Marceline wakes up with a smile, a feeling of nostalgia washing over her at the memory. It was a strange way to gain the final person in her small world, but the circumstances had caused trust to form quickly between them. After Daniel moved in their times at the apartments gained a more homely feel to it. A year later Daniel stopped knocking when he had to go across Marcy's living room area to get to the kitchen on the first floor. The stairs were strangely on opposite sides of the building. This, of course, brought upon a lot of embarrassing and hilarious situations. Marcy had found out rather quickly that Daniel loved to sleep in his boxers: only his boxers. She remembers looking at his abs and wondering how his shirts completely covered them so well. The first time she was thankfully in her night robe, so it wasn't so bad. Marcy stifles a laugh at the thought of one instance in particular. Her smile widens into a grin as she looks up at the vaguely familiar ceiling.

It had occurred only five months ago. Marcy had arrived home after a morning jog to find Janice in the kitchen with Keas, each with a freshly made cup of coffee. She was very confused at first. She had already planned to meet up with the blonde later on in the day since she had some work to do that morning. Janice explained rather quickly that she came to surprise her with breakfast in bed, but Marcy had already been gone for a good forty-five minutes before Janice even made it there. Becoming warmhearted at the sweet gesture Marcy invited her to wait in her part of the apartment while she got cleaned up.

After making sure Janice was comfortable in the living room Marcy took a very quick shower and dressed into a fresh outfit. She had just finished buttoning her jeans when she heard Janice yell. She grabbed her heavy pistol from her nightstand and cautiously made her way into the living room. She let out a breath and lowered her gun when she saw Daniel in his boxers with his hands raised.

"I smelled coffee," was the first thing he said. She remembers laughing. His carefree attitude about these sorts of things always seemed funny to her. Marcy frowns next after recalling that it was also the day Janice found out about her work. That's when the problems started.

The pale green eyed woman slowly turns her head to her left after feeling some movement on the bed. She smiles when she sees a mess of red hair on the pillow beside her. She vaguely recalls what happened last night before passing out on the comfortable queen mattress. A hot blush forms after she remembers she had actually invited Keas to join her last night. In all honesty they had never really been in a situation where there had only been one bed. Whenever she would book a hotel she always made sure there were two beds like she had the night before. She can never stand the thought of her friends sleeping on the couch or a chair just so she has the bed. Her drunken mind must have used that logic to convince herself that the only way to resolve the problem was for both of them to share the bed.

Although Marcy's gotta hand it to her drunken self - she never would have had the courage to invite him if she were sober. She's thought about it a couple times. She often caught herself wondering what it would be like to feel his muscles against her skin, or how it would feel to have him hold her close as she slept. Unfortunately it's not just Keas; she's had the same thoughts about her younger friend as well. Daniel isn't a bad looking guy. With his gorgeous brown eyes (with that hint of green in his right eye) and his curly bangs he is quite the catch. He shaves the back and sides short, maybe just a couple inches long at best. Meanwhile he leaves his bangs hanging just low enough to partially cover his right eye.

It became apparent quite quickly that Daniel has an obvious affection for both her and Keas. At one point, after a lengthy celebration of another rival gang being wiped out, Dan suggested ditching the rest of the beer and heading up to his room for a three-way. At Marcy and Keas' stunned silence, he undauntedly continued to describe the many different adult items and toys he had hidden in his bedroom closet. Marcy had considered the option once before and actually had to think about her response now that one of them offered. Ultimately her drunken self refused, much like a sober Marcy would. Keas had muttered under his breath, but otherwise didn't actually respond to Dan's suggestion.

A graze to her foot shakes Marcy from her thoughts. She focuses on the feel of skin touching her leg and slowly realizes that it's Keas' leg. Marceline turns over in the bed to face him, keeping her leg against his when she's done. She looks at his peacefully sleeping face and feels her heart flutter. When was the last time she stopped and just looked at Keas? He's quite handsome himself. If Marcy were ever asked which of the two men know her the best she would say Keas without hesitation.

Marceline looks to his mess of red hair and smiles a bit. She loved how his hair flowed in the wind when it was long. But after playing a game of Truth or Dare (suggested by Daniel), Marcy had mentioned that she loved the look of short hair on a guy. The next day she came downstairs to find Keas attempting to give himself a haircut. He had both sides at different lengths, and after suppressing her giggles Marcy helped him even it out. Since then he's asked her to help him cut it when needed.

Green eyes trail down and stop after a short ways, landing on a pale line above his right eyebrow. The cut had healed many years before, but the scar remains as a stark reminder of Keas' bravery and her stupidity. Seven years ago another of Marcy's labs was being raided by yet another gang just starting out. They were just leaving when it began. Marcy made a quick call to Daniel who was waiting in the car and a man attacked her just as she hung up. She went to pull out her gun, but he used a metal pipe to knock it out of her hand. They brawled for a bit with Marcy trying desperately to avoid a hit from the pipe when another man joined his colleague. Keas had just finished off the one he was fighting when he noticed Marcy was outnumbered. He came to her aid but ended up with the cut after taking the blow meant for her from the metal pipe. Marcy reaches out and lightly traces the curved scar with her thumb. She wishes he would stop taking blows meant for her, but it is what she was paying him for in the first place.

Her gaze continues downward, going over his closed beautiful blue eyes and down his narrow nose. They stop at his lips. They're thin, but also abnormally wide. His smiles show just how large his mouth really is - much larger than her own, for sure. They're colored a nice pale pink and are slightly open as he sleeps. She always wondered how they would feel against her own more plump ones. She lets out a sigh while feeling a blush rise to her cheeks again.

Despite her urges and feelings for her two friends she refuses to act upon them. Marcy adores her friends, and – dare she admit it to either of them – loves them both very much. She would hate herself if dating one of them would hurt the other, so she refrains from making her nightly dreams a reality. The thought of losing what she has scares her; it scares her more than tight spaces and flying combined. Maybe one day she'll find someone to share her life with romantically. Someone who will show her just how much she means to him – or her – at any chance they get. But until then Marcy is perfectly content on sharing her life with her two best friends instead.

Marcy caresses Keas' cheek as he sleeps, her eyes growing increasingly soft. A flash of black ink on her wrist draws her attention away from his peaceful face. She pulls her hand away and turns it to see the inside of her left wrist. There in beautiful black ink is the letter D. A rectangle filled with flesh colored spirals and elegant waves takes up the left part of the tattoo. The curve is made entirely of the same spirals and waves of varying widths. She was very happy with the outcome of it. She lifts her right arm and looks to her wrist to see the beautifully crafted K on it. It's written in cursive with a thinner one peeking out beneath it like a shadow. It's littered with black dots of varying sizes, but it doesn't look bad. If the artist had made a mistake she couldn't see it.

The three friends acquired their tattoos after living together for four years. Daniel had made the suggestion, of course; he was always the bolder one of the three. They had booked the tattoo parlor for the whole day to get them done. Dan had gone first. He got a fairly simple M on his right wrist. It was quite pretty despite being so simple. The M had curls come out of the tops and bottom most parts. "To symbolize your hair," he had said. The middle came down to make a sharp pointed loop that stopped lower than the ends, but it looks nice. Above it is the infinity symbol, broken up in parts that would have touched the ink for the letter where it went through it. On his left he got a K but this one took a lot longer to finish. It was made primarily of unfilled line segments that moved together like tufts of brown hair with pointed ends. They flowed together to make the shape. There was a skull hidden within the tufts on the left, along with a half a butterfly wing poking out of the outer left side. There's also a crescent moon within the bottom right portion with a ripple pattern inside it. It was a little confusing at first when she looked at it; there seemed to be a lot going on compared to the other, but he was happy with it all the same.

Keas went next. He got a D on his left wrist and asked that it be made in a somewhat similar fashion to the K Daniel got. The main thing that stuck out was the large scorpion facing the left side. It took up most of the tattoo with its tail coming up in the middle of the letter with lines connecting it to the curve of the D. Spikes come out of the curve in carefully spaced locations so it doesn't look tacky. It was very well done and did seem to match the style Daniel got. On his right wrist he got an M that seemed like it was almost a gothic style. It was thick with bold shading. It had curves and leaves along the bottom with some simple curls branching out from the middle and ending on either side of the letter. It had two circles as well; one dead center at the top of the letter, and another at the bottom below the first with leaves fanning out beneath it. It was really beautiful, and wasn't too girly despite the fact he got it in honor of her.

When it was time for Marcy to get hers Daniel informed her that she could have it done any way she liked. So she told the artist to put a K on her right and a D on her left wrist that were of similar fashion to the M's her friends got. When Daniel asked why she wanted it that way she responded that it just further showed how strong their bonds are, like when Keas got his tattoo similar to Daniel's. She doesn't remember another time she's witnessed Dan's expression grow so soft before.

Keas stirs in his sleep. Marcy jumps a bit, forgetting that he was in the bed with her for the third time. She was so comfortable reminiscing the past that it literally just slipped her mind. She lets out a soft giggle.

The redhead's mind comes into focus at the sound and Keas awakens without opening his eyes. Right away he knew he was not alone, and he scrambles to process the last things he remembers. He fights down a blush as he recalls what happened last night. He intentionally fell asleep in the same bed as Marcy after being invited to sleep with her. His heartbeat increases, but he continues to feign sleep despite this fact. Keas knows Marcy is usually very modest and if she hadn't been drinking she would have insisted that he took the bed while she braved the living room couch. Ultimately if he had to he would have Marcy in the bed while he slept in the tub. He had to do it before when sharing a one-bedroom motel room with Daniel and he wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Keas fights with himself over whether or not he should open his eyes. From what he can hear he knows that Marcy is awake but has yet to leave the bed even after knowing that Keas is in the bed with her. He decides to roll over toward the wall to face away from her to see what her reaction is.

Marcy glances over to Keas after he rolls over. She really doesn't want to be the reason he wakes, but at the same time she's starting to feel uncomfortable lying down for so long. She's used to getting up early and going on a jog or hitting a new gym, not lying around with nothing to do. She decides to slip out of the bed as quietly as possible, and then make her way out of the room to use the bathroom.

Keas lets out the breath he didn't realize he was holding as soon as she closed the door. He didn't know if Marcy knew he was awake or not when she started moving in the bed, but by how quietly she left it seemed like she didn't know. His heart warms at the thought; she tried not to wake me on accident. Keas climbs out of bed and grabs a loose grey t-shirt from his luggage. After slipping it on he sits on the edge of the bed for a moment to comprehend how he feels. He knows the drinks had affected the both of them last night. Shit, he thinks to himself, I almost kissed her last night. If I did that… The thought trails off. He doesn't want to know what might have happened. Being drunk doesn't excuse the fact that he didn't ask for permission first.

As Keas beats himself up while dressing himself for the day, Marcy is doing the same thing in the bathroom. She cleans her face of the leftover makeup she was too tired to take off yesterday. She looks at herself in the mirror and cringes at the sight of her knotted mess she calls hair. Her curls are now jumbled together in large knots. I need to shower to fix this mess, she thinks. She grabs a sturdy hair tie and pushes her hair back. She ties it back in a messy bun so it's not as bad to look at as it was before. Marceline takes a moment to compose herself. Ok, Marcy. Nothing happened last night; Keas is too kind to take advantage of anyone while they're drunk. You slept in the same bed, but that's ok. Your clothes were still on when you woke, which is already better than the last time you drank. Now you are going to go back in there and act normal.

Marcy takes a deep breath when a putrid scent wafts towards her. She cringes and physically recoils away from the source. Slowly she makes her way closer to the tub. She pulls the shower curtain back and horror overcomes her at the sight of a brown substance smeared on the wall with a blow-up sex doll lying in the tub. There's no doubt in her mind that it's shit, although whether or not it's human or animal shit is unknown to her. It looks like a shower is out of the question at the moment. She quickly leaves the room to try and escape the smell.

Just as she closes the door Keas steps out of the room to her right. She looks him over, a light blush dusting her cheeks when she thinks of the events of last night again. Keas gives her a smile, enjoying the sight of seeing her in a nightgown. It's a rare sight for him since she's always up and dressed before he wakes up. "Good afternoon, Marcy," he offers in greeting. Marcy raises an eyebrow.

"Don't you mean good morning?" she asks. But Keas shakes his head.

"It's 1:27pm," he responds after looking at his watch. Her eyes widen significantly.

"What?!" she shouts. "Oh my god! I need to get you some food! You must be starving." She hurries into the kitchen and scrambles through the cupboards to gather ingredients for pancakes. After gathering everything on the counter she moves to grab a bowl to mix it in, but Keas grabs it first.

"I'll get food started. You go get ready for the day," he states, already moving to the ingredients. Marcy frowns.

"That's hard to do with shit covering the tub," she retorts. Keas stops momentarily and then continues adding ingredients to the bowl.

"I don' think you wanna wear a nightgown when cleaning, then. I got this. Go." He turns his back to her and she pouts. She knows he's right, and she does feel a bit embarrassed standing in her knee-length sleepwear, but dammit she loves to cook. With a sigh she reluctantly moves to the bedroom to get dressed.

Since she isn't able to make her hair more presentable Marcy decides to pick out some comfortable clothes for the day. She slips on a pair of dark jeans that fit nice and snug against her skin. Next she goes to a different bag and opens it up. She pushes aside her more provocative tops and searches deeper. She cracks a smile when she finds what she's looking for. She removes her nightgown quickly and slips on the large shirt effortlessly. The bright pink shirt moves along her frame loosely with an image of a white unicorn covering her chest. It has a couple small bleached spots littering it since she almost always uses it when she needs to do any deep cleaning. She decided to skip out on makeup for the day deeming it unnecessary on her day at home.

Marcy steps out of the room and is immediately greeted by the sweet scent of pancakes from the kitchen. A thought occurs to her and she quickly goes back into the room and emerges with a large mason jar in hand. The caramel colored liquid inside is already making her mouth water. Keas spots the object as she enters the kitchen.

"Is that Daniel's maple syrup?" he asks. Dan has been making the syrup for the past couple years now and offers it as a sort of reward to anyone who goes above and beyond at the labs. His older brothers have allowed him to use the maple trees on their properties since the three friends only have one tree behind the apartment.

Marceline grins. "Yeah. He wanted me to bring it with claiming we would forget all about him if we didn't," she replies. Keas chuckles as he flips a flapjack.

"He always so overdramatic," he laughs out. Marcy joins him.

"Yeah, but he always means well." She sets the jar down next to the completed pancakes. She takes a deep breath, enjoying the smell. Keas moves the last two onto the plate and turns off the burner. Marcy grabs each of them a plate of the food and covers them in butter and maple syrup while Keas takes care of the ingredients that made it. They take a seat across from each other at the table and don't hesitate to dig in. Marcy lets out a moan at the taste. "I swear you make the best pancakes ever. I use the exact same ingredients you do and mine don't turn out half as good as these do," she compliments. Keas' cheeks get a dust of pink.

"You say that every time," he mutters.

"It's true every time," she retorts with a playful air. Keas becomes embarrassed so the rest of the meal is spent in a joyful silence. Afterward when Marcy goes to the fridge to grab a glass of milk to wash down the pancakes she finds there's only a small amount left. "Hm. Looks like I'll have to run to the store to pick up some more," she utters to herself. Keas walks up behind her and sees it as well.

"I can go get it," he offers. Marcy raises her brow at him.

"Do you even remember where the store is?" she asks. He ducks his head in embarrassment, his cheeks growing pink again. "I didn't think so. You were too focused on petting that dog to see where we were. I'll drive us there," she states. She grabs her purse, slips on some black flats, and walks out the door. Keas hurriedly puts the extra food in the refrigerator and scrambles to slip his shoes on before going out the door as well.

Marceline flies down the road, catching air a couple times thanks to her speed. She passes by a cop when going through a red light but he doesn't give chase. The police seem pretty lax here unless you kill someone or someone calls 911, she observes. Marcy slows when she's close to the store. She easily maneuvers the Fugitive into the parallel parking space between a yellow Issi and a blue Dubsta. She turns to Keas with a smile and hands him a $20 bill. "Go ahead and buy it since you're more presentable right now. Grab anything else you want, too," she adds at the end. Keas nods and leaves the car to enter the store.

As she waits Marcy's mind wanders to the article describing Keas' heroic deed. 2001 can't be right. He got out of jail in 2003 when I met him, and he was in jail for two years after his concussion that caused his memory loss. So he got that in 2001, and I know he was in there for a few years before that happened. She decides to look back at the article again so she grabs her phone from her purse. Before she gets a chance to unlock it, however, it starts playing 'Fembot' by Robyn and displays a picture of Daniel in a Pikachu hoodie. Quickly she answers it, a bright smile across her lips. "Hey Daniel, what's up? How's the business doing?"

"Just fine. Martin tried to take advantage of the fact that you're gone and tried to go independent with the lab we left him in charge of. I looked at his numbers for the past month while I was there. He was charging his clients more and pocketing the extra dough." Daniel kicks his legs up to rest his feet on the couch with his back on the floor. "I put Millie in charge now."

Marcy raises a brow. "Millie? She's so soft spoken, though," she states.

Dan crosses his ankles. "She has a lot of good ideas, though. That's why I deemed Francis her right hand man to make sure her orders are followed through. It's been working so far."

She grins at the thought of the two working together. "Doesn't that meathead have a thing for Millie?" she inquires.

"You bet," he responds with a grin of his own. "That's why I know he'll listen to her." Daniel rolls over onto his stomach. "Speaking of crushes – have you had sex with Keas yet?" he asks bluntly. Marcy blushes deeply, glad that Dan can't see it. "You better not have. I told you I want to be there when you do."

"Dan! Shut up!" she scolds. "You know I won't."

He shakes his head. "Marcy, we both know that you want to. You seem to forget that my bedroom is right above yours. I've heard you moan our names in your sleep, you know." Marcy doesn't know how to respond; her blush is deeper than it has ever been before. Daniel shrugs to himself at the silence knowing full well she's blushing like mad. "You could always have sex with me first, if it makes you feel better. You know I'm always down for it," he says casually.

Marcy was mistaken before; her blush is now darker and travelling down her neck. "This is no time for jokes, Dan," she says, trying to dismiss it as such.

"I assure you, my lady, this is no joke," he responds haughtily, offended that she would think so. Eight years of unsuccessful flirting and she thinks I'm joking? How rude, he complains. "You know you're the only woman I love," he admits. It's silent for a moment until Daniel speaks again. "Although if Keas ever shows an interest in me I would be all over him in a heartbeat."

Marcy quickly shakes her head trying not to imagine it; at least not right now. "This is not the conversation I imagined when you called. I'm hanging up now," she states, although she doesn't make an attempt to do so. A shout from outside the car distracts her as Daniel complains, then apologizes, and then begs her not to hang up since he misses her so. "Look I'll call you later, Daniel." A blonde young woman shoves a man close to her age away from her while screeching at him. Dan goes to protest but Marcy cuts him off. "I need to help this girl. I'll call you tonight. Bye D." And she hands up before he can say anything. She climbs out of the car and hears the young woman scream when she does.

"Get away from me, Ryan! I'm not gonna hear your excuses!" She turns away from him and moves closer to the Issi, but Ryan grabs her wrist.

"Tracey just listen to me! It's not what you think!" he pleads with her. She whirls on him, pointing her finger at his face.

"You were fucking the bitch! How is it not what I'm thinking? Now let go of me, Ryan. You're hurting me." She tries to pull her hand away but he only tightens his hold. She visibly flinches. Marceline reaches out, grabs his wrist, and squeezes until he lets go of Tracey. She thrusts him back as she lets go of him. She moves in from of Tracey to block her from his view.

"Is there a problem here?" Marceline asks. She levels a challenging glare at him. His expression darkens.

"Stay out of this, bitch. This is between me and my girlfriend," he says. Keas steps out of the grocery store just behind Tracey and quickly accesses the situation. He moves to stand next to the blonde, a gallon of milk in one hand and a paper bag in the other.

"From what I overheard you've broken up. You don't have the privilege to speak with her anymore," she retorts.

Tracey lets out an audible gasp when she spots Keas next to her. He offers her a kind smile. "I'm with her," he explains. He lifts the gallon of milk to gesture towards Marcy.

Ryan's brows furrow in anger. "I don't have the privilege? You should feel privileged talking to me, you ugly old lady." Marceline doesn't hesitate to jab his nose hard. He jerks back from the speed of it. He recovers quickly, though, and swings a right hook at her. Marceline crouches down to dodge it and takes the chance to punch him in the stomach.

Tracey turns to Keas as the other two continue to duke it out. He stands there calmly watching them. "Aren't you going to help her?" she asks. Keas glances to her and shakes his head.

"Marcy got this. She won't let this prick win," he replies calmly. Marcy smirks after having heard him. She throws a powerful left punch making him crumble to the ground. She stomps down on his stomach once then turns away from him as he lays motionless on the ground save for his breathing. Marcy walks up to Tracey with a look of worry.

"Are you ok? How's your wrist?" she asks. She reaches out and carefully holds her hand to look at her wrist herself.

"Oh…" Tracey breathes out. She's too surprised that the stranger is showing genuine worry to pull her hand away from her. Marcy shakes her head.

"That's definitely going to bruise. Hold on." Marcy goes through the passenger door of her midnight blue Fugitive and grabs her purse. She rummages through it for a bit before pulling out a small tube of ointment. She holds it out to the younger girl with a smile. "Here. This will help the bruising go away faster. You wouldn't want it to blemish your great tan any longer than needed, right?" she inquires. Tracey hesitates at first but eventually accepts the ointment.

"It's not gonna smell, is it? I don't need to smell like shit all day," she asks snobbishly. Marcy chuckles. Tracey must have assumed it would smell bad because of Marcy's poor attire today.

"No; it smells like honey."

"It won't clash with my honey-scented body wash, then," she states with a grin. "Thanks for helping me, I guess. I'm Tracey."

"And I'm Marcy. This here is my best friend, Keas. Try to stay out of trouble now, alright? Here," Marcy reaches into her purse and takes out a business car identical to the one she gave Franklin. Tracey accepts it when it's offered to her. "That's my number in case you're in trouble again, ok? Don't hesitate to call me if someone's after you." Keas places the groceries in the backseat before climbing in the passenger seat. Marcy gives Tracey a wink. "You can call if you want to party, too. I usually look much nicer than this. See you around, Tracey." The younger woman watches the two leave. Honestly she's really confused on what just happened.

Keas turns to Marcy. "Do you think she looked…" he trails off. He still can't believe it.

"Like Katie?" Marcy finishes. She still can't believe it, either. "Yeah." It's silent for quite some time after that as Marcy focuses on getting them home. Just a block from the apartment she finally speaks again. "Not a word of this to Daniel." Keas nods his agreement.

They both know Daniel hasn't really gotten over her. From what he's told them he met Katie back in high school when he moved away from New Orleans. She was his first friend in the new city and his first girlfriend. Katie loved to party and have fun, and to make the money to continue that kind of life she started working in one of Marcy's labs. Katie never had an interest in using it, but she knew how to sneak about and blend in so she wasn't caught dealing. She had a lot of practice when sneaking out to meet up with Daniel.

Marcy shakes her head to dispel the old memories. She hasn't really gotten over her death, either. She still blames herself.

Keas sets the groceries on the counter and slowly starts putting the items away. "Oh yeah," Marcy speaks up, "Was there any change left after buying those?" Keas grabs the money from his pocket and drops it into her outstretched hand. She unfolds the bill only to find the $20 she gave him earlier. She frowns. "You used your own money, didn't you?" she accuses him. Keas simply grins in response, causing Marcy to shake her head. She stuffs the money back into his front pocket; Keas stiffens when she does so. "At least keep this, then," she says casually. She doesn't notice the light dusting of pink on his cheeks. He grabs their shoes and goes to put them in the closet across from the front door. Marcy raises a brow upon seeing this. "Wait a second. I thought that was a closet?" she questions aloud, pointing to the door in the left corner of the apartment.

Marcy and Keas share a look of curiosity and move to the door to see what's on the other side. Keas opens the door inward a bit, and almost immediately the all too familiar stench of death smacks them both in the face. Opening the door more reveals the source of the stench. Lying on the queen-sized mattress are two decaying bodies laid in a very compromising position. The body of a woman lies on her back on the bed with the man lying on top of her in the 69 position. Marcy turns away from the scene with a hand covering her nose and mouth before she can see anything else.

From the street civilians can hear a woman scream in what sounds like anger. "Treeeevoooor!"

Hello! Surprise! I decided to upload this chapter sooner than I had planned. Since this chapter just kept on going I figured this would be a good spot to split it up into two different chapters. I hope you like it!

-Jen