A/N: BRO THIS CHAPTER IS OVER 7000 WORDS DAMN 😭😭

☺︎︎

Jo sat alone in the dark. He didn't know what this new feeling was. He could barely move his bruised face without this sharp feeling going down his body. The beast wasn't there.

He missed his siblings. They don't understand why he needs to be hard on them. He feared for them. Who's going to take care of them now? The beast is going to attack them and turn them against him like he did with Lloyd.

This new feeling of shame was choking him. He never wanted to hurt him. He's the baby. He doesn't know much about babies, but he knows that they're small and fragile. Lloyd's quite small and in poor health. He loves him. He spent his life protecting him the best he could. He ruined it.

"Jo."

He looked up and saw grandma in her brown dress. He reached for her embrace, and for the first time in his life, he was declined it. He felt tears again, wiping them off his face.

"Come. See what you've done."

He followed her, feeling so small. He wasn't used to this. He was used to love, comfort, warmth, and happiness. This hate, discomfort, cold, and misery was strange. He was led to the room with the globe. His family and him would click on a country and look at Lloyd through it. They look at their parents sometimes. Their grandfather would always look so proud of his boys.

Da-Eun pressed on France. It loaded before showing Lloyd. Jo wanted to reach through and hug him. He looked like Lily's favorite color. He looked so tired.

"I-"

"Keep watching."

He saw Lloyd playing piano. He started to make this weird sound as he covered his mouth with his hands. It sounded painful and deep.

"That's called coughing." He looked over at his grandmother, who looked at her youngest grandchild with pity.

He saw tears come out of his mouth.

"That's blood."

Bright red blood was coming out of his mouth and spilling over on the piano keys, turning them pink. Beom came running in and cradled him as he yelled for a doctor.

Da-Eun touched the screen, tears swelling up. She loves looking at her little boy. Her heart aches as she remembers the years she missed. He's grown to be a handsome man, a caring husband, and a loving father. It times such as this is when she wished that she could be there to help her baby with his baby.

Jo wished it could be him getting appa's love and care. He gets jealous when he sees Lloyd with their father, though he feels bad when he does.

He watched on as the coughing continued. He saw Lloyd laying his head on their father's shoulder as the doctor that Sarah brought him was checking on him. He saw another man, Valentino, rubbing his back.

Da-Eun shut it off, wiping a few stray tears. She glared at Jo, who looked shameful.

"You've hurt him."

He could only nod.

"You're going back to the dark. Let's go."

He got down on his knees and clung to her dress. "Please don't! I'm afraid of the dark! Please don't do it, grandma! I'm scared!"

She knew she shouldn't feel bad for him. He hurt Lloyd. He hurt Aurora. However, he was the first baby. She held him when she had no one else. She watched him grow. She loved him before anyone else could.

"I can make you a deal. If you can regain your brother's trust and help him, I'll talk to Grandpa about letting you back with us. Is that fair, sweetheart?" She stroked his long hair.

He nodded. He really didn't want to go back, but grandma turned on the moon for him. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

She went back to the globe and pressed on Vagu. She saw Luna first, hiding behind a couch. She knows Luna, and she adores her. She looked over and saw Ho sneaking up behind her before grabbing her and tickling her.

It made her happy to see her younger son. She never saw him in person. She died before the midwife could bring him to her. She wept each year when she saw all his lonesome birthdays. Her husband never celebrated. He loved him to death, but he could never celebrate such a bitter day. Beom always did, even when he was small. He used his first paycheck to buy his little brother a birthday cake and a trainset. She's so proud of him for not being hateful towards him.

She's amazed by Ho every day. She worried when she saw him being teased and growing up without any friends, but he's been doing pretty good for himself. He raised five children, which she considers her grandchildren except for Hunter. He drives, cooks, plays, he does all those simple things that any mother would be grateful to see. She loves how kind he is.

--

François came back from work around two hours later. Lloyd was in the bedroom, resting in bed. He saw his husband in the hallway shaking his head as White told him what had happened before he went to shower. Apple was laying next to him. She wasn't feeling well either. It concerned him a bit. She has a healthy lifestyle. She gets baths with special shampoo for her allergies twice a week, she goes out for walks and has zoomies everyday, she eats a lot of raw meat and healthy treats, and she sleeps a healthy amount. But lately, she's been oversleeping, barely eating her meals and refusing treats. She doesn't want to go out, and she doesn't want to play as often. She's not old, around five. Lloyd thought it was her being lazy, but he had a vet appointment scheduled for January fifth just in case.

"Baby, are you sick too?" He patted her tiny head as his dog huffed. "Yeah, I know." He kissed her head, feeling a cough bubbling in his throat.

François opened the door, shirtless and still dripping from the shower. He rubbed his neck with the towel as he kissed Lloyd's face.

"How are you, my darling? I heard you a had coughing fit."

"I'm better than before." He coughed a little bit, thankfully no blood coming out.

The other stroked his hair, embracing him close. He could hear the raspy breathing, his heart aching.

"Baby, I think we should celebrate our anniversary tomorrow." He saw Lloyd wearing strawberry earrings. What a cutie.

He looked up at him. "But our anniversary is New Year's..."

"I know, but I have a feeling you're going to be pretty tired. I don't mind celebrating early."

"I guess you're right." He played with François' fingers.

"And if you're awake on the first, we could celebrate for two days." He touched Lloyd's face. "You like that?"

"Yeahh, it's a good idea." Apple put her head on his shoulder.

"Oi. What's she doing there?"

The other stroked her head, playing with her short ears. "She's sick. She needs rest."

He sighed and hid his face in his husband's boney stomach. "But where am I going to sleep?"

"In the crate." François eyed him as he laughed. "Just playing, you could sleep on me."

He turned his head, his blue eyes shining with a beautiful light. "I'll crush you."

Lloyd raised his eyebrow and grinned. "Death by thick ass isn't a bad way to go out."

☆☆

Jo tried to sneak up, climbing on the clouds. In his grandfather's fit of rage, he tore off his wings. He saw Étoile playing with a pink cloud, making it into funny shapes.

"Hey."

It looked up and froze.

"Étoile, it's me." He tried to crawl up, only for his hand to slip. "Listen, I need to-"

"-you're not supposed to be here." It stood up, slowing itching away. "You hurt Lloyd."

"It was an accident." The shame and guilt rose up in his throat. His sibling didn't trust him anymore. "Let-"

"Étoile, come inside!" Jo jumped down when he heard his attacker's voice. "It's time for your French lessons!"

Still frightened, it ran over to its grandfather and hugged his leg.

Jo, feeling defeated, walked around. The beast deserved to be here, not him. He heard the beast laughing in a corner of blue light. He peaked over, hiding in the blanket of darkness. He saw the beast's silhouette, along with Lloyd's.

"There's so many colors to choose from! I don't know which one could be my favorite color!" His voice grained Jo's ears. Such an ugly thing.

Then he heard Lloyd's, his eyes swelling up with red tears. "Okay, let me show you the meanings!"

He clicked on something. Jo saw the colors the beast liked. Purple, grey, pink, and blue. Lloyd clicked on the first one.

"Purple means royalty, pride, and magic. It could also mean mourning, which means being sad when people die."

She turned her head. "Hmm, that's a maybe color."

Jo felt disgusted. How could his little brother help such a nasty thing and even laugh with him? He saw his brother's boney fingers push purple to the side and click on another.

"Blue is my favorite color." Jo almost gagged as Lloyd grinned and held the beast's hand. He wanted to jump up, save him, and run away. This can't be happening. "Blue means peace, being smart, and it's really nice. It also means being sad, and it's a color for men."

He didn't see the beast's face, but he heard Lloyd saying sorry and quickly taking it away. He almost screamed. Why was he feeling sorry for him?! It made no sense!

"This is grey. It means being smart, calm, and elegant. It also means sadness, being bored, and dread."

She turned her head. "Hmm, I don't like it anymore." The color was taken away and switched.

"This is pink. It means love, happiness, and being a woman-"

"That one! That one!" She clapped her hands. "I like pink!"

Jo rolled his eyes. The beast wasn't a girl. He didn't deserve anything he wanted, including a gender. Étoile chose not to have one. The beast won't have one.

Lloyd looked so ill as he smiled and showed her different pink things. Jo burned with jealousy. He wasn't even shown these. Pink roses blowing in the wind, people chewing bubblegum, his pink house that was full of happiness, makeup, and women that made Jo's mouth drop.

He never saw a woman who wasn't related to him. He never saw a blonde woman wearing a pink dress, dancing with other beautiful women who looked so different from his grandma and sisters. They were shaking their backs and laughing. Another woman was in an office, looking very important. Another is a mother holding her baby. All of them looked different. Black, brown, white, and colors in-between. Blonde hair, red hair, brown hair. Short, thin, fat. Dancing, kissing, laughing, hugging. All of them created a new feeling. He looked at their chests and behinds and felt strange. He didn't know what it was.

Suddenly, it stopped, scaring the other two. Jo, with this strange feeling still pumping in his veins, hid again. He saw a giant black hand covering them.

"Someone isn't supposed to be here."

He saw their faces drop as another black hand searched around. He knew he was fucked when it touched his head. It dragged him out into the light, trapping him in its fist.

Aurora screamed and hid behind Lloyd, who stood motionless. He saw the giant, another beautiful woman.

"Sir, what's your reasoning for showing up here?"

"That beast!" He pointed to Aurora, who was crying and covering her eyes. "He's going to hurt my brother!"

She picked up Aurora and hid her in a pink room so she wouldn't have to see her attacker. She then picked up Lloyd.

"Lloyd, he's going to hurt you! What makes you think that he won't kill you to get what he wants!" He tried to reach out for him but couldn't. "You have no idea what he'll do to you! He made mother so sick, he'll do that with you! He's going to kill you!"

Lloyd started to cough again. It was slow before getting worse, kneeling down and covering his mouth as blood dripped from his hands. Jo was tossed out, screaming that he'll protect him from the danger.

--

He woke up coughing again. He tried to breathe, but it came out as blood again. François was awake too, helping him sit up and rub his back.

"It's okay, Lloydie. Just breathe." He saw blood get on the white sheet. It shouldn't be that light.

He soon stopped, catching his breath. He felt incredibly embarrassed that he woke up François and the dogs.

"I'm really sorry, I don't know what happened." He laid back down, hearing the other laying with him.

"Don't worry, baby. Go back to sleep, we have a busy day." He yawned, rubbing his long eyelashes.

He hugged him, smiling when he felt the other moving around before falling back asleep with him. He was scared to dream, but it was a good one this time. He was on Martha's old red couch, playing with one of his Johnny Bravo action figures.

---

Jo paced back and forth. He needed to do something, anything. He knew how to do it. All of the Doh children have the ability to go into dreams. They could only go into their parents' dreams only once. He already used the one he had on Marie the day after Lloyd went to the war to comfort her, and now he was going into his father's.

It was black and white. He sat down in a different room as he saw his father in another. He could see a version of grandma. It surprised him, he didn't think a grown man would be dreaming of his mother.

He didn't understand what he was seeing. There were a bunch of things from the 60s, such as Beatle posters and lava lamps. He touched one and jumped back when it burned his finger.

He looked up when he saw his father. Beom was afraid, he didn't know this strange man with five eyes staring back at him.

"Appa, it's me, Jo." Beom gasped, covering his mouth. "I need you to-"

He stopped when his father embraced him. He never felt his touch. It was warm. It was tight. Lloyd had it everyday. A pit of jealousy burned in his stomach.

"My baby!" He looked at him. He couldn't believe how much they looked alike. "How beautiful you are! I can't believe I can see you!"

Everything that Jo wanted to say slipped away as he enjoyed his father's love. He wanted this so desperately, and the feeling was mutual. He hugged Beom, soaking up the warmth he longed forever. He didn't speak because the other couldn't stop. He was called baby, beautiful, darling, all those names felt so nice.

"What a good boy you are! You came to see Appa because he was upset, didn't you!" The words came back, his eyes widening. "What a loving man you've grown to be!"

Before he could open his mouth again, he was alone in the dark. His father woke up, and he forgot the whole point of why he came there in the first place.

He touched the places where his father kissed him. The warmth he brought faded in the bitter cold. He will never see him again.

He felt warm liquid down roll on his cheeks. He wanted his father again. He wanted love. He felt emulous. He should've enjoyed that the whole time. It should've been him that got to grow up with his parents. To hold his mother's hand and give her flowers. To fall asleep in his father's embrace and be carried into bed. It shouldn't be Lloyd. He was a temporary happiness that will bring despair once he leaves. Jo would've been permanent.

He punched himself in the stomach. He knew better. He shouldn't feel like that towards his baby brother. Sure, he caused some trouble, but what little brother doesn't cause chaos once in a while? He visited him as a newborn, he put his big hand on that glass cage. He adored him. He needed his help, and it was his job to save him.

---

Lloyd was awake with François, relaxing for a bit before going out. He was cuddled up to him, playing with the little red roses on his chest. He tried not to grin as he thought about what gifts he was going to give him.

White and Valentino were in the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. The half-asleep military commander answered. It was an overly happy looking man wearing a fur coat.

"Does Lloyd John Do-"

"-yes, why?" He was covering himself with his robe, not caring how messy his hair looked.

"I'm Monsieur Archambeau, nice to meet you." He snuck out his hand, the other shaking it. "I work with the funeral service, and Mr. Sauveterre has requested a meeting."

White's fake smile dropped. "Oh, um, I'll go get him. Please come in, it's very cold."

The man kept smiling. "Thank you very much."

He sat down at the table as White went upstairs. He saw the couple in bed, Lloyd reaching over to pet his sick dog as François was sleeping.

He knocked before poking his head inside. "Hey Sauveterre, some guy is here for your appointment."

He looked up. "Appointment? Oh yeah, I'm coming."

He was slow to get up. White went back into the kitchen and told Valentino that they needed to go back into the guest room next to the bedroom. The man sat there alone, swinging his feet.

"Good morning, sir." Lloyd came downstairs in François' red robe, dragging his heavy breathing tube with him. "I'm so sorry for forgetting, thank you for coming."

The man stood up and shook his bony hand. "Oh, yes, no problem. Now, if you may, please take a seat, there's so much to dicuss." There were dollar signs in his eyes.

He sat down. "I'll like to be buried where I grew up, in Normandy."

"Yes, of course." He took out a magazine. "You can select any coffin you'll like, good sir." He made sure the expensive ones were shown first.

Lloyd flipped around until he saw a beautiful white and gold coffin. It looked so grand, even the inside looked comfortable. A traditional Jewish funeral would have him buried in a bag, but for his father's sake, he wouldn't do that.

"I like this one." He showed the man the one he was pointing to. He could already smell the money.

"Wonderful choice, indeed!" He clicked his black pen. "I need your measurements."

"34.019 kilos and around 154 centimeters." The man wished he was taller or heavier, it would've gotten him more money.

"Oh." His voice dropped slightly. "I forgot to mention, you have a veteran's discount."

He crossed his legs and nodded. "I understand that Vagu may want a public service, and the queen said the state covers that. But um, the real funeral is mostly for my family."

"Oh," he hid the disappointment in his voice. "I understand. Where would you like the real service to be held?"

"In a synagogue in the state. I already paid for a burial spot before, can you make sure it's still valid?"

"Yes, one moment." He opened a computer and searched through it. "I see. In 2015, you paid to be buried across to Martha Sauveterre and her mother, A. Sauveterre, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And next to you will be next to Marie Sauveterre and François Dauphiné, still correct?"

"..yes." It hurt to think how alone it'll be.

He scrolled a bit more. "Alright then, next to her will be Beom Doh and next to him is Lilith Doh. Next to François Dauphiné will be Rose Dauphiné and Pierre Dauphiné.

He nodded. Death is such a sour thing to discuss.

"Write down the songs you want played." As Lloyd was writing, he asked, "Do you want Military honors?"

"Yes, please." He gave the man the list, which he put in his pocket.

"What clothing would you like?"

"Oh, my military uniform." He showed him a picture.

He nodded, it would cost money to clean and iron.

"Now, here's a selection of headstones." Again, the expensive ones were in sight.

"Oh, no thank you. The queen already brought one for me."

He forced a smile. "Last question, sir. How long do you want the service?"

"Well, maybe thirty minutes. But if people want to stay, let them."

He wrote more things down, wished him 'well', then left. Lloyd looked down. He knew he needed to settle things, but it hurt think about death.

"Why were you talking about?" He wanted to hide when he saw François at the bottom of the stairs, his hair damp.

"Oh um, it was worst case scenario, baby. I got everything settled." He walked over to him and held by his torso.

The other put his hands on his chest. "We don't have to worry about it now. Besides, you have to get ready. We have lots to do."

Beom threw open the door, giddy. "Lloyd, you'll never guess who I dreamt about!"

Lloyd went to him. "Who?"

"Your brother, Jo!" His blood ran cold as François raise his eyebrow, he didn't know his husband had any biological siblings. "He was so sweet to me! He was so grown up!" He saw his son turned pale yellow. "Sit down, you look sick."

"Yeah, um, I'm just surprised." He lowered himself in the chair. He wanted to tell him his dreams, but didn't. He wouldn't understand. "I'm glad you saw him."

"Ah, yes! It was the best!" He hugged him. "I'll be back soon, I'm going to visit your mother."

Once he left, François sat next to him. "You have bio siblings?"

"Yes, five." He was rubbing his face.

"Why didn't you tell me before? I would love to meet them." He felt a little upset about it.

"They're all dead." The hard feelings left as he held his hand. "They died before I was born."

He nodded. "That explains a lot about your parents. If you don't mind me asking, was there accident or-"

"-no, they all died as babies." He looked at him. "If I tell you, do you promise to not tell anyone I told you?"

"Yes, of course." He rubbed his ring. "You could tell me anything."

He sighed. "Jo was killed by my mother's father, he kicked her in the stomach." François shook his head. She's always been so kind, he had no idea. "Then the next baby was a miscarriage. Then, there were twins. One of them was growing by her kidneys."

"Oh my God, that's terrible."

He nodded. "She had an abortion to save her, but um, it killed the other one by accident as well."

The other looked down. He's not against abortion, but it hurts him because he feels like he should've been aborted. It would've made his mother happy. She probably would've still been alive if she did it.

"The last one was alive, but she died a few minutes later because she was too small." He didn't realize he was crying until he felt the other wipe a tear away.

"I'm so sorry about that. Your family didn't deserve that."

"They really don't like talking about it, it upsets them." He touched his face.

He sighed. "I could imagine. It makes sense, they're really protective of you."

"I feel bad, though. I was born like super early and almost died, I think, but I didn't."

"That's a great thing." They smiled at each other.

"Yeah, but my mom had really bad postpartum depression for years. When I was a baby, she wouldn't sleep at all because she was scared of me having SIDS. She would clean me constantly because she didn't want me sick." He shook his head. "And now this."

"It's not your fault. If I lost five of my kids, I would be really sad too."

He hugged him. "Thank you, Franny. I'll start getting ready."

------

They went to see a one-time viewing of Catch 22 in theaters. François didn't really want to see it, but Lloyd enjoyed. He was laughing so hard at one point that someone yelled at him to shut up, something that made him laugh harder.

"That was so cool!" Lloyd was looking at the falling snow as the other drove.

"Yeah, I guess. I have another place we can go, but it's a surprise." He beamed when he heard the other excitedly babble about what it could be. He missed seeing him happy like this.

They went to the mall. They were both wearing masks and standing close so they wouldn't get any germs. Lloyd dragged him to the garden full of fake flowers.

"I have a presenttt." He held out a little box. "I'm only giving you two today because the rest are for tomorrow."

"Fair." He opened it and awed. It was a shiny bracelet of rubies and sapphires. It looked so beautiful when he turned his wrist. It covered up the remaining scars. "Baby, it's gorgeous!"

The other laughed as he kissed. They went upstairs, and his eyes lit up when he was brought into a shop full of squishmellows.

"You can get as much as you like." He felt so relaxed to see him so happy. He wanted to keep him here forever.

He grabbed all the ones he wanted. He grabbed a candy corn Keychain, a giant dog one, a purple one, and maybe a million more. His husband didn't mind, it was money well spent.

"Baby, I love them!" He couldn't even carry them, the taller had too. "I feel so spoiled!"

"Hey, you deserve them!" He held him with his free arm. A woman sneezed without covering her mouth. "Ugh, dirty bitch."

He was very alert of all the germs. A child coughed into his hands then went to Lloyd for a handshake. François instantly shook it for him. Little kids were sick because of cold season and this new Covid thing going around. There was so much coughing, sniffling, all that nasty stuff. He could excuse children, but the adults were somehow worse. Many of them didn't cover their mouths when they sneezed or cough. They wipe snort away with their fingers then had the nerve to try to touch his husband because "OH MY GOD! KING LLOYD IS OUTSIDE!" and they thought that meant they could touch him like a doll.

Lloyd didn't mind it, though. He knew people would miss him, let them enjoy what they had left. However, he understood why they left early and why François was rubbing sanitizer on their hands.

"I swear people are animals." He sprayed disaffected on his new things. The other felt a little sad about that, he loved the smell of new things.

"It's okay, Franny. It was fun there."

He started the car. "It kinda got me upset. They know you're sick and want to get poison on you."

He kissed his cheek, making François less stiff. "Let's go somewhere with less germs."

"Hm, the library is usually clean."

The library wasn't a long drive. François liked it here more. There were a lot of old people who looked very clean and were all wearing masks. They didn't mind when they came up to greet them and ask questions about simple things in their lives.

"Franny look." He held up the Good Omens book.

"Get it."

They took their time, saying goodbye to everyone before leaving. They haven't been this glad in a while, they sung Queen in the car. Lloyd's phone rang.

"Oh shit, it's my mom!"

François stayed quiet as he put his phone on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Lloyd." She sounded so different. "Are you doing well today?"

"Yes, no seizures today. Are you doing well?" He picked his nails.

"I'm doing much better, but I'm not ready yet."

"That's okay."

It was unbearably quiet. François almost turned on the ratio again.

"Your father said you think I don't love you, is that true?"

"Yeah..."

There was pain in her voice. "I do love you, Lloyd. I have really bad mental health, but that doesn't mean I love you any less."

"Are you angry with me?"

"..no. When I was yelling, it didn't come from anger, it was more worry. I'm sorry about that."

He laughed nervously. "I kinda knew that, but I still feel bad about it."

"I'm really sorry about that. I'll be out soon, I'm trying my best."

"Don't rush it, take your time." He blushed when François smiled at him.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I have to go now, alright? I'll call you soon."

"Okay, mom. Take care."

"You too, very good care."

He smiled as he hung up. It felt so good to hear her. He wished she could be here, but it nice to hear she's doing better. Mommy loves him again.

---

White stared out the window as Valentino painted his nails with clear polish. He was dreading the upcoming week, he was told he was going to be deployed and his partner was going to tour for as long as he was away.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright with long distance?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

He held his other hand out for him. He's been avoiding his family's calls and nobody from his job knows about his new discovery.

"Are you angry?"

Val finished up the nail. "Why would I be?"

"Because I'm keeping you a secret." He moved his hand around, liking the way it shined in the light.

"It doesn't bother me, really. I know your situation."

It was quiet between them. They're in that awkward beginning stage. Things would be so much easier if they didn't have to hide everything.

"We're back!!"

Lloyd made himself comfortable their bed, taking off his white mask and bothering them as François put the squishmellows and books on their bed.

Val poked his tangled hair. "You had fun?"

"Yess!!" He played with White's hair. "We got mellows."

"Ah. I got news, Sauveterre." He put Lloyd next to him, he wasn't hard to move. "I have to go back to Columbia on Saturday, they're sending me to Venezuela. And Val is touring in America."

"Aww, I'll miss you guys!" He hugged them. In reality, however, he was happy because that means he'll have more time with his husband.

His friend whispered, "Don't die until I get back." They laughed together as Val frowned.

There was a knock on the front door. François went to open it.

"Elle!" He embraced her, grateful that she came wearing a mask. "So nice to see you! Have you been?"

"Fine, miss your house." She chuckled. "I figured I'll just stop by to check on you. I know things must be crazy."

"Yeah, but everything is okay today." He shrugged his shoulders. "My therapist said to take it one day at the time."

She nodded along and asked to use the bathroom. As she was gone, Lloyd went in the kitchen to feed the animals and hopefully get Apple to eat. Another knock.

"Well, isn't this a hot place today!" François' smiled dropped when he saw Marcel. "Leave."

"Wait, please! Let me talk to Lloyd!" The other stood next to him. He hated seeing the red look in his eyes, and the smell of weed on him. It nearly made him sick.

"You're high, aren't you?! Loser!"

He whispered to him. "Franny, it's okay if we talk for a minute."

He sighed, he was such a softie. "Alright then." He turned back to his brother. "Five minutes tops, then walk back home." He gently pushed his husband away. "Six feet apart." He put a mask on the other's face.

He walked off. Marcel, who could barely stand upright, was babbling apologies and how he didn't mean to start any trouble.

"Look, Marcel, I understand completely, sometimes we say dumb things. But you really hurt your brother's feelings and that's not okay. He's been doing so much to help me, and the fact that you think it's okay to speak to him in such ways is honestly stupid."

"I know." He sniffled. "I tried to apologize but he doesn't listen."

He tried to come off as stern, but he spoke gently. "Well, he's very upset with you. He needs time, and you need to give him space."

"I think he hates me." It was hard to understand him, he kept mumbling and rubbing his face.

"He doesn't hate you, he just needs time." He looked at his phone, it's been four minutes. "I don't feel comfortable with you walking because of the snow, so I'm going to get you an Uber. Where do you want to go?"

"Uhh, a friend house. He has um, stuff we could do."

He raised his eyebrow. "Smoke?"

The other shamefully nodded.

"I'm really not against you experimenting, I did that a bit during the war." After one particularly tough battle, him and his friend Carol smoked so much weed that he was tripping for two days. Kim thought that was the funniest thing in the world, François didn't. "But I suggest taking it easy, you're high as a kite."

He started laughing. "Man!"

"It's true! I've also been hearing that your grades are slipping because you cut class to go to the mall or hang out with friends, and that's not good, bro." He took out his phone. "You're going to your cousin's house so you don't get in trouble for being high, okay."

"Ugh, fine."

"It's two minutes away, so text her to tell her you're coming over. I'm also ordering you guys a pizza because I know you're hungry. Ask her if she wants a sandwich or anything."

He waited for her to reply. "She said thank you and to get soda if you can."

"I got Pepsi." A blue car parked in front of the house. "It's here."

He walked him over, helped Marcel in the back, apologized to the man for the smell and gave him his autograph with a huge tip, then waved him goodbye. When he came back, he saw François pouting as Elle was apologizing for getting lost trying to find the bathroom.

"Heyyy." Lloyd fist-bumped her. "I love your sweater girl, where you get it?"

She blushed. "Hot Topic, it's from a show I really like." It was an oversized pink and white sweater of cookie-cat. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah, I'm about to head out." She patted his head, not knowing what to do. "See you soon."

They waved goodbye to her. François kicked his feet as she closed the door.

"I don't hate him." He took his studs out, they were itchy. "He's just an asshole right now."

"He's smoking, that's why."

He sighed. "I wish he loved me again."

He sat on his lap, hugging his neck. "Hey, he does love you. He's just having a phase."

The other hugged him, smelling his cherry blossom perfume. "Sometimes, I wish he was mute again. He loved me then, or at least he pretended he did."

He knew he needed a hug, embracing him close. "He does love you, really he does. I think when you're ready, you and him should have a talk about it."

"...when I'm ready."

He was quiet. He wished things could back to being normal again, before he ruined it by yelling at Lloyd. He was already forgiven by him and his family, but Marcel didn't. Why couldn't they be buddies again? Why did his baby hate him?

"I think it's a good time to give your second present." Lloyd smiled at him, François receiving the warmth he needed.

"Okayy."

The shorter pulled out a little white box with a glittery red bow. "It's small, but I made it myself."

"Aww." He took it and opened it. It was a little red fox with pink eyes, his favorite animal. "Aww, I love it!"

He giggled. "Yayy! I worked so hard on it!"

François stood up, picking him up. "You're getting a treat." He smacked his ass.

The other grinned. "Only if you carry my breathing tank with you."

He picked it up without a second thought and rushed up the stairs with him.

----

The other couple could hear them from their room. They tried to watch a movie to drown it out, but they were so loud it was almost funny.

"Ja! Ja!"

"Hey, Vally." They were laying together, to shy to even hold hands.

"Sup?"

"Are you okay with not having sex? I could if you want me to." Apple was sleeping next to him. All of the animals were in their room until their owners finish.

The other looked over at him. "No, it doesn't bother me. Don't force yourself to do something you don't want to."

There was quiet again. White could hear the bath running.

"Do you want to get dinner? I want to spend time with you before we go."

The other smiled and looked away. "Yeah, I'll like that."

--

François fell asleep after the bath, Apple sleeping next to him. Lloyd wasn't tired yet, relaxing on the couch. His phone was ringing. He looked and saw Charles' name.

"Lloyd!" He was speaker, crying. "Lloyd, you have cancer?! You're intersex?!"

"Yeah." It hurt to hear him cry. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, I-I didn't want you getting stressed out!"

"You're not stressing me out, I want to help you! I'm sorry for not calling you sooner, I just found out now because me and Jangmi were on vacation and-and there was no wifi and-"

"-Charlie, it's okay! I understand, wedding planning is busy! Please don't worry about me!"

"I'm coming over right now! I'll be there by tomorrow morning!"

He picked his nails. "You don't have to-"

"-no! You're my best friend!" Lloyd teared up. "I'm going!"

"..okay. I'm actually happy you're coming. But you need to wear a mask."

"Yeah, I know. I'm going on the plane now, I'll see you soon."

"Okay."

He hung up. Lloyd rubbed his head. He could think about it tomorrow. His father walked in to wish goodnight, still in a good mood.

"I heard your mother called you, you put her in such a good mood." He sat next to him, embracing him. "Ah, today was lovely."

"Appa, can I ask you a question? How did you parents fall in love?"

He raised his eyebrow. "Oh, that's a strange question."

"Yeah, but they seem really nice together in the dr-painting." He smiled wide at him.

Beom smiled as he remembered the story that his mother told him countless times. "Well, back in the day, Korea had arranged marriages, and you're grandfather, Su-Yeong, was from a wealthy family. Your grandmother, Da-Eun, was from the poorest family in South Hwanghae."

"My father saw my mother when he was on vacation. She worked for an uppercase family shining shoes and cleaning. When he saw her, he ordered her to come with them as their maid. Now, when she was young, she was very sassy, like you." He ruffled Lloyd's hair, making him laugh.

"I'm not sassy!"

He made a face before continuing. "She claims she was being sassy, bossing him around and telling what to do. My father just ate that up, and by the time his family was returning to Pyongyang, he requested to marry her, which his parents allowed. Your grandmother was twenty-five, your grandfather was fourty-nine."

Lloyd made a face. "Ew, that's like weird."

He shrugged. "Yes, but that's how things were back then. So anyways, her and her family were brought to their house for the wedding. She was a beautiful young lady. Her hair was long and smooth, her eyes were small and purple, her skin was white like milk, and she was petite. He was, um, well, not aesthetic looking, is what you kids say. Gigantism runs in the family, something that you fortunately didn't get."

He laughed as his son rolled his eyes.

"But yes, my mother said she thought he was the ugliest thing she ever saw. He was pushing eight feet, I believe. He had round glasses, an overbite when he smiled, a crooked nose, and a low voice. She said he was an ogre!" He laughed his head off until he remembered that he looked exactly like his father and fixed his glasses.

"The afternoon of their wedding, she cried to her mother and said she didn't want to marry him. Not only because she didn't like him, but it was because she loved a boy from her home village. Her mother smacked her across the face and told her that it didn't matter, this was their only way out of poverty. So, that night, under the moon, they got married on April 30, 1948."

"She didn't sleep with him for a year, which he was fine with. And when they did, she ended it quickly. Korea was becoming increasingly more unstable, so he moved them to Vagu. She was very unhappy. Her family couldn't come with them because they were too poor and ill to leave. She cried, she shouted, I think she would've killed him if she had a knife around her. My father only embraced her, kissed her on her finger because she didn't let him kiss her on the mouth after their wedding, and then left to fight in the Korean War."

Lloyd nodded, paying close attention.

"At first, she was happy to have him gone. She could enjoy his money, make friends, she enjoyed herself for about a year. Over time, however, she grew to miss him. She didn't want to admit it at first. She discovered that she missed him yawning and getting up in the mornings. She missed his smile and messy hair.

Then, he sent her a letter. He thought he wasn't going to come back home because North Korea, the place he grew up in, was close to victory. He was fighting for the South. He believed in the cause. I never read the letter, but he was confessing how much he loved her and how he hoped to see her in the afterlife.

She realized she took him for granted. She wrote back but didn't get a response. She wept until the war ended. She truly thought she had lost him. When she saw all the other men coming home, she fell into despair.

Then, one stormy day, she prayed to God to give her any type of closure on her white porch. To have his body, his clothes, anything to say goodbye to. Just as she finished, the storm ended, and a beautiful rainbow formed. My father, dirty and bruised, came running with his open arms. She rushed to him, and he spun her around as she cried. It was the first time they kissed with mutual passion."

He got teary-eyed as he stroked Lloyd's hair, who was stunned. She always told him that part on the verge of tears. He remembered at her funeral. It rained all day as she was buried with the letter in her pocket. At Su-Yeong's funeral, there was a thunderstorm. That night, as Ho slept in his bed and as he was holding his baby, he saw a double rainbow. He cried like a young child that night.

"That's a beautiful story."

Beom looked down. For a split second, he saw his mother's face, and then he saw his son's. He smiled at him.

"It is." He sighed. When he was growing up, he remembered how lovey-dovey his parents were. His father brought his mother flowers every morning, and his mother would dance with him well into the night. He missed that, especially after she passed. It was so quiet for all those years.

Lloyd yawned. "I'm tired."

"It's late for you, old man." He picked him up and carried him to bed, holding him like a baby again.

♡♡

"How I love that story." Su-Yeong smiled as he closed the globe. He turned to his teary-eyed wife. "I'm not an ogre."

"Haha, I know." She made him bend down to kiss her. "I'm so proud of our boys."

"Me too, they're pretty great." He grinned before picking her up again, laughing when she gasped, then gently hit his back.

However, despite all this happiness, she felt something wrong.

--

Incision Mohtz
????