Ok, so recently I've had a lot of ideas for one-shot Mistborn drabbles, so I thought of putting some of them together in this fic. This is just the first one, I don't know if I'll have time to write any more.

So Kelsier might be acting a little out of character in this, but hopefully not by that much. Besides, I meant for him to act a little different than he does in the book, because this is meant to take place only a little after he escaped the Pits.

The lyrics at the top are meant to refer to Marsh's feelings for Mare.

Please Rate & Review.

Goodbye, my hopeless dream.

I'm trying not to think about you.

Can't you just leave me be?

- Almost Lover (A Fine Frenzy)

1. Return

"I have to be honest with you, Kell. Despite what she did... sometimes I wish that you hadn't been the one to survive the Pits."

"What are you doing here?"

I hadn't meant for those words to come out like that. They sounded harsh. Angry.

I should have been happy. Just when I'd finally managed to give him up for dead, I'd found out that he'd escaped. And I'd allowed myself to hope - for both of them.

Kelsier leaned lightly against the counter and smiled. "Aren't you glad to see me, Marsh?"

After so long, it seemed wrong to see him there. I took a couple of minutes to take him in.

He looked exactly the same as he had, before. That was wrong as well, when everything else had changed so much.

"I am," I said a little curtly. It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't a complete truth either. "I just didn't expect you to be back so soon."

"Soon? It's been years, Marsh."

"Only two." Though they had felt like eternity. "So, what have you been up to?"

He shrugged and grinned. "Oh, you know. Scamming noblemen. Doing things you would probably classify as 'reckless' and 'stupid'."

"And I was right, wasn't I?" Not that I'd had any satisfaction in that.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm here, am I not?" He said that with that stupid grin still on his face and suddenly I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to run up to him and shake some sense into him. Something that not even a year in the Pits had managed to do.

Not even, apparently, losing her.

"How the hell can you be so flippant?" I hissed. "Don't you ever care about anything?"

Kelsier narrowed his eyes. "Of course I care. What do you want me to do about it?"

I turned away. "Honestly? I don't care anymore. Do what you want. Go destroy what you want, then walk off and come back grinning and satisfied. I still can't believe Mare died for one of your stupid jobs."

"You know it wasn't that simple," he replied. I could almost feel the pain in his voice, and I regreted all my words. He sounded almost vulnerable, though of course that was just an illusion. The Kelsier I knew would never be vulnerable. But for that moment, I wanted more than anything to protect him.

He was, after all, my little brother.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. Kelsier had already recovered his composure.

"It doesn't matter," he said with a wave of his hand. "How's your rebellion coming along?"

I stepped back a little. "It's not my rebellion anymore, Kell. I quit."

"Oh." I expected him to some up with some snappy remark. Instead he just turned to look out the window.

He shouldn't have been standing there alone like that. He and Mare had been inseperable, until the end.

I couldn't help thinking that she deserved someone better than him. Even though she'd betrayed him. I still couldn't figure out why.

She must have had some reason, after all.

"Why?"

I looked up, startled. "Why what?"

"Why did you quit?"

"Because I realised that we were never going to achieve anything, and that we were just risking our lives for nothing."

Kelsier shook his head. "I don't know about that. The rebellion was badly organised, but the more I think about it, the more I think that something could have been made of it. Maybe if it had changed tactics. Been more focused."

I frowned. There was something in Kelsier's voice that I'd never heard before. "You're interested in the rebellion?"

"Someone needs to do something. Change something. I've been thinking... why is the rebellion finding it so hard to fight? The skaa outnumber the noblemen by far. All they need to do is rise up and fight."

"That sounds rather hypocritical, coming from you."

"Not really. After all, I've been doing my best to hurt noblemen my entire life, and I must say I've been doing it far more effectively than your lot ever has."

I clenched my fists a little. "No. You're getting it wrong again, Kelsier. You've always been getting these things wrong. The rebellion wasn't good at hurting noblemen, because that isn't what it's about. The rebellion is about helping skaa." I studied him carefully. "But that's not what you want, is it? You want revenge. Because you're selfish. You've always been selfish."

Kelsier said nothing.

"Do what you want. But just do me one favour, all right? Whatever you do, don't try to dedicate it to her memory."

"I have things to do. I'll see you again in a few years," he answered in a tight voice.

As I watched him go, I couldn't help but hope that those few years would pass as slowly as the last few had. Because I'd just managed to move on. I didn't want to have to face him again. I had too many bad memories associated with him.

None of these were things I wanted to think about my brother. But I just couldn't help it. Ashamed as I was to admit it, I was glad that he had gone. I didn't want him back in my life.

I sighed and resumed tidying my shop.