Hey y'all.

Thanks for the reviews.

The only thing left to say; enjoy the next chapter! ^^

Chapter 10

Vinnie found Kiwi in her room, lying on the bed.
The door closed behind him, but she didn't even look up.
The white furred mouse, who was already cranky because of all these million emotions he had to deal with this entire day, felt a pang of anger.
Why was she doubting him? That just wasn't fair.
He never doubted her when Chaz popped up outta nowhere.

Dammit.

He marched towards the bed and dropped next to her.
She rolled over, with her back towards him and he let out a humorless laugh, he just couldn't help it.
"Can you puhlease enlighten me why it is exactly you're giving me the cold shoulder?", he asked, his voice low and trembling.
Kiwi shrugged but still said nothing.
Vinnie folded his hands under his head, his tail twitching in annoyance.
"Well, I ain't gonna leave this room until you've talked to me. Even if that means I need to stay here the whole night. Or the whole week, for that matter."
"You promised me…", he heard her muted voice after a long silence.
"Promised ya what?"
She rolled on her back and looked at him with fuming eyes.
"You promised me you weren't going anywhere! You promised me that your heart belongs to me now!"
"Yeah… so?"
"So?! SO!? Then why are you…", but he didn't even let her finish that sentence.

Enough with this madness.

He rolled on his side and grabbed her by the chin.
"Now you listen to me, Kiwi. You saw some things which you have misunderstood and I'm sorry for it, I really am. And I'm trying to understand the fact that you let your own eyes deceive ya. But to be honest; I'm surprised to hear that you have this less faith in my love for ya…"
His ruby red eyes were almost burning a hole in her skull.
Kiwi blinked a few times.
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh. You really thought that I would throw away everything we have, huh? Well, newsflash; I ain't going anywhere like I already said like a million times or so."
Vinnie let go off her chin and rolled on his back again.
Kiwi stared at him, speechless.
He glanced at her from the corners of his eyes and no matter how fucked up he was feeling right now, his lips curled into a smile when he saw the look on her face.
She had this sheepish expression her face… Well, maybe dumb was the term he was looking for.
Not that he was gonna say that out loud.
Not the time nor the place.
She would tie his tail in a knot.

"I uh…", she started. "You're right. I'm sorry. I…"
"Of course I'm right. I always am, duh", he answered teasingly.
But then, his face grew serious again.
"Sweetheart, I'm yours. Forever. Why don't you just believe me?", he whispered while pulling her in his arms.
She snuggled against him and buried her nose into his fur.
"I do believe ya, but… It's just so hard to believe that someone like you likes someone like me…"
"What do ya mean, someone like you?"
"Well, I'm just… an ordinary girl. I'm just.. just Kiwi."
Vinnie grinned.
"Well, Just Kiwi… Lemme tell ya that you're everything... but ordinary. You're one of a kind, so am I, so we're the perfect match. Of course, you can't reach my level of coolness, but you're getting close enough…"
"You're the worst", she giggled as she punched him on the arm.
With a growl, he rolled on top of her.
While leaning on his elbows, he rubbed his nose against hers.
"I love you. So much. We're connected. Try to remember that, will ya? Because I'm nothing without you… Not even me…", he whispered, his voice thick of emotions all of a sudden.

Ugh.

Kiwi kissed the tip of his nose.
"I know. I'm sorry I doubted you. I love you too. So much, that I'm constantly scared to lose you. Because I'm nothing without you too…"
"Guess it's settled then… We're just gonna have to stay together, for the rest of our lives…", he smiled. "Can't say it's a punishment, though."
Gosh, the way he looked at her. Her heart melted.
He could be so cute sometimes.
Almost childish.
So pure.
The real Vinnie, without the bravado and smart mouth.
The guy he was before he got damaged by the war.
"Sounds like a perfect plan to me. Forever…"
"Forever…", and he kissed her.
But not with his usual hunger and excitement.
No, this was a kiss full of love.
Full of promises.
You could almost call it romantic.
When he broke it off, he gave her his trademark smile.
"So… about that wedding…"

...

Meanwhile, Modo was standing in front of the room his father shared with three others.
But his metal hand felt even more heavy than usual, almost too heavy to lift.
He was scared, he knew he was.
Maybe not that macho and manly and all to admit, but at least Modo, unlike some people, was able to be honest with himself.
And who would judge him for being scared?
He was about to ask his father, his long lost father, why on Mars he'd left him behind.
Why he'd left his entire family behind.
Not exactly your average small talk.

Modo took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
The time for lingering is over.
It was time to get himself some answers.
The door opened and his father came into view.
"Modo! You were the last one I expected to see… Are you okay, son?", Oscar added worriedly when he saw the look on his son's face.
He kinda gave the impression as if he was about to throw up.
The gray furred giant attempted to smile, but the result was more like a grimace than an actual smile.
"I uh… I'm here to… to talk, I guess..", he stuttered.
Oscar's face darkened, but then he nodded and stepped outside.
"Why don't we go for a walk, shall we?"

Modo's heart skipped a beat.
The last time he took a walk, Rimfire was still alive.
He remembered that day as if it was yesterday.
How happy his little nephew was about his promotion.
How he himself was already worried about his life, scared to lose him, even then.

Oh, momma…
Wish you were here.

"A walk sounds good to me", Modo answered instead of saying all this out loud.
While walking through the hallways, Oscar was eying his son with pride.
"God, look at you. You're immense", he smiled. "You did good, son. You did good."
Modo had no idea what to say, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.
If being a soldier, taking lives and living every day as if it was your last was his father's perspective of 'doing good', he already started to doubt that this man really was his father.

Give him a chance, Modo Maverick. Everybody deserves a second chance.

Again, his mother's voice echoed in his head.
That happened a lot these days, actually.
It did help him, though.

Once outside, Modo gestured to a small bench that was standing in the sun.
They sat down and that was the start of a long and uncomfortable silence.
It was Oscar who tried to break it.
With the emphasis on trying.
"Look, son, I eh… I don't know what to say… I don't know how to make up for what I did…"
Modo rolled his one eye.
"Well, start by being honest. Why did you leave us?", he asked bluntly.
Oscar chuckled, more out of distress than humor.
"I did what I had to do. And I still regret it, every day. But I can't turn back time…"
"That ain't no answer to my question. Why?"
Modo didn't look at his father when he said this, he was just sitting there, leaning with his elbows on his knees, fiddling with a small stone he found by his feet.

After another long silence, one that wasn't Modo's intention to break, Oscar took a deep breath.
"You're right. You deserve to know the truth. I'll try to answer your questions as fair as possible, but you need to know it's not easy for me to talk about this. The shame, the guilt… Anyway, that's not your problem. The reason I left you, your mother and your sister, was because you were in great danger... "
Modo's head jerked up. That was the last thing he'd expected.
"Danger? What are ya talking about?"
"Because I knew about the upcoming war. Because I knew the sick games the government was playing."
"But… the war started years after you left…", Modo pointed out, still very confused.
"Correct. But politic is a stinky business…"
"I'm a little lost now... "

"Let me start at the beginning, then. I used to work for the government. My job was simple; taking care of the vehicles they owned. Bikes, cars, tanks, you name it. I guess being their mechanic comes closest to the job prescription. It was a good job, paid well and regular hours… Anyway, one night, I'm in the garage, working late and I heard a conversation. One conversation I wish I never heard. But I can't turn back time. If I could…"
Oscar trailed off, a pained look on his face. But then, he shook his head and continued.
"I heard them talking about the Plutarkians, about upcoming negotiations… Long story short, it was about selling parts of Mars. I eavesdropped on them, knowing this was important, highly classified… I was being naive, actually. I really believed that I needed to hear every word, so I was gonna be able to stop whatever they were planning to do to our planet. To our home. But they caught me…"

Modo was listening to this with an aching heart.
So, even back then, it was the war that took away his father.
This war… had cost too much. Because he already knew where this was going to.
"They say when in desperate times, you'll find out who your real friends are. That from the moment things get hard, they'll pick sides. That you can only hope they'll stand by your side when the going gets tough. It's true. It's all true. These two were my friends, I knew them since I was a kid. And when they realized I heard every word they had said… They tried to kill me. Can you imagine? Your two best friends, your bro's, trying to kill you?"
Modo thought back at the Verminator incident.
"I think I know the feeling…", he mumbled.
"It's all about money. Money turns people into animals, wild animals. They are willing to do everything for money. So were these two, friends or not. Luckily, one of them grew a conscience. But they couldn't just let me go. They made me promise to disappear. If I would only think so much about opening my mouth, about telling someone about this… Then they would kill my family. So I… I disappeared. The rats took me in. Back then, it didn't matter if you were a mouse or a rat. But when the war started, everything changed… They handed me over to the Plutarkians, traded me for the ones they loved, for their own people. I can't even blame them. The next years I was a prisoner, working my day around the clock in different camps. But then, you came to the rescue. And here we are... "

Modo needed some time to process all this.

Oh momma, this war…
This war is so much bigger than we knew…

"I uh… I don't know what to say…"
"You don't have to say anything. Let it sink in, for now. I don't have the illusion that you're gonna forgive me for what I did. I hate to impose and I won't. But you need to know one thing; I know I wasn't there when you needed me, but now… if you need me now, I'll be there. Always. But only when you're ready, son…"
Oscar patted Modo on the back, before standing up and walking away.
Modo watched him go, deep in thoughts.
But he already knew that he was gonna forgive him.
That had more than one reason, actually.

One; the guy was his father, and as far as he knew, the only family he had left.
Two; he always believed in second chances, being the forgivable mouse he was.
Three; his old gray furred momma would turn around in her grave if he wasn't gonna take this chance to fix things with his dad.

She had never spoken badly about her husband.
But Modo knew him leaving her had broken her heart.
And he knew, he just knew, that his beloved momma would've forgiven his father without blinking.
Because that's just how she was.
Pure, with so much love to give.
"Oh, momma… I miss you so much…", he sighed into nothingness.
And Modo couldn't stop himself having the thought that he wished it was his beloved momma who had come back into his life, and not his father.
But the universe has spoken.
And he needed to accept things the way they were.
No matter how hard that was.

...

The next morning Kiwi woke up because of her stomach screaming for some food.
She looked at her side and smiled.
Vinnie was lying next to her in his characteristic sea fish position, snoring softly.
The blanket was draped over his lower body, covering everything from the waist down, except for the tip of his tail and feet.
The unharmed side of his face was buried in the pillow, and he had a little frown between his closed eyes.
He had never looked this cute.
Kiwi wished she could stay here to watch him, but her stomach reminded her that she didn't eat anything since yesterday afternoon.
Deciding to let her macho mouse sleep, figuring he would need it after everything that had happened the last few days, she planted a soft kiss on his shoulder and slid outta bed.
After putting on some clothes, she tiptoed to the door.
But when she opened it, she stopped dead in her tracks.
Harley was standing in front of her, her hand lifted, ready to knock on the now already open door.
"Jesus, you scare the shit outta me", Kiwi breathed, holding her chest.

Harley lowered her hand and studied the human girl.
She was so… fragile.
Tiny.
Small.

Cute.

With her bright blue eyes and rosy cheeks.
Beautiful black and shiny hair, curling down her shoulders.
Her hairless skin, soft and colored by the sun.
Small, but full lips.
She was beautiful as much as she was intriguing.

Kiwi also decided to use this moment to take a closer look at the light brown furred female.
A thing which she regretted right away.
Because she was beautiful.
Of course she was.
Vinnie wouldn't settle for less.
Small build, but muscular.
Her light brown fur with a golden hue.
Shoulder length hair, having the same color as her fur.
Piercings in both of her big ears.
And her eyes…
They were the deepest blue.
Different than her own eyes, she knew that.
Dammit, this girl was perfect.

Kiwi was the first one who recovered and tilted her head with a questionable look on her face.
"Can I help you?"
The sound of her voice broke Harley outta her trance and she gave Kiwi a shy smile.
"I uh… Carbine told me I could find you here..."
Kiwi narrowed her eyes, feeling suspicious.
Which was completely unnecessary, but jealousy got the best of her.
And Vinnie was lying in her bed behind her.
She agreed that Harley needed to know about her and Vinnie, but finding your ex, who was probably the love of your life at the same time, in someone else's bed was not the way to find out.
Despite her jealousy, Kiwi didn't wish that upon Harley.
Besides, this wasn't her story to tell.
She needed to hear this from Vinnie himself.

"Okay... Well, you found me..."
Harley, who was looking just as uncomfortable, held out her hand.
"I'm Harley…"

Duh.

Her voice was low, even a little hoarse.
Kiwi lowered her gaze and looked at the hand.
As she let out her breath, she hesitantly took it.
"The name's Kiwi, but you already knew that", she said, not unfriendly. "Nice to meet ya."
Which was a lie, of course.
"Same here…", the Martian female answered, probably lying too.
This was nothing but a facade.
"Do you… you have uh... time to talk? Maybe I can come in?"
Kiwi's cheeks turned red, she was already trying to come up with a plan to avoid the light brown furred mouse was gonna see Vinnie, but then she stopped herself. This was getting ridiculous.
She wasn't one who was comfortable with hiding things or keeping secrets.

Harley must have felt her hesitation because she pushed Kiwi aside and walked into the room.
"What are you…", Kiwi started, but Harley was already inside.
Okay, this was not supposed to happen.
Yeah, she wanted to tell the truth, but not like this.
So, she made a feeble attempt to stop this madness before things would get ugly.
"Hey! You can't just walk in here! Never heard of privacy?"
But it was too late.
The damage was already done.

...

Hot dogs.

Hot dogs everywhere.
He was sitting in Kiwi's kitchen, back on Earth, with a huge pile of hot dogs in front of him.
All his.
Next to it, a tray of root beer.
This was heaven.
Only looking at it made his mouth watering.
But when he reached out his hand, a voice stopped him.

"Hey!"

What?

"I'm just…", he started, but the voice cut him off.

"You can't just walk in here!"

"But sweetheart…"

"Never heard of privacy?"

Vinnie's eyes flew open and he jerked upright, his gun already in his hand.
Which was aimed at a light brown furred mouse with her blue eyes wide open.
A human girl was standing behind her, a defeated look in her, also, blue eyes.
"What the…"
He shook his head, still dazed from sleep, but the sight didn't change.

Oh.

This wasn't a dream.
This was reality.
And the reality was that Harley found him in Kiwi's bed just now.
Not quite the way to let her know about... them.
But the guild was tempered by relief.
Because at least now she knows, right?
And he wouldn't be the one to tell her.
That was worth something.
But despite all that, this was still very… very…
...awkward.

Vinnie lowered his gun.
"Harley! What are ya doin' here?"
The sharp edges on his voice gave away his discomfort.
Harley didn't respond, she was still staring at him, and Vinnie could see her brains making overtime.
His gaze landed on Kiwi, who bit her lower lip, also being very uncomfortable as she pointed at him.
He looked down and quickly covered himself with the blankets.
Jesus, being awoken like this was already bad enough without him being completely naked.
Not even his ego could save him now.
Well, he did have a sexy body, so...

Shut up.

Harley's ears drooped, so did her antennas.
Her head lowered, her shoulders slumped.
It broke Vinnie's heart, actually.
Her whole appearance was one in defeat.
"Harley, I…", but before he could say anything further, she turned around and left the room.
Now it were Vinnie's ears that drooped.
He looked at Kiwi.
"What the hell, Kiwi?"

Kiwi, who was on her way to follow the upset female mouse, stopped and raised her hands while shaking her head.
"Oooh, hell no, macho mouse. Don't you dare to blame this on me! I tried to stop her, but she just marched in like a tank. Have you seen this body?!", and she gestured wildly at herself. "This ain't no body that is able to stop a Martian Mouse who's on a warpath, goddammit."
"It's a nice body, though…", Vinnie said cheeky, looking up at her from under his lashes.
Kiwi stared at him for a moment, hardly able to keep up with him this time.
But then, her hands lowered and she burst into laughter, she just couldn't help it.
The guy was unbelievable.
Vinnie stared at her as if she just caught fire.
"What? Something I've said?"

Kiwi shook her head and followed Harley.
Despite everything, she felt guilty.
She didn't want to fight with a girl who loved her guy.
That would be too easy. Too... predictable.
"Harley, wait up..."
Harley stopped and turned around.
The look on her face took Kiwi off guard.
It was clear the female mouse was hurt to the bone.

"Please, tell me you're just a fling... ", Harley whispered and Kiwi swallowed.
"I'm sorry, but it's more than just that... We... We're engaged. We're connected..."
Harley's eyes narrowed when she heard the word connected.
"You're lying..."
"I'm sorry, but it's true..."
"You don't know... You can't know what I've done to be here... To see him again..."
Tears jumped into Kiwi's eyes by hearing the pain in Harley's voice.
But Harley's eyes were dry as a leaf.
Burning with pain, anger and denial, yes... But no tears.
All too familiar for Kiwi.
Crying was for the weak for those who were living in a war.
Vinnie had shown her that.
God, this war had broken so many spirits.
It was painful and confronting to see, every single time.

"He went crazy when he lost you, Harley. Throttle told me he spoke to no one for almost a year...", Kiwi tried to reason with her, but it was no use.
"You don't have to explain to me how hard it is when the rock you hold onto is a love miles away. You're the last one from who I want to hear that..."
"He searched you for a year. He did everything within his power to find you. But what choice did he have? Eventually, he needed to move on with his life. So he did. But he never forgot about you..."
Harley's tail lashed through the air.
"Enough! Tell him to come to me. I need to hear this from him!", she spit out, her eyes fuming.
Before Kiwi could say something, she was already gone.

With a heavy heart, Kiwi walked back into her room, only to find Vinnie at the exact same spot she'd left him, still with a dazed look on his face.
"I tried to talk to her, but she wants to hear it from you. I can't say I disagree", she said while taking place on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, sure, great idea", Vinnie replied sarcastically, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I'll just walk in there, to tell her... To tell her what exactly, sweetheart? You forgot how bad I am at this stuff?"
"Hey, you're the self-proclaimed smooth talker here", Kiwi retorted, but then she sighed as her sad smile faded.
"Look, even if she's your ex and the last person I wanna have in my life, our life... I kinda feel sorry for her... As far as I can tell, the only reason that she's still alive is you. And her kid, probably, but knowing that you were still out there, was her incentive to keep fighting... After everything she's been through, she at least deserves to hear the truth from you. You alone."
"But..."
"No buts, macho mouse. I'm right and you know it, you're just too stubborn to admit it. Nothing new. And I don't care, as long as you're gonna talk to her. And I can't believe it's me of all people who is telling you this..."
"Gosh, babe, when did you become such a bi...", but Kiwi gave him such a deadly glare, he ate the rest of the words and bit his lower lip.
"Okay, okay. I'll go talk to her..."

He looked at Kiwi, an amused look on his face.
But his eyes, his beautiful ruby red eyes, were revealing his sadness and insecurity.
But, as usual, he made a joke out of it.
"Gotta tell ya, doll, you're a real turn on when being this bossy..." and he wiggled his eyebrows.
Kiwi grabbed the pillow and smacked it against his head, knowing it was no use to force him to show her how he really felt.
"Aaarrgh, you're the worst! Now, get dressed, before I...", but she realized she shouldn't finish that sentence.
Dammit, she shouldn't have started the whole sentence in the first place.

Vinnie immediately smelled his way out of an awkward talk with his ex-girlfriend and pulled her on top of him. Carefully though, before he would hurt her.
"Before you what?", he asked teasingly while his hands crawled under her shirt.
Kiwi rolled her eyes as she grabbed his hands to stop him.
"Never mind, forget I said that, okay?"
"But sweetheart..."
"Again, no buts, mister van Wham. This ain't gonna happen, not now. And not only because of Harley, but I got surgery only three days ago and apparently... Apparently, I have a wedding to plan", she added with a dreamy smile, her blue eyes twinkling, for a moment this whole mess forgotten.

With reluctance, Vinnie pulled back his hands.
But he knew she was right.
Dammit, she almost always was.
So was Throttle.
He was surrounded by people who were almost always right.
It was exhausting as much as it was convenient.
Kiwi gave him this smile to tell him she knew, that he knew, that she was right and gave him a kiss on the nose.
Vinnie sighed.
Definitely more exhausting than convenient at this point.

...

In the meantime, Harley rushed back to her room, a hand over her mouth.
Tears made her vision blurry and her breathing came out in rapid breaths.
Jesus, the pain was almost too much.
Fighting against her tears, she stumbled back into her room. Shaylon was still fast asleep.
Good.
She didn't want him to see her like this.
As silent as possible, she opened the door to her balcony and closed it with a soft click.
When she turned around, she gave her tears free rein and she fell on her knees, holding herself tightly.
At least she had been able not to collapse in front of her.
Her.
Kiwi.
Jesus.

He was the one thing, the only thing, that had kept her going these past horrible years.
He was the only reason she hadn't killed herself when she was forced to be a wife for Tallie's cruel father.
The first year, she still had hope that he was gonna come save her.
Every night she was lying in bed, her ears pricked, listening to any sign that he would come for her.
But every night it kept awfully quiet.

So, after the first year of her imprisonment, her hope faded.
But it was still there.
Less strong maybe, but at least it was still there.
Every night she kept having this dream of him saving her on that beautiful bike, with that stupid smile on his face...
And once she was free, they drove off into the sunset.

God, she had been so naive...

The years after, the hope was nothing more but a small spark in her heart, but it never left.
Not until now.
Not until she found him in Kiwi's bed just now, making clear to her that the one thing that could crush her had happened.
Her worst nightmare was coming true.
He had moved on with his life.
The spark was gone, there was only a void left.
An emptiness that nothing, absolutely nothing, could fill.
Because she lost him.
For good.
And the pain was suffocating.
More than suffocating, actually.
There was no word that was able to describe how she was feeling right now.
Broken came the closest, but it still didn't cover the load.
Because she was already broken.

Could something that was already broken, break again?

If it wasn't for Shaylon, she would've jumped off this balcony, right here, right now.
Her life was already ruined before all this. The things Tallie's father had made her do…
He broke her.
He broke her soul and heart.
He killed the person known as Harley and after, Meadow was born.
A cold and distant person.
A person she didn't wanna be.
But life left her no choice.
The only hope she had left for Harley, was Vinnie.
But that hope just vanished…
Vanished into thin air, to never return again.
And she had no idea how to handle this.

...

Vinnie was standing in front of Harley's door, lingering and thinking of how many places he wanted to be right now instead of here.
But he knew that this time would come.
He couldn't keep running away from it.
Kiwi was right.
Harley deserved to know the truth and yes, she needed to hear it from him.
Sighing exaggeratingly loud, he knocked on the door.
His heartbeat rose, his hands turned sweaty...
But all he could hear was silence.
He knocked again, but still, no response.

Ha.
Maybe there was a god after all.

Feeling relieved, he turned around to walk away, but something stopped him.
And that was his conscience.
That annoying little voice in his head was telling him he needed to stop being such a pussy.
And before he could come up with a thousand excuses, he turned back around and opened the door.
"Harley?", he asked, his voice shaky.
Shaky, goddammit.
And finally, there was a response.
It just wasn't the one he'd expected.

Because right when he walked into the room, he almost tripped over Shaylon.
The kid was standing in front of him, his fists clenched and obviously ready to attack the, for him unknown, intruder.
"Stay away from my mom, or I'll make you!", he yelled, his child's voice already sounding way too mature.
Vinnie looked down on him, right into the fuming blue eyes.
It was obvious the kid was very protective over his mother.
And apparently not that shy anymore.
"Wow, little wild man, stand down", the white furred mouse chuckled amusedly as he raised his hands, not seeing the little fella as a threat. "I ain't here to hurt ya, or your mother..."

Ha!

That's right. Because he already did.
Hurting her.
The irony.

But Shaylon didn't budge.
The opposite, actually.
His pink and hairless tail swept through the air as he lashed out with his right fist.
Since Vinnie wasn't prepared for this, because come on, it was a kid, he was too late to dodge it and the little fist ended right in the balls.
His eyes grew big and he let out a high squeak as he fell on his knees, his hands now in front of his crotch.
A little too late for that now...
Gosh, the horror.

Shaylon now raised his left fist, but before he could use it, a sharp but also calm voice stopped him.
"Shaylon. Enough."
The little boy immediately backed down and Harley lay a hand on his shoulder as she looked down on the tough Martian Mouse on the floor.
"You'll have to excuse my son's rudeness. But he's very protective when it comes to me..."
Her voice was now soft. Amused.
As if she was forcing herself not to laugh.
Vinnie nodded, holding up a hand to signal he needed a little bit more time.
He took a few deep breaths and the pain, along with the nausea, faded.
Shame took its place.
Dammit, this was beyond awkward.
He just let a little kid get the best of him.
Ugh…

He got back on his feet, a faint blush visible under his white fur.
"No problemo, I totally saw it coming."
Harley's mouth curled into a smile.
"Sure. And you decided to let him win because that's just who you are, am I right?"
"Right", Vinnie smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Anyway... I uh... I came to talk..."

Suddenly, the nerves were back when he saw how Harley's smile vanished.
Her blue eyes, which were twinkling from amusement just seconds ago, were now burning in pain again.
Vinnie swallowed and shuffled with his feet.
"Shaylon, honey, be a good boy and go back to bed, will you?", Harley said soothing but compelling. "Thanks for backing me up, but he's one of the good guys, believe it or not..."
Shaylon looked up at his mother as if he wanted to check if she was telling the truth.
Vinnie may not know that much about kids, but even he couldn't help but notice that the young boy wasn't acting like a normal kid of his age.
And he caught himself wondering what the hell happened to him and his mother that their relationship was turned upside down.
"It's okay, really, it is", Harley reassured Shaylon.
Clearly comforted now, her son walked back to the bed and crawled under the blanket.

Harley looked at Vinnie.
"Let's talk outside. This is one conversation he doesn't need to hear."
"Fine by me", Vinnie mumbled as he followed her outside. Harley closed the doors behind him and then turned around to look at the mouse who she was still loving deeply.
Who was, by the looks of things, still not good in expressing his emotions.
He was fiddling with his fingers and his ears and tail twitched almost in a rhythm.
"He really cares about ya", he blurted out.
"He's my son, of course he does", Harley responded drily.
"That doesn't always mean anything, and you know it", Vinnie said, a bit sharper than he intended to.
Harley knew he was referring to his father, which he always had a difficult relationship with while growing up.
"You're right."

There was a short and awkward silence.
Harley broke it.
"Is it true?"
Her voice was now cold and she knew, she just knew that Meadow had taken over at this point.
Pragmatic and distant.
Maybe that was a good thing for now.
Vinnie finally looked at her and her heart skipped a beat.
She could read the answer in his eyes, it was practically written on his face.
But she needed him to say it out loud.
Why exactly?
Wasn't this whole thing not already painful enough?
"Yeah... Yeah, it's true...", he finally managed to bring out.
His voice was low and so god help her, hearing it brought back so many feelings.
But it was immediately followed by the pain caused by his betrayal.
"What about... what about sun and moon?", she whispered, already overwhelmed by emotions again.
The pain was more than she could bear.

Bye Meadow...

Hello Harley...

Vinnie looked at her as if she just slapped him into the face.
He forgot.
Of course he did.
Did he?
She now saw a glance in his beautiful eyes, one of recognition.
"I...", he started, but the rest of the words didn't come.

Vinnie felt a pang of pain when he saw her face and fought the urge to wrap his arms around her to comfort her.
He also fought the urge to run away with dangerous speed.
Heck, he actually wanted to jump off the balcony right now.
To flee from her pain, because it was too much for him to see.
It broke his already broken heart.

Could something that was already broken, break again?

She deserved to know the truth, she deserved him being honest and open and... blablabla.
But that didn't make it easier, now did it?
Nope.
But what could he say?
All there was left to say was...
"I'm sorry...", he whispered.

She looked up and for a moment, they just stared into each other's eyes.
Vinnie felt a tingle in his belly, his heart fluttering in his chest, he just couldn't help it.
Seeing these eyes...
Sun and moon...
It all brought back so many memories.
Good and bad.
Mostly good.
Jesus, this was crazy. Beyond crazy.

He knew his heart belonged to Kiwi.
It really did.
But he couldn't just ignore the history he shared with Harley.
It all came back now...

The feeling when he saw her for the first time; as if he got struck by lighting.
Their so-called dance around each other.
Their first kiss.
The nights they spent together.
Sun and moon...

Ah man...

Flashback city...

So, Modo finally knows why his father left him.
I sense an upcoming bonding between father and son, hehe.

But first...
Vinnie and Harley.
What's their story?
Because it's obvious they have a story.
Next to a history, that is.

Feel free to leave a review, always very much appreciated.
Thanks for reading my story and till next time, guys!

Later!