"Morning mom!"

Corona smiled as her son ran into the gardens of the castle to greet her. The ten year old greeted her with a hug, which she gladly returned. "Good morning Pavo. Someone is certainly in a cheery mood today," she said patting him on the head. He had always been a rather upbeat boy, but had been even more so lately. She was pretty sure she knew the reason why. "Are you going to meet up with Leiol today?"

He smirked, blushing as he rubbed the back of his head. "Ah… yeah. We're going to go to the beach today," he explained. "We're gonna have a picnic."

Corona cooed. "Oh, how sweet."

Pavo and Leiol had been spending quite a bit of time together, and it was clear that the boy was smitten with her. He was always telling her and Morel about how amazing she was. Corona had only really gotten to speak to the girl proper once, but from what she could tell she was a sweet kind hearted little thing. Morel seemed… rather unimpressed by her. Though she didn't quite know why.

"Is dad here? I wanted to ask him what flowers I should bring." His father knew a lot about how to woo women. At least that's what everyone else said. His mom always seemed happy too, so he must have known what he was doing.

Corona shook her head. "Sorry, but you're father left a bit ago to meet up with Astro. I don't imagine he'll be gone very long though," she said.

Pavo sighed. "Well, that stinks. But I don't want to be late." He hovered over towards one of the bushes and began picking a few daisies. "I know she likes these. I'll just have to make sure to pick her extras to make up for it next time."

Corona pushed her glasses up, amust by the whole thing. Pavo was like his father in many ways, but this wasn't one of them. As a child, and even now, Morel really only liked showing his more affectionate side when they were alone. But Pavo clearly didn't care who knew how he felt about Leiol. "Out of curiosity, should I be expecting a wedding when you get back?" she teased.

He turned towards her and frowned, another blush spreading across his face. "Oh come on mom, I just… you know, like her. She's special," Pavo said floating back in front of her. "And I want her to know it."

Corona reached up and pinched his cheeks. "Well, aren't you a little charmer. You have much more of your father in you than you realize, you know that?" she asked.

He looked at her confused. His father, a charmer? That was sort of hard for him to believe. He never saw his father ever saw to charm anyone.

"If you say so… I'll be back later mom."

He took off, an eager smile on his face. He didn't want to keep Leiol waiting.

After he touched down on the ground, Pavo began walking towards the gardens of Leiol's house. They always met up there before they went off somewhere. She seemed to really like flowers, so maybe that was why. He hoped she liked the flowers he bought today. He wanted to show up a little early and surprise her.

He made his way into the garden, and then got ready to turn into the small clearing where they kept the bond. Right before he did however, he heard a voice.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be going out with Pavo today?"

It took the boy to recognize the voice. It was one of her handmaidens. A girl who was usually dead silent around him. Leiol said she was just shy, and never spoke much. He guessed since it was the two of them then she was willing to be a bit more talkative.

"Ugh, don't remind me…"

Unlike before, it didn't take him any time at all to recognize this voice. He would have recognized it pretty much anywhere.

It was Leiol.

But she sounded different. Her voice lacked the usually sweet tone he was so used to hearing. She sounded like she was exhausted or annoyed at something.

"I honestly have no idea how you do it. I mean… being that close to an Incubus. It has to be really scary. Aren't you afraid he's going to do something?" the handmaiden asked worriedly. "I mean with all the rumors about them…?"

Pavo stepped back, a confused look on his face. He… hadn't been expecting to hear that. Not here, and certainly not in front of Leiol. Was that why she was always quiet around him?

"Of course it is."

His eyes widened at Leiol's response. Wait, what?

"It's so creepy. I keep thinking he's going to try and eat me every time he gets close. Like he's going to suck out my soul or just… take a bite out of me," Leiol said with a shiver. "It's so hard to keep smiling at him. Sometimes I really just want to run away."

Pavo stood there in shock, the words slowly sinking into his brain. Was… was this a joke? Did she know he was here? Was she messing with him for eavesdropping on her? Surely she didn't mean… she didn't mean those things, did she?

"I definitely would," the handmaiden said.

"I hope daddy knows what he's doing. I don't want to have to keep this up forever. The other day he kissed my cheek and I almost passed out. It was just… ugh…"

"You don't think he's gonna want you to marry him, do you?"

"Ew! I hope not! I don't know what I'd do if I had to be stuck with him like that."

Pavo took another step back, and then crouched down. He was breathing a little faster, and his hearts all felt like they were about to beat out of his chest. He had to be dreaming right now. There was no way that… Leiol was sweet, and kind, and caring. She wouldn't say these things. She wouldn't even think these things.

He grabbed his head and squeezed, hoping to wake himself up. But he couldn't. The girls kept on talking, but he was no longer listening. He just kept trying to rationalize what he had heard in his head. His name? That's what this had been about? Every little moment they had? Every smile, and laugh, and outings they had was just her trying to use his family name to get something?

"You should probably get going. I think he's going to be here soon."

"Alright, be careful Leiol."

Pavo heard footsteps, and guessed that it was the handmaiden taking her leave. He kept sitting there, staring at the ground and wondering what he was supposed to do. Did he just… leave? After what he'd heard it seemed like the logical thing to do. He should have just flown off and never came back.

But… he didn't want to.

He stood back up, letting out a breath before making his way around the corner and to the garden, an even look on his face. Leiol heard him approaching, and turned towards home with a smile. "Pavo!" she said, waving.

And just like that, her voice had gone back to it's usual sweet tone. So sweet it would make all seven of his hearts flutter. Now it just made him feel… sick.

He smiled and waved back, managing to appear shockingly calm despite how he was feeling. "Hey Leiol," he greeted back, a little surprised at how cheery he managed to sound. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

She shook her head. "Not at all!" she got up and grabbed the basket of food she'd brought along with her. "You're right on time. Are you ready to go? I packed a lot of food. I know how much you can eat sometimes," she said giggling.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I am pretty hungry. Really hungry actually," he said as he stood in front of her. "Actually, I was wondering if we could just eat here."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? I mean… are you sure? You don't want to wait until we get to the beach? I could give you a sandwich to tide you over."

Pavo stepped closer to her, and though she kept her same expression, he noticed that she flinched ever so slightly. He was noticing a few things now actually. The way she stood, the subtle little movements she was making… she was scared. Had she always been like this? Had he just never noticed before now?

"I'm really hungry," he said leaning over her. "I want to eat, right now."

For just a moment, he saw her facade drop. She cleared her throat and then nodded. "O-okay. Well I suppose we can just eat here then," she said setting the basket down.

"Did you ever wonder what a soul taste like?"

Leiol's eyes widened, and then slowly turned back up towards him. He was still smiling down at her, but his eyes had… changed. Not physically, but something about the way he was looking at her was incredibly unnerving. "What?"

"A soul," Pavo said, stepping towards her. She began backing up. "Even though my dad says succubus and incubus used to eat them all the time, I've never had one."

She couldn't hide the worry on her face, and she gulped. "Why… why are you talking about stuff like this Pavo?" she asked, letting out a nervous giggle.

"Why are you shaking?" he asked back, feigning curiosity. "Are you afraid?" he asked, leaning towards her. Her blood ran cold as his eyes suddenly turned blue. "Do you, I'm going to eat you soul? Do you think I'm going to eat you?"

For a moment, Leiol just stood there. There was a tense moment of silence. But then she suddenly turned and began rushing off, dropping the basket as she fled as fast as she could from the garden. Pavo just stood and watched as she left.

It wasn't like he felt happier from doing that. He guessed he just… wanted to see her drop the facade. It was a small meaningless victory, but she had shown just how rotten she really was…

Pavo headed back home, trying and failing to avoid his mother. When she asked him what had happened, he… he hadn't really told her anything. He just said he wanted to be alone and kept moving. She didn't stop him, but it was clear she knew something was wrong.

He'd flown up to the tallest tower and just… sat there. He just didn't know what he was supposed to do now. Every time he tried to think of something, his mind blanked. And he just kept staring up at the sky.

"Rough day?"

Pavo frowned when he heard his father's voice. He figured that he would be back soon, and of course his mother was going to tell him something was wrong. "I don't want to talk about it," Pavo said looking down.

Morel hummed as he walked closer. "Was it about Leiol?" he asked.

Pavo balled his fist up. "I don't wanna hear you say I told you so…"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Yes you would. You never liked her." He never said it out loud, but he could tell. He was always acting distant towards her.

Morel clicked his tongue. "Yeah, you're right about that. Didn't care for her one bit," he admitted casually. "I always thought she was a little too sweet. Even your mother has a snappy side to her. Not that you ever see it." Pavo grit his teeth as Morel took a seat beside him. "I was really hoping I was wrong though. Honest."

Pavo looked up at him slightly surprised. Morel seemed… genuinely saddened. He didn't see his father get expressive that often. So it caught him off guard. Pavo gripped the edge of the roof, and it cracked slightly. "She was using," he muttered. "She just wanted to get close because of our noble status."

Morel sighed. "Yeah. Even after all the shit we've been through, people wanna play these types of shitty games." And bring their kids into them too. It was fucked up, and part of the reason he tried to duck out on as much of this type of political stuff as possible. It was pretty hard to avoid given the family he'd married into though.

"I was stupid I can't believe I… I'm never falling for anything like that again," Pavo said sternly. "I'm never gonna let anyone do that to me again."

Morel hummed. "Pavo… I know you're hurting right now, but-"

"I'm fine," he said, cutting him off. "I'm better off without her."

Morel looked down at him, and then reached up and put an arm around his shoulder. He pulled him closer, and Pavo's eyes went wide. "Let it out kid…"

"What?" Pavo asked.

"Your mom is right. You take a lot after me. You got my bad habit of trying bottle stuff like this up. But I'm telling you that's just a waste of time. You're not gonna start getting over it until you let it out," Morel said simply.

Pavo wanted to tell him that he was fine. But when he opened his mouth to say it, a much more pitiful sound ended up coming out instead. Before he realized it, he had started tearing up. Morel patted him on the back as he grabbed his shirt and shoved his face in his side. He took a deep breath, and then began crying.

"I really liked her…"

"I know."

"It hurts."

"I know."

Morel did his best to keep on soothing his son as he cried away. He had never seen himself as the nurturing type. Corona was definitely better at dealing with most things like this when it came to their son. But this? This was something that was sadly all too familiar to him.

He knew Pavo would have to get a taste of it at some point. But that didn't make it any easier to have to watch him go through it. It didn't matter if he was the child of a Butterfly, he was still a half-breed, and an Incubus at that.

Morel himself cried about things like this more times than he could count. But it wasn't like he could really go crying to his dad. Or anyone back then really. He knew being a shoulder to cry on wasn't exactly much, but it felt like the only thing he could do right now. "It's gonna hurt for a while kid, but it'll get better eventually. I promise."

"Alright, I'm heading out."

Morel and Corona looked up towards their son, who had his bag slung over his shoulder. "Are you going on another mission? You just came back from one yesterday, didn't you?" Corona asked. Lately it seemed like he spent more time on missions with Lacerta and the others than he did at home. She was growing a little worried that he would burn himself out at this rate.

Pavo walked over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, we got word about some rebel base trying to start up and you know Lars wants to get the jump on it. It shouldn't take too long to deal with though. I'll be home late though, so don't wait up."

"Got a date?" Morel asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pavo chuckled. "Sure, I guess." He was more inclined to call it a midnight snack than an actual date, but whatever. "I'll be sure to make it back by tomorrow. I know we're having that… meeting thing, with the other noble families right?"

"Alright. You be careful," Corona said.

"Always am," Pavo said nodding. It was sort of amazing that his mother kept worrying about him the way she did. As if anything could happen to him, let alone the rest of the gang while they were on a mission. "Catch you later old man."

Morel offered a wave. "Yeah, try not to get into too much trouble. And curb your appetite," he said yawning. Pavo hummed, and then took off into the air.

Corona stared after him. "Do you think we should be worried about how much time he's spending away from home? You don't think he feels uncomfortable here do you?" she asked. She knew just how much Morel hated his own home growing up, and she hated to think Pavo felt that way about theirs.

"Nah, he's fine. He's just going through a thing," Morel said, trying to ease her. He knew what it felt like to hate your own home, and he could tell that wasn't the case with Pavo. No, he was just going through some things. He had been for a while.

Corona raised an eyebrow. "You always say that. How long exactly do you think this phase of his is going to last?" she asked curiously.

"No clue," Morel said honestly.

He wasn't all that worried about it though. While he did worry sometimes, especially about the influence his father had on him, he knew Pavo had a good head on his shoulders. And as much as he tried to hide it under his whole playboy routine, he was still that soft little kid from all those years ago.

He's worked things out eventually. And until he did, he had them and his friends helping him keep it together.

Pavo meanwhile touched down outside of the gates, where the others were already waiting for him. "What took you so long?" Dagon asked annoyed.

"Cool it runt. Was just telling the folks I was leaving," Pavo said.

Dagon smirked. "Aw, you had to tell mommy and daddy goodbye first?"

Raza smiled. "I think it's nice you always say goodbye. Dad isn't always around the forge, so sometimes I just have to end up leaving a note for him," the goliath said.

Lars chuckled. "Lucky you. I can hardly breathe without my dad being on my ass about something. He called me like fifteen times to see where I was going," the prince said before turning around. 'Anyway, enough small talk. Let's head out already. We got some rebels to stomp out near Lansin territory."

Dagon paused for a moment. "Lansin…? Hey, isn't that where that chick you used to-?"

Raza quickly put a large hand over Dagon's mouth, a panicked look on his face. He had hoped the youngest of their crew would have the mind not to bring such a sensitive topic up. "It's fine," Pavo said casually waving. "It was like nine years ago guys, I'm over it."

It wasn't like he was the same stupid kid he was back then. He knew how the world worked now, and he knew sulking about it didn't change a thing. Raza sighed. "Even still, he shouldn't have brought it up. Do you even know how to be subtle?" he asked looking down at Dagon.

"Like you're one to talk…" Dagon said, scowling. "I don't see what the big deal in bringing her up anyway is. He said he's over it, and he's way better off without the btich anyway. Hey, maybe we should stop by the castle and tag it or something? That'd be pretty fun, right?"

Pavo laughed. "Fun as that sounds, pretty sure King Astro is gonna find out and get pissed. Besides, it's like you said. Not worth the time. We have actual stuff to get done," he said looking towards Lacerta. "Girls like her come and go every day, but the King's Crew is for life, right?" he asked, smirking.

Lacerta smirked back at him, and Dagon and Raza smiled. "Damn straight..."

A/N: How Pavo got screwed over as a kid! Really messed him up. When it comes to the fairer sex he doesn't really like opening up. Leiol kind of made him real hesitant when it comes to relationships. But he knows the crew has always got his back. And even if Morel would never say it, he's a hell of a dad. Probably knows his son better than any other dad in mewni!