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Chapter Text

Growing up Eugene had always wanted a family. He had fantasized about parents, but also other relatives. He'd imagined grandparents who would adore him unconditionally. Siblings that he could count on, and who could count on him, like a person that was born to be his best friend. He'd even dreamed about distant relatives who he would only see occasionally, but always had fun adventures to share, and the occasional mysterious inheritance.

Well, what orphan child didn't dream of learning one day that they were secretly related to a rich duchess or something?

As wild as his imagination could be, Eugene was realistic about his dreams. He'd never actually thought that he was actually a prince whose father had a secret, important reason why he couldn't keep him, but he still loved him.

He was trying to wrap his head around his father being a king. Edmund was a lot to get used to, but after getting over the initial shock and letting go of his lingering resentment, Eugene was happy to have had the chance to get to know him.

As much as he liked, and maybe even loved, his dad, his family was more than just the two of them. Eugene was fine with Varian being his cousin of sorts. He was a sweet kid, and Eugene liked to spend time with him. He was even fine with Quirin basically being his uncle. He didn't know the man well, but he was Varian's dad, and they had the boy in common.

And Eugene secretly liked it when Quirin would send word to the capital that he needed to speak to the Captain of the Guard about an important security matter. When Eugene made the trip to Old Corona to speak to Quirin he would find that the 'security issue' had already been resolved, and the man insisted that it was too late for him to make the trip back to the capital. So Eugene would be invited in for a stiff drink and a place to stay for the night.

Eugene didn't know if Varian, Rapunzel, or Edmund put Quirin up to this, but he appreciated it either way. Having the chance to actually take the day off from his duties was nice, and though Eugene loved the luxurious life at the castle, it was also very busy and loud there, and there was something really compelling about the peace and quiet in Old Corona.

So Eugene could accept Quirin as his uncle. What he had a little more trouble with was Adira and Hector.

The two of them were so many levels of frustrating, confusing, and intimidating. Eugene was slowly warming up to Adira, and he didn't really dislike her, but he wasn't sure if he liked her either. She was just so confident in herself, and she had the skills to match her boasts. She seemed to take pleasure in being the most frustrating woman. But she had helped them a lot on their quest, even though she didn't really have to. And being competent was far from the most offensive trait.

And then there was Hector. Eugene didn't know the man, which felt weird, because his dad called him brother and Varian called him uncle. Hector was his family, but at the same time he might as well be a stranger.

What Eugene knew about Hector was not promising. When he'd met him, he had been the crazy rhino guy who tried to kill them. When the battle with Zhan Tiri was over and Eugene was given the chance to get to know the Brotherhood a little better, Hector was still the crazy rhino guy.

He would let his rhino roam the castle grounds, and threaten anybody who tried to make it move. Hector would always hang out in places where he wasn't allowed, and when any of the Coronans would tell him to leave he would just scoff and say that he only took orders from the royal family of the Dark Kingdom.

He listened to Edmund, of course. Adira was usually able to lure him away by frustrating him. Quirin could talk him down about half the time. And he did whatever Varian wanted, because that kid effortlessly had the entire Brotherhood wrapped around his little finger.

Hector also listened to Eugene, which meant that he was the one stuck telling the guy what to do. When the stable boys were being kept from their work because Hector had tried to claim the stable for himself, or when he used the training grounds, preventing the guards from training, Eugene was the one that they came to. And he couldn't say no, because as Captain of the Guard and prince of the Dark Kingdom, it was his responsibility to keep Hector in line.

The Brotherhood stayed in Corona for about two weeks after the whole thing with Zhan Tiri, and while Eugene was able to bond with the rest of them in some kind of way, he wasn't able to get that chance with Hector. The man was used to being alone, and would only show up because the Brotherhood was spending the evening together, or he was getting himself into trouble. Neither of those gave many bonding opportunities.

Eugene wasn't necessarily counting down the days until the Brotherhood left, but he wasn't disappointed when his dad announced that they were going to be leaving. Family was great and all, but also incredibly overwhelming. Eugene would rather just skip to the part of their relationship where they stay in contact through letters and see each other just a few times every year for special occasions. He would be able to handle that.

Rapunzel insisted on throwing a party in the Brotherhood's honor, making it a big feast. It was Corona's way of doing things, but not the Brotherhood's. Edmund went to the feast, with Quirin at his side, but the others were absent. Varian got too anxious around crowds, especially if it was in an official royal setting, which was why he hadn't gone to Eugene's birthday party. Hector was definitely not a people person. And while Adira showed up about halfway through the meal to grab some snacks, she quickly left because this wasn't her scene.

After the fact Eugene found out that Hector, Adira, and Varian were having their own little party. They had snacks that they stole from the feast table and the kitchens, and halfway through the evening they were joined by Lance and his girls, who had been at the feast but got bored and wandered off.

Eugene was just a little bitter about this whole thing, because he'd been stuck at a party that he didn't really want to go to, and meanwhile Varian and Lance, two of the only people he could share his misery with, were having their own good time. He didn't get that privilege, because as Captain of the Guard and prince of the Dark Kingdom he was expected to be here.

Sometimes he really hated being an adult and all the responsibilities that came with it.

The next morning Eugene and Corona's royal family went to see the Brotherhood off. This was one duty that Eugene didn't mind so much, because he really would miss his dad, even if he was a little much.

"Well, this was fun while it lasted." Eugene said. "You guys'll have to come by for a visit, or maybe I'll come to the Dark Kingdom and see what you've done with the place. Anything will be an improvement on how it was when I saw it."

"Yes, Adira and I have our work cut out for us." Edmund said.

"What, is crazy rhino guy not going with you?" Eugene asked. Edmund frowned every so slightly.

"His name is Hector." Edmund said. "And no, he's not returning to the Dark Kingdom." And Eugene didn't really understand that, because even though he barely knew Hector he knew that of the Brotherhood he was the most loyal to Edmund. He wouldn't abandon the kingdom. Not willingly.

Eugene didn't think that Hector had gotten into a fight with Edmund or Adira, because he knew their fights got physical, and he would have heard about it by now. So if Hector wasn't walking away, and they didn't get in a fight, Eugene could see just one other reason why the man wouldn't be joining them.

"Did you realize just how insane that guy is, and give him a 'special mission' to get rid of him?" Eugene asked, only half joking. "Because seriously, that's what I'd do."

"Good to know what you're planning, your highness." Eugene jumped when he heard Hector's voice behind him. He turned to see the man looking at him with those unnerving yellow eyes of his.

"Geez, give a guy some warning." Eugene put a hand on his chest. "You're going to give me a heart attack."

"That's how he does things." Adira said. "You'll get used to him." Eugene really didn't like the mischievous tone in her voice there. She knew something, and it was something she knew he wouldn't like.

Eugene raised an eyebrow at Hector. "What?"

"I'm not going to the Dark Kingdom because somebody has to keep an eye on the heir." Hector said. "Quirin's got his own kid to worry about, so I volunteered."

It took Eugene a long moment to realize just what Hector meant. When he got it he grimaced and looked at Edmund in betrayal. "He's staying here? With me?"

"He insisted." Edmund said, as though he didn't see what the problem was. Eugene opened his mouth to tell him just what he thought of this idea, but both his family and Rapunzel's were all here, watching. Eugene knew he could be tactless sometimes, but he could have restraint.

"Can I talk to you really quickly?' Eugene went up to his father and grabbed his arm. "Alone?" Edmund nodded and Eugene pulled him aside just enough so they could have a whispered and remotely private discussion.

"He can't stay in Corona." Eugene said. "He's out of control."

"Hector is more restrained than you give him credit for." Edmund said.

"Well, that's 'cause I haven't seen any of it." Eugene said. "You've been away from the guy for twenty five years. Isolation didn't treat you very well during that time. Do you really think it's done him any favors? He's not stable."

"Which is why it's important for him to be here." Edmund said. "Hector hasn't had the opportunity to get to know people. He needs to get used to living among them, and being with just me and Adira won't be enough for that."

"Dad, I have a job to do." Eugene said. "I don't have time to teach your crazy brother how to be around people without stabbing them with a sword."

"All I ask is that you give him a chance." Edmund said. "He's been wanting the chance to get to know you. Guarding you, as heir to the throne, is giving him the excuse to do just that." Eugene didn't know why Hector didn't just talk to him. He would have much rather had normal chats with Hector than have to continuously drag him out of trouble.

"I don't need guarding." Eugene said, though he knew this battle was one he was going to lose. Hector was a determined man. When he had his heart set on doing something, he followed through to the end. Eugene knew that he could just order Hector to leave and he would, but a part of him was secretly happy that Hector wanted to get to know him. It was the same part of him that kept him from completely pushing his overwhelming father out of his life. It was the young orphan Eugene part of him, who had always dreamed of having a family.

"Fine." Eugene said, already feeling drained from this ordeal. His dad gave him a relieved look. Eugene realized that this was more important to Hector than he had thought. Eugene just still didn't understand what exactly this was.

"But I'm not just letting him loose on the kingdom." Eugene said. "There are rules he has to follow."

"If you make your expectations with Hector clear, he'll do as you say." Edmund said. "He's very loyal."

"He's psychotic." Eugene muttered. He grimaced when he saw the disappointment and hurt in his dad's eyes.

"He's my brother." Edmund said. "He's my family, and I hope that you come to see him in the same way."

"I'm not making any promises." Eugene said. The sadness in his dad's eyes grew stronger, and Eugene couldn't take it. He hated seeing those he cared about upset. Especially when he knew that their distress was because of him. "I'll try, okay?"

Edmund smiled, relieved. "That's all I ask of you." They rejoined the others. Adira was glaring slightly at Eugene. Rapunzel gave him a concerned look. Hector's expression was impossible to read, or maybe Eugene just didn't know him well enough to know what that expression meant.

"So, I guess we're going to have a guest stay for a bit." Eugene said, trying to sound cheerful and optimistic, hiding his dread about the situation. Adira rolled her eyes, seeming unconvinced, but Rapunzel beamed and Hector smirked, and they were the ones that Eugene had needed to convince that he was fine with this.

"Of course." Rapunzel said happily. She smiled at Hector. "You can stay here as long as you want." Eugene just hoped that Hector wouldn't want to stay in Corona for very long.

"We'll keep you up to date on the progress of rebuilding our kingdom." Adira said.

"Take care of him." Edmund said, and Eugene didn't actually know if his dad was talking to him or Hector.

Adira and Edmund finally went on their way. Hector stretched and started to walk away, but Rapunzel stepped in his way. "We're about to have breakfast. You should join us."

"I already ate." Hector said, and then he left. Eugene saw Rapunzel's face fall, and he could already tell that it was starting. Rapunzel looked disappointed, but also uncertain. She tried so hard to be kind, and when it was received badly she didn't know how to handle it. Rapunzel was known for going a bit overboard to make people feel wanted, and she still didn't quite understand that just because her offers weren't accepted it didn't mean that she'd done something wrong.

Eugene doubted that Hector was trying to be rude or dismissive. He just wasn't used to being around people, but Rapunzel wouldn't get that. Her way of coping with her isolation was to throw herself into social interactions. Eugene didn't think she had even considered that someone could take another approach.

"Let me talk to him." Eugene said as he followed Hector, quickly catching up to him. "Hey, so, I know you already ate and all, but would you please come to breakfast? It would mean a lot to Rapunzel."

Hector stopped walking and just looked at Eugene. "Why?"

"Because she's kind and wants you to feel welcome." Eugene said.

Hector snorted. "I don't care if I'm welcome here or not."

"But Rapunzel does." Eugene insisted. "She actually cares a lot." Especially after everything that had happened, Rapunzel was doing a lot of overcorrecting to try to make sure that she didn't make people feel unwanted. Eugene thought it was a bit excessive, but what was he supposed to do? Discourage Rapunzel from caring about people? No way.

Hector just looked at Eugene, an odd look in his eyes. "Do you want me to go to this breakfast?"

"I already told you I did." Eugene said. Hector shrugged.

"Kay." He said. "Then I'll go."

"Seriously?" Eugene could feel a headache coming on. It couldn't be that easy. Then again, he knew that Hector wasn't being malicious on purpose, and whether Eugene liked it or not, he was the prince of the Dark Kingdom, and Hector was loyal to the royal line. If Eugene told him to do something, he would do it. It was as simple as that, and even though Eugene didn't completely get it he wasn't going to look a git horse in the mouth

"Well, come on." Eugene gestured back towards where they had left Rapunzel anxiously waiting. "Let's get this over with." Hector smirked and snorted, and Eugene wished he knew if he was laughing with him or at him. Did Hector find amusement in his misery, or was he as excited about putting on a happy face for this breakfast as Eugene was?

Don't get him wrong. Eugene loved eating with Rapunzel, and he was never going to complain about palace food, but ever since the battle breakfasts had been more of an official event than a casual date. There were always political discussions, and talks about all of the repairs that still needed to be made. There had been so many debates about what should be prioritized, and Eugene thought that all of the talk about getting stuff done was just distracting them from actually doing the work itself.

Too late Eugene realized that maybe bringing Hector to a breakfast that was more or less a political meeting wasn't the best idea. He couldn't think of a good way to tell the man that he'd changed his mind, and then have to explain to Rapunzel why her guest wasn't coming to breakfast after all.

Accepting his fate, Eugene led the way to the castle's dining hall. For once he just hoped that it would be as boring as all of the other ones had been.

Rapunzel was ecstatic when she saw Eugene and Hector. Her parents had already made their way inside, and now the three of them followed. Rapunzel talked as they went, and Eugene only half paid attention to what she was saying. His attention was on Hector. While Adira, Quirin, and Edmund had all joined them for a few of these breakfasts, Hector hadn't yet. Eugene hadn't really minded before that Hector didn't show up, but now he wished he had. He would much rather Hector's first breakfast be when one of his siblings could rein him in, but now Eugene was stuck with the job.

Hector didn't just look forward and walk like a normal person when they went down the halls. His gait was like it had been at the Great Tree, like someone who was stalking their prey, and it made Eugene uncomfortable that Rapunzel was walking in front of him. Hector's eyes were darting everywhere, like he was looking for hidden enemies or escape routes. He always stiffened when they passed anybody in the guard, as though they were a threat.

"You need to calm down." Eugene muttered to Hector, quiet enough to not be heard by Rapunzel. "You don't have to be a great knight of the Dark Kingdom here. You're a diplomatic guest. You're safe here."

Hector snorted. "I'm not a diplomatic anything. And you can call me paranoid, but my instincts have saved our lives more times than I can count."

Eugene knew that Hector wouldn't be swayed from this. So he just sighed and didn't say another word about it as they entered the dining room. The king and queen were already seated and plates of fruits and pastries were laid out on the table.

"I see you've finally decided to join us." Frederic said. Eugene grimaced, recognizing this as the mild scolding for being late. Usually Rapunzel would smile brightly, give an apology and vague excuse, and everything would be forgiven. Hector responded first.

"And I see you missed the royal lessons about how to treat diplomatic guests." Hector crossed his arms. "We were, what, two minutes behind you? Not much of a wait if you ask me?"

"Would you not talk like that to the king?" Eugene grabbed Hector's arm and pulled him to sit down. "Just eat something and don't talk."

Hector snorted. "You sound like your father, you know that?" But he still did as Eugene said. He looked at the different options and grabbed a few things to put on his own plate. Hector grabbed the food with his hands instead of using the serving utensils. He would pick something up, smell it, make a face, and put it right back. They were simple, but forgivable, social mishaps. The kind of thing that was tolerated in casual circles, but still looked down on just a little bit.

When Hector took a bite of a fruit and chocolate pastry he made a disgusted face, actually spit his bite out onto his plate, and put the pastry back on the serving plate. Eugene snatched it up before anybody else could notice.

"Are you insane?" He hissed. Hector just gave him a confused look, like he genuinely didn't see the problem. "You can't just take a bite, spit it out, and put it back for someone else to take."

"Why not?' Hector raised an eyebrow at him. "I've spent twenty five years eating what I need to to survive. Now that I'm able to eat what I want, I'm going to eat what I like, and I don't like that. But it would be pointless to throw food away just because I don't like it, so I thought someone else would."

And Eugene didn't know what he could say to that, because he got it. Growing up, he'd been forced to eat all kinds of disgusting things. He'd learned to force down food he despised, because beggars couldn't be choosers. Since staying at the castle, he too only ate what he enjoyed, unless Rapunzel made it just for him, in which case he would eat it no matter what. And Eugene also hated food waste, which was why he had helped put in place a system where the leftover and excess food from the palace would go to the needy citizens instead of the trash.

But just because Eugene understood didn't mean that what Hector had done was appropriate.

"Look, if there's something you don't like just give it to me." Eugene said tiredly. He was not in the mood for this. He wasn't feeling too hungry right now. Eugene spent breakfast just nibbling on some berries and whatever Hector put on his plate. He didn't notice when Hector would take something that he definitely enjoyed, and he would grab another one and just handed it to Eugene. He just ate what he was given.

Rapunzel was speaking to her parents about whether they should make more repairs on the castle, fix up the streets that had been torn up by the black rocks, or help the citizens rebuild their houses. Frederic thought that the castle should be their first priority, because it was a symbol to the rest of the kingdom. If they looked like they were in ruins, the people wouldn't trust them. Arianna thought the roads needed to be taken care of so that people could return to their daily routines without threat of injury. Rapunzel thought that making sure everybody had a safe place to sleep was the most important thing to think about right now.

Eugene didn't really pay attention to what they were saying. He'd heard this discussion before, and he didn't want to contribute because he felt like everything he said was wrong. He started to doze a little, only snapping to awareness when Hector nudged his arm.

"What?" Eugene asked. Hector smirked and picked up a blueberry.

"You wanna see what me and Adira used to do when we were stuck in boring meetings with your dad?" Hector asked. Eugene had a bad feeling about this, and he actually didn't want to see, but Hector didn't give him a chance to answer. He just smiled wickedly and flicked the blueberry towards the king.

"I missed." Hector almost pouted in disappointment. He handed a blueberry to Eugene. "Here, you try?"

"To what? Pelt the king with fruit?" Eugene liked his head where it was, thank you very much.

"No." Hector rolled his eyes. "Try to get the fruit in the crown." Eugene just stared at Hector. The man had to be completely out of his mind.

"Come on, it's fun." Hector grabbed a raspberry this time and before Eugene could stop him he threw it. He missed the crown again. He tried again another half a dozen times, and the Coronan royals were still oblivious. After Hector made a particularly wide shot, Eugene couldn't help himself.

"I thought you said you've done this before?" Eugene said.

Hector smirked. He knew that he had him just where he wanted him. "Why don't you show me how it's done?"

Eugene knew when he was being goaded, but he was bored and anxious at this meeting, and he envied the fun that Hector was having. He took a deep breath and threw his blueberry. The shot was short, but it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He couldn't help but smile and Hector laughed.

"There you go." Hector said. "Fun, right?"

"It's insane." Eugene said, though he was smiling. This was not something he should be doing, but he had missed causing harmless mischief. "I'll tell you what, I'll play along, but the second one of us wins, this game stops."

"If you win, I'll stop." Hector said. "If I win, I'll keep going until I get caught."

"Fine." Eugene grabbed a fistful of blueberries. "You're going down." For the next several minutes the two of them took turns trying to subtly throw their fruit. Sometimes they had to pause when one of the others would glance their way, but they soon continued their competition. Eugene didn't really stop to wonder why a mighty warrior who seemed to have perfect control of every aspect of his body was failing so much at a simple toss. Eugene was just determined to win.

Finally one of Eugene's blueberries landed right in the king's crown. Eugene laughed triumphantly and proudly, and then immediately felt those happy feelings slip away when he saw that they'd caught the attention of the royals.

"Fitzherbert." The king reached to the top of his head, grabbing the blueberry that had hit him. He did not look impressed. "What is this?"

"Uh…" Eugene quickly hid the blueberries behind his back. "Nothing." Hector snorted, not at all looking repentant now that they'd been caught. His amusement did nothing to calm the king's slowly rising temper.

"You know what, I just remembered that I had some training stuff scheduled with the guards." Eugene pushed himself out of his seat, grabbing Hector and pulling him up as well. "I've gotta go." He hurried out, pulling Hector with him before he actually started a war between their kingdoms. Frederic did not like being disrespected and humiliated, and if Hector laughed at him it would not end well.

They walked quickly down the halls before Hector finally resisted, making Eugene stop with him.

"Why are you so scared of him?" Hector asked.

"I'm not scared of him." Eugene said. "And so what if I was? He's basically my father-in-law. He's my boss. And he's the king. If he wanted to make my life a living hell, he'd do it, and he'd do it in a way that would leave everybody saying that he'd done nothing wrong." Eugene felt bad for saying those words, but then he remembered the way that Frederic had tried to lock Rapunzel in her room just because he couldn't let his adult daughter go. And he remembered the way that Varian had been threatened and hunted for months by the guard, just because Frederic didn't want to deal with the problems that the kid had noticed in the kingdom.

Eugene knew that Frederic could be a really sweet guy when he wanted to be, but he could also be absolutely horrible, and nobody could stop him. Arianna and Rapunzel were the only ones who could, and they loved him too much to accept how bad he was at his worst.

"You're a prince." Hector said. "And from what I heard you weren't afraid of standing up to Edmund when he was trying to kill you."

"That's different." Eugene said. When they'd gone to the Dark kingdom, the Mad King was just another obstacle. King Frederic was somebody that Eugene needed to deal with every day. He couldn't bite the hand that fed him.

Hector shrugged. "I'm just saying-"

"Well stop saying." Eugene said a bit more harshly than he intended. He immediately felt bad, but he didn't apologize. He just sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I have some work to do." He hadn't been kidding about the morning training. He didn't want to leave Hector unsupervised though. Not when they'd put the king in a bad mood. "Why don't you go take your pets for a run in the forest or something? Get some fresh air."

He expected Hector to argue that his animals weren't pets, but he didn't say a word. Hector just shrugged, said 'Kay', and he did as he was told, as simple as that. Eugene groaned and rubbed his forehead. This was not shaping up to be a good day, and it had only just started. Hopefully it would only get better from here.

Chapter Text

Hector wasn't allowed at the royal breakfasts anymore. Eugene wondered if that had been his plan the whole time, and he confronted the man about it. Eugene scolded him, saying that Corona was tense enough as it was and he wasn't helping things. Hector hadn't really cared, but the second that Eugene mentioned that his job was ten times harder if the king was having a bad day, he immediately looked contrite and apologized.

Eugene had been too stunned to say more. He didn't think he had ever heard Hector apologize. It didn't seem like him, and yet he seemed so sincere.

Eugene didn't know what to think of the man. He'd been so quick to stab at people who came too close to a tree. Eugene didn't trust people easily, and he didn't know how to trust people who left such a terrible first impression. But one thing that seemed clear about Hector was that he seemed sincere in everything he did. He seemed to want to get to know Eugene. He listened to what he had to say.

Eugene didn't understand why Hector was doing these things, but he didn't think the man had an angle or an ulterior motive. He was an open book. It just wasn't a story that Eugene knew how to read. Fortunately, he knew somebody who was.

Eugene had hoped that things with Hector would settle down after a few days, or maybe he would feel satisfied and just leave, but he had no such luck. After three days of Hector tailing him as he worked, distracting him from his patrols with more games that got them in trouble, and threatening the guards who were just trying to do their job, Eugene needed a break. More than that, he thought the castle needed a break from Hector.

Usually Eugene waited until he received an invitation before going to Old Corona. Today he took matters into his own hands. He told Rapunzel that he was taking the day off. She was beyond understanding. She didn't demand an explanation. She just kissed his cheek, took his hand, and told him to do whatever he needed to do.

Maybe he was taking advantage of the fact that he was dating the princess. Maybe the Captain of the Guard shouldn't leave the capital on such short notice. But he was going to give himself gray hairs if he didn't take a day off every once and awhile. Besides, in a way getting Hector away from the capital was doing his job, because he was keeping an unstable man away from the royal family.

Hector was ecstatic to be going to Old Corona, and he seemed happy about the small detour they made. Eugene had had a long couple of days, and he wanted to get some stuff off his chest, so they decided to see if Lance and the girls wanted to join them for the day.

Angry and Catalina were far too excited to see Hector, and he returned their enthusiasm and matched their energy. Apparently they had gotten to know Hector a bit when they'd all hid away from the banquet. Angry and Catalina were excited at the idea of Hector's bearcats and rhino and wanted to see them in person. And Hector apparently liked the two girls immediately, even though Eugene was convinced that he didn't like anybody.

"I don't get it." Eugene said. He and Lance rode their horses behind the others, watching as the others laughed as Hector showed the girls how to ride his rhino. "I don't know how to talk to that guy at all, and the three of them are acting like they'd known each other all their lives."

"Hector's really not that bad." Lance said. He had a fond smile on his face as he watched his girls.

"He tried to kill us." Eugene said. It was weird that he kept on needing to remind people of this fact.

"Lots of people have." Lance shrugged. "However, he's also doing something that nobody else can."

Eugene frowned. "What?"

"That." Lance gestured in front of them where Angry was now holding the rhino's reins while Hector and Catalina sat behind her, snarling at each other, but still looking like there was nowhere else they would rather be.

"I still have a hard time getting the girls to open up to me." Lance said. "Let alone a complete stranger. But they don't see Hector as a stranger. He's a kindred spirit. He understands why Angry needs both a home and her freedom, because he's the same way. And Catalina, she actually talks to him about the Wolf. The man is feral, and kinda scary, but he's able to understand the Curse in a way that I don't."

"He does?" Eugene tried to take a closer look. It almost seemed like he was teaching Catalina how to better tap into the Wolf without shifting. Eugene didn't know if that was a good idea, but she looked comfortable and safe in a way that he'd never seen her before. And so did Hector. Was there something about their beastial nature that he was missing?

"Maybe you should give the guy a chance?" Lance suggested. "You might like him."

"I'm trying, but I don't know how." Eugene said. He had to admit, he did have fun with Hector. The man had interesting stories about his time in the tree. He always seemed to know when Eugene was overwhelmed with his work, and that was when he would step in and make him get some lunch or just sit for a few minutes.

Eugene had seen how soft and gentle Hector could be when the man groomed and brushed down his animals. He did it as though there was no task in the world more important to him.

And then there was the other night when Hector had woken Eugene up and taken him up to the roof to show him the full moon and the stars. It had been a pretty sight, and Hector told stories about the night sky with so much passion that it was hard to admire. But because Eugene stayed up all night he didn't wake up in time for an important meeting he was supposed to be having with the king, and Frederic had not been impressed. Eugene got quite the lecture for it.

That was the problem that Eugene had with Hector. The man was nice enough, but he didn't look past what was right in front of him. Eugene didn't know if Hector just refused to see the bigger picture, or if he didn't know how, but the outcome was the same. Trouble.

When Hector took food from the kitchen to feed his animals, the cooks didn't have what they needed for dinner that night. Eugene told Hector he couldn't do that, so instead he took food from the stables for his animals, which meant there wasn't much to spare after the palace horses ate.

Hector trained outside, and even if it wasn't wet or rainy out there he seemed to always track mud inside the castle, giving the maids more work to do. And that was to say nothing about the trouble he caused for the guards.

It was as though Hector made it his life goal to get in the way of the castle guards. He fought with them. He showed up at their training sessions just to show them up and humiliate them. And the other day Eugene had received a report that Hector had gotten in the way of some guards arresting a thief in town.

When he confronted Hector about this, hoping it had just been a misunderstanding, the man had nodded.

"Yeah, 'course I helped him get away." Hector said. "He was hungry. He wanted food, so he got food. What's wrong with that?"

"He was stealing." Eugene said. "It's against the law."

Hector just looked confused. "It's against the law to help a hungry man?"

"It is when he steals." Eugene rubbed his hand over his face. He couldn't believe his life had led him here. Five years ago he would have been in Hector's shoes, or more likely the shoes of the thief. Why did he have to fight on the law's side now? "He should have paid for it."

Hector snorted. "If he had money, he would have." And that was where Eugene and Hector didn't completely agree. Eugene knew that a lot of people stole because they were hungry and felt they had no choice, but he knew just as many people who stole because they got a thrill out of it, even if they had the resources to avoid stooping so low.

"Look, just…don't get in the guard's way." Eugene said. "If you think someone is arrested unfairly, talk to me and I'll see what I can do. That's my job. And if someone looks like they need help, just give them the money so they can buy food instead of helping them steal it."

Hector gave Eugene an odd look, but he shrugged and said that he would see what he could do. And that was that.

Eugene hoped that Hector would relax after spending some time with his brother, and maybe Quirin had some tips on getting him under control. Eugene just didn't feel comfortable ordering Hector around. He knew the man obeyed him, but it didn't feel right.

When they got to Old Corona, Angry and Catalina slid off the rhino's back, almost getting trampled in the process, and ran to greet Varian, who was fortunately not in his lab. That boy was accident prone enough as it was when it came to his alchemy. Throwing two energetic girls who dismissed the risks of alchemy into the mix was just asking for trouble.

Quirin had been working in his garden. He stood up with a stretch and approached Eugene. "You look like you haven't slept in a week."

"It's a little hard to sleep when I'm worried about what a certain knight will do if I take my eyes off him for two seconds." Eugene dismounted his horse.

Quirin smiled fondly. "Oh, I know the feeling well." He chuckled and gestured towards his home. "Come on. Coffee helps."

Eugene followed Quirin inside and sat down at the table. He watched Quirin as he got to work. Maybe he should offer to help, but he knew from experience that Quirin liked to do things on his own. He liked to have that bit of control. Eugene could respect that.

"I suppose I don't have to ask how Hector's adapting." Quirin said. Eugene sighed.

"Has he always been so bad with people?" Eugene asked. "Sometimes it's clear that he does things on purpose, but other times I feel like he actually doesn't know any better."

Quirin shook his head. "That sounds like Hector. He's always struggled with people. Edmund and I tried to help him, to nudge him in the right direction, but it was clear from a young age that he would never really meet society's standards."

Eugene frowned. "What's wrong with him?"

"I used to wonder the same thing when I was younger." Quirin looked out the window. Eugene followed his gaze to see the others outside. It looked like Hector was trying to show the kids how to use swords. Fortunately the kids were holding branches instead of blades, and Hector was just going over forms and stances instead of encouraging them to actually fight.

"Things changed after Varian was born." Quirin said. "In some ways, Varian reminded me of Hector. He doesn't think like everybody else does. Neither of them do. Varian's struggles aren't the same as Hector's, but seeing Varian try so hard to be accepted, only to be shunned, has shown me what I should have realized with Hector years ago."

"What?" Eugene asked. If it helped him to understand not just Hector, but also, Varian, Eugene was all ears.

"That there's nothing wrong with them." Quirin said. "They're different, but I don't think that's a flaw that should be punished. I think the real problem is with society, for their unrealistic demands."

"I don't think it's unrealistic to ask someone to not steal." Eugene muttered. Quirin gave him a careful look, and Eugene had the feeling that he'd said something wrong.

"Perhaps." Quirin said. "But people aren't born with that knowledge ingrained in their head. It's something they learn. If somebody was never taught to not steal, or if they didn't understand the lesson when they were taught, can they really be blamed for stealing?"

Eugene felt his chest twist uncomfortably. He didn't know how he felt about this conversation. It still didn't quite make sense that somebody could be so oblivious of something that was common knowledge. But Eugene had seen Varian's genuine confusion when someone asked if he had double checked if his alchemy would explode. And he'd been right at Rapunzel's side as she struggled to learn things that came so easy to people.

Even now Rapunzel didn't wear shoes, even though it was a societal expectation, it was one that she didn't understand, so it was one that she didn't follow. The only reason people didn't give her a hard time about it was because she was a princess. Hector and Varian didn't have that luxury.

"I hadn't thought about it like that." Eugene muttered. He supposed he could try to be a bit more patient, guiding Hector instead of scolding him. "But he definitely antagonizes the guards on purpose. That's not him not knowing any better."

Quirin looked like he didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed. "What exactly has he been doing?"

"The guards say he antagonizes them when they're just trying to do their job." Eugene said. "He starts fights for no reason. Apparently he'd been trying to sneak into the dungeon, and-"

"Why?" Quirin cut in. Eugene blinked.

"What?"

"Why is he going to the dungeons?" Quirin asked slowly.

"I don't know." Eugene admitted. The guards hadn't thought it mattered, and Hector had been in a really bad mood when he'd been caught, so Eugene hadn't bothered asking. "Does it matter?"

Quirin was still for a long moment before he shook his head. "Maybe it doesn't. I'll speak to Varian about it." Eugene had no idea what the boy had to do with this situation, but before he could ask Quirin continued. "As for the other problems you mentioned, I'm curious about the fact that these vague descriptions were from the guards. Have you not witnessed any of this for yourself?"

Eugene opened his mouth to answer, only to lose it when he realized that there was nothing he could say. He'd noticed that Hector was tense around the guards, and they all seemed either angry or nervous when they saw him, but Eugene hadn't actually seen any of their confrontations. He'd only heard about it, and he'd only heard it from the guard. Maybe he really didn't have the full picture. It was something he would have to look into.

There was a darkness in Quirin's eyes. When he looked like that the family resemblance between him and Varian was clear. "If this is a continuous problem, and it happens when you're not there to see it, then it makes me wonder if Hector is really the problem here."

Eugene understood what he was saying. He knew that if Hector was going to pick a fight with the guard, he would do so whether Eugene was there or not. If Hector had a problem with someone, he made his issues clear and spoke his mind.

He didn't want to consider that the guards were actually the ones responsible for the issues between them. But Hector wouldn't hide this from Eugene. The guards would, and that would explain why he was only ever hearing about it.

"I'll get to the bottom of this." Eugene said. Maybe it wasn't his top priority, but it was up there. If this was what was necessary to keep Hector from stirring up trouble in Corona, then he'd do it.

"I would appreciate it if you did." Quirin brought a cup of coffee over to Eugene. He took a sip. It wasn't the best tasting stuff he'd ever had, but it did the job of waking him up and warming his soul. "Take a few minutes and relax. I'll have a few words with my son and my brother." Quirin went outside.

Eugene took a deep breath and just let himself calm down. He looked out the window and watched as Quirin pulled Hector and Varian aside. He couldn't hear what they were saying. Quirin wasn't shouting though, and Varian wasn't upset. The boy looked shocked and a little guilty. Varian looked from Quirin to Hector, watching as they seemed to argue. Finally Varian said something to Hector, and the man's tense posture relaxed.

Eugene finished off his coffee and went outside to catch the tail-end of the conversation.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." Varian said.

"I'm not going to get hurt." Hector said quietly. "I can handle myself against a few measly guards."

"Please don't fight my men." Eugene said. The three of them turned to look at him. "Look, I don't know what's going on. I'll take care of the guards, but I need you to let me do that." It would be a lot harder for him to find fault with the guards if Hector caused actual problems. If he gave them any reason to justify their actions, Eugene couldn't discipline them for acting within the law.

"Look, if they start causing problems I need you to just take it." Eugene said. "Promise me you won't fight back." Eugene had seen just how harsh and violent Hector could be when he got defensive. Eugene could admit that maybe there were some issues with the guard, but he didn't think it was something they should be killed and maimed over, and they would be if Hector actually retaliated. Eugene wanted to stop things before they got to that point, but he needed time.

Varian's eyes flashed. "You can't ask him to do that."

"I have to." Eugene said. Varian didn't understand. "Maybe the guards are treating Hector unfairly. Maybe they're unjustly suspicious of him. I don't know. I'll figure it out, and I'll talk to them. But I need you guys to let me handle it. Can you do that?"

Varian looked like he wanted to say no. That he didn't trust Eugene, and that hurt. He knew the kid still had some distrust towards the guards, but he hadn't thought it would ever extend to him as well. But Quirin put a hand on Varian's shoulder, calming him.

"Eugene's not asking Hector to not defend himself." Quirin said. "He just wants to make sure that things don't get out of control. You know how quickly things escalate in our family."

Varian huffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah, I do." He admitted reluctantly.

Hector rolled his shoulders. "If you want me to back off, I will." There was a weird look in his eyes. "Is that what you want?"

"Yes." Eugene said.

"M'kay." Hector said. "I won't cause problems."

Eugene breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you." He knew the issue wasn't resolved, but that was one less problem he had to worry about. Though now he had another problem on his hands.

Varian was still looking at him with distrust in his eyes. "Just…don't let him get hurt. The guards are….they're not nice."

"They're just trying to do their jobs." Eugene said confidently, though Varian didn't seem convinced. "Don't worry. I'm not going to let anything happen." It was a promise, though he didn't say the words, because he knew that would just make Varian trust him even less. But Eugene had no intentions of letting anything happen to Hector. He was more worried about Hector hurting the guards.

Eugene had had his own issues with the Coronan guards in the past, so he could understand Varian's caution, but he'd gotten to know these guys. They were protectors of the people. They were just trying to serve the kingdom. Maybe they could get a bit single-minded when they were dealing with someone they saw as a threat, and maybe that was what was going on with Hector, but the way to fix that was by proving them wrong. Not by defending yourself so much that you proved them right.

Hector was going to be just fine. This issue between him and the guards, whatever it was, would be taken care of. Eugene would make sure of it. He just needed time to figure it out.

Chapter Text

Hector hated the kingdom of Corona, but he really did like being here. The kingdom was so bright that it gave him a headache. The people were annoyingly cheerful, and Hector didn't believe it for one second. Nobody was that happy all the time. If it was real happiness, he'd get over it. He would accept that it was just a difference in cultures and lifestyles. But he knew this wasn't real because the Coronans seemed so shocked and almost frightened when anybody showed any raw anger, or sadness.

Either there was a magical spell over the kingdom that made the citizens physically incapable of feeling negative emotions, or a big part of their culture was to mask and hide when they were feeling something anything less than pure joy. They hid how they really felt because it was seen as socially unacceptable, and they quietly judged people who didn't do the same.

The criminal system here was a joke. Hector was used to the Dark Kingdom's harsh methods. If somebody did somebody to threaten the moonstone, they were arrested, banished, or executed, depending on the severity of their crimes. It could be cruel at times, but if the moonstone fell into the wrong hands it threatened the safety of the entire world.

But they'd been a kingdom full of death. They lacked food, and had a surplus of orphans. Thievery was common. They didn't arrest common criminals who were just doing what was necessary to survive. If they did that, they would have run out of citizens long before Edmund sent them away. Instead the royal family found guardians and shelter for the young thieves in their kingdom, setting them on the right path and giving them a chance.

Corona wasn't like that. They were harsh on all criminals, not just the extremely dangerous ones. One of Hector's nephews had nearly been hanged because he'd stolen a useless crown, and his other nephew had been arrested because the king didn't know how to handle his problems like an adult.

But Hector still liked being here, because this was where his family was. There was Varian, who was as loyal as the best of the Brotherhood. And there was Eugene, who Hector could still remember holding in his arms when he was an infant. He didn't know Eugene as an individual, but twenty five years ago he had promised to protect him with his life, and those feelings had not gone away after all this time.

Quirin had changed a lot after all this time, but Hector was enjoying getting to know this new him. He was far more relaxed than he'd once been, but he was still Hector's brother. Quirin had offered to let Hector stay with him and Varian in Old Corona, and it was a tempting offer, but he wanted to be near Eugene. He wanted to actually get to know his nephew beyond just the vague memory he had in his mind.

It was clear that Eugene didn't really like him around, but Hector saw how tense and stressed he was all the time. Eugene was looking out for an entire kingdom, taking on the role of the captain of the guard and the prince consort. That was a lot of responsibility to throw on somebody who was in their mid-twenties and had been looking out only for themselves their whole life.

Eugene didn't understand how bad a position he had been put in. The princess was naive of his responsibilities. The king surely knew what he was doing to Eugene, and he simply didn't care. So it was Hector's job to get Eugene to loosen up and remember that he was allowed to have fun sometimes. As a knight who also put his duties above everything else, Hector understood just how draining it could be. Eugene was going to end up working himself to the ground, and be ashamed for not being able to do more.

Eugene would probably deny that he would end up like that. He would accuse Hector of projecting. And maybe he was, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from keeping his nephew from making the same mistakes he had.

Hector tried really hard to do what Eugene asked of him, partially because he wanted his nephew to like him, and partially because he was his prince, and Hector's only purpose in life right now was to serve the royal family of the Dark Kingdom. Because he was still making the same mistakes he'd been making for twenty five years. He didn't know what else to do with his life. It was too late for him.

Sometimes Hector felt like he was making progress with Eugene. He was able to convince him to patrol the forests in the middle of the night with him, to embrace the wild side that everybody in the Dark Kingdom had in them. He saw Eugene smiling genuinely more, and not just grinning or smirking in that Coronan way that was meant to mask how he was really feeling.

But with every two steps forward they took they seemed to take two steps back. Hector would do something oblivious to Coronan's laws or protocols, and Eugene would have more work on his plate because of it. Or Hector would have a run-in with the guards, and that would always ruin Eugene's day.

Hector really hated Corona's guards, and the feeling was mutual. He'd made a really bad first impression. Hector had heard about the guards before he properly met any of them, and Varian didn't have kind words to say.

Varian hadn't tried to turn him against the guards, Hector just knew by looking into his eyes that he'd gone through something horrible, and he didn't know how to deal with it. He knew that Varian felt guilty about everything he'd done, but guilt wasn't what he saw. He saw fear.

Varian had told all of them what he'd been through and what he'd done, but Hector pulled him aside to learn more. It took some convincing, but Varian eventually opened up to him about his experience specifically with the guards. Varian was starting to move on, but he was scared of Corona's guards, and he didn't know how to get past it.

They'd thrown Varian out into a blizzard. They'd terrorized him for weeks, isolating him from everybody else and trying to scare him into submission. And though Varian claimed they'd never hurt him in the dungeon, they threatened it and promised that the only thing holding them back was the fact that he was so young.

Varian hadn't have any hopes of getting out of the dungeon, and he'd had more than a few panic attacks at the thought of the impending torture that would fill his life in just a few short years.

People shouldn't be isolated or live in constant fear and hopelessness. It was enough to drive anybody insane, and Hector couldn't blame the kid for taking the out that was given to him. And he definitely couldn't blame the kid for being afraid of the guards. Especially since Varian didn't know which ones were just doing their jobs and which ones were sick sadists who used their positions of power to get away with hurting people.

Hector hadn't intended to antagonize the guards, because he knew that he wouldn't be the one to pay for it, Varian and Eugene would be. The guards would think that Varian had set him on them, and they would blame Eugene for not keeping him in line.

Hector's first interaction with the guards could have gone much better. He had been using their training grounds, because it had been empty at the time and he had thought that access was available to anybody, with priority given to the guard. If someone had asked nicely, or even passive aggressively, for him to leave, he would have.

Instead one of the guards had commented from the side that he couldn't believe the riff-raff that they let in the castle. Another guard had chuckled cruelly and said was it any surprise, considering the princess' lowlife boyfriend and the walking disaster that was the royal alchemist.

Nobody talked about his nephews like that. Hector swung his blade around and nicked the guy across the cheek, not doing any real damage, but sending a clear message.

"The only riff-raff I see are you show ponies masquerading as sorry excuses for guards." Hector had growled. That had put him on all of the guards' bad side. Those who witnessed it either agreed with what their companions had said, or they hadn't heard any of it and they just saw Hector lash out for no reason. The guards who hadn't been there just heard about it from the others, and of course Hector was portrayed as the crazy one.

The guards tried to put Hector in their place. It really didn't work, and that was infuriating to them. Hector could easily go toe-to-toe with them, but Eugene had specifically asked him to pull back. He didn't want to give his nephew any more reason to hate him, and as captain of the guard Eugene should know how they worked better than he did.

Hector tried hard to behave himself, and he thought that Eugene was slowly starting to warm up to him. They seemed to be having more good days than bad days, and maybe he'd said something to the guard, because Hector could count on one hand the number of incidents he'd had with them over the past few days. Everything was fine, but Hector always screwed things up eventually.

He didn't try to do anything wrong. He actually still thought that he was in the right. He'd just been walking in town when he saw a kid just a little younger than Varian running down the street, looking more desperate than any kid should. He held a coin purse in his hands, and there were no less than four guards chasing him. It didn't take a genius like Varian to figure out what had happened.

In one fluid movement Hector stepped in and grabbed the kid's arm, stopping him in his tracks and spinning him around so that Hector was between him and the guards. The kid shouldn't steal, and the coins should go back to the person he took them from, but he didn't want to just hand the kid over to the guards either. Hector would take him to Eugene himself if he had to.

One of the guards reached for the boy. Hector growled and brought out his blade.

"Lay one finger on the boy and you'll lose a hand." Hector said lowly. He recognized one of these guards as the one that this had all started with. With the way the guard was glaring at him, he hadn't forgotten the incident any more than Hector had.

"You're interfering in our work." The harsh guard said.

"Your job is to carry out justice." Hector said. "Unless you're more incompetent than I thought, you shouldn't need four full grown men to pursue a child. The fact that that's exactly what you did tells me you didn't have justice in mind, you had cruelty, and I know just what you guys do to misguided kids."

"Your troubled nephew doesn't have any idea what cruelty means." The guard hissed. "I would be more than happy to give you a demonstration."

"Your captain wouldn't allow it." Hector said. Eugene wouldn't tolerate cruelty towards anybody, even prisoners.

"My Captain is ignorant of the responsibilities that come with his position." The guard said. He clearly had no respect for Eugene. "We can let him know. I've been dying to show him." Hector had a bad feeling about this. He wanted to show this fool what would happen if he even tried, but Eugene's words about not resisting the guard came to his mind. Eugene said he would deal with them. He'd asked for Hector's trust, and he knew a thing or two about blind faith.

"Let this kid go." Hector said. He could feel the thief trembling in his grip. He'd probably more than learned his lesson. "Never let me hear another disrespectful word about either of my nephews come out of your mouth, and you can give me whatever demonstration you like."

Two of the other guards exchanged conflicted glances, but the jerk in front just smirked, his eyes glistening with a maliciousness and greed that Hector knew all too well.

"Very well." The guard said. He stepped forward, but the last of the guards grabbed his arm and stopped him before he could get to Hector.

"I don't agree with everything Captain Fitzherbert does either, but he's not going to let you get away with this." The other guard warned. He didn't really care what happened to Hector. He just didn't want his coworker to get in trouble.

"Getting away with something implies that I'm doing something wrong." The jerk looked Hector in the eyes. "I'm just sending a message to a problematic family. They all think they're above the law. They hold positions of power in our kingdom, even though they're foreign rats. Even after what happened to the brat they still didn't learn respect, so I guess we're going to have to make the message more clear."

"So, for the crime of aiding and abetting a criminal, and attempting to manipulate the monarchy, you're being brought in to learn a lesson about where your place is." The guard leaned closer and lowered his voice so only Hector would hear him. "And if you resist, me and some of my friends will pay a visit to Varian. Maybe he's a better learner than you are."

Hector growled, but didn't fight as he had handcuffs put around his wrists. He was pushed back towards the castle, and he went willingly. Eugene had told him not to fight the guards. There was no way that he knew what they were doing. But he would find out. If Hector was being officially arrested, and he was if this idiot was trying to pretend that he could get away with this, then Eugene would find out about it sooner than later. He'd get an official report. One that probably claimed that Hector deserved this and left the guards no choice, but a report nonetheless.

Hector was brought to the dungeons, and he couldn't help but remember when he'd tried to come down here before. He'd just wanted to see what conditions Varian had been exposed to. Now he was going to see it for himself.

Hector was dragged past the cells and brought into a large and damp room that was clearly meant for interrogation and torture. Varian said that he'd been brought in here once after he'd been especially unruly. They chained him in manacles that had him dangling in the air, unable to even reach the ground with his toes. He'd been left there all night as a warning as to what would happen should he upset the guards again.

Did Eugene even know that this room existed in the dungeons? As captain, he should. But why would he allow it? Why did it still look like this room was still in operation?

There were a number of manacles on the wall, all at different heights, and Hector had the feeling it wasn't to accommodate people of different sizes. He was proven right when he was pushed to his knees and the handcuffs were removed, only to be replaced with manacles. He was held to the wall in an awkward position, and it only got worse from there.

The guard went to another wall and grabbed an iron collar and some chains. He looked down at Hector with a sneer. "Sit up." Hector growled and glared at him. The guard's expression darkened. "Sit up now, or I'll reconsider keeping up my end of the deal." Hector breathed out slowly and adjusted his position so he was kneeling upright and his hands were about level with his head.

He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as the guard put the collar around his neck, pinching his skin when he latched it shut. The guard then took the chains and used them to connect the manacles to the collar. Hector knew that if he tried to move to a different position to give his legs a rest, the short chains would be pulled taut and it would put pressure on his neck. He didn't know if it would choke him or not. He didn't want to find out.

"You act real tough for a mongrel." The guard grabbed a whip off the wall. "Let's see how long that lasts."

Chapter Text

Eugene had had a good enough day at work. No terrorists had attacked. There were no kingdom-wide celebrations that he had to help Rapunzel prepare for, and make sure they had enough security for. There were no upcoming inter-kingdom meetings or banquets that he would never feel fully prepared for. Varian was in Old Corona, so Eugene didn't have to check up on him to make sure he was eating, sleeping, and not blowing things up. And Hector hadn't distracted him from his job yet today, or caused problems with the guards. At least, not as far as he knew.

Actually, Eugene hadn't seen Hector at all that day. At first it had been a relief, because he could finally focus on his job and have some time where he didn't have to think about being a lost prince, or having a weird family. As the day went on Eugene started to have a bad feeling about this. Hector had never been gone for so long without at least telling him where he was going.

Maybe he should just appreciate the peace and quiet, but the more he tried to not worry about it, the more worried he got. Finally, when he was done with work for the day, he decided to do something about it. He grabbed a nearby guard and asked him if he'd seen Hector. The guard got a strange expression on his face.

"The report is on your desk, Sir." The guard said, and then he walked away before Eugene could get clarification.

Eugene groaned in frustration. So something had happened to Hector. Not just that, but Eugene had forgotten that he wasn't done with his work yet. He needed to go through today's reports.

Eugene reluctantly went downstairs to his office located near the dungeons. He knew there wasn't a lot of paperwork, but he hated that he had to do any of it. Still, he had a job to do. Eugene sat at his desk, pulled out a bag of cookies that Lance had made a few days ago. It was so much easier to work when he was bribing himself.

Eugene passed through all the reports and files until he found the one about Hector. He settled back and read through it, and every word made him more and more angry and concerned.

He should have talked to the guards about Hector. He'd been meaning to, but since Hector had seemed to stop antagonizing them as much the problem didn't seem so bad, so it had slipped down Eugene's priority list. Now it was right up there at the top again.

This was an arrest report, and a vague one at that. Eugene had been a thief, and he was now the Captain of the guard, so he knew how to interpret different styles of reports. If a report was extensive and very specific, then the suspect was probably a repeat offender, and the guards were desperate to get them off the street. Those were the criminals that Eugene was actually fine with arresting, because he knew for a fact that they were the ones who were criminals for the thrill of it, rather than out of need.

If there was just a single charge, but it was more serious and very specific, then Eugene had to tread carefully. Those were the cases like Varian's and Cassandra's, but also Andrew's. Each of those cases needed to be looked at individually.

Hector's report was far too vague. It listed a minor crime, and a fairly serious one, but didn't explain what it meant. How did Hector aid and abet a criminal? For all Eugene knew, it was talking about when Cassandra brainwashed the brotherhood, and the guard was using it as an excuse to arrest Hector because of their grudge against him.

What really infuriated Eugene was the other accusation. Manipulating the monarchy. That accusation wasn't about Hector, it was about Eugene.

He knew that some of his men didn't like him. He'd heard the rumors that he had manipulated his way into the royal family to gain their favor. He just tried to ignore them, because what was he supposed to do about such rumors? Punish those participating? That would probably just reinforce the idea in their minds that he was just out for power.

He could handle their rumors and disrespect, but this was out of line. The guards couldn't do anything to Eugene, so they were putting his so-called crimes on Hector, who hadn't done anything that could be considered manipulating the royal family. He didn't even talk to them. He talked to Eugene, because they were family. Was that a crime now?

Eugene felt his temper rise when he saw that the guard responsible for the arrest hadn't put his name down. It wasn't unheard of for the guards to forget to sign their papers, because they had other work to worry about, but this wasn't a simple mistake. Eugene knew that this had been done on purpose, because the guard responsible didn't want to be disciplined.

The report also didn't say what Hector's punishment was? Had he been given a fine? Was he sent to work a day in the fields to work off his 'debt to society' with physical labor? Had he been locked in the dungeon? Sent to his room in a type of house arrest? Eugene didn't know, but he wasn't going to rest until he found out.

Pushing aside the rest of his papers, not caring about them at all, Eugene left his office to look for Hector. Because he was right next to the dungeons, and that seemed like the kind of supposably harmless punishment that the guards thought they could get away with, that was where he searched first.

He walked swiftly past the cells, glancing in all that he passed. The dungeons had a lot of levels to them though, and he didn't want to waste time checking all the cells. Especially since Eugene knew he didn't actually have a good poker face. If he was concerned or angry, which he currently was, then it showed on his face. Normally he didn't mind this too much, but he didn't think the criminals locked up down here needed to know that the captain of the guard was clearly upset.

It was a relief when he saw Stan and Pete patrolling the dungeons. He knew that these men at the very least didn't have a problem with him. They didn't have a problem with Hector. They were safe to talk to.

"Guys," Eugene approached them. "Have you seen my uncle?"

Stan and Pete looked at each other. They looked confused. "Who?" Pete asked.

Eugene didn't have the patience for this. "Hector. Scary looking guy. Fights with guards for fun. Sleeps with animals."

"Oh, him." Stan nodded. "I mean, I haven't seen him."

"Keep an eye out for him for me, will you?" Eugene asked. "I don't know where he is, and someone decided to mess with him. He got arrested, and I don't know what happened to him."

Pete's expression shifted slightly. "Actually, I thought I heard something earlier. It sounded like someone was in the interrogation chamber. I didn't really stick around to figure out who. I don't like being anywhere near that place."

"Oh, me either." Stan said. "The screams creep me out."

Eugene felt a shiver go down his spine. "Hang on, screams? Interrogation chamber? What are you talking about?"

Stan and Pete looked at each other before looking back at him. "You don't know about the interrogation chamber?" Stan asked. There was a touch of pity in his tone, and it didn't make Eugene feel better. He had a pretty good idea what the interrogation chamber was about. Even without knowing about the screams, he would know what happened there. What terrified him was that it was possibly Hector who was stuck there.

"Take me there." Eugene insisted firmly. They looked hesitant, but they did what they were told. Eugene was brought to a locked room that he'd passed by dozens of times, and never thought twice about. He always thought it was just a storage room. Clearly not.

"Get me my keys." Eugene said to Pete. The man ran off to obey. While he was gone Eugene went to the door and knocked on it. If Hector was in there, he needed to know.

"Hello?" Eugene asked. "Is anyone in there?" He listened carefully for an answer. He almost missed it when it came, and he was both relieved and horrified when he heard Hector's voice.

"Horace?" Hector's voice was quiet and weak, but it was there. Eugene's search for his uncle was over, but what state was he in? Stan mentioned that screams came from this room. Eugene swore that if his guards had laid a hand on his uncle, he would tear them apart. Being fired would be the least of their concerns.

"Pete!" Eugene shouted. "Hurry up!" It was another minute before Pete came running back with the Captain's keys that Eugene had left in his office. He wanted to snatch the keys and open the door, but he forced himself to stand back and let Pete take care of it. The second the door was unlocked Eugene ran in, and he felt disgust, horror, and fury at the sight before him.

Hector was kneeling on the ground, his hands in manacles above his head. There was a collar around his neck that was chained to the manacles. Hector was slumped forward, with the chains pulling on the collar. Even from here Eugene could see the redness around Hector's neck, and he worried if the man could breathe like that.

Hector's shirt had been ripped away, and his chest was covered in angry whip marks and bruises. His head was bleeding and it looked like a clump of hair had been pulled right out.

Eugene had seen Hector fight fiercely, but right now he just looked beaten. This wasn't the Hector that Eugene knew. Why hadn't he fought back? Eugene knew that Hector could easily take on one guard. What had happened?

Eugene was scared of the answer, because he had a suspicion. He'd explicitly asked Hector to not fight the guards. To roll over and take whatever they dished out. It had been so easy to ask at the time, because Eugene never thought they would go this far. Clearly he had underestimated the cruelty of his men.

Varian hadn't. The kid had been worried about this very thing happening. Eugene had sworn that nothing bad was going to happen to their uncle, and Varian had trusted him. The kid had enough trust issues as it was. He didn't need another promise broken.

What disgusted Eugene most was that he could see that Hector was wearing a muzzle. It wasn't too restrictive. He could still move his jaw and breath properly, and obviously he could talk. The only thing it seemed like this thing achieved was humiliation and dehumanization.

Eugene didn't think that torture was a good method of interrogation, but even if he did this muzzle would be completely unnecessary. It didn't make someone more willing to talk. This was just cruelty and nothing else.

Eugene was stunned and still for a long moment before he got into action. He ran forward and supported Hector to get the pressure off his neck. "Stan, find the castle doctor and send him to my room. And then go get Lance." Eugene knew that Hector would be happier if he wasn't in the infirmary. And he just wanted Lance there as an additional support, because he was running solely on anger and protectiveness right now. Eugene knew that as soon as he got Hector out of here and in the care of a doctor he was going to fall to pieces. Lance had always been really good at picking him up again.

Stan hurried out, and Pete stepped forward with the keys, getting started on the collar first. Eugene wanted the muzzle off, but Pete was probably right. The collar was their biggest concern. Then they would get rid of the manacles, and then finally they could worry about the muzzle.

"What happened?" Eugene asked.

"Your guards are jerks." Hector huffed. Eugene frowned. This wasn't the result of someone being a jerk. This was someone abusing their power because they were upset that they thought someone else was doing just that.

"Jerks don't muzzle people like they're animals." Eugene growled. Hector gave a breathless laugh. Eugene was worried about how casually he was acting. Was Hector so used to getting hurt that he thought this was normal and acceptable? Or was he so hurt that he just wasn't thinking straight.

"He didn't like when I bit him." Hector said proudly. Pete released the collar and pulled it off. Hector slumped more now that he could. He was straining his arms, but at least his neck was free. Eugene held onto him while Pete got started on the manacles.

"I swear, I'm not trying to blame you, but how could you let this happen?" Eugene asked. "You can take a single guard on with your hands tied behind your back." His stomach twisted. "Please tell me you didn't just roll over and take it because of what I said, because you have to know this wasn't what I meant."

Hector hummed and seemed to nuzzle against Eugene. He wasn't used to this type of affection, but he wasn't going to push him away. "He said if I fought him then he'd go after Varian. I can take a few hits if it means you guys are left alone."

Eugene looked at Pete, who started to rush releasing Hector. Finally the manacles were released, and Hector slumped fully against Eugene, groaning at the sudden change.

"Give me the keys." Eugene said. He could take care of it from here. "Go to Old Corona and bring Varian and Quirin here. Bring them to my room, and see to it that no other guard even talks to them." Eugene still didn't know who was responsible for this. Until he did, every one of them was a potential threat.

Pete hurried off. Eugene got to work getting the muzzle off. Hector didn't make it easy for him. He twisted his head and looked at Eugene.

"They don't need to come here." Hector said.

"Yeah, they do." Eugene said. "Because I won't feel confident that Varian's safe unless I have my eyes on him, and you know that Quirin's going to want to be here as soon as he finds out what happened to you."

"I'm fine." Hector rubbed his wrists. "I've had worse."

"That isn't the vote of confidence you seem to think it is." Eugene unlocked the rusty muzzle and carefully took it off. As soon as he pulled it away from Hector's face he tossed it carelessly aside. He wanted to burn it, and condemn everything in this room. This shouldn't even exist. Why didn't he know about it?

Eugene had nobody to blame but himself on that aspect. It was his job to know about this kind of thing. What other abuse were the guards getting away with right under his nose? Eugene had been told dozens of times by Varian that the guards were mean, but he thought that he was exaggerating. Eugene had convinced himself that his men were just doing their job. Nothing more. Why had he been so blind?

Eugene stood up, supporting Hector. "Let's get you looked at."

Hector half-heartedly tried to pull away from him. "I told you, I'm fine. I just need to sleep it off."

Eugene tightened his grip on him. "You're not fine. Please, just…just let me make it up to you."

Hector was quiet for a long moment. "I don't want to be just another thing on your list of responsibilities you hate." Hector's voice was strangely quiet. He was admitting something personal. Eugene felt like he had no right to hear it, but he knew it was important.

"You're not just my responsibility." Eugene said. "You're family. Family takes care of each other."

Hector grew tense in his grip and Eugene felt like he'd said something wrong. He looked at Hector, whose head was lowered. Was he hurt? "Uncle Hector?"

Hector made a weird sound that could have been a groan, could have been a laugh, and could have been a sob. "You've never called me that."

Eugene blinked. "Uncle?"

"Hector." He said, and Eugene felt gutted. That couldn't be right. He'd called Hector by his name…hadn't he? Eugene couldn't remember. He hadn't really thought about it. But this was the kind of thing that would linger in someone's head. Hector would definitely notice if his nephew wouldn't even call him by his name, only referring to him as the 'crazy rhino guy'.

Hector was stubborn, but he wasn't an idiot. He probably knew perfectly well that Eugene felt conflicted about him being here. Hector probably thought he couldn't care less about him. Eugene had probably tried to convince himself of the same thing. But he wasn't going to make that mistake again.

He didn't understand Hector, but he did like him. He'd come to see tht everything Hector did was out of loyalty. Before, it had been to the moonstone. Now that that was gone, that loyalty was towards his family, because it was all he had. Hector had let himself get hurt to protect Varian, as well as to keep his promise to Eugene. He cared about them, that much was clear. But Eugene was worried that Hector didn't realize that he deserved that same concern aimed towards him.

"You've taken care of us." Eugene said. "Let us take care of you."

Hector sighed. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"No, you don't." Eugene said. "We're both covered in your blood, and the more you fight me, the longer this will take. And if we don't get you cleaned up by the time Varian gets here, then he'll see how bad it is, and he'll faint at the sight of your blood. Do you really want that?"

Hector groaned and leaned against Eugene more. "You're horrible, you know that?"

"I've come to learn that's a requirement in this family." Eugene said. He supported Hector as he brought him out of the large room and away from the dungeons. He wanted to take him away from the castle and the guard responsible for this, but he didn't think Hector was ready to move around so much. Hector acted like he was fine, even as he was bleeding, so Eugene didn't know just how bad this was.

Until the doctor gave Hector the okay, he was going to stay right here, and Eugene wasn't going to let anything else happen to him. Not if he could do anything about it.

Chapter Text

The doctor treated Hector well. He dealt with him with far more patience than Eugene would probably do if he was expected to treat him. Hector resisted any treatment, insisting he was fine. He said that they should just wipe away the blood, bind them up to keep him from making a mess and scaring Varian, and then call it a day. He tried to intimidate the doctor when the man tried to do more, but he wasn't swayed.

Eugene didn't know what kind of a miracle worker the doctor was, but by the time Lance arrived Hector had the scratches and whip marks cleaned and treated, and the Doctor had convinced him to let him look carefully at his head injury.

Apparently the guard had let his whip stray past Hector's chest. He'd had the audacity to try to try to whip Hector's head, and it had gotten tangled in his hair, hence the head injury and missing chunk of hair. Hector reported it so calmly, like it wasn't a concern, which just worried Hector that much more. What kind of life had Hector been leading where he didn't think it was a big deal when he was about an inch away from his ear being ripped off, and fairly close to being blinded as well.

Eugene wished his dad or Adira were here. They'd be able to talk some sense into Hector and make him understand that he was hurt, and that wasn't something that should be brushed off, no matter how seemingly insignificant it was. At least Quirin would be here soon. Maybe he'd be able to knock some sense into Hector's head.

Eugene jolted when he heard a knock on the door, and Hector jumped with a growl. As much as he was trying to act like he was fine, Hector was on edge and expecting trouble even more than usual. Whether he liked it or not, he was hurting more than just physically after what the guard had done with him.

Eugene slowly opened the door, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Stan and Lance. He pulled his friend in and asked Stan to guard the room from the outside.

"I'm so glad you're here." Eugene said. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"It looks to me like you're doing fine." Lance said. He gave Hector a wave. The man rolled his eyes, but returned the gesture. "How'd you get yourself in the interrogation chamber?"

"With my charming personality." Hector said dryly. Eugene wasn't amused, but Lance laughed.

"Does everybody know about that room except me?" Eugene asked tensely. Lance shrugged.

"You have a tendency to ignore things that you don't want to think about." Lance said. Eugene scowled. He hated it, but he knew his friend was right. He'd spent his whole life running away from things that were hard to swallow. He was trying to do better, but he was so deep in his habits that he didn't even realize what he was doing unless it was pointed out to him. Eugene had a support system now, but his greatest supporter was Rapunzel, and she was worse at ignoring things she didn't like than he was.

Eugene needed to do better. He didn't like his job, but he still had a responsibility. If he continued to ignore it, people were going to get hurt. Eugene couldn't have that on his conscience.

He would weed through the guard. He'd go over the arrest warrant protocols so there was no guesswork involved. He'd see to it that the prisoners were treated with at least a little dignity. No more dehumanizing treatment.

And he'd get rid of the interrogation room. That was high on his list of priorities.

"Don't aggravate your head." The doctor said as he finished up with that injury. He took a balm and started putting it on Hector's swollen wrists and throat. Hector huffed and looked like he wanted to push the doctor away. Lance stepped up, sitting on Eugene's bed next to Hector to distract him and get him to sit still.

"So, what guard are we planning to murder, and how will we do it?" Lance asked. "Adira told me that you're a natural at hiding a body."

Hector smiled slightly, and Eugene needed to nip this in the bud. He knew they weren't being serious, but there were better ways to distract Hector and cheer him up than by plotting a crime.

"I'm right here." Eugene crossed his arms. He may not be a good captain of the guard, but it was still his job to keep this kind of thing from happening.

"And you'll be there with us when we get revenge." Lance gave Eugene a warning look, but it wasn't necessary. The truth was, Eugene wanted revenge too. He tried to remind himself to be professional about it, but he didn't want to just discipline his guard and get rid of any problematic men. He wanted to get justice for his family. He didn't just want the guard responsible to learn that he shouldn't do this again, he wanted to show him why this was a mistake in the first place.

Eugene had never been a violent person, but he regularly looked the other way when someone tried to do something questionable and a part of him agreed with them. He was trying to break that habit, but maybe turning a blind eye every once and a while wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Lance and Hector started plotting things out. Eugene was about 95% sure that they were just having fun with things, but he wouldn't be surprised if they followed through with two or three of their plans. Especially if Varian got involved.

That kid was going to be out for blood when he found out what happened, and Eugene thought there was a high chance that at least some of the blood spilt would be his own.

Eventually the doctor was done. Eugene offered to help him carry his things back to the infirmary, because he wanted to know just what was wrong with Hector.

"So, how bad is it?" Eugene asked. "Really?"

"Nothing too lasting." The doctor said. "My biggest concern is his high level of pain tolerance. He should be in a considerable amount of pain right now, and he's acting as though it's a minor inconvenience. I don't know if he's just really good at ignoring the pain, or if he truly doesn't feel it as badly as anybody else would."

"I mean, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?" Eugene asked. "We don't want him to hurt."

"Yes, but Hector needs to recover." The doctor said. "He should heal in the next few days, but not if he doesn't take it easy. His head's sensitive, and the smallest wrong stretch can make the injuries on his chest start bleeding again. If he doesn't feel pain, or doesn't take his discomfort seriously, he can make it so much worse."

Eugene felt a rush of fear. He didn't want Hector to hurt himself. He would have to keep an eye on him, but it would be difficult to do that when he was also going to finally deal with the guards, and that would need his full attention for a bit.

He hoped that Quirin would help keep an eye on Hector and keep Lance and Varian out of trouble on their quest for revenge. Eugene didn't want to just shove their family issues on him, but he couldn't do all of this by himself.

"We'll keep an eye on him." Eugene said. The doctor gave him some basic advice on what he should be keeping an eye out for. Eugene made a mental note of it all, and he'd tell Lance and Quirin about it all.

After seeing the doctor to his room, Eugene made his way back. He walked slowly taking advantage of the fresh air. He should have gone faster. About halfway there he heard a familiar voice call out to him. One that he was usually more than happy to hear. Right now though it was furious and sent shivers down his spine, because Eugene knew just what this person was capable of when they were mad.

"Eugene!" Varian called out. Eugene turned to see the sixteen year old, and for a moment he felt like he was thrown back to when Varian had terrorized the kingdom. The kid was a force to be reckoned with. Eugene would be worried about his safety if he didn't see Quirin right behind Varian, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. Quirin didn't look amused either, but he didn't react with violence as easily as Adira, Varian, or Hector would.

"You said you wouldn't let anything happen!" Varian shouted. He looked like he wanted to hit Hector. Quirin held him back. "You said he wouldn't get hurt. You lied to me!"

"I didn't lie." Eugene said. "I just…wasn't able to keep my promise." Varian's eyes flared with fury, and Eugene knew he hadn't been able to reassure him.

"What a surprise." Varian growled. "Where is he?"

"My room." Eugene said. "The doctor said he'd be fine."

Varian shot him a harsh glare and pulled out of his father's grip. He went ahead to Eugene's room. He lingered behind, sighing. He felt overwhelmed. Quirin came up and put a hand on his shoulder. Eugene flinched. It took him a second to realize that he wasn't going to hurt and punish him. He was offering comfort.

"Are you okay?" Quirin asked.

"I messed up." Eugene said.

"Varian will forgive you." Quirin said. "He's quick to anger, but quick to forgive." Eugene knew that, but sometimes he wished Varian didn't forgive so easily. He was going to get himself hurt and taken advantage of one of these days. But Eugene didn't want to teach Varian that it was okay to not forgive those that hurt you, because Eugene himself got a lot of forgiveness from the kid and he didn't want to lose this relationship. Team Awesome meant too much to him.

"I mean I messed up with Hector." Eugene said. "He said I've never called him by his name before, and for all I know he's right."

Quirin grimaced. He was offering Eugene comfort, but he couldn't deny that there were so many things he could have done better.

"What exactly happened?" Quirin asked. "Pete wasn't forthcoming with the information. He just said that Hector had been hurt by a guard."

Eugene talked about all of it. The whipping. The manacles. The muzzle. Quirin didn't look surprised by any of it, and it didn't make Eugene feel any better.

"And he's acting like all of this is normal!" Eugene threw his hands in the air.

"To him, it is." Quirin said. "I don't kow why. We've tried to talk to him about it, and we feel like we've made some progress, but then something happens and we're right back where we started." Quirin shook his head. "He's very quick to sacrifice himself if it means protecting something or someone he thinks is more important. The guard probably threatened something or someone."

"He didn't say anything about it, but I wouldn't be surprised if the guard threatened my position." Eugene looked around to make sure that Varian wasn't in hearing range. He lowered his voice. "Hector also said he threatened to hurt Varian if he didn't let himself be hurt."

Quirin's eyes darkened, and now he looked ready to get out there and hunt down the guard responsible. "Do you know who did this?"

"Not yet, but that's my first order of business tomorrow." Eugene said. "I wanted to make sure that Hector was okay first."

"You did the right thing." Quirin said. "You're doing your best."

"It's not good enough." Eugene said.

"It is." Quirin assured him. "Trust me. A big part of being part of a family is feeling like you're not good enough. You just need to remember that even as you should strive to improve, you are good enough."

Eugene didn't think he believed him, but it was a nice thought. Keeping a hand on his shoulder, Quirin led him back to where the others were waiting. Pete was still watching the room, looking nervous.

"Varian's not very happy." Pete said. "He's not going to go on another rampage, is he?"

Quirin scowled and Eugene gave him an unimpressed look. Eugene crossed his arms and Pete raised his hands defensively.

"I'm just asking." Pete said.

"Let me worry about it." Eugene said. They went inside and found Varian curled up on the bed while Hector braided his hair. Eugene wanted to remind the kid to be careful to not agitate Hector's injuries, but he held his tongue. He shouldn't upset Varian more than he already had.

Hector was talking to Varian, not bothering to keep their conversation private.

"It was my own stupid fault." Hector said. "Eugene has a lot on his plate, and I haven't been making his job easy. Things were bound to slip under the radar."

"Family never should be one of those things." Varian growled.

"Well, sure." Hector said, and that made Eugene's heart pang. Even when Hector was defending him, he was admitting that he'd messed up. And Eugene hated that Hector was blaming himself for what the guard had done to him in the dungeon.

Hector pulled Varian close. "Eugene's still getting used to this whole 'having a family' thing. Take it from me, it's a hard thing to get used to. You need to cut him a little slack. You think you can do that?"

Eugene thought that they were oblivious to his presence, but Varian turned his head and looked up at him. "I can try." Varian sounded a little scared and very cautious, but Eugene would take what he could get.

"I'm not just going to let them get away with this." Eugene said. "The guy responsible, and anybody else who was even remotely involved, I'm going to find them." He gave Varian a small smile. "And you know, Hector didn't bother to learn the name of the guard who did this. I bet you have a bunch of theories about who could stoop to this. You've tried to tell me who the problematic guards were before. I didn't listen before. I'll listen now, if you'll give me a chance."

Varian blinked and gave him a slow, sad smile. "I think I have a few ideas. But maybe…maybe we'll talk about it tomorrow. I just want to be with our family tonight."

Eugene sat at the edge of the bed, nudging Hector's legs. "I think that sounds perfect." Eugene still didn't think he understood what it meant to be a family. He felt like he was failing every step of the way. But the Brotherhood, his family, still gave him a chance. They didn't catch him as he fell, but they reached a hand out and pulled him back up again.

He wanted to be able to do the same for them. Eugene felt like he wasn't strong enough to be able to do so, but he didn't want to give up. He didn't want to lose this. His family drove him nuts, and he didn't understand them, but they filled a hole in his life that had always been there. Maybe it wasn't a perfect fit, but it worked well enough. He just had to put in the effort. It was hard, and he was probably going to mess up again, but at least he knew they were going to be there to help him through it.

And now Eugene knew that he was going to be there to help them in return. Even if they were all struggling, at least they were struggling together, and maybe that was what was most important.