Marko: Reborn

Disclaimer: I don't own The Lost Boys.

Author's Note: Why did I think taking these extra classes was a good idea!? *Smacks self for stupidity* So yeah sorry for not updating last month, school, work, and my dog getting hospitalized (she's doing better now) made it a not so great month the only thing enjoyable about it was the anime convention in Atlanta I went to but even that left me lacking energy when I returned home and I even had to hit the books double time for taking those days off. On a brighter note it's my birthday today so here's a present from me to you awesome readers in the form of this extra-long chapter, in fact, I'm pretty close to finishing up a chapter of another one of my stories so that may be up later today as well. Enjoy!

*EDIT 10/06/18* Chapter beta'd by the amazing exaigon!

Chapter 4: Teenhood Part 2

The tension the next day between the whole family was not a pleasant one and it was clear that it wasn't just Marko that was angry with their dad, but Michael was as well. So, Sammy did what any good little brother would do and ignored their father in support of his big brothers even if he only vaguely understood why.

It was a stressful day especially for Lucy and it didn't get any better in the following weeks. Between Mike trying to tell her Marko didn't start anything, that it was her husband at fault, and her children shunning their father, things weren't going so well for her. Normally, she'd take her oldest at his word but well he did have a habit of covering for his twin at times, so it made trusting his word this time a bit more difficult.

With Lucy not listening to what Michael was telling her, the harried mother was instead trying to talk her troubled son into possibly seeing someone about his anger issues which only served to piss off Marko even further. He took to avoiding her much to the older woman's frustration.

All the while, Sam was feeling left out with all the family drama happening around him that he didn't even fully understand to begin with.

Lucy noticed her youngest son's plight, though. In an effort to help at least one of her sons she decided to do something special for Sam's upcoming birthday.

That special thing being buying a puppy for his birthday. He'd been begging her for one for years now. For a few hours, everything seemed right in the world. She had her three sons, a homemade cake, and a rambunctious little puppy bouncing around causing mischief… Then her husband showed up shortly after the presents and cake causing her two oldest to lock themselves away in their shared room not wanting to be around their father.

Sam, of course, was upset by this and simply took, the newly named, Nanook for a walk to get away from the tense atmosphere.

It all came to a head a couple of stressful months later when Lucy came home early, and she heard raised voices. It was sadly nothing new lately but what was surprising was which son it was.

Michael wasn't one for yelling, moping yes, but arguing no. At least, not to the extent of raising his voice.

This hastened her steps until she rounded the corner and gasped as her husband's fist landed a blow on her son's face. Both looked her way at the sound, showcasing the bloodied split lip her oldest was now sporting.

Michael watched warily as his mom's face went from shocked to downright furious before she placed herself between the two of them, blocking him as if to protect him with her small form. She glared up at his dad.

"How dare you!?"

It took a moment for Jack to gain his wits as his normally demure wife glared hatefully at him. Which was probably a first Michael realized vaguely as he wiped his bleeding mouth, wincing slightly.

"He was back talking me," the man defended himself. His own hateful glare was directed at Michael who had no problem glaring right back at the man.

Lucy was not amused.

"I don't care. You ground him if you think he needs to be punished but you don't ever lay your hands on my son!" She paused to draw a quick calming breath before stressing, "On any of them ever again. Do you understand me!?"

That's when a thought occurred to her. "Did you lie about what happened with Marko?"

Jack barely refrains from rolling his eyes but only just. "Come on Lucy. You know that little delinquent started it. Obviously."

"That's a lie," Michael glowered from behind his mother's protective form.

The older man snorted, "Even if it was, the little punk had it coming."

This response didn't endear him to either of them.

"Funny. You seemed to be the one that had it coming," Michael sneered, recalling the other's injuries left by Marko.

Lucy yelled, "Enough, the both of you!"

Her anger lessened when she caught sight of her son's injured face upon glancing back at him and she spoke more gently in his direction, "Michael go to the bathroom and get the first aid kit. I'll see you there in a minute."

For a second the teenager looked like he planned to argue but seeing her expression he thought better of it and instead nodded his agreement and shuffled away. But not without throwing a backward glare at his dad.

Lucy rounded on her husband once her son was out of sight.

"What's the matter with you?" She was once again back to her fuming self. "No, you know what? Don't answer that just stay away from my boys and don't you ever even think about laying another hand on them do you hear me?"

Lucy turned to leave but he grabbed her arm. "Luc-"

"Also, you're sleeping on the couch if you even come home tonight," she informed him sternly before ripping her arm away to go tend to her son's injuries.

As she walked through the hall, her anger all but evaporated now, she sagged in exhaustion and melancholy. Lucy's gaze landed on her other twin son, Marko, leaning against the wall in the hallway on the way to the bathroom. She had no doubt that he'd heard everything but when she tried to speak he just shook his head and turned around walking away from her. He was still angry with her. Lucy sighed not at all blaming him for feeling that way.

This was not how she had imagined her family would turn out all those years ago.

Lucy wanted to believe that as a family they could all work through this but, really, she couldn't see how at the moment. Could she forgive Jack for hurting her boys? At the moment her answer was no, and she didn't know if she wanted that to change. Even if it did could she forgive herself for not noticing how bad it had gotten in the first place?

Could she keep her family from falling apart?

Deciding to think more on it later she tiredly made her way to her oldest who was currently tending to injuries given to him by his own father and didn't that thought hurt her.

Opening the door and witnessing Mike's less than stellar bandaging abilities would normally be a slightly humorous sight as even after all the scraps him and Marko got into he still couldn't do even that much. She had no humor in her right now. With watery eyes she silently entered the bathroom to aid her son.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Marko was lying in bed with his headphones on and eyes closed when Michael entered their room and, even though all the dark-haired boy wanted to do was crash, he knew he had to talk to his twin. It was really annoying that he had to be the sensitive and understanding one out of the two.

Walking over to his brother's bed he easily pulled off the headphones gaining a glare in response. As Marko's whole vibe had screamed 'leave me alone', he wasn't surprised by the expression.

"You look like shit."

Michael rolled his eyes and grinned only to wince from the split lip. "Makes two of us then," he teased lightheartedly.

Marko sat up and tried to reach for the headphones but as the taller of the two, even without the advantage of standing, Michael kept them out of reach.

"You're just jealous," Marko told him before he deemed the headphones a lost cause and flopped back down. "For once I'm not the one whose face got rearranged. You really should have just dropped it and stopped antagonizing him. Favorite son or not he was bound to snap at some point."

Michael frowned and ignored the stinging pain in his lip at the action. "I know… and I'm not the 'favorite son.'"

Marko disregarded the last part and focused on the first half. "You know? You mean you wanted him to punch you?"

"…Not really but I figured if he did Mom might finally see him more clearly."

Marko looked up at him in disbelief almost choking out the words, "You mean you got punched in the face in front of her on purpose? I never took you as that conniving."

Michael snorted, "It's not like I knew she was going to walk in right then but yeah… I figured his temper would have him lash out and as I'm not one to start fights normally I just thought she'd have to listen to me, then right?"

The blonde sighed at his twin's naivety. "Or he could play innocent and make you look like a liar, thus, making you lose what creditability you had with her. Still, looks like your gamble worked this time."

"…You really don't have much faith in our mom, do you?" Michael asked, slightly upset at the discovery. Marko shrugged and kept quiet on the fact that he didn't really have much in the way of faith to begin with.

"I think you should talk to her," Michael said finally getting to the point he'd wanted to bring up from the start of this conversation. The blonde's eyebrow rose, and he asked innocently, "About what?"

"You know what. I get the whole thing with Dad, but Mom doesn't deserve the cold shoulder."

In Marko's opinion she deserved even more but then again, he wasn't a genuinely forgiving person. But dealing with a moody Mikey was the worst so he could at least pretend like everything was sunshine and daisies like he'd done for Sam's birthday. That had, again, been a request from his bleeding-heart twin.

Really, Michael would make an awful vampire. What was David thinking? Or was it had thought? Would think? Man, this whole thing gave him a headache when he started to think about it.

Realizing that he'd zoned out while his brother was trying to talk to him about their mother, the once-vampire sat up again and ran a hand through his long hair. Hair that he was only just able to get away with this year despite his mother's best efforts. It had probably helped that she was distracted by the tense atmosphere these last few months.

"Fine, I'll go talk to her, happy?" He asked sarcastically standing from the bed. He was less than pleased at the idea. After getting the confirmation from Michael that he was 'happy' about it the teen left their room and briefly wondered if this could be a 'don't do it and pretend I did' kind of thing but reluctantly figured his twin would find out and just bug him some more. Michael was good at guilt tripping him... being a human sucked normally so he could do without the added guilt, thank you.

Deciding to stop dragging it out he went off in search of Lucy, only to find that she'd locked herself away in her room. For a minute he thought about knocking but he heard her quiet sobs and decided to leave it.

Well, I tried, he told himself before leaving the house as a way to avoid the annoyance, known only as Michael, for the next few hours.

When he returned home to see that Jack's car was gone he couldn't say he was surprised. He was probably sleeping at his latest fling's place. Marko rolled his eyes as he entered the house. Lucy was sitting by herself on the couch, shoulders hunched as if under a great weight. Was she sad that her husband had taken off like she'd told him to do during their argument or was something else bothering her? He didn't know and at the moment didn't care.

Yeah, he was still mad at her.

Looking up when she noticed her son, she immediately tried to apologize to Marko for not letting him tell her his side of the story months ago. This time she asked to hear it, but he just shrugged her off and left her in tears. It's not long before she's listening to Michael telling her what happened a few months ago, at least, what he knows. It was so like him to try and smooth things over for his twin but that didn't mean he wouldn't be having some words with his brother about it.

Marko listened from the hallway and couldn't help but wonder if they'll be making it to Santa Carla a year earlier than they had previously since he's there or if it would change anything at all. Finally, he decided it didn't matter because he was so ready to be done with being human.

He hated it. He hated them. He hated all these emotions... Yes, being a vampire was better because he didn't feel like this. Marko had felt things differently back then and he just wanted that back. Lately, faces from the past that no longer existed, or rather existed because he'd not met them, haunted him and he felt guilty for killing them even if it didn't happen this time around. Before it wasn't so bad but now that his memories were clearer it was a mess. He was a mess and keeping it from his so-called family was harder than it should have been.

Marko shook those thoughts away and decided he'd heard enough. He stopped eavesdropping only to pass by Sam and his puppy who were also silently listening to what Mike was telling their mom. Neither said a word to one another and Marko made it to his room before he lost it.

It was a good thing Michael'd kept a punching bag hung up in their room otherwise I'd probably break my hand on a wall again, the once-vampire thought idly while taking his frustration out on said punching bag.

Human bodies were fragile, and they took way too much time to heal so not having a broken hand again would be preferable to the irate boy. For when he had broken his hand a couple years ago, he hadn't been able to heal it, even at a normal human rate, because he'd kept using it. Mainly to draw with but he had thrown a punch or two as well. It really wasn't his fault that stupid humans liked to try and kick people when they were down.

Not that I don't give a good as I got even with a broken hand, he thought smugly as he continued to hit the bag in front of him.

Michael could read his brother's mood upon entering their room and while he wanted to chew him out he decided to wait until the morning to do so. Much to Marko's relief.

As for Sam, he chose to sleep in his mom's bed with his new best friend Nanook. Mostly because he didn't want his mom crying alone in bed tonight. He knew he wasn't a superhero like in the comics. He wasn't brave or strong but if he could make his mom a little less sad by keeping her company then that's what he'd do.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Lucy took steps over the next several months to do family-based activities to strengthen and renew their bond because she was determined to fix her family and keep them together. She wasn't going to let her family fall apart on her, though, that was easier said than done. Keeping her oldest two at home now that they both have their death machines proved to be a challenge.

Lucy was still not happy that they bought motorcycles, but it was the boy's own money and they were sixteen now.

To Marko, it seemed that his presence changed very little at least in regard to their moving away to grandpa's house because, like Marko had always thought, Lucy was a romantic. It wasn't just that, she also did not want her family to break apart, so she was struggling to keep it together. In Marko's humble opinion, it was already in pieces and she was the only one who didn't seem to realize it.

It was both irritating and humorous to watch her try, though. But it leaned more towards the aggravating side when both Sam and Michael started to try and mend fences with their dad too; if only to make their mom happy.

The new family time spent around the dinner table was more than a little awkward for the boys but either Sam didn't care or didn't notice as he snuck food to his dog under the table.

Michael, also, was giving the whole Brady Bunch thing a try much to the displeasure of his twin. Marko quietly ate and bit his tongue whenever he felt the need to say something that would ruin the whole family dynamic they had going on. He didn't want the whole family blaming him when things went south again, because they would. It was only a matter of when.

Still, to Marko it all felt very forced.

It was kinda like what Max tried with him and the others back in the day. Yeah, this was not the type of thing he'd wanted when he thought about wanting things back to how they used to be.

Worse than the newly forced family dinners including Jack, were the movie nights. One thing for certain, it made him long for Paul's stupid commentary which would have made the movies somewhat bearable.

Bad movies aside it meant he had to spend even more time around his future meal, aka his current life's father... His mother might not see it but she was quite good at subtle forms of torture, he decided while stealing a handful of popcorn from Sam's bowl while the kid was distracted by whatever was happening on the screen. Nanook noticed and stared at him from Sam's feet.

Marko just stuck out his tongue at the dog who looked none too happy and kept an eye on him for the rest of the movie. He whined whenever the blonde tried to take more popcorn, thus gaining Sam's attention and preventing Marko from taking any more unnoticed.

Dumb dog, Marko thought with a glare which was met head-on by the fearless canine.

Usually they got along, unless Sam was involved and Nanook thought that his owner was being slighted.

It wasn't until halfway through Marko's sixteenth year that he couldn't take it anymore and decided to do something.

If he didn't they might be married even longer than in the original timeline for all he knew. And while he could just leave in six months' time without them if it came down to it, he was getting impatient. It was way past time she caught her husband in the act.

Only that would be too easy, so the teenager thought he'd drop some hints first to see if Lucy could catch on before the finale.

With that, Marko came up with the first step in his plan and Nanook was going to help him with it since he could be bribed with food. Well to an extent anyway. He wouldn't mess with Sam no matter what was offered to him, stupidly loyal if you asked Marko but whatever, he was still useful.

That's how Marko started training his little brother's dog to sneak into the living room quietly to retrieve panties. It was a bit strange and something Paul would've gotten a kick out of had he been there, but it was all for the moment when another one of his dad's 'friends' visited. Once that happened he would just have to find the place to plant his first clue and watch as the scene unfolded.

It didn't take long and, really, their dad acted like a teenager who couldn't keep it in his pants. Maybe it wasn't an entirely accurate description as he had more control of his current teenage body than the older man. That's not to say puberty didn't bite because unfortunately, it caused cravings not too dissimilar from what he recalled of bloodlust. The only thing that kept him from giving into it all the time was that the teenagers around here weren't good. Not surprising though as they were inexperienced teenagers after all, but they were also very boring and Marko didn't do well with things that bore him.

At least he didn't feel the need to kill boring things so that wasn't an issue any longer and, as a plus, he gained endurance that his new teenage body built up during those times. Still, all it took to turn him off was to think of this lifetime's sexual encounters and he was good to go or not go as it would be.

Teenager hormones aside when he got the evidence it was just in time for the next movie night which gave him an idea that he acted on.

That night he sat beside Sam like normal, except this time he was much more impatient. While the tv played some family-friendly crap that he couldn't care less about, he was a bundle of energy trying to sit still. The boy had planned to wait about thirty minutes into the film before subtly motioning for Nanook to go grab the underwear and parade it in front of them.

Half an hour seemed like forever, and as someone that was nearly a century old at one point that's saying something.

Finally, Marko felt that just enough time passed so he nudged Nanook with his foot to gain the dog's attention. After that everything went as planned. The husky got the undergarment and, much to the blonde's amusement, Lucy was the first to notice and at first thought it to be hers. Once she got the undergarments away from the dog she gasped and dropped it.

Nanook looked at Marko as if asking if he should pick it back up but he was too busy trying to keep a straight face to give the curious dog any ques to follow.

Jack, knowing just who's underwear Lucy had found, went on the defense immediately and from there things didn't go quite the way Marko had hoped they would.

"It's obvious what's happened here Lucy. One of the boys broke our trust and brought home a girl." He was eying Marko who snorted.

Yeah, he knew that his younger twin son knew about his lady friends so, of course, he'd try and pin it on him.

"You think this is amusing?" His 'Dad' asked sternly.

"That you think I brought some girl home? Yeah, I find it hilarious." He looked the other straight in the eye and stressed the word 'I' making the man scowl.

"It seems like something a disrespectful brat like you would do."

"Shows what you know." He then glances at the panties without concealing the disgust in his voice, "Whoever was wearing that isn't my type so, sorry but you can't pin this one on me."

Lucy opened her mouth to interrupt when Jack cut her off, "So you finally admit it!"

Michael and Sam looked just as confused as Marko but the one who speaks is Lucy, "Jack what are you talking about? He just said it wasn't him."

He sneers, "No he admitted that it wasn't his type."

His ugly expression becomes even more so when he smirks and looks triumphant about something. What though, Marko hadn't the faintest idea until his next words.

"I knew with hair like that there was no way you could be anything, but a faggot and your words just proved it!"

Marko doesn't say anything for a minute as Michael tries to defend him while Sam looks as flabbergasted as their mother.

Finally, the once-vampire decides that while this isn't what he wanted, he'd work with it.

"What I meant was I'm not into high maintenance and with underwear that expensive looking it kind of screams that, doesn't it?"

He hoped his mom would catch onto the whole expense thing. What high school girl spent that much to buy real silk underwear? Though he supposed it wasn't completely out of the realms of possibility. Some of Mike's girlfriends had come from money and he wouldn't put it past them to waste money that way.

His father looked ready to bring the attention back on his sexual preference, so the teen beat him to it, "Though, I guess you can take it whichever way you want too. Still, if it wasn't me that only leaves two other people who it could be."

Sam jumped off of the couch and protested, "That's gross," before deciding movie night is over and running from the uncomfortable conversation.

"Sam's way too young," Lucy finally found her voice before her eyes drifted to Michael. Marko stood too.

"I said two people, but I didn't say one of them was Sammy."

That said, he left only to catch the old man shout after him, "Poofs aren't allowed under my roof."

Marko ignored him.

That night, Michael didn't speak to his brother. Whether it was because of the whole possible gay thing or because he'd hinted at their father having an affair the dark-haired twin didn't know.

He wasn't sure how to deal with the possibility of either being true.

Michael didn't get any sleep that night, unlike Marko who slept soundly. So, at four in the morning the other twin was finally fed up and he awoke the other by childishly jumping onto his bed.

Marko was not a morning person.

Michael knew this was just a fact of life but chose not to care at the moment.

Marko mumbled angrily and shoved at the other boy, but it failed to do anything as all of Mike's dead weight was laying on top of him.

"Sorry didn't hear you. Wanna try again," the brunette said cheekily.

"Get off or I'll kill you," he repeated more clearly.

Michael, however, was immune to the other's death threats as they happened regularly enough. Though, they have lessened lately.

"Go ahead. At least I'll be able to sleep then."

Marko rolled his tired eyes at his overly dramatic brother. "If you're having trouble sleeping that's your problem."

"And now it's yours too," was the comeback, waking the groggy teen enough for irritation to set in.

Mike wanted to talk... normally Marko hated it but humored him. Now he just hated it. He wanted to sleep but it was likely not going to happen unless he got to the bottom of whatever was bugging the other.

"Fine, I'll bite." Too bad no one but him got that inside joke, "Why can't you sleep?"

The younger twin could practically feel the uneasiness in the air. It was almost like being a vampire again but as the change in Michael was so noticeable Marko was sure anyone would have picked up on it. He didn't give the vampire senses thing another thought and waited for his brother's response.

"Earlier... what dad said was it- I mean are you-"

Clearly struggling to find his words the blonde decided to end his misery, "Gay?"

Michael flinched and despite his tiredness, Marko smirked at the reaction. It was kind of funny to witness his brother not only at a loss of words but so uncomfortable. If he didn't want to curl up and go back to sleep, he might've started to laugh.

"...Are you?" Michael pushed the words out and sat up, throwing an uneasy glance at his brother.

Marko held his stare until the other looked away and then he pulled himself up and forced himself to wake up enough to try and mess with his twin.

"Does it matter?" He shrugged haphazardly.

Michael looked back at him and almost said 'yes' before he really thought about it.

Does it matter? he wondered.

He shrugged. "I guess not but..." Michael's voice trailed off and Marko brought up a knee to rest his arm on before resting his head on said arm all the while keeping his face turned towards his older brother.

Yeah, it was way too early to poke any more fun at him. So, in an effort to get some more sleep Marko spoke up hoping to settle this, "You're worried about what other people will think. You should know by now I don't care what they think and it's not like anyone has any proof so quit worrying about it. It's not going to come back on you."

Michael nodded before coming to a realization, "So you are then?"

Marko rolled his eyes. "Yes, no, I don't really care."

Michael's face contorted with confusion. It's quite funny but Marko just yawned as his brother voiced said confusion, "I don't get it."

"Obviously..." Deciding not to freak him out anymore tonight he asked, "Do you really need to get it?"

Thinking about it, the older twin decided his brother was right. "I guess not."

"Good. Now go to sleep."

"...One more thing..." he said after a pause.

"Now what," the teen growled contemplating kicking him off the bed. Given their positions it shouldn't be too hard but he still felt too lazy to put forth the effort. Looked like he was going to suffer through more talking.

"Do you really think dad's cheating?"

His voice was nearly a whisper and slightly pained and at the moment Marko recalled that the other boy actually cared about both of his parents not just their mother.

Still, it wasn't enough for Marko to spare his feeling. "Well, we could find out for sure."

"...How?"

"Let me sleep and I'll tell you in the morning." With that, the once-creature of the night flopped back and pulled his blanket over his head hoping that was the end of their late night, or rather early morning, chat.

"...Marko?"

That's it,he thought and with a quick stretch of his leg he kicked the other right off the bed. His ears heard the startled yelp and the thud letting him know that Michael was now on the floor.

Victory, he mentally cheered while staying snuggly tucked within the blankets he'd pulled up over his head. He smiled to himself contently.

Snuggling further into his blankets as the other muttered angrily at him, he felt content enough then to fall asleep but before he was able to Michael yanked his covers off. The two started a tug-o-war with the sheets that ended with both teens on the floor. That was where Lucy found them fast asleep hours later when she came to get them up for breakfast.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam wasn't one to keep his thoughts quiet for too long, especially when something was bothering him. So, the next day he cornered Marko and blurted out, "Is dad kicking you out?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?"

He shuffled from foot to foot nervously while Nanook whined from beside him, sensing his discomfort.

"I heard him and Mom last night... I wasn't eavesdropping or anything just going to the bathroom and well they were yelling so-"

Sam was rambling. He did that a lot when he was nervous. It was funny mostly but also annoying when it went on for too long.

"So, you overheard him say he was going to throw me out?" That really didn't surprise the once-vampire as they two of them never bonded; be it because Marko didn't like fatherly figures or because this one, like all the previous ones he'd had, was an asshole was up for debate.

Sam paused his jumbled speech to take a breath before saying, "Yeah... he said he didn't want any of us to catch your depravity or something and Mom got really mad and threw him out and he slept on the couch..."

Well, it was still part of the result he was going for the previous night even though he got there differently than intended. Maybe she'd leave him before him and Michael exposed his infidelity Marko thought idly before getting back to the matter at hand.

"Well, nothing to worry about then because even if he wanted to toss me out, Mom's too nice to let him do it." It was true the woman was way too nice. She'd likely forgive the man shortly for whatever it was he said that got her up in arms this time.

Sam frowned and nodded. "You mean she loves you too much to let him..."

Marko shrugged. "That too I suppose."

Before Sam can think too much about what he said he ruffled the boy's hair much to the younger one's displeasure.

Sam was beginning to really care what his hair, and even his clothes, looked like. Though, he was a bit paranoid now that if he showed it he'd have his dad saying things like what he'd heard about Marko. Truthfully, he'd overheard even more than he'd told his older brother. Sam hadn't wanted to repeat it, though, and never before had he given a thought to pansy guys, but, well, if his brother was one he didn't act like it.

At least, he didn't act like Sam would expect one to. Not that he'd ever met someone that was like that but still... He needed to stop thinking about it. Yeah, he'd forget all about it, after all, he needed to go fix his hair now that Marko messed it up. He went to the bathroom to do just that.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

A few days later saw Michael spying on his dad, and while he felt kind of guilty about doing so he also wanted to prove that, despite the problems their family was facing, his dad wasn't a cheat as well as an asshole.

Because lately, he'd wanted to punch him more than normal for trying to make Marko's life miserable. Luckily, his twin was stronger than he looked and the words the older man said rolled right off his back.

Of course, their dad didn't just let them forget about it and Michael really wanted to because it was just too weird otherwise. When it was brought up he found himself curious about what Marko meant by 'it didn't matter'. How could it not matter if he was with a dude or a girl? That made no sense to the teen. If it didn't matter, then why even bother with guys?

It was all so confusing, and it made him happy he was firmly into girls and didn't have to worry about this kind of thing. Except he was worrying about it even though it had nothing to do with him. Michael sighed and tried to stop thinking about it as he watched how his dad passed his days. It was pretty boring, to be honest.

On the days that he didn't have to work, he spent watching Dad and the days that he did work Marko took over the shift. It became all too clear to the older twin that his brother was right. Not even a week into trailing his dad he caught him in the act. At first, he'd tried to deny it but it was too obvious to keep that up for more than a few minutes.

Luckily, Marko was there too as he'd apparently been passing through or Michael would have blown their cover by letting his temper take over. As it was he still had to be told more than once why it was a bad idea to go punch the bastard in the face.

They had to plan carefully, Marko told him, otherwise he would know to hide the evidence and it'd be his word against theirs and the younger twin knew how that would turn out.

Michael was skeptical and didn't want their mom to get hurt any more than she needed to be. And her walking in on it seemed too cruel but he was eventually talked into it, with the whole cruel to be kind bit Marko spun. It might've helped that the other was a fan of the song with that title, who knew?

So, one evening when the two told their parents they were supposed to be working late, Sam was sleeping over at a friend's place and Lucy was attending a birthday dinner for an old friend.

It was the perfect time for him to have the house to all himself. The twins knew this and pretended to leave with the rest of the family.

They drove their motorcycles far enough away and hid them out of sight before walking back and waiting. The stakeout didn't take too long but still, Marko was growing bored fast. Luckily, Michael anticipated that and brought a pack of cards to pass the time.

"So, if Mom asks why you're home what do you say?" Marko asked after saying 'go fish'. "That the schedule got messed up and I wasn't supposed to work tonight. Got any fives?"

Before Marko could answer he saw a familiar car heading their way and smirked.

"He's here. Showtime," Marko told his brother as the car started to pull up in the driveway.

"...Maybe he's alone?" Michael said hopefully.

Marko snorted thinking he wouldn't be coming home this early if he was. He knows he's right when his eyes catch two people exiting the car before turning his gaze back to Mike. "Well go on."

Michael looked up at their bedroom window which they were sitting beneath behind the rose bushes. They'd left the window open just for this occasion, so he could climb in and call their mom home with the phone on Michael's bed stand.

"Why can't it be you again?" After all, Marko was smaller and more limber than himself.

Marko huffed at the question. He was wasting time and they'd already covered this, but he answered anyway, "Because Mom is more likely to come home if you're the one that asks her to. So, get your ass moving before they finish."

Michael grimaced at the thought before doing as he's told but adding, "I just don't know if I can lie to her..." while he started to climb inside.

"What kind of teenager can't lie to his mother?" Marko asked him seriously.

Michael just stated, "Sam."

"True, but you're Michael so stop making excuses," Marko snarked back.

Finally, his brother was inside, and Marko could only hope he made the call quickly enough that their mom got there in time. It didn't even have to be all that convincing since it's Michael. She should hurry home anyway.

He can't hear the other, but he'd grown used to his lessened senses over the years. Instead, he waited while keeping an eye on the front door for anyone exiting. Not that he'd be able to stop them. Still, he hoped they wouldn't miss this chance and have to find another one as that could take months. Michael would likely blurt something out before then, so this really was the only chance they had to do this the way Marko wanted.

He heard a sound behind him and looked to see a panicked Mike half falling out of the window before he realized he can talk to the blonde without climbing back out and Marko wonders if maybe he should have made the call.

"What's wrong?"

"Mom's calling the police!" He whispered worriedly.

Marko was confused but quickly asked, "Well is she coming too?"

"Yeah, but why's that matter?" Mike asked looking around as if expecting flashing lights to appear in an instant.

"Calm down I've got an idea."

He patted his pockets looking for something and his twin looks baffled.

"How do you have an idea I just told you-"

He got cut off with a wave of a hand and a snarky, "It's called improvising you should try it sometime." With that, he pulled out something from his pocket and dangled it in front of his brother.

"Keys. That's your idea?" Michael eyed the keys in disbelief.

"Not just any keys. Daddy's car keys," he told him with way too much sarcasm.

"How-"

Once again Marko didn't let the other finish. "Got another copy made just in case."

"In case of what? No better yet what are you going to do with those?"

It was times like these that Michael wondered how they were related as he really had no clue what the other was thinking.

"Move dad's car of course!" He grinned a Cheshire like grin before adding, "When the police show up they'll catch Dad with his pants down, literally. No way he's explaining his way outta that one." Marko chuckled wondering vaguely if the police would arrive before their mom or not and deciding it didn't matter. Either way, things would hit the fan.

"Are you... are you having fun?" Michael accused.

Marko shrugged, and his brother glared.

"We're ruining mom's life!" He exclaimed remorsefully.

His brother was always so dramatic, but he had no time to deal with him at the moment, so he simply told him, "No we're making it better."

Mike said nothing then but from his conflicted expression it was clear he was thinking deeply about whether he believed that or not.

Instead of waiting for whatever conclusion the other came up with, he did as planned. Once the car was moved down the street he rushed back and waited for the fireworks that he was sure would go off.

And go off they did.

Lucy had called the Police thinking someone had broken into her home while her son Michael was all alone in the house; no one else should've been home so it was the obvious conclusion. That and the very clear panic in her son's voice over the phone what she found when she arrived was nothing short of a nightmare. One made very public by the arrival of the police and their noisy neighbors.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Marko found that he was right in the end. It got better. The atmosphere surrounding the Emerson household lightened considerably. Well, it did after the initial fallout which lasted for a miserable few weeks for everyone including Marko much to the teenager's displeasure.

The divorce was a quick, not so painless process. One that left Lucy with her three sons, Nanook, and whatever her car and the trailer behind it could hold… That was also something the royally pissed off Marko as he'd always been possessive and having to leave half of his things didn't sit well with him. Even if he knew he'd be leaving most of it anyways once he was a vampire again that still didn't help his mood.

Another thing bugging him, that had nothing to do with material possessions, was that they were leaving right after school let out for the year meaning they would arrive in Santa Carla near the beginning of summer break instead of at the end. t was still the same year but what difference would a month or so make? Did that matter?

It should mean Star and David weren't a thing yet if he was recalling correctly so what did that mean for his twin he pondered as he spent his last night in his and Michael's shared room.

More than that, though, there was something else bothering the once-vampire. The real reason he was so restless, and it had nothing to do with his human family and the early arrival. Instead it was something he'd been trying to keep off his mind for years.

Marko was different this time around so whatever reason he was changed in his original human life no longer applied, so the only reason he might be changed this time around would be because Max wants Lucy… Not that he was any more okay with that now then he was the first time.

More than that, it may be his only way back to where he belonged and if so he would have to use it. Would he be able to though? Would he have a choice? Marko hated feeling conflicted, but he was.

If they changed him because of that reason, then their whole dynamic would be off. In fact, it already was or would be and as much as he'd been holding onto the idea that he'd become a vampire again and everything would be like it was supposed to be, he was smarter than that.

Everything was different this time around. Marko was, his family was, the Lost Boys might even be… would it just be David, Dwayne, and Paul or did someone else get turned in his stead? The very idea made him want to tear apart the possible replacement but more than that there was another thought… did they turn Paul?

Marko had brought him to the boys' attention so, was he still there? Part of Marko wanted him to be, but another part hated the idea for very selfish reasons… Frustrated, the blond tried to push all the thoughts away as he'd been doing for years now.

Now wasn't the time for this he thought to himself as he glared at the wall like it was personally offending him. Marko wasn't the type to worry about this kind of thing. No, he'd figure it all out when he got there and maybe things wouldn't be the same, but he'd even settle for close at this point.

Closing his eyes, he focused on that thought and tried to sleep. They had a long drive ahead of them tomorrow so sleep would be important as there was no way two teenagers and a dog would let him sleep on the way there.

Author's Note: Next chapter they arrive in Santa Carla and Marko sees some familiar faces, so review, maybe?