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Hel swung open the door to Mac’s room, holding a black bakery box triumphantly above her head. “MAC!” She cried. “I HAVE CA—“

The reaper blinked.

He wasn’t in here.

Hel pouted. How dare he not be around when it was convenient for her! Hrm. Hel lowered the box down, and furrowed her brows in thought. Where oh wheeere could he be? Being the creep she was, she was fairly certain he wouldn’t be out on the lake…so maybe…Hel pulled his door shut with a foot, and then clambered down the stairs, busting out into the reaper gardens.

“Maaaaaaaaaaac ~ !” She called out. “You will pet me.”

Yay! She won! She won the game of ‘find Mac’! Not that is was hard…

Hel bounded over to the boil who had fallen on his a**, and grinned down at him. “Yaaa~.” She purred. “In public.” She then snorted. “It is an expression! Like…you will pay attention to me, ya?” She put the bakery box she was carrying down near him. “I brought you a cake!” She announced, and then plopped down into the ground across from him.

She then sat on her hands.

“…Maybe.” Was all she said about that matter. She thought it was cute and clever. “Mmm…y-ya! Nothing special…” She replied. Actually…the cake was a lie. No, no…it was a ruse. She just wanted another excuse to sit next to him and open her mouth…aside from what she was about to do, which ding, ding, Mac’s suspicions were correct.

The reaper grinned a bit sheepishly as Mac asked her what she was doing and ahh, man! The way he was looking at her suspiciously said it all. Damn! She was not sly about this sort of thing. She stayed sitting on her hands though. She was set not to lay a hand on him…she was taking Gramp’s advice to heart.

“I need you to throw me a bone, okay? I need that femur.”

She was going to be good.

“Ah…a bone…erm…” Her brows furrowed. Damn, she always thought she was clear as day when she used these expressions. Apparently not. “…I need something…about how you are feeling. I need to know something. I need you to tell me something. I need you to throw the dog a bone, a femur, preferably.”

Hel shifted, only to make sure she was still firmly sitting on her hands, which she was. At his words, her eyes widened and she stared. Woah…woah. Was this really happening…was this real life? Was she really going to hear something!? This easy!? “Y-ya!” She finally uttered. “…I mean…I have only been nagging because it has been nearly seven Octobers since I first brought it up, I can not read your mind, and the elephant in the room is crushing me, okay?”

The reaper scooted closer to him, still seated on her hands.

Hel was, honestly, expecting to hear something that would help soothe her worry a lot, so as she sat and listened to him, her expression went from hopeful and excited to…loss and confusion, and worry, as well. Her brows furrowed, and while the urge to fly off the handle was there, she was keeping it under control for the sake of talking this out to reach the proper answers.

“Okay, first, I do not nag you every week! I can count on one hand when I have seriously brought up the matter to you, and I do not always have this need to bring it up, hint, or whine. It has been months in between when I have spoken to you about it!” She frowned, her stomach twisting at the thought she was somehow a lesser person in Mac’s eyes now than she used to be, and she didn’t look at all reassured or grateful for this ‘bone’. Hel slid her hands out from underneath her, though it was only to pinch the bridge of her nose, take a deep breath, and then release it.

What should she do? What should she say? Mot was right. She needed hobbies to stop her from all this worrying…

Maybe she should just…be honest.

Oh Jack, honesty.

“Alright.” She started. “…Maybe I have been over bearing, and nagging, and…a serious pain in your a** over this…but—“ She held up one finger, and looked at him. “I know you are over exaggerating it right now…and…I really am sorry, because I never purposely want to…” She struggled to find a word. “Hound…you? Bother you? It is just…” She twisted her lips. Ugh. She didn’t want to say it, she really didn’t, but maybe laying it down for him would help. “…I am…” She huffed. “…I am scared.” She looked down now. “…You do not really reassure me of anything…and well…I do not know what we have exactly…but it is something…and I just want to be assured."

She paused for a moment. “…And…I am not forgetting the things you have done for me…the few things, but it feels like for everything nice thing you say or do, you immediately follow it up with something to undermine or trash it. It is like you are dangling something wonderful in front of my face, and then you destroy it before I can touch it. What am I supposed to think? I mean, I could always assume, but what if I am assuming wrong?” The reaper let out an exasperated sound. “You are jerking my chain…and I ask that you please try and put yourself in my place for the past seven Octobers. The person you care deeply for does not give you the time of day without you nagging and pestering…would you not be anxious, worried, doubtful, uncertain…?”

Now that Hel was laying this out for herself, she could see how those feelings channeled into the nagging and the pestering and the a** riding.

Hel fell silent as Mac spoke, listening, and this was probably the most attentive to anyone she had ever been. The ghoul grimaced at one point. Oh, she shot herself in the foot huh? No surprise. She didn’t dwell on it though, and just kept up with that the boil was saying. A brief look of surprise crossed her face as he took her hand within his own, and she glanced down at their hands until focusing back on him. Oh…so he did run to get her, huh? It was pretty nice to hear that without denial or a snide comment afterwards.

After Mac finished, there was no immediate response from the ghoul. Her eyes drifted from his face to the surrounding flora and fauna, and her eyes lidded. She was thinking, though for once, what she was thinking about wasn’t apparent on her face. There was an odd feeling in her chest, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. This wasn’t the talk she had been expecting or hoping for, but at the same time, it didn’t feel like a disappointment, no, it in fact felt like quite the opposite. She took a deep breath, and then released it. Was she imagining something, or did her chest feel lighter?

After a while, she finally spoke up. “Okay.” She uttered. What she was ‘okay’ing exactly wasn’t clear right now, but she reached out with her free hand, and pulled on one of Mac’s cheeks, and then continued. “Just so that we are on the same page…” She started, her tone good-natured. “Stop saying family…and stop thinking there is gonna be a family. I do not want scarelings.” She informed him. “Also, what do you mean you want to have fun before marriage? You think the fun will stop after? You think traveling will not happen after?” She leaned and stuck her tongue out at him. “You are silly, if you think I am gonna be some non-adventurous homebody after Amityville.”

Hel let go of his cheek, and then held up three fingers to him. “A question, a deal, and a promise for you…and well, for myself too.” She held up one finger. “Question…are we dating?” She made a face. “I swear to Jack this is not me nagging…I just want to know something…some peace of mind.”

“Ooooooooh.” Well…that made sense, actually. Hel still internally cringed at the few years thing, because still, that seemed like a really long ways away…and well, Hel may change to a point, but she’d never be good at waiting. Luckily, she didn’t have time to dwell on this, as Mac answered her question. Hel sucked in a breath, and told herself don’t make a big deal of it.

Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.

“Bitchin’.” She squeaked, her voice going a little high pitched, and she was very proud of herself for not having an outburst right there, or dwelling on that with him right there.

“Oh, right.” She held up another finger. “Two, a deal for you. I swear, on my word—“ Which meant until death “That I will not pester, nag and badger you about feelings and relationships again, unless you are the first one to bring it up, if—“ She paused for a moment. “If you tell me what you were really going to say out there in the woods that one time we got side tracked.” The reaper paused again, before she added. “Do not bother getting all huffy and defensive or denying either, because ya, I did hear it, and also, I already have my suspicion as to what it is.”