Author's Note: I know, it's been a while. To my dear Drabbler and CindyNeutron, I'm sorry. Explanation will come later for the two of you, but for the rest of you…it is very personal. But this story demanded that I finish it. And so I return.

John listened carefully, listening to the sound of Timothy's light snoring. After waiting an extra moment to be sure that the snoring wasn't faked, John allowed his eyes to open. It was dark in the bedroom they shared, the only light came from a lava lamp Father had refused to let them remove or even turn off. John watched the shape for a moment, allowing himself to remember where he was, what his purpose for waking up so late at night was.

Carefully he removed the blanket from himself, trying hard not to disturb Timothy. But Timothy was a heavy sleeper at any rate, and so John gave up on being careful once he became entangled in the sheets. Holding back a grumble, he removed himself from the bed spread and carefully crawled over Timothy's sleeping form. He dressed quickly and quietly, then pressed his lips to Timothy's balding head. "I love you," He whispered as he pulled his jacked on. "I'll be right back. Before you wake up. There's just something I have to do."

Timothy grumbled in his sleep, clutching his pillow all the more tightly. John felt a pang go through his heart…he just didn't want to leave Timothy, not even for a moment. But he had to. He took a deep breath and headed out, trying not to wake any of the other villains in the house up. He made it outside without waking anyone, and felt relieved when the cool air hit him.

He shuddered a bit, hugging the jacket tightly to himself. The wind howled against the trees in a mad attempt to bowl them over. John struggled against the wind, feeling it seem to take the air from his lungs before he'd truly had a chance to breathe it.

After what felt like an eternity but what in reality was thirty minutes, John reached his destination. A lonely little phone booth on the corner of the street. He shut himself into the booth and made the call, cursing himself for not having change and having to dial collect.

But the charges were accepted. "Hello, John," The voice on the other end of the line sounded tired but not from lack of sleep. Tired of…of what exactly? John decided not to press matters.

"Sorry to wake you Mrs. Fibb."

"Not at all, John. You didn't bring Timothy with you, did you?" John started to speak, but Mrs. Fibb pressed on. "Good. I can't say I wouldn't have asked him to come home, and he's such a good boy…he would have listened. I can't have that. He can't be here, not with the kids here the way they are."

"I'm sorry I took him from you."

"Well that's a silly thing to be sorry about," Mrs. Fibb said and John could just picture her shaking her head, a smirk on her face. "After all, you'll take good care of my Timothy, right?"

"Of course."

"And you love him, right?"

"…I didn't…how did you----"

"Well, goodness, John, you think his own mother wouldn't know? After all, with what those neighborhood kids did, they made it pretty apparent why they hated my Timmy so much."

John felt his heart speed up. "They did something? Mrs. Fibb, what did they do? Are you all right?"

"I'm all right. And the house needed a new paint job anyways. Don't think on it. Just tell Timmy something for me, will you John?"

"Of course Mrs. Fibb."

"Tell him I love him very much…and that it's just kids. You know how kids are….kids don't know any better, so they're some of the cruelest people on this Earth."

"I'll tell him. I just had to call to let you know that he's all right. We found a place to stay and even a job…"

"That's wonderful, dear. But what I really care about is that you're with him at all times. Everyone needs constant reminders that someone loves them. And poor Timmy needs love all the time now with the state of the world being what it is."

"Yes ma'am."

"Goodbye, John."

"Goodbye Mrs. Fibb," John stayed with the ear to his phone a minute or so longer, until the dial tone seemed to grow so loud that he couldn't stand it anymore. He gently replaced it in the cradle and headed home.

"John?"

"Yes, Timothy?"

"Where did you go last night?"

Underneath his hair, John's eyebrows shot up. How did he know?

"It's just that I woke up really late," Timothy continued, "And you weren't there. I trust you, I just missed you while you were gone."

John smiled and gave Timothy a quick kiss. "I talked to your mother."

"Oh?" Timothy snuggled up to John, resting his head on John's chest. "What did she have to say?"

"You don't wonder why I called her without you?" John had trouble keeping the surprise out of his voice.

"You had your reasons. Now c'mon, tell me what she said."

"Well, she loves you…"

Timothy rolled his eyes. "I know that already," his expression softened, "But ….does she know about us? What we are?"

"Yes, she knows. And she's not bothered by it one bit. She knows there's nothing wrong with it."

Timothy smiled. "All right, what else?"

"She said….that kids are cruel," John said softly, letting it remind him of all that had been done to him. Imagining what might have happened to Timothy if they hadn't left.

"John?"

"Yes, Timothy?"

"We must go back one day."

"If you would like, Timothy."

"You didn't ask me why, John."

"Why?"

"Because…..Mother was right. Kids are cruel, especially there. One day we'll return there. And we'll show them, John---"

"That later cruelty is dealt back, Timothy."

The End

Secondary Author's Note: For one, I will say there is a epilogue left. Secondly, some may think this is a harsh way to end things. I disagree. This was not only to show their love story, but to show how I personally believed that they slowly evolved into villains. Take it with a grain of salt and if you don't like it, you're always free to critique.