Title is a mix of two lyrics from Somewhere Only We Know

Anyway, IM BACK BABY!! Kind of.

Im still gonna be pretty inconsistent with posting, I've been hella busy BUT im super glad I can get a new chapter out at last. And for my friend who requested that one on insta recently- im still working on it!! Im around halfway done with it :)) it'll be out fairly soonish?

Hope u guys like this chapter after such a long time of not posting!!

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Marcy didn't close herself off often. Whether she was sad or upset, even angry, she'd at least try to talk about it, maybe even try to draw it out. She just wasn't the kind of person to avoid contact when she was struggling. She'd gotten better, she'd healed from that mentality. More often than not, even when she felt like a burden, she tried to open up at least a little on her harder days. She'd grown up and learned that it did much more good than hiding away had ever done in the past.

That's why both Anne and Sasha immediately knew something was seriously wrong.

For starters, Marcy wasn't talking. Not when she woke up, not when Anne made breakfast, not when Sasha told a story about one of the kids at work.

Okay, so maybe she was just having a non-talking day. Maybe she didn't have the energy. It happened.

Except for the fact that, when both Sasha and Anne gave her a quick kiss before leaving for work, she didn't reciprocate, didn't even look in their general vicinity. She just continued mindlessly sketching on her tablet.

They shrugged it off as her being too hyper-focused on her work to notice.

The final hint was when they got home. All the lights were off, all the doors shut, and Marcy's tablet left abandoned on the couch, tv running on low volume in the background. It was the only sound they could hear throughout the entire house.

They shared a quick look before going to knock on the door of their shared bedroom, extra careful not to be too loud.

Silence.

Sasha's concerned expression turned into one of fear as she knocked again, louder this time.

Again, nothing.

She quietly opened the door, half expecting the worst, but only saw a Marcy-shaped lump huddled on the floor, blanket pulled over her head.

"Marcy?"

There was a significant pause before they heard a muffled, "Go 'way!"

"Marce, what's going on?" Anne murmured, sitting down next to the lump and lifting the blanket.

Marcy immediately turned away from her, curling into herself with a sniffle.

"Do you want to talk about what's wrong?"

"No!" She shouted. Anne quickly picked up on the clues Marcy was unknowingly giving.

"Can you look at me? Or sit up?" Anne tried again, her tone even softer this time.

"Nuh-uh!" Marcy squeaked, half-heartedly shoving Anne away from her.

Sasha joined Anne on the floor, putting a hand on Marcy's ruffled hair. "Marcy, we don't shove", she warned.

"No!"

"Marcy."

"Noooo", she whined even louder.

"Would you like us to leave?" Sasha asked.

"NO!" Marcy yelled, sitting straight up.

"Marce, indoor voice. Can you please not shove? We want to help you."

Marcy's lip quivered for a moment and she opened and closed her mouth, looking for an answer. Instead, she burst into tears, reaching out to be held.

Anne frowned and promptly pulled her into her lap. Marcy clung on immediately, sobbing into Anne's shirt.

"I know, Mars. You're okay", Anne hushed, rubbing circles into her back.

Marcy repeatedly murmured 'sorry', despite how many times Anne tried to reassure her.

"I know, I know. You're okay. Im not mad", Anne comforted. Sasha and Anne shared a worried look as Marcy cried and cried, gasping for air.

"Mars, honey, you need to breathe", Sasha said, concern apparent in her tone.

"Can't!"

"Yes, you can, can you watch me?" She pleaded, breathing in deep, exaggerated breaths, desperate to help.

Marcy didn't even try, didn't even look up at Sasha, just shook her head and held onto Anne even tighter.

Anne and Sasha were both lost. They'd never seen her so worked up before, at least not since...

"Don't leave!" Marcy gasped through her cries.

"Mars, hey, we aren't leaving!" Sasha exclaimed.

"We're right here, nothing you could do would make us leave, alright?" Anne added on, trying not to cry herself.

"But..."

"But nothing. I've got you, I'm not leaving."

Sasha nodded. "You know how long we've known each other? You and Anne have known each other for 20 years, Marcy. I've known you for 18. If we haven't left yet, we aren't leaving, ever."

"Really?"

"Of course. Promise."

"Pinky promise?" Marcy asked, still choking back tears.

"Pinky promise", Anne confirmed, holding her pinky out to Marcy's. She seemed to calm down at this, at least in part. She was at least breathing normally again, even if she was still crying.

"Hey, Mars, let's go get something to drink, okay? I don't want you getting a headache", Anne said.

"'Kay", she sniffled, still refusing to let go of Anne.

"Can you walk on your own, or..." Anne trailed off as Marcy looked up at her sadly, blinking away tears.

"You don't want Sasha to hold you?"

"No! Anne!"

Sasha dramatically put a hand to her head with feigned heartbreak, and Marcy simply blinked at her, then cracked a smile.

Well, at least she got her smiling. Kind of.

Anne sighed. "Okay, c'mere, then", she hummed, standing back up with a bit of difficulty. She hardly even had to hold onto Marcy with how tightly she was grabbing onto Anne. She still seemed incredibly wary about them leaving, despite making them pinky promise they wouldn't.

"You're like a koala, aren't you?" Sasha teased as they made their way back downstairs. Marcy kicked her legs happily and giggled, blinking away the last of her tears; That would never not be one of Sasha's favorite sounds.

Anne sat down at the table, as Marcy still refused to leave her hold, and Sasha took to getting something for her to drink.

Marcy's eyebrows furrowed as her sippy cup was set in front of her, Sasha taking a seat on the other side of the table.

"Juice?" She asked, looking back up at Sasha.

"You have to have water first, bud. No juice yet."

"But 's yucky!"

"Well, it'll keep you from getting a headache, and it'll make you feel better", Anne added.

Marcy still looked unsure, but took it anyway, giving Sasha a look that silently said 'I don't like this, but thank you anyway'.

They stayed there for a long moment, Marcy curled into Anne as she sipped on her water. Sasha met Anne's gaze with a matching look of adoration and fondness.

"Done!" Marcy exclaimed, breaking the silence. She held her cup back out to Sasha. "Juice, please!"

"Alright, alright, I got it", Sasha said, getting back up again.

Marcy hummed in delight and flapped her hand as it was handed back to her.

After sitting there for a little while, Marcy decided she was bored of the kitchen and hopped off of Anne's lap- much to their surprise- to make grabby hands at Sasha instead.

"You want me to hold you now, huh?"

"Mm-hmm, go upstairs? Want Cocoa", she hummed.

Sasha smiled and lifted Marcy into her arms, spinning her around just to hear her giggle again, before holding her tightly once more.

"Alright, c'mon, upstairs we go".

The second they made it upstairs, Marcy reached for Cocoa sitting on the bed, grabbing him and hugging him tightly. She rubbed her eyes and leaned into Sasha, resting her head on her chest.

"I bet you're sleepy, you had a long day, didn't you?" Anne murmured.

"No, not sleepy..."

"Okay, well, I'm sleepy. And Sasha's sleepy too, right, Sash?"

"Very."

Anne smiled. "And I know I can't fall asleep if you're not with me. So will you cuddle with me? So I can fall asleep?" Anne asked.

Marcy paused like she was considering it, but only for a moment, before she spoke up again.

"Mm-hmm! Gonna help!"

"Wow, that's such a relief. I'm just so tired. Thank you for helping me, Marcy", Anne sighed, smiling as she made eye contact with Sasha.

Marcy hurried out of Sasha's arms to get under the covers of the bed, determined to help Anne fall asleep. Anne climbed in next to her, smiling as Sasha brought over her pacifier. Marcy took it happily, snuggling further under the blankets and closer to her two favorite people.

The last thing she registered before drifting off was Sasha running a hand through her hair and Anne pressing a kiss to her forehead.

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HOW HAVE U GUYS BEEN!! ITS BEEN A WHILE :00

Also here's a moodboard thing I made for little Marcy bc they're fun to make :))

Love u guys!! Hope u have a great week