Step City

Benson huffs pushing the door to his complex open, finding it jammed by some icey slush that had been shoveled off the walkway. The city was blanketed in sheets of white and though areas had been cleared for walking there was so much of it that no matter where it was pushed it was in the way. He remembers it snowing when he left his work shift in the early hours and seems to have slept through the worst of the storm.

“Hope the cafe is alright.” He adjusts his red coat as he squints into the blinding snowy landscape. Eye’s narrowing up at the silhouettes of buildings. Something seemed off about them, wasn't that building there- …

Perhaps he should have gotten a few more Z’s in.



A short trek later he reaches where- where the cafe should be? AH- a cat runs through his feet. Yes this is the right spot, maybe they redid the outside. The door bell lets out a jingle as he follows the cat inside.

Bonnie and Kip had been snowed into the cafe for days. At first, Bonnie worried that her kid would be scared… but they were positively unflappable, apparently happy to spend so much one-on-one time with her. Thankfully they had plenty of food to last the two of them ages, and the restaurant was more than warm enough. As the snow had piled up outside, more and more street cats scratched at the kitchen door, and Bonnie of course let them in. Now they were all resting comfortably, nestled into booths and cuddled around space heaters.

When the snow had finally begun to let up, she sent a text round to her friend Benson –
the streets are finally clear! come eat breakfast with me n kippy

Sometime while they were snowed in, Bonnie decided to learn how to bake bread. It was the one thing her mom had never taught her. She consulted videos and articles on her phone, scouring the net until she found a recipe that seemed promising. The first batch had been awful, but she noted her mistakes and was now baking a second batch.

Hands clad in oven mitts, she gingerly lifted the loaf from the oven. She frowned as she turned it over. The top looked good, great even... but the bottom was burnt. Ah, well. She could serve those muffins she made a few hours ago. She turned to her left, moving to set the bread on the counter...



...and proceeded to drop it on the ground. The loaf of bread rolled away, collecting up dirt and hair and other fun things found on kitchen floors.

Bonnie blinked in confusion as she picked the loaf up. She wasn't a clumsy person, and she knew the layout of this kitchen like the back of her hand. How did she manage to drop it like that?

Come to think of it... as Bonnie looked around, she realized that her little restaurant had been completely flipped. Where the kitchen counter normally stood to her left was empty space. Where the pickup window used to be was the fridge. Was this somebody's Vibe? A weird prank? Was she finally losing it?

She poked her head out of the kitchen, looking to the booth where Kip was sitting. The kid was colouring with the utmost concentration, lost in their own little world. But, sure enough, all the tables were flipped around. She glanced at the many clocks on the wall; it should have been around 9 am, but the clock read 15:80…?

The bell above the front door jingled, and she turned to see who had shown up.
“I’m glad you could make it—” as she took in Benson’s outfit, she faltered, clapping her hands together. “—Santa!”

Kip looked up to see their guest, their expression blank as always.

“Ho Ho Ho~” Benson played up the part, jiggling what was clearly a pillow in his coat with his laugh. Whether or not this would fool a child being highly questionable, he didn't exactly have the rosy cheeks for the role. “I seem to have blown in on the blizzard, you wouldn't mind I’m a little early this year would ya?”

Setting his bag down on a seat where there was a catfree-gap as he looks around the place. “Seem’s like you’ve done some redecorating.” He muses as he retrieves two boxes. One smaller with pretty tasteful but probably recycled hanukkah wrap, a glitter blue covered in white candles. Another slightly larger one that seemed to be the same paper but someone has drawn bugs in all the free spaces.



“Somebunny told me you’ve been learning lots of fun facts this year.” He does a small hop into a crouching position by the table, placing the gift. Followed by an awkward bend to pass the smaller one up to Bonnie. “And Mom’s been working hard to make sure everyones got a warm meal.”

[In Kip’s box is bug shaped bean filled plush. In Bonnies is shoelace decorations for skates in cat shapes.]

“Y-you didn’t need to get me anything,” protested Bonnie, a bit flustered in the way she always was when people gave her gifts. She felt a bit embarrassed opening it in front of Benson, so she slid it into her apron pocket… to open later. “But… thank you, Santa. Right, Kip?”

Kip picked up the box, a mysterious little twinkle in their eye. They carefully peeled the wrapping off, revealing the gift inside. They squeezed the bean bag bug in their tiny hands, the sides of their mouth curling up into a shy smile.

“…thank you, uncle Bunny.” They proceeded to return to their art, apparently trying to draw the new plush. They kicked their legs happily under the table.

Bonnie beckoned Benson to sit down. She set out all the food and coffee she’d prepared, then settled into the booth next to Kip. She let out a heavy sigh, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“As for redecorating, that’s just it. Everything just suddenly… flipped around? I think it’s the same outside.” She gestured to the reversed streets outside. “Any idea what’s going on?”

“Oh but it’s fun!” He beams at the protest. The gig was up before it began and Benson clasped his hands together in delight. “You’re welcome Kippy!” Dropping the old fellow voice.

He bounces up to his feet and does a little twirl before plopping into the otherside of the booth. Eyes as big as dinner plates as food was brought out. The beard was already back around his neck and a mouth full as she asked.

“Mmf…” He takes a moment to swallow his overzealous bite of breakfast. “I thought the skyline looked different when I left but just attributed it to a late night of work.” He leans back and takes another glance out through the window, squinting into the white snow.

“I promise I’ll open it later… thank you, really.” She smiled fondly at her old friend, patting the gift inside her pocket.

She joined Benson in looking outside. “I guess we can chalk this up to… well, everything else that goes on around here.” She shrugged, sipping from her coffee. She’d certainly lived through her fair share of oddities in Step City; not much surprised her anymore. “I suppose we could just wait it out here?” Though she wasn’t too keen about the idea of being stuck at the restaurant for much longer. She yearned to get home, have a bath, and change into her pjs.

She sat in a comfortable silence for a bit, letting Benson eat. She drank her own coffee and nibbled at some bacon. “Well, how have you been? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Ah-” His gears grind trying to remember the last visit, it had been a while. He rubs the side of his face in thought. “Sorry I haven't checked in more.”

“I’ve been laying low at the theater. Winter time is always busy with big name shows. Very competitive roles and those that got parts this year are scary intense. Nutcracker, Snow Queen, and others.” His smile crinkles in a way that fails to hide his disappointment. “Luckily I'm only a stagehand hand, I think it would be very hard to work with those ballerinas.”

“How have you been holding up here? If you would like, we could walk back together and you can fill me in on the way. The buildings changed but it was still the same turns to get here. Sure we could figure it out.”

Bonnie frowns a bit in concern. “Don’t push yourself too hard. Please. And, you know… if it ever becomes too much, I could always use an extra server here. I wouldn’t be able to pay you as much as you’re making now, but…” She trails off, letting the offer hang between them. “You’d be able to wear a cute dress and apron for your uniform?” Then she grimaces in a self-deprecating way. “Hah, never mind.”

At his suggestion she nods, wiping her hands off on her apron. “Alright then. Let me get Kip’s coat on ‘em, then we can figure it out together.” She stands up, then ushers Kip over to the coatrack where their winter clothes were hanging.

Benson’s eyes sparkle at the uniform mention. “I would do that for no pay . . . well, food.” He eyes toward the kitchen with a mischievous smirk. At the turn of tone he looks a bit confused. “Maybe we can match! Or I could wear a suit . . .”

“The theater isn't too bad most of the time, Winter is just busy. But during slow seasons I could use some extra hours.” He pushes himself up and stretches, full of delicious food, and opens the door to the icey air.

“Hoho, I thought that offer might tempt you. You’d look cute in a dress or a suit. My customers would line up around the block to see you either way.” She grins at him conspiratorially as she wraps Kip in their winter coat. “Well, think about it for a bit~”

With the child all bundled up, the three of them step out into the icy winter air. Bonnie locks the door behind them, slips her hand around Kip’s, then looks around the backwards streets. “Alright… which way?”

Benson rocks on his feet crunching snow beneath them. “We turn this way.” He spins to the right. “Two blocks to an intersection-”

Running on pure guesses that the roads would be similar even if the buildings swapped . . . he hopes. They trek in that direction, the environment full of places that are familiar but not right.

“You get enough time to roll around between work?” Inquiring about her skating.

Bonnie eyes the landscape warily, though she trudges along after Benson as he confidently strides ahead. At the mention of skating, she chuckles. “Of course, I'm always practicing! I can’t let myself get rusty. Have you seen these new ‘dito kids? You and I could skate circles around ‘em.” She’s only half-joking.

Just then, Kip’s foot slips on a patch of ice. They flail, arms circling around, one hand gripping Bonnie’s and the other clutching their new bug plushie.

“Woah, there,” says Bonnie, squeezing Kip towards her hip as they regain their balance. “Maybe you should put your new friend in your pocket and hold Bens—Santa’s hand, too.”

Kip complies, tucking the plushie into their puffer coat. The child takes hold of Benson’s gloved hand, now stationed between the two adults and holding onto them both for dear life.

They look up to address the tall rabbit man, wearing a very serious expression. “Santa isn’t real, you know.”

“You could circle them I’m sure! I still got big clown feet.”

Benson blinks down at Kip, feigning surprise, but he had already forgotten he was dressed up. “Oh! You saw right through me.” He smiles widely at the witty remark. Lifting his hand to help steady Kip. “He was real once, though not magic or anything. Just a nice man with a reputation for secret gift-giving. So people dress up and sign gifts with his name so that they are secret too.”

He looks back and forth as they reach an intersection before deciding the next turn. “I wonder if I was famous for being nice would people dress up as a big old rabbit in hundreds of years. I hope I'm not dressed in red. I feel a bit like a tomato.”

He gets a distant expression. “Maybe I'll have a BLT for lunch.” He ponders aloud, becoming distracted.



Oh- We should turn here.

Kip’s brow furrows in thought as they digest this new information about “real Santa”. Bonnie could tell they were going to research this thoroughly when they all got home, and then that’s all she would hear about for the next week. Ah, her precious little scholar.

“A rabbit holiday? Well… there’s Easter already. But I don’t understand that one. Isn’t it a Christian thing? Why is it all about rabbits? Is Jesus a rabbit?” mutters Kip, the gears in their mind turning.

“Nnnno, I don’t think so.” Supposedly. Bonnie couldn’t help but laugh at the image of Jesus’s fursona. …How did Kip even know about Jesus?

“A BLT, huh.” Bonnie idly remarks about Benson’s lunch plans. By now she was very familiar with her friend’s bottomless appetite. “I could go for that, too. Hopefully the stuff in the fridge is still ok.”

“Speaking of which! There’s home,” sighs Bonnie in relief, pointing at the apartment building up the hill.

“I- I’m not sure either. Rabbit’s definitely don’t lay eggs.” Benson scratches his head at that one, trying to think. Brow furrowed, trailing off in his thoughts. “I suppose rabbits are a friendlier shape for chocolate. . .”

He shakes the train of thought as the apartment is pointed out, almost forgetting to make the turn himself.

“Oh! See, we made it.” Benson poses and sparkles triumphantly.

“Not a bad hill for sledding either once warmed up....” His eyes sparkle down at Kip before pausing and looking at the hill again. /Hm… might be more of a challenge for short legs./ He squats down to their level. “Hey Kippo, would you like a ride the rest of the way home?”

Kip glances away shyly before nodding a little "yes". They climb up onto Benson's back with his help, clutching onto his red coat.

Bonnie chuckles and stretches out her back, preparing to trek the hill herself. "Lucky Kip! I wish Santa'd give me a piggy-back."

With a little “Hup!” he straightens up with Kip. Raising his eyebrows at Bonnie’s comment and nervously directs his attention straight ahead. “Maybe next time.”

Benson huffs a little as they get further up the hill. Kip keeps growing, maybe he has to actually start working out so he can keep doing this. But he does manage to make it to the top.

Bonnie exhales a laugh through her nose at his reaction. She walks a bit faster than Benson and Kip, not envying the death grip Kip has on Benson’s hair. Kip meanwhile is having a great time, completely unaware of how heavy they are.

At the door leading into the apartment building lobby, Bonnie fishes her key out of her pocket – and her hand brushes against Benson’s present, still unopened. She clears her throat, turning to him.

“Hey… want to come up? You must be tired, but you could, you know… stay over." She gestures to her home, up on the top floor. "Only if you want! I won't be offended if you want to go home. S'been a long day."

“I would love to!” He bounces in place with Kip. Besides- looking out at the snowy flipped landscape. It’s probably going to be like this for a while.

Kip pats Benson’s head approvingly. “Yes. Good.”

Bonnie struggles with the door for a sec – even the damn lock is flipped backwards – grumbling to herself before she wrangles it open.

Every time Benson ducks through a doorway, Kip squishes themselves down to avoid bonking their head on the ceiling while atop the very tall man.

The three of them go up the elevator, then down the hall, going the wrong way a few times before finally getting to the apartment.

After fumbling with yet another door, Bonnie lets everyone in. She reaches her arms out above her head, stretching out her back. “We maaaaade it~”

As she begins taking off her winter boots, she glances around – naturally, the apartment is mirrored too. But otherwise is in its usual maximalist colourful cluttered state. Crayons and toys all over the floor. A pile of clothes dumped onto an armchair. The dishwasher full of clean dishes waiting to be put away. Kitchen table covered with miscellaneous clutter.

...to worry about later. She flops onto the couch and lets out a lil relieved sigh. "Well please, make yourself at home. Just shove any stuff out of the way."