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Chapter Text

I wanted to make some sort of slow burn romance between the ex dark lord and reborn in my AU and even make them a found family as the great sage is their daughter. Sorry if all of the three characters are out of character 

The ex dark lord is named Maurice, he is 27 years old

The reborn is named Mason, he is 26 years old

The great sage is named Lena, she is 12 years old

Also Lenas Grandmother is named ruby and she is in her 60-70s

Chapter Text

The shining sun, that was the form that the Darkest Lord took, he was defeated by the hands of the hero Romy. The Great Sage Lena, who unfortunately was possessed by the Dark Curse, was now set free from his chains, but she was nowhere to be seen by Romy for now. Romy searched everywhere, then spotting Lena in an unconscious state as she rushed over to her, checking her pulse to see if she had survived the whole possession ordeal. 

"Lena..... Lena, are you okay?" Romy whispered as Lena was breathing, but she got no reply as she was still lying unconscious on the floor.

Suddenly, the Dark Curse appeared, though looking weak, rough, and angry at everything that has happened. He began to charge up his power again, hoping to possess Romy once and for all. He lunged, aiming at Romy when Lena suddenly woke up from a short coma.

"NO! Not this time!" 

"Take that!" 

Lena then got up to her feet and charged up her magic, firing a barrier at the Dark Curse, trapping him in a small emerald like ball as he was struggling to break free. Both Romy and Lena looked at the Dark Curse with anger as the spirit stared back at them in shock and surprise.

"Grr..." 

Lena then spoke up. "Listen well, Dark Curse, you won't be able to move so don't bother trying!"

"Ngh!" the Dark Curse quietly grunted as he was struggling to move, trying to break free as Lena then turned around to Romy with a smile on her face

"Romy, I'm truly grateful to you for rescuing me! I thank you very much!"

Romy chuckled, "It was nothing, nothing at all!"

Lena’s smile then turned to a serious expression as she walked up to where the curse was, staring at him. "I wonder if you might indulge me..... This is the story of the Dark Curse’s past."

A long, long time ago.... 

He was just a regular human.

Although he was very sad and lonley.

His name was Mason Tavora...

Mason would wander across the streets of miitopia, blending in with all the other residents. But no one dared to look him in the eyes. Not even a single mii would glance at his face, as they seemed to act like he was non existent, as if he was never even born..... 

"why does everyone ignore me? Please, anyone.... Just notice me....."

One day, Mason walked home and gazed in the mirror, his eyes teared up as he punched the mirror in anger, envy, and fury, the glass shards dropping to the floor as his hand was covered in blood, with glass shards sticking out of his flesh. He came to a conclusion, that his face was the problem of everything..... That was the reason people ignored him… He had finally figured it out…

"Now I see, it's this face of mine! This no good, plain boring face!" 

And with that, he cast away his own face, being unknown how he did so. He was rid of the thing he resented so badly, but without a face, how could he cling on to existence..? How could he be human…?

Before long, had he disappeared and died, leaving behind a soul filled with hatred, malice, and envy..... 

"This shadow of a soul became the Dark Curse. So now I ask you, Romy, what ought we to do with this darkened soul?" 

Romy stared at the curse for a while, wondering what to do as she finally gave an answer after a few minutes of thinking. "I think we should give him a second chance at life...." 

Lena became surprised for a second, before nodding and smiling at her. "Just as I thought, your kindness ever shines through. Well you will need to give him a face, but I believe that should pose no trouble for you at all."

"Not at all!" 

Just then, a bright light shone, a figure floated down from it as the Dark Curse then turned into a normal human once more. His left eye was blue, his right eye was pitch black, his hair was short and brunet, his face being average looking, he was wearing a red long sleeved shirt, a scarf, and shorts with sandals and a bag around him. He looked perplexed as he looked around the Darker Lord’s throne.

"What am i- how did-" Blood ran through his veins, he was warm, he was alive once more…

He realised his face was back on his body as he could breathe again, even speak again as his face was filled with shock after a long time without it. He gasped in shock. 

"My face!"

The reborn, known as Mason, rushed up to Romy in joy as he suddenly hugged her, Romy being shocked for a while before hugging him back as the Ex-Curse then spoke up after letting her go. "You... You saved me. I... Thank you!"

Romy nodded, before the young sage then stood by his side as the two then stared at one another, before staring back at Romy, the Great Sage then spoke up again. "Please leave the rest to me, I'll take care of him. He shall travel with me and atone for his wicked deeds."

"Well, then, Romy. I suppose this is goodbye."

Romy nodded, before tearing up as she gave Lena one last hug before saying goodbye once and for all.

"Thank you for everything!"

"Thank you too, Lena, Goodbye! Oh, and Mason, stay safe out there!"

"You too, Miss....."

"Romy, Romy Blooms"

"Ah, right! Stay safe, Miss Romy Blooms!"

Lena and Mason then made their way out of Otherworld as Romy rushed to her team, the cheers and cries of joy being loud enough for the two to hear from far away. The two made their way out of the sky scraper as Dominic woke up from his nap, noticing Lena and Mason as his face beamed with joy

"The heroes have defeated the Darker Lord and have saved you! I knew I could count on them! Ahem, anyways, do you two need a lift?"

"Yes please, can you fly us down to Greenhorne, please?"

"I'm happy to help! Hop on my back and I'll take you there!"

After Dominic flew down to Greenhorne, Lena and Mason got off as the two walked together. Mason was awfully silent as Lena was skipping around, before Mason broke the silence to ask a question. "So uh, kid, where exactly are you taking me?"

"Oh, my apologies, my name is Lena and I was wondering if you would like to stay over at my grandmother's for a while. If that's alright with you?"

"I wouldn't mind at all! I forgot where my house is so I figured I need a place to stay. And I also don't have any money, so I can't afford anything right now. Is your grandmother okay with me staying here for a while? And… I don’t know how long I’ve been dead… the world has probably changed…"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind, just as long as you don't make a mess or anything. I'm sure she'll let you stay for a while, since you're not evil anymore!"

"Well.....okay then, Lena, lead the way then."

The two continued to walk through the beautiful fields that Greenhorne had to offer, before stopping in front of a medium sized cottage, Mason looking at it with fascination as lena walked to the door, this didn’t look like any house that he had stayed in before, he couldn’t exactly remember where he used to stay, but nowhere like this.

"This is my grandmother Ruby's house, I'll let her know that I'm back and that I've brought someone to stay for a while!"

Lena knocked on the door, a brown, blonde woman whose hair was graying on the ends appeared, she gasped at the sight of Lena. She gave Lena a hug before noticing that her hands looked different, being the same colour as the Darker Lord’s with long claws at the end. Ruby gasped in horror, her eyes widening as Lena looked at her with confusion.

"Oh my poor sweet Lena! What happened to you?"

"Well, it's a long story.... You see, I became a being called the Darker Lord and unintentionally wreaked havoc on Miitopia. But Romy and her team saved me, so I'm good now!"

"No, it's not good, it's terrible! You remember the story I told you about how I became the Darker Lord...... I would’ve never wanted you to suffer the same torture and pain as me."

"I’m so sorry, grandmother, I didn't know this would happen to me too…” Lena looked towards the ground.

Ruby hugged Lena once again, both of them beginning to shed tears. "You don't have to be sorry, you didn't mean to do all of this...."

"Thank you, grandmother. Also, I've brought someone with me and I want to ask you if he can stay in the house for a little while."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, "And who is this someone you've brought?"

Ruby looked up to see Mason awkwardly waving at her. Ruby crossed her arms as she stared at the brunet with concern, before staring back at Lena with the same expression.

"Lena, dear, who is this man?" 

"Oh! He used to be the Dark Curse before me and Romy revived him. He has nowhere else to go and I offered to take care of him, so can he stay for a little while?" 

Ruby chuckled, before smiling at the both of them. "You know, this reminds me of when I took a reborn home and we both became a couple, you remember your grandfather?" There being more than one reborn was a sad truth that Ruby needed to except, people would always be ignored, people will always be ignored.

"Of course I remember him! He was so cool! And nice! …It's a shame that he… well, passed away."

"I know… he would’ve loved to see you grow up more, he would’ve been so proud. …I miss him too. Anyways, I'll let you take this reborn in..." 

"Thank you, Mrs Ruby! My name is Mason, Mason Tavora." 

"I haven't finished yet, I'll let Lena take you in on one condition.... You will take care of my granddaughter and do the chores in this house, as I am going away travelling soon and I haven't found a babysitter for Lena since she is too young to come, she's only twelve." Lena crossed her arms at that, yes, she was young, but she was responsible!

Mason shrugged as he smiled at Ruby, "This doesn't sound like a problem to me, Mrs Ruby, I'll glady take care of her! If I can.... Since I don't know how to take care of someone...." 

Ruby smiled, patting Lena on the head. "She's a really simple child to take care of, she's quite energetic, wise, intelligent, and chaotic… Just don't let her go haywire with her magic and put her to bed at ten in the evening since she can't stay up any later than that. Other than that, she likes to study in her room sometimes and even practice her magic outside and I forgot to mention that she likes to draw a lot."

"Alright then! I'll take good care of her and I'll make sure that she is healthy and safe!" 

"Very good! Well then, I have some spare pajamas, a spare toothbrush, and everything you need in life. I have a guest room you can stay in for a while and I'll leave my money out for you to spend on food and other basic stuff. Do not spend it on useless items, since you won't have enough to spend on food, water, and clothing. Can I trust you with that?"

"I promise I'll be sensible and your granddaughter will be safe with me, I promise."

"Very good! Then, Lena, you show Mason around the house while I water some plants outside! Or maybe the rain will come early and do it for me.”

"Okay, grandmother! Come on, Mason, I'll show you where the guest room is! Remember to dry off too." 

Lena then entered the house, Mason following her as this was going to be the start of something new for him

“Shit - shit - shit, shit!” It was gone! It was gone! His house was gone, well not gone, but it was in ruins. Sure, it had always been a shithole, but Maurice never expected it to be condemned…

What was he going to do now? Fuck! What could he do now?! He knew that most of the people he knew before getting possessed hated him, he just knew it! Maybe his dad still cared about him…? That was a plan; call dad and ask him if he can crash.

Maurice pulled out his phone, gods help him if it got damaged in the rain…

”Fucking damnit! Pick up, pick up! Please!” He yelled, but it was useless, his father had blocked him… His last message to Maurice read ‘What have you done? I am so disappointed in you, I’ve always been. I wanted a son that I could be proud of, instead I had you. I am disowning you. Goodbye.’, Maurice felt his legs give out, he fell onto the soaked grass, the rain poured down on his hair, clothes, and the goddamned claws that he had now! He wanted to just lay down and die…

“S-shit…” He sobbed, Maurice buried his head in his legs. Where the fuck would he go?! What would he do?! Just chuck himself off a bridge?! Or should he sleep in the rain and rot?! Absolutely fucking amazing options!

Maurice started looking through his contacts, everyone he called had blocked him, he didn’t blame them, he would’ve blocked himself too…

He was losing the abysmal amount of hope that he had left, fast. But then a number rang more than once, someone who hadn’t blocked him! 

“Fucking, pick up! Please…” He cried, but the call went to voicemail, that hope was crushed. The Ex-Dark Lord laid down on the grass, he had given up. There was nothing left for him to do, he was hopeless. He wished that he had died while possessed…

But then he heard it, ‘ring ring, ring ring’, someone was calling him! He answered the call with haste.

“Hello? Who is this?” The lady on the other line asked, Maurice vaguely recalled her voice.

Maurice cleared his throat, he didn’t want to let this random lady know that he had been bawling like a child, he was twenty seven godamnit! He needed to act like it!

“Hello?”

”Hey… I’m sorry… I found your number in my contacts, and you are the only person who’s picked up…” It was so hard to contain his tears, he deserved a medal. “I’m Maurice…”

”Maurice Smith?”

”Yes… that’s me… unfortunately..”

“It’s been so long since I last saw you! Well, only two years, but it feels much longer. How do you do?” Okay, so he knew her, and the last time they talked was two years ago… What was he doing to years ago? He had that factory job on weekdays, he remembered doing something on the weekends too… What was it?

“Well, if I’ll be honest…” Maurice paused, he wanted to keep his emotions in, but he couldn’t stop this… “Shit! Everything’s been shit! My life has crumbled down around me! No one wants to help! Not even my dad! I couldn’t control any of this! I never wanted it! And I can’t do shit to get myself out of this situation!” He sobbed, Maurice immediately regretted sharing what he did… But he could make her think that he was strong again! Just be funny, be charming! “Heh, story of my life, I guess. Sorry about all that… Anyways, what’s your name? And how’ve ya been?”

”My… that’s awful dear… I’m so sorry to hear about that… I’ve been quite well as of late. I’m Ruby Peters.” Oh! He recognised that name! He babysat for her! She paid pretty well!

“Great… I remember you now, how’s the kid doing? Don’t apologise, I’ve alway been a train-wreck, even dad thinks so…”

”Quite well actually, she came home today, I think she’s walking around the house now.” Maurice heard Ruby go quiet for a second, he also heard her take a deep breath before continuing. “Dear, you’re not a ‘train-wreck’, you were the best person that I’ve hired, you are so intelligent, kind, and the only person that has kept Lena from causing a small fire at best…” Maurice chuckled, he felt tears running down his cheeks. “Dear, do you know anyway that I can help?”

”Well, money… But anything would help. I’m willing to give you anything in return, labour, time, blood, organs, anything, I just need money, food, and some place to stay.”

”What happened to the apartment you were renting?”

”It got condemned… I don’t know when, but it did, and now I’m effectively homeless! Yay, I fucking hate my life.” He bitterly said.

”Language!”

”My bad…”

”I can let you stay at my house, are you comfortable sleeping with someone?” She asked.

”Okay, you want me to sell my body, I get it, that’s a better deal than what I was expec-“

”GODS NO! I only have one bed in my spare room, and I have another guest at the moment, so you’ll have to share a bed with him.” She elaborated.

”Ohhhh, yeah, I’m comfortable with that. Anything is better than sleeping outside.”

”Okay, Dear, come to my house then, you know where it is. The only thing you have to do is get a job, I want you to get back on your feet, so stay for as long as you need.”

”Thanks… I’ll be there as soon as I can get there. Which might take a few hours, because mud is awful.”

”Dear, don’t be out in the rain too long, you’ll get sick.”

”I’ll be fine, hopefully.”

Maurice started the walk to Ruby’s home, he was glad that he was only an hour’s walk away from her, he remembered her house feeling more like a home than his ever did…

He was fidgeting with his hands, he hated them, but they were the only hands that he had, so as his dad used to say, he had to “suck it the fuck up!”.

The door swung open, Ruby was standing there looking worried, she was wearing a garden apron and gloves, and her face showed her rage and concern for the Ex-Dark Lord.

”Maurice! Why did it take you so long?! You used to get here in an hour or so! I was so worried, I thought that you had gotten hurt, or worse!”

”Heh, mud, sorry though, I didn’t mean to scare you, or make you worry.”

”Dear, I’m just glad that you’re fine. Now come in! It’s pouring down, I didn’t need to water the plants when the rain got this bad.” Maurice walked into Ruby’s house, a wave of nostalgia hit him, and so did something else.

”Maurice!” He heard a familiar voice yell, it was the kiddo, she had gotten her hair dyed, the ends were purple, Ruby probably would’ve killed him if she asked for anything like he’s got.

”Well hello there! Lookie here! That’s new! I suppose that I’ve succeeded in being a bad influence.” This earned him a giggle, he ruffled the kid’s hair, before picking her up and putting her on his back. He heard several pops, which made him wince, ever since he had been freed, he had to deal with bad back pain… It usually didn’t cripple him, but it was painful as shit.

”Maurice, don’t you think that you’re too young for your back to be making noises like that?” Ruby was concerned, Maurice was not acting like he usually did when he was babysitting Lena, but he was acting the same now, she knew that he had gotten possessed, but she didn’t know how badly it affected him… She wanted to find out.

”Yep, but what am I gonna do about it?” He said.

”Well, I’ll be leaving now.” Ruby hung up her apron, and then she grabbed her staff, this was going to be her first time out in a while. Being helpless to save her granddaughter made her not want to leave at all, as much as she wanted to stay and insure Lena’s safety, she had to go get this done. “Be safe dear.” She said to Lena.

”I will!”

”I’ll miss you.”

”Me too. See you soon?”

”I’ll be back in two months. So it’ll be a while, but I’ll sen-“ Ruby was cut off by her granddaughter.

”That’s not that long! Me and Maurice can kill that time easy!”

”Kiddo, I’m gonna be around, yea, but I do still need a job.” He explained.

”Oh… well, you’ll be back after work! So that time could still fly!”

”Goodbye, good luck with the job Maurice, I’ll send letters while I’m gone.”

”Ma’am yes ma’am!” Maurice said while attempting a salute.

Once Ruby was out, Maurice put Lena back down, his back was starting to kill him.

”Okay! I have soooo much to show you!!”

”Lead the way, your highness.”

Lena started leading him through the house, skipping as she went, Maurice was starting to feel better, he’d find a job that would let him have the weekends off, and he’d spend that time with the kid, just like everything used to be.

Mason had heard someone entering, he was trying to figure out how the vacuum worked at the time though, Ruby had shown him, but she was very quick about it, and then she rushed off to get the door, but Mason managed to figure it out, eventually.

So now he could introduce himself to this new guest, Ruby has also asked him if he would be alright sleeping in the same room as a friend’s son, she told Mason that he was very nice, but he had fallen on hard times as of late. Mason was quite excited to meet him!

”Hello, how are you?” Mason asked, he looked at this stranger, and he realised that this wasn’t a stranger… He was going to share a room with his Ex-Vessel……… Oh no…

“Well… What’s your name?” He asked, he hadn’t figured it out yet, but what should Mason say?!

”I’m Mason Tavora.” He blurted out.

He knew that name, it was a name that he couldn’t forget, it was the original name of the Dark Curse… He had found it out by trying to get into its memories… This man standing in front of him had ruined his life, if Lena wasn’t in the house, Maurice would beat this fucker until he was inches away from death. But since she was here, he would just ignore his existence, that might work. But Maurice wanted to hurt this man, so, so badly.

”…………Kiddo, where did you want to bring me again?” Lena grabbed Maurice’s hand, none the wiser to the budding conflict between the Ex-Dark Lord and the reborn.

Mason watched him leave, he didn’t like the way that Maurice stared at him.

Chapter Text

Dark it was dark, too dark. He couldn’t see anything, and he couldn’t feel anything either. He was back, trapped like this again.

He saw the thing float up to him, it swirled around him, further trapping Maurice.

Maurice wanted to move, he wanted to free himself, but the chains, they kept him in place, and maybe he wouldn’t be able to move even if they were gone…

Hahahaha! Well, good morning. What do you think of the chains?

“Let me go…” He weakly muttered.

Aww, has someone finally had enough? Have you finally figured out that you have no power here?

“I already know that! You never let me forget it.”

Well, whatever you say. Now, those heroes are finally here, and they want a fight! So you might want to brace yourself! Hahahaha!

It disappeared with that, a few minutes later, Maurice felt pain, horrible pain, he tried to move away, but the chains, the damned chains, he was being held up by them, it was agony, he just wanted it to end! Let it end! Please!

The Ex-Dark Lord shot up, he was on Ruby’s couch, it was still dark out, he reached over to the lamp, turning it on, that helped. Everything hurt, Maurice thought that he might have a small fever, but he didn’t care, he had spent the last night applying to jobs all over.

Maurice checked his phone, only one job had messaged him back, some job in New Lumos that paid minimum wage, the rest of his applications were rejected. The job wanted him to start working the next day, great. Unfortunately, he would only have Sundays off, but he could work with that. Maurice saw what options he had with transportation, and he found a free bus ride, it was free because New Lumos was a very unpopular location as of late, and you had to wake up stupid early.

So that sorted one problem.

Maurice put his phone down before getting up, his back was killing him, he despised Ruby’s couch, she was amazing, but sleeping on her couch was torture, it was better than the streets though, or with the fucker that ruined his life…

Maurice heard something, it was coming from the kid’s room, and the noise was quite faint, but Maurice rushed over quickly.

He knocked on the door, he thought that he heard crying, that was enough of a reason for him to go in.

The kid was probably having a fever dream of sorts, Maurice had some after he had been saved. Maurice turned the light on, that started to calm the kid down. He then walked up to her, she looked weak, too weak. She had looked fine yesterday, Maurice grabbed his arm, forgetting that he had claws, they pierced his skin, he covered it to the best of his ability, he needed to be more careful.

”Kid… Are you alright?” He asked, he didn’t get much of a response, the kid just rolled over, she was definitely still asleep. If he left now, the dream was going to get bad again, so Maurice either needed to stay here all night and talk constantly, or wake her up, improve her mood, and then get her back to sleep. Option two was definitely better for Maurice, sure it would be hard, but he could not talk for the entire night without falling asleep.

Maurice gently shook her, Lena was cold, too cold. But she started to stir, Maurice saw her eyes open, she looked over to him she reached out towards him. Maurice picked her up, making sure to keep his claws as far away from her as he could.

He carried her downstairs into the living room, he placed her down and then he started to make her some hot chocolate, he knew that the kid had a sweet tooth, so it might cheer her up a bit, and it would warm her up.

Maurice also dug out some gloves, he remembered Ruby telling him to stop forgetting his gloves, he didn’t, but he did usually pick them up from her house, and then he lost them in her house again! But the gloves that he picked up were white, they were silky too, he couldn’t remember where he got them, but they would do for covering his claws, because they were sturdy enough.

”Kiddo, I’ve got you something.” His voice conveyed his pity, he should’ve been able to protect her, he shouldn’t have trusted some random thing making absurd promises, but he trusted the voice, he opened the box, and he didn’t protect Lena. So now all he can do is try harder.

”I-I’m cold.” She rasped, she leaned into Maurice, he was warm, very warm. Why was Lena so cold? She was fine yesterday! Why was she so weak…? Lena cried into Maurice’s chest, he wrapped his arms around her. “My eye hurts! Everything hurts!” She sobbed. She was usually energetic, she took everything in stride, but this was too much.

”I know, I know.” Maurice muttered, she was just a kid! Why did it have to be her?! She’s not even thirteen yet! She’s too young to have to deal with this shit! Maybe if Maurice was faster, if he had recovered quicker, maybe he could’ve saved her. He didn’t care who would’ve taken the fate instead, fuck it! He would’ve gotten possessed again! But not her! Fuck it all! Fuck this! Fuck life! Fuck him!

Maurice grabbed the hot chocolate that he had prepared, the hot water bottle that he had just made, and a blanket. He put the hot water bottle on her, while he put the hot chocolate in her hand, her hands looked odd… no… she was just wearing some sort of glove! It didn’t happen to her too… It can’t of! If it did, Maurice would rip that fucker limb from limb.

It was warm, the things Maurice handed her were warm, Maurice’s hands felt different, they were silky, but they were warm too, Lena wanted to be warm, she was so cold…

Lena drank what Maurice had handed her, it was warm, and sweet… Lena liked it, it made her feel more tired though, her left eye still hurt, but she was warmer now, and it made the pain feel small.

”Kid, how are you feeling?” Maurice asked, when Lena finished the drink, she leaned further into him, using his chest as a pillow, Maurice was fine with this. She had a small smile on her face, so at least he had made her feel better, even if he couldn’t have protected her when she needed it the most. He will never let her get hurt again, not over his dead body.

Mason woke up, it was light outside, he had been dead asleep the entire night, it had been so long since he woke up and didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of hatred, it had been so long since he knew that his life was looking up.

He rummaged through the closet for a bit, finding a white shirt and black trousers. Once he was dressed, he made his way downstairs.

Mason saw Maurice sleeping on the couch, that explained why he didn’t come upstairs. Mason studied Maurice’s appearance, his hair was dark blue, Mason remembered his eyes being the same colour, Mason hadn’t thought much of Maurice’s appearance before being resurrected, but now, he looked different, but also the same? Mason stared at him for a moment longer, before snapping himself out of it and going to the kitchen, Ruby had explained how the appliances worked, and she had left a written guide, but Mason had no confidence in himself.

Tired, Lena was tired, but she was warm and safe. She looked up, she saw Maurice, right, he had come here yesterday. Lena laid her head against Maurice again, sleep, she would go back to sleep.

Lena felt a hand on her, it was gentle, like they were trying to wake her up, but she didn’t want to wake up… Not now.

”Touch her again and you’ll lose that hand.” Maurice angrily said, his tone scared Lena, he had never used that tone before, Lena had never even heard him while angry. He got annoyed and exasperated but that was it. “She needs to rest, after what you did, so screw off.” Lena felt Maurice’s arms around her, as well as the blanket, it was warm and soft, her brain felt so fuzzy, like there was a fog that wouldn’t go away…

“I’ve finished breakfast.”

Maurice stayed quiet. But Lena felt his gloved hand on top of her head. “Kiddo?”

”Hm…?” Lena didn’t want to get up… she didn’t want to be cold again…

”Food’s ready.” Maurice gently said. “I’ll let you keep the blanket.” That made getting up sound a bit better, but she wanted to stay here…

Lena’s stomach growled, she decided that getting up might not be the worst idea after all.

She was wobbly on her feet, Lena felt Maurice’s hands on her shoulders, making sure that she didn’t fall over.

Breakfast was alright, a bit bland though, Lena noticed that Maurice didn’t eat anything.

After Lena was finished, Maurice brought her back to her room, Lena fell asleep quickly, maybe when she woke up the fog would be gone?

Chapter Text

Six days Later

Fifty four days left

Lena was in her room, studying as she then grew bored, shutting the book as she looked around to see what else there was to do. Nothing. In fact, Maurice was at work whilst Mason was asleep in his room so Lena couldn't spend time with them. Even Ruby being gone for two months made Lena miss her a lot. She sighed as she plopped herself onto her bed, staring at the ceiling as she got lost in thought.

Something was definitely off between Maurice and Mason, Maurice always gave Mason the stink eye whenever he would pass by. Lena shrugged it off, thinking that Maurice was just uncomfortable with someone else in the house, someone that was a stranger to him. She sighed as she continued to stare into the ceiling, her head was full of thoughts as she wondered how she was going to entertain herself. Then an idea sparked in her head. 

The heroes, of course, the people that saved her from the possession of the Dark Curse after she risked it all so that Romy wouldn't become the next host. She could invite them over to her house and just catch up with everything that's been going on. It had been a few days, so Lena thought it would be great to see them again, and see how they're doing. Lena picked up her phone, dialling Romy’s number as the two had exchanged numbers a while back, back when Romy met Lena at the Realm of the Fey.

Meanwhile at the inn, Romy was resting in bed, reading a book as there were no more monsters left to fight. If she was being honest, Romy felt really bored after the defeat of the Darker Lord, with no more monsters left to fight as there was no reason to go out travelling no more. Her team continued to stay with her, often going out to the Galados Isle or to New Lumos. Romy sighed as she then heard her phone ringing, picking it up as she realised that it was Lena on the other end.

”Ah, good morning, Lena! It's been a little while since we've spoken.” Romy had missed talking to the Great Sage.

“It has, hasn’t it? How’ve you been?”

“I've been good, thank you! It's been quite boring lately since there's no more monsters to fight…”

“Sorry to hear about that, I’ve had a pretty boring day myself.” Understatement is the century, Maurice was gone,  Mason was asleep, and Lena had absolutely NOTHING to do!

“Yeah, things have gotten so boring ever since the Darker Lord’s defeat…”

“Yea, I thought the time would just fly by, but unfortunately for me, someone had to get a job.” Lena was not mad at Maurice per se, but she was annoyed that they barely spent anytime together anymore!

“And who even is this ‘someone’ that got a job?”

“Maurice. He just had to go and get a job that was unreasonably far away.” She sounded slightly annoyed, and Lena had good reason to be!

“Ah, the Ex-Dark Lord. Yeah I visited him yesterday, he did not look pleased to see me. He even said that New Lumos is dangerous and that I'd be killed if the monsters got to me.”

“Maurice hasn’t been acting like himself lately… He also only has Sundays off from what I know…”

“Poor dude, hope he finds a better job. Also what do you mean by somethings off?”

“He’s been glaring at Mason a lot, and on one of my bad days, I heard him threaten Mason.”

“Mason? The reborn? What's been happening between you three?”

“Well, I invited Mason to stay in my grandmothers house, and then she invited Maurice. Maurice has been sleeping on the couch, Mason is in the spare room, and I’m in my room.”

“Well, that's nice of you! So Maurice hasn't been all that nice to Mason?”

“Nope, but he’s been acting normal when he thinks that I’m watching.”

“Right..... Well there's nothing I can do about it, sadly.”

“They’re gonna have to get used to each other eventually. Anyways, would you like to come over to my house?”

“Sure thing! Do you want the rest of my team to come around too?”

“The more the merrier! Being whoever’s interested!”

“Alrighty then! I'll bring the other nine around!”

“I’ll text you the address!”

“Alright then, thank you!”

“No problem!”

Lena placed the phone down as she sighed, continuing to stare at the ceiling, happy that she was going to see the heroes again after a little while. It had been a few days since she'd departed from them, so it would be nice to have a little catch up time. She wondered if Mason would be okay with it, as he was currently sleeping in his room, and Maurice was at work so Lena had the whole house to herself for a little while.

She then heard a knock, Lena rushed downstairs to see all ten heroes were waiting outside. She opened the door as the heroes were wearing normal clothing and didn't have their weapons with them. Romy then looked at Lena and smiled at her. 

"Hiya Lena! You mind if we come in?"

"Sure thing! I mean, why else did I invite you lot here?"

Everyone laughed, the heroes walked in as they sat down on the couch and around the room, putting on their favourite show, but hoping that it was age appropriate for Lena, since she was twelve. Meanwhile, Lena grabbed what seemed to be a blue dragon plush and rushed back to the living room, squeezing in between Romy and Freddie as Romy looked at the plush in confusion.

"Hey Lena, where did you get this plushie?" Romy questioned as Lena looked at her and smiled.

"Oh, this? I got it from Maurice! He knows I really like dragons, and he got this for me!" Lena’s memories had been fuzzy since she was freed, she knew that she did like dragons though.

"Maurice? The Ex-Dark Lord? Did you already know him before the possession?"

"I can't exactly remember..... My memories have been a bit jumbled as of late, it will fade away eventually though… Anyways, do you wanna see the more dragons I've got, they're all in my room."

"More dragons? I mean, sure thing, I guess."

Lena and Romy got up from the couch, making their way to Lena’s room, Romy saw photos of Ruby, Lena, and Maurice on the walls, that answered one question. Romy gasped at the sight of way too many dragons. She could distinctly remember fighting a dragon herself, and she could even remember some parts of Dominic when Lena became the Darker Lord. Romy shook her head, trying to snap out of it as she looked at the overwhelming amount of cute blue dragon plushies in the room.

"My, that's a lot of dragons! Where did you get them all from?" Romy was very interested, yes, there were loads of dragons, but it seemed that they had different uses for them, a pencil case, lamp, a frigging hammock, posters, and so much more. Romy wanted to know where Ruby even found so many different dragon things… She really can work miracles…

"I don't really remember, all I know is that I really love dragons!"

"Heh, you must have asked Ruby to get loads of them for Christmas."

"Maybe…" That felt wrong… Ruby didn’t buy Lena many dragon things… Lena knew that Maurice had bought her a lot, but her memory was so fuzzy… it would fade eventually..

"But this is so cute! It's nice to have a favourite animal every now and then."

"Dragons will always be my favourite animal!"

Romy and Lena laughed as they made their way back to the living room, sitting down with the other heroes as Julius was fighting with Freddie over a bowl of popcorn. Meanwhile, Mason woke up, feeling all groggy as he went his way to the living room, surprisingly meeting the heroes here as they all turned to look at him

"W-what are you lot doing here?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but who exactly are you?" Caroline questioned as Julius and Freddie stopped fighting over the popcorn. That hurt Mason’s already very damaged ego.

"I'm the Ex-Dark Curse, Mason Tavora."

"Oh yeah! I remember you! We're here because Lena invited us."

"Lena invited you lot? What about Ruby, would she be okay with this?"

Lena then spoke up, "she knows the parents of the heroes, so I'm sure she'll be alright with the heroes being here."

Mason groaned "Okay..... If you say so.", it was eleven in the morning, he had laid awake thinking about Maurice, he didn’t even know why… And he was not excited to socialise, but he had too, so here he goes!

Six hours later

Maurice hated his new job, it was dangerous, didn’t pay well, and he spent almost no time with his kid. So he had started waiting by the punch out clock, when it hit five, he punched out and left, they didn’t pay him to be there for any extra time, and he had a bus to catch.

Three hours and forty minutes later

Maurice went into Ruby’s house, he was greeted with his kid running into him, something that had become regular this week, he wished that he had more time with Lena, but he did have Sundays off, so he could make that time with her count. He’d take her out tomorrow, it would be nice, especially since he would get his paycheque in the early morning, if he had to give PFM something, they were efficient. And if it didn’t arrive, he’d just pull whatever he had from Lena’s fund that he’d set up years ago.

Romy saw the Ex-Dark Lord enter the house, that made sense, he lived here. Maurice was always friendly to the team, so he was liked while he traveled with the team.

She then saw the Great Sage run up and hug him, he picked her up and swung her around, she knew that the rocks he threw did some damage to the Darker Lord’s monsters, he just said that he had a good throwing arm, but she did not know that he was strong enough to pick up a twelve year old!! Where did he even get that strength???!!!

”Dad! You’re back!” Lena excitedly shouted. Romy was having an aneurysm… WHAT DID THE GREAT SAGE JUST CALL HIM??????!!!!!!!

”Glad you’ve noticed! How’s your day been kiddo?” Maurice is twenty seven years old, he had told the group this. Lena is twelve… HOLY SHIT! MAURICE HAD LENA AT FIFTEEN!!! Why didn’t he tell anyone this????!!!!

Freddie thankfully yelled out what the entire team was thinking.

”YOU HAD A KID AT FIFTEEN???!!! AND TOLD NO ONE???!!!” Maurice having a kid early in life made loads of and so little sense at the same time. Romy then saw a look of confusion on the Ex-Dark Lord’s face.

”W-what? What would make you think that?”

”Lena called you dad! I heard it!” The Great Sage and Ex-Dark Lord shared a look, Romy had no idea what it meant.

Romy saw Maurice’s expression turn mischievous.

”Maybe I did. None of y’all’s business. Besides, there were bigger problems at the time.” Oh gods… Lena and Maurice looked similar, Romy had no idea what his natural hair colour was either, he could be a brunet! Lena was his biological kid! The Great Sage… had the Ex-Dark Lord as a father??? She heard Maurice laugh. “So, why’d you choose to visit this part of the woods?”

“Umm…… Lena invited us.”

”Sounds about right. Kiddo, how long have you trapped them here?”

”Since around ten, or maybe nine thirty?” Lena explained, she had been playing host for a while now.

”Alright, you’re free to leave now.” Maurice said, the heroes left, and Maurice picked Lena up, he was going to spend some time hanging out with his daughter, the one person that was capable of caring about him.

Maurice made dinner for him and Lena, and then they hung around for a bit.

“Kiddo, time to go to sleep.” Maurice said, he wished that they had more time together… but Lena needed to sleep, she needed a lot of sleep to function, especially after what happened… And Lena being well rested and happy was his top priority, screw how he felt, she needed sleep, and he’ll be damned if she doesn’t get that sleep.

”Night, dad.” Lena hugged Maurice, tomorrow was his day off, Lena hoped that it would be one of her good days tomorrow, because she wanted to go out with him, like they used to.

”Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. If they do…” Maurice started.

”Hit them with a shoe!” 

”What was your favourite thing today?”

”Inviting the heroes over! Yours?”

”Coming home, ain’t much to like about work.”

”Goodnight!”

”Night, I love you kiddo.”

Lena went to her room, Maurice sat down on the couch, he was tired, and tomorrow he was going to take his daughter out. Maurice still had no idea where he would take her, but he’ll figure it out.

He was sitting next to Maurice, Maurice glared at him. That fucker ruined his life, and it wasn’t that good to begin with. But he spent more time with his daughter, she saw him a lot more. He had less chance of dying at work, sure there was that one injury at work, but that was just a stupid fucker with a piece of large machinery, it was bound to happen.

Maurice used to hate his old life, but he hates what his life is more now. The only good thing he has is his kid, his daughter.

And Maurice wasn’t going to let that change, he wouldn’t have fought for that shitty factory job, or that apartment, but, he will fight for his little girl, he wouldn’t let this curse take her away from him again.

”Maurice…? I want to apologise, for everything.” It started, Maurice felt rage bubbling in him, he was possessed for a year, he was tortured every single day for that year, and then that fucker went for his daughter, his daughter.

“Well, I don’t forgive you.” Maurice didn’t speak to the curse much, only twice before this, and that was to tell him to get the fuck away from his daughter.

”What…?”

”I don’t forgive you. You tortured me daily for slightly over a year, and then you went for my daughter. My. Fucking. Daughter. And that is why I will never forgive you. I’ll wear yellow to your funeral.”

Maurice left the room with that, he went into the upstairs bathroom and had a shower to calm down, he still had some stuff that he’d left at Ruby’s, he really did forget a lot there, didn’t he?

When Maurice walked into the living room, it was gone, good. Maurice hated it more than anything.

Chapter Text

“I’m here!” Maurice said while out of breath. He had been invited to witness Lena’s first experience with sand, an old enemy of Maurice’s, he hated the texture, he hated how it got everywhere, and he hated how it felt on his skin. So being there for his sort of daughter was a very big priority! Maurice could deal with the consequences later.

“Glad you could make it.” Jason said, he smiled at Maurice.

“Well… Let’s see how she reacts…” Ruby muttered under her breath while placing Lena on the sand, she’d heard stories of children that hated sand with a passion and refused to walk on it…. How a child could hate sand that much was unknown to her.

The three watched as she took in her surroundings, before taking off towards the sea. Luckily, she was a toddler, so it didn’t take any energy to catch up to the little escapee, but it gave them all a laugh.

Lena loved everything about the beach, the sun, the sand, and the sea, Maurice knew in that moment that he would be going to the beach a lot more often.

That day was fun, Lena ran around a beach for the first time, Maurice spent some time grumbling about sand, and Ruby and Jason watched them and just enjoyed life.

Maurice picked her up, spinning the two the two year old around in his arms, he was going to be able to move out soon, the job he had prepared to get was awful, but it was still a job, and he spent as much time as possible with his daughter!

He had gotten greedy, he took what he had for granted and thrown it all way the second the thought of a better life entered his head.

He lost a year of his daughter’s life, one year that he can never go back and see, one year that she spent concerned for him, and then he paid for it… He paid for it alright. He made sure that he did.

Maurice wanted back what he lost.

Fifty three days left

The Ex-Dark Lord woke up, his back hurt, but he was feeling better than usual, it was light outside, usually Maurice left while the sun was raising.

Today was like everything used to be, like it should be, he was going to take his daughter out, they were going to have an excellent time. He had marked this down on his phone’s calendar: May eighth; Father daughter day out.

Maurice got dressed and then started to walk around Ruby’s house, picking up items that he would need, towels, sunscreen, hats, swimsuits, Lena’s hair brush… that was in her room, Maurice would get it when he woke her up.

After a short while, Maurice had everything ready, he even cooked breakfast for him and Lena. He was so excited to just feel like no time had passed at all. Everything was fine, his daughter was small again, nothing happened, he wasn’t the Ex-Dark Lord, he was just some nobody to everyone but Lena, his daughter.

Maurice knocked on her bedroom door, he earned a grumble in response.

”Come in.” She groggily said. She was wearing a set of purple pyjamas, it made the blue of the claws stand out more, he had let this happen to his daughter.

”How are you feeling?” He asked, Maurice was willing to cancel this plan and spend the day with her at home, he just wanted to spend time with his daughter…

”Fine… Things are fuzzy, but it’s not painful.” Maurice saw her blue eye scanning the room, if he could’ve been faster… No! He needed this to be a good day! Nothing happened! It’s just like it used to be!

”That’s good, I’ve made breakfast. So come on, let’s eat, and then I’ve got a surprise for you.” Maurice saw a smile appear on Lena’s face, she was excited, Maurice wished that he could freeze the world here, just have Lena smile forever, but that was impossible…

Lena came downstairs and happily ate breakfast, Maurice was an excellent cook, he knew that, but his daughter’s praise was still the only praise that mattered.

”So, what’s the surprise?” She asked. “And why is it so early?”

”We’re gonna go out. So go get dressed, wear something for warm weather. And your sandals. And could you grab your hairbrush for me?” Maurice handed Lena her swimsuit, Lena ran upstairs, coming down after ten minutes in a purple t-shirt and white shorts. She handed Maurice her brush while she was tying her hair up.

Once she was done, she grabbed Maurice’s gloved hand, he picked up the bag, and the two left, they were going to catch a bus, it would be a quick trip thankfully.

“We’re here!” Lena said, she jumped off the last step of the bus, smiling at the salty air, Maurice enjoyed being near the beach, he just hated sand… and seaweed.

”Glad you’ve noticed. Kiddo, let’s go on the beach and find somewhere to sit.” Maurice suggested, Lena started running, he followed, making sure not to lose sight of his daughter.

Maurice hated sand, but Lena loved it, so he’d have to cope. Maurice chuckled as he watched his daughter bask and frolic in the early summer sun, how long had it been since they went to the beach?

Lena found a spot, Maurice set the towels up, he prayed to whatever gods were listening that no sand would get on them. Maurice watched as his daughter took off towards the sea in her swimsuit that she had underneath her clothes, her hair was in a ponytail, Lena’s hair got nots extremely easily, so that wouldn’t be good.

”Kiddo! Come back!” Maurice called, luckily Lena heard him and came back. Maurice sat down and he gave the space in front of him a pat, Lena sat down and he started to undo her hair, which already had a few knots thanks to the wind. “If you go in the water with your hair in a ponytail, it’ll get loads of knots, kiddo, you know that.” Maurice said, he grabbed Lena’s brush from the bag and Maurice started to brush her hair.

”Yeah, forgot about that, we haven’t been to the beach in forever! We should come more often! But, thanks for remembering dad!” She said, Lena hadn’t spent time with her dad in so long, she had been chasing after him while he was possessed, and when he was in the house, he always came back in the night, Lena missed going out with her dad.

”No problem, your highness. Now can you hold your band?” Lena took it from his hand, enjoying the feeling of the sand under her hands, it was amazing, the world was so bright, like it used to be.

Maurice started to braid Lena’s hair, it took him a while, but soon enough, Lena’s hair was done, the braid went past her torso, Maurice wasn’t there it see it become that long…

“Kiddo, gimme the hair band, will you?” Lena handed it to him “Oh, you got sand on this, you’re evil”, Lena giggled, annoying her dad with sand was an old habit that never died. Maurice then tied the braid together, him and Lena stood up.

Lena knew what would come next; sunscreen. Its texture was awful against her skin! It was just so greasy and just plain awful! But it was necessary…

”Sunscreen?”

”Yep, it’s May, you aren’t getting out of it.”

Lena hated sunscreen, but she loved the beach enough to tolerate it!

”Should be go to go now.” Maurice said, he had missed the beach. Lena hugged her dad, she was so excited for this!

“Freedom!” Lena shouted as she ran towards the sea, she heard her dad following after her.

Lena got to the sea first, it was so beautiful, so amazing, she loved it! Her dad stepped in with her, then a brilliant idea struck her; water fights!

Lena lured her dad further into the water! And then she attacked! Splashing water at him as he blocked his face while laughing.

”Traitor!” He yelled. Lena had underestimated him! He began to hurl water at her, she tried to dodge, but it was unsuccessful!

She had one more idea, she jumped on her dad, sending both of them into the water!

The two were soaked, Maurice’s shirt had quite the salt bath. The Ex-Dark Lord knew that he should probably not have gloves on while in the sea, but he also didn’t want Lena to see his hands, he chose to be a sensible person and not wear gloves in the sea in the end.

”Gods… Your highness, what the hell was that?” Maurice groaned while holding his giggling daughter.

”Talent! Strategy! And power!”

”You sure about that? Well, guess what powers I have.” Maurice said with a grin.

”What?”

”Gravity!” Maurice said while dropping his daughter, she plopped into the water, Maurice picked her back up out of the shallow water.

”Traitor!” Lena had never felt so betrayed! Her own father?! She needed revenge! Water revolution go!

The two continued their silly war, Maurice faking his loss to the young sage.

Mason woke up, it was a good day, the reborn had never been excited to just… live before, but this time was so different from the one he died in, it had amazing works of machinery! Mason was still trying to figure out how Lena summoned the heroes.

He knocked on Lena’s bedroom door, he got no response, it was probably a bad day, she might be feeling very sick, Mason poked his head into her room to see if she looked pale or cold, but… Lena wasn’t there… She was missing!

Mason was such an awful caretaker! Mrs Peters put him in charge of Lena, and now she’s gone! Lena had disappeared! Where had she gone! She can’t of gotten that far!

He got dressed as quickly as he could, he needed to find Lena, and quickly.

“Kiddo, let’s get some ice cream, sound good?” Maurice had managed to get some money from his bank, thank fuck that didn’t burn down or go under while he was possessed. He had so much money saved there, all of it was for Lena, his daughter.

“Yep!” Lena grabbed her dad’s hand, she felt something odd with his hands… claws? Like she has, she wasn’t alone with how her hands had changed, she had been ignoring it, pretending they were normal, but she saw the looks of concern… Her dad had the same thing, so Lena wasn’t alone, they’d face it together! Nothing could hurt them anymore!

Maurice got chocolate and vanilla ice cream, while Lena got mint and vanilla. The two sat down with their items, it was so nice. The sun was beaming at them, and they heard the sound of others enjoying their day too.

The Ex-Dark Lord hated sand, he always had, but it was worth it for today. A day with his daughter where she was smiling, laughing, and just being a kid, his kid.

”Haha, we should probably start to leave now, let’s get some lunch, and then we’ll find something else to do. Sound good with you, your highness?”

”Mmhmm! Let’s go!”

”Kiddo, we need to change first.”

”Okay! To the changing rooms!”

The two made their way, as they were about to break off from one another, Maurice handed Lena her towel and clothes, Maurice had brought an extra towel for himself, as per usual.

After changing, the two reconvened, Lena giving her dad a hug and grabbing his newly regloved hand. 

They soon found a place to eat, Maurice had some toast while Lena got churros, Maurice did steal one, which earned him a look of pure betrayal! Lena could believe her eyes!

After lunch, the two began walking around, they ended up finding a galaxy themed attraction that Maurice and Lena hadn’t seen in the area before. The two decided to check it out

”Welcome to Star-Tastic!” The front desk employee said, Maurice recognised the distinct look of depression mixed with hating your life and job. “How can I help you two?” The energy in her voice was fake, that was the most obvious thing.

”Well, we came in because we were interested, what do you even do here?”

”We have rooms that allow you to float to your heart’s content!” How many lawsuits had this place acquired? That did not sound safe, not at all.

”Alrighty, kiddo, wanna try it?” Maurice was desperately hoping for a no.

”Sure, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Why is this form so long?” Maurice grumbled out loud as he was handed a liability form, they weren’t liable for anything that happened here…

”We amend it every time a new lawsuit comes in!” The employee ‘energetically’ said.

”Alright, that isn’t concerning at all.” Maurice mumbled, what the employee had said did not sway Lena’s interest in this at all, and most of the things were related to not having kids listen to you, it can’t be that dangerous, can it? Maurice paid for one hour and thirty minutes, he used Lena’s day out fund, it had a pretty good amount of cash in it.

”Okay, let me get you two the grip socks and then you can go in!”

”Yep, sounds good!” Lena was smiling, so that made the exorbitant amount of money that Maurice had to pay for this robbery worth it. He was not excited to have his balance messed with though…

“Lena! Lena! Where are you?!” Mason frantically said, he had been wandering around the forest for what felt like an hour now, it could be longer though.

He walked out of the forest, there were some people nearby, he didn’t recognise them…

”Hello, sir, can we help you?”

”Have you seen Lena? She’s about this tall…” Mason said while gesturing to his elbow, Lena came up to about there. The two people didn’t seem to know who he was talking about though. “Um… She has purple and brown hair, one of her eyes are purple, and the other one is light blue…” 

They told him that they hadn’t seen her, Mason left, he’d just check the forest again…

“Dad! Look!” Lena said, she kicked off of the wall, sending herself into the room, she was floating in it! Her hair looked amazing in the black lights of the room, Lena even saw small glowing stars!

Maurice felt sick, that lady had just tossed him in a antigravity room and told him to have fun, Lena looked like she was having fun, but Maurice sure as hell wasn’t. Maurice wanted to just watch Lena float around.

”Dad! It’s your turn now!” Lena said, she was bouncing around on the foam stars around the room, Maurice did NOT like the idea of not being on ground, it had been a slight fear spawned from being possessed, or being held above ground a lot as a kid, he didn’t know.

”Do I have to?” Maurice grumbled.

”Please?”

”Alright, fine, you’ve got me this time your highness.” Maurice stood near the edge, he was not excited for this feeling, it wasn’t as bad as seeing his daughter upset though, so he’d have to take a leap of faith. “If I die now, throw a bouquet at my funeral to see who’s next. And sue this place into the ground.” Maurice heard his daughter giggle, he smiled before turning around and throwing himself into the room.

It was an awful feeling, but he felt his daughter grab him, she was laughing as they tumbled around. Maurice managed to pick Lena up, and then he stood on a foam star, the socks helped him stand on it. Once he was up, Maurice felt accomplished, because standing up on that while holding his twelve year old daughter was hard, very hard.

Lena had the best idea, she tackled her dad off the star! They spun around, Lena managed to leave and move upwards, Lena sat on the foam crescent moon hanging from what Lena assumed was the ceiling. She watched her dad struggle to manoeuvre around the room.

Maurice started to get used to the room’s gravity, he jumped from star to star, making his way towards his daughter, she was sitting on a crescent moon, looking very enthusiastic about coming here.

He made one last jump, holding onto the moon, pulling himself up and sitting next to his daughter.

”You made it!” Lena hugged him, Maurice was smiling, life was good for now. It was just like it used to be, Lena was his little girl, and Maurice was her dad. Just like it was before he got possessed, before he made the worst mistake of his life… But, pretending to be in the past couldn’t last forever, he would have to bring Lena home, and he would be there… The thing that ruined his life. Maurice’s only reason to continue going on was his daughter, his little girl.

”Glad that you’ve noticed…” Maurice said, he was out of breath. “Anyways, wanna jump together?” Maurice grabbed Lena’s hand, preparing himself to fall off the moon.

”Oh, do I!”

The two jumped down, floating around the room, Maurice got hit in the face by Lena’s hair. But the day was so nice, Lena on Maurice’s shoulders, the two laughed and played, Lena had a blast, and so did Maurice.

“Alright! Times up!” The employee said, Lena made her way towards the entrance, she stood on the platform, the employee held her arms. “It might take you a bit to get used to normal gravity again. So, take it slow.” It was different! Lena had gotten used to the room’s gravity, so when she came out, she almost fell over.

Maurice saw Lena stumble, the employee caught her, Maurice grabbed onto the wall’s railings, he had previously questioned why they were there, but now Maurice definitely knew.

After Lena had readjusted to the gravity, she and Maurice left.

They made it to the bus stop ten minutes before the bus arrived, they chatted to each other for a while, Maurice and Lena were smiling, laughing, just enjoying life.

Enjoying the memories of what was lost.

“Kiddo? Wakey wakey, sleepyhead.” Lena had fallen asleep on the ride home, Maurice carried her to a nice place to watch the sunset, and it was gonna happen soon,

“Hm?” Lena opened her eyes, she saw the beautiful orange sky, she shifted around so that she could get a better view, it was nice, today had been perfect.

”Do you see the sunset? It’s so pretty. We haven’t done this in so long… Sorry that I’ve been away a lot kiddo.” Maurice felt guilty for not being with her a lot, he felt guilty for letting her get hurt by the Dark Curse, he felt guilty for not having the power to save his daughter, his only family… Well, only family that loved him.

”You’re here now! So, it’s fine!” Lena turned around and hugged her dad.

The two watched the sunset, it was beautiful, the colours of the sky reflected on the both of them, Lena’s hair almost looking blue, like her dad’s hair.

”Okay, kiddo, it’s time to go home.” Lena grabbed Maurice’s hand, they walked into the forest together, Maurice knew his way well, and so did Lena, it looked beautiful at night.

Maurice opened the door, Lena and him laid down on the couch, they were tired, but Lena wanted to stay up longer!

Mason hadn’t found Lena, and the sun had set, so he’d have to return home…

He used a key to enter the house, he felt awful that Lena had run away on his watch… He was an awful caretaker! Mrs Peters never should’ve put him in charge of Lena, because she had run away!

”To you! Don’t let it fall!” He heard Maurice’s voice call out.

Mason then saw some kind of colourful floaty object fall near him, he saw Lena run up and hit it back up before it fell… What even was that thing? Wait… Mason saw Lena? He saw Lena!

She had come back after all! Mason needed to work on his bond with her.

The reborn was the one that made dinner. Mason watched from afar as Maurice sent Lena to her room so that she would sleep.

”Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. If they do…” Mason was slightly confused but Maurice’s statement, he did this every night, Mason wondered why.

”Hit them with a shoe!” Lena energetically shouted. She answered the with the same words every time.

”Favourite thing about today?”

”The space thing! Heheh, you fell over a lot.”

”Hey, I got it eventually though.”

”You did! Now what was your favourite thing?” Lena hugged onto Maurice.

”Well, I’d have to say the same thing. I thought that floating around would be awful, but it was very fun. Especially with a certain omen of chaos that was there with me…”

”It was amazing!”

”Okay, goodnight, your highness.”

”Night, dad!”

Chapter Text

He heard the door slam, Maurice dropped the bottle of pills out of fear, he needed to get this done, he could come back to that later, he would regret it if he didn’t do this…

The walk was tiring, but he arrived at the forest soon enough, he wasn’t late, that was good, he wasn’t worth waiting on after all.

He knocked on the door, a man opened it, he looked friendly, he was probably part of the couple that Maurice was here to babysit for.

The man - Mr Peters explained what Maurice would be doing, he would be shadowing him and Mrs Peters for the entire day, and tomorrow he would be taking care of their infant granddaughter solo. They knew that Maurice had never done anything like that before, so, they’d teach him.

His wife was sitting on their couch, holding the infant in her arms, Maurice walked up towards the infant, she had faint purple eyes, he saw a small amount of brown hair, he met eyes with her, he saw a smile appear on her face, her small arms reached out for him, he stood there, not knowing what to do.

”Would you like to hold her? I think she likes you.” Mrs Peters said, Maurice saw a sad smile on her face, and she was wearing black.

”Um… Okay.” Maurice sat down, he was a lot taller than Mrs Peters, and he was a bit taller than Mr Peters, but he was still getting taller.

Mrs Peters put the infant in his arms, Maurice immediately felt scared, he thought that he would drop her, but she wasn’t scared, Maurice took that as her trusting him not to drop her. Maurice a wave of emotion hit him, he felt like this infant was the centre of his lost world, like she had hung the stars.

Maurice saw her look up at him, her small hands reached for his arm, his hand was huge compared to her, everything was. He felt her tiny hands on his bruised and battered arm, it made the injuries feel irrelevant, like the only thing there was her hands. She looked at him with curiosity.

“Dear? Where did those bruises come from?” Mrs Peters asked, she looked concerned about Maurice. Maurice had to think fast, he couldn’t tell them the truth…

”I- um- Well- It’s nothing! I swear!” Maurice stammered, he felt a hand on his shoulder, he flinched, it seemed that they weren’t buying it…

”Maurice, what happened?” Mr Peters asked, Maurice felt himself trembling, he was calmed down by the infant’s movements in his arms, she was still staring at him, smiling at him.

”I… It was just some bullies… Nothing much.” Maurice lied, he was bullied, and they did give him bruises on occasion, but those bruises weren’t from them…

”Those bruises are very bad… Have you told anyone?” Mr Peters said, he had a look of pity in his eyes.

“Not really…” No one really cared for him, so no one would want to listen…

”Oh dear… Some wounds are infected. Hon, could you get me my wand? And some bandages.” Mrs Peters asked, she gently took the sleeping infant from Maurice’s arms, placing her in a nearby baby carrier. Mr Peters came back with some items in his arms, he handed them to his wife, and she turned to Maurice. “Dear, could you take your sweater off? I just need to see all of the infections, so that I can treat them.” Maurice reluctantly did as she requested, he heard her gasp, it wasn’t that bad… “This will need a lot of power…” He heard the sage sadly say.

Mrs Peters managed to heal most of Maurice’s wounds, those that she couldn’t, she cleaned and bandaged up, Maurice was feeling much better, he had been instructed to try and go to sleep in the guest room, the bed was very comfy, it was also warm, much warmer than Maurice’s bed at home.

Throughout the day, Maurice had seen something that had never been aimed towards him; love. Mr and Mrs Peters loved Lena, it was so warm. Maurice didn’t have any warm memories with his father, the only memories he had were bad, awful even. But his father loved him, he had to! He just… didn’t show it. Maurice wished that he showed it, he wished that his dad was half as nice as Mr Peters was! …But, he still loved Maurice, even if he hit Maurice…

Maybe his father didn’t love him… But, maybe Maurice could change that by loving him? Or maybe he was right? Maybe he was just born broken, unlovable, worthless? Maybe Maurice was unlovable because he was a burden?! Maybe it was because he was stupid?! Or maybe, it was because his fate had already been sealed; he would become the Dark Lord, he couldn’t escape it…

Maurice felt tears stream down his face, he didn’t want to acknowledge this! He didn’t want to remember that he was unlovable! He didn’t ask for this fate! Who chose this for him?! Why?! What had he done to them?!

‘Life is unfair, Smith, kill yourself, or get over it. Honestly, I don’t care which one you pick!’ Maurice sobbed while remembering what had been said to him the day before…

He wished that he was lovable… He wished that he could focus! He wished that his father was nicer! And he wished that he could change his fate! Maurice curled into himself, he didn’t want to become the Dark Lord! He didn’t want to become his father!

Maurice felt his tears soak through his thin pyjamas, he felt so cold, so lonely…

He was unlovable… worthless, pathetic, stupid, and there was nothing that he could do about it, Maurice accepted the truth that he was unlovable.

The next morning

“Goodbye, Mr and Mrs Peters, I’ll take good care of her.” Maurice said, he was feeling a bit better after the previous night, but he was worried, he had never taken care of an infant before…

”Thank you, sweetie. We’ll be back in two hours.” She said, placing the infant in Maurice’s arms. Maurice felt the infant get comfortable, he looked down at her, she had a big smile, this wasn’t going to be hard, not at all! “Dear, just remember that she’s very clingy.” Mrs Peters laughed, Maurice didn’t exactly understand.

”Okay, I’m sure that we’ll be fine. Now, enjoy your time out.” Maurice felt his mood improving, he didn’t exactly know if Lena was doing anything, or if it was him just naturally gaining confidence, but he liked it.

The two smiled and left, they had told Maurice how to care for her, and they had given him a written guide if his memory failed him.

“How hard could this be?” Maurice asked the smiling infant, this was going to be easy as can be!

One hour later

“Please! Lena stop, I don’t know what you want.” Maurice yelled into his hands, he had fed Lena, burped her, changed her diaper, what else could he do????!!!!

The infant didn’t quiet down, Maurice regretted thinking that this would be easy, it was torture…

Maurice gently picked Lena up, maybe she was cold? After wrapping a small blanket around her, Maurice heard her quiet down, why didn’t he think of that sooner?! Maurice tried to put her back down, but she began crying again, okay, so he wouldn’t be putting her down, great.

He sat down, is his arms, Lena was content and quiet, Maurice looked at the time, the Peters would be back in an hour, and then he’d have to go home…

Maurice felt Lena’s tiny hands grabbing at him, her grip wasn’t very strong at all, but she was still trying… Her small purple eyes met his dark blue eyes.

Her parents had died months ago, she had no one to consider her parents, maybe Maurice could fill that role? Until she found someone worth loving, she’d be his sort of daughter, and he would be her sort of dad.

Yeah, that could work, until she found somebody who was better than him, which wasn’t the hardest thing.

Eight months later

“She’s about to start walking any day now. Me and Jason really need the break though… Maurice, if you see her start to walk, could you please record it for us?” Ruby handed Maurice her phone, he placed it in his pocket.

”Of course. I’ll keep your phone near her playpen.”

“Alright, we’ll be back soon, son.” Jason said, Maurice desperately hoped that they both didn’t see the giddy expression that had appeared on his face.

“Sounds good.”

Maurice entered the house, it had been about two weeks since he had last seen Lena, and she had grown a little, she crawled up to him, Maurice picked her up, he really hoped that he’d always be able to do that… 

“Hello there, how have you been doing?” Maurice asked, he was well aware that he’d get no reply, but he saw Lena’s smile, and that was good enough.

Three hours later

“Alright, alright, your highness, we can leave the playpen behind.” Maurice exasperatedly said, he had lost a game of will, to a toddler.

Maurice put Lena down on the carpet, he watched as she slowly stood up, he was frozen in shock, Lena slowly walked towards him, her first steps… were towards Maurice. He felt Lena’s small hands on his legs, he had just seen her hit a milestone, he was there for it, and he was frozen the whole time, he hadn’t recorded it for Ruby and Jason…

He picked her up, he didn’t have a chance to record it, Lena didn’t want to walk again. Maurice felt so guilty, the Peters would be crushed… And they would probably be angry, very angry…

Wait…… Maurice could just… not tell them! Lena would walk eventually in front of them, and they’d think that it was the first time!

Maurice was a pretty good liar, so they’d probably believe him, he did feel bad, but they’d feel worse if they found out…

”Okay, it’s about time that you took a nap!” Maurice said while holding Lena in his arms, she looked a bit tired, Maurice placed her down in her crib, it had some hot air balloons as decorations, it was cute to see Lena reaching for them, he smiled as he recited something that he had stolen from a rhyme a while back. “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. If they do, hit them with a shoe. Rest well, your highness. For thy’s court shall soon return.” Maurice joked while closing the curtains, the glow in the dark stars shone faintly from the ceiling, Maurice faintly saw Lena reaching for them.

Two hours later

“We’re back! How was everything, dear?” Ruby asked, she smiled at Maurice while he held Lena, she gently lifted the toddler from his arms, Lena seemed very excited.

“Everything went well.” Maurice explained, he saw Lena start to look for him, wiggling around in her grandmother’s arms. Ruby placed her down, she watched in awe as the toddler stood up, Ruby grabbed her arms to help study her.

“Hon! Look, she’s walking!” Ruby said, Maurice watched as the two fussed over Lena, who was enjoying the attention.

“Son, did she do anything like that earlier?” Jason asked, Maurice didn’t want to shatter the happy memory that they had just made, so lying was definitely the best option…

“No, I guess she was saving this for you two!” Maurice exclaimed, he immediately regretted what he had said, he watched Ruby fuss over Lena, he was going to hear this story a lot… wasn’t he?

That was a secret that Maurice was taking to his grave!

Maurice was thanked, they really shouldn’t have… Maurice picked up Lena and spun her around before leaving, he really wasn’t excited to go home…

Seven months later

Maurice was babysitting Lena, she had grown so big, so quickly. All that Maurice had done while she was growing was be even more of a failure, he wasn’t sure that he’d make it out of school… He was so stupid… But he was here for Lena now! So, none of that mattered, she didn’t hate him… yet.

Lena had enjoyed the day, from what Maurice could tell, she toddled around at a park, Maurice held her hands as they chased after some birds, they surprisingly didn’t catch up to the birds, as they were travelling at a staggering one mile an hour! Lena was getting close to being able to run, climb, and cause chaos though, Ruby had preemptively baby proofed her house, so that was good. Lena was already shaping up to be a chaotic and lively toddler, she would be a little nightmare, Maurice was calling it.

But now it was night, Lena needed to sleep, Maurice looked down at her in his arms, she was still so small, but she had grown so much, Maurice had been to her first birthday party, it was small, but the love for her that could be felt there, it was so strong, Maurice rarely saw Lena frown, she could light up a room with her smile.

“Alright, your highness, it’s time to go to bed.” Maurice placed Lena in her crib, he had been reading to her for a while, she usually fell asleep when he was done, or she wouldn’t go to sleep if she felt that he hadn’t been there long enough, at that point, Maurice would rattle off random jokes and phrases that he had heard, he’d hold a book and flip it’s pages to make Lena think that he was reading out of it, when she started to look sleepy, he’d end her day with a small tradition of his.

Maurice read Lena the story, she laid down, Maurice saw her huge smile, it was adorable.

“Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. If they do-“ 

“Shoe!” His toddler excitedly yelled, he heard her small little giggles, she moved her thin blanket around, before looking towards Maurice. “Bye-bye da!” Her small voice chirped, she then laid down and quickly fell asleep. Maurice felt warm tears trailing down his face, it felt like he was broken, but it wasn’t bad.

His daughter… Lena was his daughter… that sounded nice, not his sort of daughter, just his daughter. His little girl. Maurice made a promise to himself, he will never let her get hurt.

One year later

“Dad! Dad!” Lena called as she ran on the sand, Maurice did not want to get up, he really didn’t want to touch the sand, he had some new wounds that he really didn’t want sand in, and the texture of sand in general! Maurice shuddered, he hates sand.

August’s heat won the annoyance battle, Maurice wanted to go to the sea, he wanted to watch his daughter play and have a good time, he still hated sand with a passion though. He turned to Ruby, who was watching her husband follow Lena around. “Can you make sure that no sand gets on my towel?” He asked.

“Of course, dear, now go have fun.” Ruby nodded, Maurice smiled as he began to trek through the sand, it was an awful feeling, Maurice hated it! But, Lena was excitedly awaiting his appearance, so he ignored his discomfort.

Lena ran up and hugged him, Maurice found himself questioning how she got so big, it felt like yesterday she was only a small infant, but she ran, jumped, had nightmare worthy tantrums, and caused chaos for fun, she was growing up, but it felt like Maurice wasn’t… He was failing school, he just couldn’t focus, he’d probably drop out, he needed to find work so that he could live after his father kicks him out… He wasn’t sure what he’d do, his future was in the gutter, and it was all his fault, but, Lena’s was so bright, Maurice will protect her, until he can’t anymore.

“Da!” Maurice picked her up, her smile was so bright, Maurice held her and ran, he heard Lena’s giggles, the three of them went to the sea, Maurice placed Lena down, she jumped and played in the water, the air of the beach was amazing, so surreal, Maurice wished that life could be like this forever…

One year and four months later

“Get out! And stay out!” He said, throwing Maurice down, he then threw a bag at him and slammed the door shut.

Maurice looked at the door, the gold that he had saved to get an apartment… he had taken it… Maurice rifled through the bag, it only had legal documents and stuff like that, no jacket, no clothes, no nothing…

He threw the bag over his shoulders, Maurice needed to find somewhere warm, especially because of the snow… Maurice felt the biting cold, it was so painful, he just wanted to be warm, he needed it!

Maurice walked for hours, he eventually collapsed in a bus stop, he was so cold, so tired, so sick… and so unlovable. If he was lovable, people would want him to stay, if he was lovable, he wouldn’t be lying unconscious in a snowy bus stop.

He just… He only existed to take away a fate from someone who was worth more than him, he was worthless… and he knew that, he knew that well.

One week later

“Hello? Maurice?” Ruby’s voice was full of worry, Maurice had answered, he was on break, it was a cold day in that Gods forsaken factory, Maurice was half sure that his fingers were about to fall off.

“Um… Hi, Ruby… How can I help you? I’m working right now, and the snow is pretty bad, so it might take me a while to find a place to sleep, so I don’t think I’m free today…”

“Dear, how are you? I wanted to make sure that you were okay. But, don’t you have an apartment or somewhere that would be easier to get to?”

“Heh, funny story; I’m kind of homeless… Yeah, it sucks.” Maurice heard Ruby gasp, he didn’t feel to good about his current situation, he had been kicked and hit with a glass bottle the previous night, but it wasn’t anything that he hadn’t previously dealt with at home, it was just… colder, very, very cold.

“Where are you?! What happened?!”

“I have a job at a factory as of now, it’ll take me about three months to scrape together enough money for an apartment, until then, I’m on the streets. But I was kicked out on my eighteenth birthday.”

”Maurice… You’ve been out there since the seventeenth?! Please, come to my house as soon as you’re off work, you can stay for as long as you need and want.” She asserted, Maurice really didn’t want to be a burden…

“I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” Maurice reassured, but Ruby wasn’t buying it.

“It’s snowing, you could get frostbite, or worse! Maurice, the spare room is always open to you.” Ruby insisted.

“I’ll be there by six thirty.” Maurice conceded, Ruby would not let him be out in the cold, and besides, it was a Friday, so he’d be off work for the weekend.

”Thank you.”

Two years later

Maurice ended up staying with Ruby and Jason for three months, he then got a pretty bad apartment, which he rarely spent much time in. After work he’d go over to Ruby and Jason’s house, where he’d spent time with them and Lena before going back to his apartment after Lena was put to bed.

But it all changed when Ruby called him one night, Jason had died only hours after Maurice had left, Maurice packed a bag, he stayed with Ruby for four months, until she felt alright to be left alone.

Maurice still took Lena out most days, just to give Ruby some space to herself, Lena didn’t know the full extent of what had happened.

“Where’s grandpa?” She asked, Maurice finished putting on his shoes before getting up, he put Lena’s shoes in front of her, she had been learning how to put them on.

“He’s… Well… I… He died, he can’t come back… But, he’s still so proud of you.” Maurice said, how does anyone explain death? He sure as hell didn’t know…

“Why?”

“Sometimes, life is just like that. You have it for a bit, and then it ends, like a game. The goal is to have fun, make friends, find people to love, and when the game ends… You leave everyone behind, and then, the game will end for them too…”

“Will he come back?”

“No… But, he’s so, so proud of you.” Maurice felt his voice cracking, he should’ve thought about what he should’ve said, but he didn’t.

Maurice saw his daughter look up at him, her small eyes had fear in them.

“Will you die?” She asked, Maurice felt her run into his legs, he knelt down to try and look her in the eyes.

“Not yet, I’ll only die when you don’t need me anymore. So there isn’t any reason to worry.” Maurice felt Lena’s arms around him, he was trying to reassure her, he honestly didn’t know when he’d die, but he hoped to she wouldn’t need him anymore.

“But I’ll always need you!” Maurice gently patted her back as she softly cried, he had fucked up, big time.

“You won’t always, when you’re big and strong, you won’t need me. That’s how life works.” Maurice saw Lena look up to him, her small purple eyes had tears in them, Maurice had done this, he was an awful father…

“Then I don’t want to grow up! I don’t want you to leave!” Maurice felt Lena’s grip on his clothing, it was tight.

Maurice let Lena cry for a bit, once she was calmer, he gently moved her shoes in front of her.

“Are you ready to go to the park?” He asked, he saw Lena nod, he slipped her shoes on without tying them, odd. Maurice knew that she was learning how to, why didn’t she tie them? “Kiddo, you’ve gotta tie your shoes.” Maurice gently instructed.

“No!” Lena looked more energetic, that was good.

“Why don’t you want to tie them?”

“It’s hard!”

“Then can I tie them for you?” Maurice asked, reasoning with her was a skill of his, he just needed to understand how she thought of things, or he needed to explain something to her, it never took too long.

“No! It’s uncomfortable!”

“Okay, I’ll make sure that they aren’t too tight.”

“Why do they always need to be tied?!” She looked very annoyed, but not tired, so they could still go out.

“Because, do you see how long they are?” He asked.

“Yea…”

“They drag on the floor, and if you step on the other shoes’s lace, you can fall over and get hurt, you’re gonna be running around a lot at the park, so do you wanna get hurt if they make you fall?” Maurice saw Lena start to understand him, she was a smart kid, a very smart kid, she liked understanding the world around her, why rules existed, and Maurice was willing to explain them to her,

“No, I don’t wanna fall.”

“Mmhmm, do you want me to tie them? Or do you want to tie them?”

“You.”

Maurice watched as Lena ran around, she had grown so quickly, Maurice remembered her as a small infant, but she was a child now, running, jumping, having fun, she was just… How long would she be this small for? Maurice didn’t want to lose his daughter…

He wished that he could freeze time here, with Lena being so small, happy, and sweet.

Maurice watched as Lena stepped on a merry-go-round, she was struggling to push it, Maurice made his way over, letting her and some other children get on, he then started to run with it, he heard giggles and cheers, encouraging him to run faster, he did so, but, he didn’t look where he was going, and he ended up falling over, earning himself laughter from the audience he had been pushing.

“Your highness, look!” Maurice said while pointing, he and Lena had made their way to the swings, he was pointing to a butterfly, Lena looked at it from the swing, smiling at it.

“It’s gone.” She said as the butterfly flew away. “Push me higher!” She ordered, Maurice followed her instructions, pushing without remembering that young children think that they are immortal and immune to pain.

Lena came flying off the swing, falling over and starting to cry, Maurice felt so guilty, it was all his fault… He rushed to Lena’s side, checking her for any injuries, apart from a small scratch and a bruise on her leg, she was fine, but Maurice felt awful… He had hurt her, he was awful, he was unlovable, evil, and stupid.

“I’m so sorry, Lena. It was an accident.”

“The stupid swing!” Lena sobbed into Maurice.

“That was my fault, and I’m so, so sorry…” Maurice felt so guilty, he had ruined the day, he was awful, unlovable.

“No! You’d never hurt me! So, it’s the swing’s fault!” Maurice didn’t exactly understand her logic, he was just glad that she was okay. “Look! A ice cream van!” Lena excitedly exclaimed, she pointed towards the van in question, it seemed that seeing it made her feel better immediately.

Maurice picked Lena up and put her on his shoulders, she held onto his head and instructed him towards the van. Maurice used his own cash to buy her ice cream, he had already put away money for the week, so, anything left in his wallet was Lena’s, Maurice hadn’t exactly been saving for himself, he had an emergency fund, but, he had nothing for his future, because he had none, Lena had a future, not him.

He held Lena’s hand as they walked, they had left the park earlier than expected, Lena had seen an amusement park while they both were eating their ice cream cones.

As they walked, Lena ran around excitedly, laughing and smiling at the colours around her, Maurice liked amusement parks, especially when they were far away from the beach, and sand in general. Maurice hated sand so much.

“Dad! Dad!” Lena exclaimed while pointing at a game, it was obviously rigged, Lena dragged him towards it, pointing at a giant dragon plush, it was blue with purple accents, Maurice had no idea that she liked dragons… “Ooo! Look at that one!” Maurice looked at the thing, he’d have to have very good aim to get it, and he knew that these games were rigged… And why would she even want something that was almost five feet and three inches?! She must only like it because it’s a dragon…

“Really? You want that one?” He asked, Lena was bouncing around while holding his hand, her smile was so big, she looked ecstatic.

“Yes!!!!” She excitedly yelled.

“C’mon… You know that those games are rigged… Well, you don’t, but my point still stands.” Maurice said, Lena looked up at him, he knew in that moment that he’d do anything to see Lena smile, including, but not limiting to; putting himself in debt in a rigged amusement park game.

“Please???” Well, that settled it, Maurice was going into debt for his daughter, great!

“Fine, but you better cheer me on as loud as you can!” Maurice thought that he saw stars appear in his daughter’s eyes.

“Ok!!!” She beamed, Maurice let go of Lena’s hand and paid for three throws, he had to make at least two to get the dragon.

Maurice aimed like his life depended on it, for his pride, for his daughter’s admiration, and most of all, to prove that he is better than some shitty rigged game!

. . . He let go of the ball, sending the first one straight into the middle, he only had to get one more to go in the middle, Maurice was ready! He aimed and fired twice again, he heard Lena cheering him on, he could do this! He threw the two balls, one missed, but the other went into the middle!

Maurice picked the dragon and then he showed it off to Lena, he was taller than the dragon, but Lena was not.

“You did it!!!!” She yelled while jumping at Maurice, he smiled at his daughter, she looked so happy.

“Only because I had the best cheerleader!” He ruffled Lena’s hair, Maurice held Lena’s hand while carrying the frankly oversized dragon.

“Home!” Lena yelled, Maurice allowed her to lead him to the exit, she wanted to go home, and so did Maurice.

The present

Maurice woke up with tears streaming down his face, everything hurt, his back most of all.

He hated himself, and rightly so, he let his daughter get possessed! His daughter! He didn’t sleep much while looking for her, Maurice barely ate, barely slept, he wanted to get Lena safe and sound as soon as possible, she was still hurt by that thing though.

If he could, he would kill Tavora with a smile on his face, that thing hurt his daughter, no one hurts his family.

But it was his fault, he opened the box, he didn’t save her, he did nothing! He was unlovable, absolutely unlovable, worthless, pathetic, weak, a mistake, useless, he’d never go anywhere.

Maurice was distracted by the sound of his alarm, he quickly got dressed, he needed to go to work.

He hated his life and himself, the only good thing in his life was his daughter. She may not be biologically his own, but she was his daughter in all but blood, she was the only one that loved him, the only one who cared for him, an unlovable man.

Chapter Text

He held her hands, they ran after the birds together, she had so much wonder, she wanted to explore the world, bask in the bliss of life. As the two got close, the birds flew away, they were so big, Lena looked up in awe, she wanted to fly, just like them!

Everything except the birds was fuzzy, those details didn’t matter, the birds were so free, so happy. Lena reached out towards them, letting go of her father’s hands.

They were gone so quickly, so fast. The world was colourful and bright, life was amazing, so full of wonder and joy, Lena was as free as the birds, she couldn’t fly through the skies, but she could live her life as she wished.

She was placed down in her crib, the colours were warm, Lena listened to her dad’s voice, she couldn’t remember what the story was about, but her dad was telling it.

Her dad stood up, he looked down at her, smiling.

“Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. If they do-“ Lena knew what he would say next, he always said it, but she beat him to it.

“Shoe!” She didn’t remember much, but she remembered seeing his smile grow, he turned towards the door. “Bye-bye da!”

Life was good, Lena was safe, happy, loved, and free, she had everything she needed.

Four years later

Lena didn’t understand why, but she was scared and upset, she felt like she’d lose her dad, like he would go somewhere where she couldn’t find him… Like her grandpa did. Lena had no clear memories of him, only feelings and what others have told her. But, from what she could remember, she liked him, he made her happy, he made her laugh, and he had just disappeared overnight, and everyone was sad about it! Lena was too…

She didn’t want her dad to disappear! He had always been there! He couldn’t leave! She’d always need him! She still does! If growing older meant that her dad would disappear, then Lena didn’t want to! She simply wouldn’t grow up! She didn’t want her dad to leave! She didn’t want her dad to die!

She held onto her dad, he would disappear! Lena would always need him! He couldn’t go! He would disappear! Lena didn’t want him too! Not without her!

He’d always be there… Never far from her… And if he was, he’d be back eventually… He loved her too much to leave… She shouldn’t go out looking for him, he’d be back

They had fun that day, Lena saw something colourful, bright, she wanted to be there.

Her and her dad went there, it was amazing, the colours of the world were so vibrant! Lena remembered the excitement and glee of running around the area, everything was so big, so beautiful!

But then she saw something, it was blue and purple, it was way taller than her, and it looked amazing, she had to have it!

“Dad! Dad!” She was pointing at it, her dad stood still, she brought him towards the amazing item that she had found. “Ooo! Look at that one!”

“Really? You want that one?”

“Yes!!!!” Who wouldn’t want something like that?

What he next said was a blur, she couldn’t exactly remember what he had said, but Lena thought that it was positive. “Fine, but you better cheer me on as loud as you can!”

“Ok!!!” Lena affirmed, she could do this! It helped him win things! Her dad was sooooo cool!

The memory was blurry from there, Lena cheered for him, that’s all she knew. But then she saw him get handed the thingy, he had won! Of course he did!

“You did it!!!!” She rejoiced, her father was tall and blurry in her memory, but he still had distinct details, he was still her dad, even if he had changed from what she remembered.

“Only because I had the best cheerleader!” Lena smiled, her dad was the best.

Two years later

Lena saw her grandmother and her father talking about something, it was taking forever… She soon got bored of her toys, and the forest wasn’t boring, so, she’d just go there.

After a short walk, Lena found them, old hammocks that her dad had put up when she was small, no one ever went to this part of the forest anymore, she didn’t know why, it was so pretty! And it was near a stream of water! There was even a tire swing! It was the best place to be in the forest! Lena was offended on the area’s behalf!

She played on the swing, Lena wanted to come back the next day, so that she could play in the steam, it would be nice.

Once she got tired, Lena climbed up on to a hammock, it was a purple one, it wasn’t the tallest one, but it was still decently high up.

Lena looked up at the trees, she could see parts of the sky, it was beautiful, so relaxing, it was a nice temperature, as there had been a heatwave in the forest recently, which meant that Lena liked the nights a lot more than she used to, it was so pretty, Lena watched her surroundings, it was nice, everything was calm, she usually didn’t like being calm, it was boring, but, she was tired, and the calm forest was so beautiful and amazing.

Just as the young mage was about to drift off, she heard running, and yelling, that got her excited again! She sat up, looking towards the sound, she saw her dad come out of a bush, she had just moved that bush out of the way, she wouldn’t have to do that anymore.

“Dad!” She greeted him, he was panting, like he had been running.

“Thank fuck… Do you have any idea how much you scared us?” Lena heard his tone shift, she flinched. She saw her dad hold his head in his hands, the flashlight that he was holding pointed down towards the ground. “Lena, I’m sorry, you scared me and Ruby, I was just relieved to find you.” He explained, his voice was back to normal, Lena climbed down from the hammock, standing next to her dad, he leaned down, turning the flashlight off to stop it from going in her eyes.

“You two were taking forever to finish talking, I got bored, and I came here, because it isn’t boring.” She bluntly said, she felt herself being picked up by her dad, she saw the flashlight turn on, it was pointed towards the exit.

“Ready to go home?” He said, Lena yawned, she was tired, it would be good to get some sleep.

“Can we come back tomorrow?” Her small voice asked, Lena felt her dad’s warm arms, she was really tired.

“Sure thing, I have Saturday off, so I’ll being you here, I’ll also bring the water guns. Sound good?” He asked, Lena heard his warm tone, she relaxed, she was tired.

Lena gave her dad a nod, before resting her head on his arm, her dad was going to bring her home. Then he’d ask her what her favourite part of the day was, he always did, and he asked it in the same way every time.

Two months later

Lena jumped off the bus excitedly, she was bouncing around, she felt her dad pick her up, she was at a lantern festival, they went here every year with her dad and grandmother! Lena didn’t really remember what the first time was like, or any other times for that matter, but she knew that the lights were beautiful! And she could make her own one with her dad!

The young child started to point her dad towards the lantern making booth, all three of them made their way towards it, Lena was smiling at her dad while they went.

Lena made a beautiful lantern with her dad, he painted a dragon, and she made the dragon guard the moon! They had so much fun!

After they had finished, all three of them left the area, they walked around, looking at the beautiful festival that the Traveller’s Hub had prepared, they stopped at a small cart, Lena watched as her grandmother bought something, she handed a few to her dad, who offered her a pastry covered in melted chocolate, she obviously took the treat, and it was the best thing that she had ever tasted! It was so, so good! It was sweet, warm, delicious, and did she mention how sweet it was?!

”Oh, gods, slow down, your highness.” Lena did so, but she loved these things, they were amazing!

”Dad, what are these????” She asked, Lena needed to know! These were the best things that she had ever tasted!

”Churros, do you like them?”

”Yesss!!! I love them!!!” Lena excitedly yelled, she heard her dad chuckle, before starting to walk away with her grandmother.

”We’ll get you some more on the way out.”

”Promise?”

”I promise.”

Lena ran towards her dad, she was holding their lantern, her dad was holding a lighter in his hands, Lena stood in front of him, she held half of the lantern, he lit it, and Lena watch as it flew away, there were so many in the sky, it was so pretty, Lena felt her dad pick her up, she relaxed in his arms and looked up at the lanterns, they were so bright and pretty.

She couldn’t recall if she did get churros after the lanterns, but her dad tells her that he did, so he probably did.

The present

Lena woke up, she saw the light coming through her curtains, she rolled over, hitting her dragon plush, her extent of care was making sure it didn’t fall off her bed, before she wrapped her arms around it and tried to drift back off to sleep.

Unfortunately, someone had decided to contact her at eight in the morning, which… was a very reasonable time now that she thought about it. The sage groggily checked her phone, it was a message from Romy about an upcoming event of sorts, Lena did a double take when she saw that it was the lantern festival, forwarding the message to her dad before continuing to read.

They had combined a celebration of the heroes bringing peace back to Miitopia, with the lantern festival, which makes sense, it would probably make a lot more, and it would attract more people, someone definitely got a promotion for that idea. The event would take place on November fifteenth, she’d probably be free around them, so it was great!

The Great Sage put her phone back down, before flopping back into bed and trying to go back to sleep, her dad was out, and the Reborn woke up at nine or ten, and Lena had nothing to do.

Chapter Text

Lena was floating, she had left her lesson's area, floating towards where her dad and grandmother were. As she floated, the water started to get deeper, but Lena was fine!

Until she moved the wrong way in the water, she swallowed water and started to fall under the surface, she began to panic, flailing around wildly. Lena went under, she reached out for the surface in desperation, but it was no use. She gasped in a last ditch attempt to get air.

She was pulled put of the water quickly, Lena immediately began coughing and crying, clinging onto her saviour.

"Oh gods, it's okay, Lena, you're okay, I'm here." She heard her dad say, he was there.

Lena was safe, her dad could save her from most things.

Fifty two days left

The Great Sage shook the memory away, she had gained a slight fear of water when she was smaller thanks to that, as she got older, it slowly faded away, but Lena was always slightly paranoid around water, especially when her dad wasn’t there. But, she had been getting more confident and comfortable in deep water, the incident happened when she was six, so, it wasn’t the fastest she could let go of that fear.

The sage heard her phone ping, her dad had messaged her back, his message read "your highness, I don't have very good connection, so, sorry it took me a while to message you back, in November, we'll definitely be going to the festival, especially because it'll be celebrating the heroes, but it's May now, your highness, it will be in a few months, the boss will be back by then, so, just wait for a while, love you, your highness", Lena texted her dad back quickly, she was bored, Lena remembered yesterday, it was amazing! Her and her dad had so much fun!

But, today was just going to be boring! Her grandmother wouldn't be coming back for a while... and her dad was gone! Lena was distracted from her thoughts by a knock at her door.

Chapter Text

Don’t take my place!

Maurice fell against a wall, he was panting, he heard that things steps nearby, how much time did he have?!

Lena was waiting, but Maurice wasn’t sure that he would make it out of this alive… She’d move on eventually, right? Maurice wasn’t going to die without leaving one last message for his daughter.

Maurice finished quickly, he heard the thing getting closer, Maurice picked up a glass bottle and threw it away from himself, that could buy him some time.

He began to run, run because his daughter’s happiness depended on it, run because he wanted to see her again, run because Lena is waiting.

Pain, burning pain, that thing had caught up to him, it’s claws went deep into Maurice’s back, he fell down, this was it for him… Maurice brought his arms up to cover his face, his left was in front of his right.

The thing slashed at and maimed his arms, it was agony, Maurice screamed, he couldn’t see straight, his arms fell to the ground, Maurice tried to back away with his legs, but that only earned him more pain, his stomach had been slashed, he fell unconscious for the last time, he’d never see his daughter again…

Night Terrors:

Mason’s anxiety was active, he ran through the streets, Maurice wasn’t where he was supposed to be, instead, the area where he stood had been torn apart by claws, large claws.

He felt himself running out of breath, but then he saw something, it looked human, so Mason approached.

It was Maurice, his eyes were closed and his was so, so bloody. The hole in his stomach looked horrific, Mason thought that he could faintly see the outline of Maurice’s organs. Mason turned away, vomiting due to what he had just seen.

Maurice’s arms had also been brutalised, the wounds were deep and horrific, his gloves were ripped and Mason saw that Maurice’s hands had also been transformed. Mason didn’t know much about modern medicine or practices, but he knew that bleeding out was dangerous. So he used his jacket to try and stem the bleeding, but he couldn’t he needed help, the rain was pouring on the reborn, he couldn’t let Maurice die, Lena loved him!

Agony, fight, breathe, don’t die. Agony, fight, breathe, don’t die. Stay alive for your kid, for the only one who ever loved you, don’t you fucking die on her. Agony, fight, breathe, don’t die.

Fight! Fight for her! You’re not worth anything! But she thinks you are! So you live for her! Don’t fucking die! Stay for her! Fight for her! You couldn’t protect her from becoming the Darker Lord! But you can protect her from grief!

Don’t fucking die!

Not now…

Not when Lena’s waiting…

Mason carried him, the bus driver was horrified and drove as fast as he she could to get them to the traveler’s hub, she dropped the two off at a hospital. Mason felt Maurice’s pulse getting weaker, he was so worried.

Mason pressed the green button, it thankfully stopped the ringing.

“Where are you Maurice?!” Romy’s voice cam through the device, Mason jumped.

“I… Uh. Hello?”

“Tavora?! Where are you and Maurice?!” Her tone was full of rage.

“A hospital in the Traveller’s Hub… Maurice got hurt in New Lumos, I found him, and brought him here…… He’s in a… (what was it called again?)… Emergency surgery. The doctors rushed him into a room immediately when they saw the state he was in.”

“He’s in a what?! I’ll be there quickly.”

-
“Oh, Tavora… your hands are covered in blood…” Romy said, she had run here in her pyjamas, and she was worried about the Ex-Dark Lord.

“Yeah… I know… I don’t know if the surgery’s over, and the doctors don’t even know if it will even be successful.”

“They were that bad…?”

“I faintly saw bone…”

“Oh gods…”

-one hour later-

“Go home Mason.”

“Really? We’ve both been here for a while, are you sure that you don’t want to go back to sleep?”

“You’ve been here longer. Besides, I’ll just rotate with the team.”

“Alright, thank you for staying with me.”

Lena was sick, it was a bad day, and her dad wasn’t there, where was he? Lena checked her phone, she had a new message from her dad, it read ‘Lena, I love you so much, stay safe. Know that; even if you can’t see me, I’ll always be there for you. I’m so, so proud of you. Love M’, the young sage began to shake, it didn’t sound good, where was her dad?!

She began hyperventilating, she couldn’t stop, her heart was beating out of her chest, where was her dad?! Where was her dad?! And where even was her father for that matter?!

The sage felt tears streaming down her face, where were they? Where were they?!

Lena woke up in the middle of the night, she was cold, her left eye hurt, and everything was aching, she wanted to go back to sleep, but something was wrong in the house.

She started to make her way down the stairs, holding onto the railing for dear life. Lena didn’t see Maurice on the couch, she checked the time, he should be home! Where is he?

Maurice is never late, and Mason is gone too. That wasn’t good, Lena felt both feverish and freezing, she just wanted Maurice home!

Lena made it back to her room, collapsing on her bed, she saw her phone nearby, maybe she could ask the heroes to check on him? Lena felt bad in case she woke them up at three in the morning, but she was worried.

She anxiously waited for the phone to be answered, it was and a very annoyed Romy was on the other end.

“Gods… it’s three in the morning. Wait…? Lena? What do you need?” She asked, Romy regretted having her phone’s volume all the way up, she had been woken up by this call.

“I-I’m so sorry to…” Lena broke out into a coughing fit, she saw the black substance coming out of her mouth, but she couldn’t panic, yet. “Ask this of you, especially since you saved me and all…”

“What is it?” Romy was awake now, the Sage had stopped talking to cough, and when she continued, she sounded even more anxious.

“Well, Maurice and Mason are both missing, I don’t know where they are. So I was wondering if you could look for them for me? I’m so sorry, I know that you’re tired and I just-“

“It’s fine, I’ll get some of the others up, I’ll text you updates.”

“I-I… thank you.” Lena started coughing again, the same black substance began to fall again, the young sage hung up the phone so that she could panic quietly to herself..

Where were they?

Little Island:

Maurice had a headache, he was tired, but he couldn't fall back asleep, something was wrong.

He saw what that was when he rolled over, a man that hw didn't know was lying next to him, what was going on?! Maurice immediately rolled away from the man, this woke him up.

"...Huh...? Love...?" What??? 'Love'?! Maurice didn't even know this man's name!

"What?! Who are you?! Why are you here?!" He yelled, where was he?! The last thing he remembered was... what had happened in New Lumos...? Where was he?!

"...Love? What...? You know who I am, silly. And we moved in together, that's why I'm here. Did you have a nightmare?" The man sat next to Maurice, he felt the man's hands on him, he was gentle, like he cared about Maurice... he knew that he was unlovable, unless maybe... he wasn't...?

"I-I-I was attacked in New Lumos! The monster... I should be dead. Where am I? Am I dead? Dying?!" Maurice saw the man move closer to him, he was the same height as Maurice, his hair was a light brown, his eyes were hazel, and his features were soft, Maurice felt himself softening...

"We've both been asleep for almost the entire night, I promise you that nothing happened, and, why would I lie? I love you. It's all okay, your nightmares aren't real, they can't hurt you. Now, let's go back to sleep, you have the day off tomorrow." Maurice furrowed his brows, he didn't know this man! Why was he shirtless in bed with him?! What happened?! Who even was this man?! Had Maurice been kidnapped?! This kidnapper can't have removed Maurice's scars, hw checked the areas where his wounds were, he had normal, unscathed skin... "I love you, goodnight."

"Goodnight?" Maurice replied with, he didn't recognize his surroundings, the room was painted in a classy gray, Maurice had always eyed the colour when he nought paint for Lena's room.

Lena! Where was Lena?! Maurice had sent her a message before the monster found him! She must be so worried! Where was his daughter?!

The night’s aftermath:

Romy watched Maurice, his breathing was laboured, his monitor was normal though, it had been five days of him being in a coma, Romy had been here for two, she knew that the Great Sage came when she could, and when Lena was here, it was heartbreaking, she’d sob, yell, and scream, but Maurice would never respond, everyone in the team felt awful, they were all hoping that he could survive.

Romy studied the Ex-Dark Lord, the bandages were everywhere on his upper body, he had a splint on his left arm, his right only had bandages, but Romy had seen some of the damage when a nurse was changing them, it looked awful, claws marks littered his right and left arm.

Romy hadn’t seen the injuries on his back and chest, but one of the doctors said that it was the worst injury that she had seen. The pain he must’ve been in for the right arm alone is insane to imagine, but the other wounds must have been agony for him…

The Great Sage entered the room, Romy silently listened, she didn’t know what she could do for Lena…

“W-wake up! Please!” The sage held his bandaged right hand, Romy saw tears that had soaked into the fabric.

After four hours, Romy saw the reborn being the sage home, it looked like she wanted to fight it, but she didn’t, she went back home with Tavora.

Romy was about to text the team asking for a shift change, when she saw Maurice’s right hand twitch, then she saw his eyes flicker open, he was awake, Romy ran and grabbed the doctors, they kept her out of the room while they did some checks on him.

The Ex-Dark Lord was awake, insanely early at that, and alive! He had lived, Romy texted the group to go and get the card that they had made that said ‘Welcome back to the land of the living!’, Romy knew that humour was something Maurice enjoyed.

Agony, fight, breathe, don’t die, live for her.

“Disappointment. Unlovable. You’ll never amount to anything. Give up, it’s worthless.”

No, Maurice would survive this, he will survive this! And he will go home to his daughter! Maurice may be unlovable, but Lena loves him as her father, so he lives for her, and for her only, and he will never forget that.

Agony, fight, breathe, don’t die, live for Lena. Wake up! For her!

-
Maurice was lying there, everything felt numb, he hated the feeling, he was bandaged up, they were everywhere, what had that son of a bitch done to him?!

“Ah, Mr Smith, you’re awake a lot sooner than we had expected. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit. How long have I been here?! Where’s my daughter?!” Maurice could still talk, thankfully.

“You’ve been here since early Thursday, when your friend who found brought you in. And you don’t have a daughter, at least your records say that.” The trainee got a stern look from one of the other doctors in the room.

“Yes I fucking do! I raised her! What the hell is the date?! I was working on a Wednesday!”

“Mr Smith, please calm down.” One of the doctors in blue said, the trainee was in white.

“I… just… everything was so normal….”

“It is currently Sunday the fifth of July.” Maurice had been unconscious for days, days!

“Mr Smith, are you opposed to visitors?”

“Who exactly? It depends on if it’s anyone on my hitlist.” Maurice was definitely not in control of what he was saying, morphine is one hell of a drug.

“Romy Bloom, she also told us that the Great Sage will be coming soon…”

“Yes, they can come in.” Maurice said, he was so worried about what Lena would think…

Walking into that room filled Romy with dread, the Ex-Dark Lord was a friend to her, so seeing him covered in bandages, after he had barely evaded death, was upsetting to say the least.

Everything but his head was covered in bandages, doctors were rushing around him, changing them as required, Romy saw a nurse take off a bandage from his stomach to replace it, it had so much blood on it…

“Oh gods… How are you feeling?”

“Like shit. You?” He joked.

“Well, definitely better. But, what happened?”

“I was about to end my shift, then I felt eyes on me, next thing I knew, I was being chased after dodging an attack. I can’t remember much else…”

“That sounds awful… I want to try and heal you.”

“Fire away. Can’t make me any worse.”

“Luka, grab me a new form…” A doctor said, the trainee quickly did as he was told, grabbing a new clipboard.

Romy healed the Ex-Dark Lord, she saw that his eyes looked slightly clearer, he looked more present, still not exactly here, but slightly less out of his mind in pain.

“How are you feeling now?”

“Fuck, I got used to that pain fast… Thanks, I owe you one.”

“You almost died, you really don’t.”

“Oh gods…” The trainee whispered under his breath.

“What is it… Okay… I’ll write that down…”

“Wait, what is it?” Romy asked, the doctors were checking over how she healed Maurice, he said that he felt better, but something was wrong based on the doctors’ reactions.

“Well, your power has done its job, the problem is, the wound has started to scar over, which means further healing through magical ways is impossible.” The head doctor explained, her voice was blank, she wasn’t accusing anyone, she was just stating what had happened.

“Oh no… Maurice, I’m so sorry. I did-“

“It’s fine, I feel better and if it heals quickly, that’s a bonus.”

“Alright.”

“Mr Smith?”

“Hm?”

“You have two more guests. We know to let the Great Sage in, but what about Mason Tav-“

“Fuck no!” Maurice yelled, he was in pain and agony, but he still hated the reborn, if he never got possessed, he wouldn’t be lying in this bed right now.

“Alright… We’ll tell him that he can’t come in.”

Lena was petrified, the doctor told her that she was clear, she could walk in, but her dad, her dad… He had gotten hurt, badly hurt. The night that she had called Romy while suffering from post-possession side effects, her dad… He was in the hospital…

She gathered her courage, walking in to her dad’s hospital room.

He was covered in bandages, his arms, and his torso were plastered. Lena saw a small cart with bloody bandages on it. That was her dad’s blood. Her dad, her hero… He had been ripped apart and brutalised while she was asleep.

Tears were falling, Lena didn’t care though. Her dad! He was hurt! He had almost died! Lena had spent so many years thinking that he was one of the strongest she knew, that illusion had been shattered when she saw him while possessed. But this was worse! He was killable! Breakable! Her dad was hurt, and she could do nothing to help him!

Lena sat next to him and cried, she didn’t care about her image right now,

“Kiddo… Don’t cry.” Maurice started to reach his left hand out to her, but he couldn’t move his forearm… All he could feel from it was tingling, Maurice’s eyes went wide… He couldn’t show this now! He reached his right hand up to Lena, it was covered in bandages, but he used his hand to wipe her tears. He had lived for his kid, because seeing her upset was the last thing tha he wanted.

“A-are…” Lena quieted down, she needed to calm down! Sound clear! “Are you in pain?”

“No, I’m fine. They don’t have me running on no pain meds, that’s unethical, Lena.” Maurice joked, Lena didn’t laugh though, Maurice frowned as the tears began to fall again.

Lena came close to him, Maurice wrapped his arm around her, he was only alive because of her love. He wasn’t going to let her cry again after this.

“Ahem…” The trainee started, everyone in the room turned to him. This made him so uncomfortable… “Uh… We’re going to explain what your diagnosis is now Mr Smith… Do you want to make anyone leave?” Maurice didn’t want to worry Lena if this would be serious, and Romy has seen more than enough traumatic injuries in her time, she didn’t need to add Maurice’s to her ‘I’ve seen this happen to people’ list.

“Kiddo, Romy, I think I should listen to this alone, you two can come right back in after though.”

They agreed and left, watching his daughter leave was so hard, but it was the best thing for her.

“So, the injuries that you sustained are extremely serious and life altering. Most will scar your body permanently. Your left arm has several cut nerves, as long as you rest them and don’t partake in activity until it has been approved, it will heal fully. But there will be a permanent scar. Your back and chest wounds will also heal well, but they will leave permanent scars too. And your right arm will take a while to heal, but otherwise be fine.”

“How long?”

“Fifteen weeks is what we have estimated so far. The actual time may be more howev-“

“Three months???!!! No! You’ve got to be fucking with me!”

“Mr Smith, this is the generous estimation.”

-

“Dad, how did it go? What is your diagnosis?”

“Great! …Just great!”

Mason had noticed how the house had changed, it once felt homely, lived in, and warm. But now it was vapid, empty, and cold. The sounds of the forest outside used to be comforting, but now they were just what Mason heard when Lena was asleep in his arms.

He checked the device that Romy had instructed him to hold onto, it was locked, Romy had told him that she would ‘call’ him when Maurice woke up, Mason and Lena had gone to the hospital almost daily, Lena didn’t want to leave Maurice’s side…

Mason was pilled from his thoughts by the sound of a ‘call’, it was an awful sound, but Mason picked up.

“Hello, Romy?”

“Tavora, I have good news.”

“Hm?”

“Maurice is awake, and early too!” Mason felt Lena shuffling next to him, he saw her bloodshot eyes and the tear-marks on her face, he also saw her eyes starting to tear up again.

“He is…?” She asked, Lena’s voice was small, she had to be more quiet recently, otherwise she’d destroy her voice…

“Yeah! I’ll meet you two at the hospital, we can get something to eat from the cafeteria and by then, the doctors should be done.”

“Okay, we’ll be there.” Mason watched as Lena wiped her tears, she was ready to go, they had only just arrived home from going to the hospital today, but the6 would go again.

As they walked through the forest, Mason saw the first real smile on her face in a while, she still wasn’t exactly herself, but seeing Maurice might help her regain some energy. Mason held his daughter’s hand as they walked.

Maurice was in pain, horrible pain, but he had managed to hide it well enough to be discharged early, Lena was holding his right hand, she was smiling, but Maurice knew that it was fake, just a facade to make him feel better…

Romy was waiting for them in the car park, leaning on her car, she waved at them, Lena walked towards her, Maurice followed.

“Maurice! How are you? Are you in pain? Thank goodness you’re alive though…” She said, Romy was sure that the memories of that night would be forever implanted in her brain.

“Nice to see you too, Bloom. I’m shit, I feel like shit, and- shit… I said that out loud… Your highness, don’t pay attention to what I said. How have you been, Bloom?” Maurice said, the drugs were still very much in his system, but Maurice was a very good actor, and he wanted to get home and make Lena feel better sooner, who fucking cares if he’s hurting?! His daughter is so much more important, she doesn’t need to worry about him, not if Maurice could help it.

“To be honest? Stressed out of my mind, but, you’ve honestly been worse. Now, anyways, let’s get moving, it’ll hopefully be a two hour and thirty minute drive, but the traffic is horrific! So, it’s probably going to be longer, I have some pillows in the car, use them if you want to take a nap, especially you, Maurice, you need to rest, which is something that I know you’re bad at. Lena, if he doesn’t rest enough, use a sleep spell on him, I’ll give you a hundred gold for every time.” Maurice chuckled, he was feeling slightly better when he was distracted.

“Hmm… I’ll consider your offer, I’ll text you to get my money.” Lena said while looking down, she didn’t want people to be joking around, her dad was hurt, she didn’t want people to talk about it all the time, but… why were they trying to ignore his injuries?

“Your highness, you’re going in the car first.” Maurice said, Lena entered the car, and Maurice followed after her, Lena could lay on his right arm with Maurice feeling not as much pain as he would feel if it was his left, Maurice barely felt his left arm, he couldn’t move it, he couldn’t do anything with it, but it was fine, as long as Lena stayed happy, Maurice could deal with anything, he didn’t care about his own body, as long as he could take care of Lena.

Maurice saw Lena lean against the car door, he frowned, she was acting like he was made of glass, like he could break if she dared to even lie on him… he was weak and broken in his own daughter’s eyes……

“Maurice, do you mind if I turn the radio on?” Romy asked from the front.

“Lena’s trying to sleep, I think it would be best if you kept it off.” Maurice said, he leant against the seat, Maurice hated everything that had happened… his coma was a wild fever dream, and now he was broken… who was there to pick up his broken pieces? He wouldn’t let Lena… and no one else wanted to, he didn’t blame them, he was unlovable after all.

“Alright, now let’s get out of here, here’s hoping I go the right way, you’ll tell me if I pas the area, right Mason?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Great.”

Chapter Text

Heartbroken:

Maurice heard her soft cries, he was home, but he was still broken… He could try to act like he wasn’t though.

“It’s okay, don’t cry.” Maurice wrapped his right arm around his sobbing daughter, it hurt to move, but this wasn’t about him.

He pulled Lena closer, laying her head on his chest, it hurt a lot, that thing’s claws got deep, thank the gods that its claws didn’t make it to Maurice’s lungs, or any other important organs.

Maurice felt Lena’s hand trace the texture of his right arm, the bandages stopped it from hurting that much, he wasn’t showing her any visible signs of his pain, she was scared enough.

Lena felt her dad’s arm, the texture was foreign to her, it had layers that were gone! Her dad… Why him?! He didn’t deserve that! His arm didn’t feel like his arm, it was so uneven, and his chest had the same feeling but worse! He was hurt! Badly hurt!

“C’mon, I’m fine, everything’s fine. There’s no need to cry, or to worry. Kiddo, everything’s going to be okay, it’s all good, I’m fine.” Maurice reassured, he heard Lena quieting down, he rested his right hand on her head.

“I-I-It’s not fine! Your arm!” She sobbed, Maurice held her, when she was done crying, he saw it approaching him, it was holding some cleaning supplies.

“What do you want?” He asked, he hated Tavora, it had kept him chained up for a year, a year!

“I need to clean your wounds…” He said, Maurice was glaring at him, it was sharp and fierce.

“Kiddo, can you go to your room?” Maurice said, Mason saw his eyes soften, his tone changed so fast. Lena walked to her room, and Maurice continued to glare at him.

Breeding resentment:

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, if you’d leave.”

“Charming.” Mason said while walking up to the Ex-Dark Lord, he started to change his bandages, he was still bleeding, so that was bad.

“For fuck’s sake! That hurts y’know!” He yelled as Mason changed the bandages.

“I’m sorry…” Maurice glared at Mason.

“Well, that fixes everything now, doesn’t it?”

Lena walked in, she didn’t like how they were arguing, Maurice had been a lot more angry at Mason since he got hurt…

“Why are you fighting?” She asked, Lena saw them differently when they fought, the two were intimating, angry, hostile, and they just changed…

“It’s nothing, don’t worry.” Mason assured, it didn’t work for her though. When they fought, Lena felt her trust for both of them dying.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it kiddo, it’s fine.” It wasn’t fine! They were fighting! They hated each other! Sure Mason used to be the Dark Curse, but he’s changed! Would Maurice think that she hadn’t changed either…?

“…Alright.” She left, she didn’t want to be around any of them for much longer.

Blood flowing trauma:

“What did she see?!” He yelled, Maurice had come home in a different shirt, and his larger wounds had been professionally dressed.

“I-I, nothing! I just fell, and she was worried, so she bandaged my older wounds up… I-I’m sorry.” He said, Maurice was backing away from his father, who had been menacingly approaching him.

“Are you now?!” Nick had a bad day, fuck! A bad life! He never wanted this shit-stain of a son! It was just delivered at his door one day.

Nick punched Maurice’s chest, he fell down, fuck, that made him feel powerful.

The weakling curled in on himself while backing away, like that would do anything.

Nick walked up and grabbed him by his shirt…

 *
* *
“Get the fuck away from me!” The Ex-Dark Lord yelled, he threw the reborn to the ground. He immediately felt bad, Ruby had taught him never to hit someone, no matter how much you hate them… But the day he apologised to him is the same day that he’d win the lottery.

“I-I… I’m sorry, I was trying to get your attention, I need to change your bandages.” Mason saw the Ex-Dark Lord staring at the wall, Mason gently grabbed him, and then he was thrown! He didn’t know that Maurice was that strong… And he felt like Maurice didn’t mean to do that. Straight after he threw him, Mason saw a guilty look in his eyes, a look that Mason didn’t expect to see from him.

Pain, fucking unbearable pain. Maurice had reopened his wounds… He felt the blood pouring out of him, it made him so woozy, he fell over, he felt arms on him, he just… what? No, no! NO!

 *
* *

“Stop! Please! Please! ” He pleaded, he was bruised and bloody, what had he done?!

Maurice was fading in and out of consciousness, but he felt himself being thrown into his room, and he heard the door lock. At least it was over. He curled up and cried. He never asked for any of this! Why was the world so unfair!

From the perfect start, to where we are now:

Maurice had always been there, Lena couldn’t remember a time where he wasn’t there when her grandmother left.

He taught her how to ride a bike! He taught her how to braid her hair! And he taught her so many other skills! Why was he like this now…?

She just wanted everything to be fine again! Was that so much to ask?! She just didn’t want them to fight! She wanted them to get along! For once in their lives!

The young sage laid down on her bed, it was quiet right now, but Lena knew that it wouldn’t last. Soon enough she heard them yelling, they always did this…

The brunette began to cry, tears soaking into an old plush that Maurice had gotten her, a memory that had become bittersweet

-
-
-

“Ooo! Look at that one!” She said pointing at a large stuffed animal, it was taller than herself at the time.

“Really? You want that one?” He asked, he was tall with blue hair, it had just been freshly dyed, he only worked to maintain his hair.

“Yes!” Lena excitedly yelled.

“Come on… You know that those games are rigged… Well, you don’t, but my point still stands.” He said towards the four year old.

“Please?”

“Fine, but you better cheer me on as loud as you can!” He said.

“Yes!”

As Maurice started his attempt, Lena began to cheer for him! After only three attempts, he managed to earn the prize!

“You did it!!!!” Lena yelled while running up to him, hugging his legs in gratitude.

“Only because I had the best cheerleader!” He laughed, holding the plush over his shoulders, Lena definitely couldn’t carry it.

“Let’s go!” Lena bolted in another direction, Maurice pretending to be a lot slower than her.

-
-
-
She hated him! She hated everything!

Lena threw the stuffed animal to the ground before burring her head in her pillow, why couldn’t life be good? Why was everything awful now…?

The young sage cried herself to sleep that night…

Chapter Text

A moment of silence:

“I hate you.” the Ex-Dark Lord said, he was bitter, depressed, angry, and worthless, when had he become the Dark Curse, when had that son of a bitch stolen who he used to be?!

“Hm, I had no idea.”

“Sarcasm? Fucking sarcasm?! You stole everything good that I had left and left the rest! And you are being fucking sarcastic about it?!”

“What do you mean?! I have done nothing to you! You ignored me, I left you alone! You got injured, I let you have the bed and I slept on the couch! You took the kid out and didn’t tell me, and I didn’t say a word! I’ve been trying so hard to make everything up to you! I have been nothing but good to you!” Mason was annoyed with him, he always wanted to fight! So Mason would allow him a verbal spar today…

“Good? Good?! You ruined my fucking life! I used to be happy, optimistic, but now look at me! I’m a fucking wreck who has no one! I used to have a job, a shit one, but it still made me money, now I put my life in danger every day, because no one will hire me anywhere else! I used to have an apartment, now I live here with you! And I never used to want to die, I had so many reasons too, but I never felt like that, now I fucking hope for it constantly. My life is a mess and it’s your fault…”

“Well I’m sorry that I was a mess too! I’m so sorry that I had an awful life! I’m so sorry that my suicide messed up your ‘perfect’ life!”

“You piece of shit!” The two were getting heated, Mason wouldn’t be the one to deal the first blow, who hits an injured man?

They were yelling, again Lena hated them like this, it was awful… Why couldn’t they just get along? For once! They only got louder, more angry, more dark.

The young sage stood up, casting a spell of silence on both of them, she wanted them to be quiet!

“Stop fighting!” She cried, she felt tears running down her face, she wanted them to stop! Was that so much to ask?!

"I never asked for this!!!"

*

"If I never had you, maybe I would be financially stable right now. So you will date her, and nothing short of her beating you to death will make you leave her, you got that?! You’ve disappointed me enough!"

"I never asked to be born! I didn't ask for this at all! You chose to have me! Why do you treat me like th-" he was cut off, he had been punched in the face, thankfully his nose was fine, but he would definitely have a black eye, and it would bruise fast.

"Who the FUCK do you think you are?! You are such a fucking disappointment. I wish i never had you." He spat, Maurice was clutching his eye while shaking. "You and Dakota will date, and then you will move up in the world, and then you’ll pay me back for the burden of raising you, you understand that?!"

"Y-yes..." he sobbed.

"At least you can fucking understand that."

-

"Dear! What happened to you?!" Ruby asked, Maurice had a black eye, he had walked here. He thought that Ruby and Jason would be mad, but they were concerned about his eye.

"I-I just fell on the way here!" He lied, he knew that they weren't falling for it, but he wouldn't back down.

"Let me heal you." Ruby said.

"Aren't you mad that I arrived late...?"

"No, why would we be? You're hurt.”

-

Hurt... Hurt.. He will never let her get hurt again...

Maurice had broken the promise that he made to himself. Lena was crying and it was his fault.

*

"I didn't want this!!! Why do you fight so often??!! I hate you!!!" He had hurt her. Sure, he didn't hit her, but she was inconsolable. And it was Maurice's fault. He thought that his fights with Mason didn't affect her. But he was so, so wrong.

"I want to reverse it!!! I really do!!! But I can't!!!!" She sobbed, Maurice had hurt her so much that she couldn't control her magic. "I-I, you'll just keep fighting!! Even while quiet!!! I'll still hear it!!!"

*

Maurice let go of the swing, he didn't check to see if Lena was holding on, she wasn't, and she came flying off. Maurice ran to her side, consoling the now crying child.

"Oh gods.... I'm so sorry Lena. It was an accident, I swear."

"The stupid swing!!" She sobbed into Maurice's chest.

"No, Lena, that was my fault, and I'm so sorry." He guiltily said.

"No! You'd never hurt me! So it was the swings fault!" The six year old reasoned, Maurice couldn't exactly understand her logic, but he was just happy that she wasn't bleeding.

"You'd never hurt me!"

*

Maurice tried to approach Lena, he heard her start to cry harder, so he stepped back. What had he done...? He had turned into that bitter old fuck...

Maurice turned to Mason, sure he hated him, but he loved Lena more than he hated Mason.

Maurice reluctantly embraced the brunet, Mason froze in the Ex-Dark Lord's arms, if he said anything, Maurice couldn't fucking hear it.

He heard Lena's cries soften, after a second Mason hugged him back, and that further calmed her down.

Maurice let go of the reborn, turning to Lena, he picked up some paper and began writing, that was the only way that he could communicate with her right now.

Once he was done, he walked up to her and handed her the letter that he had hastily written.

'I am so sorry. I never noticed that my fights hurt you, I would never willingly hurt you.

I know now though, and there will be no more hatred, no more yelling, and definitely no more fights.

I love you so much, and I am so sorry that I've hurt you. I don't care if you can't get our voices back, I just don't want you to be upset, not if I can help it.

-So much love, M'

"Promise...?" She chocked, Maurice hated seeing her cry. She was such an energetic and sweet kid, and he hurt her, he had made her cry.

Maurice grabbed some paper and he began to write, he handed the paper to her after a second.

'Promise'

The kid began bawling, Maurice scooped her up, giving Mason an expression that said 'your turn.'.

Maurice would never become his father, not now, not ever. Because he loved his kid more than he hated the world.

Basking in the sun:

Maurice was tired, very tired. He had let Mason stay in the bed with him the previous night. Ever since he started sleeping in the bed, his back had been feeling much better in the mornings.

Maurice felt something in on him, it was Mason, he had somehow managed to lie half of his body on the Ex-Dark Lord. Maurice was both disgruntled and impressed, the reborn was going to give himself neck pain if he kept that up.

He lifted the brunet off of himself, placing his head back on his pillow, then Maurice start to get up, he was grabbed from behind and pulled back down, where did the reborn get his confidence? The two had only just started tolerating each other, and that was only for Lena’s sake, but the brunet was acting like they were married or something. It made Maurice chuckle, he was too tired to be mad or annoyed. Maybe some more sleep would be nice?

“Why the beach?” Mason asked, the two were working together to make their fights up to Lena. Maurice had been adamant that they go to the beach.

“Lena likes the beach. And sides, the sun is nice.” He explained, Mason could tell that the Ex-Dark Lord still wasn’t the biggest fan of him, but Mason did lie on him intentionally earlier, and he got away with it. The reborn started to blush thinking about it.

Mason turned his attention over to Lena, she was intently watching them, she still didn’t trust them to not fight yet. Maurice also noticed this, he walked near the end of the wooden dock, staring at the sand with a look of resignation.

“Not the sand…” He groaned, Mason saw a look of mischief appear on Lena’s face, she quietly walked behind Maurice while he was grumbling about hating sand.

The young sage pushed Maurice on the sand, the Ex-Dark Lord laughed and smiled, he then let Lena find them a place to sit, Mason followed the two, it looked like this was a usual occurrence, just being calm, happy.

Mason helped Maurice set up an area to sit, and Lena was digging a trench to turn into a pool.

The two sat and watched in silence for a bit, Maurice was smiling.

“So, do you actually hate sand?” Making small talk had become easier, but Mason didn’t like the new burning feeling he had when he talked to Maurice, not at all.

“Yep, it gets everywhere, I can’t escape it. I just hate how it feels on my skin.” Mason saw the Ex-Dark Lord shudder while describing his reason for hating sand, like he was imagining it.

Maurice laid down on the towel, he was sunbathing, basking in the sun, it was peaceful.

Lena whispered to Mason once Maurice was asleep “Hey, can you help be bury him?”

“What?” Mason said, Lena was levitating a small pile of sand.

“Just grab some sand! We just need to make sure that he’s covered.”

“Sure?”

The two got to work covering Maurice in sand, once only his head was visible, Lena took a step back and giggled.

-
-
-
“Really?” The Ex-Dark Lord questioned, he had taken a nap, a small nap, and he woke up as a statue.

He heard Lena giggle, that made being covered in sand worth it, he knew that she’d try something with sand, she knew that he hated it with a passion, so she always did. But after the last few weeks, seeing her smile and laugh was worth the hours he’d have to spend in the shower later.

“Yep! Surprised? I’ve done a very good job!” Maurice laughed, he could break out easily if he wanted to.

“Indeed you have, but you never thought that I’d come fore you!” Maurice said, he got up holding a handful of sand, he chased the mage around as she laughed.

The two threw sand at each other, usually Maurice would know that he would regret getting sand in his hair, but seeing Lena smile made him know that he’d never regret this.

Mason followed them, eventually the three were all in the sea, at some point Maurice grabbed Mason and used him as a shied to block the water that Lena was splashing at him, Mason laughed it off, but he felt that same burning feeling again… odd, he had never felt that before.

After Maurice and Lena had used up all their energy, they went and got some ice cream, Maurice paid for them all. They ate their ice cream of the beach while the sun was setting, Maurice then packed up, he had discarded his shirt because the texture of the sand grains was making him feel awful.

This had been an amazing day out, on the way to the bus stop, Lena held both Maurice and Mason’s hands, they swung her forward a bit, Mason noticed that she was smiling. Maurice’s idea had worked a lot, and no one got sunburnt.

“Shit… Reborn, that was a mistake…” Maurice mumbled, he had gone in the sea with Lena and the Reborn, who he had used as a shied to stop anymore salt water from getting in his wounds.

“You didn’t put the waterproof bandage on?” Mason wondered why Maurice had been grimacing while they were in the sea, he had smiled when Lena looked over, but it wouldn’t last for long when she wasn’t looking.

“We had those? You could’ve told me before I ran off…” He grumbled. “Anyways, I’m taking a shower, I’ll be in there for four hours minimum, sand is awful, I hate it so, so, so much.” Maurice said through gritted teeth, Mason felt awful for helping Lena bury him… Mason may or may not have gotten sand in Maurice’s hair…

-

Maurice walked out of the bathroom, he was warmer, his left arm hurt like shit, but he could wash himself, the perks of being ambidextrous! Maurice laid on his and the Reborn’s bed, he didn’t care that he was getting it wet, that was future Maurice’s problem, and he hated him.

After a while, Maurice considered himself both dry enough, and sand free enough to change, he took some of his pyjamas from his closet, putting them on, he struggled to get them on with only his right hand, the shorts were hard, but he managed to do it, the shirt was basically impossible… shit.

He didn’t want to ask the Reborn for help, he didn’t exactly like him after all, they were being civil though, only for Lena’s sake.

Maurice took the shirt off, he needed to do this! He put the left arm through the hole first, not moving it, just getting the fabric on, and even that hurt… He then got his head in the hole, followed by his right arm! He had done something for himself! He wasn’t pathetic! He wasn’t just some puppet that had no control, no ability to do anything, he just had to rely on sympathy to get stuff done…

He waved that thought away… It didn’t matter, he wasn’t helpless, not when it came to getting dresses at least, Maurice was half glad that he had gotten injured in the summer, putting jeans on with only his right would be a nightmare, he’d need the Reborn, and being that close and vulnerable to him of all people was not something that Maurice ever wanted to happen, he put up with the Reborn’s insistence to touch him, he didn’t reciprocate it.

Maurice walked downstairs, excited to share his accomplishment with his daughter.

Forgiveness is divine:

“Maurice?” Mason started meekly, he saw the Ex-Dark Lord turn towards him, he was losing his confidence, and quickly at that.

“Hm? What do you want, Reborn?” He asked, his tone wasn’t angry, nor aggressive, but he wasn’t exactly happy either.

“I want to talk to you… about, you know.”

“Alright…” Maurice and him entered their bedroom, closing the door, Maurice sat down first, he looked tired, Mason hoped that his arm was feeling better. “So, what do you want to say?”

“I’ve been thinking about everything… and, I’m sorry, I was delusional and didn’t acknowledge how much I had hurt you, I thought that I was in the right because I couldn’t remember any of it, so, therefore, it wasn’t my fault, I know now that I was just denying that I had hurt anyone to make myself feel better… So, I’m sorry for denying that I had hurt you, for using my own issues to try and top yours.” Mason watched Maurice, looking for his reaction, he saw the Ex-Dark Lord look at him with distrust.

“What made you change your mind?”

“I thought about it from your perspective; you just wanted a better life, you just wanted to be happy with Lena and Ruby, and he- I tricked you. That must’ve been awful, and then you were trapped with me torturing you, I don’t know what it was like, but, it can’t of been good, and after you were freed, I possessed your daughter, that must’ve been awful, I’m so sorry, it doesn’t matter if I couldn’t help it, it still happened… and it was the worst part of me who did it, so I’m so, so sorry.”

“Continue, Reborn.” Maurice said, he had to be lying, he just had to be! Was he lying just to hurt Maurice…? Was he lying to make himself feel stronger?

“I am in the wrong, I don’t need you to forgive me, I just want you to know that I am sorry for everything I did as the Dark Curse, and for my denial of it, and, I’ll try to make up for it be helping you heal, I just… I like you as a person, and I wish that I never had hurt you, but I did, and I’m sorry, Maurice.”

Maurice looked at the Reborn is disbelief, the apology seemed truthful, sincere… Why? He was unlovable, why care what he thinks? Maurice waved his thoughts off, he needed something to say.

“I-I… forgive you, Tavora.” He said, he felt Tavora grab his hand gently, he didn’t mind.

“Thank you, should we go to sleep now?” He asked, Maurice gave him a weak nod, moving himself to his side of the bed.

Sleeping next to Tavora felt different, usually Maurice would just pretend that he wasn’t there, but now he liked accidentally touching him when rolling over…

Tavora was less of a stranger that Maurice fought with, and more of a friend now… The Ex-Dark Lord closed his eyes, he didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but he felt more prepared to take it.

Broken toy:

It was hot out, so Maurice wasn’t wearing a shirt, this was the first week that Maurice could participate in light activity, the Ex-Dark Lord hated being still for too long, it was his own fault for reopening his wounds though. He was gonna sue PFM into the ground for his injuries, well, he didn’t have the money too, but he could dream.

While he was taking care of the plants, he saw Lena come outside, he heard her gasp, she had never seen how bad his scars were before, not even when they were at the beach, the memory of Maurice getting salt water in his wounds still made his body writhe with pain, that was a bad idea, but he had brushed it off at the time, that day was about Lena, not him.

Maurice saw tears in her eyes, she walked up and hugged him, he could tell that she was uncomfortable with how his scars felt though…

He watched as she went back in, he came in too after a few minutes, he grabbed one of Mason jackets, the reborn wouldn’t mind.

Maurice went into their room and laid down, why did the scars still have to be there? Why was it going to take so long for them to heal? Maurice remembered that doctor telling him that the scars would most likely be permanent, he also gave Maurice some options like scar removal surgery, Maurice would have to pay out the nose for that, but it was worth never seeing that look on Lena’s face again…

Maurice discarded Mason’s jacket and stood in front of the mirror, he hated how the scars looked, he hated how they felt, he hated how frail and breakable Lena thought he was now… She used to tackle him from behind with no warning, it would be fun, a game of vigilance that taught her a lot about being sneaky. But now, he’d be lucky if she gave him a rough hug, she thought that if she made one move that was too rough, Maurice would fall apart right then and there.

He just wanted to go back, he wanted everything to be fine, he hated these scars, but what could he do?

The Ex-Dark Lord wore Mason’s jacket, he then laid down and cried himself to sleep.

Scarred bonding:

Lena sat on the bed, next to her dad, he had been wearing loads of bandages recently, more than necessary, Lena knew that something was wrong. She saw his scars while he was gardening, they were horrific, she had seen the ones on his upper arms and she thought those were bad, but his chest and back were so much worse.

She wished that she had been there to heal him! What is being the Great Sage worth if she can’t save her dad from pain?!

“Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling?” He asked, Lena was upset, she was upset that she had made him sad, upset that he got hurt in the first place, and upset that she couldn’t heal his scars because she never got there in time.

“Upset.” Maurice’s face fell, he had been trying to make her feel better, keeping the scars texture as unnoticeable as possible, making sure that they weren’t visible, just anything to make her more comfortable.

“Why? Kiddo, you can tell me.”

“Because… I’m sorry…”

“You have nothing to apologise for.”

“But I do! I made you upset because of the scars!”

“No, it’s fine, I get it, they can be scary, and ugly, and they feel weird…”

“But you can’t change that!” Lena hugged her dad, she was upset that he had gotten hurt that bad, she wasn’t upset at him. “And I don’t like the scars! I really don’t! But, you don’t either! And we can’t control it! You’re still my dad! With scars or not!” Maurice hugged his daughter. He had tears pouring, he put his head in her hair, he hated the scars, he thought that they made his kid see him as some sort of monster… And maybe she does, maybe she’s just acting brave for him, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Thanks kid…” He sniffled. “You don’t have to like them, I know that you’re uncomfortable with them… And I know that I’ll never…” Maurice let out a sob. “Never be the same in your eyes.” He cried, Maurice felt slightly bad for getting his tears in her hair. “And that’s fine, you don’t have to act brave anymore, I can tak-“

“I’m not acting brave! They make you uncomfortable! They make you feel different! …But, you’re not. And I have to learn that too.” Lena was crying too now, Maurice moved her away from him and wiped her tears. “No! You’re hurt! You shouldn’t be the one comforting me!”

The two cried together for a few minutes, Maurice holding his daughter close, they would have to learn to accept what happened, but he had his kid with him, so he could do it.

-

Mason came back from getting groceries to find both Maurice and Lena asleep in Mason and Maurice’s room, they both looked sleepy, Mason began to work on dinner while they were asleep.

Walls start burning:

Maurice was glad that Lena wasn’t scared of, or hated him, but Maurice still deserved to be hated by her… Maurice thought back to that night, he saw Lena crying on the ground, it was so vivid, he had become his father, he had made her cry, and for what? Petty fights with Tavora?! To make himself feel justified?! To make Tavora feel bad?! His daughter was worth so much more than that…

But he wasn’t.

He was thrown down, Maurice tried to crawl under some furniture, and he thought that he was hidden, but then it was lifted up and thrown to the side, he screamed, begged for forgiveness, he didn’t mean to break it, he didn’t mean to!

Maurice was hit by the bottle, it shattered on him, he felt the glass stab through his skin, he cried, but he only got a kick in his chest, he was dragged to his room, where he was thrown in, he heard the door lock, he hated it all…

He had only tripped? Why was his father so angry over an accident? He said sorry… That’s what the school said should happen… maybe they lied? But, why?

Maurice looked around in his head for answers, he found one that made sense to him, he was worth less than what he broke. That was why his father was so angry. He was worthless, unlovable, stupid… He was a failure, a disappointment. He just wasn’t good enough for his father to like him more than that thing…

He quietly sobbed into himself, his head hurt, everything hurt… He just wanted to be lovable! He just wanted to be liked! …But he was broken, that was why his mom didn’t want him, that was why his father didn’t either… he was nice to take care of a burden like Maurice… He was just broken, unlovable. And so, he deserved it, he deserved all of the pain, he deserved his fate as the Dark Lord… He would take a bad fate away from someone who didn’t deserve it… unlike it.

It cried into itself, it wasn’t important at all, it wanted to be! It wanted love! Affection! …Just someone to care about it at least… If it had kids, would they be worth more than it? Would they also be doomed? Would it treat them differently? Or maybe, its kids just wouldn’t love it.

Maybe it would never be worth love…

“Maurice?” He heard, the Ex-Dark Lord shot up, wiping the tears from his eyes.

“What, Tavora?” He said, his voice was cracking, and he felt overwhelmed by his emotions.

“Have you been crying?” Shit…

“No, I have not. I just have watery eyes.”

“To the point where tears are running down your face?”

“Fine, what if I have? What could you do?” He asked, the Reborn and him had been growing closer, Maurice occasionally found Tavora on top of him, he needed to teach the Reborn about consent.

“I could, sit next to you? Listen to you?” He offered, Mason resisted every urge in his body to offer to hold Maurice, he would never agree to that. Even now that they are closer…

Maurice was upset, he wanted to be vulnerable, and he doesn’t mind the Reborn much… so it wouldn’t kill him.

“Fine…” he grumbled, he saw the Reborn sit next to him, this was going to take a while… Maurice felt the Reborn grab his right hand gently, Maurice really needed to teach the Reborn about consent.

“So… why were you crying?” Mason asked, seeing Maurice of all people cry, was rare to say the least, he had only seen Maurice cry twice, the first was when Lena was upset at them, and the second… he didn’t know why Maurice was upset, he never talked about his feelings…

“It was just an old memory…” Maurice mumbled, Mason liked being close to him, he liked Maurice as a person, he was a good friend, and an even better father.

“About what?”

“My… my father. He used to beat me, in that memory, he hit me with a glass bottle… that shattered upon impact, I have faint permanent scars from it, I did manage to pull all of the glass out on my own though.” Maurice looked down, he felt weak, but he wanted to be vulnerable?! Why didn’t he like it?! …Oh, it was because Tavora could hurt him easily while he was vulnerable…

“I’m so sorry…” Mason said, he wrapped his arms around the Ex-Dark Lord, avoiding his wounds.

“It’s fine, I’m fine.” Maurice said, he was trying to remove his vulnerability, he didn’t trust Tavora… He had forgiven the Reborn, but he hadn’t forgotten the Dark Curse…

“You’re not… What else did he do…?” Mason gently pulled away, lying Maurice down, once he was lying down, Mason started to run his hands through Maurice’s hair, he felt the Ex-Dark Lord slightly relax.

“He was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive… I just… I’m fine now though.” Maurice said, the Reborn had started to touch his hair, it felt nice… Maurice would die before he admitted it to the Reborn though.

“I’m so sorry… That’s awful. You didn’t deserve any of that…” Mason ran his hands through Maurice’s hair, Maurice was a good person… he didn’t deserve that…

“I-I… Can I trust you?” Maurice sat up, he looked the Reborn in his eyes, he wanted to trust him… but, could he?

“You can.” Mason looked at Maurice, he was studying Mason’s expression.

“I don’t know if I did deserve it or not.” Maurice mumbled, he felt the Reborn’s arms around him again, it felt slightly comforting.

“You didn’t… You are one of the best people I know, you didn’t deserve it…”

“I’m unlovable… stupid, weak, useless, a burden… worthless, a disappointment, just-“ Maurice felt tears welling up in his eyes again, like the floodgates would open at any moment…

“You’re not any of that.” Mason reassured, he pulled back, holding Maurice’s head in his right hand, and holding Maurice’s right hand with his left.

Maurice didn’t say anything, he felt the tears begin to pour though, he felt Tavora pull him closer, Maurice rested his head on the Reborn’s shoulder, he was quietly mumbling about his childhood, he was unlovable, he knew that, but Tavora didn’t think that he was…

Was he unlovable?

The troubled pasts of the Hero and the Puppet:

Romy sat next to the Ex-Dark Lord, he was also staying away from the chaos of the barbecue, he still had the splint on, Romy didn’t even know how he had managed to reopen his wounds.

“So, what are you doing here? Aren’t you interested in the chaos and energy?” She asked, she knew that Maurice had a lot of energy on any given day.

“Ha, yea, I’d go, but I’m not really a fan of yelling. But, seems like everyone else is having fun.” He commented, Romy had a decent view of the event from the hill where her and Maurice were sitting, and it looked like everyone else was having fun.

“Yeah, it does.”

“Want a drink?” Maurice offered, he had two wine glasses and a bottle in front of him.

“Have you just been here drinking?” Romy jokingly asked.

“Nah, see? It’s unopened. Besides, I never drink alone. So, want some?” He asked, his tone was lighthearted and joking, but Romy heard him get slightly serious when he said that he didn’t drink alone.

“Sure.” Romy watched as he poured two glasses, he was good at working with his right, but Romy swore that she had seen him use his left as his dominant hand before. “Um, are you left or right dominant?”

“Ambidextrous. I had to train my hands to do each other’s work because my hands had injuries a lot.” Maurice explained while handing her a glass.

“Cool.”

“So, wanna talk about life stuff or something?”

“Sure. Want me to start?”

“Fire away.”

“So, I was born in Greenhorne to my parents - Vanessa and Robert. And I also had a sister…” Romy quieted down, she needed to think about what she would say. Once she had gathered herself, she continued. “Rosemarie, she was the best sister that anyone could ask for. She single handedly shaped my dreams and future. But, she’s… She’s gone…”

“I’m so sorry…”

“She’s gone! I found out a while back! I didn’t know what to do… I just wanted to let the world swallow me up whole. I didn’t want to accept that she’s dead………….. But, I’m learning to now. I’m slowly healing every day, I guess. Slowly accepting what’s been lost.” Romy wiped her tears, she had just said all of that to the Ex-Dark Lord, the possession was probably worse.

“That’s awful… I’m so sorry that happened.” His voice was full of compassion, he had been slowly drinking from his glass, while Romy had finished hers before she started talking, it was a hard thing to talk about in her defence.

“Your life has probably been harder. I mean, the possession thing must have sucked.”

“We’re not comparing trauma. Yes, the possession sucked, but if we keep comparing trauma, no one will feel good. You’ve been through hell, we all have. But I’m glad that you’re healing now.”

“Thanks. Do you want to talk about the possession?”

“Sure, it’d probably do me good to talk about it. I was tricked, I had a good day, so my guard was down, and it tricked me, telling me that life could be better if I helped it out, I did. And look where that got me!” Maurice said, he picked up the bottle and refilled his glass, before silently offering a refill to her too. “So, being possessed, I couldn’t move much, if I wanted to see anything outside of the void, it wasn’t be pretty, that thing tortured me, it would taunt me, lie on my chained up body, and just… I was it’s puppet. It wasn’t good, not at all.”

“I… That sounds awful.”

“It was, I’m not a man who cries much, probably because I grew up with a father who’d give me something to cry about, heh, he really did beat the tears out of me. But, I cried, I cried while possessed a few times.” Maurice said, he looked up at the sky, it was beautiful and dark.

“He… would what?”

“Oh, um, that’s not normal, is it?” Maurice asked, he had a habit of saying things while inebriated that made his past a lot more obviously awful than he intended.

“No… Do you think it is?”

“We’re gonna talk about my childhood now, you’re gonna want a refill.” Maurice said, he had refilled his own glass already, once he had finished filling Romy’s, he drank his glass in one swing, that was not like him, but his childhood was a mess, so he needed it…

“Okay, what do you have to say?”

“I was born in who knows where to some random lady, she didn’t want me, so she found where my father lived and left me on the doorstep, from my first moments, I was never wanted. My father took me in and raised me for tax and welfare related reasons, he made more money from having me alive, so he did. He never loved me though, I have no good memories with him, he’d beat me when I was old enough to take it, I think it started when I was five or six, I never had a birthday party, never even a gift. I slept in an empty room with an awful mattress, I remember having a spring stab me in the leg when I was sixteen. I was scared of people because of him, and when I did try to talk to them, they hated me, they would just… bully me, because I was an easy target.”

“I’m so sorry…” Romy was horrified, Maurice was always so nice to everyone, how could that have happened to someone like him? He was such a good person.

“It’s fine. I almost decided to kill myself one day, a bully of mine had beat the shit out of me and told me that ‘life is unfair Smith, kill yourself, or get over it’, it is a miracle that I didn’t go mental there, but I had stolen some drugs from a pharmacy, I was going to take them all and be free, but I didn’t, I got scared and I just went and did the labor that my father has signed me up for, I babysat that day, the kid loved me, that was the first time that I had felt love. I remember it like it was yesterday. I raised that kid until she was three, I turned eighteen that year, I knew that my father had plans to toss me onto the street, and I had planned for it, but I didn’t plan well enough. He stole the money that I had, and threw me out with nothing. All I had was a job lined up, I was trying to scrape money together to pay for an apartment, and I almost had it, but he took it all. So I stayed on the streets for a while.”

Romy wrapped her arm around Maurice shoulders.

“I’m fine now though, mostly.” Maurice wrapped his right arm around the hero’s shoulders, forgetting that his right arm was the only thing holding him upright, Maurice fell, and he brought Romy down with him. “Welp, not my best decision.” He lightheartedly said.

“Not at all.” The two got up, Romy helping Maurice sit up, Romy picked up the bottle and poured one last drink for the two of them. “To trying to heal?”

“To trying to heal!” The glasses clinked together, and the two considered each other close friends, maybe adoptive siblings even.

A shoulder to cry on:

Maurice saw it... he saw the Dark Curse, it was approaching him... He was helpless...

Hello, my puppet~

"I'm not-" Maurice was cut off by the black substitute, he choked on it, trying in vain not to swallow any.

Don't you know that resisting this is futile by now? You never learn, do you? Puppet. And, you are my puppet. My weak, pathetic, helpless, and powerless puppet. I hold your strings, don't I?

Maurice felt weak... He was this things puppet, it made him look like a fool, it tricked him, and it made his life hell, releasing it was the worst mistake of Maurice's life...

Don't I?!

Maurice felt the already uncomfortable chains get worse, they tightened around him.

"Yes..." He felt so weak, so defeated...

Excellent, my puppet!

"You're heartless..." He weakly mumbled.

Heartless??? Heartless?! I'm offended, puppet! You don't appreciate me enough... How about I show you how heartless I can be?

Maurice a chain appear around his neck, it was too tight, he gasped desperately, but he was choking on the black substance... All of the chains were tightening around him, it was excruciating...

Maurice screamed, he wanted someone to help him…

Mason was woken up by Maurice sitting up very quickly, he was also breathing quickly.

"...Huh...? Maurice...?" Mason grumbled, he sat up to face the Ex-Dark Lord.

Maurice looked towards him, Mason saw his eyes widen in horror, he began trembling, Mason heard his breathing somehow speed up.

The Reborn tried to put his hand on the Ex-Dark Lord's shoulder, Maurice was tense.

"Maurice? Maurice, what's going on?" Mason saw Maurice's shaking, he looked like he was trying to calm himself down.

Mason gently moved Maurice, making sure not to injure his wounds, Mason held him, gently running his hands up Maurice's back, he then ran his hands through Maurice's hair, gently massaging him.

"It's okay. You're safe. Breathe in and out." Mason said softly.

"I-I-I..." He Heard Maurice mumble, he was getting more coherent, Mason took that as a sign that he was calming down.

"Maurice, it's okay, focus on your breathing." Mason noticed that Maurice was calming down a bit.

He felt Maurice's breathing ease, his heartbeat had slowed down to a normal rate, and he had stopped trembling.

"It's okay, it's all good. You're safe."

He felt Maurice's body relax, Maurice looked him in the eyes, Maurice looked tired. Mason laid himself and Maurice down, he held the Ex-Dark Lord close.

But what had done that to him? Mason's mind immediately went to the Dark Curse... Had he been the reason for Maurice's panic?

Mason had hurt him... more than he'd ever know, but Mason would make up for what he did as the Dark Curse, he'd make up for it by doing his best to help Maurice and Lena, by making sure that Maurice healed well, by making sure that he would never become the Dark Curse again.

Mason would make up for what he did, he was making up for it now.

Return with guilt:

Ruby walked into her house, she saw Mason and Maurice sitting on her couch, Maurice looked guilty, and so did Mason.

Ruby sat in the armchair in front of the couch, she knew that they had something to say.

Maurice took a deep breath, he could burn this bridge so easily, he didn't want Ruby to hate him, not like his father hated him at least...

"We are going to tell you what happened while you were gone, we both know that we were in the wrong - myself especially, I do not blame you if you kick me out." Maurice said, the weight in his chest was unbearable, he hated it.

"What happened?" Ruby asked seriously, she was anxious now.

"Month one was more or less fine. I hated Mason in silence." Maurice went quiet, he was scared to explain what had happened, what he had done.

"Maurice got hurt while working in New Lumos, his injuries were almost fatal..." A look of horror flashed on Ruby's face, but she quickly smothered it, replacing it with a calm expression.

"I had to be at home for a long time, and I well............ I blamed Mason for it, I figured that if I hadn't gotten possessed, everything would be fine right now... And I started to pick fights with him." Maurice guiltily admitted.

"Were these fights ever physical?" Ruby had never expected this from Maurice, she was so disappointed in both of her guests.

"Only once, and it was unintentional on Maurice's part. I was going to change his bandages, I kinda grabbed him to gently move him so that I could change his bandages, and Maurice panicked and threw me." He what...?

"He what?!" Ruby did not like how this story was going, it just kept getting worse...

"I did." Maurice said. "But after that, we began to fight more, and during one of these fights, Lena stood up and cast a spell on us. It took our voices and we worked together to calm her down. I am truly so sorry, I never knew that she was hurting, I swear on my life that I would never intentionally do anything yo hurt her. But I understand if you never want to talk to me again, I've already packed my stuff, so I'll be out of your hair quickly..." Maurice was doing his best not to cry, but the tears were already preparing to spill.

Ruby was horrified, angry, concerned, upset, and so much more, but she wanted to hear them out.

"Continue." She coldly said.

"I-I... After that, me and Mason agreed not to fight, we took Lena out too. I just... She's fine now. But I hurt her! I hurt her... IhurtherIhurtherI... her, and I became him!" Maurice sobbed into his hands.

Ruby took a deep breath, she had dedicated her life to Lena the moment that Ruby had first saw her. She had hired Maurice soon after Lena was born. The boy had been depressed and in need of a distraction, that's what Nick said at least.

She never knew much about Maurice, not until she started to invite him on outings, Ruby saw how much trust Lena had for him, she saw how much Lena loved him.

And she saw Maurice's love for Lena too, he acted like a father to her, Ruby didn't know much about Maurice since he was released from being the Dark Lord, but when she saw how he acted with Lena, she knew that he wouldn't hurt her... But he did, and he was crying about it now.

Ruby had a choice to make; a second chance. Or burning this bridge.

She chose to give the Ex-Dark Lord a second chance. And she would pardon the reborn too. She was not happy with them, not at all.

"I'm disappointed... That's all I can say without yelling. I expected better from both of you. Especially you, Maurice."

"I-I-I know... I'll leave. Being a disappointment is just who I am, I guess." Maurice gently laughed to himself, he had managed to calm down, but he was still emotional.

"You can stay."

"I can... What...?"

"Maurice, I a disappointed by your actions, yes, but that doesn't mean that I want you to be homeless." Ruby said, hearing Maurice's voice now, reminded her of how gut-wrenching it was to listen to him cry, she wished that she didn't hear that, it's the kind of sound that makes you feel sick just listening too.

Ruby was going to give Maurice and Mason a second chance, there would not be a third however.

Heartbeat:

“So, Maurice.” Ruby said, she didn’t really know what to say, she was mad that Lena got caught in the middle of Maurice and Mason’s fights, but she was also concerned for Maurice, he didn’t have much feeling in his left arm according to him.

“Hm?” Ruby sat next to him, he was right, her couch was awful, but it stood the test of time, so it was staying.

“You’re very strong, I don’t know many that could get injured like that and survive. But why didn’t you call to tell me that something had happened?” Ruby walked in expecting to see Maurice and Mason acting normally, but Maurice had injuries that would change his life forever, Mason acted so strangely, and Lena had been caught in the crossfire between Maurice and Mason’s fights. No one thought to inform her of this.

“I… Well… I planned on it, I really did, but I just got so caught up with hating Tavora… And it slipped my mind… That’s a bad excuse, I know. But, I honestly don’t know…”

“I called Romy earlier.”

“Hm, why?”

“To get information on how you were in the hospital. She said that you didn’t really care about pain, she knew that you were in pain, but you never showed it. Especially when Lena was around. How?”

“I was high as hell. I barely felt anything, let alone pain. I was just surprised that I woke up early.”

“How did you manage that? You can’t of just willed your way out of a state like that.”

“I kind of did. I don’t remember much from it, but I remember words, I heard them. It was telling me to live, live so that Lena wouldn’t frown, live to see her grow, live to just be there… That sure as hell worked out in my favour. Probably would’ve cried less if I had just died right then and there!” Maurice knew that his joke was not received well when he saw Ruby’s face. She looked horrified and so, so upset. Maurice had fucked up big time.

“Maurice, you are aware that isn’t true, correct?”

“I… Sort of?” He said, Maurice answered her question honestly. But he regretted it when he saw her face fall.

“What do you mean? Lena sees you as her dad, her hero. She would be crushed.”

“She would probably move on…”

“She wouldn’t… I wouldn’t. No one would recover if you died, that’s why we’re glad that you’re alive.” Ruby said, she hugged the Ex-Dark Lord, making sure to avoid his injuries, which was hard.

“…You would care…?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I… just…” Ruby heard Maurice starting to cry. “…I’m fucking unlovable! I know that! I always have! Stop lying! Please! I can’t be loved, I just can’t… I’m a waste of space… But I have one purpose, one thing that I’m good for… Just don’t lie to me! I barely passed high school! I can’t get a good job to save my life! I became the Dark Lord! And I-“

“Nonsense. I’m not lying about anything. You aren’t unlovable, and whoever told you that you are can go burn in Karkaton for all I care. Nothing you listed off makes you seem unlovable… It’s all just out of your control.”

“I… I was born unlucky… I was just… born to be a burden. Born to suffer! I just… I wish that I could’ve been lucky, but I wasn’t, and I want to accept that! I really do! But I haven’t. I just… I sometimes wish that I just couldn’t feel, that I didn’t need to think, didn’t need to care, and that being unlovable didn’t matter… That barely being loved didn’t matter, but it does and life is so hard. I’m going to die alone. I’m fucking calling it now! I’ll die with one or two people at my funeral! I don’t want to die alone… I wish that I wasn’t broken…” He sobbed, he wasn’t making sense, he was just saying what was on his mind, and that made no sense to Ruby, she loved him like he was her son, Lena loved him like he was her father, and Mason… Mason just loved him, that was obvious. But it seemed like he only ever saw that Lena loved him…

“You’re not broken. You are so loved here.” Ruby didn’t know what she could do for Maurice, try and make him feel better was all that she could think to do.

“Lena cares, that’s the only reason why I fight to live. I have nothing to live for other than her. If… if she never showed any care towards me… I would be a hanging corpse. My life isn’t worth anything to me… But it’s worth something to her, I fight that’s why I fight. I could’ve died, and I only fought for my daughter. That’s so fucked up, I know! But I just… Life isn’t worth it! It never is! I hated being alive! I tried to end it! I did! But I just… I was useless when it came to that too…” Maurice became hysterical, then he calmed down, and then he became hysterical again. Like he just wanted to be calm, like he didn’t want to cry in front of Ruby, but he couldn’t stop.

“Maurice… I care. I never knew how you felt. Maurice, you are invaluable. I hired you only months after the two biggest losses of my life. I had tried other caretakers, but they never worked out… Lena loved you the second she saw you. So I brought you back. Maurice, you are like a son to me.” Ruby held his right hand, she felt the claws and bandages, she wondered why an injury like that had to happen to him.

Maurice started crying, not the upset tears from earlier, not the guilty ones from this morning either, happy tears, Maurice felt loved, if it was a lie or not, he didn’t care. He was going to enjoy this feeling while it lasted.

“I could drop dead tomorrow, you’d still be there, so… Lena would move on. I’m not worth the time that you give me… I’m not worth anyone’s time… Fuck! I’m not worth anything…”

The former Great Sage looked at the Ex-Dark Lord, his arm was in a splint, Maurice had shown Ruby his other scars, he had almost died, and he assumed that Lena would’ve been able to move on.

“Maurice, you are the centre of her world, she thinks that you hung the stars. If you would’ve…” Ruby stopped, she hated even thinking of the possibility of Maurice’s death… “She wouldn’t be able to recover, not at all.” Ruby wrapped her arms around him, he was unreasonably tall, so it was slightly hard while she was trying to avoid his wounds.

“Are you sure…? I’ve always been a waste of-“

“Nonsense! You have never been a waste, you… You may as well be my son, so don’t go spouting such nonsense here. You are loved, cared for, and wanted here. Don’t you forget that!” Ruby’s tone took on her old fiery sage voice, she never exactly matched how calm and collected her mother was, but she wasn’t far off, she just had much more fire than her mother had.

Ruby heard Maurice begin to cry, she wiped his tears, he was family here.

Can’t look away:

Mason held the Ex-Dark Lord’s hand, he felt that same burning feeling again… he couldn’t even understand what it was… but it was there.

Then Ruby sent a small fireball at the fireworks and they went off, Mason was stunned he had never seen anything like it before, they were so bright, dazzling.

But he couldn’t look away from Maurice, the way his eyes would reflect the fireworks, the way the colours would look when they reflected on his hair, just everything about him, the burning was stronger than it had ever been before, he wanted to hold him, no! He felt like his emotions weren’t under his control. It felt like the hate and envy he held as the Dark Curse, overwhelming, it dictated everything that he did, that hate was him. But… this? This was so much stronger, this feeling is him, this bliss, excitement, fear, thrill, admiration, he didn’t know what it was called, but he knows that he wants to be as close as he can possibly be with Maurice.

Bloody mess:

Maurice woke up, his left arm hurt a lot, when he looked towards it, it was bleeding, it must’ve twitched too much while he was asleep, the Ex-Dark Lord then saw that it had stained the bedcovers, great.

He couldn’t clean the stain alone, so he turned to the sleeping reborn, using his right arm to change his position, before kicking the reborn off the bed in a swift motion that he had learnt from his daughter, he heard the reborn’s yelp, followed by grumbling, Maurice found himself giggling at the brunet laying on the ground.

Maurice had decided to forgive Mason, but, some part of him was still resentful and upset, Maurice felt himself soften towards Mason while he watched the sleepy reborn sit up and look at him, Maurice saw his glowing blue eye first, it looked very confused.

“What…? Why would you do that…?” He said, Maurice couldn’t stop himself from laughing, the reborn looked very annoyed with him, but he also had bed hair, he had short brown hairs covering his right eye. Maurice was tired, and his arm hurt a lot, but he found the situation funny, before he accidentally twitched his left and a wave of pain was sent through his entire body.

“Shit… You’re gonna help me fix the bed, I got my blood on it.” Maurice said while picking up the pillows with his right arm and aiming them at the reborn, he got hit in the head by one, and he managed to catch the other.

“Um… Okay…? Why? Are you hurt?” He asked, Maurice looked at him and threw the duvet at him, Maurice only had his right arm, so it didn’t go very far.

“Check that for bloodstains.” He instructed, Maurice began to remove the bedsheet, it was very hard with only one arm, but it was better than checking the duvet with only his right arm.

“No bloodstains.” Mason sleepily said, he had just been woken up, and then Maurice made him do stuff, what even was the time?! Mason didn’t see any light outside… Too early for him to be awake…

“Great, if the blood is on the mattress, I am making you sleep on the floor.”

“What did I do…?”

“Simply: exist when I’m in a bad mood.” Maurice explained. “Thank the gods that we only need to change the sheets, can you do that while I bring this sheet downstairs?”

“Mmhmm, I just want to go back to sleep…” Mason grumbled.

“Too bad.” Maurice said while walking out.

Forgiving the one you hate most:

“Shit, ow… Godsdamnit!” Mason looked over to Maurice with worry in his eyes, Maurice’s left arm had twitched and ripped again, the doctors had recently said that he could take the splint off, but, if his arm kept trying to return to normal, he needed it back on until the scar tissue got stronger and stopped ripping.

Maurice told Mason that he took it off to stop it scaring Lena, but he really did need it…

“Maurice! Are you alright?” Maurice was clutching his arm, moving towards the first aid kit, Mason watched as he faked a smile.

“I’m fine, Tavora. It just twitched, it’s fine, I’m fine. Just, make sure that you don’t light the house on fire, pay attention when you’re supposed to be cooking.” He said, Mason knew that he was lying, but he needed to finish breakfast.

-

Once Mason was done and Lena was downstairs, he went to go tell Maurice that he was done.

“Hey… Maurice?” Maurice was covered in bandages, he was trying to pick them up with his right hand, but it wasn’t working out so well.

“Could I get a little help? Before I turn the bathroom into a crime scene.” He said, Mason quickly gathered up all of the bandages, then he started to wrap Maurice’s arm, he heard Maurice mutter several expletives under his breath, he didn’t mind though. Mason noticed that Maurice’s left arm shook in his hands, Maurice really needed to get the splint back on…

“There you go.” Mason said, he found himself holding the Ex-Dark Lord’s right hand, he didn’t exactly want to let go… “Um… I’ve finished breakfast, let’s get cleaned up and then we’ll eat.”

Unlovable?:

Calm, it was so calm, Lena was lying on the carpet drawing, from what Maurice could see, it looked pretty good. Ruby was showing Mason different crochet projects that she had made over the years, Mason himself was working on that really damn big blanket again, it was all different shades of blue, mostly dark blue though.

Maurice just felt at peace, he had… well, a family. Well, no one else probably saw it like that, maybe Lena? But that would only be because Maurice has been in her life for so long. No one else cared about Maurice, and he was fine with that, he had his own little imaginary family dynamic.

It didn’t matter if he was unlovable, because he could pretend.

Hours passed, Maurice got up, he wanted to make something for everyone tonight, he hadn’t cooked in a while, so it would be nice.

-
“Night, kiddo.” He said, Lena gave him a hug and then went to her room. Maurice was so glad that she had been happy lately, she didn’t deserve to be sad, Maurice wished that she would stay a kid forever, he always had. If there was one thing that Maurice hated about himself more than anything, it would be how scared if change he was.

Ruby went upstairs soon after, Maurice and Mason followed suit, it was nice, Maurice felt tired, but well-rested at the same time, it was an odd mix.

The reborn went into the bathroom to change as Maurice changed in their room, once Maurice was finished, he laid down in his pyjamas. It seemed like the world had been more colourful lately, like everything had just been good.

Mason laid next to him, Maurice felt his hands on him, it was so surreal… Maurice usually didn’t care less whenever the reborn touched him… or did he? But he kind of liked it now.

“You look so pretty.” He heard the brunet sheepishly admit, it felt like a lie, he couldn’t be… he was in his late twenties, he had blue hair that he maintained religiously, and he was half sure that his other features were quite peculiar, he never really liked his freckles… not at all. If Mason was lying, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself, so Maurice was going to get this out of him now.

“What way?” He said, his toned conveyed his insecurities.

“Where do I even begin? Alright, so your eyes, I could get lost in them looking for stars. And don’t think that I haven’t noticed your freckles, I really like them.” Maurice was currently an unknown shade of red-ish pink. “You dye your hair, yes, but it never feels dry or anything. You just… Your so creative and nice, and did I mention how gorgeous you are yet? I just… everything about you… What way I like you in isn’t a question here. It should be what way I don’t like you in.” The brunet sleepily said, he had woken up at like three, so he was out of it, Mason was just putting his thoughts on the table, so watering down, no games, just what he thought.

Maurice felt warm, so warm, he looked over to the reborn who was just staring at him while grinning. Maurice had never been told that he was pretty, or anything, he had just been broken down until his ego was nothing but dust. He had never felt so… loved.

The Ex-Dark Lord then realised something, Mason said all of that willingly, he wasn’t drunk, and yes, he was tired, but Maurice knew that the reborn still thought straight after not sleeping for a day, he had to stay awake while Maurice was in the hospital and he didn’t sleep at all until they got home.

The fucking reborn was in love him. Maurice was such an idiot for not figuring it out sooner. The Ex-Dark Lord sat up, Mason was already fast asleep, Maurice kissed the top of his head, he was excited to wake up tomorrow and find Mason in some strange position on top of him.

Slow dancing in the dark:

Mason didn’t exactly know where Romy was bringing him, but he was fine with it, the venue was very pretty, Lena had left to go and paint a lantern, which they would then release them into the sky, and then the people in charge had to get them down without lighting a fire.

“Okay! This is Mason! He lives with Maurice and Lena, and he can knit!” She announced to the small crowd, they started to ask Mason questions, he answered them, the Reborn liked the attention that people were giving him.

A few people had flirted with Mason, they complimented his appearance, voice, personality, and whatever else they could think of, he was quite popular, Mason turned down their advances through, it felt wrong, like he shouldn’t be accepting it.

The Reborn got a tour from Romy, they stopped at a van, where they waited, while they were waiting, a woman began flirting with him, Mason was going to get whiplash… He went from someone so ignored that he committed suicide, to someone who couldn’t get away from attention. What had happened in the years that he was dead?! Most didn’t even care that he was the Ex-Dark Curse, they found him that attractive???

Mason gently turned her down, she shrugged and walked off with her bag of whatever Romy was here to buy. Eventually it was their turn, Romy handed him one of the things once they had moved away, and it was delicious, absolutely amazing, Mason had never tasted anything so sweet, it had sugar around it, Mason had a minor sweet tooth since he was reborn, but this was amazing! Were these a delicacy of some kind?!

“Gods, Mason slow down, you’re acting like you’ve never had a donut before.” Romy said, open eating it, Mason looked like he had been enlightened, like it was the best food known to man, he had to have had a donut before… right…? His look of confusion answered Romy’s question, nope, this man had never eaten a donut before, what century was he from?! The dark ages?!

“I haven’t had one, these are rare, right? Are they a delicacy, right?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you wanna think.” Romy said, she was distracted by the speakers, they announced that the slow dances were going to be starting soon, great, Mason would probably like them.

The Reborn in question looked horrified.

“Where is that coming from?!” He asked as he looked side to side.

“The speakers, nothing to worry about really. Anyways, do you want to come with me? I could probably find you a dance partner, you seem to be very popular with both men and women.” She joked, people had been practically throwing themselves at the Reborn, they were always fine when he rejected them though.

“Hm, I want to go and find Maurice, I might join you after.”

“Alright, see you then.”

Maurice watched as people paired up with one another, it looked like fun, but Maurice couldn’t do it, his arm was still in the splint, he had gotten it checked out, because of the tearing that he had allowed to happen, the arm would recover slower than expected, and it would have more scarring permanently, and it would be more visible.

Besides, he was easier to hurt when he was like this, someone just had to grab his left arm and squeeze for it to hurt awfully… Maurice was regretting attending, he didn’t know many people here, Tavora had been socialising, Maurice was never any good with people… Unlovable

Maurice shook his head, he slowly made his way away from the crowds, he didn’t want to dance anyway. He sat down, watching the lights hanging from wires, it was beautiful. The Ex-Dark Lord felt someone grab his right hand gently… He knew a dumbass that did that.

“Consent, Tavora.” He grumbled, but he was glad to see the Reborn, he was a bit lonely and paranoid on his own, and Lena has disappeared in the sea of people, Maurice wasn’t worried, yet.

“Whoops, sorry.” He said while letting go of Maurice’s hand, he saw Maurice move his hand around, he used his thumb to pop the air bubbles in his hand, Maurice did hand movements a lot, they were always doing something.

“Hm, it’s fine. Anyways, how’ve you been enjoying the party?” He smiled at the Reborn, Tavora’s eyes looked nice in the light, his blue eye had its signature glow, but it was softer, calmer, and his black one was reflecting whatever coloured lights were in front of him, Maurice felt himself blushing, he averted his gaze swiftly.

“It’s been great, people have been nice and welcoming, I won a few games, and Romy bought me these things, they were sooo good, amazing! They were sweet, and just plain delicious! But I’ve forgotten the name… They were some kind of pastry, and they had a hole in the middle…”

“Donuts?”

“Yes! That’s the name! Thank you! Are they common? I’d love to get more! I bet Lena would like them too.” The Reborn rambled, Maurice listened to him intently, laughing at his excitement, he had been excited about fireworks, talking for days about how beautiful they were, sometimes Maurice forgot that he was basically a time traveller.

“They are, freshly fried ones are less common though. She does, churros are more her thing though, thinking about those, I haven’t checked for them, Lena will text me if she finds any. I could buy you two some donuts and churros later.” Maurice said, he saw the Reborn’s smile grow into a grin, Maurice smiled.

“Really? I’d love to try them!” Mason rambled, before remembering something. “Oh yeah, people are doing slow dances, would you like to dance with me?” He asked, he watched Maurice’s expression, he smiled sombrely.

“I wish I could, but I’m no good at it while I’m not injured, and my arm is awful. You could probably find someone better.” He said.

“You don’t have to be good, I’m awful myself, it’s about the fun, and I don’t think that there’s anyone better to have fun with than you.” He said, Mason saw Maurice’s smile turn genuine, he looked surprised.

“I- Um… Really? Me?”

“Yeah, so… do you want to dance with me? I’ll find us an area away from everyone else.” Mason said, he stood up and reached his hand out to Maurice, who grabbed it.

“Beats sitting here and watching the lights, sure.”

Lena stood before the seven former heroes and Vanessa’s husband, they had found a quiet area where they weren’t being harassed, Lena didn’t appreciate the harassment much herself.

She listened to the conversation, eventually they asked her what she had been doing as of late.

“Well, not much, me and my dads went to the beach a month or so ago, we all did fireworks together a little while ago. But my dad has just been healing for a while.”

“Hm, healing from what?” Vanessa asked.

“He got injured a while ago, he will have permanent scarring, but he is recovering well.” Ruby answered, Maurice had decided not to come with her and Lena, it was crowded, and he thought that it would be easy for people to bump into him and damage his arm, he was right.

“Oh… I’m so sorry.” The rest of the heroes gave a nod, the mood had dampened quite a bit.

The heroes were quiet for a moment, the atmosphere was heavy.

“He’s doing alright now though…” Lena said, she remembered seeing her dad when he had just gotten out of the hospital, he looked tired and in pain, Lena was sure that every movement was painful, but he held a smile up, he comforted her when he was the hurt one.

“That’s good, is he here?” Vanessa asked, she was the first to say anything, Ruby never usually looked somber, she had recovered well after the deaths of her daughter and husband… but she seemed to be upset about the injury…

“Yep, dad’s here with my father.” Lena felt slightly lighter, she didn’t want to talk about her dad’s injury, talking about her dads was much easier than talking about the injury anyways.

“Mmhmm, and their names are?” Vanessa was not only doing this for betting purposes, no matter what Cecil said, she was doing this out of concern, out of care! …Yeah no, she just wanted to bet, she didn’t have much to do anymore, can she be blamed?!

“My dad’s name is Maurice, and my father’s name is Mason.”

Vanessa had hit the jackpot, Ruby had brought Maurice’s Sexuality to the betting table a while back, almost everyone thought that he was straight, but apparently he’s bisexual.

“Love, pay up. That’s wonderful dear! How are they?” Vanessa said, she heard everyone begin to die inside, Ruby was the first to pay up, the sage had definitely known that they would find out eventually.

“This is why I don’t bet with you all, you all waste your money on nonsensical bets that you never know ahead of time.” Cecil scolded, Ruby looked her in the eyes, Vanessa began to think that she’d die of laughter.

“Square.” The former Great Sage said bluntly. “I’ve made enough to retire from betting with them, it is the best financial decision that I’ve made, starting a gambling ring! Also, heroes, you have debts to pay, because, if I remember correctly, Romy has started to date Freddie.” She smirked at the heroes, Lena should not be listening in on this discussion, she had no idea what they were talking about, but apparently Lena should start a gambling ring if she needs money.

“Fuck! I bet two thousand on that not happening.”

Lena watched the petty squabbles over money from the side with Cecil, who hadn’t put herself in debt.

“Lena, don’t be anything like these idiots, I love them like family, but sometimes I question how they managed to raise children.”

“Noted.” The Great Sage said, she saw money being handed to Ruby, it looked like a lot… Yeah, it made sense that she could retire if she wanted to.

“So… I think I know what to do, but, I might have seen it wrong.” Mason said, he gently moved Maurice’s right arm to his waist, the Ex-Dark Lord held on gently. Mason held Maurice slightly above his abdomen, he Reborn felt his face flush.

“What now?” He asked, Mason felt his arm rest gently on him, his left arm stayed at his side, Mason was glad that he had put it back in the splint, Mason had to change his bandages less now.

“Okay, one step every two beats…” Mason recalled, he and Maurice started to dance, Mason was paying attention to the music, not his red face, not the way Maurice was staring at him, not the Fact that Maurice was touching him, Mason was just focusing on the music.

The band that was playing was very good, Mason liked them, the music was good, very good. Mason made the mistake of looking up, he and the Ex-Dark Lord made eye contact, Mason saw light reflected in his blue eyes, like stars, Mason got distracted by Maurice, he tripped over himself, falling backwards.

“Mason, are you alright?” He asked, Mason was fine, just embarrassed beyond belief.

“Yeah, I’m fine, are you?” He asked, Mason grabbed Maurice right hand, the Ex-Dark Lord pulled him up, brushing the dust off him with his right hand.

“Perfectly fine. Would you like to continue, Mason?” He said, Mason rarely heard him use his name, he usually referred to him as Tavora, Reborn, the dumbass that almost put a fork into a toaster, and many, many more nicknames, but his actual name wasn’t used often…

“Yes.” The two continued until the speakers said that the lanterns would be lit and released, Maurice let go, Mason didn’t want to, be he also wanted to see these lanterns, Lena had made one, besides, he slept next to Maurice.

Lena saw her dads, they were walking around together, Lena ran towards, them, making her way through the crowds.

“Dad!!! Father!! Where did you go???” She asked, she ran into her dad, who wrapped his arm around her, before ruffling her hair, she was slightly annoyed, but he was her dad! So he gets a pass! Lena then gave her father a hug, he also hugged her back.

“Maurice, it’s good to see you. I hope the injury is doing well?”

“Yep, still got it in the splint, but I’ve got more power in it now, I can kinda move it, but I’ll still need months of physical therapy to get it back to normal… Yeah, I can’t afford that.” He said jokingly, Vanessa was worried for him.

“Dear, I’ve paid in advance. You just need to go there.” Ruby explained, Maurice was grateful, so grateful, he wouldn’t put himself in debt just to get his arm back to normal… He’d just make Tavora do everything.

“Dad! I made you and father a lantern!!!” Lena exclaimed, she was smiling up at Maurice, she was so big now, she was tiny when Ruby and Jason had first brought the five of them here, Lena was too young to make a lantern, so Maurice followed her instructions, and then he released it with her in his arms, Lena was too young to remember it, but he knew that she always looked forward to the festival.

“Kiddo, that wasn’t necessary, did you make yourself one?” He asked, Maurice didn’t want Lena to go without a lantern, she never had before, and Maurice didn’t intend to take away her fun.

“Mmhmm!”

Lena grabbed Maurice’s right hand, dragging him off towards the area where they let the lanterns go, Mason followed them, Maurice and Lena ran together, it was fun.

“I’ma go grab our lanterns!!” Lena said, she walked over to a man who was standing near all of the lanterns, Lena talked to him for a bit, and she was given three, Ruby went to collect her own, getting two.

“What’s the third one for?” Maurice asked, Lena handed him and Mason one, Maurice handed the Reborn a lighter, he couldn’t exactly hold the lantern and light it at the same time.

“It’s for all of us!!” Lena shouted, her volume control was usually quite good, not at these festivals though, she got very excited, and that made her louder.

Ruby rejoined them all. When speakers said to light the lanterns, Maurice saw hundreds of thousands of lanterns go up, Mason lit the one that they shared, Ruby held one out towards Maurice.

“Would you light this one with me, son?” She asked, Maurice felt his brain malfunction, he gently held the lantern with her, Ruby lit it with her magic, it flew away, Maurice watched it leave.

Lena’s one for all four of them was next, they stood around it, all having one hand on a side, Lena took the lighter from Mason, using it to light the lantern, Lena had used some fire magic to light her other one, but she had miscast that spell before, so a lighter was the best bet here.

It assented into the night, joining the many other lanterns in the sky, once all lanterns were sent up, the four of them sat down, watching the sky, it was beautiful. Lena’s head was on Maurice’s chest, Ruby was sitting up, Mason was gently touching Maurice’s hair… Maurice liked his life now, it was crazy to think that he hated life only months ago, and it was good now.

It’s crazy to think that he had once believed himself to be unlovable, he was surrounded by his family, and strange roommate, or crush? That didn’t matter, because, they loved him.

The first embrace of true love:

“How? I’m beginning to think that I was brought here just so that you could show off…” Mason said, Maurice had given him an offer, he could go bowling with the Ex-Dark Lord, Mason quickly agreed, forgetting that he had never done this before.

“Tavora, it isn’t my fault that you couldn’t aim your way out of a paper bag. Now, c’mere.” Mason did as he requested, Maurice adjusted his arms, placing his hand in the holes of the ball. “Okay, now do this motion to throw it, remember to aim.” Maurice stepped away, giving Mason space to throw.

Mason aimed, then he let go…

“Great job, Tavora! You knocked down five! It’s better than getting six down while those other people were playing.”

“Don’t remind me… They were glaring daggers…” Mason heard Maurice laughing, when the reborn had accidentally sent the ball into someone else’s lane, the Ex-Dark Lord was practically on the floor laughing…

“They were. Now, you’ve got one more throw, give it your all.”

Mason tried again, this time he had energy, he was excited to let go, and when he did…

“Not half bad… Got em’ all down!” Mason felt Maurice’s arm over him, it had become common ever since they went to that party, Mason thought that Maurice might’ve started touching him more often after he said what he thought of Maurice… Interesting…

“So, we pay now and leave?”

“Yep, watch my bag. I’ma go get robbed.”

-

The process was over quickly, Maurice grabbed his bag, after he had it on his shoulders, he grabbed Mason’s hand, Mason briefly wondered how he was so good at bowling when his left arm couldn’t be used by doctor’s orders… Maybe he was right dominant?

“Alright, Tavora, now we’ve gotta get home to Ruby and the kiddo.”

The two walked in silence, the night was nice, the cool autumn air, the leafs that Maurice would step on, Maurice himself… Mason was blushing.

The two didn’t stop at the bus stop, instead they walked near a grassy platform, it has a tree in the middle of it, Maurice sat down in front of this tree, dragging Mason down with his right arm.

“So, why did we stop?”

“I just… like the autumn, alright?” Maurice excused, he had enjoyed the day out. He was excited to go home again, but… Tavora was decent company! Alright?! Maurice was struggling to excuse his pause to even himself.

“Um, alright.” Mason leaned his back against Maurice, he felt Maurice right arm rest on him.

But then the Ex-Dark Lord sat up, he moved closer to Mason, he gently cupped the Reborn’s cheek, the reborn blushed, while Maurice just awkwardly laughed, they were both blushing. “So~ How would you feel if I just kissed you right now?” The Ex-Dark Lord had never done something like this, he was so embarrassed… He was asking for his first real kiss in his late twenties… What even was his life at this point?

“I-I… Uh… Um… Absolutely stunned to my very core… But yeah, it’d probably be nice…” Mason said, he was a flustered mess, but he didn’t hate the idea…

Maurice leaned in kissing the reborn, after a second, he pulled back, him and Mason locked eyes, they will tell no one about this, but neither regretted their decision.

The secret of two rivals:

Maurice relaxed in the blanket, he had Lena in his arms sleeping, it was late, and all four of them had a busy day.

He saw the reborn sit next to him, Mason leaned his head against Maurice, who moved slightly closer to the reborn, making sure not to wake his daughter, they would have the heroes come by in the early morning, early for Tavora at least.

Mason held Maurice’s right hand, it had slight scarring near his hand still, it would fade though, his left would have scars all over it permanently, that didn’t matter, it never mattered. Mason lifted his head up and faced the Ex-Dark Lord.

“I… Um… Can I kiss you?” The reborn asked, he saw the Ex-Dark Lord’s eyes soften, and a small smile appeared on his face. Maurice said nothing, he just nodded and moved himself slightly closer to the reborn, they kissed, not for long, they still had the threat of being found out, but it was nice, being close to someone, being liked by someone, being noticed by someone.

“Why do we even keep this a secret?” He heard Maurice mutter.

“Wasn’t that your idea?”

“It was… I think I wanted to stay out of gossip…”

The two laid next to each other on the couch, with a sleeping child in the middle of them, none the wiser to what the relationship between the Ex-Dark Lord and reborn was.

A shocking discovery!:

It was a nice and quiet day, Lena was relaxing just drawing a stream that she had seen in the forest earlier, Maurice was lying down on the couch, his left arm was out of the splint, but it was still bandaged up, and Maurice didn’t have mush control over it.

Mason finally came downstairs, he had been trying to find some of his yarn. Lena watched Maurice make space for him, Mason leaned down and kissed him before sitting down like NOTHING had happened.

Was Lena losing her mind? Did she even see that? Was she hallucinating?! …Or was she right? Did she actually just see her father kiss her dad when they thought that she wasn’t watching?!

“What?!” Lena yelled, having almost no volume control.

“Huh? Kiddo? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“Yeah, are you alright?”

“I saw that! Don’t pretend like it didn’t happen!”

“What happened?” Maurice asked, he was slowly realising that the cat was out of the bag…

“I saw the kiss! You two like each other?!”

“Great, real subtle of you Tavora.” Maurice joked. “But, yea, we do. We didn’t want you to have to deal with sappy parent nonsense.”

To look into his eyes:

Maurice was not ashamed to say that he was petrified, he had been checking himself for the last half an hour… He heard a knock at the door, he opened it, allowing Romy in, she was in a deep purple gown, and she had his forgotten papers with her.

“Thank you so much, I don’t know how I forgot them…”

“It’s nothing, how are you feeling?”

“Petrified, what if I mess this up? What if I don’t look good enough? Shit, is the suit looking alright?” Maurice asked, he felt his lace cloak on his back, did it even look good? His suit was black with a golden tie, he thought that it looked alright… but what if it didn’t?

“You won’t, I have no idea how you could. And yes, you look great. Now take your vows, I need to start acting soon. You’ll ease up.” She said, giving the groom a pat on the back.

“I could misspeak during the vows… How couldn’t I mess this up? I… I just want everything to go as planned, I want this to be fun and energetic, I don’t want to accidentally turn this into a disaster…”

“You won’t, you’ll be great, he loves you, small mistakes won’t matter.”

“You’re right, thanks, Romy. Could you help me with the flowers real quick? I can’t get them to aline properly.”

“Oh, I didn’t notice that, let me see what I can do… Done!”

“Thanks. Have fun.”

“Oh, I will.” Maurice found himself laughing as she waved while leaving, he could totally do this, just don’t be a fuck up, be calm, be collected, this is fine… It’s only the most important day of Maurice’s life…

Maurice heard Ruby’s voice come through the door.

“Dear, are you ready? It’s about to start.” Shit, shit, shit, shit, he couldn’t do this, he could not do this! He was going to mess everything up!

Maurice steeled his nerves, maybe he couldn’t do this, but he would, it would be fine.

“Yeah, I’m coming out now, just let me grab everything.” Maurice picked up his necessary belongings and left, it was time for him to get married, he could do this.

Ruby and Maurice walked down the aisle together, Maurice took his place at the side, and Ruby stood in the middle, now Maurice only had to wait…

He saw Lena and her girlfriend first, Lena held the rings, and her girlfriend scattered flower petals as the two walked. Lena handed her girlfriend a pillow with a ring on it, and then she stood by Maurice’s side of the altar. Then, Maurice saw Mason, he was wearing a white suit with a black tie, it had yellow flowers in the front pocket, he looked perfect… He could see Mason’s smile from the altar, the Reborn stood at the opposite side of the altar, it made everything feel real, he was actually getting married…

Maurice pulled himself together, Ruby was about to say her piece, and then Romy and Freddie would do their thing.

“Welcome, we gather here today, as two hearts unite in an act of true love and commitment. Your presence symbolizes the love and joy that we all feel for our friends and loved ones. It’s an honour to join you in marking the start of Maurice and Mason’s marriage.” Maurice felt him freeze, this was actually happening, he was going to be married… What if he messed up? Shit, shit, shit! Maurice could not have a panic attack of his wedding day, not in front of everyone.

The guests all smiled, Maurice was fine, he could do this, he could do this. He heard Ruby continue with her speech.

“Today Maurice and Mason take the first steps on a new journey. A journey that brings adventures, challenges, and moments of courage. Marriage brings two people together like nothing else, uniting two people who love each other unconditionally and with endless strength.” Maurice was sure in his decision when he proposed, but, he still wanted to marry Mason, but he was getting scared, what was wrong with him?! “Maurice and Mason’s relationship has blossomed into a love that brings out the best in each other, a care that knows no boundaries, helping each other heal, and a dedication to taking on the world together. Marriage brings a new commitment, and it is one built on a strong foundation. It’s a promise that has existed in the way that you support, appreciate, and encourage each other, long before today.” She said, Maurice was listening, but he was scared, what in the world was his problem?! Why was he worried?! This should come easily to him!

Ruby stood tall, she looked proud of the speech, it was good, and Maurice liked it, but he was internally panicking.

“Today marks the beginning of a new stage in your lives together, a moment that we are all honored to share with you.” She said that directly to them, Maurice smiled despite how he was feeling, he could do this, he’d be fine. “Today’s reading, performed by Maurice and Mason’s daughter, and my granddaughter, Lena, celebrates the support and love that we can each find within our families.” Maurice gave his daughter a thumbs up as she took the microphone, she straightened out, it seemed that Maurice’s anxious behaviour had rubbed off on her.

“My father may not have been in my family for as long as my dad, but he loves me, and my dad so much more than I could tell. I’ve watched as they grew closer and slowly fell in love, I was oblivious to most of it, but in hindsight, it was obvious. They acted like a married couple before the wedding, so, cheers to making it official!” Lena was so worried about her speech not being good enough, she didn’t spend enough time on it, and it was just too short, but her insecurities faded away at the applause from the guests, her dad gave her a pat on the back, she made her way back to her side, and her grandmother handed her the ring.

“Thank you, Lena. Let us now hear the declarations and promises that Maurice and Mason make to each other here today. Maurice, may you start us off?” Maurice pulled his paper out of his jacket, he had made it look professional, he started to recite it, he had previously memorised it, he only had this just in case.

“Before you, I never really used to believe in ‘one true love’, I had accepted that romance and relationships in general just weren’t something I’d ever experience, but with you, I never have to do anything alone, in you I found a partner in life, a lover, a friend, a safe place, someone I can be my ugliest and most vulnerable with. In you I found someone who supports me, who inspires me, who isn’t afraid to help me at my worst, who isn’t afraid to put my broken pieces back together, who loves, cherishes, honours, and respects me. Thank you for never making me feel like I am broken, for never making me feel like a burden, for holding me while I broke down, for supporting me through my worst time. Thank you for always looking at me with love, even when I know that I’m a bit excitable. Thank you for walking into my life and embracing the broken parts of me, that make me, me. And most importantly, thank you for being an amazing father to my daughter. I promise and hope that I can bring you as much joy, bliss, and love as you’ve brought to me.” Maurice felt himself on the verge of tears, his emotions were raw, powerful, and beyond strong, he saw tears in the Reborn’s eyes, Maurice wasn’t convinced that he wouldn’t cry when Mason started talking.

“Mason, if you may?”

“I, Mason, take you, Maurice, to be my husband. When you need a friend, I will be your best friend. When you need help, I will always be there for you. When you need care, I will support you. When you want to try something new, I will encourage you. And when you do the same for me, I will appreciate you like no other. I spent life lonely and bitter for too long, I know love, I know it well now, from you, from our daughter, and from your mother. So, thank you, I promise to try and return that love tenfold.” Maurice felt silent tears rolling down his face, he was confident now, very confident, he could do this.

“Maurice, do you take Mason to be your partner through life? Will you love him, protect him, and spend your days in laughter together forever?” Ruby asked, she knew the answer already, the question was only for show.

“I do, and will.”

“Mason, do you take Maurice to be your partner through life? Will you love him, protect him, and spend your days in laughter together forever?”

“I do, and yes.”

“If there are any objections, speak now, or forever hold your peace.” Ruby said, it was purely tradition that her mother had taught her, not exactly a serious question, only existing to give those who were forced into the relationship an out, so Ruby expected no one to stand, but she heard two shouts, followed by many gasps.

“We object!” The Hero, Romy bloom started, with her partner standing next to her, Ruby had seen her leaving Maurice’s changing room earlier, she explained that she was delivering some papers that Maurice had forgotten… she seemed to be excited for the wedding, so, what had happened since then? “To be wed, you must be victorious in a battle against us!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Lena shouted, she and the heroes had a fight outside, after a few minutes, Lena came back in like nothing had happened, everyone was frozen, some were laughing, some were looking around the room for the heroes, but most acted like nothing had happened. Ruby cleared her throat before speaking again.

“Maurice and Mason, these rings are a physical representation of the love and commitment that you share. May you be forever be reminded of this moment and the joy that fills the air for the rest of your lives. Please place the ring upon your beloved’s ring finger and say your statements.” Ruby was questioning what had just happened, had Romy and Freddie lost their minds? Ruby would give them a scolding that they’d remember for a long time, she would take inspiration from her speech that left the Dark Curse in tears.

“I love you with all of my heart, this is a reminder of that, a reminder of the day that you became my husband, the man I wake up beside, the man who I’m so glad to spend my life with.” Maurice said, he held Mason’s left hand, placing the ring on his ring finger.

“A while ago, I realised that you had stolen my heart, I don’t want it back, because, I have yours, let this be a reminder of the day where we were wed, where you officially became my light in the dark, my guiding light, my husband.” Maurice felt him slide the ring onto his left hand, he gently held Mason’s hand for a bit longer.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married. Smile, kiss, and spend the rest of the day celebrating your new commitment.” Ruby said, everything had calmed down a bit, Ruby didn’t notice Maurice and Mason react, odd.

The grooms kissed, Maurice had actually done it, he had gotten married to the love of his life, his husband…