With Timmy now fully satisfied and rewarded with plenty of hugs and pets, the two lovemammals decided to not try their luck once more and stayed upstairs, together relocating to the play room to hopefully camp out the rest of the day.

A task made that much easier with Maddy backtracking to get the snacks they left behind before some force of nature or another would've nibbled them out of existence, and to get some of that fancy newfangled 'coffee' thing for Riley to finally try.

Old people these days and the silly things they come up with.

The scent perked her up from the half laying position she had managed to contort herself into, forcing her to sit up as Maddy placed the two cups down, the aroma of the weasel's own mild tea utterly drowned out.

It smelled... complex. There was the smooth, nutty-ish, almost electric scent of the coffee itself underneath everything else, faint memory of oversmelling it in the orphanage soon obscured by everything else that accompanied it.

Such as the sweetness of caramel or fullness of cream, the combined fragrances making her shiver after she brought the cup up under her nose to take a deeper sniff.

And then grunt in pain after her body subconsciously reacted incorrectly to a nose itch.

After thankfully managing to set the cup back down without wasting any of the precious fluid by horribly burning her body with it, Riley leaned on Maddy's shoulder once more, grumbling slightly as she pain from her right arm slowly mellowed out.

The larger girl wrapping her arm and tail around the smaller one and diligently treating her to one entire chip may have had something to do with the aching fading faster as well.

Conclusions uncertain, need to repeat the experiment.

As Maddy right paw continued stuffing her girlfriend one chip at a time, the other reached over for the remote and turned on the TV, about ready to zone out to some more fluff, she noticed the gamepad laying on the other end of the table, the idea creeping up on her before she spoke out-

"Down to play something?"

Riley tilted her head to look up at her, a blank expression dotted with a couple slow blinks her only response in addition to slowly wiggling her shoulder to draw attention to the fact that, in fact, she was still wearing a cast.

"Plenty of games you could play one handed. But yeah, probably not with the weaker hand, can't imagine that being fun. So, uh, lemme try again then- down to watch me play something?"

The answer came much easier this time, with Riley leaning back on the couch as Maddy got up to take a look at the available selection of electronic products of various levels of entertainment before choosing the one which probably offered it the least.

"Heard all about this one but never quite got a chance to try it out, let's take a look..."

***

"Why do people play this bull- agh!"

Maddy had to concentrate her everything to not toss the controller at a nearby something, instead just laying it down on the table and serving Riley to one more chip, one per death as was promised.

Couple more play sessions like that and the human would make a complete recovery from being underweight.

A couple more and she'd be on her way to break new horizons and become the first ever person with a three digit BMI.

The weasel girl got up with a loud groan and made her way back to the console, flickering the lights on on her way as the sun began its early descent, almost throwing the disk at a nearby wall before replacing it with something else, having just enough clarity of the mind to not deliberately confuse the boxes out of spite.

"Let's try an actually good game for once, get ready to watch a maestro at her art~"

"Does it mean a chip every time you don't die instead?"

"Oh shush."

Riley giggled to herself and drank some more of the rapidly depleting soda as Maddy made her way back to the couch and pulled her into another side hug, thinking for a moment afterwards before outright lifting the smaller girl onto her lap, peeking out from behind her shoulder to see the screen at all.

Despite the moment of surprise at the change in elevation, Riley didn't mind at all, relaxing back into Maddy's soft fur and everything else as she looked up at the screen and two digital characters calmly introducing themselves to each other before proceeding the beat the crud out of each other.

The spectacle was definitely entertaining to witness, even as just an inconspicuously snacking spectator, letting Riley peace out against Maddy after finally exhausting the immediate supply of junk food, the garden gnome sized bundle of cloth and casts unable to help falling into a highly dangerous behaviour right away-

Namely, thinking.

Thinking so much that eventually, despite focusing most of her immediate attention at not being combo'd to death by an overtuned AI, even the weasel noticed in not too long, Riley's eyes becoming unfocused as she faced the TV on the wall in front of them, prompting her to pause, the act thankfully making the human snap out of her trance.

"You alright Riley?"

"Y-yeah, yeah, just spaced out there." Riley shook off the nasty act of thinking, trying to blink the immediate surge of sleepiness away.

"I noticed. Still tired?"

"Well, yeah, can't deny, just was more thinking than anything really." With a tiny bit of core strength, Riley leaned further forward, letting her stretch a bit without inadvertently clocking Maddy with her one good hand.

"What about?"

"Just... all that happened past couple weeks, so much of it."

"I dunno whether continuing to think about it is a good idea..." Maddy had a bit of worry in her voice, even if she knew full well that her own advice was a very vague one, hard not to think about traumatic events like that after all, mostly just not wanting to see Riley bring herself down so soon after getting out of that stuffy, sterile place.

"What? Oh no no, not about that, more so just everything else before it. It's been a lot."

As much as the other girl's worries might have been put to rest with a response like that, she wasn't entirely sure what Riley meant either, tilting her head as she looked down at her.

"The whole adoption process, right? Imagine that took forever to get sorted out, yeah..."

"Hah, quite a bit less so than you'd think. Just more so... meeting everyone, getting to know them, and all the little things inbetween, like- hell, just this is a good example, us just chilling while you get destroyed."

"Oi, haha. I guess I get it though, would imagine the orphanage wasn't the most eventful place around?"

"That's putting it lightly. I can recall more things from the past couple weeks than the entire year prior now that I think about it."

"Sheesh. Everything... else aside that sounds really boring."

"You've got no idea. I've had whole weeks blend into one another, to the point where I forgot what month it was a couple times." Riley admited offhandedly, even chuckling at the recollection, Maddy's eyes going wide right behind her.

"Jeez. I mean, I can't say that the middles of school semesters don't get monotonous in their own right, but that sounds downright cruel- was there really nothing to do there?"

"There was school of course, uh... yeah, more so just a couple teachers than a whole separate building or anything, and the place had a library too but not a whole ton of children's books or any drawing materials and all, so it was rather miserable as well. Some of the older boys especially just fucking loved to vandalize everything that was even somewhat usable they could get their hands on, so stuff like balls or skip rope didn't survive long either."

"Wow, that's just... really awful of them. Why would they do something like that when the place was as awful as it was already?"

Riley shrugged weakly, that particular mystery being one she resigned herself away from ever being able to crack.

"Maybe just want to make others even more miserable? Or posture to show they own the place or something. I don't know, guys are weird." Riley leaned further back on Maddy once more, sighing to herself, but remaining a bit tense now that the subject of school had come up.

Her response made Maddy think back to some other troublemakers she had ran into in her own time, paw subconsciously reaching over for the snacks only to find the bowl long since emptied, internally groaning in despair before making a mental note to get up to refill the bowl once an opportunity were to present itself. It would have to wait a bit though, the tension in Riley's back leaning on her definitely noticeable.

"Are you cold Riley?" The weasel girl hazarded a guess, humans obviously needed a bit more clothing than anthros after all, though Riley was already wearing something long sleeved on top of a shirt so that might have not been it, unless the heating inside broke and she hadn't noticed until now.

"Wh-what? No no, not at all." Riley immediately tried to overcompensate as she shrugged it aside, forcibly relaxing her shoulders to middling success before attempting to change the subject.

"So, gonna continue beating up their faces?"

Maddy looked down over at the controller she had put down, before glancing back up at Riley.

"Just feels like something's up, is all." She grabbed the controller afterwards and tried to resume her gameplay, but kept a closer eye on Riley, the other girl managing to keep her cohesion for about fifteen seconds before dropping the act, there wasn't much of a point in trying to hide it now, especially not from Maddy.

"It's just... dunno how to really explain it."

"Take your time then, we ain't rushing anywhere after all."

"Me most of all, hah." Riley chuckled at her own joke, the smile blowing off before she sighed deeply and broke the ice once more-

"So... what's the process of catching up with the school like?" She finally muttered out, Maddy well into another match as the words reached her furry ears, split attention making her respond with a question herself.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"What do you mean? I guess your parents have already signed you up for our school, only one big one around so me and Andrew and Lily and like everyone else around goes there, and you'll probably just hop right in on the semester starts."

"Well yeah, I would've guessed that, more so meant, uh... catching up with the school material and all."

The response made Maddy's eyebrow perk up together with a light smile and a glance over at Riley, at least before an uppercut to the jaw of her digital avatar snatched her attention back.

"There are some catchup classes for struggling students through the semester- I know because I've been helping out in them- so there's no big fear about being behind on your classes or something, don't worry Riley." Before her attention was so violently yanked away by the video game being played, Maddy tried to put on a calming expression, definitely not wanting the girl on her lap to worry about small things like that-

"Even if it's a year behind?"

-though that might not have been that small of a thing.

The sheer surprise made Maddy pause her game and look back at Riley as the latter gulped quietly, somewhat afraid that the response she's been dreading was gonna come to fruition right in front of her.

Or more accurately right behind her.

"That's... a fair bit, can't deny that yeah. Have you brought it up to your parents yet?" Maddy asked calmly despite her surprise, definitely helping preemptively calm Riley's nerves as she shook her head.

"N-nah. H-haven't really spoken to them about anything school related yet, not exactly looking forward to it either." Riley begrudgingly admitted, shuddering weakly.

"Though, guess they would've had a look at your school records and all, and so would our school, so it would probably not be all bad? I doubt everyone's suddenly gonna wake up two days before the new semester and be surprised you're behind and all. Though..."

The continued reassurance did help quell some of the worry building up inside Riley at yet again making herself a bother on the family- and now also on the school she was gonna go to, though the latter understandably made her much less concerned.

"...I can't say I'm not curious as to how'd you end up missing a whole year. D-don't have to tell if you don't want to or anything, just I am quite curious and all."

Riley sighed, Maddy's curiosity not at all hard to understand, even if actually admitting to the cause was much more embarrassing now that people actually cared about her.

Funny thing it was. Three weeks ago and she would not only gladly admit to having skipped a whole year of school, but even rub it in people's faces when they tried heckling her for it- which they did, a lot, especially the administration, at least for a few months before they gave up and just left her to her own devices.

Though, guess that was the difference between engaging in self destructive behaviour for fun and to rub it in people's faces, and actually having to face its consequences and admit to it to people that, for once, were genuinely interested in her well being.

What a concept.

"It wasn't some big deliberate thing or anything is the fun part... well, not really fun, but maybe unexpected I guess. More so just, one day I woke up earlier, was thinking ahead to another day in the school, dreading it, not seeing the point in it, and just... didn't bother going. Got an earful from the admins, and did it again the next day. And next, and next, and basically that was it, spent my time loitering around, trying to get some money on the side, practiced some punches against a bag, and that was it. Nothing too thrilling, really boring even, but still managed to be better than sitting in class."

When put like that, it sounded less miserable than how it felt like at the time, the sheer hopelessness with no end in sight making her at times spend entire days in bed, barely moving and definitely not living-

Before Riley could ponder upon it any more and put the old misery under the spotlight, the hug coming from behind did derail her train of thought, the sudden warmth succeeding in making her relax that bit more under Maddy's embrace, worried expression being replaced with a soft smile.

"That sounds rough, yeah. Who knows, maybe I would've done the same if I was in that situation, can't really know. For the better I guess, hah." The hug showed no signs of stopping, Riley leaning further back in her constriction- though it was a very, very comfortable constriction.

"Buuuut, that's in the past now, and noooow, once you get back to school, I'm gonna see about being the one to help you catch up with the course material, how's that sound?" Maddy's tone was rather clear in conveying what she thought about that whole idea, making Riley just chuckle to herself before responding.

"Oh no, guess I'm gonna have to keep lagging behind for a couple semesters longer~"

"Pfft, you're a dork, you know?"

"Heh, never would've imagined that anyone would ever use that adjective in particular to describe me."

"And yet it's quite spectacularly accurate right now, hah."

Riley just chuckled along as she leaned further into the embrace, trying to turn slightly on top of Maddy's lap, making it easier to rest her head on her shoulder, and more importantly, for the two to establish eye contact, their expressions mutually softening as they stared at each other for a few moments, Maddy eventually taking the initiative and pulling Riley over into a kiss, the magic of the moment as electric the tenth time as it was the first time.

Neither girl said anything even after they let go, Riley continuing to rest comfortably with her eyes closed, her desire to lean even closer dashed by the pair of specs that made that a bit uncomfortable, and the notable encastening of the one limb she could use to take them off with.

Guess she'd have to orient herself some more, and even more terrifyingly, lean away from Maddy for a moment in order to accomplish that, the teen groaning quietly under her breath before getting right on that, blinking a bit as her eyes welcomed light again, the quick glance around the room making her notice the darkness behind the window, cloudy night sky making for a wall of black outside, with the exception of a fresh snowflake passing by the window every so often.

"What time is it?"

Maddy squirmed underneath her in process of reaching for her pocket, quick glance over at her phone's screen answering the question- while also making her slightly regret that Riley had asked.

"Half to seven. Guess I'll have to get moving soon, don't want to have to drag your mom out to give me a lift back at god knows what hour."

Riley let out a quiet groan of disappointment, but it was ultimately more than understandable, especially if Maddy lived a decent bit away. Though... yeah everything was a decent bit away from here.

"Awwwhhh."

"Yeah, I know. Well, best to make these final few minutes count then-"

The weasel girl held Riley closer, fluffy tail providing enough softness to make Riley briefly consider dozing off there and then again just to enjoy that bit more of all this, of Maddy- but that'd just be mean both to her and Ella, and besides, there was always the next day, one where she'd probably feel less tired while at it as well.

"Yeah~. So, planning to visit tomorrow too?"

"I wish, but sadly won't be able to- we're going on a trip to spend the New Year's with the family, won't be back until the third."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, I know- but we'll survive these few days, plus can always text if you really can't get enough of my nonsense. And- absence makes the heart grow fonder or so they say- though I sure can't imagine getting even fonder, teehee."

Riley chuckled to the side, her cheeks blushing brighter before she leaned into Maddy once more, snuggling as close as she could manage in her current position, leaving a light smooch on her cheek.

"Me neither. Hope the family trip goes well."

"Oh I'm sure it will, just as I'm sure that I'll probably spend half of it on the phone chatting with you or getting otherwise distracted."

"Can't get the cripple out of your head, eh?"

"Not when that cripple is being a cute, cuddly ragdoll, that's for sure~"

Maddy giggled out loud at her girlfriend's embarrassed reaction, holding her even closer afterwards, gently nuzzling her face as one of her paws reached up to stroke her short hair.

"I gotta admit- this ain't what I imagined at all when mom told me the Ashers are adopting a human girl around my age, especially with a rough past."

"Well, I'm quite far from my usual form at the moment so that definitely helps in that whole ragdoll aspect, hah."

"Something tells me that you're gonna be like this even once you're back to normal."

"Shush."

The taller girl laughed quietly at Riley's denial, quickly giving her one last squeeze before helping her slide off of her lap, the human immediately missing the fluffy warmth as Maddy turned off the TV and the console, slowly getting ready to get going.

"Just lemme catch up with you-"

"Oh I'm not going anywhere until you're up by my side, don't you worry Riley~"

The chuckle that followed only motivated Riley further, the girl reminding herself the routine back from getting out of the car and up from the couch, going through the individual steps until she'd pushed herself off of the ground, the crutch's presence by her side as supportive as it was a bit achey. Fortunately, she wouldn't have to just rely on it, with Maddy taking her better hand, stabilizing her further as they made their way through the corridor and over to the staircase.

"Ready for the descent?"

"No, but here it comes anyway-"

Replaying the steps from earlier, just inverted was thankfully enough to make Riley scale the stairwell for the second time, especially with gravity assisting instead of actively hindering her this time- though the assist was occasionally too much as well, Maddy's support required a couple times lest the shorter girl would stumble just a bit too forward and lose whatever semblance of balance she had left.

Fortunately, the stairs ended before Riley could tempt the fate even further by actually tripping, the couple arriving in the basement, only finding Riley's parents preparing something in the kitchen- Rick appearing to be working on some sort of cake while Ella had just finished stuffing the oven with a casserole of some sort, turning around just in time to see the two stumble forward onto the ground floor.

"Oh? What's up sweetie?"

"Oh no, nothing, just that Maddy realized it's quite late and she didn't want you to drive around with her at god knows what hour."

Maddy looked away with just a hint of a blush at Riley listing off her mindfulness, before begrudgingly nodding along, while Ella pulled out her phone to check the hour.

"Oh it's really fine Maddy, I know the route to your place well, you don't have to get going yet. Though... can't imagine Riley wanting to make the trek up the stairs again quite yet, and I doubt either of you would be particularly comfortable with a couple old farts in the same room while you're snuggling, heh."

A chorus of 'uhm's left the duo, both Rick and Ella having to hold in giggling at the sight, with the mom eventually taking the initiative.

"It's more than fine, believe me. So Maddy, ready to get going?"

The question snapped the weasel girl out of her embarrassment as she nodded strongly, the skunk mom nodding in return before walking over to the coat hangers to change into something warmer.

"Honey, keep an eye on the casserole, shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes or so until it's ready. C'mon Maddy, before we get snowed in in here, hah."

Maddy's immediate urge to dash up to the door was cut short at the realization of having her personal garden gnome still attached to her arm, walking her forward until she could lean on the table without her help before turning around and pulling her into the one final hug.

"See ya after New Year's Riley."

"Y-yeah..."

It took Riley exactly a moment past the instant she'd blurted the words out to realize she should probably respond with something else, but alas- she had to suffer the consequences in the form of the entire room breaking into giggles in response as she tried not to look at anyone and just shamble herself over to a seat as Maddy caught up with Ella.

The gust of cold wind caused by the latter opening the front door helped snap Riley out of that pronto, just in time to respond to Maddy waving at her in kind, dreamy smile lighting up both their faces before the door was finally closed, leaving just the worn out teen and her dad.

"You two are cute together, you know?"

Or nope, nevermind, back to the embarrassment.