I've waited almost 12 years for this so like, you're very obligated to love this chapter actually. You're doubly obligated to like it because it's almost my birthday and I'm a little birthday boy who wants to be told nice things for writing a fanfic lmao.

Like always, Divine made a big production of walking in through the door. Opened it wide enough to let it creak, and made sure to wipe her feet with loud shuffles.

"Oh boy oh boy," she started aloud to herself. "What a walk! I can't wait to see my friends though!"

Her voice echoed through the furniture-crowded showroom. She knew the winding path between ancient oak tables and glass cabinets well by now. And right in the back, where they always waited, were the twins among their piles of trinkets.

They were both sitting on cushions, Tarran lopsided and grimacing as his sister attempted to brush his long hair. And by brushing, it meant running her long nails through his hair, snagging every twisted knot and tangle along the way. It was clear that Tarran was in pain from this, but he seemed to allow it anyway, probably to keep her from crying. Raven looked as happy as a gumdrop in her attempt to groom him.

Divine giggled at the sight of them.

"My friend!" Raven chirped.

"Hey there," Divine chuckled as she set her bag down and started digging through it. "Are we playing beauty shop?"

"Friend brushes my hair," Raven said. "I brush Brother's hair. We all brush~"

"We all brush," Tarran echoed with a wince. He didn't sound too thrilled.

"Here Raven, why don't we have your turn now?" Divine suggested as she pulled out a hairbrush and comb. The witch's eyes lit up as she dropped her brother's hair and scooted back. She settled down on her knees and sat upright, her back straight. Chuckling, Divine traded places with Tarran, the latter happily scooting away to soothe his scalp.

"M-Monster," he muttered at her. There was no trace of hostility or fear in his voice.

"Sup, Twitchy," she grinned at him as she sat down. "Maybe I'll brush you next after this?"

Tarran shuddered and moved away even further. She took it as a no.

"My turn," Raven insisted impatiently.

"I know, I know, okay here we go," Divine assured her, picking up the other woman's hair to begin brushing. Raven keened softly as the first, soft wires glided down between strands of her dark hair. To Raven's credit, she had kept it rather clean since the last time Divine was here. Not too oily, nor matted either. It didn't really need grooming, but it had just become a part of their ritual, a small moment of comfort.

"It's been getting warmer," Divine commented as she brushed. "Days are gonna get longer soon. That's exciting huh?"

Raven hummed happily.

"I can't wait to start gardening. I've been trying to get the soil ready, but jeeze, it's still hard as a fucking rock. I think it's gonna be another week before I can turn it over."

Tarran gazed at her from his spot, listening intently. Raven remained still where she sat.

They didn't actually talk much, either one of them. Carrying a conversation was still a little beyond them, but it didn't seem to bother them. They were good listeners, at the very least, so Divine was free to talk their ears off as much as she wanted.

"You should come visit soon," Divine said. "I've been getting the guest room all spruced up. I think you'll like it out there. Lots of room to roam around. Big skies, lots of sun. You'd have fun, don't you think?"

"But Friend visits here," Raven murmured. "Friend likes here."

"I do! And I still will. Don't you wanna visit me too though? Me and my friends?"

Raven hummed thoughtfully.

"Peh," Tarran scoffed. "Friends… Traitored friends… Monster traitored friends…"

"You can stay here Tarran, if that makes you feel better," Divine rolled her eyes. "It can just be me and Raven then. How does that sound? All by ourselves?"

Raven's head dipped slightly. Divine could just barely see the corners of her mouth stretching upwards. She knew the Witch was grinning madly at the idea.

"I-I can come!" Tarran puffed hotly. "I-I can visit too!"

"I think he might get jealous," Divine said to Raven. "The two of us? Hanging out? Together? Alone? I think he might get mad."

"Brother jealous?" Raven asked.

"No!" Tarran protested.

"I think he's scared I'm gonna steal you," the survivor continued to tease. "That I'm gonna keep you allll for myself. And we'll be best friends forever."

"NOO!" Tarran howled.

"Never see Brother again," Raven giggled.

"Yeah, you're right, we should just run away," Divine nodded. "We leave the mean boys behind and make it just us girls."

"Brother forever alone."

"Yeah, he will be. That would be soooo sad for him, huh?"

"You're mean," Tarran hissed. "Both so mean, mean, mean."

"I love being mean," Divine smiled. "It's my favorite pastime actually."

Tarran hissed again and turned his back on them. Both women giggled to themselves over it. She was teasing him, of course! It was just too easy! He got so serious about it, it wouldn't kill him to lighten up about it, would it?

This had basically just become the basis of their relationship at this point. Was Tarran ever actually happy to see her, taking up all his sister's time and attention? Hell no. Did Divine find it hilarious? Ohhh yeah. It wasn't her fault that she was a young woman around Raven's age and proved to be a really cool (awesome, great, wonderful, perfect, amazing) friend. It just sorta happened.

Besides, where would they be now without her? Still cowering in the dark, waiting for the monster down the street to come get them? That wasn't a way to live. In the short time since Divine's showdown with the Tank, the twins had both made remarkable transformations. She got them cleaned up and fed again, made it so they could actually exist in their own home.

It was still a lot of work though. She came by every few days to check in on them, and that was a hell of a walk between here and the farmstead. Maybe now with spring on its way, it'd be time to invest in finding a bike to fix up…

The farmstead…

The boys.

Divine was a little relieved they hadn't gotten that far in terms of inter-zombie relations. She couldn't imagine having the twins inside such a tense household right now. She almost didn't want to think about it. It was gonna bug her though. There was just… So much to think about. A lot to unravel and put back together. It was a lot for one person to try and handle.

"Brush?" Raven's voice broke through her mind.

She had stopped brushing the witch's hair completely, sitting near frozen in place. Divine blinked as she came back to life.

"Sorry I just got distracted," Divine chuckled nervously. Raven twisted around to stare at her inquisitively for a few moments before she finally twisted all the way to sit face to face with her.

"Brush Friend's hair?" Raven offered. "Friend's turn?"

"Ohoho, my hair?" Divine chuckled again, even more nervously. "Ohhh I dunno that's so sweet to offer-"

"Friend's turn," Raven insisted seriously. She looked extremely determined. Divine smiled weakly in defeat, then turned her back to Raven.

Oh boy…

This was gonna be something.

Toni sneezed for the umpteenth time from his spot under the bed. He was cramped between the bedframe and the floor, resting his chin on folded arms. He just needed to be somewhere small and private so he could think. So he could lament.

And maybe die, hopefully in peace.

That moment kept rewinding in his brain over and over again. The moment his back hit the floor, and she was sitting on top of him. His heart still pounded wildly over it. He could still feel her hands gripping his clothes, the tension from her muscles against his as they wrestled. Who would have thought that it was even more exciting with someone he was on approximately equal grounds with? Like he had to actually try for once instead of easily being overpowered.

His face felt hot all over again.

Which was the infuriating part about all this.

Was that he liked it.

He liked her so, so much.

Toni exhaled slowly through his mouth, a puff of dust blowing away as he did.

("Do you have a secret crush on me too I should know about?")

So secret even he didn't know it was there, not until she looked down at him with that glint in her eyes. Not until he knew she could confidently push him around. Learning that in that moment was like his eye being opened. And that?

So so so so so so scary.

He was still trying to figure out his whole thing with Zach. And now she was getting all mixed up in there too. Because of course she would. That's just what Divine did. It's what she always did. He shouldn't have expected less.

A floorboard squeaked somewhere behind him.

Ah, speak of one of the devils…

Looking over his shoulder, he could see a pair of bare feet crossing the floor towards the bed. The bed above creaked, and he could just hear the faint sound of the covers being thrown aside. An inquisitive chirp echoed in the otherwise silent room.

"Where?" Zach asked, shuffling around as he looked.

"Here," Toni sighed.

Zach paused, then asked again, "Where?"

"Under here," Toni answered. A few moments later, Zach kneeled down to peer under the bed.

"There?" Zach asked, bewildered. "Why there?"

"Just cause," Toni replied.

Zach hummed thoughtfully, then said, "Talk?"

"Don't wanna."

"We talk."

"I don't- Grrrrgh-"

Zach reached under the bed and fished around until he caught Toni by his ankle. Toni grumbled and let himself get dragged out. Zach turned his head and coughed as a cloud of dust came with.

"Happy now?" Toni growled.

"She's not here," Zach informed him.

"I know."

"But still hiding?"

"I can do what I want."

"You're being… A baby."

Toni narrowed his eye at him. That sounded like a very Divine-esque insult.

"'Am not."

"Yeaaaaah, you are."

"Whatever."

"You should just? Tell her?"

"What's the point?"

"Uhhh, 'cause you lov-"

"No!" Toni snarled. "Don't say it."

"You can love her and me if you want," Zach continued anyway. "Who says you can't?"

"Not the problem."

"Then what?"

He gently bit his lip in thought, glancing away to stare at the wall. How to explain. How to make it make sense when it didn't even to him? It was words he felt like he couldn't admit out loud, not even to himself. Like a deep rooted problem that had persisted with him, something that surely couldn't be fixed in a day… Or could it?

"I'm scared," Toni confessed.

"Of her?"

"Of me."

Zach tilted his head to the side, puzzled.

"Hoooow… Scared of self? H-how are you scared of yourself?"

"What if I'm wrong?" Toni asked bitterly. "What if… What if it's just me?"

He rolled onto his back to sit upright, gesticulating between the two of them.

"What if this isn't real?" he asked. "What if I just… Made everything up?"

"Huh?" Zach's brows creased together. "No way."

"But what if?" Toni persisted. "What if I-"

"You're wrong," Zach hissed. "Wrong about being wrong."

It was Toni's turn to be surprised.

"This is real," Zach insisted, leaning in. "We're real. She's real. And she loves us soooooo much."

"But how do you know?" Toni asked.

"How do- You- We're here!" Zach cried. "We're here! With her! And nowhere else! That means… Nothing to you?"

He sounded so angry and so… So hurt at the same time. Toni reeled away, not expecting such a strong outburst. He hadn't thought of it like that.

"I'm sorry," Toni mumbled in apology. "I didn't… I wasn't…"

(This was it. He was going to lose his family again.)

"I'm scared too," Zach said. "All the time. But I'm happy here. With you. Both of you. Am I wrong for that?"

"No," Toni shook his head. "I… I'm just…"

Just… Just…

He whimpered, and without thinking too much harder about it, crawled forward to press against Zach's chest. The other Hunter readily welcomed him, and tucked the top of his head under his chin.

"It's just hard," Toni said softly. "All the time. It scares me more."

"You don't have to be," Zach murmured. "Just tell her."

"How? Can barely tell you."

"You know how."

Toni shook his head against Zach's chest. He really didn't. Zach sighed tiredly, and removed his chin from the top of Toni's head. Toni looked up, wondering what the other Hunter would say. But instead of speaking, Zach was suddenly nuzzling against his face before he turned his head, and kissed him.

It started out as a normal kiss for them.

A nudge of the head, their lips pressed together.

Then Zach pressed harder.

Toni caught on, and parted his lips to let Zach in. And then it turned deep. And they stayed like that, for a little bit until Zach pulled away and asked, "Get it? Now show her that."

Breathless, Toni nodded.

That would be much easier.

In theory, at least.

Like usual, her feet were aching by the time she got back home. Divine thought by now, hey, trekking a few miles up and down the road would be easy by now. But nope! Not in the least!

The house was dark in the growing, spring evening. She wished her night vision had improved by now, so she could be like the boys and didn't need light to see. Wished she could be like Zach sometimes and not need eyeballs to function. Divine pushed the front door open, having left it unlocked this whole time because well… Who was honestly gonna come in?

"Heeeey, I'm hoooome," Divine announced as she set her bag down and walked over to a lantern to turn it on. "You know, in case anyone cares or something."

Picking up the now lit lantern, she carried it with her the few short steps to the kitchen, rummaging around for a quick snack. From upstairs, there was a loud thud, and something scrambled down the stairs towards her. She thought it was Zach at first, based on the energy of the steps. To her great surprise, it was Toni who appeared, breathing heavily, and only wearing a pair of sweatpants.

"Hi," he panted.

"Uhm, hey?" Divine greeted him back, confused. "What's up?"

"Talk," he said. "Now?"

"About?" she asked, turning away to investigate the pantry.

"Uhm, uh, a-about you and uh- H-Hair? Your hair is different?"

Oof, he noticed that quickly huh?

Sheepishly, Divine reached back to touch the bottom of her now shorter, jagged hair. It was an uneven mess in the back, some parts longer than others. She planned on fixing that in the morning when the sun was out.

"Yeah there uhm, there was a mishap, with the brush earlier today," she explained. Toni looked like he wanted to ask more, but shook his head as if to say nevermind. "Sorry, that's not what you wanted to talk about."

"No. I mean- Yeah, but no I- Can we?" and Toni motioned toward the couch. "Sit down?"

Divine inhaled deeply and nodded, then together they made their way over to sit down. She set the lantern atop the coffee table, then turned to look at him in the near darkness. Even with the meager light, she could see the trepidation across his face. She could feel him trembling without even touching him. It made her feel terrible, like she had done something to terrify him.

Maybe kissing him back had been.

"So, talk huh?" Divine asked.

Toni nodded.

"You wanna talk about uh… Our uh… That thing that happened?"

He nodded again.

"Yeah that was… That sure was a thing," she said, lamely. "Like, we were both in an awkward way and I'm not mad at you, and like, I dunno, I'm trying to process all these feelings too, you know, so like, you're not alone-"

"I LOVE YOU!" Toni suddenly burst out, causing her to flinch backwards.

Jesus, well okay then.

"I love you and I'm scared!" he went on. "I'm scared 'cause I don't remember a whole lot. About before, and what love was, and who I loved. But I feel, I feel this tightness right here," and he thumped his chest. "When I look at you. And I look at Zach. And it feels the same and I don't know what that means and it scares me."

Divine started to open her mouth, but firmly shut it, at a loss for words. She just nodded wordlessly instead.

"It's scary 'cause… 'Cause it feels so, so good. But I… It shouldn't. Like I shouldn't let it feel good. I shouldn't feel good. I don't… Deserv-" and he paused, biting back a barely contained sob. But she could hear the utter despair and sadness in his voice, and her heart began to break. She didn't want to hear this from him. Not like this. That he was scared to feel one positive emotion ever.

Not him.

Not her Toni.

"You deserve everything good!" Divine shot back. "It's okay to be happy with both of us, at the same time! I promise! You-"

She leaned forward, grabbed the sides of his head, and bonked her forehead against his.

"I want you to be happy," she whispered to him, fiercely. "I want you to be comfortable, and happy, and loved, and wanted. I want you right here with us, and nowhere else. Okay?"

"I feel like I'm tearing apart," he mumbled. "I want to be happy too. But why- This part of me- It doesn't wanna. It can't."

"Yes it can," Divine insisted. "You're allowed to, I promise. It's… It's always gonna be scary though. It's never not gonna be. But that's okay. Because I'm here. Zach's here. We're both here, with you."

"I wanted to kill you, once," Toni said softly. "I wanted your love too, so so bad. And now I have it… And I hate it. I hate feeling this way."

"It's 'cause you got hurt before," she explained. "And you don't wanna be hurt again. I get it, I really do. I…"

She pushed away from him, just enough to look him in the eye.

"I… What me and Ryan had… It was just between us, you know? I did that because I was scared. I was scared for him. I was sad for him. I wanted him to be happy. I wanted to be happy. It… It wasn't the best for both of us," she confessed. "But it worked, for as long as it did. And he's gone now. And I…"

She retracted a hand to wipe at the tears budding at her eyes.

"I don't want to be scared. But, I'm always gonna be scared too. For myself. For you. For everyone else I care about. And that's just the way it is. But it's going to be okay. It has to be. I promise."

Toni closed his eye and inhaled shakily.

"And if it's not?" he asked.

"Then I guess you have permission to finally kill me."

He laughed, short and breathy, but it was the most relieving thing she could hear right now. He pressed his face against hers, nuzzling a tear stricken cheek against her own. That's all she could ask for right now. They stayed like that for a moment, as a form of mutual comfort to one another. Obviously it didn't solve everything, there was way more here to unpack, but perhaps for tonight they could reach a mutual understanding.

"Zach told me… To kiss you when we were done talking," Toni whispered into her ear.

"Oh I bet he did," she chuckled lightly. And he probably thought rainbows would shoot out of their asses and the birds would start singing, they'd all be a happy family again.

What a jackass.

Two could play at that game. Three, even.

"I have an idea," Divine continued. "We can all get what we want tonight. How about that?"

Toni "mm'd?" inquisitively.

"If you're up for it, here's the plan…"

It was awfully quiet down there.

Not that he was listening for anything.

On purpose.

Just that… It was quiet. He knew they were downstairs. He knew they had to be talking. But there was no….

Hmm… What was the word?

Dramatics?

That made things rather unexciting.

Zachary yawned, boredly. He was alone, all comfy in bed, waiting in the dark for something- Anything really- To happen. Maybe the silence was a good thing in the end. They were working things out. Them, his two. His Divine. And his Toni. Peace was returning to their home. Maybe better than ever, or so he hoped. He had a good feeling about it.

After what felt like an eternity, he could hear a stair-step squeak, and the low groan of feet across the floor. He could sense them there, hovering around the open door, darkened shapes shadowed by the ball of light in hand. He could just make out the faintest of whispering, low and right in the other's ear to avoid him hearing it.

Not fair!

Then there was the quick but soft patter of feet- The bed dipped and the box springs squeaked. Toni's scent- His whole being- Washed over him.

"How'd it go?" Zach asked.

Toni didn't reply, but he could sense his hesitation. Then a moment later, Toni shrunk away as the bed dipped again, and Divine climbed up. Her hands pressed down on his shoulders, her legs pinning down on his thighs. He chirped curiously at her.

"You little sneak," Divine hissed at him playfully. "You think you're a real mastermind, don't you?"

"'Bout what?" he grinned at her.

"Playing matchmaker, trying to make us all a happy family huh? Kissin' and huggin'?"

"Sounds great!"

"Well it didn't work."

He mmmrf'd sadly at her. It hadn't?

"Not the way you think it did," she added, and slid off him. Equal part confused, and curious, Zach struggled to push himself up without wrenching his shoulder. By the time he was able to sit up, he could tell that Divine and Toni had their arms around each other.

"Ready?" Divine whispered.

"Yeah," Toni agreed.

And then-

Silence.

No-

Wait.

A soft smack of lips.

A breathy, relaxed sigh.

Zach gasped silently.

They were kissing.

Without him!

To prove a point, probably.

Not fair!

"Hey hey, wait wait," he whined, bumping his forehead against the nearest shoulder. "Hey come on, come ooonnnn."

They stopped, but only because Divine started giggling and couldn't maintain the kiss any longer. He could sense how elated they both were, joy and the faintest hint of hormones swirling around them. Which should have been great under normal circumstances, being they had done this downstairs like they were supposed to, and then come upstairs to tell him they were all good.

At least, that's how he played it out in his head.

"What's wrong, Zachy-kins?" Divine giggled. "Did we mess up your plaaaaan?"

"Yeah," he pouted.

"He mad 'cause he want kiss too," Toni chuckled, sounding so so so sooooo smug.

"Oh I bet he does," Divine said, the tone of her voice changing. Still amused, but that sickly sweet tone she got in preparation to tease him. She leaned into him, trailing a finger up his bare chest. "He wants his cake and to eat it too. You want your turn, Zachy?"

"Yesss," he replied, dipping his face closer to hers.

"Do you think you deserve getting one?" she asked, the finger now running around his jawline.

"Mmhm!"

"He got enough today," Toni snorted. "Before you came home."

"Oooh, is that true? Did you already get kisses today?"

He whined desperately.

"Just one," he begged. "Please please please? I'll be so so sooooo good."

Divine sighed, then laughed, then tipped her head, and kissed him.

It certainly wasn't his first kiss of the day. But it was just as electrifying, as every nerve and cell lit up all at once. Like a deep sense of victory. Satisfaction. Sorrow. Anticipation. A bit of everything mixed in there all at once.

Perhaps, he was just ultimately relieved at no longer having to play this game of chicken with her, or anyone else. It was all out in the open now, at last.

"Zach?" Divine asked.

If he had functioning eyelids, he'd open them as if they had been closed. But instead, he just tilted his head and hummed softly in response. Her lips weren't on his anymore. She had pulled away.

"Back to Earth here, buddy," she chuckled.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "Was just real happy."

"Gets kissed by a girl for the first time in his life and he doesn't know what to do!" Divine laughed. "You're both just as bad as each other!"

"I've kissed girls before," he heard Toni grumble.

"Oh yeah, how many before me?" Divine shot back. "That you remember?"

Toni inhaled loudly but didn't respond.

Divine laughed again, and then in a softer voice said, "Come here, you big dummy."

The bed shifted a few, hesitant moments later, and Zach felt himself being pushed back into the mattress. He felt great weight as the two curled up around him, limbs draped over his stomach and chest, faces gently pushed into his shoulders.

Zach sighed in utter content.

"This what you've been wanting?" Divine muttered. "Your happy family?"

"Yes," he sighed again.

It was all he had been wanting.

Yearning for, even.

They sat in a comfortable silence, basking in each other's warm.

It was only interrupted when he could feel Toni trembling into his side. And before he could react, the other Hunter sobbed out, "Oh fuck."

They were on top of him so fast, faster than anyone could blink. Holding him, comforting him. Soothing him, assurance that whatever emotions he was going through, they were there for him. Nuzzling his face, gently kissing his cheeks. Together, all one big bundle, able to be free without further worry.

And it was just the beginning.