Chapter Text
“I got it!” Grizz called, throwing a frisbee at Panda with all of his strength. “Think fast, bro!”
The striped bear yelped, barely managing to catch the bright red toy.
“Grizz, knock it off! We shouldn’t be messing with these in the house.”
“Nah, it’s fine! Come on, throw it back!”
“Mm…”
Panda paused to think about it. It couldn’t really hurt anything, could it?
“Okay, I guess,” he said hesitantly.
He tried to smile, letting himself get excited for the game.
“Catch!”
He attempted to imitate his older brother, throwing it as hard as he possibly could. The brown bear laughed in excitement, jumping to catch it. A loud crash sounded from the living room, and Ice Bear poked his head out of the kitchen to see what was happening. His eyes fell upon a shocked Panda, apologizing up and down as Grizz laid in a dazed stat on top of their now broken TV.
“I guess… We’re gonna need a new TV,” the eldest brother said, slowly sitting up and looking over the damage.
Panda’s laptop was pulled out as fast as the striped bear could retrieve it from his room, and the three surrounded it to look over the different models.
“Man, everything’s so expensive,” Panda bemoaned. “We don’t really need a top model, do we? Why don’t we look for something that’s close to what we had.”
“Nah, come on, little bro. If we’re getting a new one, we might as well upgrade!” Grizz insisted.
“Ice Bear would like bigger screen,” the youngest of the three said quietly.
“You got it, little bro!”
Grizz zoned in on one of the TV’s, and after some pushing and convincing, Panda folded.
“Alright, card number’s in, aaaand, purchase,” Panda said, clicking the button.
The loading screen appeared, swirling for far longer than usual. The brothers leaned in, watching the screen in anticipation until finally, a red notification popped up.
“Aww, what?” the striped bear whined. “Denied?”
“What gives?” Grizz asked. “We had money in there yesterday, didn’t we?”
“It’s not like we made any big purchases, right?” Panda asked. “Wait…”
The memory of him excitedly ordering the collector’s box set of a new manga he’d been interested in invaded his thoughts, and he smiled nervously.
“Oh yeah… Uh… I mean, that can’t have affected our money that badly, right?” he asked nervously.
“Ice Bear had to buy new vacuum.”
Their old one had been damaged when Charlie had trailed something too hefty for the poor machine to handle into their home. The noises Ice Bear had heard from the poor vacuum resembled a death rattle, it had vibrated violently, and then it died in his grasp. With the way the three bears shed fur, there was no way they could live without a vacuum.
“Oh, dang,” Grizz said. “Well, I haven’t made any big buys.”
“Really?” Panda asked.
He and Ice Bear both squinted at their brother, leaning in as he laughed sheepishly and reached to rub the back of his head. The day before, Grizz had purchased an expensive new game system. He’d been so excited that he had to show it off when he’d gotten home.
“Hey, that was for all of us!” he insisted.
“What are we gonna do?” Panda asked. “We can’t really watch things on my laptop together. The screen’s too small.”
“We’ve gotta come up with a way to make more money, and pronto,” said Grizz. “But how?”
The three brothers went silent in contemplation. Panda rubbed his temples while Grizz rocked back in his chair. Ice Bear did what Ice Bear did best: he stared at the wall in silent thought. There had been many things they’d done in the past to make money. Silly things like renting out their home to a vacation service, acting as drivers to save Daryll’s shop, Ice Bear taking on a job as a cook, and so many other opportunities. One of those memories sparked the oldest bear’s creativity.
"Wait! That's it!" Grizz shouted, throwing his paws out so quickly that he whacked both of his brothers on their sides. "Bros, I've got an idea!"
In spite of their annoyance, the two turned their attention to him. The elder brother dragged both of them outside, throwing the door to the shed open and giving a little spin as he shook his pars dramatically.
"Ta-da! We can rent out the shed!" He suggested excitedly.
Ice Bear's eyes narrowed.
"Ice bear has workshop in shed," he muttered in his usual monotone manner.
Before Panda could speak, Grizz jumped in to try and save his idea.
"No no, hear me out," he insisted. "We need money, right?"
"Right," Panda agreed hesitantly.
"Well, lots of people rent out rooms in their houses! Like, on a monthly basis. Our money problems are over!"
Grizz grinned, looking back and forth between his brothers for their approval.
“Grizz, we’ve already done that,” Panda protested. “Remember? That’s how we got stuck with Charlie.”
“No, no! That was inside the cave. Also, that was supposed to be a vacation thing,” he replied. “Think about it: consistent income every month. However much we set as the price! Then, if we have any emergencies like this, we don’t have to worry about anything!”
“Well…”
While Panda seemed to be contemplating it, Ice Bear squinted at his brother, giving an unhappy grunt.The shed was his. While his brothers had their rooms, Ice Bear slept in the fridge and used the outer building as his own space.
"Aaaand," Grizz continued. "With the money we make, we can build a new workshop. A better workshop. What do you think?"
That had Ice Bear's gears turning. He pictured a much larger, much more technologically advanced workshop where he could do maintenance on his Roomba in peace. That was enough to make him nod in agreement. He could hold off on his work for a little while if it meant he would have a better space in the future. His agreement has Grizz pumping his fist in accomplishment. Panda, on the other hand, was still thinking it through.
"But Grizz," he started. "This place doesn't even have a bathroom!"
"Whoever rents it out can use our bathroom!" Grizz replied. "Maybe after we get a couple of month's rent, we can build them a new one or something."
"They also wouldn't have a kitchen," Panda continued, motioning around the large room.
"Lil'bro could totally build a makeshift kitchen! Right?"
Ice Bear nodded. There were plenty of spare parts in the shed. It wouldn't be hard to make a tiny kitchen for someone to use. The hardest part would be the fridge.
"What about an air conditioner?" Panda asked, crossing his arms.
The weather in the Bay Area was usually nice and cool, but there were days when they were surprised with so much heat that he was worried about someone living in their shed without access to any form of cooling. Ice Bear, as per usual, didn't respond verbally. Instead, he lifted his arm to pull a remote seemingly out of nowhere, pressed a button, and a cooling system raised out of the workbench to blow chilly air into the room.
Panda went wide-eyed. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then opened and closed it again.
"You mean to tell me that’s been in here this whole time, and I still have my old AC unit?" He asked, flabbergasted.
Grizz threw his arms around both of them, bringing them in tight.
"Looks like it's decided! Let's clear everything out of here so little bro can get to work on the kitchen. Then we can list this place and get it filled!"
"I still don't know if this is a good idea," Panda admitted, his voice muffled from being squished against his brother's body.
"Don't worry about it, Pan Pan," Grizz said with a grin. "Think of it like we're making a new friend! We'll give it a try, and if it doesn't work out, we can always tell them to leave."
"Ice Bear will write binding contract."
The matter was settled. The bears got to work on their new project and within a matter of hours, the shed was cleared out. Normally, Panda and Grizz would have burnt out on cleaning within minutes. However, with the thoughts of money and a new friend on their minds, they managed. Ice Bear did his work, all the way until sundown. Eventually, the three of them sat in front of Panda's laptop.
"Okay, let's do this," Grizz said excitedly. "We got the photos?"
Ice Bear passed Panda's phone back to him, letting the black and white bear upload them to his laptop.
"Ice Bear got the best shots," he said.
"These are pretty good," Panda agreed.
"Awesome! Now uh... how much should we charge?" Grizz asked. "Like, $250?"
"Sounds kinda cheap," Panda admitted.
"$500," Ice Bear suggested.
"Mm, good enough," Grizz agreed with a shrug.
Truth be told, they’d been living in their cave for free for so long, they didn’t know the proper pricing for housing in the Bay Area. He typed in all of the needed information, only pausing to think for the next section.
"Utilities and Amenities," he muttered, squinting at the text. "What should we offer?"
"Uh, Wifi included?" Panda offered. "Oh! Electricity and water, too."
"Scenic view," Ice Bear suggested.
"Oh, good ones! And let's not forget the super cool roommates," Grizz agreed, finishing up the post. "We're live! Time to sit back and watch the applications pour in."
The three quite literally sat back, staring at the screen. Somehow, Grizz expected for them to get applications the instant their listing was live. They didn’t. Time slowly ticked away. It felt like they’d been waiting an eternity when really, only an hour had passed.
"Hey, Grizz," Panda said quietly. "I don't think anyone's gonna apply. We haven't even had any views."
"Aw, come on, Pan Pan, it's only been an hour!" Grizz said. "Maybe everyone's still at work or something."
"It's 9 pm. I don't think anyone's at--"
A soft ping noise met their ears, making all three bears perk up. A little heart icon appeared beside their listing, showing that someone had favorited it.
"See!" Grizz yelled, turning the laptop Panda's way to point at it frantically. "See! We got a like!"
"What?"
Panda grabbed the screen, tilting it back to stare down the little heart. Another ping sounded, and an instant message window popped up at the bottom of the window.
"A message!" Panda shouted. "Look! Look!"
Ice Bear yanked the screen back toward Grizz so he could see it as well.
"Hi there," Grizz began to read aloud. "My flight just arrived, and after I landed, I found out my apartment fell through. So, I'm looking for a new place to live. Are you open for me to view the room tomorrow morning? Also, is the deposit one or two month's rent? I can afford either."
"Two months up front?" Panda asked in wonder. "I didn't even think about a deposit. That's $1,000, right there!"
"Oh, heck yeah! New TV, here we come!" Grizz cheered. "I'm gonna tell them to come over."
"Wait!" Panda protested, reaching to block Grizz from typing. "Check their profile first!"
"Oh, yeah. Good idea, bro," the brown bear agreed, clicking on the person's name. "Huh. No profile photo. The account must be new. It says his name is Riley. He's 29 years old. That's pretty much all that's here. Just a name, age, and the area he's looking for."
"It feels a little sus, but we can always meet him and decide after that. He said his other apartment deal fell through, right? He probably jumped on here real quick to find a new place," Panda suggested.
Ice Bear nodded in agreement.
"Sounds good to me," Grizz said, starting to read aloud as he typed the response. "Two month's rent is the deposit. You can come over any time tomorrow. We'll give you the tour. Got a contract all ready."
He paused, looking up at Ice Bear.
"You said you got it, right little bro?"
Ice Bear silently pulled out a sheet of paper with multiple spaces for signatures on the bottom.
"Great!" He turned his attention back to the computer. "And sent!"
In a matter of minutes, the laptop gave another ping.
"Oh, he's fast," Panda noted.
"Sounds good," Grizz read aloud once more. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
The three jumped up and down with excitement, high-fiving each other. For now, everything was going according to plan.
"Let's get some rest, bros," said Grizz. "Tomorrow's a big day!"
Not that any of them could really sleep. There was a mixture of excitement and anxiety in the house. They'd never considered another person joining them there in the past. Not permanently, at least. If their money, whenever it came from, hadn't been drying up, they were pretty sure Grizz never would have suggested it. It was too late to go back on things now, and the idea of having someone else to hang out with was far too appealing to say no to. Normally, the eldest brother slept far past sunrise, but that morning he was up at the crack of dawn.
Grizz wandered into the kitchen, spotting Ice Bear already making breakfast. It didn't take long for Panda to join them. After a good meal, the three of them waited in their living room eagerly.
"Okay guys, just play it cool," Grizz insisted. "We'll just have a chat with him, show him the room, and everything will be great!"
He'd said the plan four times already, but his brothers didn't bother pointing it out. They knew how he was, and it didn't bother them. Talking things through always helped him focus. They all wanted to play it cool, but the sound of shoes crunching the leaves and gravel outside was enough to have them all up off the couch and running for the door. They threw it open, nearly toppling over each other and falling in front of the new person as they tried to greet them.
"Nice to meet y--"
Grizz stopped in his tracks, and he and his brothers stared at the person before them with wide eyes. Standing before them was an equally shocked woman with teal hair. She blinked a few times, as if to center herself, then shook her head quickly.
"Uh." She peeked down at the paper, then glanced back up at the bears. "I have... the right house, right? You guys are the ones with the room for rent?"
"I'm... confused," Panda admitted, flustered at the presence of the woman at their door.
"Yeah, we were waiting for a guy named Riley?" Grizz said, sounding more like he was questioning himself.
"That's me!" the teal-haired woman said with a nervous grin. "I'm Riley. Just…not a guy."
"Uh..."
The bears all looked over her. From her boots, to her all black attire, to her hair color, she hadn't been at all what they'd been picturing. Then again, none of them could even remember what they'd been picturing.
"Give us a second?" Grizz asked.
Riley wasn't given a chance to respond before the door slammed shut in front of her. She stiffened in surprise, then looked down at the paper she'd printed out with the address on it. Inside, the bears huddled up to talk.
"It's a girl!" Panda whisper-shouted. "I didn't know it was gonna be a girl. I--"
He nervously began to wheeze.
"I think I need my inhaler."
"Bro, calm down. It's cool," Grizz said. "Sure it's a surprise, but it's fine."
"Ice Bear likes her hair," was the pale brother's only comment on the matter.
"It's pretty cool, right?" Grizz noted.
A hesitant knock on the door called back their attention. The three of them jolted, slowly turning their gaze to it before Grizz pulled it open.
"Hey," Riley said, nervously fiddling with her fingers. "So uh... is me being a girl a problem for you guys? Like, were you looking for a guy to rent the room to, ooor..."
She trailed off, making an awkward motion with her hands.
"Should I go?"
"No!" Panda shouted, stopping himself when he realized how distressed he sounded.
"What my little brother means is, it's fine," Grizz covered. "I think we were just a little surprised because of your profile. I-I mean, unless you go by he/him! Which is totally cool."
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," she laughed. "I checked my profile on my phone when you guys freaked out. I think I might have been in too much of a hurry and selected the wrong gender. I was super panicking last night. Like, hardcore."
She paused, giving them a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, I'm kinda nervous. So anyway... the room tour?"
Riley motioned to what she assumed was the room, pointing with both of her thumbs.
"The room tour, right," Grizz agreed with a nod. "Let's go!"
The shed was only a single room, so it didn't take long for the Bear brothers to show their possible new tenant around. Grizz would point out every feature, sometimes accompanied by a comment from Panda, and Ice Bear simply followed along as he often did: Silently.
"You can use the bathroom in the main cave," Grizz said. "We'll install a private one in here later. You've got a cute little kitchen in here, but till we get you a fridge, you can use the one with us too."
"Oh, no worries," She said, waving it off. "I've got a mini fridge with a built-in freezer. So the most I'd want to keep in your place is the bigger stuff. Are you guys cool with 3 am cooking?"
"Ice Bear sleeps in fridge."
"I see," Riley replied. "Makes sense. I'll make sure anything I need late at night is already in here. It's all good."
She was only given a nod in response.
"Don't talk much, do ya big guy?"
Ice Bear shook his head.
"That's okay. I'm cool with just vibing. So your name’s Ice Bear?"
Her attentiveness surprised Ice Bear, and a small shiver ran through him. Not many people referred to him by name. His brothers simply called him "bro" or "little bro," and others usually talked to him without actually calling out to him. Or they made up new names for him. He was usually focused on the least out of his louder, more attention-seeking brothers. Chloe was always alright with his quiet nature, as was Ranger Tabes. A lot of other people found him a bit unnerving if he wasn't performing some sort of skill for them. It was a nice change. He managed to nod, watching her carefully.
"Cool," Riley said with a smile. "And what about you guys? What are your names?"
The teal-haired woman turned her attention to the other two. Funny, they hadn't realized they hadn't introduced themselves yet. They'd been so thrown off by the surprise of her arrival.
"I'm Grizz," the grizzly said, wrapping his arm around Panda. "And this is my little brother, Pan Pan."
"Hi," the other said with an awkward wave. "I'm Panda."
"So Ice Bear, Grizz, and Panda," she repeated, motioning to each brother. "Easy enough to remember! Just one last question for you."
"Shoot," Grizz agreed.
"How is the wifi connectivity out here? You said in your listing that it was included with the price of rent, right? I actually work from home, online. So I need a good connection."
"Best connection," Ice Bear answered.
"Yeah, it's pretty good out here," Panda agreed. "I've looked up a lot of stuff on Cellie while I've been out here."
"Cellie?" Riley asked.
"My... my cell phone," Panda replied, wiggling his cell phone in the air with an embarrassed laugh.
"Cute! I name my devices sometimes too. So!" Riley opened her arms, wiggling them a bit as she rocked back and forth from the balls of her feet to her heels. "You guys have any questions for me before we commit to this?"
"Do you like Anime?" Panda asked, before he could stop himself. "What's your star sign? And your favorite color?"
"Oh! And your favorite food!" Grizz added. "Do you like action movies?"
"Hobbies?" Ice Bear asked.
"Wow, uh, not the questions I was expecting," Riley admitted in surprise. "But, yeah I watch anime sometimes. My favorite color is blue. My favorite food... That one's hard. Probably a tie between smoked salmon and Irish Stew, but I'm a sucker for soups, sandwiches, and sushi. Yes, I like action movies. My favorite genres are Fantasy, Sci-Fy, and Horror, but I'll try almost anything once. And as for my hobbies, I'm a writer, but there’s lots of other stuff I’ve been itching to get into."
She was given a resounding “ooooh” from both Grizz and Panda. While Ice Bear was silent, he showed his interest by mimicking the motion his brothers made of leaning forward and nodding. They all looked to each other in approval before Grizz pulled both of his brothers into a bear huddle.
"Okay, guys, what are we thinking?"
"She seems cool," Panda whispered. "Maybe she'd watch my shows with me! She's got anime protagonist hair, after all."
"I have no idea what that means," Grizz admitted, turning to Ice Bear instead. "What about you, little bro?"
Ice Bear took a moment to think about it, then nodded in approval.
Riley tilted her head to the side, standing on her tip-toes as though it would help her see what they were talking about. It didn't, of course. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long for their answer. The three straightened up, and Grizz cleared his throat.
"It's unanimous! If you'd like to live here, we'd love to have you as our tenant."
"Well, half tennant, half roomie," Panda laughed nervously. "Since you'll be using our bathroom and stuff."
It was such a weird thing to think about. There would be a girl living with them, using their bathroom. The more the striped bear thought about it, the more he wondered if he’d finally found a girl to be his soul mate. Different fantasies of them growing closer flashed through his mind, making him give a dopey grin. Things seemed to line up far too perfectly. Maybe it was meant to be! Panda just hoped that three bears and a woman sharing the bathroom wouldn't make it too crowded. There were times when he and Grizz fought over it all on their own. How would another person work when thrown into the mix?
"Great," Riley said, pulling Panda from his thoughts. "I'm ready to sign the contract when you are. And--"
She pulled an envelope out of her bag, holding it out to the three of them.
"I've got deposit here."
Grizz took the envelope while Ice Bear presented the contract for her to sign. She was given a pen, but she quickly realized she had nothing to write on. The work table had been removed in favor of the tiny kitchen, but the main space for cooking was still covered with a few boxes.
"Mind turning around?" she asked, giving him a little motion with her finger.
Ice Bear glanced around, making sure it was him she was talking to, then silently turned as she’d asked. He nearly jumped when he felt the paper press against his back, and then her form as she leaned in to sign her name.
"Done!"
Riley pulled away, leaving Ice Bear conflicted about how he felt about her being that close to him. But she presented him the paper, and he took it.
"You guys think I can move in tomorrow?" Riley asked. "The only hotel I could book is pretty expensive. They weren't even sure they could keep me tonight. I've gotta go back and see if they can put me up in a different room."
"Why don’t you stay with us?" Grizz suggested.
"Couch is comfortable," Ice Bear agreed, surprising Panda. Normally, the pale bear wasn't into the idea of anyone but Chloe crashing at their place.
"You sure the couch is okay?" he asked.
"I mean, you could always give her your room," Grizz joked, elbowing Panda. "Like that time you slept in mine to give little bro yours."
The memory alone was enough to bring a deep frown to Panda's face. Try as she might not to, Riley couldn't help but laugh. Had he not been so unhappy about it, he would have been embarrassed at the idea of a woman sleeping in his bed.
"Oh, no, it's okay. I don't mind sleeping on the couch," the teal-haired woman said, patting her bag. "All of my stuff is in here. Packed for a few days just in case it took me a while to find something. All of my other stuff can be delivered from storage tomorrow."
Storage was even more spendy than a fancy hotel room.
"Cool! It's settled, then," Grizz noted, motioning for her to follow them into the house. "Come on, let's get you all set up."
Not that there was much set-up involved. All it took was spreading out some blankets and sheets on the couch. Riley didn't hesitate to flop face-first into it, savoring the feeling of finally getting to relax. She almost wanted to go to sleep right then and there. However, she wanted to get to know her new roommates and landlords better.
"Is the couch okay?" Panda asked again.
"Yeah! It's great," Riley replied as she rolled onto her back. "Sorry. I've just been on my feet a lot over the past week. Moving states is a lot harder now."
"Now?" Grizz asked, leaning on the arm of the couch. "You moved before?"
"Multiple times," she said with a laugh. "Born here in Cali, then to Vegas, then back to Cali, to Florida, South Carolina, Washington, Florida, and then here again."
All three brothers went wide-eyed at her travels. They'd done their fair share of traveling while looking for a permanent home, so they couldn't judge her, but it was still a surprise.
"The older you get, the more stuff you pick up along the way. This is my first time moving states with actual furniture. My previous roomie was gonna move here with me, but some stuff happened, and he wound up having to go more south. We’re gonna see if he can come up here later, but he has actual job security down there and there’s… some people I want to avoid.”
"Why avoid?" Ice Bear asked.
"Eh." She waved her hand in the air in a so-so motion. "It's complicated. I don’t really want to get into it right now."
He merely nodded in response, as he tended to do.
The group chatted for a while longer before the bears retired for the evening. Riley wasn't sure how this would go long-term, but for now, she enjoyed being there. The single bathroom was pretty decent, the couch was cozy, and when she paused to look out the window, she enjoyed the sight of the moon shining into the trees.
The quiet of the woods wasn't something she was used to. Normally she went to bed with some sort of white noise, but for now she had nothing. At least, not at first. The more she listened, the more she could hear the hum of the fridge in the kitchen, and the soft sound of Grizz snoring in his room. The walls were thick, and she could only hear it through the door. The sound was dampened enough to be background noise for her, helping ease her to sleep.