Chapter Text
The first snowball hit the window with a loud bang, startling a snort out of the middle-aged man dozing away in the seat in front of her. He had been drifting in and out of sleep for the majority of the bus ride, his eyelids slowly falling shut only to eventually snap open again when the bus hit a bump or came to a stop with screeching tires. It would be quite fascinating to watch if it wasn’t so sad. What was even sadder was the speed with which the man managed to fall asleep again after being disturbed. Mae swore she counted four seconds before his beady eyes fell close again, his head lolling slightly to the right. Why the man had chosen to get on a bus while this exhausted was beyond her, and she briefly wondered if he even meant to ride the bus this long.
She, however, didn’t get a chance to dwell on it for too long as a second snowball hit the window right where her head would have been, leaving behind a wad of snow on the glass. Surprisingly, it was the elder woman next to her that jumped at the sound and not Mae who eyed the lump of ice with poor concealed humor. Next to her, the woman tutted and shook her head, muttering to herself in disbelief. She didn’t seem too amused by the surprise and looked as though she wanted to get out of the bus and find the icy culprit. That wouldn’t have been as easy of a task as it sounded, Mae thought, looking outside at the culprit.
Or, well, Culprits was more like it. That was one reason why it would be difficult to catch the snow-throwing ruffian. The other one being that they were at a red light and the doors were in fact closed. Although the lady next to Mae didn’t seem like a person who would let herself be stopped by a glass door. For a frail old lady, she gave a spectacular stink eye.
Mae leaned a little closer to the window, her breath drawing clouds on the cold glass. The children who were responsible for the ice attack were running around a bronze statue, chasing each other with snowballs and missing most of them. Missing each other, that is. Everything else they managed to hit quite beautifully. A tree here and there, the park benches, and garbage cans. Even the street lamps were decorated with white spots of snow. Mae‘s lip twitched helplessly as she watched a snowball nearly knock someone’s hat off. She swore she could almost hear the laughter that broke out right after a brown-haired scrawny kid managed to land one in the statue's face, making it look like he was rocking a white goatee.
It reminded her of home. Of snowball fights between her and her siblings when she was still a child. They were rather unfair fights considering she had the aim of a nine-year-old, which she was at the time, and her siblings being considerably taller. This, however, hadn’t much mattered to them, which ended with Mae covered in snow and her brother and sister receiving a talking to for giving their little sister pneumonia. The faces of her siblings alone made the one-and-a-half week of no sleep and soup worth it. Homemade chicken stew had never tasted better than served with a side of revenge.
In the end, they had apologized, however. No matter how much they liked to tease their younger sister, when she needed them, they were there to take care of her. This is also probably how Mae came to be in this situation in the first place.
It was winter, if the snow wasn’t enough of a clue, and Christmas wasn’t far. Usually, Mae spent Christmas with her parents in their hometown. They’d have a small Christmas. Nothing big since her siblings were celebrating with their own families. This year, however, they had decided to spend Christmas in Burgess. The town Emma, Mae‘s sister, had moved to last year. This coincidentally also happened to be a town that Mae was looking at for possible colleges. Upon finding out about this, Emma had invited her to join them a few weeks early to „feel out the town“ and spend some quality time. Mae hadn’t been sure whether or not to go at first, but the argument that her nephew, Ben, wanted to see her had been enough to make up her mind.
She had met Ben once before, two years ago, when he had just turned six. He was eight now and was, if her sister could be believed, quite a hyper little guy. The polar opposite of his younger sister, Catalina. Cat was six and was just the sweetest little kid. She wasn’t necessarily quiet, but she was definitely more tame than her older brother, whom she loves more than anything. Unfortunately, Ben, just like most big siblings, doesn’t take much of an interest in his sister. He’d rather be outside with his friends all day, or so Emma claims. Since they moved to Burgess, Ben has been extra hyper, especially since late. He kept talking about the weirdest stuff Emma had told her. Catalina too, apparently. Those two got some imagination in them.
Mae considered the kids outside the bus with a thoughtful look. Maybe Ben and Cat knew them? They seemed to have quite the imagination too. Always running and looking around like they were following some invisible line. Or, in some cases, being chased by one. It looked like a fun game, and for a second, Mae wished to join them and be in on the play.
The moment ended however as the bus started to move again. Mae watched the playing children grow further, turning in her seat a little bit to follow their game. They disappeared fully once the bus turned right on the next corner and Mae moved to turn back around in her seat. The woman next to her gave her a bit of an exasperated look, which she chose to ignore. The man in front of her was still asleep, his head gently hitting the glass with soft thuds. She sighed and leaned back in her seat, briefly glancing at the stop display. Only two more to go. Maybe she should wake the man once she gets out.
———
It turns out her kindness wasn’t needed. The second the bus came to a stop, tires screeching like halting would be their demise, the man‘s eyes snapped open. Mae watched in mild fascination as he rubbed his beady eyes with a large hand and pulled himself out of his seat with the other. He then continued to get out of the bus with the air of a man who hadn’t been snoozing one second ago but was rather just enjoying a nice walk. He hadn’t even looked at the display or anything.
It was almost enough to make Mae forget that this was supposed to be her stop also. If it hadn’t been for a smiling face on the other side of the street, she would’ve missed getting out. Fortunately, she recognized the face of her sister in time and scrambled to collect her bag before hurrying out of the bus. Stink Eye gave her one last flabbergasted look before the doors closed and the bus took off. Mae considered giving her a look back but was once again interrupted by her sister.
„Maeve!“ she yelled from the street across, grinning wildly. Emma had an infectious smile. One that stretched over her whole face like it was trying to prove just how happy she was. An open, real smile that you couldn’t help but smile back at. Even Mae wasn’t immune to its effect, and she soon felt her lips twitch up in a matching grin.
She quickly glanced left and right before crossing the street in wide strides, nearly falling into her sister's waiting arms. Emma’s hugs were another thing entirely. They were crushing, to say the least. Emma wrapped herself all around the people she loved like she needed to physically push her love onto them. It’s a trait that their brother especially despised. Mae wasn’t too bothered by it as long as she was still able to breathe. Which wasn’t always the case when Emma went full hug mode.
Mae carefully extracted herself from her sister's arms, smiling up at her. She was met with a matching smile and calculating eyes. „Am I seeing things, or did my baby sister grow an inch?“ Emma asked, considering Mea with a hand to her chin. Mae laughed and rolled her eyes. „People tend to do that, Em. Grow,“ she responded, looking down at herself. She had in fact grown quite a bit since she last saw Emma in person.
Emma sighted. „I guess so,“ she said with sad eyes. „First Ben, then Catalina, and now I find out you have grown too!“ She cried as if growing was the worst possible thing to ever happen to her family.
Mea watched in amusement, head tilting a little. „Where are your little rascals anyway?“ she asked, following her sister as she started to walk down the street. They followed a small sidewalk that seemed to have been freed of snow and ice. Someone had pushed the snow onto the side of the road where it was now starting to turn brown and gray from the exhaust from passing cars.
Emma sighed again „I left them at home with Mateo. They seem to constantly want to go outside these days. I had to bargain with hot chocolate to make them stay put till your arrival." Shaking her head, she took a right as the street split in two directions.
Mae couldn’t help but laugh at that. „What, you don’t want them outside? Would you rather have them in front of the TV all day?“ she asked. „You know, usually it’s the other way around.“
„I was happy, in the beginning.“ Emma admitted, „But lately they‘ve been staying out longer and longer. Most days they come home drenched with water because they‘ve been playing with snow all day.“. She blew out air through her nose, leaving behind a white cloud, making it look like she was blowing out steam. „I‘m just worried is all. If something happens, I won’t be there to help,“ she finally said.
Maeve could hear the distress in her voice and put a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. Emma gave her a grateful smile and patted the hand with her own. „Sorry. I just don’t know what to do with them. I don’t have the time to constantly watch over them while they’re out,“ she said, worrying her lip between her teeth. It was a habit she had carried since her youth.
Humming Mae followed Emma as she took another turn. „Well, I get you are worried for your kids' wellbeing, Em, but what do you think is really going to happen?“ she asked. Emma gave her a complicated look at that and motioned for her to go on. „I‘m just saying that this town seems pretty safe. The worst thing that could happen to Ben and Cat out here is a cold." Mae continued gesturing around the street. „Compared to our neighborhood growing up, this one doesn’t seem too bad. And we were constantly outside, if you remember.“
Emma followed her look, taking in the houses all around as if she were just now considering them for the first time. They were pretty classic family homes, with most having little patches of grass out front and some with porches. Some of them were already decorated for Christmas with colorful lights, little elves, and Santas. It felt like the kind of neighborhood where everyone sort of knew everyone.
Emma blew out another breath. Mae watched as the little white cloud evaporated into thin air. „I guess you do have a point,“ Emma said, looking at Mae thoughtfully. The look stayed for a moment before Emma suddenly broke out into a grimace and lightly shoved Mae‘s shoulder with her own. „I can’t believe I just got parenting advice from my little sister! Seriously, you need to stop growing up,“ she complained. Mae laughed and shoved right back, to which Emma responded with full-on pushing her.
They broke out into a sort of mock fight with each of them trying to push the other into the snow or grabbing a handful of snow to shove it down the other's shirt. Their bickering could probably be heard by every neighbor down the street, but they didn’t care; they were so enthralled in their little playfight that they didn’t even notice the two pairs of eyes looking at them from inside one of the houses.
They only stopped once they noticed the giggling coming from the house they had halted in front of. Stopping mid-brawl, they looked at the open door the laughing originated from and were met with two mirthful pairs of eyes, one green and one brown.
„What are you doing, Mommy?“ laughed the brown pair, holding onto a fluffy white cat plush. The other one was already halfway down the stairs with a toothy grin. „Ben!“ Mae greeted as they were tackled by the young boy in a red shirt. „Aunt May!“ he laughed happily, holding onto his mother and aunt.
'May' was a nickname Ben had given her when he was still little and didn’t know the difference between the name Mae and the month May. Whenever May came around, Ben would tell his mother that Mae was here and giggle like it was the funniest thing he could imagine. He eventually understood that Mae was just the short form of Maeve and had nothing to do with the month of May but still insisted on calling her that.
Emma gave Ben a warm look and ruffled his short black hair. He tried to pry the intrusive hand off and took a large step back. „Mom!“ he cried, trying to fix his messy curls, which, of course, didn’t work.
Mea‘s sister just rolled her eyes in amusement and turned to her daughter, who was carefully climbing down the stairs too. With a smile, she stumbled into her mother's direction, who promptly gathered her up in her arms. She lost a pink slipper on the way up and tried to twist in her mother's arms as if she could reach it from all the way up there.
Mae smiled and leaned down to pick up the fluffy slipper to place it in Cat‘s arms. Catalina gave her a shy smile and held onto its pink fur. „Thanks, Aunt May,“ she said and hid in her mother's brown locks.
Emma petted her red hair and laughed at her shyness. Mea and she shared an amused look over Cat's head before Ben butted in with a loud groan. „I‘m here too, you know!“ he complained, crossing his arms.
Wow, Mae thought, Ben really had picked up an attitude in the time she didn’t see him. She gave Emma a questioning look, who just rolled her eyes with all the air of someone who just didn’t know anymore.
„Really? I don’t see anyone,“ Mae said while looking around with a hand to her forehead. She squinted her eyes to really play it up, which startled a sweet laugh out of not only Ben but Catalina also. Even Emma chuckled a little bit.
„What are you talking about? I‘m right here, Aunt May!“ Ben laughed and pulled at her sleeves.
Acting surprised, Mae looked down at the little boy, „Oh, there you are, Ben!“. She put a hand on her hip. „I was beginning to wonder where you are,“ she said seriously. Ben laughed delightedly and rolled his green eyes.
Suddenly there was a voice coming from the open door. „Ben! Why aren’t you wearing shoes? It’s freezing, buddy!“ A redheaded man said, carrying a pair of green slippers, presumably Bens.
Mae nodded at Mateo in greeting, who returned the nod with a smile before holding out the slippers to his son, „Put these on at least or you’ll catch a cold.“.
„I‘m fine, Dad!“ Ben exclaimed, „it’s not that cold! Besides, Jack never wears shoes either." To prove his point, he looked at his bare feet and wiggled his toes.
Mateo rolled his eyes and held out his hand a little further. „Well, I don’t know who this Jack kid is or who his parents are, but we have different rules in this house, kid,“ he said and gave Ben an expectant look.
Ben huffed and took the slippers with an annoyed whine, which his father promptly ignored in favor of sliding up to his wife and daughter to place a kiss on either head. Emma swatted at his open display of affection but smiled nonetheless while Cat giggled at the stubble on her father's chin.
Mateo then leaned to give Mae a small hug, greeting her with a „Hello, May, you’re late this year“ and a big grin. Mateo had also taken up calling her May since he learned that that was what his son had been calling her. He found it quite hilarious. So did Cat, apparently, who giggled into her mother's curls.
„We should go inside before anyone loses any toes,“ Emma said, raising her brows at Ben, who still hadn’t put the slippers on. Ben seemed unaffected and rather occupied with kicking a lump of snow around. Mae, however, hummed in agreement and pulled her jacket a little closer. Even if it was still noon, it was already pretty cold, and she hadn’t thought to pack a warmer jacket or even wear a hoodie.
Emma noticed her small shiver and waved her to follow. Together they climbed up the stairs to their porch, followed by Mateo, who was dragging Ben along. Luckily the wind hadn’t closed the door on them, or otherwise they would’ve been stuck outside.
Mea followed her sister into their warm house and stopped on the doormat to wipe her snowy boots. Once inside, she took them off and placed them next to the other shoes littered in the hall. She put her bag next to her shoes and hung up her jacket. The warmth immediately wrapped itself around Mae in a warm blanket, and she sighed contently. The house smelled like her sister and something else. It was a nice smell. Like home but also something new.
Emma watched her, smiling, and placed Catalina on the ground, who put on her missing slipper and wandered into the living room on the right. She put on a similar pair of slippers in lilac and put her shoes next to Mae‘s. Mateo, who was wearing a red pair of slippers, gave Mae an apologetic look: „Sorry, May, we don’t have any slippers for you at the moment." Mae just waved him off and smiled at the matching pairs of family slippers. They must’ve been Emma’s idea, she thought.
„You can wear mine!“ Ben offered and held up his green pair. „I don’t need them.“.
Mae laughed and took the pair. „Sorry, Benny, but I think these are a little too small,“ she said, holding one of them up to her feet. As expected, they were too small for her, and she handed them back to Ben with a smile. „Thanks for offering, though little big guy,“ she said and ruffled his hair similar to how her sister had done it. Just like before, Ben fussed with his hair but smiled anyway.
Together, the four of them made their way to the living room, where Catalina was already sipping at her, not so hot anymore, chocolate. Emma sat next to her on the couch while Ben seated himself on the floor in front of the TV. Mae gave Emma a meaningful look, who rolled her eyes and leaned back into the couch. Mae sat next to her while Mateo made himself comfortable in an armchair to her left.
„I heard you guys spent a lot of time outside." Mae addressed the children, who immediately turned their attention on her.
With a wide grin, Ben nodded. „Yes! We play outside with our friends. Jamie and Pippa and Cupcake,“ he explained excitedly.
„And Jack?“ Mae asked, smiling, „The kid who doesn’t wear shoes?“.
This time it was Cat who answered her. She smiled shyly and nodded happily. „Jack is nice. We play snow fights together and make snowmen." Her little eyes sparkled, and she held her plushy to her chest while Emma dabbed at the chocolate beard on her upper lip.
Mae smiled kindly at her niece. „That sounds nice. Maybe we could build a snowman too,“ she offered and looked questioning at Ben, who looked considering.
He nodded slowly. „Alright. But I don’t think we can make better ones, thank Jack. We never beat him." Catalina nodded and squeezed her cat.
Mae frowned at that and hummed. „Well, I can’t promise I‘ll be as spectacular as this Jack, but I‘m sure we’ll be able to make something decent,“ she said seriously, coaxing a smile out of Cat. Ben nodded thoughtfully.
Tough crowd, Mae thought and watched Ben, who had his attention on the TV again. Emma gave her a sympathetic look and whispered to her, „He won’t shut up about this Jack. Trust me, you can’t win against him." Shaking her head, she leaned back into the cushions, glancing at the TV.
———
It was only after a while that Ben piped up again. „It’s snowing!“ he exclaimed happily, rushing towards the window. Cat followed her brother, climbing off the couch clumsily and running up to the window.
Ben turned to his father with big eyes and a pleading look. „Please, can we go outside? The others are probably out too!“ he begged. Mae was quite impressed at how quickly the boy’s attitude could turn around.
Mateo seemed less impressed holding up both his hands in defeat. „Fight it out with your mother kids; I don’t see a problem,“ he exclaimed, sending his wife an apologetic look.
Emma rolled her eyes at her husband and sighed tiredly. She watched Ben's eyes turn bigger than saucers and rubbed her forehead like she was feeling the beginnings of a headache.
„I could watch them,“ Mea chimed in, causing all four pairs of eyes to land on her.
Ben nodded enthusiastically. „Yes! May can take care of us. We wanted to build a snowman anyway, remember?“.
Mae glanced at him sideways for that but kept her mouth shut, if only for the beaming smile that broke out on Cat‘s face. „Can we, Mommy?“ she pleaded and squeezed her hands together.
Refusing her daughter didn’t seem like something Emma was proficient in yet, and she deflated under Catalina’s wide eyes. „Alright,“ she agreed with a sigh and a nod. Not before giving Mae a considering look, though. Once she didn’t find what she was looking for, she made a gesture with her hand that communicated something like „go ahead“ and rubbed her forehead again.
Ben and Cat broke out into happy cheers, already running into the hall to collect their things. Mae stayed behind with a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at her sister, who gave her a questioning look.
„You sure this is okay for you? You didn’t come here to babysit,“ Emma asked seriously, but Mae only smiled back confidently.
„I‘m sure. I don’t mind spending a little quality time with my niece and nephew,“ she responded, looking at the arch leading to the hallway. „Beside,“ she continued, „you did tell me to feel out the town, no?“.
Emma smiled a thankful smile and pulled her sister into a crushing hug. „You are the best little sister,“ she whispered before letting go of her. Mae nodded at Mateo, who had watched the little display with a soft smile, and got up to put her boots back on.
„Oh, Meave,“ Emma stopped her again midway. „You can wear my jacket while you’re outside. Yours is too thin for this weather,“ she said, making Mae laugh a little.
„Are you going to Mom me too from now on?“ she asked, dodging the pillow that was thrown her way only nearly. „Fine, go freeze to death if you like!“ Emma yelled after her, the laughter in her voice clear.
Mea dove into the hallway, watching another pillow follow her steps with amusement. „Real grown up‚ Em," she said, peaking from around the corner to see her sister grab another spotted pillow. She ducked back before Emma could get the chance to land it in her face and turned to Ben and Cat with a smile.
They were watching her expectantly, already dressed in their snow pants, hats, and boots, ready to go. Cat was struggling to pull on her jacket while Ben was standing beside her, eager to get outside.
„One moment, sweetheart,“ Mae told Cat and helped her get her arms through the pink jacket. Lilac footprints coiled around the whole jacket, making it look like a fox or cat had wandered all over it. Ben had a similar one in green with tiny yellow bird footprints. It was quite adorable to see them like this, and Mae smiled before putting on her sister's jacket and helping Ben and Cat put on their gloves.
Once finished, she straightened herself and looked at them both with a grin. „All done!“ she concluded and gestured for the door.
Ben all but stormed outside, closely followed by Cat, who was climbing the stairs with careful steps. Mae looked back into the hall and nodded to herself. This was going to be good, she thought before closing the door to follow the kids.