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The Sepfirah Castle has been far too silent lately.
Not that nothing has been happening. After being officially acknowledged by the other Orthodox Churches, the Church of the Fool has been busier than ever. The overworked Spirit Worms in the Sefirah Castle responding to prayers and offerings would attest to this.
The Tarot Club has continued their meetings as well. Now as Angels and more familiar with each other, fog no longer obscures their faces and they converse freely.
But something seems to be missing. Klein is full of anchors from his believers and Tarot Club, so why does he feel so empty inside?
Just then, a prayer star lit up at the long stone table. While his marionettes attended to most of the prayers he received, those from his Tarot Club or allies were personally attended to by the main body.
It was Leonard. On his hands and knees, he offered another poem. Ever since Klein ordered Leonard to do so, he had regularly been offering and attempting to publish his rather… mediocre poems.
They were good entertainment, though. Klein couldn’t help but smile as he saw his Dear Poet again.
… It had been a while since Leonard had prayed to him or offered him any poems.
Of course, he was a Senior Deacon of the Church and an Angel working overtime to clean up the messes of the Apocalypse. It was reasonable for him to be busy…
But even when Klein was asleep, he knew Leonard prayed to him constantly. First, they were formal and reverent as they should be when praying to a god, but once Leonard found out Mr. Fool’s true identity, Leonard’s prayers turned more kind and informal. He’d joke and worry and think about the things they’d do together once Klein woke up.
‘Ah,’ Klein realized. He missed Leonard.
He watched as his off-duty marionettes all swarmed to read Leonard’s latest poem and watch the prayer star. His marionettes, who carried his wants.
Klein groaned as buried his head in his hands, face flushing. As a god, his humanity wasn’t supposed to be this… abundant. It was all Leonard’s fault. As always.
He missed hearing Leonard’s voice.
…
When did his dear poet stop seeking him out?
The fluster he was feeling turned into this out of sinking in his stomach and a fear akin to loneliness.
The next meeting, Leonard acted as normal. Since the Tarot Club all found out about his real identity, Klein saw no need to keep the grey fog on everyone’s faces. Seeing the way everyone interacted with each other, it seemed like the Tarot Club had bonded in his absence. Everyone was still a little wary at first in front of Klein who was their god, but after a while, they all relaxed.
But still… Leonard never once looked Klein directly in his eyes. He bantered with Fors and Emlyn easily but kept himself professional to Klein.
He could tell Audrey was looking at him, ‘Curse these perceptive spectators!’ But none of that mattered.
Not when his Dear Poet refused to look at him.
—————
Klein was Mr. Fool. All this time…
How could Leonard ever have believed he could’ve caught up to Klein? How could he ever believe he could be of use to Klein?
Even back then, he could see that for every step he took, Klein had taken ten more. Klein had met so many people, had so many resources, met angels and even gods. Leonard once believed that as long as kept trying, as long as he kept chasing after Klein, eventually he could catch up. But what was the point? Klein was a god now.
And Leonard…
Was just so utterly useless.
And even still, Klein invited him to the Tarot Club. He had given Leonard advice and artifacts. Klein had even given him one of the five gold coins to awaken him in his dream.
Leonard was always just making Klein worry, wasn’t he?
Why did Klein have to be so kind?
Why did it have to be him who had to bear this fate?
Leonard couldn’t ever come close to catching up with Klein anymore. He couldn’t even dream of it.
“Then… I shouldn’t bother him anymore,” Leonard said aloud. He had a habit of saying stuff aloud now that he was an angel without a team and without Pallez speaking in his head, everything felt so quiet.
Was this the loneliness Klein had felt?
In the dream, he had learned that Klein had been separated from his family, his friends, his world. Leonard had thought of the two of them as two survivors of the same tragedy, that they understood each other.
How arrogant Leonard had been.
“At least Klein isn’t alone anymore…” Leonard muttered. Now that the others stuck inside those cocoons were freed and Klein no longer needed to pretend to stay safe, Klein had plenty of reliable people who understood him.
Leonard sat in silence in his house that felt too large, too empty and too quiet. He was a fool to think he was ever a protagonist. He was a fool to think he could become a hero.
… He was a fool to think someone like him could ever be worthy of loving someone like Klein.
One day, Klein came to see him as Merlin Hermes.
It wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary. Sometimes, Klein needed to restore his humanity and would spend some time with him to do so.
Klein simply listened to Leonard ramble on about recent events with his team.
And when Klein smiled at him, as real and genuine as it could be with his Clown abilities, face soft under the gentle glow of the sunset…
Leonard thought he was beautiful.
How desperately Leonard wanted to just steal Klein away right then and there, to stop Klein from what he was about to do. To make sure Klein knew he was loved and cherished and that he was Leonard’s entire world.
But he couldn’t.
Because Klein was not some dainty flower that needed to be kept inside from all harm. He was even stronger than Leonard and he knew that he’d never be able to reach Klein’s level.
Klein tilted his head at Leonard’s sudden silence. Now as Merlin Hermes, Leonard could see that Klein allowed himself to be more expressive. Of course, a smile usually graced the magician's face but he allowed emotions like sadness to creep in every once in a while. Leonard could see the concern and curiosity on Klein's face. “Hm? Are you alright, Leonard?”
Leonard snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. “I’ve been the one talking this whole time. Tell me about your day.”
Klein smiled at him with a hint of exasperation but complied, talking about the people he met and the wishes he granted. At some point, his hand found Leonard’s and Klein began leading them through town.
Leonard could only focus on Klein’s melodic voice and the warmth of their connected hands, and his thoughts began to drift once more.
In all honesty, there is hardly a reason for Klein to keep Leonard around. For that reason, Leonard is eternally grateful for the parasite that lives within him. At least the Old Man makes Klein seek Leonard out every once in a while. Leonard is utterly replaceable. He has not the wit, the experience, the resources or the connections that the other members of the Tarot Club have.
He is entirely undeserving of loving Klein.
But Leonard is a terribly selfish man.
He feels so much for Klein. It consumes him wholly and Leonard knows that if Klein were to die, he would soon follow.
‘I hope you never find out about my selfish feelings for you,’ Leonard thinks. ‘At least then, you’ll keep being my friend, right? At least you will stay in my life, even if I am nothing more than a passing thought to you.”
For this love is nothing more than an ugly obsession.
—————
“-And that concludes today’s Tarot gathering,” Klein concluded.
“By your will!” The members replied, standing up. One by one, they all disappeared. Except for Klein, and Mr. Star. With a snap of his finger, the table shortened into a round one and the two sat across from each other.
“Mr. Fool?” Leonard asked.
“… Why aren’t you calling me Klein?” Klein frowned.
Leonard was right in front of him…
So why did it seem like he was so far away?
“Klein… is there anything you need?” Leonard said. He was confused on why Klein called him here alone. Perhaps he had another mission for Leonard? But then why didn’t he just state it during the meeting?
“Leonard…” Klein’s expression was almost somber. “Did I do something wrong?”
‘What!?’ “No, of course not!” Leonard’s eyes widened, as if he was in disbelief that Klein could ever do something wrong.
“You haven’t been praying to me lately. You keep calling me Mr. Fool even though you know I’m Klein…” ‘Does he hate me? I should’ve spoken to him more, he always worried about me, but I…’
Klein’s mind was a mess, not only from the fear that his most important anchor may hate him and the fact that he had only recently woken up and was still fighting off the Celestial Worthy’s influence. As a result of his precarious state, he couldn’t quite control his expressions with his Clown abilities very well.
“I just prayed to you today…” Leonard looked away.
‘Why are you avoiding me?’ “Leonard,” Klein, voice shaky. Leonard’s head snapped up in shock when he saw Klein’s face full of hurt. “Do you hate me?”
“… What? Klein, how could I ever hate you?” Leonard looked just as hurt at the accusation of hating Klein.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” Klein stated in a matter-of-fact tone that betrayed the chaos in his mind. Tentacles began to appear from under his cloak, all curling around Leonard almost possessively. “You’ve begun distancing yourself from me. Why then, if you don’t hate me?”
Seeing Klein like that made Leonard feel so guilty. Klein’s face looked so hurt and his state seemed to be worsening rapidly. He couldn’t hide it from Klein any longer.
‘… Even if you hate me for this, I hope you won’t cut me out of your life entirely.’
“Klein…” Leonard whispered. “I love you. I love you so much that it hurts. And… I can’t keep being a bother to you. I understand if you don’t–”
Suddenly, the table between them disappeared as Leonard was quickly wrapped in tentacles. They seized his arms and legs, one curling around his stomach possessively. Klein stood up, slowly approaching.
Leonard prepared for the worst, expecting any punishment from Klein. Suddenly, he was enveloped in a tight hug.
“Klein!?” Leonard let out a yelp.
A hand gently cupped his face. “You love me?” Klein asked softly. He smiled when Leonard nodded in affirmation. “You have no idea… How happy that makes me feel… How could you ever think you are a bother to me?” Klein gently kissed Leonard’s forehead.
Suddenly, the fog shifted and they were in Leonard’s apartment on 7 Pinster Street, sitting on the sofa. Leonard was now in Klein’s lap, still enveloped in Klein’s arms and tentacles.
“Klein, you,” Leonard’s face was as red as his gloves. His heart was beating so fast he thought it was going to explode.
Klein looked at Leonard with eyes full of worry, searching for the slightest hint that Leonard was uncomfortable or didn’t want this. Leonard couldn’t bear to see such a sight from beloved and buried his head in Klein’s shoulder.
“You don’t hate me,” Klein asked once more.
“I could never hate you,” came Leonard’s response.
“You’re an idiot, you know… I missed you…” Klein murmured. “My most important anchor, I love you, I love hearing your voice, your prayers.”
“I’m your most important anchor?” His voice was full of disbelief and awe. “… Okay, I’ll pray to you more often.” He was still shocked, still unable to believe that this was real and…
Klein loved him back.
“At least once a day, pray to me,” Klein ordered.
“But you have your whole church to run! You have enough prayers to work through already!” Leonard protested.
“Once a day, and that is an order by your god,” Klein spoke firmly.
“Alright…” Leonard relented. He relaxed further in Klein’s embrace and a smile formed on his face. He felt so, so happy.
‘Leonard… I hope you will soon realize how important you are to me…’ Klein thought sadly. He could see it in Leonard’s eyes, those eyes full of love and adoration. But he also knew that it would take a while before Leonard believed he wasn’t a burden. Even if they weren’t equal in strength, Klein knew that if Leonard died, he would surely collapse not too long after.
But it was fine. The apocalypse was over. Klein would tell Leonard how important he was until he believed it, no matter how long that took.
—————
“The Fool that doesn't belong to this era; The Mysterious Ruler above the Gray Fog; The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck…” Leonard spoke. “Klein, I wrote some poetry in my spare time today. By the way, a new restaurant opened up in Backlund that seems pretty popular. My colleagues say the desserts are pretty good, want to go together later?”
Klein smiled at the prayer star. True to his word, Leonard prayed every day. Sometimes, they’d be a little shorter if Leonard was tired or in a bad mood. Sometimes, Leonard had some good news to share and would ramble on and on.
Regardless, he never missed a day. And even after so many days, Klein’s worms above the grey fog always eagerly awaited Leonard’s messages to hear his voice once again.
‘My Dear Poet, my most important anchor, my dearest friend, Leonard…’ Klein thought with an adoring smile on his face. ‘Thank you for being a part of my life.’