"Are you ready to go with Mommy and her friend?" White turned on the lights to the nursery, the babies cooing. "Yes."

Their families forced them into sex two days after the wedding. They really didn't want to, and White cried and threw up after it was done. Unfortunately, they had to do it twice to get any results, but it seemed like God took pity on them. His wife became pregnant with twins! In April of this year, their son and daughter were born. They named the girl Mary, and the boy Carlós after White's father.

"Alright, little boy. Let's get you changed first." He took out his son, who was touching his face. Him and his wife agreed to take turns every morning getting them ready.

He changed him, then put a green dinosaur onesie on him. He thought that was the cutest thing. He was a little sad that some of the clothes they used to wear didn't fit anymore. They were already getting so big!

"Isabella, please feed him." He spoke Spanish to the maid. She took the baby and fed him. He was just the cutest thing. His now brown eyes still had a hint of blue, and he was growing little curls on his soft head, just like his father.

The little girl was already smiling. "Aw, you're so happy to see Daddy!" Without even knowing it, she already had him wrapped around her little chubby finger. "It's your turn, little girl."

She was changed, wore a pink dinosaur onesie, and was getting fed by White. Fatherhood was truly the best. He always wanted children, and now he has two. They'll never want for anything. Lloyd's family gives him a monthly check for his service, and his job pays well. They'll be homeschooled, fed the best foods, wear the best clothes, and they'll have the best childhoods.

After they burped, they were put in their car seats and given to their mother and her girlfriend. They were going to have a day out. White wanted all the time he could get with François.

His stomach bubbled with excitement as he made sure everything looked good. He can't believe it. He hadn't had a proper conversation with him for ages, and now he was coming over today! They'll do so much together. They'll watch TV, go out, do anything fun!

"There we go." White had a habit of talking to himself. He didn't see the blue light behind him. "Would he like chocolate or vanilla cupcakes?"

"I'm fine with either."

He jumped and spun around. He shouted and jumped into his best friend's arms. He looked so different! Blue hair? A full beard?

"Fr-Dauphiné!" He was near tears, and so was the other. "How did you get in? I didn't see you use the door!"

"Well, I had a little help." He moved his hair out of his eyes. "Listen, White, I have something to show you. You probably won't believe it."

White smiled. François looked happier, thank God. He was so worried about him, especially when he sped off in his car before the service ended. "Yeah, sure! Anything you like!"

His heart was beating out of his chest. Lloyd suddenly came floating in, wearing a long black female hanbok to hide his tail. The taller screamed and dropped to the floor, crawling away on his hands to find the Bible.

"White." He tried to sound gentle, hiding his anger when he saw Lloyd's hurt face. "This is Sauveterre."

He stopped to look at him. This looked like Lloyd. Eyes, mouth, nose, but it couldn't be. He's dead. He was never gray. He never had wings.

"It's a demon!" He was flipping through pages to find something to help. François threw the book across the room. "Hey! I'm trying-"

"That's not a demon! This is my husband! This is your friend!" Despite being a good few shorter than him, he was able to get him on his feet. "Besides, what would Christian prayers do for a Jew? Send me to Heaven?!"

White kept looking back and forth. "W-well-" his voice shook. "-tell me something only he would know!"

"Remember when I saved you?" White stopped shaking. His voice sounded like Lloyd. That sweet, French voice. "A bullet hit your leg, and I picked you up?"

He itched slowly to him. "...yes. When is your birthday?"

He grinned slightly. "May 12, yours is July 27."

He felt tears swelling in his eyes, and he saw the demon's tears as well. François looked on. They've known each other longer than he's known them.

"I want to believe you. I miss my friend." His voice was high and pathetic. "He was my best friend. I don't understand.."

He floated over to him. White was too scared to move, staring up at it. What if this demon kills him? Who will provide for his babies? Who will take care of his mother?

"White, please." He held out one of his hands. "It's me, cadet."

He started crying like a child. He let Lloyd hug him, crying with him. He touched his hair, then his horns.

"It's you, Sauveterre." He was crying into his shoulder. "I don't understand."

"There's so much you don't understand. Please let me explain it to you." François came to hold his arm. "Dauphiné wouldn't bring bad energy into your home, would he?"

He stopped hugging him, sniffling. "No. I just..." He blew his nose into a tissue. "...I'm so confused!"

They explained it to him the best they could. White stopped crying by then. He wanted to see him again, but he didn't think it would actually happen.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." His face was dried, though it felt stiff. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I just wasn't expecting this." He was hugging his best friends.

He chuckled. "No hard feelings. I honestly would've reacted the same way."

François smiled at him. "It's good to see you again." He looked at the baby pictures on the wall. "No way."

Lloyd looked too and gasped. White smirked. Happiness had returned to the room.

"Me and my wife had twins."

"VALENTINO HAD TWINS?!" Lloyd and François looked at each other and laughed. They really do share one braincell.

He looked down, tapping his feet. "Oh, um, we broke up."

"BROKE UP?!" More laughter.

White giggled and rolled his eyes. "Oh my gosh, she was such a bitch. I literally had Covid and he's like 'I'm not getting enough support.' LIKE HELLO LADY I'M IN THE ARMY????" Although that made the three of them laugh, there was a hint of pain behind that.

Lloyd took the longest to stop laughing. "Oh, I'm so sorry. They're like that sometimes."

He shifted in his arm chair. "Well, I can't be too mad. Your death was hard, then your uncle's." François nodded. "Did you see your uncle too?"

"For a while, my sister too." He raised his eyebrow. "He wouldn't be a bad visit."

François had his arm around his shoulders. "Yeah, but we're seeing James tomorrow."

"James' doing pretty well, he painted Sarah's portrait." He showed them on his phone. They were impressed by all the little details. "He'll love to see you again."

Lloyd looked around. He couldn't believe it. Sometimes, he doesn't think two years have passed. François kept everything the same, so it was almost like he just woke up from a very long and vivid sleep. But when he saw changes like this, where White's whole life was changed, it made sense.

"I love all the changes. The world moves, and you moved with it."

--

Luna just got off the phone with Clara. It didn't go over well, to say the least. That was okay, today was Saturday. Sarah and her always spend time together on Saturdays.

Well, they used to. After royalty, she's become very forgetful. She used to apologize, but not anymore. Now it's just another day, but not for her daughter. She hated Saturdays the most.

She walked to her grandaunt and uncle's house, it was only a block away. In the garden, she could hear laughter. She went to it, and found her aunts and uncle laughing after a game Étoile was showing them.

"Luna, so good to see you!" Da led her to the others. Étoile looked up. "Star, you remember her, don't you? It's Sarah's daughter." It stood up and bowed to her.

"What's wrong, Luna? You look so upset." Lily was quick to put her on her lap and fix up her dress. She didn't know why she liked children her age so much. Sometimes, she dreamt about holding a baby, her baby, and singing to it. It always ended though, and she woke up feeling empty.

She sighed. "My moms hate me, that's all. Nothing new."

They were quick to comfort her, playing with her hair. Étoile quickly tapped away on its tablet.

"I have somewhere we can take you. It's a place Uncle Ho really likes."

Her eyes lit up. She doesn't get undivided attention anymore. She's always busy with school and royal training, and her mothers don't care. "Do you have a car?"

"Oh Luna, we don't need a car." Lily and Da held her hands. The green eyed one held its younger sister's. With just a snap of its fingers, they were gone.

---

They were playing cards at the table, laughing and betting on random things. So far, Lloyd lost his bracelet, White his favorite pen, and François won both of them.

"Alright, let's make this interesting." Lloyd grinned. "Embarrassing war stories. Whoever wants gets..." He dugged around in his pockets. "My watch."

They were quiet for a moment, thinking of what to say. Finally, White spoke up. "I ran out of cigarettes, so I smoked tree branches for three weeks."

Lloyd laughed, François didn't. He saw where the conversation was heading.

"When I got my first bullet, the nurse thought I was making it up and set me off."

"That's terrible!" White chuckled at the other's concern.

"Not really, love. So anyways, when she finally sees me, my arm was green and full of like spots of puss, or whatever. When she was looking at me, one exploded in her eye." He rubbed his left arm, laughing.

White was laughing too. François thought about. Lloyd has an insanely high pain tolerance, and he wondered if the war was to blame for that. Marie told him that when Lloyd was little, he would cry if he fell off his bike or had a fall. Mainly because he wanted hugs and kisses, but she made it seem like he was genuinely in pain. But after the war, he never complained about pain. He didn't complain about the pain from the failed surgery, his cuts, or even the cancer. He could only imagine how much misery he would've been in with his arm.

Much to his dismay, the stories went on. He found out more about them. He didn't know that White had to take out a bullet out of his leg all by himself without pain killers and then went off fighting, or how he treated a nasty cold by staying outside in the winter until his fever broke. He found out that not only did Lloyd eat rocks, he also ate animal bones, dirt, mud, and hair when they ran out of food. When he was flying a plane once, he got so tired that he fell asleep on the wheel and almost had an earlier plane crash.

Lloyd won the bet, but he gave White the watch for making it happened.

"I kinda feel bad about this one, but we really didn't know you had cancer during the war." He touched Lloyd's shoulder.

"Aw, it's alright. Even I didn't know!" They laughed, but a thought lingered in his husband's mind. Can you imagine, your body destroying itself, and your stuck in a war? That sucks to know that it was still there, even after the accident. He would've still been in pain. Either he got so used to it that it didn't bother him anymore, or he was hiding it until it was too late. Both ideas pull at his heartstrings.

"Dauphiné, remember how Sauveterre used to sleep a lot during the war?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. I thought you were just a sleepyhead." He kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry for that."

"Aw, don't be, love." He kissed his beard, White cringed.

"Bleh!" They chuckled again. "Anyways, lovebirds, back to the story. In Germany, me and Lee had an idea. We wanted to see how much he could sleep without getting interrupted. We left him to sleep for a whole week straight!"

Lloyd bursted out into laughter. François smiled and shook his head. Poor thing.

"And you'll never believe it. We finally woke him up, and he was still tired!" He put the watch on. "Ah, that was a crazy time, the war."

"I'm glad it's over." François sighed and held both of their hands. "I don't ever want another war for as long as I live."

---

Luna had the most fun she had in a while. Étoile took them to the aquarium. Although they had to be reminded not to float, they all had a blast. Seeing all the different fish move, learning more things about them, and even getting to touch a stingray!

Afterward, they took her to get lunch. Lily isn't big on food, sometimes she has to be reminded that she needs to eat. She does like deserts though, chocolate being her favorite. And since she was having her first period, she could use something sweet.

"This is so much fun!" Luna was happily eating fries, kicking her feet. "I don't want to go back to the castle. It's not very fun."

Da made a cheeky face. "You don't have to go back after this. You could stay at the house and have fun with us."

She beamed. "Really?"

Lily was eating chicken. She decided to eat something healthy first before having chocolate pudding. "Absolutely! We don't mind! Besides, mom and dad are a little too old to understand our fun."

Étoile silently laughed. "Remember when appa popped his hip dancing?"

That gained a few laughs. Luna was beaming still, she hadn't had this warmth around for so long. Sarah has always been very serious. Clara was the fun one, but now that she hates her, there's no more nights of tea parties or giggling. Just stuffiness and straight faces.

---

The three men spent the rest of the time watching The Beatles Cartoon. Despite not liking their music, White found the show so bad it was funny. François had spent enough time around Lloyd to become a fan, so the couple really did enjoy this.

White's wife returned when the sun had set. The babies got fed and changed before being introduced to the two.

"Looks at this." Lloyd's eyes lit up whey he turned around with the twins. "Mary and Carlós."

François held the boy as the shorter held the girl. White was proud to see his friends adore his children. They were a little scared of Lloyd, but after he made them toys from thin air, all was well.

"They're adorable, truly." François had to pull the surprisingly strong hand away from his hair. "When's Christmas? We can definitely spoiled them."

He laughed and picked up the babies for bed. "December 25, man. Say goodnight to the babies."

They waved and blew kisses, the babies giving them toothless smiles. Once White was back, François stood up.

"We should start going. We have to get up early tomorrow for James." Lloyd was holding his arm and smiling.

White looked down. "Do you promise to come back?"

Lloyd frowned and patted his back. "Of course we do, and you're invited to François' birthday party."

After a few more smiles, promises, and handshakes, the two were back in France. The pets were excited to see them again. They liked their dog sitter, Bella, but they missed their parents.

"How it go?" That was a dumb question, they were all smiles.

Lloyd picked up Benjamin to give him a kiss. "Great! My face hurts from smiling."

"Yeah, I've haven't laughed like that in ages." The other was still grinning. "God, I can't wait for tomorrow."

--

Sarah was in a panic. Luna usually comes for dinner, but today she didn't. She thought she was napping at first, growing girls need their sleep. Later in the night, she went to check on her. She wasn't in her room.

"Find my daughter now!" Her heart was racing. They already checked every room in the castle but nothing. "I'm going to my uncle's house to check!"

She frantically rang the golden doorbell. Da came in, holding Food.

"Da, have you seen Luna?!" She was frantic, picking at her white gloves. "I've checked everywhere and-"

The other smiled. "Yeah, I did! I thought she told you. She's upstairs with Lily and Étoile."

"Oh, thank you!"

She went upstairs. There, in Étoile's soft bed, was her sleeping daughter and cousin. It was playing on its tablet, sitting crisscross on the floor.

"Thank goodness!" It looked up at her as she was lifting her. It was hard, considering how tall she was getting.

It tapped and then showed her the screen as it read, "We had a fun day! We went to the house where the fish live and saw lots of them! 🦈 🐟🐠🐡 Then we had lunch, Luna had fries 🍟 after that, me, her, and Lily played with Monsieur Noir 🐇 and danced to music with eomma! 🕺💃"

It felt like talking to her father. Many people have been suspecting Étoile to be on the spectrum. "Well, it seems like you had fun. Thank you for taking care of her. I'll see you tomorrow."

As she was coming home, her heart weighed down. She felt like the world's biggest failure. How could she not realize she was missing for so long? That's when she remembered it was Saturday. God, she was the worst mother in the world.

She put in her bed. She stared at her sleeping before leaving. She was trying her best. She makes sure she has good grades, manners, money, but maybe it's not enough.

Luna doesn't talk to her like she used to. She doesn't come to see her. She remembered how it was her fault. She told her to leave she did, so she doesn't do that anymore. She doesn't care about showing her school awards, and shamefully, Sarah doesn't know about them until months later. Just the other day, she found out Luna got the highest test score in her class, but she threw the paper out. A maid had to show the queen, and all she did was give her daughter another tiara.

She really was a poor mother. What could she do to fix that?

---

It was James' turn to be excited. He was in Vagu, waiting for François to come. Two years of silence and worry now gone.

"Fernandez! Nice to see you!" James gasped and hugged him. "Lloyd's back."

He let go. He was almost angry. How dare he say that.

"You're lying."

"No he's not."

He spun around, his eyes wide. There in a long dress was Lloyd. He screamed and ran to him. He fell to his knees, clinging to his long green dress and sobbing. Lloyd kneed down and embraced him, crying with him.

"I've missed you. Oh, how I've missed you."

--

Marie was staring at the sky. Despite having the faces she dreamt of for decades, she needed to see one more than the rest.

Nobody in the whole world understood her pain. In a sick way, she missed her mother.
During the fight with her brother so many years ago, she found out why everyone hated her.

Before she was born, they had a middle daughter. Her name was Sophia. Marie only knows bits and pieces of her. She liked dolls. She hated lemons. One day, she became ill. With what, nobody's sure. She died the next day in her sleep. Their mother was the one that found her.

Her brother said that their father basically forced her to have another baby, especially a girl. She didn't want to, but she gave in and had Marie. That explained the wide age gap between her and her siblings. Her oldest sibling was twenty-eight when she was born.

Looking back, she realized she had severe postpartum depression. Her siblings said she never recovered from her birth, her father described it like a dog having too many puppies and going crazy. Her mother hated her, her siblings hated her, but her father was the only one that loved her. It didn't help that she apparently looked just like Sophia. Her mother was always disgusted by her, but she also seemed heartbroken to look at her.

She had postpartum too, but hers was different. She was obsessed with Lloyd, never putting him down. She didn't let him walk until he was two because what if he fell and died? No playdates, she can't hold him as children get their dirty hands all over him. Somedays, when it was especially bad, she didn't allow Beom to hold him. She knew that hurt him, but she didn't care. He was all hers, he was the only living child she had.

She was horrible to Beom, something she deeply regrets. He left for the war immediately after they lost Jo. Then when he came back, they lost Da. That was already enough, but the twins almost broke them. He agreed to the abortion without telling her. She was unconscious. She fell asleep with babies, then woke up to none.

She was furious, to say the least. She did things she wasn't proud of. Poor Beom was a mess. He cried everyday for two years as he apologized on his hands and knees, and she wouldn't even look at him. They almost got a divorce, but they recovered.

When Lily died, she was done having children. Beom begged and pleaded with her to try again, he wanted a baby so badly. She did, and Lloyd was born.

She was a straight up bitch to him. She would scream, cry, she was insane. Beom was too kind to her. He was dealing with his health, his father's death, Ho's almost daily meltdowns because of the change, taking care of a sick baby, and she just added on top to it. Then when Lloyd was two, she shut down. She wanted nothing to do with anyone. She didn't help with their son.

Everything in her brain was telling her to hurt him. She makes herself sick as she thought about it. She had nightmares of throwing her bubbly toddler in the washing machine and turning it on, watching him spin until he explodes. Or helping him in a bubble bath, and suddenly having an urge to hold his head underwater until he stops breathing. She didn't allow him in the kitchen while she cooked, because all she could think about is putting him in the oven and roasting him. It annoyed her when she heard him cry for her. All she wanted to do is hit him until he never cried again.

Those thoughts alone nearly made her kill herself out of guilt. When Beom left, she almost went through with a plan. She hit him on his bottom then left him alone as he cried and apologized in the living room for whatever he did wrong. As she was panicking and crying in her room, she thought of Beom's gun. She had the urge to grab it, load it, shoot Lloyd, then shoot herself. She had to leave that night. If she didn't, God knows what would've happened.

After she came back from the mental hospital, Beom was waiting for her by the kitchen table. He looked dead. He asked where Lloyd was, and when she couldn't give him an answer that wasn't sobbing, he handed her divorce papers with his name already signed.

She pleaded with him not to leave her, so they agreed to a three year long separation. She was miserable. She was in that house all by herself as Beom lived with Ho. When they were finally together again, they spent all their time looking for him. Sometimes, Beom would get so emotional that he would shout at her, blaming her for missing their son and not talking to her for days. She only nodded, tears streaming down her face.

She knew everything that happened to Lloyd during those years was her fault, yet he nor Beom ever put blame on her.

In some ways, she pitied her mother. She remembers once, she became very ill with a fever. When she was awake once, she could hear her father yelling at her.

"A mother's job is to keep her children alive, and you're continously failing! What kind of mother are you!"

What her father say now?

She will never understand how she could hate her. Even in the worst stages of her depression, she loved Lloyd. He was the only thing that kept her alive for so long. She didn't want him growing up without a mother like her, but he did. She let that happened.

She compared her mother's love to the stars. As much as she loved the stars and all their glory, they could never love her back. No matter how much she reached out to them or begged, nothing. It horrifes her to think if Lloyd felt the same way. She loves Lloyd more than life, but what if he didn't know?

In her mind, she thinks of the fall every second of every day. What if he had a fever and tried looking for her, falling in the process. She told Beom this, and he started crying. What if he looked for both of them? He had to die alone. In pain, cold, all by himself at the bottom of the stairs with his poor dog. Knowing what Jo did, it makes her feel even worse.

She could only hope he comes back soon.

---

"James, please stop crying. You're going to throw up." François was rubbing his back on the floor as the veteran sobbed, Lloyd frowning.

He looked up, sniffling. "Y-y-you have to see Charles. You need to!"

"But I'm seeing you today!"

"He's visiting the country for a week. Please, Lloyd," He cried into his dress. "You gotta!"

"Okay, okay." He held his and François' hand before snapping his fingers.

Charles was by himself in the hotel. He thought coming here would make him feel better, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Everywhere he looked, he remembered his best friend.

Grief is a monster. It climbed on his back and never got down.

Blue light flashed in his eyes. He turned his head and saw him.

"Charlie." James was still crying, François was nervously standing to his side. "Charlie-"

And before they knew it, they all were hugging.

--

"Mommy, are you okay?" Lily walked in to check up on her. She didn't leave her room yet.

Marie looked up at her. She was in her chair. "Yes, my flower. Just thinking about Lloyd."

She walked over and touched her hand. "He's going to come soon. I really think he's waiting for François' birthday to come, which is...tomorrow."

"You know I love you, right?" She looked so sad, Lily hated that.

"Yes, mommy, I know. We all know."

She stood up, rubbing her forehead. "Okay." She began walking away. "Just making sure."

----

"Lloyd, oh!" Charles wasn't letting go of him. "Lloyd! You're back!"

James had no tears left to cry. He was quiet, though. François was hugging him, crying. He could only imagine what Bella had gone through with him.

"I'm never dying ever again!" He him go, holding his shoulders. "How you've been? I still can't believe it's been two years!"

Charles sniffled, staying close to him. "Pretty crazy. Got married-" He saw his crushed face. "-I know you're sad about missing it. It wasn't the same without you."

François smiled softly. "How's married life?"

"Not bad. Yours?"

When they saw the couple grinning at each other, the other two giggled and rolled their eyes.

"But yeah, that, finished college, working as an English teacher in Oregon. I hate America. My country is falling apart and the people only care about Trump and Biden." He shook his head.

James raised his eyebrow. "I heard they have a lot of school shootings there. Horrible, horrible."

"School shootings?!" Lloyd's eyes were wide. François was covering his mouth. They're both behind on the news. "I really thought America was a dreamland, but I think I was wrong."

Charles shrugged his shoulders. "It's okay sometimes, but it's crazy now. At least summer break started a month ago, I'll be safe until August."

"François Month has been pretty good for us."

The other laughed. "Baby, François Month?" He chuckled when the other nodded. "You guys are invited to my birthday party tomorrow, Lloydie can just snap and bring you to France."

"It is any better in France?" Charles wasn't surprised when the blue-eyed one shook his head.

"People are just as crazy there. Taxes have been insane."

Lloyd looked at him. "I can always move the house if you want."

"No, love." He kissed his horns. "Besides, the dogs would be overwhelmed with the change."

James sneakily reached for the wings. Lloyd raised his eyebrow and moved them away. "Girl, how did you even get these? And the horns."

"Get ready for a long story."

----

Beom and Marie were noticing more and more how inhuman their children are. They like to float more than walk. It's fine, though a bit scary when they get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and see Étoile's silhouette floating in for a snack.

They don't have any human faults. The girls aren't self-conscious about their bodies. They didn't grow up knowing a beauty standard. They don't care about their weight, they don't think they need makeup, they genuinely think they're beautiful, which they are. They don't understand the concept of ugliness. They don't even know what that word means.

With Étoile, it was a little harder to tell. It has a lot of Ho's characteristics; hatred for loud noises, stimming, not really caring about social norms, only wears shorts, and eating the same foods every day. They couldn't tell if it was from its background or possible autism, but either way, it was quite pleasant to be around. All of the siblings were a treat.

It hurt the parents to see them already grown up. They missed all their childhoods. Étoile enrolled in trade school, so it doesn't spend as much time around Beom as before. Da is usually out with friends or modeling. Her pretty face has already been on several covers. Only Lily really stays home, but she's currently exploring what else she could do. She has an interest in animals, so she usually works with the pets.

"Where do babies come from?" She asked one day as her parents were in the living room. They looked at each other, then at her. "I saw one today and I wandered which store I could go to."

Marie laughed as she patted down a seat for her. The younger floated to it. "Sweetheart, I think it's time for you to learn about the jolyus and l'abeilles."

She was wide-eyed as they explained it to her. That's why Étoile was so happy as it tapped them what happened the first day.

"Ew!" Beom was laughing until she said, "That's what Étoile did! Why doesn't it have a baby in its stomach?"

Although one of his children was married, he cringed at the idea of his babies doing such nasty things. "Oh dear!"

Marie took it from here. "Since Étoile has a boy body, it can't get pregnant. Only girls can get pregnant. That's how I had babies."

She made a face. Her old parents doing such a thing? "...Are you sure you didn't buy us at the store?"

They laughed again. "If we did, we would've returned you by now!"

"Hey!" She giggled when her mother kissed her head.

"Still want babies?"

She nodded, much to her father's dismay. "Yeah, a small price to pay for something so cute."

She turned her head to see Beom's beat red face. The girls thought that was the funniest thing. "....ugh."

Food came in, growling and biting on Beom's slipper. He scooped her up and scolded her, trying to get it out of her mouth. He found it funny to remember that he used to think Lloyd's dogs were clingy. At least they let him breathe.

"Food, she's coming back soon." He passed her over to Lily, who rubbed her head. "Wow! If I eat slippers, would I get pets?"

Marie smirked. "You'll get something else."

Lily covered her eyes as Beom grinned. "Mom!"

Thank God Da walked in. Food, acting like she's been abused and neglected despite taking four naps in her owner's fluffy bed and eating a toy, ran to her crying. Da picked her up and put her in her purse.

"Da, I have to tell you something nasty." She made her follow her to the other room, their parents laughing again.

---

They were watching a new horror movie. François seemed to be the only one enjoying it since the others were screaming their heads off. He liked that Lloyd was hugging him close.

"Jeez, that was so scary." James quickly turned on a kids' movie to ease everyone's nerves.

Charles was sitting across from his best friend. "Do you miss the afterlife?" The mood shifted. "I'm sorry, I'm just curious."

Lloyd was smoking, holding the cigarette in between his fingers. "Yeah, sometimes." He saw their faces drop. "But I like being here more, with all of you."

"Do you still talk to the people you saw before?"

He smiled. "Yeah, but only in my dreams. That's how-" he covered his mouth and eyed François, blushing. "-I almost spoiled the surprise."

He raised his eyebrow. "Oh my goodness."

He moved close to him, having his wing around his shoulders. "They're all doing well. I miss them sometimes."

"You'll see them again when you're properly dead." James looked at him. "Don't die now."

Lloyd felt bad for laughing. "I won't, I won't."

Charles pulled out wine from his cooler. "I got something special."

---

The adopted siblings were all together. Valentino was crying and hugging their father. He hasn't seen him in so long.

"Father! Father, you've come back!"

Ho rubbed her back. "Yes, I did. We're all together again." He held Haruki and Étoile's hands, who were tearing up. "I'm very happy we all."

Marie smiled, but Lily noticed she wasn't happy. She kept looking at the dusty piano in the corner. They found a way to bring the piano before the war with them. Lloyd used to play it when he had the time, but now it sits collecting dust.

"He's coming back soon, mommy. I promise." She held her hand.

Marie looked up at her. She stared into her blue eyes. "I hope it's very soon."

---

After a night of drinking, the couple snapped back to France. It was afternoon there. Bella was playing with Jr when she saw them laughing and pushing each other, Lloyd accidentally pushing François so hard he fell on the couch laughing.

"Hey, drunkies." They laughed at her. "I see it went well."

"Totally!" Lloyd burped, making the other laugh. "Tomorrow's is F-Franny's birthday!!" He gave him kisses. "Woo!!!"

François held his hand up to the sky, cheeks flushed and grinning. "Birthday!!"

--

The Jewish Paintress
Marius Michel