So, I've discovered something.

The things I write are all influenced by things that occur in my real life. If nothing happens, I can't write.

FML, right? It's not like I have a ton of requests sitting in my inbox or anything...

Anyway. So this OneShot is a songfic. It's influenced not just by a conversation with StormShard (AKA my closest friend here on ) but by a series of conversations and realizations that took place with my boyfriend.

Sometimes in order to move forward, you have to confront your past.

The water's calm surface is broken as a rock is tossed into it. The beauty is shattered and turned into something ugly as it is distorted and disturbed by the rock's intrusion, much to the man's amusement. It is amusing to him how something as miniscule as a rock can cause ripples distances away from the impact site. The rules of gravity are something he knew very well by now…
There is no such thing as flying when it comes to humans. Humans, despite the confusing statement referenced by some, simply cannot fly like the bird pokémon in the sky. They can only flap their wings for so long before a forceful and frightening landing, one that shatters their beliefs and trust in others.
Humans, he contemplates with a sigh as he goes to stand, are such pitiful, hopeless creatures.

Uh
With everything happening today,
You don't know whether you're coming or going.
But you think that you're on your way…

He thought he soared through the sky, once. His stubborn, human mindset had blinded him, turned him into a fool. His life and purpose had been set up from his first breath for all to see, for all to inspect and expect. He had been sure of his own fate, a fate that had been drilled into his mind since early childhood.

Life lined up on the mirror don't blow it, woo.

Good things are expected of you, he was told. You will be a good king one day.
He never did think to ask about the consequences if things hadn't turned out the way they were supposed to. The fragility of his future, staring at him like his reflection, was never to be disturbed.
Yet it had, in more ways than one. Was he to blame for this?

Look at me when I'm talking to you.
You looking at me but I'm looking through you.

"Look at me." Cool hands reach for him and are knocked back as he throws up his hands.
"No. Don't touch me." An exasperated sigh as the defiant boy crosses his arms. "You don't have the authority to touch me, kingling."
"But I could. In a second, I could have it decreed that I should touch you… and there would be nothing you could say about it. You're stubborn for disobeying my orders…"

"Pah. You're as effective as a magikarp splashing. You think that they care about what you want or don't want? Then you're a fool."
A fool? A smirk as doubt passes through the man's body. It's an unfamiliar feeling, one that causes him to step backwards. He licks his lips as he stares into the cool, light eyes, so similar to his own.
What made them so alike despite their differences?

I see the blood in your eyes
I see the love in disguise

"You don't hate him. Not really… but you are disappointed in him." He snorts and rolls his eyes, disbelieving of the solemn faced speaker's words. But somewhere, deep inside, the words grate onto an untouched nerve, one that has never been felt before. It begins to twinge as he scoffs again, retorts gurgling in the back of his throat, but he has no chance to speak. A finger is put to his lips before he reacts, throwing the speaker across the room as he stands up. Now every nerve in his body is alive like a wire, something he doesn't understand. He's alight like a match but swaying like a fire caught in the wind. Warily he eyes the man on the floor and, without realizing it, unclenches his fists.

"You wish you could show him what you are now, to make him realize what he gave up. Not a child but his prodigy. His equal. His son."

I see the pain hidden in your pride…
I see you're not satisfied.

"Yeah? Well, don't point the fingers at me if your own damn ones aren't clean. You're not one to talk to me about daddy issues, are you?" the taunt stings and the boy has the satisfaction of seeing it cross on the man's usually calm face. "You're not one to be proud and assured about yourself. You're as fucked as me, if not more. Look at what you gave up just because you got an idea in your head…"

"She was a mistake," the man declares in a faint tone of voice, beginning to lose color in his cheeks. "I never, ever meant to hurt her. She was never meant to be touched..."
"Doesn't matter. She got hurt and it's your fault." the boy replies bluntly. "You had everything you wanted. In a way, you do now. But it wasn't what you wanted in the end, wasn't it? You wanted her as much as she wanted you. And now that's gone and it isn't ever coming back..."

"You're really not one to talk about love, my friend. What about Kotone, or whatever her name was?" he feels horrible as the boy sucks in his cheeks, regret flashing through his eyes. "If White is truly dead to me then there's no point in you moping about the pigtailed girl. She's as gone as White is." There's silence following the cruel statement, one that part of the man wishes he could retract. But a new, harder part of himself insists that those words needed to be said, needed to be shared for both their sakes. Finally the boy sighs and looks reluctantly back at him, eyes reluctant but accepting as the two share a glance. In that glance, there's a shared sense of satisfaction, however grim it may be now. The truth, both have learnt, is unavoidable no matter how hard you try to avoid it. The two scrutinize each other for a moment, shared experiences and disappointments going unsaid.

Looking at me now I can see my past…
Damn, I look just like my fucking dad.

Neither boy nor man want to admit their failures as sons but it's one thing that they both must face together. Both were dismissed as weaklings,disappointments and failures by their makers, being seen only as a nuisance and a hold on the world. The things that hurt them the most are the things that they both need to move on from despite the harshness of their lives. The lingering fear of attachment and of being hurt are discovered as they drop their gazes.

"There's so much a child can take," the man mumbles, green hair tumbling over his eyes. "Even one at heart cannot take the-"
"-disappointment," the boy completes the sentence, focusing his attention onto the ruined stone of the castle before them. "Pain. Selfishness."
"All of those things and more. We can't- shan't- pleasure them by proving them right any longer. Why should we?"
Why should I, indeed? both think as they recall the painful taunts and abuse. Why give them the pleasure of seeing us cower?

Light it up, that's smoke in mirrors
I even look good in the broken mirror.
I see my momma smile – that's a blessing.
I see the change, I see the message.
And no message could've been any clearer…
So I'm startin' with the man in the mirror.

Mirror on the wall,
Here we are again.
Through my rise and fall
You've been my only friend.

The misfits stare at each other again before nodding in sync. They know each other better than anyone despite being nothing more than children of war. Children that had been forced into each others' company for a short period of time before discovering that, finally, someone could understand them.
Someone could say what was on their mind and confront the fears that they themselves were running from.
Finally, they'd discovered a mirror. A reflection.
A friend. One that couldn't, wouldn't run away, they mused as the rocks were thrown into the water and the tall bodies straightened up again. The red headed boy nodded at his green haired associate and slowly walked away without saying a word. Nothing needed to be said as they both felt the burden of the past falling from their shoulders.

You told me that they can understand the man I am
So why are we talkin' to each other again?
So why are we talkin' to each other again?