Why was he doing this?

It was a question that had breezed across his mind several times, as he sat in front of the desk of his… Teacher, one Miss Skullnick, who had noticed his 'changes' over the last week- as if they were really changes, as if everyone expected him to be the same kid he was before- grades and all. It wasn't as if he had told anyone about his 16 year trip to another dimension-oh no; Star had been plenty happy to ignore-or forget- about that particular fact, and Marco had been all too willing to go along with it. Been all too willing to try and slip back into a life he barely remembered, to try and ignore everything that had happened and hope things could go back to normal.

It was a childish way to go about things, and that was the problem, that was why things were going bad so quickly.

Marco wasn't a child, hadn't held the right to such a title for over a decade, and his attempts to revert back to such a state were becoming taxing on his mental health.

He sighed.

Marco wasn't a child, and he wasn't normal. His situation wasn't normal, his life wasn't normal, even his definition of normal wasn't normal.

Which was why he found himself here, sitting in front of the desk of a woman who was supposed to be his teacher. Someone who had gone through similar, radical changes because of magic and other such circumstance, and was now living a relatively normal life in spite of it.

If anyone would understand him, advise him, it was Miss Skullnick.

That being said, she would still be the first he told-besides Star, but she didn't count- about his life in another world. A life he almost didn't leave behind.

30 years old or not, the idea of opening up was still terrifying to Marco, and yet the Ogre women's non existent connection to the circumstances lifted an invisible weight from his shoulders. She didn't have anything to do with what happened, and at this point, was pretty much a complete stranger to the brown haired boy, making the whole situation a lot easier to talk about.

Or, that was the theory, anyway.

"Mr. Diaz, I'm happy that you chose to take me up on my offer," The women's nasally voice was surprisingly soft on his ears, her tone lined with a genuine care he hadn't heard in years, "I really have been worrying about you."

A small, melancholy smile rose to Marco's lips, his eyes drifting narrow in emotion.

"Ya, I-well I need this, whether I'm comfortable with it or not," A small, tired sigh escaped the hispanic boy as he straightened in his chair, looking up- and wasn't that another thing he was having to get used to, looking up at people again-towards the green skinned teacher as determination sparked in his heart.

"Ms. Skullnick, you're aware of Star's… Magic talents and their effects, more than most, for sure, right?"

The question didn't seem to shock the women.

"Of course, just look at me," She gave a small, hearty chuckle, " It's hard not to when this face is what I wake up to look at in the mirror every day."

"Ya well… I-Let's just say, you and me are more similar in that regard than ever."

The ogre's eyebrow raised.

"Well, I figured, with her living with your family, you would be exposed to such things on a regular basis, right?" Her question, which hung awkwardly in the air like a foul stench, triggered another round of anxiety within the teen.

Damn it, after all he faced, this was what he found scary? How pathetic. If Hekapoo could see him now, how disappointed would she be?

"Yes well, that's… Right, but," Marco stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath before taking the dive, "I mean in a more… Physical way. My life… It changed."

That seemed to get the old teacher's attention, both her eyebrows furrowing in thought, her eyes surveying him in an impromptu health check. No scars or changes were visible, but…

"You wouldn't be able to see it but, well…" In a split second decision, Marco lifted the red hoodie that he was wearing-not the one he had carried with him for all those years, oh no, that was hidden away with his sword and other such possessions- over his head, instantly drawing the teachers gaze to the dark mark which marred his left bicep.

"A tattoo?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Marco chuckled.

"Well, it's not the tattoo specifically, more the story that goes with it."

"And what might that be, Mr. Diaz?"

Marco sighed, leaning back against the chair and looking out the window which sat to his right, gazing out among the troop of students that were hanging around the flagpole outside, and felt a certain saudade wash over him.

"How old do you think am I, Miss Skullnick?"

Once again the teachers eyebrows squeezed together in confusion, her eyes flickering warily towards the boy in front if her. The question was uniquely phrased to be certain, which obviously was setting off all sorts of alarm bells for the large instructor.

"I'd assume you're 14 years old."

Once again, Marco chuckled, but this time it seemed far less light; burdened with a sort of tired, murky tone that made the old instructor wince. Marco answered.

"You'd be right," Marco agreed, before his smile dropped into a nostalgic frown, "If you said that 16 years ago."

This time, Miss Skullnick reacted. Her eyes grew wide as she shot from her seat, standing in such a quick motion that Marco had to physically hold back a defensive reaction.

"What?!"

Marco gave a small smile.

"This tattoo? I got it about 2 years ago. I had infiltrated a cloister of monks, and one of their customs demanded that I be marked with a symbol-a crest-that would represent me. Who I am as a person; my goals, my dreams, my emotions, my drive. It was supposed to be this huge thing, with acolytes being forced to come to a self realization that would lead to the creation of their own crest." His melancholy smile hiked up a bit, sarcasm painting his features "And, supposedly, their own magic power. Though, I don't know about that one."

A bold faced lie. He knew very well that the power bestowed by the crest was hard fact, but his teacher didn't need to know that.

"I have a lot of other stories, if you'd like to hear them. I think… " The somber look returned to the 30 year old's face, "I think it would be good if I talked about it. Star, well… Time passed diferently where I was, and for Earth it was only 8 minutes, but I'm not the same. Star seems alright ignoring that little tidbit though, and It's just… " Marco's jaw locked in palpable frustration.

"You're different now," Miss Skullnick answered for him, her voice gentle and understanding. "Our situations are different to be sure, but… I can understand where you're coming from."

"Exactly, it's just," Marco huffed, throwing up his hands in exasperation, "I mean gods, my relationship with my parents, my… Friends, Star, It's all falling apart. I just." Marco stopped his mini-rant, energy fading as his face set in sullen sorrow. "I'm 30 years old, Miss Skullnick. I stopped needing parents a long time ago. I grieved, came to terms with never seeing anyone from Earth again, and moved on. I grew up. I had a life; friends, comrades, a dragon cycle, a purpose, Hekapoo… " The boy shook his head, as if trying to banish the heartache from his body.

"You're not who you were before, and you're trying to be, but it isn't working out."

"Exactly! Miss Skullnick, I hardly remember these people, and can you blame me? I haven't seen any of them for over a decade!" He cried, shooting out of his seat in a bout of anger, " I almost didn't come home!"

The ogre waited for a moment, letting the man now boy get a hold of his emotions-hormones were a bitch, and boy were they an unwelcomed old friend- before looking out the window with a long sigh.

"Mr. Diaz, this is going to be hard for me to say, but I think it's what you need to hear. Especially if everything you just told me is true."

Marco looked out the window with her, watching as the kids who had been standing around the flagpole dwindled away, fading off into the distant afternoon horizon.

"Is this your home, Mr. Diaz?"

Marco's gaze shot back to the women, eyes the size of saucers.

"Wha-I mean, ya, its Earth, where else would it be? I was born here, wasn't I?"

The old women turned back to him, meeting his gaze with a heavy look.

"Marco, you spent more of your life in that place than you have here on Earth, you, as you put it, grew up there. That's where you become who you are, and it's where your life is." A tired smile rested on the ogre's face. "Do you know how many children I've seen come and go, grow up, Marco?"

Marco's eyebrow rose, but he didn't comment on the turn in the conversation.

"A lot, I'm guessing."

"Exactly. Do you know how many grow up, and then choose to stay in this town for the rest of their lives, simply because they were born here?"

"Not a lot, I guess."

"Exactly," Miss Skullnick let out a long, heavy sigh. "They don't stay here, because their dreams, the life, their home, became somewhere else. Home is where you make it, where your heart is, and Marco," The women's green face turned to him with a sad smile, "I don't think your heart is here, on earth."

And there it was. The ball had dropped. All the thoughts that he had been pushing back, kicking down and silencing the best he could for the past week all rushed back like a broken dam. Emotions and memories flooded his head, as images of all the friends he had left behind dancing in his mind's eye like a chaotic, colorful play of life.

His heart wasn't here.

The image of a white skinned demoness flashed through his skull.

His heart wasn't here.

This wasn't who he was, so why was he trying so hard to be that someone, that person he hadn't been for so long? Why was he making himself suffer?

No more.

"You… You're right. I've-" Marco sniffed loudly, wiping away any tears before they could form-damn hormones, "I've been trying to ignore that voice that was telling me this stuff, the exact shit you just said, but… No more. I can't-can't keep pretending to be this boy, this child, anymore! It's killing me, I need." Determination crackled in his deep brown eyes. "I need to tell them."

"Them?"

"My parents, Star… My friends, I guess." He wasn't so sure about that one, but Marco figured it wouldn't be nice to just up and bail on them.

He stood up.

"I need to go. Thank you for everything, Miss Skullnick. I have to say, it's been good getting to talk to you again after all these years." He bowed at the waist, an old habit he picked up from his years with the monks, and fled the room.

The ogre sighed, a strange grief filling her chest as she watched him go, watched him run off past the flagpole and towards the beyond, giving chase to the light of the setting sun, which burned in the sky with an orange and red flame that stretched out across the clouds, lighting up the heavens and warming the earth with it's touch. Giving life to everything in it's sight.

It was almost like a dream, and in the ogres now 'young' mind, such a thing seemed quite beautiful. Chasing a dream, a light, like that does sound like a wonderful way to live.

Yo, so I re-watched Running With Scissors and was inspired to write this little piece. I get really frustrated at Marco sometimes for making stupid decisions that he should know better to make, so this little sliver is a taste of a more mature Marco, who was shaped by his life in Hekapoo's dimension far more than the canonical one was. Also, minor Hekapoo/Marco stuff hidden in there, mostly because I ship them, but also 'cause come on, the dude is 30 years old! I don't think he should be attracted to people his physical age, they're kids, and he is most definitely not, no matter how much his appearance might have you believe otherwise. Anyway, hope you enjoy, 'cause it was fun writing!

All the love in the world,

Erebus