Time passed, and not much changed around the mansion. Basically the only thing that was new was that Ruby and Skull Boy hung out more often than usual and were more open about their feelings. Then, about a couple months later, Ruby and Skull Boy decided to try going on an official date. They took the Gloomsville Train to the city and had dinner at one of the restaurants. Afterward, they started walking back to the station when they overheard a couple around the corner talking.
"Max, I really miss our son. It's been twelve years sine we last saw him and he was a baby then." A female voice said sadly,
"I know Malle, but Tal needed a better life. We'll see him again once we've earned enough money to take care of him." A male, obviously Max, comforted Malle.
"Excuse me..." Ruby said as she turned to corner; she was a little startled, Max and Malle were homeless skeletons!
A.N. Max is from maxella, Malle is from malleus (bone inside the ear), and Tal is from talus (ankle bone). Malle is pronounced the same way you pronounce the Moll in Molly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but maybe I can help." Ruby smiled. "My family owns a boarding house, and you and your son can live there with me."
"That's very kind of you, but we have no way of paying." Malle said, embarrassed.
"Oh there's no need, the other boarders are on one of two payment plans: their parents send me a monthly check or the boarders pay by helping me with chores. You can use the chore payment plan and considering the boarding house is more of a mansion, you would be doing me a huge favor."
"Wait...mansion?" Max said sounding as if he heard something unexpected. "Wait a minute, what's your name?"
"Ruby Gloom, the mansion is Gloom Manor."
Max and Malle looked like they weren't going to blink for a very long time.
"That was where we dropped off Tal!" Malle gasped.
"WHAT?" Both Ruby and Skull Boy cried.
Startled by the second voice, Max and Malle tried to look around Ruby but Skull Boy was still around the corner, out of sight. Skull Boy, stunned and a little nervous, walked around the corner so that he was standing next to Ruby. He and Max and Malle stared at each other, especially since he and Max looked similar to each other. Malle and Max suddenly smiled.
"Tal? Is that really you?" Max asked.
"I-I d-don't know." Skull Boy said, sounding emotional; he felt like he knew them, but also felt like he was dreaming. "My name is Skull Boy."
"Oh that's right, we didn't have any way of leaving a note so of course the Glooms wouldn't know your real name." Max realized.
"It is our son Max." Malle smiled. "He has your eyes."
"You're right, but of course it's up to him whether he wants us back in his life or not." Max said, looking a little regretful.
Obviously, even though they couldn't afford to take care of Tal they had always regretted giving him away. They also probably thought that he might be resentful to them for giving him away.
Skull Boy suddenly had a vision of Max and Malle sadly setting him down somewhere.
"We'll always miss you Tal." Max said sorrowfully.
"We love you so much." Malle added before sobbing
She and Max reluctantly left after ringing a familiar doorbell. A minute later, a woman with red hair opened the door: Ruby's mother!
Skull Boy realized that Max and Malle were indeed his parents, and that his vision was actually a memory of the night they gave him away. He immediately hugged Max and Malle, sobbing.
"Mom...dad..." He sobbed.
Malle and Max hugged him back, also sobbing.
"Of course I want you back in my life, I've been looking for you all these years." Skull-er-Tal continued sobbing. "I'm just glad to have finally found you."
Ruby looked as if she was going to cry with happiness.
After Tal and his parents finished hugging, it was immediately decided that Max and Malle should take up Ruby's offer of their living in the mansion and helping with the chores to pay for it.
"Are you sure your parents won't mind?" Malle asked while they were on the train.
"Mind?" Ruby laughed. "They were the ones who set up the payment plan. Besides, even if they did mind there's nothing they can do about it. I'm in charge whenever they're out traveling, which is most of the year. They only come back during the summer to catch up with everyone."
"Travel?" Max said, interested.
"Yes, they love meeting new people and creatures, and they also don't like sitting around the house all the time when they could be out having adventures." Ruby explained. "Actually, they should be back within a week."
"So who else lives at the mansion?" Malle asked Tal.
"Well there's Iris, a cyclops who loves having adventures up to the point of being reckless. Then there's Misery, a banshee with extreme bad luck and a gloomy personality like all banshees. Despite this she's really friendly and supportive, though she sometimes says random stuff that makes us stare at her." Tal described. "Scaredy Bat is, well, actually his name pretty much sums it up. He's from India and despite his scared nature he's willing to help out if needed. Poe, Edgar and Allen are three ravens who are descendants of Edgar Allen Poe's pet budgie Paco. Egar and Allen we don't know much about because they never speak, but Poe loves high cultured things like opera and also loves talking. Doom Kitty is Ruby's pet cat, she also never says anything but she's good at charades. Unfortunately, most of the rest of us aren't as good, which kinda drives her crazy. Frank and Len are two headed brothers, and the mansion's resident musicians..."
As Tal talked, the train arrived so they got on. After Tal finished talking, Ruby started talking about the various adventures they had in the past, as well as her and Tal becoming a couple. Max and Malle, who liked Ruby from the beginning, were more than happy to find out about her being their son's true love. They were also interested about Tal being skilled at all sorts of jobs.
"It's funny, good funny, that you should be that skillful." Max smiled.
"Really? What kind of career did our ancestors have?" Tal asked. "You know, I've been wanting to ask that question for years."
"Well it's not an entirely correct question." Max smiled. "You see, our ancestors haven't had just one career they had all sorts of careers, painter, tailor, chef, and even a few scientists. You don't just take after one ancestor, you're the best of all of them."
"Wow." Tal smiled.
"He certainly is the best." Ruby agreed, kissing Tal on the cheek.
When they got back, the other Gloom Manor residents were there at the station and were surprised to see two other skeletons there.
"Everyone, meet my parents Max and Malle." Tal smiled.
The other Gloom Manor residents dropped their mouths open with shock, and then happily started congratulating Tal for finally finding his parents and greeting Max and Malle. Ruby then explained that Max and Malle were going to move in with them and everyone else happily welcomed them into the mansion.
"This is great Skull Boy, now you'll get to find out more about your family." Len smiled.
"True, but actually my real name is Tal." Tal smiled.
"Tal? Really?" Poe said, sounding as if he wasn't sure if he liked the name or not.
"Yup."
"I like it." Frank smiled. "Simple, yet not boring."
"Well it does have a unique ring to it." Poe decided that he liked it.
Everyone hung out inside Gloom Manor and continued talking, describing more adventures that they went through. Soon it was as if Max and Malle had always lived there.
The next week, Ruby's parents arrived and were happy to discover that Tal had finally found his parents, and welcomed them with open arms.
Time passed, with Tal spending a lot of time with his parents so that they could catch up. Ruby's parents, Alana and Riley, stayed longer than usual due to Tal and Ruby ending up together. They wanted to enjoy their daughter's happiness for as long as possible, especially after finding out that Tal was her true love.
The years passed, until the kids of the mansion were adults. The day then came when Tal proposed to Ruby. Ruby of course accepted, and their wedding was the biggest party they ever had. Now, normally the wife inherits the husband's last name, but this time Tal took on the last name of Gloom. This was because the Glooms were a very important family to Gloomsville. Not only did their ancestors founded the town, but also one of their ancestors was the inventor of a popular brand of unbreakable mirrors. These mirrors were still selling, and made up most of the mirrors inside the mansion. The rest were banshee-brand mirrors that were added after Misery moved in. She and her relatives enjoyed breaking these mirrors because the family of banshees that made them set up a permanent contest where a certain amount would win their customers a certain prize. This not only ensured sales for the company (which they would've never gotten otherwise due to the unbreakable mirrors), but also allowed their customers to get appliances and such. This was good because they broke down a lot (obviously), and most of the appliances and other items were way more expensive than the banshee mirrors.
After the wedding, Ruby and Tal got a surprise present from Ruby's parents: a free trip around the world! Alana and Riley set it up a long time ago so that Ruby and Tal could enjoy themselves without worrying about the amount of money they would be spending. Ruby and Tal had a lot of fun traveling all around the world, but were also glad when they came back home.