✍️ Write based on the line prompt above

"Redemption is a fool's errand." Dani said. "I'm not really one to apologize often- not that you'd accept it even if I did. But after having to track you down all this way, it's time to come home already. You're not going to get the answers you're searching for."

Dean balled his hands into fists, his body language tensing up the way it does only around his mother. "Why did you even look for me? I've read your diary from front to back. It's so fucked up that despite everything, you decided not to seek an abortion, that you decided to keep me even though from the get-go of my birth you were neglecting me over factors I couldn't fucking control! You can't even apologize for anything because you're so fucking egotistical- I still have no real idea what Dio was truly like but if he was half the monster you were, I understand exactly how you two got on! Shame he didn't get to finish the job."

"If it wasn't for your newfound surrogate daddy, neither of us would be here. Dio was content to just count me dead like the other discarded corpses. It was Judas who saw I was still barely alive. Jealous little thing, he was, but he knew that since Dio and I were close, there might be a shot at some sort of bastard child to use as a tool in the future. Look, you've finally found a use now! Isn't that nice. Just thought you might like that little tidbit. Not like he'd tell you a damn thing about this. You said you don't know what Dio is truly like, I can tell you're not buying his whitewashed little picture-perfect image he built up in his head. Hell, even my entries waxed so poetic about him up until my betrayal too. All you have is little fantasies you've built up about him. Kinda pathetic, son."

"Don't call me that." Dean immediately retorted back, still trying to process all this information about Judas. Sure, his mom was an evil manipulative bitch, but at the same time, she was more forthcoming with things than Judas was. The older man was obsessed with remaking Dean in the image of Dio and on the rare occasions he could actually get Judas to talk about his father, all Judas would spout is lovestruck little things and not anything particularly helpful to him. In fact, he was getting quite fed up with Judas and his advances but bit his tongue in order to try and see what exactly he could get out of the old man.

"It's a lot to deal with, I know, but you chose this route when you headed off. But you can come home, we can forget all about this little adventure. Mamma can take care of everything else from here and be back home soon." She said, trying once more to convince him to end this journey once and for all.

"No. I want to see this through to the end. Maybe you should head back home. You're only getting in my way at this point." Dean ended the conversation, walking away from Dani and heading back to his crew, new questions in tow to grill Judas on.

Zinnia smiled as she gazed at the floor. The coffee table had been moved over to the side, leaving a large, empty space in the middle of the room. Zinnia glanced over at the pile of blankets, lifting one up and shaking it out.

"Come on, this fort isn't gonna build itself—" Zinnia was abruptly interrupted by a smack at her side. Letting out a squeak in reaction, she abruptly whipped her body around to face Aiden. She examined the smirk plastered on his face before shifting her gaze over to the pillow he clenched in his hand.

"Did you seriously just—just—"

"D-did I-I seriously j-just what? You should have b-been p-paying mmmore attention to-to your surroundings," he chuffed, his smirk continuing to grow. Allowing her eyebrows to furrow, Zinnia reached over to the couch and grabbed one of the throw pillows.

"Alright, two can play that game," she chuffed before smacking him back with the pillow. Aiden abruptly clenched his pillow and attacked her back. The next thing the two knew, they were brawling each other playfully. Eventually, Zinnia had Aiden pinned down, and let out an onslaught of slamming the pillow down on his head.

"Okay, okay, t-that's enough! Y-you win, you win!" Aiden yelped through a fit of laughter. Pleased by winning the battle, Zinnia gave him one final slam to the head before hugging the throw pillow. After she clambered off of him, Aiden pushed himself up and responded,

"Shall we-we g-get that fort started, hon?" he asked as soon as he suppressed his giggling. After letting out an exhale, Zinnia whipped her head around and pressed the pillow against her stomach.

"Mhm, but..Don't think you'll be able to get away with what you did. You better watch your back, Mr. Kazankov."

"Are you t-trying to-to be-be-be threatening? You're hilarious."

Fulvous K. Robinson
Friday, April 1, 2022, 5:39 PM
Sanguine’s Mansion in Northern South Corner

Fulvous held a small bundle of steampunk roses behind their back as they knocked on the front door. They then glanced down and waited. If this was anybody else, they would have been an absolute menace, but this was Vermilion, their lovely boyfriend! They adored him, the artistic bundle of fire who could hear and see everything. He was lovely in every way, shape and form. Even if there was an age gap, did it really even matter? Fulvous loved him, and Vermilion loved them, too… At least, they hoped. They didn’t want to admit it, but they were scared that he didn’t actually love them as much as he claimed. All the gifts, hugs, and kisses he gave them… What if it was all a cheap way to gain their trust, and then he’d immediately kick them to the curb once their usefulness was done? Topaz had warned them about Vermilion’s tendencies several times, but they always convinced themself that they’d never have to worry about that, and yet… They couldn’t shake off the worry. It’s been a year since they first got together, and yet that worry wouldn’t go away.

They had to at least hide it, though, as Vermilion finally opened the door, and shouted, “Oh! Hey, babe! What’s going on? Are you here to be a cute little menace again, considering the date?”

Fulvous gave him a slight chuckle, then answered, “Nah, not really. I just wanted to hang out. And besides…” They held out the roses to him. “I got you something!”

“Aww, would you look at that!” Vermilion squealed as he grabbed the roses, “It suits you well, my mad engineer! Thank you! I should have gotten something for you too, but it slipped my mind between everything that’s been happening recently, you know? Work’s got me exhausted. Analytical things aren’t really my expertise, but I suppose I did agree to that upon becoming CMO.”

“Yeah, it’s okay. I get that. Can I come in?”

“Yeah, definitely! Come in, dear.” Vermilion held the door out for them, and Fulvous settled themself on the couch. This mansion had the most comfortable couches, probably because Sanguine is one of the richest people on the planet, and could afford that shit. 

“So… Besides work, anything going on?” they then asked.

“Oh, not much, but I do want to talk about something important!” Vermilion walked over and sat next to them, getting as close as he possibly could. He set the roses aside and instead grabbed their hands. “Are you ready to listen?”

“Of course!”

“Good! Now… You like my little family here, right? I know you at least like Topaz and Carmine. Cyan and Sanguine are both pretty nice too, don’t you think?”

“Well, yeah! They’ve all been nothing but nice to me. Especially Sanguine, but he’s nice to everyone, so… Why do you ask?”

“You see… I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time to add a sixth member of our family! Do you want to join us, Fulvous? I’ve made preparations for you. I picked out a room I thought you would like and everything! So, what do you say, baby? Now or later?

“Uh…” Fulvous stayed quiet for a few moments. Well, fuck. They didn’t want this shit to be happening. Not now, not ever. They guessed the best way to solve this was to be honest. “Well, neither. I don’t want to, I’m sorry. I don’t… I don’t really understand what a family is, or at least, a functional one. My family was never really at home for my first 18 years, so… I don’t get it. What if a family is bad? And besides, Vermilion, I’m scared… I’m scared that you don’t actually love me, and this-”

They were suddenly cut off by nails raking down their face. They screeched, and scrambled off the couch. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” they screamed. They checked where Vermilion had scratched them, and realized they were bleeding. The one they loved so, so much just hurt them.

“Don’t you dare insult my family like that, you bitch!” Vermilion barked back.

“I DIDN’T! I SAID I LIKED THEM!”

“No, you said that they were bad!”

“THAT ISN’T WHAT I FUCKING SAID! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT?”

“Oh, come the fuck on. It’s just a scratch, and you’re being a little baby about it. Nobody likes little babies, Fulvous.”

“YOU FUCKING LIED TO ME! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T HURT ME! YOU SAID YOU FUCKING LOVED ME! YOU SAID-”

“I never lied to you once, Fulvous. I do love you-”
“WHAT ABOUT THE FUCKING PROMISE, HUH?”
“Well, Fulvous… If you’re not careful, a promise will become a poison. And-”

“DON’T GIVE ME YOUR POETRY SHIT! I’M DONE! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! FUCK YOU! YOU LYING BITCH!”

“You’re the bitch. I’m not even yelling. It’s just a little fucking scratch! What, do you want me to beat the shit out of you instead? Fine!" They felt another scratch down their cheek, then a punch in a stomach, causing them to fall over to the ground. As they took deep breaths in an attempt to not just scream in misery, pain, and agony, Vermilion continued, "I could stab you, I could gouge out those shitty heterochromic eyes of yours that I got to see once, once and that’s it. Which one would be better, the hazel or the brown one? Or, or, I could-”

Before Fulvous could register what was happening, a familiar person ran over and gently pushed Fulvous away from Vermilion. “Topaz, what the hell are you-” Vermilion muttered out, before being kicked in the nuts by Topaz. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain. It probably would have been comedic, were it not for the entire situation.

Topaz then turned to Fulvous, and muttered one word: “Run.” 

Fulvous nodded whilst managing to finally get back on their feet, then bolted out of the mansion, and into their car. The scratches were still bleeding, and they felt like they couldn’t breathe. They wanted to cry and scream, but to do that, they had to get home. Just a 15-minute drive home. They can do this. Deep breaths… With that, they drove off, and it was like time had sped up. The 15 minutes felt like one, and before they knew it, they were back at home. They only had the energy to do one thing once they got inside of there. They walked to their room, and jumped into the bed. They hid underneath their superhero-themed covers, making themself comfortable. Then, and only then, did they let themself scream and cry. They were so tired. What energy they had was gone, and all they could do was cry themself to sleep. They could only hope they died during it, because that was all they wanted now.

Julien tightened his grip on the leather bag hanging on his shoulder, his palm sweaty but the boy remained unmoving; frozen still, unsure about how to feel as he stared into eyes so similar to his own yet so different. The man before him peered into his face with an unreadable gaze and though his disposition seemed welcoming, the glint in his eyes suggested otherwise with barely hidden disgust. Julien had only just left for church to give thanks on his birthday having just turned fourteen and on his way back, a streak of gold caught his attention. The boy chased after the person with eyes a color as peculiar as his own, following them into the twists and turns of this vulgar district's alleys until they stopped and confronted them. 

"You make for a quite pitiful thief, I must say." whispered the stranger above him, part of his ashen blond hair shadowing his right eye and his added in a murmur to himself "I wonder if that child is younger or older than you."

Julien thickly swallowed his saliva, part of him expectant of this frightening man he explained himself as his voice got smaller and smaller "I just–I caught sight of your eyes and–I mean, I've never seen someone with eyes like mine and wanted to...inquire?"

The man's lips bent in a smile as he watched the kid squirm under his gaze before he let a small laugh escape him. "That dirty scrub sure knows how to enjoy life."

"Huh?" stilled Julien

"You got curious about my eyes?" grinned the man "Poor kid with no father and most probably a whore's son."

Julien frowned and took a step back at once. "My mother's not a—"

"That ribaud can't afford fooling around with wives of higher status, so he sticks his thing in women like your mother and with insignificant positions. I should have expected another bastard or a few."

The boy chocked on air, attempting to piece together what was thrown at him. Truthfully, he knew what kind of job his mother did in order to sustain them. For all of it, he could be a noble's bastard son or a random seed in passing but his eyes, their honey hue as clear as glass his dearest mother would look at with a complicated look on her face made him wonder.

"Who–who are you?"

The man didn't respond right away. He bent over and whispered something in Julien's ear before leaning back and enjoying the stupefied expression on the child's face before it morphed into a mix of disgust and disappointment.

"You better not tell anyone about this, alright?" laughed the man before adding as he left "After all, I'd hate to have to take you into account in the future. You kindly stay with that delusional mother of yours and live quietly."

Julien remained still as he watched him leave and sighed heavily before he resumed his trip back home. 

"James! You can't do this to me!" Kiko sobbed, squeezing her nails into her palms. She shifted her feet so that she could straighten up her posture, feeling her breathing grow heavier as she tilted her head up. She could feel her ponytail smack against the back of her neck. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, biting down on it as she struggled to hold back her tears.

"James Kazankov, I love you. I love you so much, but I really want to raise this child. Giving me this kind of ultimatum feels so unfair," the teenager spat, craning her neck closer to the taller boy. She was met with silence, an intent glare piercing into her eyes.

"Oh, you don't want to talk now? I don't think you understand what is going on. This is our baby, James. A boy needs his father, James—our son needs us. We can—we can be a happy family. Just the three of us, James! We can—"

"Enough!" A loud voice boomed from James as soon as he reached over and gripped Kiko's arm. He craned his neck closer to the girl, maintaining his enraged expression as his grip tightened on her wrist.

"I never wanted a goddamn child, especially at this age! I am certainly not going to accept this kind of responsibility; this is going to hurt me. We're through. Don't seek me out, and never talk to me again."