Warning for brief gore after second page break.

Bentley hears angry footsteps march away and feels guilty for some inexplicable reason. He understands this decision is…abrupt, but really he's just cutting off a potential problem before it becomes unmanageable. He's always followed the rules, kept his head down, and never gave the staff any reason to scrutinize him with more than a passing glance. It's protected him and given him what precious little agency he can scrounge up here. The idea of losing it is terrifying.

His books, especially, are a privilege he's earned by playing that careful game, but just this morning when he went to help sort donations, the adults were watching him as if they were waiting for the first sign of delinquency. He didn't dare step out of line with so many suspicious eyes on him.

News has traveled fast about yesterday, it seems. They looked at him like he was a criminal in the making; like he'd had a taste of deviancy and now it was only a matter of time before he acted on it again.

Bentley can't risk that becoming his reputation. As much as he enjoys Sly's company - and that has certainly been a revelation all on its own - being seen sneaking off with him for long periods of time when they'd just been accused of cheating will only garner suspicion that neither of them need. He's protecting them both by setting this boundary.

And while the turtle is pretty sure that he feels bad because he lied about the reasoning, there wasn't any other way to go about it. Sly seems stubborn, from what he's been able to tell, and he also seemed furious last night when Mrs. Puffin was…disciplining them. More than likely, the raccoon won't care about how he's perceived, which is why it falls to Bentley.

He's sure the other boy will understand once he's had a little time to calm down and think. It's not like he doesn't want to completely stop interacting with him. They just need to take a bit of a break, lay low for a while, until the unnecessary attention is off of them. When that happens in a few days or so, maybe he'll tentatively reestablish communication, and then they can see where it goes from there. He's certain his plan will work.

That certainty starts to falter when he enters the cafeteria for lunch the next day and nearly runs into Sly. The raccoon's gaze is steely, no less angry than the day before, and he makes eye contact with Bentley long enough for the turtle to know it before turning away in an obviously dismissive gesture.

Murray stands next to his roommate, and he looks between the two of them in confusion and worry. Before he can ask what's going on, though, Sly stalks into the food line, and the hippo gives Bentley a helpless look before following him.

That's…a stronger reaction than he'd expected.

The turtle sits in his usual place, book in hand as he eats, and tries not to dwell on it. This is what he wanted, right? Separation is good. Hostility - no. That word is too strong and it makes him nauseous to think about - chilliness is good. The staff will all think they've successfully managed to isolate the "troublemakers" sooner that way, and then Bentley will have his regular reputation back, and then things can go back to normal.

The sound of a tray hitting the table startles him out of his thoughts. Murray sits down beside him, still confused if his expression is anything to go by.

"What's going on?" He asks, crunching into a carrot between words. "Why is Sly mad at you?"

Bentley sighs. "I requested that we dissolve our agreement regarding the tutoring he's been giving me."

"Huh?"

"We're not hanging out anymore," the turtle hisses, annoyed at having to repeat himself. He's always had to do that around other kids - and many of the adults - but something about it is especially aggravating today.

Murray stops chewing and stares at him with wide eyes. "What? Really? How come?"

"Didn't he tell you already?"

"No. He's just been really angry lately all of a sudden. Did you guys get into a fight?"

"Not…in that exact manner of speaking." Bentley pauses, then side-eyes the other boy. "But I don't recall it being any of your business, anyway. Why don't you go spend time with him instead? We barely know each other, and you two are roommates."

The hippo looks forlornly down at his tray. "We hung out yesterday, and it was fun, but now he's just been grabbing his food and disappearing again like he used to. That's why I came to you. No one else wants me to sit with them so I thought maybe you would."

Oh. Dangit, now Bentley feels like a jerk.

"Uh…" He struggles to find his words. What is it with these two and their frustrating ability to make him tongue-tied? "Well, I suppose you can sit here. I don't exactly reserve seats for anyone specific."

"Thanks!" Murray perks right back up and starts eating again. "So what did you guys fight about?"

"Didn't I just say it's none of your -" The turtle groans and rubs his face, mindful of his glasses. "Ugh. Okay, look, we didn't fight about anything. I simply let him know that we shouldn't associate with each other for a while."

"Why?"

"Because the staff has been watching us."

He nods in the direction of one such adult, who hasn't done much to pretend he's doing anything else even though he's halfway across the room from them. Murray follows his gaze and blinks rather owlishly as he sees what Bentley does.

"Why are they doing that?"

"Um, newsflash? Because we were punished?"

"Oh, right." The hippo makes a face at the reminder, then shrugs. "Don't worry. They only do that for a little while until someone else gets in trouble. Then they'll ignore you after that unless you do something bad again."

Bentley eyes him. "You seem fairly certain about this."

"I get in trouble a lot on accident."

"Right. You mentioned that." He stirs his scalding bowl of soup, watching the way physics creates a tiny whirlpool with his spoon's motions. "Well, I have no interest in 'doing something bad again'. Since the staff seems to think I helped Sly cheat, I'd rather not continue to give them that impression. Until they go back to looking the other way, we're just going to have to stay separated."

Murray hums through a mouthful of food. "That makes sense. I wonder why Sly got so mad at you for it. He should be more mad at the adults. He was already pretty mad at them that night."

"Ah, well…I wasn't exactly forthcoming with him." This time, Bentley rephrases before the hippo even has to ask. "I didn't tell him that was the reason why we shouldn't hang out."

"You lied to him?"

That should not have made him feel guilty, but somehow it does. Especially with the way Murray is staring at him with an open mouth. He clears his throat and adjusts his glasses to pretend he doesn't see it.

"I didn't - lie to him, per se. I just omitted certain information."

"You shouldn't lie to people," the other boy says as if he hadn't heard him at all. "It just hurts them more. The truth is always better."

"I have my reasons, okay?" Bentley snaps, defensive and not sure why. "It's between us anyway, so drop it."

Murray's jaw clicks shut. He stares at his food and they sit there in silence for several minutes. It just makes the turtle feel even worse.

"...Sorry," he eventually mumbles. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay," the hippo replies very softly. "I was sticking my nose in your business. I shouldn't have done that."

If that's not a line straight out of the headmistress' mouth, Bentley will eat his bowtie. He grimaces at the thought of her, and the wedge she's managed to drive between him and these two people who he doesn't actually mind being around.

"For the record, your company isn't unwanted," he says, bouncing the ceiling light's glare off his fork to make patterns on his tray. "You and Sly both. Even though we just recently met, and it was in a bad situation. When we were cleaning together, and talking…it was enjoyable."

Murray looks up at him, face bright with hope and happiness. "Really? You mean it?"

"I do."

Bentley finds himself suddenly surrounded by pink as the hippo hugs him. Despite his enthusiasm, Murray's hold is remarkably gentle.

"Uh!"

"Sorry!" Murray releases him immediately, sheepish. "Sorry. I just got so happy, I couldn't help it! I was so worried you didn't want to be friends anymore cause you and Sly are fighting."

"W-Well," the turtle coughs to keep his voice from cracking, "that's one thing you shouldn't worry about. Just, just give me some warning next time you do something like that again, okay?"

"Okay!" He finishes off his lunch and stands up. "I'm gonna go find Sly right now and tell him that you still want to be friends!"

"Wha - wait - Murray!" Before Bentley can even form a coherent thought, the hippo is already out of his seat and blazing out of the cafeteria.

He sighs, puts his face in his hands, and wonders how his life got so complicated in the span of a few days.

"Bentley still wants to be friends with you!"

Sly stops halfway up his bunk bed ladder. He'd managed to avoid Murray all day, and had been hoping he could pretend to be asleep before his roommate ever came back for bed, but it's just his luck that the hippo caught him early. He clenches his jaw and turns his head, glaring at the other boy.

Murray doesn't even hesitate under the weight of it. "No, really, I mean it! I talked to him today about your fight, and he said he likes hanging out with you! So you guys don't have to fight anymore!"

He holds his arms out wide with a goofy smile on his face. The raccoon narrows his eyes and goes back to climbing the ladder.

"Isn't that great, Sly?" Murray asks, finally starting to get the message that neither his news nor his presence are wanted. His hands slowly drop to his sides. "Sly?"

Sly grits his teeth, throwing his blanket over himself in a way that very clearly says "don't bother me." He faces the wall and listens to his roommate lose his excitement through his words.

"Please don't be mad at him, Sly. He has a really good reason for not wanting to hang out right now, but I don't know why he won't tell you, but I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you so I can't. You just gotta talk to him and he'll explain everything! …Please, Sly?"

The raccoon runs his fingers along the gold of his dad's cane.

"Sly?"

He wishes the hippo would just leave him alone. If Bentley really wanted to stay friends, he wouldn't have said what he did. It's better this way, anyway. When Sly escapes from this place and becomes a master thief all by himself, he can't have anyone with him. They'd be a - what's the word his dad used?

A liability. That was it.

"Okay, well…I guess you need to think about it for a little while," Murray says, sounding a lot more like he's trying to convince himself instead of Sly. "That's okay! I understand. You're still probably mad and you have to wait until you're not mad anymore, right?"

Oh, he'll be mad for as long as he wants. He's very good at that, he's been finding out.

"Goodnight, Sly."

It's a huge relief to hear his roommate say that and get ready for bed without bothering him again. He thinks about what he said about Bentley - that the turtle has a different reason for not wanting to hang out than the one he told Sly. It's probably that he doesn't like him at all. That would be why he was too much of a chicken to say it to his face.

But then…why would he still want to be friends if he…?

No. No more thinking about Bentley and his dumb reasons. He's the one who decided to do this, so he should be the one to come tell Sly that he made a mistake, not Murray. And until that happens, he doesn't exist as far as the raccoon is concerned.

He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to put it out of his mind as he waits for sleep to come.

"Happy birthday, kiddo."

Sly stared in awe at his dad, sitting on his knee as the older raccoon handed him the Thievius Raccoonus. He took the book reverently and ran his thumb across the title, amazed that he was finally being allowed to hold it.

"Wow…" He whispered, almost afraid to open it even though he had watched his dad do so many times. "It's…it's really mine now?"

Connor smiled. "Of course. Just like I inherited it on my eighth birthday, and my mother on her's, and every Cooper before that. You've earned it, Sly."

"Woooow…" The kit said again. "Does this mean I get to go steal things for real now? I don't have to just practice at home all the time?"

His dad's fingers tightened just a little bit around his shoulder.

"Dad?" Sly asked without looking up, too transfixed by the book. "Does this mean I'm a real Cooper now?"

His dad let out a quiet exhale, like a balloon losing all the air in it at once. Sly finally looked up.

"Dad?"

There was a claw through Connor's chest.

The Thievius Raccoonus slid out from between Sly's frozen hands as he watched his father go stiff. As blood seeped across his clothes and stained his gray fur into horrible, horrible red. The kit couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe as a pair of yellow eyes came up behind Connor's head.

"Well, Sly?" The monster asked. Its bloodied talon thrust forward, pulling Connor's heart right out of his chest. "Are you a real Cooper now?"

The heart was still beating.

Sly opened his mouth and screa-

Sly's hand clamps over his mouth as he wakes up, catching the scream before it can burst past his lips. He chokes on that scream, shaking so hard he almost rocks the bed. His other hand wraps around his dad's cane and pulls it up, up, until the hooked end is pressed tightly against his throat.

He shudders into cold metal. The sensation jars him into swallowing the sound, leaving him limp and sweating as his body and mind struggle to catch up to the fact that he's not in danger, he's okay, he's not hurt, his dad isn't…

His dad is.

Sly juts the cane higher up under his chin and fights back the urge to let another sound out, a whine or a whimper or anything. Anything that will bring the grief out from that dark pit in his stomach and spill it all over the place.

He can't do that. He's not safe to do that.

Eventually the urge passes, and he lies there staring at the shadowed ceiling until he's no longer trembling. It takes almost half an hour.

The monster in his head still hasn't gone away. It's been days and days and days but it won't go away no matter what he's tried. He had thought he'd won over it, because it hadn't appeared the other two nights, when he'd been so mad at Mrs. Puffin and then again at Bentley -

Bentley.

Sly bites his lip. The things that Murray had said are burning in the back of his brain.

"It's better when there's other kids with you, cause they help keep the monsters away." He'd said. And -

"Bentley still wants to be friends with you!"

Screw it. Screw this. He has nothing left to lose.

Sly starts climbing down as quietly as he can from his bunk, gingerly sliding his dad's cane with him. The dark room doesn't phase him as he tiptoes past his roommate's bunk and towards the door.

In fact, the dark has never scared him, even as a little kid. It's always been comforting, actually, because his dad had taught him that it was a thief's best friend. It was how you could move without being seen, steal the things you needed to steal without getting caught, and get away before anyone realized you were gone. When you were the one who lurks in the dark, there weren't any monsters to be found.

But the monster in Sly's head isn't afraid of the dark either, and he's desperate to make it go away.

Just as the raccoon's hand brushes against the doorknob, he hears the sound of the bunk bed creaking, and suddenly there's a presence behind him. A familiar one that doesn't scare him anymore.

"Whatcha doing?" Murray asks, sleepy and confused.

Sly puts his finger to his lips, because his roommate did not ask that question quietly, and the last thing he needs is to get caught before his half-made plan has even started.

"Oh, sorry," the hippo says. He's trying to whisper now, maybe, but he's not very good at it. "Whatcha doing?"

The raccoon makes a face. This is why he didn't want to wake the other boy up; all this loudness and questions that are just going to distract him or get him in trouble. He sets his dad's cane down carefully and pulls out his notebook.

I'm

He hesitates. If he tells the truth, then Murray will probably want to come with him, and that's just asking to get caught. But he can't think of a good enough lie to stop him from following him, either.

Well, whatever. Lying is for awful people who steal your name anyway.

I'm going to see Bentley

Murray cocks his head. His big brown eyes almost glow in the dark, so different from Sly's. "That's great, but…why don't you wait until tomorrow? We'll get in trouble if we get caught out of our room at night."

The 'we' doesn't slip past the raccoon unnoticed. He stabs his pencil into paper angrily with a huff in irritation.

I don't want to wait

"Why not?"

Because! He grits his teeth. Just because!

The hippo looks at him with this weird frown. Then his eyes get even wider than before, and his voice finally gets quiet for real.

"Is it cause of the bad dreams?"

Sly freezes, stunned still.

"I just - I just - I hear you, sometimes," Murray whispers like he understands how important it is to keep it a secret. "I'm not trying to, promise! But sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I can hear you crying -"

He stops speaking as his roommate holds up a hand, then points to himself. Sly shakes his head, back and forth and back and forth until the other boy understands.

"You…don't want to talk about it?" He asks hesitantly. The raccoon finally nods. "Okay. But - but is that why you're going to see Bentley? Cause of them?"

Yes

The word feels like it's been pulled straight out of his chest. He keeps writing so he doesn't have to think about why.

You said people keep the monsters away

"Oh, yeah, I did say that, huh?" Murray blinks a few times as if he needs it to remember the conversation. "Well, I think it's true. I'm still scared of the dark, but it's okay when I have a roommate. Having you around has been really nice. Do you think Bentley will help you like you've helped me?"

He doesn't sound upset as he says it, like it doesn't even cross his mind to be jealous that Sly hasn't asked him for help with this. It's strange, but Sly decides he appreciates it. Something about the hippo giving him support without any strings attached is a relief he never knew he needed.

I hope so

Murray gives him a big smile when he reads it. "I'm sure he will! C'mon, let's go see him right now!"

He reaches around the startled raccoon and opens the door faster than a flash. Sly throws his hands out to stop him before he can stomp out into the hallway. Murray at least looks sheepish as he realizes he was almost just really loud.

"Sorry," he whispers, rubbing the back of his head while his roommate carefully picks the cane back up. "I just got excited to help."

Sly sighs, knowing that the hippo is definitely going to follow him now, but surprised that he's not as irritated by the thought as he was just a minute ago. He puts his finger to his lips, which the other boy mimics with a nod, and they both sneak out of their room together.

The orphanage is quiet during the night in a way that's different than home was. Sly isn't sure how to explain it. Maybe it's because he's gotten so used to it being busy or loud with so many people all the time, that seeing it empty is unnerving. Murray seems to feel the same way, because he huddles close to the raccoon as they shuffle down the hall.

"Do you know what room he's in?" The hippo asks, still far too loud for Sly's liking.

He shakes his head.

"Oh, uh, me neither. But he said his roommate left, right?" A nod is his answer. "Yeah, I remember them. I think their room was number 2? I think."

It's the best lead they've got, so Sly turns a corner and reads door plaques as they walk. His dad's cane drags along the ground, somehow quieter than Murray.

They stop in front of Room 2 when they reach it, and both boys stare at the door. Sly feels a spike of nervousness - that they've got the wrong room, that Bentley won't want to see him, that this won't work - but he swallows it and turns the doorknob before he can change his mind.

There's two bunk beds, just like in Room 8, but there's only one kid sleeping in any of them. His shell forms a significant bump under his blanket, and the raccoon breathes a sigh of relief. As the boys enter the room, he taps the cane against the wooden floor.

Bentley wakes up, surprised, and sits up fast as he sees the two figures in his room. "Wha-!?"

"Hi Bentley!" Murray whisper-yells. Sly winces. "We came to see you!"

"Whuh…" The turtle blindly reaches for his glasses on the nightstand and puts them on, squinting at both of them. "What on earth are you two doing here? It's - it's almost midnight!"

The hippo shrugs. "Sly wanted to talk to you."

"And that couldn't wait until morning?"

"Guess not!" He replies without any hesitation, voice getting louder. His roommate gently taps at his arm. "Oh, right, sorry. I'll be quieter."

Bentley turns to stare at Sly, who feels his impulsive bravery disappear all of a sudden. He shuffles his feet and grips his dad's cane tighter. The turtle's eyes dart down to it, clearly interested, but they come right back up to Sly without a single question about it.

"Well…?" He asks, folding his arms. "You snuck in here and woke me up, so you obviously have an important reason for it, right?"

Embarrassment heats up Sly's face, even though neither kid can see it in the dark. He can't just tell Bentley that he's here because he's having nightmares and is hoping the other boy can help stop them somehow. That would be weird to admit even if they were friends. The raccoon looks up at Murray, asking for help, and he's grateful when he gets the hint.

"I told Sly that you still want to be friends," the hippo says. "And I know you guys are still kinda fighting, I think, but he's been having really bad dreams, and he wants to hang out until they go away."

Bentley's eyebrows jump up, and he looks at Sly. "You think my presence will alleviate your nightmares?"

Sly studies the wall right behind the turtle's head. It's quiet for a moment.

"You two could get in a lot of trouble for this, you know," Bentley finally says, less as a threat and more as a general warning.

"Yeah, we know." Murray nods. His tone is cheerful despite the subject.

"I could get in a lot of trouble for this."

This time, there's a lot of worry in his voice. Sly meets his eyes again. He looks nervous at the idea of that, and something clicks into place in the raccoon's head. Is that the real reason why he wanted to stop hanging out? Because he's afraid of getting in trouble again?

It still makes him angry to think about, but not quite as much. He can understand why the other boy wouldn't want to go through any of that awfulness again.

Sly exhales through his nose and pulls out his notebook. Bentley and Murray watch him curiously as he takes his time and writes what he wants to say.

I won't let you get in trouble

Bentley looks doubtful. "How are you going to do that?"

They have to catch me first. Won't get caught.

The turtle bites his lip and looks at Murray, who gives him a big smile.

"See? It's okay. No one even checks our rooms unless we're late for breakfast. It'll be like a sleepover!"

Hearing him repeat those same words with the exact same excitement gets an exasperated smile out of Bentley. He sighs, defeated, and meets Sly's gaze.

"Alright. Just this once to see if this hypothesis of yours works. If it doesn't, none of us do it or even speak about it again, okay?"

"Okay!"

Sly nods.

Bentley rubs his face, but the smile doesn't go away. "Okay. There's plenty of extra bedding, so go ahead and pick a bunk."

Murray makes a beeline for the bottom bed opposite them. Sly glances up at the bed above the turtle, who catches it.

"Well?" He asks. "You gonna pick one or not?"

The raccoon feels the corners of his mouth pull up, just a little bit, and scrambles up the ladder with cane in hand. He knows Bentley is staring at it again, and that means there's going to be questions about it later.

But that's something he'll figure out tomorrow. Right now, tonight, he pulls the cane close and buries under the covers, listening to two others do the same thing. He stays awake for a long time even when Bentley's breathing even outs and Murray starts snoring, but not because he's grieving or scared or angry.

No. For the first time in over a week, Sly stays awake and listens because it puts him just a little bit at ease. And when he finally does close his eyes, the monster in his head is just a little bit farther away.

A/N: Murray has become my secret weapon lately. Any time I'm struggling to continue a scene or figure out how to segue into a new one, I just let Murray do his thing. Thank you Murray.