Chapter Text
Steepdom was a small town on the outskirts of the Roseville-Maraschino Metropolitan Area. It was most famous for being the home of Steepdom State University, one of the big three universities in the area, the other two being the University of Roseville and Ivyshire University.
As the sun rose on the town its rays shone through the apartment of one Lucy Whitecat, who was a student at Steepdom State and a part time worker at one of the local cafes. This woke up the Khao Manee, who sat up straight with groggy eyes.
As she got up, she saw someone out of the corner of her eyes. This was her sort of friend Michael, typically just referred to as Mike. Mike had just broken up with his girlfriend Sandy, causing him to come to Lucy, apologized for being a bad friend all those years ago, revealed he still had feelings for her, and then they did it on her couch and bed all night long. It was like a dream come true for Lucy.
Now Lucy looked over the sleeping Mike, admiring him. It had been so long since they had at last seen each other but the goofy haircut that Sandy gave him aside, he was still as cute as she remembered him back in High School.
Alas the admiring was interrupted by the sound of Mike's phone ringing. Lucy, due to being half-deaf only heard it faintly but it was enough for her to notice, causing her to look and see who was calling. It was Sandy.
Lucy's smile fell, knowing how this was going to go. Her eyes looked down, disappointed her fairy tale was coming to an end so soon, as she said, “Mike… Wake up…”
Mike slowly got up and sat up, turning around and picking up the phone, but still having his ass firmly on the bed. Meanwhile Lucy fell back down on the bed, sulking and closing her eyes to avoid crying. Thinking to herself, “Come on, Lucy. You know how this song and dance goes. Not your first time. They'll start talking, she will take him back, he will forgive her, and you will be left... He will go, any second now. You stupid, stupid girl.”
Instead Lucy faintly heard Mike mumble something, before he slid completely back into bed.
“Why isn't he getting up?” Lucy thought to herself, she waited a little bit more but nothing happened, Mike didn't leave the bed, and she didn't hear him and Sandy talking either. Finally Lucy sat up and saw Mike had gone back to sleep and his phone was on her nightstand, turned off.
Lucy just stayed still, totally stunned at what she was seeing. She even blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating, but no her eyes were not deceiving.
Lucy just stood there for about five minutes before she shook herself to focus. Night of passion or not, Lucy still had university classes this morning she had to attend.
As a result Lucy got out of bed, careful to not disturb Mike's sleep. Lucy then started getting dressed, putting on a gray T-shirt and some pants, and once that was done she went to the kitchen to make herself a quick breakfast.
Lucy's breakfast was simple, just some toast and coffee, not like she needed much, she was always more of a lunch and dinner person.
As they waited for her toaster to toast the bread and the coffee to be made, Lucy thought about what had just transpired. It appeared that Mike had hung up on Sandy and decided to stay with her, but Lucy couldn't believe it. “He's just too tired to talk to Sandy right now,” Lucy thought. Once she went to class Mike would wake up, call Sandy, and then leave, Lucy knew it. The thought almost made her want to cry, but the Khao Manee kept at bay.
Eventually her breakfast finished cooking and Lucy applied butter to her toast before sitting down at the wooden table in the kitchen. She ate the toast and drank her coffee, which was mocha mint.
Once she was done Lucy got up, washed off the cup and plate and headed out the door.
Before she left, however, Lucy wrote a sticky note and placed it on the wooden table for Mike, along with a set of spare keys, so he could lock the door behind him. As Lucy took one last look at the keys, she knew them and Mike would be gone before she got back.
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A few hours later, Lucy was in her mathematics university class trying to focus on her studies but to no avail. She could not stop thinking about how stupid she was for opening up to Mike again, letting him have her heart and body, sure he did appear to decline Sandys call, but he was just tired, Richter or wherever Sandy lived was on the west coast right? So yeah Mike was probably just jetlagged, not to mention their actions the previous night made him even more tired. Once Mike woke up he would be gone and…
“Lucy, please pay attention,” Someone in a light posh British accent said, interrupting her thoughts.
Lucy blinked and saw her professor, a black cat with red eyes, named Damien Thorn shooting a glare in her direction. Lucy gulped and then quickly said, “Sorry, professor.”
The professor just slightly nodded and went back to teaching, leaving Lucy quite embarrassed.
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At around 11 AM in Lucy's apartment, the Korat known as Michael Scott gingerly opened his eyes. He slid his legs out of bed and rubbed his eyes trying to remember everything that happened. As he looked around the unfamiliar bedroom, the memories of what happened last night flooded back in.
Sandy had broken up with him, choosing her career over him. In the grief of it all he went to Lucy's, after getting her location from Lucy's mom, Lucy let him in, and things escalated, and then Sandy called in the morning, presumably to try and get him back, but Mike, tired of her old song and dance just turned off his phone and went back to bed. Mike felt bad about what had transpired with Lucy, after all he only went to her for advice, and wondered what that made them now. Mike thought he heard Lucy say something about how she never stopped loving him, but he probably just imagined that, after all, why would she still love him after everything that happened?
“Speaking of which, where is Lucy?” Mike thought, before replying to himself, “She probably wanted to avoid a conversation.”
Mike slowly got up, and quickly discovered he was quite a mess at the moment, and decided to take a cold shower. “Hopefully, Lucy won't mind,” He thought.
Mike exited the bedroom and looked around, trying to find the bathroom. When he looked down the hall, he found it and began walking towards it, and once inside he shut the door behind him.
The Korat took a look around the bathroom. It was small, just enough room for a sink, a toilet, and a small shower. There wasn't much, only the bare necessities, one towel hanging on a rack, one toothbrush and toothpaste tube on the sink, and one deodorant. This made sense to Mike as Lucy's mom had told him Lucy lived alone.
Mike entered the shower and closed the shower curtains, not wanting water to spill onto the floor or wanting Lucy to see him if she came back and went to the bathroom. Then he turned on the cold water and started showering.
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A couple of minutes later, Mike left the bathroom wearing a towel around his waist. The cold shower had cleaned him up and refreshed him. Upon exiting, Mike called out, “Lucy, are you here?”
This got no response, so Mike knew that Lucy still isn't back yet.
Mike walked back into the bedroom, wanting to get his clothes only to realize they weren't there. “Right,” Mike said under his breath, now remembering he left them in the living room.
So, the Korat headed to the living room, finding that both his and Lucy's clothes were still all over the place. Mike sighed and quickly got his clothes, a navy blue jacket, a red T-shirt, and a pair of jeans, before finally putting them on.
With that out of the way, Mike went back to the bathroom and hung up his towel.
Exiting the bathroom, Mike walked back into the living room, wondering what the hell he was going to do. It was then out of the corner of his eyes that Mike saw the glint of a metal key.
Michael turned to face them and saw they were on a small wooden table in the kitchen next to a blue sticky note. He walked into the kitchen and picked up the note, which read, “Hey Mike, I had a university class this morning, I will be back at 12:30, there is not much food but help yourself to breakfast, and here is a spare key so you can lock the door behind you.
-Lucy”
Upon finishing reading it Mike thought to himself, “Well, what time is it?”
He looked at the oven clock and saw it was 11:25, prompting Mike to think, “Well, it's a bit too late for breakfast now, and considering all the disruption I have caused Lucy, I can at least make her lunch when she gets back, would be the least I can do.”
As a result of this decision, Mike went to check out what Lucy had. Opening her fridge, Mike found some leftover pasta, some milk, and an old Burgertron burger that smelled so bad Mike promptly threw it out. Checking the cupboards Mike didn't find much either, just some cereal, bread, and a bag of peanuts.
“Jeez, Lucy is frugal,” Mike thought.
Mike could just warm up the pasta when Lucy got home, but no that won't do. He needed to cook her some real food, the only question is what?
He had to cook and eat alone a lot when he was with Sandy, so he knew quite a few recipes. After much debate he decided he was going to cook Lucy one of the first recipes he ever came up with, the salmon burger and French fries, the only issue was where to get the ingredients.
The Korat walked back to the bedroom and picked up his phone. Turning it on, he saw Sandy had called him two more times before stopping, clearly getting the message. He went to maps and looked up where the closest grocery store was. It was thankfully nearby, only two blocks down.
With that Mike put his phone in his pocket and checked his other pocket to make sure his wallet was still there, he was thankfully not completely financially dependent on Sandy, and still had enough money left to buy ingredients for the burger and fries, though the plane ticket to Roseville had cost him a lot of money. Regardless Mike quickly was out the door on his way to the store.
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At around 12:30 Lucy arrived back at her apartment. The Khao Manee walked up the stairs of the building and put her keys in the doorknob and turned them, unlocking the door. Going inside Lucy was hit by the most wonderful smell.
Very curious to where it was coming from, Lucy looked where the smell was coming from and saw Mike cooking something in the kitchen with a pot that was boiling and a large pan. Lucy blinked in disbelief, “He's still here?”
Lucy walked into the kitchen, and asked, “Mike, is that you?”
The Korat turned around and said, “Oh, Lucy your back! Just in time! About to finish making lunch.”
Lucy felt kind of weirded out now, “Is this still the same Mike?”
Regardless, she then said, “I thought you would be leaving some time later, that's why I left the spare key and note on the table.”
As he stirred the pot, Mike said, “I saw the note, but why would I leave?”
“You talked with Sandy in the morning, no?”
Mike looked at her with a confused look and said, “No, I didn't? I turned off the phone and went back to sleep, before waking up around eleven.”
Lucy just stared at Mike, totally taken off guard by what she was hearing. Mike on the other hand finally seemed to understand what the Khao Manee was thinking, and quickly said, “Lucy, I am not going back to Sandy.”
“Why?” Lucy asked, wondering what made this time any different.
Mike sighed, and said, “I’ll explain later, I need to finish cooking first.”
“Understood,” Lucy replied.
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About ten minutes later, Mike finished cooking the burger and fries. He put the patty on the seasoned bun, before adding tomato slices, lettuce, and pickles on it before adding his lemon and honey sauce to it. Finally he put the crispy fries on the plate and repeated the process for the other plate.
Mike picked up the plates and set them on the table, one where he was going to sit, another where Lucy was sitting. “Dig in,” Mike said as he sat down.
Lucy gingerly picked up the steaming burger, wanting to ask Mike some questions, but the burger did look delicious, so she took a bite. The rich, tender flavor exploded in her mouth, prompting her to say, “Holy shit, Mike, this is amazing.”
“Aw, really? Thanks, I haven’t had the chance to eat this with anyone before, So I didn’t really know how good it was,” Mike said, clearly touched by what Lucy said.
“No, Mike this is the bomb,” Lucy said as she took another bite.
As they continued eating, Lucy asked, “So why aren’t you going back to Sandy?
“She’s done this whole song and dance, like what? At least twice at this point first when I was sixteen with Francis and then again when I was nineteen over… I forget what exactly, something to do with alcohol, Sandy promises she’s going to change and she changes a little bit for like six months and then goes back to her old ways,” Mike said, sounding somewhat bitter.
Mike continued speaking, “So you know what? You’re right Lucy I am going to spend my efforts on people who actually care, like my friends.”
Lucy smiled at Mike with a mixture of happiness and shock. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing but it seemed like Mike had genuinely changed.
“Unfortunately I was pretty financially dependent on Sandy, and what little money I have comes from my parents and that part-time photographer job I had for a few months a year ago. I’ll probably stay with my parents until I can find myself a job,” Mike said before taking another bite of his burger.
Before Lucy could think about what she was going to say, she said, “You can stay with me, Mike.”
Mike chewed and swallowed his burger before lightly chuckling and saying, “You like my cooking that much, huh?”
“I guess, besides having a roommate wouldn’t be bad,” Lucy said somewhat awkwardly, a slight blush on her face.
They ate for a bit in silence before Lucy recalled something from the start of their conversation, and asked, “Wait, who’s Francis? You mentioned him.”
“Some hairdresser that Sandy cheated on me with back in the day, you should have seen the freak out I had when I found out,” Mike light chuckled at the end, though there was a twinge of shame in his voice.
“And you still went back to her?” Lucy asked despite knowing the answer.
“Yep, shouldn’t have, I won’t now,” Mike replied quietly.
“Wow, sorry that happened,” Lucy said sympathetically.
“Don’t be I got what I deserved, besides it doesn’t matter anymore,” Mike said, sounding somewhat sad.
Lucy wanted to argue that no one deserved to get cheated on, but she didn’t want to start an argument with Mike so soon after their reunion so she kept quiet. After that they ate the rest of their delicious lunch in silence.
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Once they finished with their lunch, Mike and Lucy got up and put their plates in the sink. Mike tried to start washing them but was stopped by Lucy shoving him out the way and saying, “Don’t worry I’ll do it, Mike.”
“Lucy, please-” Mike began but was cut off by Lucy glaring at him saying, “Mike, I insist.”
Mike obeyed and simply watched as Lucy quickly washed off the dishes and put them in the dishwasher before putting the pot he used to fry the fries and pan to soak. Once Lucy finished she asked, “So what do you want to do now, afraid there's not much to do around here.”
Mike didn’t have any idea, but before he could get too much, Lucy said, “Oh the Steepdom fall fair is going on right now, if you want to check it out.”
Mike nodded and said, “Sure, let's go, I have never been.”
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“Lucy, please let me cook-”
“NO, Michael, you cooked for lunch and you're tired, let me just warmup the pasta.”
“Fine.”
Mike and Lucy had just arrived back at the apartment after going to the fair. They had a wonderful time at the fair. Playing all sorts of games, laughing, talking about nothing in particular and even an admittedly awkward dance. It reminded them a lot of what they were like before Lucy moved away all those years ago.
With that very minor argument out of the way, Lucy put the leftover pasta in the microwave and set it to reheat for one minute and thirty seconds. Sure, enough when the time allotted ended the microwave beeped. Lucy quickly took out the pasta, moving to get plates, only to see Mike had already gotten plates for her. “Aw, thank you,” Lucy said, only for Mike to reply, “No problem, Lucy.”
Lucy quickly scooped the pasta onto the plates with a spoon, before getting two forks and giving one of the plates to Mike. They sat down and started eating in silence.
They did so for about five minutes until Mike heard a ring and vibration coming from his phone. “God damn it, that's the ninth time today.”
Lucy also faintly heard the ringing and asked, “Is Sandy calling again?”
“Yep,” Mike replied, having already taken the phone out of his pocket. He debated hanging up the phone again, but he decided Sandy deserved an answer, regardless of how their relationship turned out.
“Let me take it real quick,” Mike said, standing up.
“Okay, it's fine,” Lucy said calmly, though she was a little nervous that Sandy would sweet talk Mike into coming back again.
Now out in the living room, Mike pressed the green accept button. Lucy watched, not eating her pasta and observing the best she could to the call, though she could not hear what Sandy was saying.
Sandy spoke first, with Mike quickly stealing a glance at Lucy before replying, “Staying at a hotel in Steepdom, why?”
Sandy said something, which prompted Mike to reply, “Didn't know how to break the news of our breakup to my parents yet.”
Whatever Sandy said next caused Mike to say in a surprised tone, “Really you're in Roseville? You're staying with my parents?!”
This caused Lucy's heart to sink a little, but she kept her spirits high, surely this wouldn't be enough to cause Mike to go back to Sandy, right?
What Sandy said next sounded quite desperate, though Lucy could not make what she was saying. Regardless of what it was, it caused Mike to reply in an annoyed and somewhat angry tone, “No, Sandy I am not coming over there unless you tell me what it is.”
Whatever Sandy said after that, caused an immediate shift in Mike. Lucy saw his eyes widened in shock and then they lost their spark as all semblance of happiness just drained out from his body. Mike replied in a tone that was resigned and despondent yet trying to sound happy, “Oh, that's great Sandy, I'll fetch a taxi and be on my way.”
Upon hearing those words, Lucy's spirits collapsed and her eyes fell, trying to stop her from bursting out into tears right then and there.
Mike hung up the phone call and looked at Lucy. He recognized her face from so many years ago, from that one December night where he idiotically tore her heart to shreds. He began speaking in a sad voice, “Lucy… I am so so sorry, but I have to go back, Sandy is pregnant.”
Upon hearing this Lucy looked at the Korat and said in a voice that indicated deep sadness, “Oh, oh okay, please go back I understand.”
Mike moved to comfort Lucy but was caught by surprise when she jumped up and hugged him. Mike quickly returned the hug and they stood there silently, trying to soak up each other's embrace and warmth for the last time.
Eventually they broke apart and Mike called an Uber. Five minutes later the Uber arrived. Mike and Lucy shared one last embrace, with Mike saying in a distraught tone, “I'm sorry, Lucy.”
Lucy replied in an equally despondent tone, “Don't be Michael.”
They broke away and stared at each other for a few seconds, those green and blue eyes looking at each other.
Finally Mike walked out the door, but Lucy walked out with him. She looked at Michael as he descended down the stairs of the apartment and walked to the Uber. Mike opened the door, but before he entered, he looked back at Lucy. They stared at each other for what they knew was most likely going to be the last time. Eventually the driver called on Mike to get in and he did so, closing the door to the car and the potential future he had. Lucy just stared as the silver car drove away with Mike inside of it.
Gradually Lucy moved back into her apartment and closed the door behind her.
As soon as she did so, the Khao Manee broke down sobbing. As she bawled her eyes out, sitting down at the door, she thought about how unfair it all was. Both her and Mike wanted to be together, but no, Sandy had to get pregnant and drag Mike back as a result. Why did this have to happen? Why did it seem like God was always trying to screw her over?!
After about a solid fifthteen minutes of crying Lucy picked herself up. “It's okay,” she told herself. “Nothing has changed, life will go on as usual.”
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Mike felt a deep sense of despair as the Uber drove away from Lucy's apartment with him inside of it. They had come so so close to being together, he had come so close to breaking free of Sandy, and here it was, being dragged right back to her. The whole thing made Mike want to cry, but he sucked it up. He had to remain strong and put this little tryst with Lucy behind him, not only for Sandy but for his kitten who was about to be born.
Mike finally looked out the window for the first time since leaving Lucy's apartment and saw the Taxi was now on the southern highway to Roseville, meaning he was only about thirty minutes away from seeing Sandy again.