Hi. I caught covid, which is part of why this chapter took so damn long. Also, writing is hard; this is probs weak sauce.

Onward~

It was a little while later when everyone was seated at Mai and Andy's small dining table, a piece of furniture that, while aesthetically pleasing, was only meant to fit four people. As such, two folding chairs had been pulled up and placed on each end for King and Rock, respectively. Although there had been a marked lack of elbow room, dishes were passed around accordingly, and everyone had been able to get their meals with few issues.

As for the conversations, those had remained light and jovial throughout dinner. Predictably, anecdotes about fighting were one of the top subjects, but there were other, much more "mundane" things that had come up, such as Mai's YouTube channel, which was still going strong, horror movies (and Andy's dislike of them), and Rock's studies.

"I haven't really thought about college," the boy was saying while gathering a forkful of green beans. "I was sorta thinking about going to a trade school instead."
"That's what Kingy did after she had to drop out of college. Right, Kingy?" Mai asked.
"Yes," King replied. "It's how I became a bartender. I went to school for bartending, completed my hours, and —" she made a grand gesture to herself — "here I am."
"Why'd you drop out?" Rock inquired.

King and Mary both made faces at each other, as Rock did not need to know about her time working as one of Mr. Big's enforcers. It was a touchy subject, even with those closest to her. With that in mind, she took a deep breath and simply answered, "Personal problems."

Rock frowned, then turned to Mary and asked, "How did you become a cop? I mean, I know why you did it, but you went through the police academy, right?"
"Right. Then when I graduated I became a beat cop for a bit, then did the private investigator thing, and now I'm back on the force in a higher position. All thanks to personal tragedy and school. Stay in school, kid."
"I'll do that…"
"No, really," Terry spoke up. "You better stay in school. Don't end up like me."
"You mean a raging hobo?" Andy teased from across the table.
"Hey!"
"You should really come work for me, Wolfie," King suggested. "You'd get to beat up unruly patrons and be rewarded with free drinks — or at least highly discounted — drinks. Not to mention the paycheck…"
"It does sound like an attractive offer," Terry mused while casually scratching the back of his head.
"Think about it."
"Will do."

King knew that Terry would probably end up "forgetting" about the offer, despite her making it dozens of times in the past. She didn't understand why he kept tap dancing around the subject; she was one hundred percent sincere in her attempts to hire him. He was a friend and more than qualified for the job, but, truth be told, there was also a small, selfish part of her that was very aware of the extra business his presence had the potential to bring in…

"My brother the bouncer," Andy mused. "That would be something."
"I think it would be pretty cool," Mai remarked. "You'd be able to make money to take Mary on a really nice date!"
"Now, now, we go on all sorts of really nice dates all the time," Mary said with a smile.
"In-N-Out doesn't count," the kunoichi laughed.
"Okay, but getting back to the job, wouldn't it get boring after a while?" Terry asked.
"At Illusion? There's never a dull moment."
"Pffft. Liar," Mary laughed. "I've seen you complain about being bored on slow days plenty of times."

King couldn't help noticing the ghost of… something… pass over Terry's face when Mary uttered the word "liar." She concluded that she must have been imagining things — until she felt pressure from Mary's foot on top of hers. Nevertheless, she had to act naturally, so she put it out of her head as best she could, then turned to the cop and smirked.

"You have plenty of slow days yourself, Officer Ryan."
"True."
"Which I never would have guessed, since you're a detective," Mai chimed in.
"Yeah, well, it's not like the tv shows. Sometimes it's just painful. Like… when all of those protests were happening and they needed everyone on standby to cover for the cops who were out managing the crowds. It was like being a patrol officer all over again. It sucked."
"But even on your 'slow' days you still got some interesting calls," Terry pointed out. "Like that one with Takuma Sakazaki."
"Oh, yeah — that."

Mary's tone was nonchalant, but King remembered the occasion well, and how the interaction with Ryo and Yuri's father had sent the detective into a tailspin. She questioned her morality, got drunk, and passed out on King, who had rushed over to be with her at some ungodly hour in place of Terry, who could never know the exact nature of the way the call impacted his lover the way that it did.

"Wasn't that the incident with his tengu mask?" Andy questioned.
"When he tried to use it as a face covering at Vons, yeah," Mary answered. "Weird old codger. We worked it out, though."
"Wait! I think that showed up on Tik Tok," Rock stated suddenly.
"Wait, what?" Everyone asked in unison.
"Yeah! It was when it first happened, I think?"
"Why didn't you say anything?" Mary prodded, her tone slightly harsh.
"Honestly? I forgot. And, there were so many 'fuck the police' —"
"Hey, hey, hey, language!"
" — sort of videos coming out at the time that I just didn't really think about it, you know?"

Mary took a long swig of beer and sighed.

"Can we talk about something else now? I don't wanna think about work on a holiday."
"That's understandable," Andy said, though his eyes suddenly held what was definitely the suspicion that Mai had mentioned in the past. Suspicion that the kunoichi evidently quickly picked up on. She held the plate of miso-glazed potatoes out toward her boyfriend and offered a bright smile.

"Andy-baby, would you like some more?"
"No, thank you. I'm getting pretty full."

There was a short lull as everyone paused to take bites of their respective dinners. Rock finished his stuffing, then downed some of his drink before looking toward Mary again.

"I know you said you didn't wanna talk about work anymore, but what's the most memorable thing you've seen out there?"
"Huh?" Mary asked around a mouthful of her third roll.
"You've seen a lot of stuff — what sticks out the most? Last work question, I swear."
"I would assume it was when you shot that guy," Terry commented slowly.
"Babe —" Mary quirked a brow — "I've had to shoot more than one guy."
"Well, no, I know, but there was that one call that hit 'too close to home' a while back. You told me you had to shoot the guy. I would think that's pretty memorable."

King, who had been sipping on her wine, nearly choked on the liquid, as she knew exactly which call Terry was talking about; it was the one she had been directly involved with: A domestic disturbance call made from a motel on the summer evening she was abducted by Mr. Big's goons and violently beaten and raped by one of them. Mary had never said anything about it to Terry, just like Mai, who had arrived on the scene with her (and Yuri), had never said anything about it to Andy. It was a terrible event that bonded them more than joining any fighting tournaments together ever could.

"'Close to home'?" Rock inquired.

King glared at the boy — the curious bastard he was — as Mary tensed up. Even though his line of questioning was perfectly innocent, it was treading into some very dangerous territory.

This was about to be the disaster du jour…

"It doesn't matter," Mary answered tersely. "I shot a dangerous perp. In the end, he was put away, and that's that."
"Well, yeah, but… close to home when it didn't involve me or Rock could only mean one thing," Terry reasoned while setting his eyes directly on King. She met his gaze, and though she knew she needed to keep calm, her direct nature (and maybe her temper) had other plans.

"I don't know what you're trying to get at, Wolfie, but perhaps you should just say what it is instead of continuing to make strange comments. What do you think?!"
"I think that Rock should take Anton for a walk."
"Umm, oh-okay…"

Eyes wide, the boy quickly rose from his seat, obviously aware that he needed to get the hell out of Dodge.

"Don't worry about your plate," Mai told him with a gentle smile. He nodded, stepped away from the table, and crossed the area to grab his jacket from the coat closet where he had stowed it earlier. The adults sat in silence as he collected Anton, who had been sleeping not too far from the table, leashed him up, and quickly left the apartment.

Terry rounded on King the second the door closed.

"It was you, wasn't it? You were what was too close to home!"
"And you knew about it," Andy added while looking at Mai with a strange expression.
"What are you —?" The kunoichi started but was cut off by her lover.
"I heard you and Mary talking a while back. I heard you both say that you've been keeping things from us!"
"Don't deny it," Terry added, his typically laid-back demeanor replaced by something much colder.

King considered the brothers carefully. Why the hell did they have to do this now, when none of them were ready for this conversation?! Nevertheless, she couldn't — wouldn't — let Mary or Mai's relationships be impacted by her inability to come to terms with, and own being assaulted. Her friends had done enough to cover for her, and she wasn't going to stand by and let them take the fall for things that were ultimately her fault. She pressed her lips in a thin line before abruptly rising from her seat.

"It was all me," she made known while placing her hands flat on the table, her heart practically beating itself out of her chest. She was exceedingly aware that if she wasn't careful could accidentally let something personal slip, so she needed to tread carefully as she went on.

"Something happened. And I couldn't… I didn't want it to get out, so I made them swear that they would help me keep it under wraps. They didn't want to deceive either of you — they were just protecting me!"
"So to protect you… they broke our trust in them," Andy slowly verbalized.
"Is it — do you really think it's broken?" Mai prodded, her eyes brimming with tears.
"You've been lying to me, Mai! How do you expect me to trust you when you willfully —"
"Didn't you listen to what Kingy just said?! I was helping her! And, even then, you've bent the truth with me plenty of times, you hypocrite!"

King, Mary, and Terry all looked at each other, eyes wide, as none of them had ever heard Mai speak to Andy that way. Upon closer inspection it was plain to see that the kunoichi wasn't teary-eyed because she was sad; she was teary-eyed because she was pissed.

"I only bent the truth slightly, and it was so long ago now that you holding it against me is stupid! Just like this entire argument! It would be like me getting mad at you for covering up about a Christmas gift or a surprise party! I would never jeopardize what we have, unlike you, who's been acting like some kind of psycho, checking my texts, and asking after every single outing or interaction I've had because you have some kinda bullshit complex! You're acting like I need to choose between my friends and you, and I refuse to play that game, Andy Bogard!"

Mai then got out of her seat, stomped off into the bedroom, and slammed the door so hard that the pictures on the wall shook. King stared after her friend, her chest tight.

God, she felt fucking horrible.

"Andy —!"
"I need to go talk to her," the younger Bogard declared as he stood up. He shook his head and then hastily disappeared into the bedroom, leaving King with Terry and Mary.

"So what about you?" Terry prodded, his tone clipped, as he turned to the detective, who was sitting back in her seat, her arms crossed over her chest, and an unmistakable sadness in her eyes that directly conflicted with her posture, which indicated that she was ready for a fight.

"Terry," King began. "She didn't —"
"She didn't what? Mary, you shot someone!"
"I already told you —"
"I'm talking about the guy you shot who was already in prison!"
"It was the same guy, and it was justified," Mary shot back.
"Like when you attacked Sakazaki?! Was that justified?!" Terry heatedly retorted.
"Okay, yeah, I flew off the handle there. Totally not appropriate but I had my reasons."

Terry focused on Mary, his mouth agape, and pure disbelief all over his face.

"And you did those things… because you were trying to keep some kind of secret?! For her?!"
"Yep."
"I don't understand. Why wouldn't you just tell me that?"
"Because that defeats the purpose of keeping it under wraps, babe!"
"But, either way, you were still keeping things from me," Terry exclaimed. "Any time I asked you about what was going on with you, you did what you always do: dodged the questions or deflected them! Every single time!"

Mary ran her hands through her hair, frustrated, while King squeezed her eyes shut and hung her head. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"I think you're missing the point," she cut in. "If you knew why, then —"
"King, with all due respect, this is between us."
"But if it weren't for me you wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place! You guys would be happy, and having dessert, not arguing about why she didn't tell you about —"
"Look, whatever it is, it doesn't doesn't explain or excuse shooting someone who's already been jailed, or breaking my friend's bones," Terry pointed out.
"You're right, babe, but — again — you knew that I went before the judge and you knew that I fought Ryo. And you were fine with it!" Mary pointed out.
"Fine?! How could I really be fine with my girl randomly snapping and hurting people?! And then being dishonest with me about it?!"
"How was I dishonest? Because for the record? Omitting details? Not the same as lying!"

Terry put his finger up and opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again as he considered that last statement.

"You know I'm right," Mary added with a smirk. There was a brief pause as King raised her head, all at once exhausted.

"Wolfie. Please. If you want to be upset, then be upset with me. I'm the reason for all of this — every last bit…!"
"Maybe so, but —" Terry turned to Mary — "is this… secret… really worth telling half-truths and committing so much violence?"
"Yes," the detective answered without hesitation.
"Mare," King choked, moved by her friend's dedication and resolve. She swallowed hard and offered a somewhat tearful smile that was promptly returned. The trio fell quiet as each thought about what to say next until Mary broke the silence.

"Babe, I'm sorry if you feel, like, betrayed or something, but you have to understand. King and I go back to before you and me were ever a thing. What happened was awful, and you wouldn't have stood for it either. But you don't need to know anything more than that because, real talk, it's just not your business. Just like it's not your brother's business. It's between the two of us —" Mary gestured to herself and King — "and Mai. But if it makes you feel any better I'd do the same things for you in a heartbeat."
"I don't know if I'd want you to. The things you've done —"
"Were justified, babe. Trust."
"… if you say so," Terry responded, though he didn't seem convinced.

Before anyone could say anything else, the bedroom door opened, and Andy slowly walked out, followed by Mai, whose head was held high.

"Are you two…?" King ventured.
"I think we've come to an understanding," the kunoichi replied with a sweet smile.
"...bro?" Terry asked as Andy approached.
"We're good."
"But?"
"I'm kicking you two out so I can talk to my friends," Mai declared.
"What?!" Terry turned to his brother, who was grabbing a jacket and shoes from the coat closet.
"It's only for a little while."
"What about Rock?"

Wordlessly, Mai walked over to the front door of the abode, calmly pulled it open, and stepped aside to reveal the boy in question, who grimaced.

"Umm… we-we're back," he stammered as Anton trotted inside.

Mai hummed as she raised her eyebrows.

"Did you even actually leave?" Mary bluntly asked.
"Well, I mean… we did, and then I turned around because I forgot the doggie bags, and, uhh…"
"Riiiiiight," King deadpanned, not buying into the bullshit excuse for a second. She narrowed her eyes at Rock and wondered how much he was able to hear through the door. Not that it really mattered, she supposed, as — thankfully — nothing terribly sensitive had been revealed. It was just bothersome that his curiosity was the catalyst that ultimately led to the situation at hand.

"Come on, kid —" Terry slung an arm over the boy's shoulders — "let's blow this joint for a little while."
"But, where —?"
"Pao Pao's actually open," Andy informed. "We can hang out there for a bit."
"Okay. Let's go!"

With that, the trio slowly headed to the exit in such a way that made them appear as if they had been through some kind of war.

"Love you~"
"Love you, babe!"

Mai and Mary waved and called after their respective lovers as they sauntered out the door.

Are there notes? Let's see.

* Mai started a YouTube channel as a pandemic pet project but decided she wanted to keep making videos even after things started becoming more normal
* Even though he never finished high school, Terry did get his GED
* In-N-Out is a burger chain in Southern California. They are delicious.
* The protests Mary is referring to are rooted in real life, when the police here in America were coming under major scrutiny for corruption, brutality, etc.
* The call situation involving Takuma takes place in Officer Friendly. Go check it out.
* Mary's subsequent breakdown can be read in Pep Talk
* During Officer Friendly, a civilians starts to film Mary's altercation with Papa Sakazaki. This also references a little story by RobertCop3, called Public Service, in which Malin mentions that she saw video online of Mary's interaction with the bystander, thus referencing Officer Friendly. Fandom buddies! Full circle! Yeah!
* The perp Mary shot, is, of course, the driver, which you should totally know by now if you've been going here. Twice in Much Like Suffocating, twice in Bang
* Andy overheard the ladies chatting in Their Cell. However, he did not hear the entire conversation (thankfully...)
* Mary attacking Ryo happened in the second chapter of Aftershocks, after he tells King that he finds the idea of someone being with "too many men" weird and unappealing. ...After finding out that she was raped. Mary tased him, nearly choked him out, and then snapped two of his fingers.

Aaaand that's it.

No, this story is not over, but I have no clue when it's actually gonna be done. Soon I hope. Either way, I do hope to see you next time!

Cheers~