(Explanations, i kinda forgot what i wrote about lol i wrote a majority of this at 1 am oof)

Grian screwed up many times in his life.

But hearing it confirmed out loud? Really put it into perspective.

He stared at the last photograph he had of Jimmy, when he was a little kid, right before Grian had left. Selfishly.

Jimmy was wide eyed and had a chipped tooth in his mouth, from when the three seablings were chasing each other in the garden and the youngest tripped on a rock. His cheeks were a bright and healthy shade of pink and his hair was a mess, never in proper shape. His t shirt and shorts were caked in mud, a bandage sat on his cheek from when he was hiding in a rose bush to scare Lizzie.

When was the last time Grian had seen and recognized his brother?

Probably before their parents died and Grian's life fell into a twisted mess of constant mistakes.

"My brother was terrified of me." Grian whispered. Joel sat next to him, holding his hand in comfort. He had come to Grian's side when he had come to the realization.

Jimmy had been terrified and sickly looking. Grian vaguely remembers royal outfits, covering every single inch of skin other than the face. His eyes were a lighter shade, despite how light they were before. His hair was neatly combed back, not a hair loose. He was jumpy and didn't play games anymore despite his young age.

"He hated me." Grian remembered crashing the party and taking all the attention off of his brother. He felt guilty and tried to bring the attention back to his baby brother but it didn't seem to completely work. Grian had thought so at the time but he only just realized that Jimmy had left the celebration very early.

"I didn't know my brother." He should have recognized that chipped tooth that stayed the same, the light gray eyes that were the sane as his eyes when he was a child, his messy golden hair that flew into his face. He should have recognized the smell of the sea drifting off his brother.

But no, he foolishly forgotten and electively ignored everything and stayed blissfully ignorant.

"Grian, let's be honest here," Joel said, squeezing his hand gently, "this wasn't your fault. It was the Watchers." Grian slightly tensed up, shoulders clenching and heart racing. "They had erased him from your memory, and you for him. They were the ones that terrified him, not you."

Grian bit his lip. "The problem is, I did terrify him." Joel looked Grian straight in the eyes, the Avian, Cod hybrid looked away. "I remember sneaking into his room. I remember sneaking up behind him. I remember using my abilities to stop time. I did that, fully on my own. It wasn't the Watchers doing it, it was fully myself." He admitted, taking his hand from Joel's grasp and hugging himself. "I was disgusting, I hid cameras in his closet, in his room, every where. I snuck in almost every night just to look at him, I told him that there was no escaping me. That was me, I'm a creep."

Joel sighed. "Look, that was a hard time in your life. Albeit, that shit is very creepy for you to admit outloud, let's agree about that, but you were deeply stressed at that point. You had just escaped the Watcher's grasp for the first time. You were still running, trying to find a home for yourself. I think... I think you wanted to protect him but it became obsessive in a way."

Grian paused at that. He does remember the nightmares of seeing his little brother in explosions and dying painful deaths. He does remember trying to convince himself that it was for the best as he put cameras around despite his gut saying it was disgusting behavior.

Grian froze.

"Joel," the prince hummed, giving him his full attention, "I dreamt of Jimmy dying back then. I dreamt of an explosion, of lava, of arrows raining down. The Watchers were laughing and laughing-"

"Hey, if you are connecting that to 3rd Life, stop right now." Joel ordered. "It is just a coincidence. Some weird thing, Jimmy hasn't died to arrows."

"Yet!" Grian emphasized, slightly rocking back and forth.

Joel pursed his lips in thought. Grian couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Well, you explained to me one of your thoughts on the whole ordeal, guess you have a chance to ask me something about Jim."

Oh yeah, Joel and Grian's promise. For every insecurity Grian said, Joel would give him a bit of information about Jimmy.

Grian looked at the Mazelean prince, asking a question that had been on his mind for awhile.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about Jimmy?"

Joel slightly paled at that, laughing ackwardly. He swatted his hand in dismissal. "Another question would be fine-"

"Come on, I explained to you!" Grian whined. Joel sighed, running a hand through his own hair.

"It's complicated to say the least. I knew that he should return home, back to the palace to live happily ever after with you and Liz but... I saw something I hadn't seen in a long time." The prince looked down at his hands, messing with a ring. "He didn't have any scars, he looked healthy and happy. He looked like he did when he was a child. Jim looked content staying with Scott and he had forgotten about all his trauma living back in the castle."

Grian raised an eyebrow. "Trauma?"

Joel nodded his head. "That's for another discussion. Anyways, I thought that maybe he would finally be happy and content with his life. But who am I kidding, this is Jimmy we are talking about. Kid can't live a life in peace even if his memories are wiped."

Grian frowned at that. He must have really missed a majority of his brother's life.

"Can I ask another question?" He asked quietly. Joel gave him a kind smile.

"Sure, go ahead."

"People keep saying that Timmy was sick as a kid. How come I never saw it? Liz mentioned it once but that was it."

Grian watched as Joel tried to come up with something. "Honestly, the truth is that nobody knows at this point, not even Jim himself knows. The only other people at this point who knows are dead at this point." Then, for a split second, Joel's eyes widened. "Wait, not everyone." He muttered.

"Wait, someone knows and you haven't considered them yet?" Grian asked, sitting up as the prince shifted.

"The doctor. The doctor has all the secrets hidden away, I am completely sure about it!" Joel said, a relieved smile appearing on his face.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but what doctor?" Grian asked cluelessly.

"No time! I've got to go visit your sister!" Joel quickly stood up, not even turning to wave as he ran out the door of the mansion.

Grian sighed, trying to think about what to do next.

---

His hands were sweaty as he wiped them on his trousers. It was the first time he was going to see his brother officially in forever.

He looked down at the picture in his hand, younger Jimmy peering into the camera with wonder and curiosity.

Opening the door and pushing past the curtain, he was met with the face of a foreign man.

His hair was dishelved, burnt on the ends and messy. It wasn't the golden blond in the picture. His eyes were a completely lighter shade of gray, different from both when he was younger and a teen. His face was scarred and his skin was pale. Nothing like the clear skinned boy with rosy cheeks, only sign of injury was the chipped tooth that nobody bothered fixing.

Speaking of chipped teeth, this alien of a man had one, right where Grian had last seen it, the top tooth in the middle on the right. Even looking down at the picture, the smiling boy had the identical chipped tooth in the exact space.

It was undeniably his own brother.

He could smell the scent of ocean on him but it was faint. It smelled of pollution and toxins. Grian could see a faint shimmer to Jimmy's skin, a trait that all fish hybrids had. His gills on his neck were gone and the slightly webbed fingers as well. To be fair, Grian had lost those traits too when he had became half Avian hybrid too.

But he could still recognize a child and heir of the sea.

"Hi, Grian! You need anything?" The almost human man asked, tilting his head with curiosity. He looked timid but it was far from when Grian had last seen Jimmy as a teen. He was scared but not completely.

"Uh, yeah, we were thinking about moving off server soon." Grian said, losing thr courage to explain their relations. Jimmy was speaking to him like he was an unknown stranger, someone that was talking to a boss or something.

"Alright, so I'm allowed back into 3rd life, right?" Grian wished he had the will to say no. He didn't want his little brother to get hurt anymore than he already was. But the look on his face...

"Of course." Grian inwardly winced at that, hating that he might have to go back on that promise.

Jimmy looked happier than he had seen him in years.