Liam was sitting in the pizzeria, watching the animatronic band. He had been coming here a lot lately, trying to grapple with his mortality. He was holding his cane in his lap, his other hand gripping one of the turquoise plastic cups used for soda, and sipping from it casually as he watched the band perform. He heard the swing doors open and close behind him, and he smiled to himself weakly.

"Glad you could make it," he said as Beatrice sat on the other chair he'd pulled beside his own, but she didn't speak; he added, "guess you're mad at me, which is understandable. Just figured...after what happened to Casey, now would be the best time to talk about this."

Bea folded her arms, but continued her silent approach. Liam sighed and lifted the cup to his lips, taking a long drink before shaking his head.

"Bea, we need to talk about it. It's not going to change. This is going to happen, regardless of your feelings."

"When have you ever considered my feelings?" Bea asked, "...you're an asshole, you know that?"

"That's a valid response, considering the situation, so I'm gonna let it slide," Liam said, "and yes, I...I've done some bad things in my life, but I've spent the last few years trying to make up for them. Starting with you. With this show. But there's things we need to discuss, but I don't have much time left."

"I hate you," Bea said, with such vitriol in her voice, such venom, he was almost prepared to believe it; she added, "I can't...I hate you, Liam. You took my show from me, you took Claire, and now you're leaving me too? How else am I supposed to feel?"

"First of all, I didn't take Claire. We mutually decided to end that situation because we recognized it wans't-"

"I didn't mutually decide shit!" Bea shouted, snapping at him, "no, I did what you wanted to do, because I trusted you! I gave into the demands of the pizzeria because I trusted you! Everything that has had an enormous negative impact on my life has been a direct result of trusting you! Now you're gonna fucking tell me you're dying, and I'm supposed to be sad and weepy as if that isn't also a horrible thing? You're selfish, is what you are!"

Liam didn't respond. He knew Bea needed to vent. He'd let her do what she had to, process the grief in the only way she knew how. Next to her parents, Liam was the person she'd known the longest, and this...this was eating her alive, he knew this even without her admittance. Bea shifted in her seat, breathing hard, watching Liam to see any change in his face but nothing came.

"...I can't do this without you," Bea said quietly, making Liam finally look at her.

"Of course you can," he replied, smiling back, "look at what you accomplished before me. You created the character, you staged the first iteration. Bea, I only know you because of seeing your show. You did all that on your own. You can absolutely do this without me."

"Okay how about I don't want to," she said.

"Well, that's different," Liam responded, shrugging, "but you gotta keep the flame alive. We built this thing up together. Just cause one half of us is gone doesn't mean-"

"I always thought we could fix things," Bea said, interrupting him, "I always thought...I always thought there'd be more time to set things right."

Liam raised an eyebrow, confused.

"What do you mean, we...we got this thing off the ground, have completely creative control, more or less, what else could we possibly-"

"Claire," Bea said, looking at the floor, not at him; she cleared her throat and added, "I always thought we'd fix things. We just...we just left. I have never felt right about it. I agreed at the time, cause it did seem like the right thing to do, but...I think that's why I've clung onto so many other, younger women with family problems. Trying to raise them up because we abandoned her. Michelle. Eliza. Casey. I think that's why. I have never managed to forgive myself."

"You blame me for that too?" Liam asked, and after a moment of chewing on her lip, thinking hard, she shook her head.

"No, I...I don't, actually. I do think you were right about that one. It was a messy situation. But that doesn't mean I don't feel remorse about it. I just hope she's doing well. I hope she grew up to be a wonderful adult. I suppose maybe it's the not knowing that kills me the most. Sometimes, when Leslie and I go for walks in the evening, we'll pass by this little local park near my apartment, and we'll see these families playing, and I see these little girls and I think of Claire. I hope she understands why we left. That it wasn't personal."

"I'm sure she does," Liam said, grimacing. He knew Bea was in pain over this, but he had no idea just how deep it went.

Bea looked up towards the stage and exhaled. She didn't really hate Liam, and he knew that, so she didn't have to clarify. They'd always had this sort of unspoken rule that they could say whatever they felt in the moment and it would be taken as an irrational statement because of the overwhelming feelings included therein. That's what happens when you work on a show for kids about learning and acceptance. You don't take things at face value and you, instead, operate in a sort of 'let us feel and sort it out later' mentality. Bea looked at her hands, her freshly manicured nails that she'd had done just before Casey ran off.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Bea asked, sniffling, smiling weakly.

"What is?" Liam asked.

"Us. How...how queer people gravitate towards one another, regardless of knowing their own identity in the moment. When we met, neither one of us was sure we were who we are. And now look at us. You had a lovely, long relationship with Marvin, and I'm with Leslie. I don't know that we could've done it without one another. I think...I think we needed eachother, Liam. I know I sure as hell needed you."

Liam nodded solemnly. He knew what Bea meant. The two of them, together, they'd both discovered who they were because of their direct interaction with one another. He sighed and ran a hand over his face, clearing his throat. He thought back to that first apartment they shared back in the city, back before the show was officially on the air. Back when they were still workshopping, doing small performances, doing fine-tuning. He smiled. Those were some of his happiest memories. Liam looked towards her, and noticed she was looking at him now.

"You don't regret it, do you?" Bea asked.

"Which part?" Liam asked, the both of them chuckling.

"What we did," Bea whispered, "you don't regret it, do you?"

"I really don't. It isn't who we ended up being, but I sure as shit don't regret it, no. We did the best we could, considering the situation," Liam said, "I just kind of wish, if anything..."

Liam scuffed the floor with his shoe, making Bea tense with anticipation.

"...I wish, if anything, that maybe circumstances could've allowed us to see it through. That we could've known what it would've been like. I'm not saying I'm unhappy with who we are, because I'm not and I wouldn't change a moment of my life, with Marvin, or with you, but it would've been fun to see how it would've been. You know, when my father learned that I was queer and living with Marvin, he wasn't disgusted or angry or confused. Instead I was met with quiet disappointment. Acceptance isn't acceptance in that case. I never felt welcome home, especially with Marvin. When he got sick and started to go down, I asked him what his biggest regret in life was, and he told me that it was not being as brave as his son wound up being. A small consolation prize, too little too late certainly, but you have to take your wins where you get them. But even if he admired my bravery, I know he always wanted...well...what came before that, to last."

Bea smiled weakly and nodded, looking back at her shoes. She sighed and shut her eyes, rubbing them with her fingers.

"I'm so mad at Michelle," she whispered.

"What? What for?" Liam asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Because she told me Casey wasn't my responsibility. Leslie even backed her up. But because of what she told me, because I listened to her, Casey is dead. I could've prevented it, and-"

"Bea, you couldn't have prevented it. That girl was a ticking time bomb. It would've happened sooner or later. Some people are just like that, with this built in self destruct, and I've never seen a more clear example of that then with Casey. I know it hurts, but please don't be mad at Michelle. She's right. And she was saying it to alleviate yourself of the guilt of not being able to be there all the time for everyone. You're allowed to look out for yourself."

"I did that already, and look what happened. Claire is gone," Bea said, and that hit Liam in the heart. He knew she was upset about Claire, even all these years later, as was he, but he had no idea how deeply that sadness truly went. Bea had cared so much, hadn't wanted to leave her with those people, but she knew, in the end, that it was the right decision. Still, to see that sadness upfront, clearer than he ever had before, it hurt intensely. Bea wiped at her face with her sweater sleeve, drying herself of her tears and exhaling, adding, "I promised myself, after that, that I would never put myself first again. That, for every young girl who needs familial harmony, I would provide that."

Liam hated himself more in that one singular moment than he ever had before.

"...i'm so sorry," Liam whispered and Bea nodded slowly.

"yeah, me too," she replied quietly.

Liam was so mad. He didn't want to die, not while she was in this state. He wanted to stick around. He wanted to make things better. He groaned and climbed out of his chair, pacing, his cane tapping on the ground as he walked.

"For what it's worth, though, thank you," Bea said, catching him off guard. He glanced at her as she added, "I mean, I was determined to make something of myself, of...of making Beatrice a real thing, but...but I don't know that I could've done it without you."

"You absolutely could've," Liam said, "the success you found wasn't because of me, I just happened to be here."

"No, you don't get it. At first, yeah, I was doing the stage show myself, creating the world without you, and that was fine, but after we left Claire, that was when I became dependent on you. I felt like maybe you believed I couldn't do what needed to be done and that was why we did what we did, so I worked harder to prove myself to you that I could. I wanted you to be proud of me. I know that's stupid, especially for someone as seemingly independent as I am, to be so co-dependent and reliant on someone, but...you made me want to be better."

"I never thought that, Bea," Liam said, feeling hurt, "I never would believe-"

"I know that, I just felt that way at the time," Bea said, shrugging, "I was young, and stupid. I couldn't help but believe dumb shit like that. Now I realize, of course, that I could've done anything without you, but I'm glad I didn't have to. I'm glad you were with me. I can't imagine the journey without you..."

Bea and Liam locked eyes and stared as Bea started crying.

"...but reaching the destination without you kills me," she muttered, before breaking down. Liam walked back to the seats and leaned down, hugging her, letting her sob into him. Liam rubbed her back and looked around at the pizzeria, taking it all in. This history they shared. This thing they'd built together. After the hug broke and Liam pulled away from her, she looked up at him and asked, "...what happens to you?"

"You mean who gets custody of me?" Liam asked,smirking, and she laughed; he continued, "I'll be being cremated, and you can do with my ashes what you want. It's up to you. But Bea, you gotta promise me something. You can't stay frozen in time anymore. Especially not with this. I know you have trouble moving past things, losing your mother, losing your dog, but I can't be one of those. Use me as a springboard for growth, not a mouse trap for nostalgia. Can you make me that promise?"

Bea squeezed him tighter and sighed.

"I wanna say yes," she mumbled, "but I don't know that I can. I'll try, is that okay?"

"That's a perfectly reasonable response, yes," Liam said, kissing the top of her head.

Bea thought back to their time in the city. When they were young, fresh, just starting out. A different world, it felt like. A completely different world than the one they currently inhabited, and not just in their own day to day lives but moreso in the sense of society itself. She and Liam were both lying to themselves then, trying their best to pretend to be anything, anyone, other than who they were simply because of societal pressures. Now she got to see Michelle and Eliza be happy together, openly, and it warmed her heart, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't jealous of that freedom, the very freedom she was denied. Because of that, she and Liam had made a decision, a decision that haunted her to this very day. A decision she wasn't sure she could ever recover from.

"Just...tell me," Bea said, as Liam pulled away a bit and looked down at her, stroking her face gently with one hand as she asked, "tell me you'll remember me."

"How could I ever forget you," Liam whispered, "what we tried might not have worked out, but look where we are now. Look what we've accomplished. Bea, I couldn't have done any of this without you. You could've gotten here on your own, but I like to think you are happier you did it with me at your side. I'm sorry things crashed the way they did, I made some big mistakes, but I've tried so hard to rectify them for the sake of our relationship, to prove how much I loved you, love you, have and always will."

Bea nodded, wiping her face on her sleeve as she stood up and walked with him, arms linked, towards the stage as the curtain came back up and the band started once more. They stood there, watching, smiling together. Bea rested her head on Liam's shoulder, and he blushed.

"Nobody would ever believe it, you know," she said.

"I know," he replied, "trust me I know."

Bea turned to face him, as Liam did the same, the band playing atop the stage before them, music echoing, filling the empty hall. Bea put her hands on Liam's face, feeling his stubble, knowing she would likely never touch this face again. She leaned up on her toes and planted her lips on his, and he happily kissed her back. After a very long, loving kiss, Liam rested his lips against her forehead as she wept against his chest, Liam running one hand up and down her back.

"Luckily for us," Liam said, "there's some stories that are just ours."

"It was a pretty good story," Bea whispered.

"It was," Liam said, "happy I got to see how it ends. Now, go make another."