Past Anxiety

"Where'd you put the marshmallows?"
"You'll have to look deeper than that if you wanna find 'em."
"You sneaky son of a bitch, tryna to get my face stuck in here."
"Hey, on the plus side, I'll be able to pull you out."
"Charming, you've reached new levels of chivalry."
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I steal that title from you?"

Mao Mao rolled his eyes as he looked through the cabinet, balancing on one foot as he tried to search for the bag of marshmallows. Badgerclops had just prepared fresh mugs of hot chocolate and was now waiting for his companion to add the finishing touch. The white and brown bear was now watching with amusement as his black cat comrade was shuffling through the cupboard, watching his backside wiggle about with an incredibly smug look.

"I got it! EFF!" Mao Mao shouted before he jolted backward and hung by his paws on the cabinet. "Excuse me, I require assistance here!"

"You can just put your feet down on the counter, it's not that hard", Badgerclops said with a raised brow.

"Oh, so you don't want these then", Mao Mao retorted, "I suppose I'll just hang here while the hot chocolate gets cold."

"Mao Mao, you're being overdramatic, you're not up a tree", Badgerclops scowled, waiting the drinks before him.

"Go on, prove that you can steal my title of chivalry by rescuing me from the depths of the floor", Mao Mao said in an overly dramatic fashion. Badgerclops rolled his eyes and put a paw to his face as he stood up from the couch and went into the kitchen to "assist" the feline dangling from the cupboard.

"You really make me do everything around here, you know that", The bear huffed as he pulled Mao Mao off the cabinet, holding the bag of marshmallows.

"Think of it as me getting back at you for being a smug little shit when we were back in the village and you kept piling the supplies on my arms", Mao Mao reminded with a paw right under Badgerclops' chin.

"Oh, that, you get hung up by a lot of things I've noticed, big or small, it's all the same to you", The taller male mused as he walked back into the living room, "heck, when we first came here, you were so thirsty for action, you had to terrorize the Sweetie Pies just to get some kind of entertainment."

"You know sometimes, I don't know why I do anything for those little creeps", Mao Mao huffed as he sat down on the couch, "one day they act grateful and then the next, they're complaining about how I'm too 'abrasive' or 'destructive' and shit like that."

"Yo, that's a mood, you're not the only one who's gotten stuff like that, that grimy little shit Pinky never stays out of trouble, and he actually bite me on the arm last time we met. Like seriously, just out of nowhere, no justification whatsoever", Badgerclops scowled as he looked at his good arm, "to top it all off, there's times when they're so mean to me and I just don't know whyyyyyyyhyhyhy…" The bear continued in a theatrical manner that made Mao Mao pinch his side to come back to reality.

"That's milking it a little", He said plainly.

"Ouch…you know how to hurt a guy, Mao Mao…" Badgerclops whined as he rubbed his right hip.

"I mean, I'd know all about it, given it's one of the few things that stuck with me…" Mao Mao replied as he looked away at the window. Badgerclops noticed the tonal shift in his voice and his face became slightly concerned.

"You're not…still thinking about…that, right…?" The bruin asked awkwardly, feeling like he was already stepping on the other male's toes.

"I can't help it…all that time, yet it stays with me even to this day…" The feline murmured as he continued to stare outside. The air was cold and windy, the two could hear the building creak underneath the strong gushes that would occasionally wisp against the walls.

"I know what you mean…I've had similar experiences…" Badgerclops mumbled, twiddling his claw tips.

"Stolen ice cream money from some sleaze cousin or brother is nothing compared to a whole childhood of constantly being looked down by your own family", Mao Mao muttered darkly, his paw gripping into the sofa.

"Hey, my family wasn't all lovey dovey if that's what you're wondering, we didn't grow up on a lot, need I remind you that I had to originally steal in order to survive", Badgerclops retorted as he pointed at the feline.

"Need I remind you that I lost my tail to a boulder while putting up with a dad who couldn't bother to pronounce my name right while he was fawning over my sisters in a fake suit of armor, the fucking hypocrite?!" Mao Mao shouted as he poked at Badgerclops' chest.

"Did you ever think that maybe sometimes you're not the only one who's had it bad in the past?!" Badgerclops shouted back as he pointed at Mao Mao's nose. "You see this eye here, I've been hit so many times near it, that's why I wear this patch, and it wasn't just from typical bad guys, let me tell you!"

"Oh…I…didn't know about that…" Mao Mao said in a slightly awkward tone.

"Of course you didn't know, it's always about you, 'awww, my daddy's a piece of shit, I lost my tail cuz of a dog, my family hates me'", Badgerclops mimicked, "you never want to hear about what I've gone through because I'm just the sidekick…" The bear concealed his eyes with his paws, trying to hold down the tears, but finding it hard to muffle a sob that slipped through his covered mouth. Mao Mao watched this from the other side, feeling incredibly guilty at what had just taken place. It soon came to his attention that no one really bothered to listen to Badgerclops' past experiences, given Mao Mao usually talked over him or made his past the most vocal out of the duo. The black cat looked back at his taller companion with a somber look of sympathy, he knew him and Badgerclops had a lot in common when it came to a lot of things, but the fact that they shared similar experiences with toxic family members, Mao Mao felt bad for not taking that side of the bear more into consideration. He softly put a paw on the bruin's knee as he finally looked from his paws.

"Hey…I'm sorry if I've been a dick…" Mao Mao said with a genuine tone, "I don't know what came over me…"

"No…it's my fault…" Badgerclops sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes, "I made things uncomfortable between us…"

"Nonono, you didn't. I've been neglecting your side of things for a while now, it was wrong of me…" Mao Mao replied as he continued to soothe the bear with his paw, "I shouldn't have made light on your past, it was a scummy thing to do…can you forgive me…?"

Badgerclops looked into the black cat's golden eyes, seeing that there was a sense of sincerity, something that people might think was a rarity for Mao Mao in general, but the bear could sense it. He opened his arms up as an entrance for the smaller male to go into, which he did as he wrapped his arms around his back, while Badgerclops did the same. The bruin pulled up his eyepatch to show off his other eye as the two males stared at one another…before the distance between them began to close as they edged towards each other's faces as their lips met. They held this position for a few seconds that turned into almost a minute before drawing back for breath, caressing each other's faces. They then looked at the mugs of hot chocolate on the coffee table, seemingly having gotten cold while the two had been talking and getting things ready.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to warm up another batch…" Badgerclops said before Mao Mao continued to caress his cheeks.

"Before you do any of that, I believe we have some…time to make up…" Mao Mao purred as he went in for another kiss, Badgerclops returning the favor as the two sat there on the couch, focused purely on each other, the weather outside still going on, but on the inside of the house was as calm as it could be.