goodnight and we'll leave you be, sweetheart."
"Okay!" Mae hopped up, almost knocking Trent and his chair over, and hugged her mom, then her dad. "Goodnight, mom. Goodnight, dad. Uh...thanks for, like, coming and being cool about things. This was fun."
"It was. Goodnight sweetheart," Candy replied.
"Goodnight kitten," Stan said.
They all told her parents goodnight, and Stan wheeled their grill back over.
"Can we go inside?" Bea asked.
"Yeah, it is pretty cold," Mae said.
"Go on, I'll put out the fire," Trent said.
"You're, like, the most grown up among us all," Ann said with a laugh.
"No, Angus is definitely more grown up," Trent replied.
"Maybe one day we'll have to have a grown up contest to determine that," Angus said.
"I would pay money to see that," Gregg said.
"Same, dude," Mae agreed.
They headed inside and Trent made sure the fire was out, then joined them. Mae, Ann, and Bea had settled on the couch, while Greg and Angus were sitting together in one of the large chairs.
"Hey, you don't think this will, like, strain the chair do you?" Angus asked as Trent walked over to the coat closet.
"No, it's fine. Honestly, even if it does I don't care that much, be comfy together," Trent replied.
"Thanks dude!" Gregg said.
"What are you doing?" Bea asked.
"Getting the rest of the presents," Trent said.
"For who?"
"You and Mae."
"You got me more, fucker?!" she gasped.
"You and Mae have, like, no idea how to respond to people being nice to you, do you?" Trent replied as he pulled down the gifts he'd wrapped. There were three for each of them. He passed them out to Mae and Bea.
"Not really. Sorry," Bea replied as she accepted them.
"I didn't get gifts for anyone else, so, uh, sorry about that," Trent said. "I haven't really had enough time to figure out what you might want."
"It's cool," Angus said.
"Yeah, this night was totally an awesome gift," Gregg agreed.
"Also, Mae, sorry I technically got Bea four things and you three…"
"Dude, come on, you threw a fucking party for me and made tacos and let me move into your fucking house! It's fine and oh shit this robe is like so comfy and soft!" she cried as she unwrapped the first gift.
"Holy crap," Bea muttered as she unwrapped her own second gift and held up the t-shirt he'd gotten for her. "How'd you get my measurements? Getting stuff fitted for women is like super hard," she asked.
"Looked at your shirt when it was, uh...tossed onto the floor of my bedroom," he replied.
She sighed and blushed. "Fair enough. Thank you, this is fucking amazing. Where the hell did you find this?!"
"What is it?" Gregg asked.
She turned it around to show them. It was a t-shirt that was all black save for a Z? logo in the middle, encased in four bars of white. "It's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac," she said.
"That's pretty cool looking," Angus said.
"I put it together myself on my laptop, and then had a website that custom-makes t-shirts do it on a rush order," Trent replied.
"You got one for me too!?" Mae cried, opening her second present and finding a similar t-shirt.
"Yep."
"Dude, thanks! This is awesome!"
"Stop spending so much money on me!" Bea said as she opened up another gift and found a new copy of the JTHM comic that she'd been reading at his place.
"Why? You're my girlfriend," he replied.
"ARGH! Fine," she groused.
"Dude, what!?" Mae cried as she opened her final present and pulled a rolled-up poster from a tube. She unrolled it and stared at it. "Where'd you find this?!"
"Oh wow, that's really cool!" Angus said as she showed them.
It was a Demontower poster.
"It took a little bit to track down, but I managed to get it," Trent replied.
"Trent's writing Demontower fan fiction for me, also! He's, like, novelizing it!" Mae said.
"If it's not an imposition, I would love to read that," Angus said.
"Yeah I can definitely do that," Trent replied.
"You should post it online, there's huge fan fiction sites," Ann said.
"For real, Trent?" Bea asked as she opened her final present. "The entire Invader ZIM collection, with bonus shit, on blu-ray? You are fucking spoiling me!"
"Is that bad? I thought it was good," Trent replied, smirking at her.
"Oh you prick," she growled, shooting to her feet after setting aside the collection. She marched over to him, grabbed him by his shirt, then pushed him up against the nearest wall and kissed him hard on the mouth. Trent felt a surge of both surprise and desire, hunger for her, hit him at the same time. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back, holding her against him.
"Woo! Yeah! Get it Bea!" Mae cried.
Bea kissed him for a good long minute before finally pulling back. She stared at him, breathing heavily, her face an inch from his. "You have been asking for it all fucking night, Trent," she growled.
"Wow, Bea. I've never seen this side of you," Angus murmured.
She looked back over her shoulder suddenly. "Uh...shit. Would it be, like, a huge party foul if we went upstairs to...you know?"
"Go for it," Mae said.
"I mean, I think the biggest party foul for this particular situation is if you have loud sex around people who aren't getting laid. But we all have someone who lays us, so…" Ann shrugged. "I could use a bit of weed...either of you smoke?"
"I don't," Angus said.
"I could," Gregg replied, "if that's okay with you, Cap'n?"
Angus considered it, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay with it."
"Awesome! Wait-who's laying you Selma?" Gregg asked.
"Well…" Ann smiled and glanced at Mae. "How about you tell them? You love blurting out inappropriate things."
"Ann is totally getting laid by me and Trent! She's our girlfriend!" Mae cried.
Ann laughed.
"Wow...congrats," Angus said.
"Yeah, that's awesome dudes!" Gregg replied. "Bea, go get some! You've gone like way too long without regular doin' it. That's no fun!"
"Are you guys sure it won't be weird?" she asked.
"It'll be a little weird but I don't care," Angus replied.
"Are you sure you're okay with it, Mae? This is your night…"
"Bea, go on. You're my best friend and I love you, I could never keep you from some hot hard dicking, not now that I know how fucking good it feels," Mae replied. "We're gonna get toasted and, like, eat leftovers and watch some cartoons or something. Or actually, Gregg, Angus, I wanted to show you this fucking awesome game…"
"Okay, come on mister. You are fucking in for it," Bea growled, grabbing his wrist and hauling him over to the stairs.
It didn't take long for them to get upstairs and strip naked.
"On your back," Bea growled, shoving him onto the bed.
"Wow, you are something else tonight," Trent said.
"I am horny and frustrated and overworked and goddamnit I need to get laid. You've got me fucking addicted to your goddamned dick and I am so annoyed about that!"
"I was hoping to get you addicted to the whole package," Trent said.
She sighed and climbed on top of him, naked now, looking stunningly beautiful in the moonlight coming in through the window. "I am, don't get me wrong. I crave your voice and your touch just as much as the sex but...ugh, the sex is so intense. I'm honestly on the same page as Mae, I didn't know it could be this good."
"I have no idea why you three think it's so good," Trent said.
She reached down and grabbed his hands, bringing them up to her perky breasts. "Because you fucking listen, not just with your ears but, like, with your body, too. I don't know, everything just feels really good. Now just...let's do this."
And then they were kissing, naked and touching and groping. Bea was fierce, shoving her tongue into his mouth, running her hands over his body, touching him everywhere as he did the same to her. "No foreplay," she growled, "give me that cock."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.
"You scared or aroused?" she asked, grinning fiercely at him as she grabbed his dick.
"Both," he replied. "Mostly aroused. They're right, I've never seen you like this."
"I was like this in the shower," she said.
"Not this intense-ahhhhh oh my fucking God Bea…" he moaned as she slipped him inside of her. "Jesus hell you are wet…"
"And you are fucking hard," she moaned, working her hips, getting him all the way inside of her. "Oh fuck! I swore to myself I was never gonna be one of those trashy loud slutty girls during sex...mmm…"
"But?" he asked, grabbing her hips.
"I can't help it," she groaned. "It feels so good."
"You like that?" he asked and thrust up into her, pulling her down against him.
"OH FUCK YES!" she cried.
Trent had no idea how long he spent in that dark bedroom with Bea, fucking furiously and listening to the sweet sounds of her voice yelling in sexual bliss as first she fucked him and then he got her onto her back and he fucked her.
He knew that she orgasmed three times before he did, and he shot his load into her and almost passed out during the climax.
"Oh my...oh Trent," she groaned after they'd finished and they were laying together on the bed, sprawled out. "That was the best sex of my life. I came like...three or four times."
"Three or four?" he asked.
She laughed, then groaned. "Yeah...I lost track of, uh, everything. I don't even know what day it is right now anymore. Shit, dude." She giggled suddenly. "Is it hotter to you that you just nailed the valedictorian of her graduating class?"
"Actually yeah," he replied.
"You a sapiosexual?"
"Kinda...don't tell Mae."
"I was just gonna say that," Bea replied. "Mae's smart, but...she thinks she isn't. And that's probably largely my fault." She groaned. "Ugh, I regret being so mean to her. I'm so glad you found your way into her life...and mine. And Selma's."
"She forgave you, Bea," Trent said, taking her hand. "You need to forgive yourself."
"I don't know if I can. I don't fully believe I should be…"
"Bea. You've been through a lot. I understand, people say trauma isn't an excuse to be an asshole, and I believe that. But I also believe in forgiveness. People can give it, or not give it. Mae gave it when you asked for it, and you think she's smart enough not to just forgive you blindly. She loves you, Bea. She just wants you to be happy."
Bea sighed, shifted around, popped something in her back. "Well, I am happy right now. Although I need a shower. God...I guess you're right. I should just...let it go. She did. And I love her, too. She's my best friend. Plus, she shared you with me, and that's like...the nicest thing someone's ever done for me...Trent?"
"Yeah?"
"What'd my dad say to you?"
He sighed. "You really wanna spoil the mood?"
"That bad, huh? I'm feeling pretty chill, and I want to know, so you might as well just hit me with it now. And don't lie to me, please? I'm asking you directly."
Trent groaned, then nodded. "Okay, fine...he threatened to kill me if I hurt you."
"Are you serious?" she asked, rolling over and looking at him directly.
"Yeah. He said he'd go to jail for you...however you might feel about him, you gotta admit, your dad loves you. I sure believed him."
"God. Ugh. He's an asshole sometimes but...yeah, he does love me, I guess. In his own way. What'd you say to him?"
"I told him, basically, loud and clear. I hear him. And I'd never hurt you."
"Trent...oh my God. You giving me that gift like that, with him watching, after he said that to you...Jesus, 'power moves' have never done much for me. But that's a power move, and it's actually super hot...can we have sex again?"
"In the shower," he said.
"Race you!"
"Bea, like, holy crap," Mae said as he and Bea finally came back downstairs, holding hands, Bea leaning her head on his shoulder. "That was the loudest sex like ever."
"That was quite the performance," Ann said with the biggest grin he'd ever seen her wear.
"Dude did you like throw your back out?!" Gregg cried, then laughed loudly. "That was the craziest sex I've ever heard! I didn't even know you could make sounds like that!"
Bea groaned as they sat down on the couch with Mae and Ann. "I'm gonna regret that, aren't I? You're never going to let me forget this."
"Never!" Gregg agreed merrily.
"Sorry if that was, uh, weird. Bea was...very insistent that I give her my, uh, full attention," Trent said.
"Oh shut up," Bea growled. She was unable to keep a grin from her face though.
"So how was today, Mae?" Ann asked. "Was it everything you hoped for?"
"Honestly, like, way better than I had hoped for. Don't get me wrong. Like, I figured you'd guys do a decent job of putting everything together, I just have had such shitty luck for so long that I thought it would get ruined somehow. But, I dunno, this might be the best day of my life," Mae replied.
"Wow, seriously?" Gregg asked.
"Yeah."
"That's awesome!"
Mae laughed, and Trent happened to be looking right at her as she did that. She was smiling, beaming really. She looked tired, but in a content, satisfied sort of way. After coming inside, she'd stripped down to a baggy t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Her dyed-red hair was a mess, but it looked really good. Everything about her looked good. Her smile and her eyes and her fur, even her mangled ear. The way she was stretched out, her feet up on the coffee table, resting against the arm of the couch. Hearing her laughter, it all…
It was like a perfect storm of things, and it seemed to set off a cascade of memories.
He remembered his time with her. With this strange girl called Mae Borowski.
Walking through town.
Laying together in the dark, listening to the trains and the rain and the wind.
Laughing with her and her friends.
Seeing her face her fear, and face her ex.
Jumping on the trampoline at Germ's with Ann.
The first time they'd made love.
Standing on a hill in the woods, when they were little more than strangers to each other, holding hands, listening to the distant call of a train…
It felt impossible that, not even a month ago, he hadn't even known this woman existed.
It felt like they'd known each other, been experiencing things together, for months, years maybe.
"Mae…" he said.
She looked over at him, her smile growing a bit wider as she caught his eyes. "Yeah, babe?"
He heard Bea gasp softly. She was looking at him, smiling as well. She had to know what was coming. Bea was pretty sharp like that.
"I love you."
Mae stared at him for several silent seconds, her mouth falling open. "...really?" she asked finally.
He laughed softly. "Yes, Mae. I love you. I'm sure."
"Oh my God! I love you too! Holy shit!" She crawled over Ann, who was sitting between them, and awkwardly shifted around until she was straddling him and she pinned him to the back of the couch, kissing him deeply. He kissed her back, hugging her to him, losing himself in the moment. Mae kept breaking the kiss, laughing first, and then before long crying.
"Aw shit," she said, sniffing and wiping at her eyes. "Ah. Don't worry! It's good crying! I'm so happy! Sorry guys!"
"Crying is cool," Gregg replied.
"Happy or sad, don't hold back the tears," Angus agreed.
"I'm a little surprised you didn't wait to tell her that in, like, private," Ann murmured.
"You all are important to Mae," Trent replied. "You're her friends. She shares...like...everything with you all, and I felt it would be appropriate."
"Wow, you really do know Mae," Angus murmured.
"Told you! We're like soulmates! And I don't even really believe in them," Mae said. She kissed him again, then wiped at her eyes, then settled down lower until she could rest her head against his chest while still hugging him.
"I don't either. I think we're just very, very compatible," Trent said.
Mae yawned suddenly. "Oh...dude...I might actually pass out...mmm...sensory overload…"
"I think it's bedtime," Trent said.
"Yeah. We should head out," Angus said.
"You guys don't have to walk, do you?" he asked.
"No, we borrowed Bea's car," he replied. "I'll come back with it tomorrow and give her a ride home. Unless you intend to stay here longer…?"
Bea sighed heavily. "No, no...I want to but there's shit to do. So yeah, be over here sometime around noon. And thanks."
"Thanks for letting us borrow it," Angus replied.
"Okay, Mae, say goodnight to your friends. Mae?...Mae? Are you serious right now?"
She was still laying against him, face in his chest. He shifted her and she fell back. He grasped her, supporting her weight.
"She's not faking, huh?" Gregg asked.
"No. She's out cold. Jeez, at least she warned us," Bea murmured.
"I've never known anyone who sleeps this hard," Trent said.
"Have fun getting her upstairs," Gregg said, laughing.
"Yep," Trent replied. "Goodnight guys, thanks for helping make this an awesome experience."
"Yeah, dude. Anytime. Hanging here is fun," Gregg said.
"It is, indeed," Angus agreed.
They said their goodnights and left the house. Trent found himself beneath Mae, between Ann and Bea.
"You think that bed's actually big enough for the four of us?" Bea asked.
"Yeah," Trent replied immediately.
Ann laughed. "You've been thinking about this, haven't you?"
"Can you blame him?" Bea replied. "Dude's got three girlfriends."
"Speaking of that...are we, like...cool? I didn't wanna step on your toes, but he and Mae offered…" Ann murmured uncomfortably.
"Selma, it's fine. I...this whole thing is kinda nuts, to be honest. It sure as hell isn't how we're 'supposed' to do it. But honestly? I've done too many things how you're 'supposed' to do it, and what the fuck do I have to show for it? Pain, sleepless nights, no money, arguments or just biting my tongue again and again and again...shit. I'm fucking sick of it. This feels good, and I trust you, and I trust Trent, and I trust Mae. You know, mostly."
Mae groaned and shifted on Trent.
"Oh hush, Mae," Bea said. "So, Selma, we are indeed cool. Because this feels good. This feels right. Being with Trent. And it seems to feel right for you. And it obviously feels right for Mae, and for Trent. If we all feel like dating, like this feels good and sustainable, then why the fuck shouldn't we? And you deserve to be happy, Selma. You've gone through so much bullshit...I always wanted to tell you that you could come work with me at the Pickaxe, but I also felt like it would be...cruel. Because the job sucks so hard…"
"I really, really appreciate the thought, Bea," Ann said. "You're a good friend. And I'm really glad we're friends...and that we share a boyfriend."
Bea giggled, then yawned. "Okay...I think enough emotions for today. I'm fucking dead on my feet. I'm about to punch out like Mae."
"Let's get you all to bed," Trent said. He spent a moment shifting her around and, once he had a good grasp on her, got to his feet.
"Look at you, strong guy," Bea said with a grin as she and Ann got up.
"She's not that heavy," Trent replied.
"I wish her height didn't bother her," Ann murmured as they headed upstairs. "Then again, mine does. I'm really tall. Guys don't seem to like tall women."
"I fucking love tall women," Trent said.
Ann laughed. "Lucky me...I need a shower. You guys head to bed."
"I gotta make sure we're secure and everything's turned off, then I'll be in," Trent said.
"Sweet. Night you two. Trent, you're the best boyfriend ever. Gimme sugar before I pass the fuck out," Bea said.
Trent set Mae down on the bed, then gave Bea a kiss, then spent a moment getting Mae undressed and then situated beneath the blankets. "Glad there's absolutely no question about how comfortable she is being naked around us all," he murmured, "or how she prefers to sleep nowadays."
Bea laughed. "I'm never going back," she said as she took off her clothes.
"Same, actually," Trent agreed. He finished getting Mae all tucked in, then went downstairs and made sure all the doors and windows were locked, and all the lights were off, and anything else he could think of, then went back upstairs. By the time he was taking his clothes off, Bea was already in bed and snoring. He was getting there himself.
Tonight…
Had gone really well.
He settled in between Mae and Bea after making sure there was enough room left on Mae's other side for Ann, and then he fell asleep immediately.
Author's Note: Hey readers. So, like, I gotta say, this really exploded in size. I got this idea based off of two things after finishing Night in the Woods. The first was a rule 34 of Mae doing sex stuff for the first time and going like "HOLY SHIT! THIS IS AWESOME!". It struck me as just such a Mae reaction to sex. The second thing was when Mae learned her memory was really a dream, about Longest Night, and that actually hurt. It has always struck me as so sad and painful. So I came up with this scene, turning Longest Night constellations around a bonfire into a real memory.
When I first started writing Just Better, I didn't have much of a plan beyond smut and the Longest Night scene. Ideas started coming to me, and what was some simple silly fan fic idea is now over 100,000 words and not even close to finished.
What I realized as I wrote the story was that what I truly wanted was to make the characters happy. I've played through Night in the Woods probably half a dozen times now, maybe more, and there's so much misery. Which was good in that it served the story very well. NitW is probably one of the most accurate games I've ever played when it comes to portraying real-life problems. But I came away from the game just wanting to make the characters happy. That all swirled around in my head for awhile, and finally it started spilling out as this story.
There's still a lot to go, and I know where I want it to end (I think), but it'll take awhile to get there.
Thanks for the readers who read it, and those who leave reviews. Though don't be shy! Reviews honestly do make me feel better.
Also, happy Longest Night! I wanted to get these chapters out actually on Longest Night, and I managed to do it! I hope you liked them.