Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Sasha sasha sasha-”

“Marcy! Spit it out!” 

“Ooh, you won’t guess it, I can’t even believe-”

“You saw the cat again, didn’t you?” 

“Oh man! How’d you guess, Sash?” Sasha takes that opportunity to look down at the person clinging to her arm, fluffy black hair just barely held out of their eyes by a green clip. She looks excited, phone in one hand paused on what seemed to be a dark alleyway. Students hurry past them, likely eager to get home after a long day at school. Sasha feels for them, but despite her outside demeanor, she was too soft for the person on her arm to even consider skipping their after-school hangout. 

“It’s your newest hyperfixation, and you have a weird video open after you said you’d try and catch them on video, so it’s pretty obvi.” 

“Hmm-hmm. I wasn’t sure if you were paying attention last time! But yes, I did get them on video! Behold: Domino!” 

Marcy hit play on the video to reveal a minute-long video composed mostly of Marcy’s faint breath and the shadows of the dimly-lit alleyway until they whisper, “Okay, watch this part, look right at the boxes by the dumpster.” Sasha fixes her attention to the point and notices the base of the boxes move as if pressure is applied to top of them, followed by a dull thunk. As if something had moved through that spot… like the wind.

Sasha sighs. “Marcy, I know you’re excited about this ‘ghost cat’, but that was just-”

“Shhh!” Marcy exclaims, pointing at the video which was still running. At that moment, a set of thinner boxes at the other side of the dumpster tumble down like dominoes. 

“-the wind, Marcy, that was clearly just the wind.” 

“But there was no wind! I set up that flag, here-” Marcy points at a dark gray scrap of fabric hanging off of a box, barely visible. “-to prove that. Plus, it doesn’t show up on video, but Domino is very clear to see, if transparent! That's how I saw their name tag.” 

Sasha looks down at the video, which is still running. Suddenly, the flag moves, and the video cuts off. Sasha’s stomach sinks. “Look, Marcy. The flag moved. It was wind - just a late gust.” 

“Oh! That’s because Domino chose that moment to run towards me - silly little cat, haha - so I had to turn off the video, y’know?” 

“Look, Marcy, it’s just - have you been taking your meds? The right ones?” 

The laugh on Marcy’s face fades. “Sasha, ADHD doesn’t cause hallucinations. That’s schizophrenia.” 

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to check with your psychologist and see about getting tested, would it?” Sasha rationalizes, only to wish she could take it back right after she saw the wilted look in Marcy’s eyes, and how they immediately averts their gaze to their shoes. They pull back, slipping their phone into their pocket and holding their arms to their chest.

“Or- um-” Sasha flounders for something to repair the rift she had made, when an idea came to mind. “Marcy. Tell me where you’ve been seeing this Domino.” 

“The alley off Pasadena St., with the intersection on 5th,” Marcy says, not looking up. 

“Okay! Well, we’re not hanging out today-” Marcy flinches, which made Sasha wince in turn- “because I have a very important cat to meet. I think their name is Domino,” Sasha offers. 

“Okay. Have fun. I think I have some homework to catch up on.” Ouch. Well, Sasha didn’t blame Marcy. Probably didn’t want to be made fun of again by dumb control-freak Sasha. 

“Well, Lt. Waybright is heading out for the job. See you tomorrow, Marce.” Marcy’s lips tick up for just a second before she busies herself with her backpack again, which Sasha took as her cue to leave. 

~*~

“Here, kitty kitty! Domino! Where are you?” Sasha whisper-calls after peeking around a fourth box before she releases a sigh, taking a seat by the dumpster. She scowls at the mess at her feet. She wanted to find Domino, because for once, she didn’t want to be right. Marcy meant a lot to Sasha - they had been friends all of her life, since she got her that swing back on the kindergarten playground - and she’d just began thinking of her as a bit more than a friend, ever since the school administration assigned her a counselor to work through her control issues and they had began developing a healthier relationship. 

If Sasha could just find this cat, she could fix their miscommunication. It was something her therapist had taught her: try to see the other side’s perspective before forcing her opinion on them. Now, she was at the right street junction. The cat just wasn’t here. Marcy had mentioned in one her previous rants about having waited three hours for it to appear. She hopes it wouldn’t be too long.

Meow. 

Sasha shoots up, before cursing and hiding again behind the dumpster in fear of startling it. And sure enough, peeking around the corner, was a silvery cat walking into the alleyway, white paws, name tag and all. Sasha could even see the faint outlines of the wall behind it as it yawns. 

Aww. It was pretty cute, actually. Sasha narrows her eyes. It was one thing to come back saying she had seen the cat and suddenly agree with Marcy, but it was another to catch it for her. Sasha smirks. Their own ghost cat! Marcy would be so happy, they’d jump into her arms for joy, and lean up and -

No! Bad Sasha! She shakes her head and focuses on the cat. Fantasize later. Catch now. 

Except, Sasha realizes she didn’t have anything to catch Domino with. She darts her eyes about, landing on one of the boxes that looked big enough to hold a cat. She’d just poke some holes for it to breathe and use her hands to hold the flaps closed. 

Sasha waits for the cat to turn their back to her before sneaking towards the box, picking up, and retreating back to her hiding spot. Retrieving her trusty swiss army knife, she cuts small holes into the side of the box. She spins the knife once before sheathing it, admiring what was her 13th birthday present before putting it back into her backpack and checking on the position of the cat again. Mission: Capture Domino is a go. 

Sasha creeps forward - starting a good six meters away - to whittle down to three. Two. One - all she needed to do was lunge to clear those last three feet and she’d have them - 

At the scrape of her sneakers, Domino takes off, just barely clearing the slam of the cardboard box. Sasha curses before scrambling up off her knees, charging out of the alleyway to spot the wisp of silver already across the street. 

“Fuck!” she yells, running across the street after Domino and just barely missed getting grazed by a car. Some people cast her some weird looks for her dramatics as she went at an all-out sprint in an attempt to gain on the spectral cat, but it seems for every bit faster she went, the cat also gains speed. Damn special ghost-cats. 

After taking several twists and turns, and even one short-cut in an attempt to cut off Domino, the cat suddenly comes to a stop, rubbing his cheek against the leg of someone who looked to be old enough to be Sasha and Marcy’s classmate. 

“Fuck,” Sasha says again. It had an owner? Wait. It was a ghost cat. How could it have an owner?

Well, Sasha had just been thinking of taking that cat. That would've made her and Marcy the owner. 

“Hey!” Sasha yells, immediately adjusting her volume as she realized how loud she was. “Hey. Um, is that your cat?” She points, half-expecting them to say no, there's not even a cat there. Which would make no sense, as she could see the cat just fine herself, and Marcy could too.

“Yeah, sorry. I just lost her for a while… again! Domino, you can’t keep doing this.” 

Sasha blinks when the teen leans down to pick up the cat, cradling her like it was a baby. Taking a tentative step forward, and discarding the box guiltily, Sasha asks, “Can I pet them?”

“It’s a her, and yeah! Go ahead. Lil Domino hasn’t gotten enough pets lately, have you? Have you?” Sasha grimaces at the babytalk, but reluctantly came forward to pet the cat… until her hand went straight through, sending a chill up her spine.

Right. It was a ghost. Catching it with a cardboard box probably wouldn’t have worked either. She ran all this way for nothing. 

Retracting her hand, Sasha takes a step back, then pauses. “Wait. Who are you? How are you holding that cat?” 

The girl smiles at her. “I’m Anne. And why wouldn’t I be able to hold my cat? I mean, she’s a bit feisty, but not that feisty.” 

What made this girl different? Marcy would probably think it was some kind of magical pet-owner bond, or that the girl was just - 

Anne's shirt is pink, but the color is strangely washed out. The grey, silvery edge to her isn't just clinging to the cat, but Anne. A blue, unearthly glow shines in her eyes, subtle but undeniably inhuman. Then there's the fact that she can see through both of them, to the pavement and the tree of the park behind her. Of course. This Anne is a ghost. 

“Um. Yeah, that makes sense,” Sasha says, voice faint. She caught the eye of a pedestrian passing, looking at her strangely. “Hey,” she calls out to them. “Do you see a cat anywhere around here? Like, in front of me?” She asks, motioning towards Anne. 

The pedestrian looks at her oddly. “There’s nothing there,” they say, before walking on faster than before. 

“Huh,” Anne says, and for a moment her form seems to flicker red alongside the look of confusion in her eyes. “I guess they didn’t notice lil Domino here. Hey, anyways,” she asks, as if it wasn’t just confirmed in front of Sasha’s eyes that she is talking to ghosts, ghosts that only Marcy and her could see, “what’s your name? You never said.”

“Sasha,” she says, quiet, half-aware of her own response.

“Oh! Well, thanks Sasha, for finding Domino for me. Means a lot, dude.” 

“No problem. Well, um, I have to go, nice meeting you!” Sasha says, flashing Anne a strained smile before speed-walking back in the other direction. 

Sasha has to find Marcy. 

Chapter Text

5:05 sasha> mar mar ik u were excited abt the ghost cat

5:05 sasha> but u will be even MORE excited abt what i just found

5:06 sasha> its an actual human ghost

5:08 mar-mar> REALLY???!

5:08 sasha> yes her name is anne! im sry i didnt believe u earlier 

5:09 mar-mar> It’s okay Sash! You can make it up 2 me by giving ALL the deets. ASAP. 

5:10 mar-mar> I mean an IRL ghost?? INSANE. I hypothesized that only animals could be ghosts, but this changes everything!! 

5:10 mar-mar> [typing...]

5:13 sasha> CHILL IM trying to type omg i can hear that essay 

5:12 mar-mar> Haha sorry 

5:13 sasha> no big anyways

5:14 sasha> she has glowing blue eyes, the colors on her body are kinda faded and she has a silver-y outside glow. and she’s transparent.

5:14 mar-mar> COLOR? But domino is completely silver, even his eyes! 

5:55 sasha> lol didnt think of that was just freaked out of how she didnt even notice she was dead

6:31 mar-mar> Interesting. U have to take me 2 where u found her ASAP! Now! 

6:57 sasha> tmr. Its dark outside marce, get some rest bb 

9:47 mar-mar> No way, I’m doing more deep dive web browsing :3c 

10:01 sasha> i can tell 

10:01 sasha> well gn /pos

10:05 mar-mar> Sleep well!!<3 

10:06 sasha> [typing...]

10:21 sasha> and im rlly sry abt not believing u 

10:30 mar-mar> ik :-)

~*~

“So she was here? Where exactly were you standing? Maybe the position acts as some kind of conduit for making her appear! We have to find the exact spot!” 

Sasha pinches her nose and takes a deep exhale. “It’s not that, Marcy. She was already there when I ran up to her.” 

For the two of them, it is another afternoon after a long day of classes and senior college application workshops. Fall leaves fall in a flurry around them, the few deciduous trees in California abreadth with orange that for once broke the monotony of blue skies and palm trees. A pleasant chill saturates the air, the breeze sending blonde locks into Sasha’s eyes that she sweeps away with a furrow of her brows and a downturn of her lips. 

“Maybe she’s just not here today,” Sasha suggests, “or whatever magic that let us see ghosts is gone.” 

“Oh, I considered that! But there was nothing special about yesterday, in any forum or history I could find relating to ghosts or the dead. Plus, I’ve been seeing Domino for weeks!” 

“Domino?” a voice echoes, seeming to appear from behind them. Sasha whips around, one hand shoved into her pocket and tensely gripping her knife, form rigid until she caught sight of those same blue eyes from yesterday. Marcy squeals, rushing right past Sasha to stand in front of Anne, notebook and pen already ready. 

“Hi! I’m Marcy! You must be Anne!” 

Anne blinks, the blue glow becoming obscured for a second, which left Sasha strangely disappointed. Their eyes meet and Sasha tries to gulp past the lump of something in her chest. 

“Sasha?” Anne asks, eyes meeting again with Marcy before sweeping back to Sasha. “Are you guys friends? ‘Cause, like, I can’t find Domino again and I really need to find her. Could you help?”

Marcy jumps in place. “Oooh, a quest! We would be more than happy to help!” Marcy jogs over to Sasha, hooking arms with her and dragging her to stand in front of Anne. “Captain Marcy Wu and Lt. Waybright at your service, certified cat catching experts!” 

Sasha scowls, but softens when she sees the glint in Marcy’s eyes. They’re really excited to be here, more so than she had been at school lately. 

“Yup,” Sasha adds, popping the ‘p’. “We’ll find Domino for you. Do you, uh…” Sasha trails off, caught in Anne’s blue gaze before she refocuses to the squeeze of Marcy’s hand on her forearm. “...know where Domino might hang out? It might be better to have something to go off other than the usual alleys.” 

Anne smiles, and Sasha has to suck in a breath and pull out her phone for something to do. “That’s easy. Domino loves any restaurant that serves shawarma!” Sasha is typing in shawarma restaurants into her Maps app in no time at all, Marcy resting her head on her shoulder to get a better look. They’re making a humming noise into Sasha’s shoulder and Sasha can feel the heat rising to her cheeks from both Anne and Marcy’s attention. Wait, Anne? 

“Looks like Domino would be most likely to be either here or here,” Marcy says, pointing to her phone screen, “those two places are between the park and the alleyway she likes to hang out at.” 

“Oh, why didn’t I think of that?” Anne says, suddenly much closer than before. She’s staring down at Sasha’s phone, and Sasha can swear she can feel a slight chill coming from her ghostly aura. 

“You have a phone?” Marcy asks, staring at Anne’s collarbone as she writes something or other in her notebook. 

“Yeah, it’s-” Anne parses through her pockets, until she frowns as she comes up empty. “Huh. I never leave the house without my phone.” 

Marcy’s face is contemplative. “Well, it’s not too far out of left field to say whatever kil-” 

Sasha slaps a hand over Marcy’s mouth. “Man! I think it’s time we go find Domino! Bleeding daylight out here, Marcy should really be coming with me! And don’t worry, I’m sure you just forgot your phone last.” 

“Okay, but,” Anne says, and her brow is furrowed as she looks at them. “I could help you guys? I don’t want you doing everything for me.” 

“Sure,” Sasha says before Marcy can get a word in. “Check out these other restaurants first, while we check the ones most likely with Domino? You can meet us there and we can hatch a plan for getting her back.” 

Anne frowns but nods.

Sasha and Marcy pull away in the other direction, two trans kids on a mission. “Marcy, no bringing up to Anne that she’s a ghost, okay?” 

“Why?” 

“Because I don’t think it’s the best idea, okay? I could’ve sworn - last time, when I was alluding that other people couldn’t see her - she flashed red, and it was creepy, okay? Better to not open the can of worms.”

“Anne’s a ghost, there’s no worms involved, Sasha.” 

Sasha throws her hands up. “Metaphors, Marcy!”

“Oh, yeah - I think I fell asleep from binging Xenoblade Chronicles for the 13th time during that class. English is pretty boring, had to sleep up for biology, y’know?” 

They’re walking down the street, and Sasha glances down at her app to make sure they’re en-route. “Yeah.”

“And, well, if Anne doesn’t have her phone, she probably didn’t die with it, right? Probably ran out of her house too fast, which means whatever killed her, she ran straight into - recklessness, probably. And it means if we can get her number, we can find out where her phone is!” 

“Uh, hardly. It’s probably in some coroner’s office. And who says you wear what you died in? Maybe it was destroyed by whoever killed her, or whatever.” 

“We can test it. You said she flashed red, right? She’s clearly suppressing the memories of the moment she died. Bring up she’s a ghost, and boom! Bloody clothing galore. And if not, I guess you’d be right.” 

Sasha’s jaw drops as she glares at Marcy. “Marcy! It’s not worth traumatizing someone for research’s sake!” 

Marcy just scratches their chin and bemusedly smiles at the ground. “Hm. You’ve done it for worse reasons.” 

“Nope,” Sasha says, holding her hands up in surrender. “Not doing this right now. I apologized for yesterday, remember? Neither of us are perfect. Just- just, let’s get to know Anne better before any serious conversations, okay?” 

Marcy’s eyes meet her for a moment before darting away. “Okay. We have a quest to go for, anyways! Quest save Domino!” Marcy’s step takes on a skip and she hooks arms with Sasha, dragging her at an increased pace. “We’re like firefighters of the ghost world, saving lost kittens from trees!” 

Sasha giggles, the tension coming out of her quickly from the change in mood. “Well, let’s hope Domino doesn’t need saving, and we’re just finding him, girlfriend!” 

Marcy’s eyes meet Sasha’s again, but this time their faces are much closer together. She can see the warmth in those brown eyes, the darkness and the peaks of golden light as if she was looking into a witch’s brew. Her lips quirk up, pink against her tan skin. “Well, if we are talking JRPGs, there’s definitely going to be a twist. I mean, c’mon, simple quest scenario: starts out easy, but then a secret boss comes outta nowhere!” 

Sasha smiles harder. “Like what? Domino grows giant claws and teeth? A giant gargoyle flies off with Domino? An interdimensional portal suddenly takes all of us into a terrifying world where tyrannical dictators are out to kill us?” 

“Unlikely! But ghosts can get to places we can’t. Who knows where Domino is right now?” 

~*~ 

“Are you sure you just saw her disappear into the employee door?” Sasha whispers, frantically pulling Marcy closer by their sleeve. 

“Yes!” Marcy whispers back, just as frantic. “And if we don’t hurry, she could be at the next shawarma restaurant anytime now!” 

“But I can’t go! If I get caught - ugh, you know! My record is already a mess, one more criminal act and it’s no college for me!”

“And if I get caught, my parents will kick me out for good!” 

“Ugh!” Sasha exclaims, pulling at her hair. “You jinxed us! You know what, this is what we are gonna do. You go outside, keep an eye for Anne and make sure Domino doesn’t walk out the wall. I am going to assess the camera situation and see if there’s a backdoor to the employee room.” 

Marcy nods, gives a thumbs up and slips out the door. Sasha sighs. At least Marcy is good at doing what she's told to do when they have a plan. 

Refocusing, Sasha glances up at the roof for cameras before sighing and slipping out the door, in the opposite direction of Marcy. Okay, two cameras inside watching the employee door and one on the entrance. She circles to the other side of the establishment, immediately spotting rectangular steel jutting out of the concrete wall, an old iron brass doorknob next to an inlaid keypad. 

Damn. But maybe-

She reaches for the doorknob, eyes on the hanging ceiling for cameras as her hand nears. Until she’s jolting out of her own skin, twisting around and jamming her back against the door in her haste to see just what that brush of freezing cold was. 

“Oh, hi Sasha! Didn’t mean to startle you…” Anne says, and in the alleyway she looks more ghostly than usual, her skin transparent and the glow in her eyes a bold, icey blue. A finger scratches at her cheek; she looks contrite, and tired. 

“Um, it’s fine,” Sasha says, straightening her posture and crossing her arms as if she had never jumped out of her skin in fear of a ghost before. “Any luck with the other restaurants?”

“No Domino. Nobody wanted to listen to me either, when I tried to ask if they’d seen a cat. I guess nobody wants to talk to kids our age anymore.” Anne looks at her feet, the corner of her lips downturned. 

“Well, you know business owners. All they want is to make a sale, with missing cats they couldn’t be less bothered,” Sasha says with a smooth smile, taking a step forward. “Don’t worry about it.” 

Anne looks back up, her face relaxing. “Yeah, you’re right. Must be why you’re out here, huh? Gotta sneak in instead.” 

No. If I wouldn’t look crazy asking about a ghost, I would have already convinced every business owner in this town to find us Domino. 

But Sasha keeps that to herself, plastering on a smile like it was second nature. And it is. “Yeah. Bummer though, I think this door is keypad locked, and I saw Domino go in.” 

Sasha turns, subtly trying the doorknob to be sure. It doesn’t budge. 

Anne takes a step forward, leaning her face down to examine the keypad. Sasha stares in wonder - the glow of her eyes reflects off of the keypad, casting it in a blue light, and Sasha suddenly wishes she had Marcy. They would know how to crack open a code. 

Anne pulls away, shrugging. “Man, I dunno what I hoped to find. Maybe we can wait for a employee to come down and open it for us?” 

Sasha shakes her head. “And if they’re just leaving? We would be waiting even longer.” Sasha takes out her phone, snapping a photo of the keypad and sending it to Marcy. 

4:15 sasha> hey gf any ideas how to get in

4:15 mar-mar> Well, no Domino escapees yet! AND OOH looks fun!! From what you sent me it looks like if u zoom in you can see the wear marks on the keypad, which narrows down the possibilites alot! 

4:16 mar-mar> [typing…]

Sasha snorts. “I don’t think Marcy is paying attention for Domino runaways anymore.” 

“Should I go check in on her?” Anne breathes, her chilly breath ghosting over the space by Sasha’s ear. She shivers, turning just enough to see Anne watching her phone. Anne is taller than her, and she isn’t used to it. 

“No,” she responds, even though she probably should say yes. Anne could make sure Marcy doesn’t trip over her own shoes, forget what she’s doing, and just overall do the job of ‘keeping an eye out for Domino’ better than Marcy probably ever could. 

But Sasha is selfish.

“Okay,” Anne shrugs, before saying, “Marcy replied. Look: oh, here we go.” 

And Anne focuses, raises her hand and inputs four numbers until a click resounds, and a green glow joins the blue. 

Sasha blinks. What the fuck? 

Right, Marcy. 

4:17 mar-mar> Considering the most likely combinations for this restaurant, it must be 5743, because that was the address of the restaurant’s alternate location! FYI, this address doesn’t fit those numbers. Gosh, I love Google! 

4:18 sasha> ok thx watch 4 domino

4:18 mar-mar> LOL yea gotcha! 

Sasha breathes out, Well, seems like ghosts can touch things. “Okay, Anne, quiet when we’re inside,” and apparently Sasha’s head isn’t screwed on right still because nobody but her and Marcy could hear Anne anyways. Dumb.

“Right,” Anne says, grinning back at Sasha. “Pretty cool how Marcy got that so fast. I thought we would be out here for ages.” 

“Well, Marcy is a genius. Straight A’s and always seems to be studying three grades ahead. She was studying for their PSAT’s in middle school, like, c’mon. I have parties to get to.” 

Anne tugs at her collar. “Wow, yeah, I could never do that. I was spending my time in middle school forging my report card. Only grade that didn’t need changing was Sports PE, heh.” 

“Nice,” Sasha smirks, meeting Anne’s eyes. “I think we would’ve got along in middle school. What did you play? I did cheerleading and fencing.” 

Anne’s eyes widen. “No way! Well, I did tai chi when I was younger, and tennis, but I did fencing too!”

“No way, really?” Sasha steps forward, smiling alongside Anne. She felt hot, blood rushing to her muscles  - to do what, Sasha isn’t sure. Fence Anne here and now? “How good were you?” Sasha glances down at Anne’s arms. They’re bulkier than Sasha’s - she knows Anne would have force where Sasha didn’t, but Sasha has always had flexibility.

“I was alright. Kinda wanted to hit my sword like a tennis racket at first. But I think I’ve learned some tricks since I’ve started, enough to beat my instructor once.” 

“Nice, nice. Well, I have to say I have my instructor wrapped around my finger. Old Grimes? Pretty sure I don’t even have to draw my sword to win. He’s too soft now.” 

“That’s not even fencing, then!”

“Is it?” Sasha steps impossibly closer. “What kind of tricks do you use then, Anne?” She locks eyes with Anne just as she places her finger to her chest. 

The jolt of cold is enough to pull the heat brewing in Sasha right out of her. Oh, right. She’s dead. 

It was a cold realization to come to, and Sasha hadn’t realized she’d turned away. 

“Um, I dunno. Well, uh, maybe we should get inside? Find Domino?” 

Sasha takes a moment to respond, just to make sure she won’t say anything embarrassing. “Yeah. Let’s go.” When she looks up, Anne is looking towards the door. Sasha can swear she can see a flush to her ghostly parlor at the back of her neck and ears. When Sasha passes to push the door open, Anne offers a smile, and Sasha smiles back. 

Sasha pulls up her hood and fishes out a pair of sunglasses from her pocket before pushing inside. Alert, she scans the ceiling for cameras, but just as she figured, none. Small companies like this couldn’t be bothered to waste budget on cameras protecting a bunch of frozen meat sticks. 

The bigger worry would be employees going back for stock. 

Sasha turns back and Anne and her share a nod before splitting up to scan the stockroom. It’s at the very back that Sasha finds Domino, ghostly jaws fixed around plastic bagging of meat left out to thaw in the fridge. A fridge that Domino had miraculously managed to open, albeit, with no luck at getting to the actual meat as each swat of a paw passed through harmlessly. 

Sasha holds a hand to her mouth to keep herself from laughing, before turning around and hissing out a high-pitch whisper of “Anne!”

But her whisper had done more than it’s intention, as Sasha’s head jerks back up to a clatter to see Domino disappearing around the corner. “Shit!” she exclaims, louder than she had planned, and she staggers into a run half out of fear of getting caught and half out of worry of losing Domino.  

In the cluttered environment they are in, Domino has the advantage, phasing straight through boxes that Sasha just barely avoids tripping over. Sasha wheezes out a half-laugh of gratefulness that Marcy isn’t in her position right now, because even Sasha’s cheerleader reflexes were being pushed to their limit. 

Abruptly, the silver flashes stop, and Sasha freezes, glancing around frantically. Damn, he must’ve stopped in the middle of a box. Sasha pulls out her phone to warn Marcy, just in case he had escaped. 

4:23 sasha> keep lookout 4 domino she disappeared 

4:23 mar-mar> :thumbs_up:

“Hey!” Sasha hears Anne’s whisper before anything else, her movement stuttering haphazardly as she turns to see Anne is far closer than expected. She realizes then why Anne has no problem sneaking up on her - she doesn’t make a sound when moving. “What was that?”

“Domino,” Sasha whispers back, “She’s somewhere in these boxes.” She can still hear her heartbeat in her ears. 

“Check the chicken ones. That’s her favorite.” 

Sasha nods, spying out for any kind of chicken diagram, all the while thinking, Suitable, when I’m such a chicken for being scared of Anne every time she appears.

Gritting her teeth, Sasha pushes forward, more eager than ever to find this Domino and get into an environment that doesn't involve breaking and entering. 

Flipping open box after box, Sasha rumages until she opens the fifth to a flash of silver. With a fair amount of fury, Sasha lurches forward and grabs at Domino’s scruff. Fuck no, you’re not getting away this time, she thinks, as her fingers begin to phase through Domino, she closes her fist to deadly cold fur, pulling upwards with an excess of strength. She smirks at Domino, who hisses, spits and struggles, but can’t escape Sasha’s iron grip on the loose skin at her neck. 

“Take your problem child, Anne,” Sasha says, keeping her voice flat to avoid giving away her equal parts of anger and satisfaction. 

Anne wastes no time in taking Domino, switching to a proper grip with one hand under Domino’s rear and another supporting her chest. She coos, and Domino immediately calms to a quiet purr at Anne’s chest. 

“Aww, you wil baby, don’t worry, this won’t happen again, just stay with me Dommy-kins.” Domino purrs louder, and Sasha grimaces in disgust. 

“And you!” Anne suddenly exclaims, and Sasha jumps, forcing herself not to panic, no one can hear Anne, just you and Marcy, but oh what if this touching thing extends to words- “Don’t be so rough with Domino! We could’ve lured her out, or something.” 

“And what? Spend another hour here? Anne, I’m risking my ass for your damn cat right now.” 

Anne is still frowning, but lowers her voice to Sasha’s level. “Well, we could’ve worked something out. But, thanks, I guess.” 

Sasha raises an eyebrow. “Look, Domino is fine. She’s just a big baby.”

Anne just looks back down at Domino and coos, “aw, a widdle big baby you are, aren’t you? That’s my little girl. So cute.” 

“Oh god, can we please just get out of here?” 

“Oh, right!” 

After hiding behind a large shelf to avoid a passing employee, where Sasha got far too close for comfort to Domino’s ghostly claws, they slip out the door they came into. Sasha closes it with a firm click , her phone already in her other hand. 

4:32 sasha> come bck b

4:33 mar-mar> Here! 

“Hi guys! Wow, you got Domino! You know, I did some research while I was stuck on look-out duty, and apparently Domino has made the company’s Instagram memories! She’s snuck in here quite a lot.” 

“Marceee,” Sasha draws out, pouting, “if your eyes were on your phone, how would you have noticed if Domino had escaped?” 

“I looked up when you said to! And, aw, look! She’s so cute!”

Sasha groans. “Not you too!” 

But it was too late. Marcy and Anne combined were cooing over Domino, Marcy scratching behind the cat’s ears. 

Sasha squints, walking up behind Marcy to whisper into her ear. “You aren’t actually touching Domino, are you?” 

Marcy smiles at Sasha. “Of course not, she’s a ghost,” they say, barely loud enough to hear, but clear by the movement of her lips. 

Sasha gives Marcy a look. We need to talk later. 

Marcy nods.

Sasha comes around the both of them, placing a gentle hand on their backs. “Let’s leave this dingy alley, yeah?”

“Yeah!” 

“You know, my parents have a restaurant like that one. Well, not shawarma, but Thai food, ‘course.” 

Sasha pushes herself between them, Anne naturally moving to accommodate her as they walk. It’s a good thing too, because Sasha can feel her hand on Anne’s back is skimming in and out of her body in bursts of cold along her fingers, nothing like the solid grasp she had on Domino back in the store room. 

“That’s cool!” Marcy pipes up.

“Yeah,” Sasha adds, “what was it called?” 

“Dude, it’s the Thai Go. Best Thai in our neighborhood! I work there actually, my mom might want me there to help with the dinner rush soon.”

“Oh, Anne, are you sure? Your mom hasn’t texted you to come work, has she?” 

“No phone, dude.” 

“Exactly,” Sasha affirms. “You can tell her you were busy looking for it, or something.” 

“But…” Anne stumbles, and Sasha is quick to reach out to grab her only to have her hands go through. Shit, she thinks, retracting quickly and shooting a glance at Marcy, who quickly goes to Anne’s other side. Their brown eyes gleam with a kind of concern Sasha was only used to having directed at her. 

Sasha finds she doesn’t mind having it aimed at Anne. 

“I don’t remember when the last time I went for a shift is,” Anne says, quiet. She’s stroking Domino, and Sasha thinks she can see faint outlines of red, but it’s too faint and undefined to tell where or what. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Marcy offers, “we can figure it out! It’ll be like a m-mystery video game. Find the contextual clues, right?”

“But I should know,” Anne says, her voice high with confusion and rough with what Sasha can only define as emotion. 

“Maybe you just haven’t had much sleep. That can mess with retrieving memories, right, Marcy?”

“Oh, yeah, for sure fam! Man, I’ve pulled some consecutive all-nighters and one time I got a B on my test! Can you believe it?” 

“A B?” Anne asks, and suddenly she’s laughing. “I guess that must be it, if you’re as much of a genius as Sasha says you are.” 

Marcy blushes. “Aw, shucks. I’m not a genius! Sasha is really smart in her own way, and I’m sure you are too, Anne!” 

“From what I know right now,” Sasha offers, gesturing to Anne’s arms, “I reckon you’re a genius with these arms.” 

And then pauses. Wait. What did I just say. 

“Oooooh, Sasha…” 

Anne is beet red. “Um.” 

“Normally Sasha is smarter than this,” Marcy has a wolfish grin now, and from the glint in those brown eyes, Sasha knows exactly why. 

“I mean!” Sasha exclaims, desperate to amend the situation she found herself in. “You must be really good at tennis and fencing, to have built up this muscle.” Now, Sasha’s the one blushing, embarrassed at admitting even by proxy that Anne might be better than her. 

“Yeah, I bet Sasha’s really jealous about all that muscle. So much that she wants it on-”

“Okay, okay, enough!” Sasha says with a stomp of her foot. Anne’s face is a normal complexion again - normal by ghost standards, at least. 

“Thanks, I guess,” Anne says, her expression reading bemused by their antics. “So what now?”

“Well I was thinking-” Sasha begins

“Anne, you and I should hang out!” Marcy exclaims at the same time. 

Sasha glares at Marcy. “What?” Marcy asks. “You got to have her with cool Domino hijinks. Anne, let’s go to a cat cafe! A gamer cat cafe!” 

Sasha’s jaw drops. “What? Why am I not invited?” 

“Last time I asked, you said, I quote, ‘But I don’t want a bunch of cats hissing at me when I crush you to ground on Super Mario Bros!’” 

“That’s because I don’t! It’s not my fault dogs are better! They actually listen to you.” 

Anne’s gasp is one of exaggerated shock. “Take that back! Cats are superior!” 

“Yeah, Sasha, you heard it! Anne gets me.” 

“Marcy, I know you don’t have a preference, stop lying .” 

“I don’t diss fluffy balls of cuteness.”

“Fluffy. Balls. Of. Cuteness!” Anne emphasizes, before kissing Domino on the head. 

“Okay, fine, jeez. I don’t even have a dog. Have fun slumming it up with the cats, don’t blame me if you come back as mincemeat!” 

“We most certainly will have fun! Let’s go, Marcy. You and me? Best friends now.” 

“Yes! Achievement get!” 

“What?” 

“Oh, just some gamer lingo. Let’s go crush some noobs!” 

Sasha sighs, pinching her nose. 

“Noobs?”

4:51 mar-mar> Haha simp stole ur gf 

“MARCY!” 

“Oh shit, let’s run!” 

“Gogogo-” 

Sasha let them escape grudgingly. 

4:55 sasha> ur also a simp

4:55 mar-mar> Not 

4:56 sasha> anyways we need to talk. c me after ur done

4:57 mar-mar> :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: