A/N: Hello. This is the second half of the author pairing, the Psyke part of it, also the Murdoc part. Noodle will be writing the 2D parts, most generally, and I'll be writing the Murdoc parts, but we'll both be co-writing the chapters (giving insight, suggestions, ideas, etc.) so this is 100% co-written. This chapter is Murdoc's point of view, and he may not be entirely in character, but it's our Fanfiction so whatevs. Enjoy.

-Psyke

Chapter 2

Murdoc

Six Months Later...

2D was a complete wreck.

I could see it in his eyes, he missed her. Everything he did was dead; the way he moved, the way he looked at me, now. Secretly, I was worried. Secretly, I wanted to be there for him, but there was no way Murdoc Faust Niccals would ever comfort anybody, so I stood by and watched as my friend-er, my bandmate-crumpled away into nothingness.

I kept telling myself that I didn't care, but the truth was, I cared probably more than I should have.

I found him in the kitchen, the skin around his eyes a deeper purple than they'd been since his two car accidents where his eyes got fractured. I sat down across from him, liquor bottle in my hand, feigning drunkenness. I did this a lot, actually. I pretended to be drunk so he wouldn't see through me, so he wouldn't know that I actually cared about him, or the fact that he wasn't sleeping well, thanks to Alphie-that was what he'd named the kid. I thought he'd named it after me; my middle name (before I'd changed it, of course) had been Alphonse, after all.

I looked at him-really looked at him, stripping away all my false, programmed hatred toward the skinny little prick-and my heartbeat sped up. I reared away from the emotion so fast, it was almost like it hadn't existed. "So," I said, "how's it been, numbnuts?"

"Why did she leave, Murdoc?" he said, voice thick. I pretended the words didn't pierce my heart to the core. "Why did she leave me with this? I have no one to 'elp me, she just...she just left." Tears were rolling down his pale face, now, and I had to fight hard not to grit my teeth in anger-anger at Noodle for leaving him and making him like this. I would never-

But you already have hurt him, a voice in my mind answered, and you will again.

I told the voice it was wrong.

"You have me," I said, and his head shot up.

"Wot?" he asked, voice cracking. I tried not to wince at the high-pitched sound.

"I'll help you with the little squirt. It's not biggie; I love kids."

"Yeah," he said, dejectedly, "yew LOVE kids, yew stupid pedophile."

"Not like that, numbnuts. You want my help, or not?"

"Yew're not serious," he said, "...are yew?" The amazement and unconcealed want for help in his voice triggered something inside of me; maybe the paternal instincts I'd suppressed for so long, the ones I hadn't been able to show my own children because their mothers kept them away from me. I hated having to stay away from them. But I had no choice.

"I am." More serious than I'd ever been in my entire life, about anything. For once, I wanted 2D to realize I wasn't the most awful person in the universe. I wanted him to realize how much I cared.

How much I'd always cared.

"Stop crying, please Alphie, please stop," 2D said, rocking the kid gently in his arms. He sounded desperate, like this was an everyday thing and he just wanted it to stop, just wanted to sleep-

"Gimme the kid," I said, gently, and he hesitated. I looked into his eyes and let every emotion on my face show; how much I cared about him, how much I wanted to help. Concern over him not sleeping, gentleness about how I'd treat his kid. "Trust me," I murmured, silently pleading he would, and he walked over, placing the wailing bundle in my arms. He stopped crying immediately and snuggled into my skin, nuzzling the nape of my neck. I might have blushed; this kid was so intimate, so deeply emotional, just like his father-

Except, he had Noodle's eyes, I saw, before he closed them.

"He stopped cryin'..." 2D seemed amazed. I smiled at him; not a smirk showing all my teeth, not a tongue-filled snicker, but a real, small, hesitant smile, that 2D returned enthusiastically. My heart sped up and Alphie cooed, snuggling closer, hearing the transition between the normal beat and the new speed. I held him tighter, wishing I'd helped before this. This kid...he was wiggling his way into my heart, and there was nothing I could do about it. But I wasn't complaining.

"Of course he did," I said, my voice wavering as Alphie grabbed my index finger tightly, "I told you I love kids. I just left out the part where they love me back." That was a lie. I'd always loved children, but they'd always been afraid of me. The fact that Alphie wasn't terrified...well. It made my eyes water. But of course I didn't show that to 2D.

"Somehow I 'ighly doubt that," 2D murmured, sinking into a chair and putting his head on the table. I went over and nudged him with my boot, shaking my head.

"Bed," I said, "now." He stood, walking over and flopping down onto the mattress. The one that was considerably cleaner than mine; cleaner than me, in general. (I resolved to shower tomorrow when I woke up.) 2D was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, and I shifted Alphie to one arm, making sure he was secure as he could possibly be before I used my other hand to take off his father's sneakers, pulling the blankets over his tall, lanky figure. My heart almost stopped and Alphie frowned, snuggling back in. This kid was scarily in tune with my hearts' functions, and I'd barely been holding him ten minutes. I squeezed him gently, and he calmed again.

I already loved this kid. I already wanted to be in his life, wanted to be there in place of Noodle. I vowed that that was exactly what I would do before I walked around the bed, placing Alphie down and keeping my hand on him. I kicked off my boots and crawled in, over the covers, thinking...

...thinking about 2D. About how I was in his bed, his room, his scent all around me... I let myself think these thoughts, let them wash over me without shoving them away. I pulled Alphie back into my arms, falling asleep almost instantly, his little heartbeat strong beneath my fingers.

I peeled open my eyelids the next morning, the sleep coating them in a thick layer. Alphie was gone; so was 2D. I almost panicked, for a second, because what if they'd left like Noodle, what if I was alone again? A thick ache settled in my chest; an ache for Alphie, an ache for 2D. They were the only people I really talked to, besides Russel, and that wasn't often. I sat up, and something crinkled on the pillow next to me-

It was a note. The scribbles were undeniably in 2D's sloppy writing; I could barely decipher it, as if he'd written it while getting ready. There was a picture under the sheet-

Oh God. I was going to kill him.

The picture showed me with Alphie. I was on my side, one arm under my head, the other holding Alphie protectively. My face was relaxed, peaceful. Alphie was the same, snuggling close to my chest, gripping my dirty shirt in his little fist. On the back, 2D had written one sentence: Aw, Tinman, you DO have a heart! 3

I started reading the note, which wasn't that long:

Murdoc,

Thanks for helping Alphie (and me) sleep. We'll be in the kitchen in the morning, so don't freak. Which I know you will, because I saw your face when you held Alphie last night. You have a soft spot for him, don't deny it (and please don't hit me for that).

There'll be a plate of breakfast for you if you want it.

Love, 2D.

I folded the note up and put it in my pocket, walking to my room and rifling through my drawers for anything that didn't smell like I'd slept in it after sex-which was probably the exact reason everything smelled so sweaty and awful. There wasn't much to choose from.

Then I got a crazy idea, one that made my skin hot. I walked over to the wall panel and buzzed the kitchen before I could lose my courage, and Russel's voice picked up-

"Yeahman." Very literate, Russ. Very literate.

"Hey's 2D there?" Wow. I was stooping to his level, now. I was also a hypocrite. I felt like smacking myself.

"Yeahman, D's here. Wanna talk?"

No, numbnuts. I'm just stalking him. I didn't say this out loud, however. "Yeh. Put 'im on."

A second later, a high-pitched, almost perky voice picked up. "Wot is it, Muds? I'm tryin' ta feed Alphie, and- OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD- I almost forgot- he said his first word-" He giggled, and I winced, sticking a finger in my ear to try and pop it. It didn't work. His giggles were making my stomach churn uncomfortably (I told myself it was because of the decimal level, not because I liked his voice like that).

"Wot wos it, numbnuts?" I said, my English accent getting rougher. This conversation wasn't going where I'd imagined.

There was a low whisper from 2D in the background, then I heard- "Muhduck!"

My heart melted. "Hey lil' man, wossup?" I was smiling like an idiot. But I didn't care.

"Muhduck!"

2D's voice came back on, now. "That's all he's been saying since he woke up, and I didn't want to disturb yew because you looked really really tired and, he needed a change and food, so I did that and then yew called."

"Speaking of," I said, "is there any way I could like, borrow a sweater or somethin'? I don't want Alphs to always smell like hooker and cigarettes, and nothin' of mine's clean." Thank God they couldn't see me blush from where they were in the kitchen. I wanted to bang my head against the wall. Repeatedly.

"Yeahyeahyeah, g'ahead, Muds," he said, and my heart nearly stopped. He called me Muds.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It signified familiarity; it signified friendship; it signified him caring. I smiled again. "Aright, 2D," I said, filling the silence. "Be up in 15."

I clicked off before he could answer, dashing into the shower and scrubbing like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't stop grinning the entire while.

God, what was wrong with me?

I walked into the kitchen and my heart lifted. They were in here. A little pressure that I hadn't realized was there lifted off my chest, and I eased into a chair, resisting the urge to tug at 2D's shirt's sleeves. They were way too long on me-the guy had freakishly long arms, but his midsection was really skinny. A baggy shirt on him was a muscle shirt on me; and that was just the case, right now. My little pudges were horribly apparent, and I wondered why the hell I'd wanted his shirt in the first place.

"Muhduck!" Alphie hiccuped, wiggling in my general direction. (I found it astonishing that he could even say words, at his point in development-infants generally didn't start talking until they were 8 months old.) He was covered in food, so rather than pick him up, I stood and walked over, grabbing a wet wipe from the counter and wiping him off with all the care I had in me. Alphie tried to pull away and I looked at him sternly, trying to make him stop squirming so I could clean him. He didn't stop, though.

"Look, man," I said, getting his attention with my cheesegrater voice, "I'm not holdin' ya till you're clean. So quitcher squirmin'." To my utter surprise...he did. I finished wiping him off, unbuckling his highchair and going to pick him up, but...

One of his eyes was red.

That wasn't right; his eyes were green, I'd seen them last night. So why was his left eye as red as my own, suddenly...? "Um, D," I said, suddenly terrified, "c'mere and look't Alphs."

"Wot is it?" he said, untying his apron- Oh God. That was too funny. If it weren't for Alphie's eye I would have laughed. He came over and I gestured to his eyes, making 2D freeze. "Wot exac'ly," he said menacingly, "did yew do t'my son?"

"I didn't do it!" I said, indignantly. "I just now noticed it and figured you oughta know, numbnuts!"

"His eyes weren't like this till yew held 'im!"

I couldn't help it. I got angry and stood so fast 2D flinched back, covering his face and quivering. I froze, wondering why he was so scared. He lowered his hand, slowly, and looked at me with a confused look on his face. "Aren't yew...aren't yew gonna hit me?"

My blood ran cold. That's why he was so scared. Shame ran through me. "No, Stu," I said, the nickname slipping out without me meaning to say it, "I'm not gonna hitcha. Not now, not ever again." I turned around and walked out the door, leaving him alone, slamming it behind me.

I faintly heard Alphie call my name, but I didn't come back.

2D came in my room, uninvited, the door clicking loudly behind him. His shirt was tossed on the chair in the corner, and I was laying face first on my bare bed (the blankets and sheets were in the dryer). I felt him in the room, though he didn't say anything. I was angry, scared, lonely. I didn't want him here but all I wanted was for him to be here. I hated the fact that I felt both at the same time.

"I know yer not asleep, Murdoc," he said, his normally high pitched voice a deep vibration. It sent shivers through my bones, but I shoved the emotion back down. I couldn't let myself care, not right now. I rolled over, putting my arms behind my head and staring at the ceiling. I was pointedly not looking at him and he seemed to realize that, and accept it.

"Get it over with, numbnuts," I sighed, trying not to feel depressed.

"Wot d'yew mean?"

"The part where you tell me I can never see Alphie again."

"I wasn't gonna say that at all, Muds," he said, sounding sincere. I sat up and looked at him disbelievingly. "I was gonna say I believe yew. I don't think you did anything to Alphie. Like I said I saw yer face when yew held 'im. Yew wouldn't hurt a hair on 'is head."

My shoulders sagged with relief. "Ok," I said. I put my head in my hands, hiding the emotions on my face.

"He wants to see yew," he said, gently, "if yew're up for it." I looked up into his eyes, and he was serious. I nodded.

"Take me to him," I said, standing and following him.

A/N: Hey, it's me again. Next chapter will be written by my co-author, Noodle. Reviews, follows, and favorites are always, eternally, and irrovocably appreciated.

-Psyke