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Chapter Text

While Magolor's other parks were nothing to scoff at, the sheer meticulousness in Magoland's design was almost incomprehensible. Its expansive surface area was one thing, but the plaza was a whole attraction in and of itself. The ornate statues lining the entrance were always shiny, and the plaza floor was kept extremely clean. Then the main building… Nova above , the main building. With Magolor's visage front and center, made with a combination of concrete and metal, it did not leave much up to the imagination. You knew exactly who the park was for. 

Taranza greeted the waddle dee running the ticket booth, and paid the admission fee. Observing the park from the outside was almost night and day compared to being inside the park itself. Everything looked even more polished, and other attractions were visible now, like Mr. Dooter's small show, as well as merch booths. Shrieks and cheers from park goers could be heard throughout the park. He sat on a small bench near the entrance and waited for his friend to arrive. 

As he sat, Taranza began playing with his hair.

"Hey prettyboy!!" A short mischievous clown snuck past the ticket booth, before stopping in front of the spider. 

"Always a pleasure, Marx." Taranza bowed, before swiping through his hair a final time.

"You should pay next time."

"Yea, I definitely will remember that."

"Do you even have your wallet??"

"Nope!"

Taranza frowned, going back to the ticket booth before paying for his companion. 

"LAAAME." Marx stuck his tongue out in disapproval, before quietly thanking him when he got close enough.

"You're welcome."

The two focused back to the topic at hand. 

Bother the everloving crap out of Magolor at work. 

Taranza had conflicted feelings about the casual magician-turned-engineer. Whenever he thought about him, his mind would wind itself up and his cheeks would get hot. He sensed a wave of emotions bottled away to hopefully be forgotten about, but any attempt to get Magolor to open up had proven futile. He knew that he had good intentions, but he is so rude sometimes!! When Taranza had first made his way to Dreamland, the jokes (and subsequent theft) around the Dimensional Mirror were relentless. Some were silly enough to be brushed off, but others were particularly cruel. Sometimes he would wonder if Magolor just liked to see him cry. However, he did notice that Magolor almost completely stopped making jokes the day after he had a frankly embarrassing meltdown in front of the King. He always felt an urge to ask what changed, but honestly? He didn't need to know. The two were always together nowadays, he can't remember the last time him and Marx hung out alone.

Marx… Taranza feels safer knowing that if he is with him, he won't do something demonic. While he, Magolor and Marx schemed together, he was always there to make sure that a harmless prank didn't cross over into the 'oh these are war crimes, actually' category, mainly through Marx's contributions. He noticed that Marx was a bit of a spitfire, although it probably came with the job. Always funny, and mildly unsettling, as any jester should be. All things considered, he loved the two's company! 

"So, what's the plan prettyboy?" Marx's voice snapped Taranza back to reality, his posture stiffening slightly.

"What if… we go into every game…"

"Uh-huh..?"

"And…. draw mustaches on all the Magolor cutouts!"

"You are HOPELESS, Tara." Marx let out an exasperated sigh. This total loser, what a STUPID- well.. it does sound kind of fun… 

"Let's do it."

"O-oh? Really?" Taranza looked shocked, his ideas were almost never chosen for pranks.

"That can be our appetizer." Marx rubbed his hands together, mimicking one of Magolor's more prominent quirks. Taranza nodded in agreement.

"I'm picking the next idea though."

"That's fair." Taranza looked at his watch.

"Break time is happening in approximately… five minutes." The two had casually walked to Kirby on the Draw, making an effort to avoid the center.

"How do we get in?"

"Good question. Portals and hiding is more of Maggie's thing."

"MAGGIE? "

"SHHHHHHHH you're gonna let them know we're here!!!" Taranza covered Marx's mouth and looked around nervously. 

"Maggie. How corny."

"Shut up or help me!" His face was practically steaming in embarrassment. 

Marx studied the area, before noticing that the staff entrance was wide open.

"Bingo." Marx slinked along the side of the wall, peering inside.  Just as Taranza said, they were getting ready for their lunch break.

"How much time til they get out?" He whispered, slowly returning to Taranza.

"A minute or so. Did they look ready to leave?" 

"Oh yeah. We just need to keep that door unlocked."

Taranza braced himself and smiled. "I can do that!"

"Oh, and what's your plan?"

"I can just fill the keyhole with webbing."

Marx rolled his eyes. "Oh yea, magic string. That'll stop em."

"You know, Marx? I'd appreciate it if you used even a fraction of the energy you dedicate to being mean to being kind." 

"I like being a hater, it's more fun!!!" Marx crossed his arms.

A clock chimed throughout the park, and Taranza took aim and shot for the keyhole. Perfect. That isn't going anywhere. But.. just in case… he shot some webbing at the door hole.

The people in charge of keeping the attraction running strolled out in a small group, chatting amongst themselves. The two stared as the employees left, before making a comical dash to the door.

"Okaaayyyy~ let's seeee~!!!!" Taranza was brimming with excitement, as he gently tugged on the webbing from the keyhole, a loud ka-THUNK echoed from inside the door. 

The two looked around before quickly opening the door and running inside.

"How much time we got, Tara?" 

"Ummm… maybe 30 minutes? I would say 15, so we have time to escape!"

"I can work with that." Marx rummaged around the room, looking for any snacks they might have left behind.

"They usually…” He shuffled around the staff drawers. “Keep the markers… aha!!!” Taranza pulled out a cutesy box full of paint markers used to decorate the targets. 

"What color would you like?" He pointed the box in Marx's general direction, pulling out a nice black and a sillier green marker. Hehehehe…

"Which hurts your eyes the most?" Marx frowned, his search only turning up some gummy worms. Not that he would turn down gummy worms, of course.  

"Easily this cyan color."

"I want that one."

Taranza handed the marker over, as the two quietly nodded to each other. He set a timer on his watch for fifteen  minutes, and made sure to triple check for cameras. The two pranksters quietly made their ways to opposite sides of the dark ride, before furiously drawing over all the Magolor themed targets they could find.

A small chime echoed throughout the quiet room, and the two stopped almost immediately. Over the fifteen minutes allotted, they managed to do a significant amount of the targets, with Taranza at some point having gotten 3 more markers to expedite the process. 

"Well done, Tara."

"Thank you!"

Taranza took the marker from his friend's hand and quickly put them all back where he found the box. The two reassumed their quiet prank-ninja personas, stealthily leaving the staff room with a few minutes to spare.

Personally, Taranza felt schemed-out, but he knew Marx was far from done.

Reentering the square, the two sat at the fountain. 

"What's your idea?"

"Well… I think we should go to the book game." Taranza gave a quizzical stare in response.

"Since that game is fully controlled by… Maggie…" he ducked from Taranza's attempt to slap him. "We can directly mess with him."

"I'm listening…"

"We move everything over a few inches to the right."

Taranza appreciated that Marx had become more accommodating over his reluctance to commit violent offenses, but this felt rather.. simple for his taste.

"What's the catch?"

"Well, we would rearrange the books too!! Helloooo, it'd be so simple! All the bindings are the same between colors, it'd be a crime if we didn't mess with them!"

"But if he's in charge, and the only staff member, how can we get him away from there?"

"That's where I come in!" Marx grinned. "You move everything with your magic, I use my magic to make enough noise to get Magolor out of there." 

"I don't think that's a great idea. If one of us goes down, the other is going to be caught."

"Oh, poor, sweet, anxious Taranza… you and your overthinking!! It's not like you're gonna take hours, just a quick shake and we're home free!" Marx was writing out his plan with his finger in the air, hoping that Taranza would pick up what he put down.

"Okay.. I guess I trust your judgment." Taranza felt himself cringe at the sentence, but a part of him did agree with the sentiment.

"Horrible mistake! But thank you." Marx practically jumped out of his seat, and Taranza quietly walked away to hide behind a tree.

Marx snuck up behind Mr. Dooter and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Lookin for a side act?" He asked, putting on the most innocuous voice he could muster.

The performer laughed and nodded. 'No funny business.'

He batted his eyelashes. "Never!!!!"

The two began an elaborate performance, drawing more and more attention to the two of them. Marx quickly looked back at Taranza, before slipping in a questionable at best smoke bomb. He wound up, and slammed the smoke bomb onto the ground, followed by confetti from his partner.

The smoke was thick, causing both park goers as well as staff to get extremely confused. Hearing the commotion outside his attraction, Magolor left to see what was going on. Taranza took the opportunity to sneak inside

"Okay… let's see." Taranza looked at the absolute behemoth of a library in front of him. He opted to move the shelves first, then jumble the books. For bragging rights, he decided to time how long it took.

He carefully pulled up the shelves with his webs, and placed them down in their new position. He pulled books by color block and shuffled them around, although not too far from their original positions, he didn’t want Magolor to spend too long reorganizing. Chuckling to himself, he stopped his timer and waited by the door for either a chance to blend in or escape. Peering out the door hole, he noticed that the smoke was still layered on thick. He groaned quietly and decided to make a break for it. 

Popping the door open, he slipped outside of the subgame, looking to see what happened. 

"Taranza."

"Huh??" He looked around, trying to see who called his name.

"Marx?"

Silence. 

"Marx, stop playing around! We have to leave before Magolor comes baAAAAAAAAA-!!"

"BOO!!!" Marx jumped out at Taranza from behind, narrowly avoiding a ball of energy that the spider had thrown out, letting out a loud CRACK on impact.

"MARX!!!!" Taranza scream-whispered, trying to look for wherever the ball hit. 

"I didn't think you had it in you!!" Marx was giggling to himself, also trying to see what Taranza blasted through.

Through the fog, they noticed a hole shaped crack in the game building's wall.

"Ohh this is bad, Marx!! Really bad!! What are we gonna do????"

"Just leave!!! They don't know we're here anyways!!!" Marx pulled on one of Taranza's sleeves, dragging him away from the wall.

"But we broke it!!"

"So vandalism is cool, but you draw the line at property damage?????"

"...That's fair. We should probably go now."

The two quickly ran to the square, right as the smog cleared. Marx assumed his position by the performer, and looked at him confused.

"Hey… was that supposed to happen?" 

Mr. Dooter shook his head vigorously.

"Mags is gonna kill us."

He nodded in agreement.

"What if…. we just make sure this was an accident." He winked.

The performer winked back.

Chapter Text

Magolor looked around, noting two very important things. His two closest associates were in the plaza, and there was now a massive hole in the wall. Great! Wonder how that happened! He walked up to the two performers, visibly fuming. 

"What. Happened."

"Heeey Mags!!" Marx made a finger guns gesture. 

"Don't make me repeat myself, dude."

"Weell.. I was in town, and was suuuuuper bored. So… I asked my friend here if he wanted to do a duet!" Mr. Dooter nodded furiously.

"Okay, and? How did a wall of smoke BLANKET my park?"

"No idea! Honest!" Marx put his hands up, shaking his head.

"Is this true, D?" 

Mr. Dooter looked Magolor in the eyes and quietly nodded. 

"If I find out either of you are lying you are not allowed ANYWHERE near the park." Magolor groaned and stormed away from them. 

They both sighed in relief.

He saw Taranza, doing that weird nervous tick he always does with his left hand, and furiously trying to get the smoke off his hair with several others.

"Pray tell, why is there a hole in my wall?" He was still angry, but a part of him seemed to calm down in the spider's presence.

"A hole????" Taranza asked, genuinely shocked. To him, it only looked like a crack!! Did it get worse when they left?

"Yes! Someone has managed to perforate a hole in my wall!! It sucks!!!"

"I-I'm sorry Magg- uh .. Magolor. I don't think I'd be able to tell you why there's a hole in the wall." Taranza was a horrible liar, always had been. He wore most of his heart on his sleeve, and it definitely showed.

"I hope the bizarre coincidence of you and Marx being in the same area is indeed a coincidence."

"It is!! I didn’t know he was here!! I was just trying to enjoy my time on Popstar!" He was being honest about that last part. Half-truths, half-truths…

Something about how Taranza flushed and wiggled around trying to lie made Magolor's chest get tighter. It was pretty cute, to be honest. But!! Being cute will not save you from the cold hands of justice!!

He crossed his arms. "Why were you in Tome Tracker?" 

"Well um.. I-  I... I just wanted to bother you at work! I wanted to interrupt your day! So we could maybe hang out later..?" His face was visibly hot. Man he was a bad liar.

"Uh-huh." Magolor had noticed over the  years that the best way to get Taranza to tell the truth was to just let him talk.

"And Marx is probably here for that too! But he probably just got distracted! He came up behind me and scared me while I was trying to find you and-" 

"And that is how I got a hole in the wall."

"I'M SORRY!!!!!" Taranza yelped, pulling at his hair. Cat’s out of the bag.

“It’s not that big of a deal! I can have it fixed pretty quick, it was just a crack.” Magolor chuckled to himself. 

“You tricked me!!” Taranza pouted, before sighing. “How much do you need?”

“I don’t need you to pay, Tara. If anything, I should charge Marx for getting everything dirty!

“U-um I can pay! I don’t mind! He didn’t do it on purpose!!"

“Are you trying to cover for him???” Magolor already knew the answer, but felt like it was more rewarding when it was said out loud.

“Maybe!! I feel bad!! It was just Marx being Marx! I’m the one that caused the damage anyways!” His hand started to shake again. 

“Have you thought about why he ropes you into his more intense schemes?” Magolor felt awkward. He couldn’t place why, but times where Taranza was nervous made him feel exceptionally more strange. He wouldn’t call it uncomfortable, he just felt an urge to get rid of whatever the stressor was.

Marx, noticing the two’s very long conversation, realized that Taranza probably just ratted them both out. But, if he had learned anything in his life, it was to always have a plan B. He quietly snuck into one of the merch booths at the park and pulled out a mask hidden deep in the back of the storage unit. He put it behind his back and creeped out. 

“Marx. Care to explain why you are stealing from me after you just vandalized the entire plaza?” Magolor had stood in front of the door, with Taranza not far behind him, shaking slightly. 

Oh he feels really bad, doesn’t he? Marx looked past Magolor, staring intently.

Crap. Sorry Tara. “No particular reason… I just felt like.. Checking out some of the merchandise.

“You can do that from the front of the store.”

“I could, but I saw this weird looking mask in the back, it was super buried under masks that get sold.”

Magolor immediately tensed. Don’t you dare.

Marx stared at him. Oh, I do dare.

“Dude, quit it.” Magolor’s voice had a tone of desperation in it that had grown unfamiliar to him. 

“I had to see what it was! Can you blame me?”

“Yes, I can!” Magolor tried to take whatever Marx had behind his back, but he had moved out of the way.

“I thought it was just an older mask of Taranza, but then I saw that the horns were different! I was like ‘woah! That’s weird!’”

Taranza zoned back in from the nervous spell he was in and saw the two in a deadlocked staring contest. “W- What are you talking about, Marx?"

“I had no idea! So I took the chance to see what it was!”

“Marx, cut the crap, okay? It was just a trial run of his mask. That’s it.” Magolor had a sharp tone, further worrying Taranza and further egging Marx on. He knew exactly what was on that mask. They both did.

“I thought so too! Until I saw the inside!” Marx pulled out what was behind his back. “It says ‘old friend’.”

“Marx. Stop it. Now.” Magolor had gone from moderate to full desperation, trying to not let Taranza see what Marx had.

Taranza felt the tension between the two get thicker and thicker, and decided that he had to break the two up. Marx was just trying to get out of trouble, nothing’s happened, let’s go back to normal.

“C’mon guys, drop it.” He walked out from behind Magolor, making his way in between the two. “It’s not something worth fighting over, I’m sure-”

He looked down at what was in Marx’s hands, his blood running cold. The visage was none other than Sectonia, her previously uncorrupted smile staring back at him. 

He looked at it, almost in disbelief, feeling his head start to buzz. Everything around him grew faint, a static fogging his mind. He tried to speak, but nothing could come out. 

“Listen Tara, I can explain.” Magolor tried to reach out to Taranza, but was swatted away.

Taranza was frozen in place, stuck looking down. If people weren’t staring before, they were now.

“You.” Taranza’s voice began to break. 

“You really played me for a fool, Magolor.” His eyes started to well up. While it was a foreign thought now, the idea of Magolor intentionally hurting him swirled in his mind again.

“This isn’t what it looks like, I promise.” Magolor reached out to Taranza, only to be shoved out of the way. 

“You really do just like to make me cry. Don’t you?” He threw the mask to Marx, and left the park.

Chapter Text

Dammit. God dammit!!! He managed to shake off the water in his eyes, and grabbed Marx's arm. 

"You really, REALLY fucked up Marx."

Marx writhed in his grasp, Magolor's grip was brutal. "Don't look at me dude, I'm not the one who knew Tara's life story enough to make a full render of his dead girlfriend's face."

Magolor grimaced. When it was laid out like that, yeah. It sounds really bad.  

"What the hell man!!" Magolor had let go, putting his head in his hands. WHY! Why why why did he keep that stupid mask around.

"It's not a huge deal, dude!! People come and go, he’ll come back around eventually!" Marx's voice sounded like a mix mix of a facade and genuine hope. While he did enjoy messing with Taranza and Magolor, he didn’t like to hurt them. Like… really hurt them. 

"IT IS A MASSIVE DEAL, 'DUDE'." He was furious, currently more at himself than Marx. 

Marx noticed Magolor's quickly increasing panic. He needed to do something before he made even more of a scene.

"Listen, Mags. What's your game plan?" Marx asked, getting Magolor to stop yelling.

"Hell if I know." Magolor looked around, dejected. Not only was the park vandalized, he just lost one of the only real connections he had. Oh, Tara… how is he even handling this?

6:45 PM

Taranza was not handling it. He walked as far as his legs could take him, ending up in a random field in Green Greens. He slumped down under a tree and let himself cry. He was alone now, anyway. How stupid was he? He fell right into Magolor's trap! He felt like there was something there! Something real! He let himself get so… so open, and for what!!

He tried to get up, but something had taken him over. The soul crushing weight when he realized Sectonia wasn't coming back was familiar, but the full brunt of it? He had forgotten how it felt. The cool blanket of night rolled over as Taranza sat in the field. Green Greens was as calm as ever, even with the looming smell of rain. If anything it added to the serenity of the area. Storm clouds had begun to make themselves known, but he didn’t care to get up. The grass was so inviting, the fresh air still breezing gently through his hair. He laid down and stared at the sky. Dreamland's nature was truly beautiful, and tonight, the sky wept with him.

Was he getting what he deserved?

7:23 PM

Magolor was sitting inside his ship, his mind wandering endlessly. His rage had mostly subsided, although Marx was not let off lightly. He had made a cup of coffee, a frequent occurrence in the night hours. 

"Hey, Lor?" Magolor called out, some part of him hoping to finally hear a verbal response.

The lights in the Lor felt almost warmer somehow. While the ship still hasn’t spoken to him, maybe it was listening. … maybe??

"I really screwed up."

The lights faintly glowed green.

"I don't know what to do!!! I wasn't going to do anything with that mask! I don't even know why I kept it for so long!!"

A red light flashed, before yellow.

"Okay, I know!! I did make it to make fun of him!!! But that was so long ago! And I-I didn't even go through with it!!" Magolor started stuttering as he went on. He sighed, it wasn't something defensible. While he had made it to poke Taranza, he never went through with it. He couldn't! Something had changed in that time.

A faint pink glow permeated the room. 

"No! How could you dispose such false accusations?" Magolor felt his face get redder. Maybe he had gotten fonder of him over time, but didn't feel like it was pertinent to this scenario, and definitely not in that way. Right? Definitely not. No.

Taranza just needs space. But now more than ever, Magolor just wanted to hold him close and apologize. For everything. He tried to explain, he really did! But… there really is no defense for it, is there?

As Magolor finished his coffee, Marx walked inside the Lor.

"Heeeyyyy!" Marx's voice rang as casual as ever, while Magolor felt his head and heart ripping in two.

"What do you want, Marx?" Magolor looked at him, a mix of apathy and exasperation on his face.

"I wanted to check on ya! Is that such a crime?" He shrugged, taking a chocolate bar from the snack cabinet.

"No, just horrifically out of character for you."

"Yea, that's true. I feel bad for Tara."

"So then why aren't you with him?"

"To be honest I couldn't find him!" 

"WHAT?" He raised his voice, covering his mouth from the sudden outburst.

"Sorry. Uh, what do you mean you 'can't find him'?"

"Well, I checked all the usual spots, no dice! I tried Floralia in general, they hadn't seen him since last night! Checked Sectonia's castle, throne room, treasury, nothing! Even the mirror was still draped over!" Marx's nonchalant voice slowly dissipated into moderate concern.

"Not even at Castle Dedede?"

Marx shook his head.

This is bad.

The two sat stiffly for a minute, coming to their own conclusions.

"We need to find him, Marx! What if he's in trouble?" Magolor felt his chest tighten.

"He pretty clearly doesn't wanna be found! And to be found by you????" Marx had a point. 

"Why did you even keep the thing for so long? Our prank was supposed to have happened months ago!"

The Lor faintly lit up green.

"I dunno!! I can't think of an answer either." Magolor didn't know what he was feeling right now, but it wasn't good.

"You look real freaked. What's going on with you? It's not like you to panic like this..."

"It isn't that simple!!" He felt himself straining to keep his composure. 

Marx looked at him, analyzing the man's movement. He was silly, but he wasn't stupid.

"No way."

Magolor grunted and looked back at Marx. "What now."

"You have a thing for Tara???"

“Not that that’s a bad thing!” He quickly tacked on.

"AS IF!!!!" Magolor's voice raised, and his ears stood straight up. He didn't feel that way about him! Sure, he thought about him often, but compared to his other friends, he just stood out more! He hated how in tune with people's emotions Marx was, it was so!!! annoying!!!

So he was right… "Woah… now this is like. Triple bad." Marx crumpled up the wrapper, tossing it to the trash. 

"I need a plan. We need to find him first though." Magolor tried to ignore the red feeling growing in his head, thinking of a more logical explanation to why he felt so enamored by his presence.

“It was bad to begin with! Not because he’s on my mind in that way!” He grumbled.

“Right, right…” Marx nodded along, sarcasm rampant in his voice.

“I’ll try looking around too.” He tried to change subjects.

"Good luck dude. I might check out Susie's."

Shit. He had forgotten about Susie. When she finds out what happened he's as good as dead.

"Don't."

"Ya scared of her?" Marx laughed, leaving the Lor before getting a response.

8:30 AM

At some point, Taranza must have fallen asleep. He awoke to the sounds of two men talking amongst themselves, their voices getting louder as the seconds ticked by.. and a mind numbing headache.

"-clean the Halberd tonight."

"Woof, sounds like a lot."

"Maybe it will be, but we move swiftly."

"Hey!! Who's in our spot!! We came so early today!!" The deeper voice grunted, hoping they'd move on their own.

What looked like a blob slowly sat itself up.

"Wait a minute, ain't that-?" 

The two looked at each other before slightly quickening their pace. 

"Taranza? What are ya doin out here?" Dedede placed his basket down and gave a hand to the spider. He took it and nearly tumbled over. Dedede decided to chalk it up to him pulling too hard, but a part of him felt like Taranza wasn’t.. all there, so to speak.

"I- um.." He looked dazed. His head was pounding and he couldn't explain why. Everything was fuzzy and hard to understand, as if he was watching his life through an old camera. He was slowly coming around, but not fast enough for the two's liking.

"Taranza, did something happen?" Meta stepped in, holding his back up.

"Magolor.. he …. I .. Sorry." He closed his eyes, trying to get his head to stop pounding.

Meta looked at Dedede, who had a concerned expression.

"How long have ya been out here?" Dedede asked, more gently this time.

"Um…. yesterday… afternoon? Massive… headache." 

"You slept out here?" The King's voice naturally raised, causing Taranza to slink further out of it.

Taranza shrugged in response.

"Tara, it was pouring last night!!" Dedede was REALLY worried now, sensing that Meta felt the same.

"It felt nice, though." Taranza felt his hands again, his lower left beginning to twitch.

"I don't wanna sound rude, but ya look like a wreck!" 

"I feel like one." He felt his knees were still weak, but he wasn’t in a complete haze anymore.

"Taranza. What happened?" Meta stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"Ya won't be in trouble if it's bad!" Dedede quickly added, hoping it would loosen him up.

Taranza couldn't find the words to say it. A part of him couldn't believe it was real. The biggest long-con of his life just ended. He looked at them and started tearing up.

"What did Magolor do?" Dedede offered, taking his words from earlier. 

"I- he likes… when I'm… hurt.." Taranza's voice was quiet and strained, almost like he couldn't believe the words he was saying.

"Well, what makes ya think that?" Dedede put his hand on his shoulder in assurance.

"Him… sectonia's face.. her … real face…" He felt his knees buckling again, but stood upright with help from Meta.

Meta looked at Dedede, the two trying to put together what he was trying to get across. 

"He… made a mask of the real Sectonia's face? For the park?" 

Taranza nodded, wiping his face.

"I.. I just want to go home now." Taranza struggled to move, but got himself steady without Meta's help. "I'm sorry for taking your spot."

"Hey, ya don't have to go back to Floralia! Stay at the castle! Tell em I told ya to stay." Dedede was, in the most blunt way possible, gravely worried about Taranza. The last time he was like this.. poor kid.

“I don’t wanna intrude.. It’s not that long of a walk-”

"It is an order. You are in no shape to make the trip." Meta Knight's voice was firm, there was no 'no' option. 

"O- Okay." Taranza agreed, admitting that Green Greens is much closer to Castle Dedede than Floralia.

Chapter Text

To him, he knew that he did nothing wrong. Well… nothing wrong compared to his tall friend. But the way Taranza had shoved Magolor had stuck with him. He’s  never been physical, even at his most enraged (and even then, that was like if a piece of cotton candy was used as a battering ram.)

Am I finally getting a conscious? Perhaps… He chuckled to himself.

He knew bringing Susie into it would cause a blowup of epic proportions, but to be honest, if anyone knew where he was, it would be her.

He knocked on Susie's door and waited.

"Coming!" A voice yelled as the sound of metal clunking could be heard inside. The door opened, and Susie leaned on the doorframe.

"Heya Sue." Marx waved, starting to read Susie's language. 

"Marx! What a… pleasant surprise!" Susie gave a small smile, although her complection read more confused than annoyed for once.

"Yea, yea, I'm such a treasure." He laughed and waved his hand.

"Say, you haven't seen Taranza around, have you?"

"Why would you want to know?" She crossed her arms, looking down.

"Him and Mags got into a huge fight yesterday. Nobody's seen him since he ran off." Marx frowned. Of all the times for Taranza to take a vacation and not tell anyone! 

"What." Her corporatism dissipating. 

"Yea... it was pretty bad! Tara pushed him and ran off. We'd been lookin around, but no leads. At least none worth anything. So I came to ask you." Marx looked inside, trying to see if he was hidden away in the house.

"And the loser couldn't come check himself?" Her voice was agitated. It begins.

"For this specific reason." He gestured to her posture, and a red mark on her arm from gripping it too hard.

"Typical! What Taranza sees in him I will NEVER understand!" She threw her hands in the air, going into the house. Marx took her comment and saved it for later. Maybe his assumption wasn't so far-fetched after all, teehee…

"So I take it he's not here?" Marx asked, peering farther into the house.

"Nope. We were supposed to hang out later. Guess I'll have to do target practice alone." She rummaged around the metal on her worktable before pulling out her trademark blaster. 

"Woah!! Let's cool it for a sec!" Marx’s eyes widened, staring at the bedazzled gun in her hands. Taranza needs to stop hanging around LUNATICS!!!! Although he definitely fell into that category most of the time.

She put the blaster down, staring at the wall clock. "If I do not know where he is by tonight I can and will take it up with Magolor myself." 

"I'm gonna try Dedede's place again, can ya tell Fran to keep an eye out on Jambastion?" 

Susie huffed and nodded, waving him out of the house. 

11:45 AM

Taranza was lying down in one of the castle's many guest beds. He felt freezing, but no matter what he did to abet the cold feeling, it wouldn't go away.

A knock fell onto the door, followed by Dedede's voice. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah!!" He called out, tightening his grip on the comforter around his body. He was wearing one of Dedede’s shirts, with crudely cut out arm holes. Even though the shirt was warm, he could barely feel it.

The door creaked open and Dedede walked in, along with one of his many waddle dees.

"How ya feelin, Tara?" 

"Cold." Contrary to his words, Taranza was sweating like crazy. 

"Yea, I thought so. Dr. Dee's gonna take your temperature, aight?" 

He nodded.

"So, run me through what happened yesterday." If the King was known for anything as of late, it was his willingness to listen and help in any way he could.

Taranza shivered before collecting the words to describe the day's events.

"Yeesh. That's horrible, Tara!" Dedede stopped his train of thought to let the nurse do her job. 

"I'm sorry to interrupt, you do seem to be running a rather heavy fever Taranza." She handed him a small cup of cherry medicine, meant to help lower his temperature. He drank it and thanked her.

"I'll be back in a few hours, okay?" She waved and left the room.

"... Do you know if Marx was lyin to ya?" Dedede asked, offering a hand to the spider.

"No, I really don't know. Him and Magolor were having some kind of standoff before I tried to break them up and… you know what happened." His voice felt flat and dejected, as he sunk into himself.

"This ain't your fault, just so ya know."

"I know. I can't help feeling that way though. Like, were the past years just a ploy? The universe's way to make me pay?" 

"There's nothing for ya to 'pay' for, Tara. Ya did bad things, sure. But you were following orders, you couldn't have known what that mirror was capable of." He noticed Taranza's hand beginning to twitch, and decided to swap subjects.

"I don't feel comfortable sending you to be alone. There's no other way to put it." Dedede leaned back in one of the rooms' chairs.

"I… don't think I'd want to be alone either." Taranza looked blankly at his hands.

"After ya get over this cold, I think it'd be a good idea to stay with a close pal."

Taranza nodded.

"Now, she's not welcome here for a variety of reasons, but you and Susie are super close, yeah?"

"Yeah! We are! We were supposed to… hang out… today." Taranza realized the position he had been put into. oh no.

"Don't worry about that part. I'll make sure she knows you're safe and accounted for and will gladly make up your visit to her later. You focus on feelin better!" Dedede held one of Taranza's hands and squeezed it before leaving the room.

Magolor was at his wits' end. It had been around a week since everything happened, and he had made zero progress. He tried to ignore it, but he was in a newfound pain. While Taranza had been confirmed to be physically okay, the way Marx told him how Tara got to Castle Dedede made his stomach churn. He had caused this. He broke his heart and got him sick. The thought made him want to throw up.

He was tired of the runaround from castle staff and the general disinterest from Marx. He just wanted to physically see that Taranza was okay. Tara could talk to him on his own time. But he just needed to see him.

Okay. Not that big of a deal. Just go ask to see the King. That's not suspicious! You do it all the time! Magolor's attempts to script a conversation in his head fell short; he couldn't predict what would happen when he stepped through the castle doors. 

With a small amount of reluctance, the door staff let him in, leading him to the throne room. A guard went in first, followed by him being allowed in.

"You've got a lotta nerve comin here, Magolor." The King crossed his arms, although he did not come across as angry.

"I know I do! I'm so tired of having nerves!" His attempt to keep cool failed quickly, his voice unsteady. If anything, his nerves had been running rampant. He hasn’t been able to focus on anything else, he couldn’t sleep, didn't really eat, he was so! tired! 

Dedede looked the magician up and down, relaxing his posture. He was clearly upset about what happened too.

"What brings ya here, Magolor?"

"I'm tired of waiting." Magolor's voice was shaky at best. A part of his brain flat out refusing to allow himself to open up.

The two stayed quiet for a while, both trying to figure out what to say. 

"What do ya want to come out of this?" Dedede asked, his judgment being set aside.

"I don't... know.." Magolor had thought about that question since he made up his mind to come to the castle.

"I want answers? I guess?" He asked himself, before shaking his head. “No, not like that..”

"Ya want to explain yourself." Dedede told him.

"I... I just want to see Tara. I know he's here, but he doesn't need to talk to me! I just need to tell him the truth!" His heart started to pound quickly, the unexpected jolt causing him to pause.

 "I just... I just need to see that he's okay." His voice grew quieter.

More quiet followed, broken by a sigh from the King.

"Be honest with me, Magolor. Do ya really care about Taranza in the first place?" He liked to hyperbolize in these kinds of situations, it always seemed to drag people's true intentions out. It was apparent that he did, in some form, care about Taranza, although the care being for him or his reputation was questionable. 

"I…" he stopped to think. Taranza's been all he could think about as of late. Everything about him, and more importantly everything without him was consuming his mind. 

"I do!! I value what we have! What we had? It's so weird and quiet and boring when he's not around! I hate it! I can't have this be the end!" His face grew hot, an accidental profession was not in his cards for the afternoon. The realization of his feelings hit him like a freight train. He.. he really did love Taranza.

“I... I hate being without him! I can’t keep it this way!” Magolor felt his voice wobble.

Dedede blinked, the gears in his head whirring at a rapid pace. Both of them felt the same way about each other. 

"Ya know, it's going to take a lot of time to fix this, Mags." 

"I know. It's an arduous path ahead. I can't lie about that. He probably hates my guts!" He put his head in his hands, ruffling his hair around in frustration. 

"I can't speak for him of course, but I don't think he does." Dedede leaned forward.

"He feels betrayed and afraid to connect with people again. But he has felt and overcome this exact pain before."

"With her." Magolor filled in the blank.

"Yep." He nodded. 

"How do I explain myself? I mean.. I haven't-"

A distinct chatter grew louder, reaching a peak at the door. Magolor instinctively hid himself, ducking behind the royal throne.

The door creaked open, and Taranza walked inside. 

"Good afternoon, your majesty!"

"Dedede, Tara." 

"Right, sorry.. Good afternoon, Dedede!" Taranza waved, an awkward smile on his face. 

"Good afternoon! What's goin on with ya today?"

"Oh, I came to say goodbye. I got the okay to leave today, and I didn't want to overstay my welcome.." He played with a strand of his hair as he spoke.

"You wouldn't have overstayed, we asked ya to be here!" He pointed his finger at Taranza.

"I guess that's true.."

"So, where ya headed?"

"Susie and Fran's place. They wanted me to stay with them for a bit."

"Francisca's in town?"

"Yea! She came down to help Susie with some um.. stuff.."

"Calmin her down?"

Taranza nodded.

"Be safe, okay? No more sleeping outside." Dedede jumped down and gave the spider a hug. A part of Taranza melted into the King's arms before he let go.

"Tell Meta I said goodbye, and thank you!" Taranza called out before leaving the room.

Silence.

"Ya can come out now." 

Magolor reappeared and walked out from behind the throne.

"I can't tell you how to explain this to him. But at least ya got one of the things you wanted."

"I'll do what I can."

Chapter Text

The morning passed without much  incident, with Taranza finally arriving at Susie's house in the early afternoon.

He knocked on the door, and stood back.

Susie called out for Francisca to open the door, thumping around upstairs.

The door opened, with Francisca sporting a calm smile on her face.

"Hey Franny!" Taranza gave a small bow to his friend, followed by her laughing, then him laughing.

"Bonjam. Come on in!" She gave him a hug.

He walked in, followed by Francisca, closing the door behind her.

"SUUEEE!! TARA'S HERE!!"

"I'LL BE THERE IN A MINUTE!!"

Francisca leaned on one of the kitchen counters, chatting with Taranza. 

"It's been a while! How long are you gonna be here?" He asked, trying to think of the last time he had spent time alone with her.

"Maybe a month or two? Zan, Flamberge and I decided to spend some time apart. I love their company, but… a bit of time apart has definitely helped us." 

He nodded. "I can get that! I think I feel kind of the same…"

She nodded in understanding.

"HEEEYYYY TARAA!!" A loud KLANG came from upstairs, followed by Susie practically running down the stairs.

"Hey Sue!!! I- is everything okay up there??" He looked up at the ceiling before getting pulled into a back breaking hug, letting out a small squeak in response.

She shook him a little before letting go. "Oh! Yeah, everything's alright! I just dropped some stuff."

"Oh were you working?" He asked, making sure his hair was back in place.

"Nah, just decided to deep clean the work room for a few hours!" She wiped her forehead, calming herself down.

"So…"

"So…?" He responded, a little confused.

"What in the world happened!!" Susie asked, her patience wearing thin.

"Umm.. what do you mean?" Taranza felt his chest tighten, Susie scared him a little if he was honest. Especially when she was passionate about something. 

Francisca knew that Susie's quicker fuse combined with Taranza's general unwillingness to be confrontational would only lead to noise. She cleared her throat, motioning for them both to sit with her. She had prepared a cup of tea for Taranza, along with the usual accouterments he liked. 

"What happened last week, my flower?" Francisca looked worried, although her face was much harder to read than Susie's.

"I don't know what took over me! I just.. kinda felt like being alone? I guess?" His finger circled the mug as he spoke.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Susie groaned. She loved Taranza, she really did, but up and vanishing was so out of the ordinary for him! There had to be more to it than that. 

"Okay, I guess I also just didn't feel like bothering anyone." He quietly admitted to what Susie was thinking. 

"Tara, I would rather you be here and a wreck   than outside in the rain! So many things could've happened! And we wouldn't have known!!" She crossed her arms, Francisca nodding in agreement. 

"We are very happy that you were taken care of, but your unexplained absence was rather concerning, Taranza. We were worried, we weren't able to find you until a member of the castle staff told us where you were!" Followed by Susie saying 'thank you!' under her breath.

"Yeah.. I know.." He frowned. He felt better physically, but Magolor still weighed heavy on his mind.

"You're still thinking about him!!!" Susie put her hands on her head, rubbing her temples.

"I know!!!" Taranza sounded more defensive than acknowledging Susie's frustration. 

"If he put even a fraction of your effort into you guys' friendship, you wouldn't be here right now!!"

Taranza wanted to protest but felt himself cave inwards.

Francisca shot Susie a look. "Susie! You know how much Magolor means to him, it's not like he never tried at all!!"

Susie shrugged in annoyance, but accepted her response.

Taranza frowned. "I can't get myself to accept it. I mean, he wouldn't really lie for months, would he?" Despite it being a rhetorical question, Susie quickly agreed that he would.

"I do think he would! Because he has! I know you care about him, Tara. You talk to me about him constantly."

"Not CONSTANTLY!" He felt his face flush instantly, causing Francisca to laugh quietly.

"Well. Enough to where I know you were serious when you told me that you liked him!" She frowned. It hurt her to see her friend so upset, but she couldn't find it in her to blindly accept that Magolor had pure intentions. Especially after the events that transpired last week.

Francisca collected her thoughts, looking more objectively at what she knew. With her not coming around as often, she found herself distant with the way of life on the surface of Popstar.

"I do think that Magolor cares for you, Taranza. There have been many instances where he has actively set out to spend time with you, and from my understanding, you both had been practically joined at the hip as of late." She glanced at her partner, then to her friend.

"But Sue has a point. He has a pattern of habitual lying. That can't be ignored. And with this mask fiasco, I do believe there are grounds to be concerned that he isn't such a nice boy." 

Taranza sighed. "Yeah. It's been bothering me a lot.  I feel horrible for avoiding him, but I also can't face the idea that all this time was some kind of ploy…."

"It is natural to feel that way. It can be hard to grasp the idea that someone you love and care for is capable of being cruel." Francisca thought about Hyness for a moment, before shaking the thought.

"I want to try though. One last time." He felt unsure as he said it, but the more he thought on the idea, the more solid it felt. The three sat in a comfortable silence as Taranza finished his drink and collected his thoughts. 

"You know where your room is. Get your stuff sorted, and we'll figure out what to do tonight." Susie felt that Taranza meant what he said. Shit. At this point? She'd love to be wrong. 

Taranza took off his cloak, folding it neatly on the bed, and laid down. He stared out the window, watching the clouds flow by. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to visualize his thoughts.

He couldn't wrap his head around Magolor suddenly deciding to obliterate his trust. Sure, he's had a history of double crossing people, but he hasn't tried anything like it since he... reappeared, for lack of a better term. 

Susie's quick dismissal rubbed him the wrong way. He knew she had his best interest in mind, but it felt criminal to assume Magolor was a one trick pony. He's changed! Even the King didn't think that he would've done that! 

He'd gotten used to and appreciated her quickfire judgements, but there were times where her assumptions were wrong. Maybe, just maybe.. was this one of the few times she was? It's not like she was a saint either, at the very least Magolor wasn't banned from getting near castle Dedede. While Susie had mostly improved her relations with townspeople, she hasn't exactly…. denounced her crimes. 

Oh.

Oh no.

 He caught up with the program, realizing that Susie probably, no, definitely, knew Magolor and Marx were responsible. He felt himself tense up, hoping that their absences did not have something to do with her.

Magolor was pacing around the Lor, an event that had been occurring more and more frequently as his time without Taranza grew.

The Lor's lights glowed yellow.

"I don't know!! I know where he's at, but the problem is… where he is. I am not going to be taking my chances with Sue. I guarantee you the only reason she hasn't come here is because of either Taranza himself or Dedede fighting her tooth and nail." 

Green.

"I want to go and just try to talk to him. I don't really have anything to lose from it, do I?" He put his hand on his chin, thinking out loud.

He had Taranza to lose. “Shit.”

"Okay, um… I could just go to the house.. and ask to see him. Or maybe just… hope he walks close to us to where we can pick him up? No, no that's too iffy."

Yellow.

"I mean, yeah I could ask someone, but I can't just get someone to figure this out for me. It needs to be a veritable effort."

He had to close the gap.

He stopped pacing, nodding to himself. "I'm gonna go over there today. No matter how bad I want to  back out, I will do it. I need to make a plan."

As evening rolled over Popstar, Taranza, Susie and Francisca were in the living room trying to figure out what to do with their night. Susie, laying on Francisca, was waving the TV remote around and scrolling through the movie tab of a streaming service.

"Ughh there's nothing good on here!!" Susie groaned, staring blankly at the search bar.

"Did they get rid of that really funny movie? The one with the Crystal Castle?" Francisca asked, feeling slightly betrayed. 

"The one we watched the other day? Yeah." 

"Nothing is sacred anymore!!!" She cried out.

"Ohh how about that one!!" Taranza pointed to a panel on the bottom right, the promotional image showing a creepy hand reaching out with the backsplash of a girl holding a knife.

There couldn't be a better bad movie.

Without a second thought, Susie scrolled to the movie and hit play.

Magolor had walked from the Lor to Susie's house, deciding that it showed good intentions. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times before stopping at the front door. He tried to keep himself from thinking too hard, feeling himself start to jitter. He took a deep breath and knocked.

"Mmmph Taaraaaaa go get the dooor.." Susie groaned.

"'Kay!!"

Magolor felt his anxiety shoot through the roof. He felt himself start to shake, the seconds feeling more like hours.

Click. "Hi!! Can I he-" Taranza's face froze, looking at who was at the door.

"Um… hey." Magolor tried to play his nerves off, but Taranza was not buying it.

"...Hey."

Taranza glanced back inside, checking to see if his friends were staring. Susie was asleep on top of Francisca, who had stopped paying attention to the movie in favor of reading a book. His heart started to pound, trying to decide his next move.

"Listen, I- I know it's weird. I uh.. um.." Magolor felt his mouth dry as he started to fidget with the zipper of his cloak.

"Magolor, are you okay?" Taranza slowly stepped outside, closing the door behind him. His breath was shaky, but he felt a sense of relief wash over him. Maybe Susie was wrong after all… 

"Can we.. um." He felt his tension melt away the more the front door closed. 

"Can we talk?"

Chapter Text

Taranza got close to Magolor, it felt uncomfortable, but neither of the two decided to make distance. 

"Magolor, you.. you came here? Really?" Taranza found himself thinking out loud.

"Ah! Sorry I can go-"

"No! I just- um- wow." Taranza felt himself get hot, his nervousness taking over. "Sorry. You wanted to talk?"

"Y-Yeah. I do actually." At least he wasn’t the only nervous one.

Magolor took a deep breath, it was now or never.

"I'm- I'm so fuckin sorry dude." Magolor felt his voice shatter as he spoke, his watery eyes trying to betray him.

Taranza felt his heart sink. Both in complete disbelief of Magolor bearing his soul as well as the realization that he really did care this whole time.

"I- Um." Taranza couldn't think of a response that articulatearticulated his thoughts. He reached out and held Magolor's hand.

"Why did you have it?"

"I.." Magolor physically shook his head, trying to get his voice to straighten out. He squeezed Taranza's hand, hoping that somehow he could telepathically communicate what he was feeling.

"I know it was for some.. some prank. Some stupid, stupid prank." He was usually capable of keeping his more intimate emotions under control, why now are they starting to control me???

"I can't even remember what it was. I never went through with it."

He managed to look at Taranza, who was looking back at him with concern.

"I- I just couldn't do it. Marx had offered to help with whatever setup I chose; I remember trying to make a plan, I thought I was sooo clever." He grew nauseous over his memories.

"But something… something changed that night, Tara. I stopped having fun. It started to hurt seeing you so upset. I couldn't keep doing it to you." 

Taranza felt his heart twang. This whole time.. he thought that Magolor enjoyed his suffering. Oh stars..

"I.. I really thought that the opposite was true." Taranza felt himself reply before thinking.

"I was so convinced you hated me.. especially after last week…" He started playing with his hair as his hand twitched.

"I was terrified, thinking that all of the memories we shared were a part of some inside joke. Some long con that everyone understood but me."

Magolor felt his throat begin to hurt, the way it does before you cry. This whole time… "I never hated you, Tara. I’m so sorry you ever thought that was the case."

Taranza felt a small smile spread on his face. She was wrong.

"I still don't understand why I never gave it up. Even now I can't think of why I was behaving the way I was.."

"I got too much of a head, I guess? I don't know… There's no excuse for how I treated you." He let out a shaky sigh. 

"You never did anything to me, Tara. Nothing that would merit how horrible I was to you."

"Well… I did make a hole in your wall."

"Yeah. You did do that." 

The two laughed quietly. Something felt so warm between the two, a mix of relief and tenderness marking the air.

"Even then, I can't say that a cavity in the wall constitutes even a fraction of my previous behavior."

Taranza sighed in relief.

"I.. I really don't know why I kept that mask. The unconditional kindness of Popstar hasn't set in yet. Even 12 years later, I still find myself at a loss." Magolor looked away, embarrassed.

"And when you came around.. you were just trying to be good. You were mellow, and helped anyone who asked, you never bore teeth to the community. You were just so.. friendly. And still! Here you are! You're an incredible person, Tara." His face flushed a bright red, as he felt his heart rate spike.

"And like a complete idiot, I didn't know how to handle it. I guess I kept the mask in case things went wrong?" He felt his voice start to heighten. 

Taranza nodded in understanding, his face probably just as flushed.

"You're a good person, Mags." 

Hearing his nickname be spoken lifted Magolor's spirit tenfold.

"Good people can do bad things." Taranza looked dejected, looking at the stars.

"T- Thank you." Magolor felt whatever was left of his composure vanish.

"I've tried so hard to be like you, Taranza." His sincerity caused Taranza to look at him, a look of bewilderment on his face. "I- I mean- like- with upstanding morals." He felt himself quickly correct his initial train of thought.

"I know I've paid my dues. But it never feels like enough. I don't know if it'll ever be, I can't get myself to shake the feeling that I won't be able to fully make it up to anyone."

"Seeing how they took you in, both after everything happened with the dreamstalk and then with this whole situation?" He paused, trying to find the words to describe his feelings.

He felt Taranza squeeze his hand again, a silent hint of encouragement. 

"I want that so bad. I want to be a good person, someone that can be a member of the community. Someone that can be embraced and loved by them. I am so tired of being an outsider."

"I get that. Every once in a while I feel that way too. I was so scared after Sectonia died… I thought that I was next on the list, I was so surprised when they let me stay." He laughed nervously. "I still feel that way sometimes, even though I know now that being an outsider doesn't mean being excluded."

"I think about it every day. How to be a better person. How to help everyone around me." Magolor felt his cheeks grow cold as a rogue tear fell.

"Deep down, I can't help but feel like a lost cause." 

A brief silence fell over the two. Taranza felt his heart cry out to help him, to find some way to alleviate his stress. He let go of Magolor's hand, hugging him tightly. 

"You will never be a lost cause." He felt Magolor begin to shake, the pressure from ignoring his emotions for years boiling over.

"You are just as capable of good as anyone else. You're becoming the best you you can." He rubbed Magolor's back gently.

"I just- fuck man." He felt his voice get snotty.

"I feel like a monster." 

"You're not a monster. I promise."

"I came here- to apologize, and- you're the one holding- me!" He felt himself heaving between words, he felt so… embarrassed.. so vulnerable. 

"I am not the one who needs comforting right now." Taranza put his head on Magolor's.

"What happened really hurt. It hurt even more when I got a cold. I can't lie to you." Magolor stopped shaking for a moment, anticipating the worst.

"But I kept some form of hope. That this was a misunderstanding." 

"R-Really?"

"To be honest, it was some kind of crutch, so I wouldn't have to think too hard at first. But as the days went on, it felt like the only explanation." 

"You really need a spine, Taranza." Magolor giggled through his tears.

"Yeah, maybe."

Magolor buried himself deeper into Taranza's chest, he wanted to stay like this forever . 

"I wish it never happened. It's been repeating in my mind over and over."

"Yeah. It's been a rough week." Taranza had the gift of being able to vent at therapy, and while he was still in pain, he had been able to compartmentalize how he felt.

"I can't say I would change anything, though." 

"W- Why not?"

"You've never opened up like this. I can only imagine the toll hiding your emotions has done to you." His voice was gentle, almost serenading Magolor into a slumber.

Magolor squished Taranza. Even now. He’s always been so kind to him.

"I'm glad you feel comfortable enough around me to let your emotions out."

"I can't see this happening… with anyone else." Magolor's voice was quiet, but loud enough for his words to wrap themselves around Taranza's heart.

Taranza let Magolor cry it out, holding him gently. There were no words to describe just how comforted he felt by the fact that he was not just an acquaintance, but a friend and confidant. He felt himself tear up, blinking it away.

 If she was still here, would she be proud of him? He let the thought leave his mind and go into the air, focusing on the boy in his arms. He had stopped shaking a bit ago, and his breath started to even out.

"I don't know what I would do if I had to be without you, Taranza." Magolor's muffled voice spoke clear enough to get his point across, leading to Taranza's hug tightening for a moment.

"I love you, Magolor. I hope you understand that." He let himself say it with his chest. He loved him so much. He felt his heart beating out of his chest.

"Yeah. I do."