Hey there, y'all! It is ya girl back at it again. This chapter really had me in my Feels, gamers. I don't know if any of y'all watch Fruits Basket, but Ash and Molly's relationship just reminds me of Yuki and Tohru's. Just like how Chase and Molly remind me of Kyo and Tohru. Sorry not sorry, but Fruits Basket is my show and it has invaded my subconscious and affected my writing. The first opening to the 2019 series, Again, just gives me major Ash and Molly vibes and in fact fueled most of the ending of this chapter. Hope you lovelies enjoy! ~Shaymie

Molly

"Hey Molls, what's the deal with you and that grumpy guy?"

Molly looked up from the pan she was pouring brownie batter into and met Ash's curious eyes. Why did everyone want to know what the deal was? They're just friends, nothing more. Can't she just be friends with a guy without people assuming that they were dating or were going to start dating? It had been the same way when she befriended Ash, but at least then they'd both had crushes on each other and needed a little push. Molly more than Ash, since she was still recovering from her break-up with Mark. She'd worried if it was too soon to start dating someone new.

"There is no deal, Ashy. We're just friends." She looked down at the spatula in her hand and was surprised that there was no anxiety bubbling up in her gut. She normally went on autopilot when she baked, not wanting to be tempted into eating anything. It's been over a year since she's snuck a taste of anything. Chelsea told her it would make her fat. But Chelsea's not here right now and even if she was, Molly wouldn't listen to her. She's been doing some thinking about what Angela said and realized that her sister was right.

Chelsea was spiteful and envious. She made Molly feel like she couldn't celebrate her own accomplishments, saying that she was showing off. But... if she worked for it, shouldn't she be able to talk about it? Shouldn't she get to feel proud of herself? It's not like she was getting self-centered or anything. If anyone was self-centered, it was Chelsea. She wanted everything handed to her just because her aunt was one of the dance coaches at the studio. She didn't even show up half the time, saying that theatre was more her calling and she only took classes at the studio because she got them for free.

"Yeah, because just friends buy each other expensive jewelry for their birthday." Ash leaned against the counter and glanced at the necklace Molly was wearing. "I mean, I didn't even buy you stuff like that and we dated for what, two years?"

"You had more important things to spend your money on." Like binders and therapy and rent on that little shack of an apartment... Molly still didn't understand how Jessica could kick her own flesh and blood out of her home. She didn't understand the logic behind it. Being gay was fine (okay, mostly tolerated, and they made sure not to kiss around her), but being trans was absolutely unforgiveable and made him an abomination?

Ash stayed with the Parkers for a little while until he saved up enough money for an apartment, Cheryl joining him when he moved out. Molly had expected Jessica to have some remorse over kicking out her child, but she sounded almost proud of it, saying that Ash would gladly be welcomed home with open arms if she admitted her wrongdoings. She claimed that Ash was only confused and mistaken. The final nail in the coffin was when she'd started deadnaming him every chance she got.

...Needless to say, Jessica wasn't part of her children's lives anymore. She tried to stay in touch with Cheryl, but the younger Varner refused to talk to her mother unless she accepted Ash once and for all.

"Oh hey, speaking of important things to spend money on." Ash slapped his hand against the counter with an excited grin and pointed at himself. "This guy's gettin' his tits chopped off pretty soon!"

"I really wish you wouldn't word it like that."

"Well, how else should I word it, Little Miss Grammar Police?"

"I don't know, removed? Chopped off sounds so violent." Molly finished scraping the last of the brownie batter into the pan and, after a brief second of hesitation, started licking the spatula clean. There was no Chelsea here to breathe down her neck and criticize every little thing about her. She could feel Ash's shocked eyes on her, but thankfully he didn't say anything, just walked over and put the pan in the oven. He'd seen the effects of her "diet" first hand, having been her main dancing partner. He watched her deteriorate and was powerless to stop it because she was so stupidly in denial.

She had to apologize for putting him through that before he went home.

"Yeah, but chopped off sounds cooler! Come on, Molls, let me have this." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her smile. Ash hopped onto the counter, slouching a bit so he didn't bump his head on a cabinet, and looked at her thoughtfully. Molly frowned under the unwarranted attention. Was there something on her face? She polished off the last of the batter from the spatula and grabbed a paper towel, wiping at her face. "You look different, Cinnamon."

"Different how?" The paper towel came away clean. She frowned as she tossed it in the trash. That was a waste.

"You just look... better. Happier. I've seen you smile more these past couple days than you did the last few months before you left. I was like Kasey, you know. I thought you were crazy for wanting to move here with Angela to start a farm of all things." Ash chuckled and brushed his bangs back from his face, smiling ruefully. "I wanted so badly to tell you to stay, but it wasn't my place. After all, we weren't dating anymore. Even if we had been, I know I wouldn't have been able to stop you. And I think it's better this way."

"Ash—"

"No, Molly, let me finish. Please." She shut her mouth with a frown. Ash sighed and turned his gaze to the dirty dishes in the sink. "I wanted to keep you close to me. I wanted to protect you from the Chelseas of the world because you're just too nice and you only see the good in people. I couldn't bear the thought of seeing you hurt again, or seeing you laid up in a hospital bed crying your eyes out. It practically broke me when you left.

"It wasn't until I went to therapy the week after that I realized why I didn't want you to go. I was depending on you like some kind of mother figure. I mean, you supported me from the very beginning. You didn't question when I changed my name, you spent hours doing research with me, you helped me shop for binders... You cut my hair when I didn't even ask you to, you just knew that the long hair was making me uncomfortable... You did everything I wanted my mom to do for me. Molly, if it wasn't for you, I don't know where I'd be right now."

"...So why did you say it's better for me to have left?" It was hard to get even that one sentence out. She had started getting choked up when Ash said that he saw her as a mother figure. It's ridiculous, but some part of her felt... validated. She spent so long trying to be like her mother—almost wanting to replace her, give Kasey and Angela back what they'd lost when she was born— and it finally, actually paid off. She helped someone, even if it wasn't who she originally wanted to help.

"I would have been holding you back if you stayed. We both needed some room to grow. So... Thank you, Molly." Ash planting a kiss to the top of her head was the final crack that broke the dam. She cried as Ash hugged her to his chest, quietly apologizing for getting tears on his shirt. She doesn't understand why people cry when they're happy. Ash rubbed her back with a nervous laugh. "Sorry, Molls. I didn't mean to bring the mood down like this. I was planning out this big speech for later and it just came spilling out."

"It's fine, Ash. I'm happy." She sniffled and gave him a watery smile. "I'm glad I helped you... And I'm glad you don't hate me for putting you through my stupidity."

"Cinnamon, I could never hate you—"

"Kiss kiss fall in love!" Ash stepped back from the hug at near lightning speed and excused himself to the bathroom to answer his phone, his cheeks blazing. Molly dissolved into giggles as Ash fumbled with the phone, the anime opening still playing loud and proud. Last she heard he had the Sailor Moon opening as his ringtone and she almost couldn't decide which one she liked better. She tried her best to stifle her laughs and put the pan of brownie batter into the oven.

She was grateful for the phone call ruining the mood. She just knew that she would have broken into sobs if it stayed like that. She thought of Ash's heartbroken face when she told him she thought it was best if they broke up. The flowers he'd brought, like so many that filled her hospital room, falling to the ground. His broken voice asking why, apologizing for something that wasn't his fault. She knew he felt guilty for the tragic ending of her career and had desperately tried to make up for it.

She thought it would be awkward being around him after the break-up. They spent a couple weeks apart before she finally built up the courage to visit him at work, bundled up in a coat that once fit snugly but was now baggy on her. He greeted her with that same old smile (though there was a bit of sadness behind it), told his boss he was taking his break, and sat across from her as she sipped her hot chocolate, her hands trembling from nervousness. He carried the conversation easily, telling her things she'd missed while she was working on recovering.

He didn't hate her for breaking his heart. He still wanted to be friends. He still called her Cinnamon. He had every right to turn her away after she so abruptly broke things off, but he didn't. Just like she'd done when he was figuring everything out, he stayed by her side and supported her. He didn't panic when she relapsed like Kasey did. He'd just hold her hair back and rub her back and tell her that it was okay, that he understood she was trying. He helped her rekindle the relationships she'd thrown to the wayside.

"I should be thanking you, you know," she said when he came out of the bathroom. He tilted his head as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"For what?"

"For..." She bit her lip, trying to figure out how to word exactly it was she wanted to say. What did she want to thank him for? He's done so much. She doesn't want him to think she took him for granted. Without him, she's sure her recovery would have been slower and more painful. The pitiful looks Kasey and Angela had given her broke her heart. She hated what she'd done to their little family. They were still recovering from the loss of their father and then she made them think they would lose her too—

"Cinnamon?" She was brought out of her thoughts by Ash's voice. He's always been good at that, stopping her before she got too lost in her head. She grabbed his hand and smiled at him.

"Thank you for everything, Ash."