Chiaotzu found Malachi in his room sitting up against the backboard scribbling fiercely on a notepad he didn't know the other had. His curly hair was a messy mop upon his head and his covers and sheets looked chaotic and utterly disregarded upon the bed.

"Breakfast is ready," Chiaotzu said in a tone that wasn't nearly as high pitched as last time.

For a moment, he thought he was being ignored until the other finally ceased his writing and put the paper and pencil aside.

"Great, I was starving," he said as he climbed out of bed.

Malachi didn't join him immediately and Chiaotzu figured out why when he noticed the other was far more presentable at the table. He ate the food quickly before cleaning up the mess. Chiaotzu didn't stop him. He was sure the other would have put up more of a fuss anyway and he could care less who did what.

"Feeling any better today?" Chiaotzu asked after the other was finished. He was not moving any faster today.

"I feel just as shitty today as I felt yesterday."

"Well, then, let's head off to the doctor!" he said joyfully which drew a groan from Malachi.

"Let's hope it doesn't take all day—I still want to have some time to see Lilith today."

"Again? Going to buy more paintings?"

"Maybe." he said with a shrug. "Depends on what I feel like doing. This place far?"

"Nope, right down the street," Chiaotzu answered cheerfully despite himself.

"Convenient," Malachi muttered.

They left soon after and Chiaotzu was forced to slow down so that he could keep pace with the slow-moving Malachi. "Down the street" turned out to take much longer than he'd expected and Malachi was a bit winded by the time they got there. It wasn't a big office and it didn't seem to have too many patients in there that day. Three people were ahead of them so they waited to be seen.

Malachi was quite fidgety. After a few failed attempts at conversation, he grabbed a nearby magazine and began reading it. Chiaotzu didn't think he'd seen anyone read those things. They seemed more like decoration. In fact, he was the only one partaking in it. Everyone else was either on their phone or watching the passing images of the large television on the wall which was showing infomercial after infomercial of medical related supplies.

Chiaotzu glanced over at the magazine to find various girly things and bright colors featured on the page.

"Hm, this really the advice their giving tweens these days?" Malachi questioned to himself.

After a few minutes, he flipped to the next page. He was clearly amused with the subject matter as he grinned to himself. Then he began reading, giving it his full attention. Chiaotzu thought it a bit odd for a guy to be so interested in…well, it looked like girly stuff. The same guy that Tien would soon be training into oblivion.

Chiaotzu sat patiently and watched as each person was seen one by one. There truly was only one doctor and a handful of nurses and other relevant personnel. Malachi practically leaped to his feet when his name was called and Chiaotzu followed in after him when they were taken to the back area. When placed in a room, they waited a bit longer for a nurse to come and ask what they had come for. It was easy to see that he'd come simply to have his bandages replaced, but she suggested some bloodwork as well and a thorough examination of his injuries to see if everything was healing properly.

Their visit to the doctor would be taking far longer than Chiaotzu had originally foreseen. When they came to remove the bandages, Malachi winched every step of the way though he kept his cursing to a minimum in the presence of strangers. He was laid out on the table now and Chiaotzu was given a good view of the open wounds, some of which were still bleeding. The nurse cleaned each and every one of them. It was painful even to be a witness of the procedure.

"You said it's been a full 24 hours?" the nurse said as she applied more cleaning agent. "There should be more progress than this. Have you been taking it easy?"

"As much…as I can," Malachi managed to say through clenched teeth.

"He's having trouble sleeping," Chiaotzu chimed in. He turned away when Malachi gazed angrily at the other.

"I would think so. You're clearly in a lot of pain and you're not on any drugs," the nurse said. "I'll have the doctor prescribe you some pain medication."

"There's really no need."

"Oh, I get your type all the time now since that dojo opened. It doesn't make you any less tough if you're smart enough to take some good medical advice. The faster you heal, the faster you can get back to being at your healthiest and doing what you love most. The doctor will prescribe you something for the pain and maybe that's all you need to get some meaningful rest."

"But he has nightmares all the time—it's not really the pain that's keeping him up," Chiaotzu chimed in once again. He looked away when Malachi's frustrated look came his way.

"I'm glad your friend's here—you'll thank him later I'm sure. Whatever happened to you was quite traumatic. Quite frankly, I don't think I've seen this level of injury for some time now since the dojo put in stricter rules—I guess there's always one who falls through the crack. I'll suggest the doctor gives you something that will make you fall asleep easily."

She had the other sit up as she began on his other wounds and then as she began firmly placing on the bandages.

"The doctor will see you in just a moment," she said with a smile.

Malachi seemed too much in pain to return the favor. He was hunched over for a moment, but then he sat back on his extended arms behind him. He had nothing clever or even angry to say to him it seemed as they waited in silence for the doctor to come.

A tall, blond man with glasses in a white doctor's coat strolled in a few minutes later holding a clipboard with him. He sat down on the nearby chair.

"Seems like your body has been through an astounding amount of trauma in a short time," he began. "Your bloodwork came up clean—no infections, no inflammation or the like. I'd say you were pretty lucky. For the time being, lots of rest is in order and taking it easy. Make sure you're eating properly and you will be back to 100% in no time barring any complications. Your bandages will need to be changed on a daily basis either here or at home as they heal." Then he was writing quickly on the clipboard in front of him. He tore off a sheet a paper and handed it to Malachi who reached out gingerly to take it. "I've prescribed some pain medication at the lowest doses for starters and something that will knock you out quickly should you continue to feel restless. Any questions?"

"Ah, no—thank you for your time," Malachi said back this time managing a smile.

"Good," the doctor said standing up. "Count your blessings and have a good day," he said before leaving the room.

Chiaotzu looked up at the other with a raised eyebrow as he sat still for a moment before stepping down from the hospital bed.

"I'm fine," Malachi said looking at him as if to convince the other of something, "Will you stop looking at me like that?"

"Are you going to the pharmacy now?" Chiaotzu asked.

"Sure," he said after a moment. "Is that far from here?"

"Not too far—a thirty-minute walk, but at your pace more like an hour."

Malachi sighed heavily. "Fine let's go already."

They left the doctor's office and started down the street once again where few hover cars drove past. Truly it was a small town with most of the key places within walking distance from the residential area. Malachi's pace was somehow slower than it had been before, but soon it increased gradually much to Chiaotzu's partial relief—it was still much slower than he could move and he felt like he was getting nowhere. Chiaotzu floated behind the man to avoid conversation and in this way they traversed silently to the pharmacy.

Nearly an hour later, they arrived and they made a beeline for the pharmacy counter in the back. They were told to wait another thirty minutes for the prescription to be filled and it seemed Malachi no longer wanted to sit idly. Chiaotzu didn't mind doing such things, but he was forced to walk the aisles of the store with Malachi as he explored every inch of the place. He wound up getting a cart and placing quite a bit of items in the basket from toiletries to the slightly overpriced food items. Then he stayed in the hygiene section for the rest of the fifteen minutes meticulously reading over each product, placing one in the basket only to put it back and switching with another. It was enough to drive Chiaotzu crazy as he saw no reason why soap and water wasn't good enough to get the job done. In fact, over thirty minutes had passed by the time he finally decided on the last item which was cologne. He pretty much parsed through all of them before coming to a decision. Then they finally went to the line to check out all the items.

"Oh, hi, Chiaotzu, haven't seen you here in a while," the dark-haired lady said with a smile.

It took Chiaotzu a moment to realize that it was Launch. He'd forgotten she worked here. He and Tien usually shopped at the supermarket for everything including toiletries and cleaning products for the house. She looked much older than before with lines creasing her face, but she still had the same bubbly personality.

"Hey there—it's has been awhile. How have you been?"

"Doing as well as expected, I suppose," she said as she began scanning items. "I'm surprised you're not with Tien—you guys seem attached at the hip. How's he doing?"

"Oh, he's fine—Putting in a lot of time at the dojo as always. I'd be with him too, but he told me to keep an out for this guy."

"You going to introduce me or what?" Malachi asked to Chiaotzu.

Launch laughed at the other. "Can't expect him to be well-versed in manners. I'm Launch, long-time friend of Tien."

"So you're the neighbor then," Malachi said. "I was meaning to go introduce myself."

"You must be new around here—I've never seen you before."

"I am and I'll probably be staying here for a while. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other."

"I doubt it," she said as she checked out the last item.

"Why is that?" Malachi said a little confused with her assertion.

"I've lived in that house for many years and Tien has never seen fit to visit me. There's only so many "strategic run-ins" a girl can do before she gets the picture."

"I wouldn't hold it against him—most men are pretty one-track and he seems pretty focused on his martial arts. Those kinds are the least troublesome, if you ask me."

"Quite one-track," Launch said with a grin. "I suppose I'll be seeing you then. Though I warn you, I work long hours here—store's been understaffed for a while now."

"I look forward to our future encounters."

Chiaotzu watched their exchange with mild interest. He didn't quite understand Malachi's insistence with meeting random people. Something about him always seemed ingenuine. None of it seemed to matter, not to anyone leastly to him. After the transaction was done and Malachi placed them all in a capsule, they returned to the back of the store to finally obtain the medication. Chiaotzu asked if he would take them now and Malachi brushed him off saying that he would at some point. He supposed that was the best he could get out of him, but if it became a problem, he would most certainly inform Tien.

They took the long trek back to the house with Malachi not moving any faster than he had earlier that day. Once there, he put all his newly bought items up in his room. Sensing that the other wanted to be left to himself for the time being, Chiaotzu stayed in the front room. Maybe he was finally heeding everyone's advice and resting. That was not the case, he soon realized, as he heard the shower being turned on. He wondered how he could manage such a thing with bandages he was supposed to keep dry. Soon, Malachi had joined him in the front of the house intending to leave once again.

"You just can't stay in one spot," Chiaotzu said shaking his head.

"I told you I meant to visit Lilith today and she expects me to anyway."

Chiaotzu noticed a different scent coming from Malachi, a strange flowery one. "So you put on perfume to smell nice for Lilith?" he accused the other.

"Not perfume," Malachi said with some annoyance.

"Cologne?" Chiaotzu further asked. "Trying to impress her with sweet smells?"

"Try scented soap," Malachi said as he moved towards the door, "I do enjoy smelling nice whether I was meeting someone or going nowhere at all. Rather depressing to see such a dull collection of soap around here. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

Malachi left through the front door immediately after, probably uninterested in continuing to converse with him. Either way, Chiaotzu followed along as he was tasked to do. He hadn't expected keeping an eye on Malachi would require so much activity. Considering what he'd seen at the doctor's office, he was in a far more weakened condition than he was letting on—this he would tell Tien on his return that evening.

Lilith allowed them entry into her house and she was clearly overjoyed to see them or more like Malachi, she hardly spared Chiaotzu a passing glance.

"I'm nearly finished with your portrait; come and see."

Chiaotzu didn't have a good view of it nor did he have any desire to see it.

"I think you've taken some liberties," Malachi said as he inspected the image, "His proportions are…far too perfect. This one looks far healthier than how I actually feel at the moment."

"It is my interpretation of you—vibrant and intelligent, devilishly handsome. Do you like it?" she asked.

"It looks nice," he replied.

"Hm? I thought you liked flattery."

"I do, but this painting somehow makes me feel jealous."

"There's no need to feel that way," she declared, "I still have a few finishing touches to put on it. Will you be staying long today?"

"Might as well. I've nothing better to do."

"You know, Malachi, I've spent a good amount of time on this and it struck me as I finished the initial sketch: there's not enough coincidences in the world to explain your likeness to the man you bear the name of. You're actually him, aren't you?"

Malachi stood up a little straighter as he was done looking over her work. "What would you do if I said you were right?"

"Oh, don't worry, Malachi. Your secret would be safe with me. From one artist to another, I understand that there are times when you just want to take a break, spend some time away from the limelight."

"That," he said with a sigh, "is a relief. I suppose I'm not doing a great job being undercover."

"I'd say you were. Your hair is so delightfully curly, you're wearing normal pedestrian clothing, and you're not singing and dancing through the streets," she finished with a laugh. "Seriously, no one would suspect it's you. You had me fooled for quite a while. In fact, if you told me I was just seeing things, I might have believed you. No way anyone would think to find you in such a small town."

"Perhaps even the subtler disguises have their merits."

As she spoke with Malachi, Lilith continued working on the portrait. She continued in this way as Malachi soon disclosed to her what he'd been up to earlier that day including meeting Launch. It was here that Chiaotzu first heard Malachi mention some interest in whatever relationship she might have with Tien. That was when Chiaotzu chimed in.

"Tien doesn't really have time for the kind of relationship that Launch wants," he declared, finally drawing the two's attention.

"He merely thinks he doesn't have time," Malachi returned. "I've only been here two days and I have his entire routine down pat. It's a depressing fact."

"Don't tell me you're going to play matchmaker," Chiaotzu said with a frown.

"No, I'm going to play 'live a fulfilling life before one dies and regrets his decisions'-er," Malachi said back in mocking tones. "Do you have to belittle everything I do or say?"

"I've known Tien for a long time and he's the happiest he's ever been," Chiaotzu said.

"Is there a limit on happiness?" Malachi replied. "Love can be a powerful thing and it's different for each person. Sometimes people don't even know their missing it."

"But Tien—

"That isn't to say that I know more than the next person," Malachi said interrupting him. "I don't know him well enough, I don't know her well enough, but eventually I will and then we'll see."

Chiaotzu could tell that that was all he wished to speak on the topic. "eventually I will…": that phrase stood out to him and he began to understand why Malachi had shown such interest in Launch earlier that day. Was there always an ulterior motive? Did he genuinely care about that kind of thing? Or was there something else he was aiming for? It wasn't his habit to ponder so long about something and it was already giving him a headache just doing it. Malachi in general gave him a headache. He was an enigma and he didn't much like it. He preferred Tien precisely because he was the opposite. He never hid things and he always spoke his mind.

"So are you taking a break now?" Lilith asked. She sat turned to Malachi either done with her painting or completely distracted by Malachi.

"I would say so in the condition that I'm in."

"I don't mean to pry, but…"

"You want to know how I got this way—all bandaged up," he finished. "Believe it or not—I got into a fight that I couldn't win."

"Oh my god, really? There's someone out there brazen enough to get into a physical altercation with you?" she said with surprise.

"Everyone has their enemies whether they know it or not."

"Ah, yes," she said in agreement. "I bet you must have acquired a lot of naysayers. The more famous you are, the more people want to have an issue with you. Blow things out of proportion. I see it all the time on TV. And you're certainly not a fighter."

Malachi chuckled at this, but didn't bother correcting her.

"What's so funny?" she asked in confused tones.

"People do blow things out of proportion which is why I always have to be careful what I say and how I say it."

"You don't have to worry about that here," Lilith reassured. "I promise I'll treat you like any other person—but I must confess, I really do like your music. Especially your early songs."

"How early?" he inquired.

"Like your second and third album. Everything was much softer, more naïve then. I guess it's just a nostalgia thing."

"Well, music must evolve or else it becomes stagnant."

"Yes, yes," she said with a sigh. "It's a sad, but true fact. Everyone loses that naiveté at some point."

"I was told to act a certain way back then," Malachi confessed, "To be as youthful as possible. By the time I made those albums, I knew far more about the world than I ever wanted to know."

"It's like I'm getting an exclusive—I don't think I've read that fact anywhere. It was all just an act?"

"Not all, but things were exaggerated."

Chiaotzu's eyes were already glazing over at this point. Their conversation had as usual turned uninteresting as they started talking about music. Music wasn't a big part of Chiaotzu's life. In fact, he hardly encountered it. He didn't even own a device with which to listen to it.

"You know," Lilith began slowly, "I have a piano in the back."

"Really? You know how to play that thing?" Malachi asked clearly interested in the instrument.

"Mom sent me to piano lessons when I was very young. She expected me to do something with it, but, well, you know how that turned out. My heart was in painting. And music is just a hobby."

"I've always wanted to learn how to play it," Malachi admitted, "But it never worked out that way. I was so busy all the time—I just never really had the time."

"Well, looks like you have all the time in the world now…and a willing teacher."

"You'd teach me?" Malachi asked skeptically.

"Only if you…sing one of my favorite songs. I'll play it on the piano. Maybe you'll remember."

"Ah, an old song. I think I might."

"You're up for it?—I don't want to be too much of a bother—

"It's the least I can do for being such good company."

Chiaotzu watched the two disappear to the back. For a moment, he stayed there, but then his curiosity won out as he heard the sounds of a piano floating through the house. It wasn't a fast song that one could dance to, but mellow and slow. Admittedly, it sounded quite pleasing.

"I think I remember this one," Malachi said as the music paused so that he could be heard, "Though, I've never heard it played like this."

"I arranged it myself for the piano. I've always dreamed of you somehow singing to this version instead."

"Well, today, your wish will be granted."

The woman was beside herself with excitement as she started over again. She had to start it over yet again when Malachi apparently missed the part he was supposed to come in—something about the measures being a bit different from the original, Chiaotzu didn't quite understand. Eventually, however, Chiaotzu heard Malachi sing for the first time and he was unprepared for the voice that emitted from him. His speaking voice was reasonably deep. His pleasant tones always had a ring of falseness to it and when he spoke to him it sounded quite belittling. What Chiaotzu heard at that moment was the complete opposite. Innocent and young with an air of wonder—quiet, almost shy and then at some parts loud and excited. All the while his voice remained steady and smooth.

Hello, August moon, where are the stars of the night?
You promised me too soon, 'cause it's been cloudy all night
And the weatherman said if you're not well, stay in bed
'Cause I've been feeling down and blue and it's cloudy in my head
Instead of going out to some restaurant, I stay home in bed

The piano changed a bit as the song moved on to the hook in which Lilith herself joined in to sing as well. It seemed she couldn't resist. It became obvious to Chiaotzu that she knew all the words by heart.

But I'll be loving you, that's what I want to do
I'll be loving you, that's what I want to do

The hook was short and sweet and then ran right back into another verse in which Malachi sang now with even more confidence than he had before. Chiaotzu couldn't tell if it was because it was meant to be sang this way or that he simply knew this verse better than the last.

Hello, midnight lover, you're the one I adore
And I'll be thinking of you 'til the stars are no more
If it's cloudy or blue, I'll stay here with you
We'll make a wish, and then we'll kiss, our love forever true
Instead of going out to some restaurant, I'll stay here with you

The song moved back into the hook in which Lilith sang happily with Malachi. Though her voice wasn't as trained as Malachi, Chiaotzu supposed it didn't sound too bad and Malachi, himself, didn't seem all that concerned about it. For the first time, however, Chiaotzu saw a real smile from him, at least it seemed that way. It seemed like he was actually enjoying himself. They went through a third verse and then a partial repeat of the first verse, finally ending on many repeats of the hook. At some point, Malachi was simply adlibbing as Lilith happily sang through the same words multiple times. Chiaotzu didn't feel part of any of it. He was simply an onlooker of two people singing to each other. It certainly made his absence from Tien's side that much harder to bear.

Chiaotzu was about to leave them to themselves, but paused when he saw the way Lilith was looking at Malachi and he vice versa. It was Lilith who pulled the other closer to her to give the other a kiss. At which point, Chiaotzu looked away. It took him a moment to realize that the kiss never happened.

"I shouldn't," Malachi said.

"Oh," she said with an awkward laugh. "I guess that makes sense. I guy like you…probably already with some lucky girl. I was just being silly—"

"No, that wasn't silly. I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression. It's just a song and I've sang many more like it."

"Yeah, I know," she said settling down on the bench she sat on. "I don't know what came over me. You definitely fulfilled your side of the bargain. How would you like to learn how to play this thing?"

"I would love to," he said as he moved to sit down beside her.

That was how the rest of their visit went with Lilith teaching him the basics of piano and Chiaotzu was forced to hear the same few notes being played over and over again in no real pattern. It was enough to make him pull his hair out—if he had enough of it to do that sort of thing. Chiaotzu was glad to finally leave the messy house and return to his well-kept one. He'd only been able to drag Malachi out because he claimed he had to make dinner and that it'd be better if Tien didn't find him out when he should be resting. Cooking at least, was still able to ease his mind.

It had been awhile since his thoughts had turned to Bra, but since Lilith had leaned in to kiss him, Bra was all he could think about. He'd wanted to kiss Bra that way. He wanted her to look at him the same way Lilith had. Those feelings had all come so suddenly. In fact, truth be told, he'd intended to woo the woman next door. It would be an easy task and he could abate his growing loneliness. Despite not ever considering pursuing a more meaningful relationship until that time which he crossed paths with Bra, he never slept alone. He preferred the company of a woman and he would form trifle bonds with doe-eyed women who seemed to worship the ground he walked on. It was all for selfish reasons. He hated being alone. He hated being left alone to his own dark thoughts. Sometimes his mind would simply go into overdrive having nothing of substance to latch onto, no real challenge to solve. He'd wound up going over his day in excruciating detail over and over again.

As he sat down on Tien's living room couch listening to Chiaotzu's cooking, he pulled out his phone and flicked through his many contacts. He selected Bra Briefs and waited for her to answer. He didn't hear the phone ring, he didn't hear anything, only silence. He sat there for a few moments with the phone to his ear, ended the call, and then tried the number again. Nothing. Unperturbed, he called the one person he knew would be able to help him.

"Hello?" came Vegeta's gruff voice.

"That has to be the most pleasant greeting you've given yet," Malachi said as a grin stole across his face.

"And somehow you always make me regret answering your calls."

"Oh, please, I know you look forward to them—don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Malachi answered cheekily.

"You sound far better now than you did two days ago," Vegeta pointed out, "Seems your early departure was a good decision."

"I can tell when I'm not wanted and I didn't want to prolong things. It's nice to hear your gruff, annoyed voice again."

"Hmph."

"I called because I ran into a problem trying to contact Bra—she must have changed her number."

"She has? That's news to me. Hold on, let me check something." Malachi waited a few minutes before Vegeta said something further. "She sent out a mass text yesterday about her number change."

"A mass text, huh. Maybe she lost her phone."

"She hasn't," Vegeta said plainly, "She's had that number since Bulma first bought her a cellphone. There's really no reason for her to change it so suddenly."

"Do you know…why?" Malachi asked.

"I think you know why," Vegeta replied. "But I will still give you her new number. Don't make me regret it."

"Thank you," Malachi said.

Malachi memorized Bra's new number and then quickly dialed it next. The phone rang for ages and then went to voicemail. He called again and was met the same results. Then he continued to call her until she finally picked up her cellphone.

"Yes?" Bra asked in irritated tones. "Is there a reason you keep calling like that or have the telemarketers seriously lost their minds? I wanted some damn peace and quiet and—"

"Bra calm down—it's me," Malachi finally spoke up.

She paused abruptly and for almost a full minute there was silence. "Malachi? How did you get this number?"

"I have my ways," he said back smoothly.

"So you're stalking me now?"

"Just add that onto the list of my other offences."

"Tell me why I shouldn't just hang this phone up and disconnect this number."

"Because you miss me and you've been waiting for me to call you."

"Sometimes your confidence is astounding."

"Am I wrong?" he asked.

"I've had no intentions of calling you, Malachi. Just like you never had any intentions of coming back home. I waited for you and you just ignored me—continued on with your stupid plan. I couldn't believe what you did to Majuub, to Dende who saved your life—"

"I didn't call to talk about that," Malachi said cutting across her. "I wanted to know how you were doing."

There was silence on the other side for so long that Malachi wondered if she really had hung up. "I'm fine—you don't need to worry about me."

"How is your pregnancy coming along?"

"Malachi, I can't do this. We all know that you're just putting on an act. For what reason, I don't know, but you don't have to do it anymore. Unless you really think I'm that stupid."

"What are you going on about—?" He was already in uncharted territory and he felt claws tearing down his well-kept façade. He was so used to it that he felt naked without it and he felt compelled to carry on in that vein.

"Don't you dare try to pretend like I have no idea what I'm talking about. I know who you truly are and I don't want any part of it."

"I don't know how else to say it, Bra. I was thinking about you and I wanted to know how you were doing. Are you really just going to leave me in the dark?" He'd closed his eyes now wishing she would just answer him like he wanted.

"I see you're still deflecting. I realized something when I came to see you after Pan called me. I saw a side to you that I kept ignoring and pretending wasn't there."

"What does it matter?" Malachi asked with increasing irritation. "I still care about you."

"What does it matter?" Bra parroted back at him. "It changes everything, Malachi. I don't know who you are anymore. I thought I could just…pretend that it's just you, but that's not true. And I don't even know if I can just blame that creature thing. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if you've ever been open with me. Maybe this entire thing is just a hoax."

Now his eyes were clenched shut and he began to wonder if he should have called her at all. Maybe he should have just left things as they were, left up in the air not really knowing how she felt about things only that she no longer wanted to talk to him.

"Malachi? Are you even listening?"

He sighed when he heard her questioning tone. She was pulling away from him. Better yet, she had pulled away from him. Did it even matter now? He could end things now. Hang up on her and cut his losses. He hadn't married her. She would just be another single mother, one of millions. It wasn't as if she really needed him in the first place especially not financially. That child would be well taken care of whether he was in that child's life or not.

"Malachi? Seriously, I'm just going to hang up."

"Then why don't you? You could have done so ages ago and yet here we are still carrying on." Why was his hands shaking like this? Why had his breath caught in his throat?

"This is you giving up, isn't it?" Bra said slowly.

"Bra, please…I'm too tired for all of this," Malachi said with a sigh.

"You're not giving me much to work with," she argued back.

"How about, I'm really concerned about you?"

"You can stay concerned for all I care. I don't even know who you are anymore."

"I don't even know who I am anymore."

There was a span of silence before Bra said anything more. "Then how can I trust you anymore?"

"I don't know," Malachi said after another moment. He realized he had nothing to say in his own defense. He hadn't come to argue with her or defend his actions of the past. He didn't realize until that moment just how ruined his relationship was with her. He was also in uncharted territory as it was usually he who ended things with too clingy girls. Funny, how the roles were switched.

"Please don't call me anymore."

"Bra, wait—"

The call ended abruptly and Malachi simply sat there in silence staring at his phone. He hadn't even noticed the passage of time until the sound of the front door opening interrupted his apparent numbness. He heard Tien's voice in the distance talking with Chiaotzu now, but soon Tien addressed Malachi inquiring about his day.

"Fine," Malachi simply said. He didn't feel like expounding. He didn't feel like superficially carrying on a conversation—a pastime of his.

"Well, alright," Tien said after a moment, obviously noticing something off about his response.

Good thing Chiaotzu was there to further discuss things. Yes, he'd gone to the doctor. Yes, he'd been prescribed some medication which now sat in his room. The doctor had suggested he have his bandages changed daily. Though they were talking about him, he did not feel like including himself in that conversation. He sensed that it was a bit awkward, but he could not muster up enough care about it to change things.

When the dinner was ready, he joined the comparatively jovial pair at the table. Malachi noticed that there was quite a bit of food set out. Chiaotzu really had outdone himself this time. It smelled appetizing enough, but he only wound up eating only a small portion of it before finding the task too mundane to continue. Then he simply left the table wordlessly for his resident maids to clean up. His plate was half-eaten and even this didn't bother him all that much. He ignored their stares and made his way to his room.

The bright, hopeful painting of the phoenix greeted his eyes before he fell onto his bed. For the first time, he was able to sleep with no issues whatsoever as he sank into a deep slumber.

AN: Training hasn't even started and things are already going terribly. Likely his little "vacation" will be anything but.

Wine: Smart version of Forrest Gump...Guess I'll keep that in mind?