(A\N: Apologies for forgetting to upload this chapter to . Chapter will once again contain heavy mentions of abuse.)

———————————————

Lilli's legs ached with pain as they continued running towards her destination. Because she was at Elizaveta's for the night with Roderich, Raivis's flat was much further away. The pavement seemed to speed behind her like a car, small rocks and dirt being ejected into the air as she ran.

In the distance, Lilli could see the flats. She immediately knew which one was Raivis's, having gone there many times before. She could see a skateboard outside the door of the first one, most likely belonging to Leon. She ran up to it, knocking on the door. Lilli waited for a few seconds, Raivis eventually coming to the door.

"Sorry I was late," Lilli said breathily. "I was at Elizaveta's for the night." Raivis's head tilted slightly. "Why?" Lilli quickly searched for an excuse. "Father and most of my brothers weren't home for the night, but Roderich was, and he had plans to go over to Elizaveta's, so I went with him."

Despite the weather, Lilli had a cardigan on and knee-high socks. She usually did it to hide injuries, even on days like this when it was quite hot out.

Raivis noticed quickly. "God, Lilli, have you seen the temperature? It's 19 degrees! You'll die with all this on!" She gulped. "Oh!- I'll be fine. I mean, it could be worse.-"

"Hey, how about you just take your cardigan off and those socks?-" Raivis suggested a possible solution but was quickly cut off by Lilli. "I- I don't think I need to." Raivis was confused, but couldn't really change her mind or force her into it.

Lilli sat down. Emil was getting some water from the fridge, while Michelle and Leon were on the couch. "Lilli? How'd you do that?" Asked Michelle, pointing to a bruise on Lilli's leg. Lilli panicked slightly. "Oh! Uh, I accidentally hit the corner of a table the other day." Leon chuckled. "Holy shit, you're a klutz, Lilli."

Lilli spoke again. "I know, huh?" The bruise had been covered by her skirt when she stood up but revealed slightly when she sat down. Raivis looked over, confused. I thought it was from a fence... He thought. Well, at least that's what Lilli told him the other day. Maybe he just misremembered it?

But, then again, this wasn't the first time it happened.

Raivis gulped, trying to get his mind off things. But... He recognized the situation, almost. When he was forced into living with... him, Raivis's stories about the injuries he'd been given weren't always consistent, especially if his mind was all over the place at the time. But, Lilli wasn't...

...

Or at least he thought.

"Lilli?" Raivis asked in a whispering tone, "is something wrong?" Lilli looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?" Raivis sighed and said, "Well, you told me you got that bruise from a fence, not a table edge." Lilli quickly responded, "That was... a different bruise."

Raivis squinted. "You sure? It's the exact same spot, and they are eerily similar." Lilli chuckled, trying to defuse the situation. "Maybe they're twin bruises, huh?" Raivis's reaction wasn't exactly how she hoped. "If something is happening, you know you can tell me. I mean, we are kinda like step siblings, considering our mothers..."

Lilli was taken aback. "Wh- Why would you assume something is wrong?-" Raivis sighed. "Maybe I'm overthinking it and all because... Y'know why, but I'm concerned. I don't want you to suffer in silence or anything."

Lilli fiddled her fingers a little, trying to calm herself down discreetly. "I do appreciate that you have concern for me, but nothing is wrong." Raivis shook his head, trying to focus on something else, possibly. "I see. Well, I don't mean to sound annoying or anything, but I'm here if there's something you need to discuss, okay?" Lilli nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

Michelle had gotten up to use the bathroom, while Raivis had to quickly head back to his room for a second. He ran into Michelle while in the hallway, almost bumping into her. Raivis shrieked silently. "Sorry! Didn't see you coming!" Michelle chuckled. "Don't apologize! I should've been watching out myself."

Raivis looked behind himself before he said "Hey, have you noticed something wrong with Lilli?" Michelle's head tilted out of confusion. "I... What do you mean?-" Raivis stopped her, continuing again. "I mean like, she's dressing like it's December when it's August for crying out loud! And, you know how she said the bruise on her leg was from a table? But she told me it was from a fence!"

Michelle immediately seemed a bit more concerned. "But... Wouldn't she remember?" Michelle asked. "Yea! And, have you seen how withdrawn she can be? Especially about her family..." Michelle thought she might've been jumping to conclusions, but the signs were adding up, and it wasn't a pretty answer.

Raivis gulped. "Maybe we're overthinking this?" Michelle bit the inside of her cheek, looking down at the floor. "I hope we are. But... Raivis, if anything else comes up, we can't just let it go over our heads completely."

Raivis didn't exactly know Lilli's family too well, but he knew one thing: Her father wasn't exactly the most caring person ever. Lilli always seemed to opt out of discussions about their families, but when she did, Gauthier was never mentioned. Raivis always assumed maybe he just... worked a lot, and as a result, was somewhat distant emotionally. I mean, I don't think it would be easy to raise five kids alone, would it? But, Raivis didn't think about that.

Michelle had seen Gilbert around her house because of Alfred a few times, but she knew he was a bit reckless and didn't think much of the injuries he had. Did Alfred think anything of it? What about Mathias? He was around with the two many times as well...

Questions raced through her mind like horses on a dirt road. It... It had to be fake. Please god, be fake. No way in hell could this be real. Please. Please for fucks sake.

Michelle's thoughts were distracted by Lilli checking on the two. "Is everything okay?" She asked, tapping her fingers against the doorframe. Michelle sighed before replying "Yes, sorry we're taking so long. Just a small distraction."

Lilli nodded. "Alright!" She exclaimed, walking away. Raivis reluctantly spoke once he saw Lilli was gone. "Let's go." The two walked out of the hallway, reuniting in the living room.

They... They had to be overthinking this.

Right?

———————————————

As Lilli walked back to the house, she wasted no time, ignoring the other houses. They looked just as unpleasant as her own, some even making hers look luxurious.

It was a gloomy street - Most houses were for sale but had been on the market for so long that they basically became abandoned. A few even had boarded-up windows, blocking off sight to whatever was inside.

The sun was burning hot, making Lilli sweat without any vigorous activity. As she came up to the house, she looked around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. The dead plants... the rusted path lights... the cracks in the siding... the mould on the window sills...

Still her home, unfortunately.

Lilli walked into the house, seeing that no one was home. "Weird..." Lilli thought since she knew Gilbert was supposed to be home today. But alas, she continued. But something just kept nagging her. The feeling that something just wasn't right. No. Not just that. The feeling something was terribly wrong.

She took her phone out of her bag, scrolling through her contacts. Luckily, Gauthier refrained from looking through her phone, (He's not very tech-savvy, that's for sure. He still doesn't understand how passcodes work.) so he wouldn't see any of the sometimes strange contact names.

(In her defence, Gilbert named himself on her phone.)

She first tried calling Vash, only to be greeted with a straight-to-voicemail message. Lilli frustratingly ended the call, confused. Vash rarely ignored her calls! But, who knows what was happening? Maybe Ludwig might be helpful instead?

She called him, expecting her brother's normally monotone, cold tone of voice. But no, instead she was greeted by his happy-go-lucky Italian 'friend'. She could hear some speaking in the background - A German accent, which had to mean one of her brothers and another Italian one.

"Hello?" Feliciano greeted, seemingly leaving the room where the conversation was happening. "Feliciano? Where's Ludwig?" She asked, worried. He gulped, looking back into the room he'd just left. "He's... He's busy, I'm afraid."

Lilli tried to speak again, but Feliciano instead hung up, almost as if he was trying to avoid some kind of inevitable conversation. She was riddled with confusion, wondering so many 'why' questions all at once. Why was Ludwig busy? Why did he hang up abruptly? Why did he sound like he was trying to avoid something? Just... Why?

'Okay. Maybe Roderich instead?' She went through her contacts again, calling Roderich. She was not answered by him, but rather by Elizaveta. "Hello?" Elizaveta said, holding the phone up to her ear by her shoulder. "Miss Elizaveta? What's going on? Please tell me you know where at least Roderich is! I- I can't get to any of them by call-"

Elizaveta gulped. "Uh- Well, hold on." She put the phone down and turned to Roderich.

"Might I tell her?"

"... Tell her to come over."

Elizaveta gulped, her fear obvious through her voice. "Would you mind coming over? Roderich is here. He'd explain it better than me." Lilli was still confused, unsure of what the situation at hand was. She assumed it was somewhat dire, noticing the concern in Elizaveta's voice.

Her breathing hitched, wondering what could've happened. "I'll- I'll be right over."

"Alright," Elizaveta said "I'll be waiting. Goodbye."

She hung up, leaving Lilli alone once again. Lilli rushed back for the front door, running to Elizaveta's. She was exhausted, already having ran home from Raivis's. Luckily, the house wasn't too far. Further than Raivis's flat, but still close enough that she could get there by foot.

Admittedly, her shoes were not good for running, but they would tie her over just for now. Besides, she was in a rush. She didn't have time to change into anything proper for running due to such a dire situation. Eventually, she reached the house. She nervously knocked, hearing a 'Come in!' from the house.

She opened the door, entering the house's small porch. From it, she could see the kitchen. Roderich was sat at the table, while Elizaveta seemed to be making tea at the counter.

Gauthier wasn't very fond of Elizaveta. Sure, he did want all his sons to be with women, but he always dismissed Roderich's rambling about her, claiming she was 'not feminine'. In Elizaveta's defence, she was a kind and caring woman, with strength enough to defeat even the strongest of warriors.

"Lilli," She said, turning away from the counter. "have a seat." Lilli sat down, skeptical. "What's going on?" As much as she was relieved to see that at least one of her brothers was okay, a sense of worry still ran through her veins. Elizaveta placed three cups of tea on the table, enough for each person there. "Something happened, Lilli." She tilted her head, curious. "What is it?"

"Y'know how your father..."

"Oh. Yea."

"... Vash and Gilbert took some pretty bad beatings earlier."

Lilli looked up from her cup of tea, worried. Sure, it sadly wasn't uncommon, but she still felt concerned every time it did occur. "Wh- I- Elizaveta, are they okay?!" Elizaveta's breath hitched. "Vash wasn't hurt too badly, thankfully. But Gil..." Lilli held Roderich's hand, shaking. "... I don't know whether he'll be okay or not."

Lilli's eyes filled with tears. "Wh- What?"

Roderich gulped. "We have to go. Ludwig brought him to Feliciano's, and I'm pretty sure Vash is there too." Lilli didn't even have time to cry. Elizaveta and Roderich were already out the door and in the car, Lilli following.

The drive was silent but panicked at the same time. Roderich may have ran a red light, but no one seemed to acknowledge it. When they got there, they dashed out of the car as soon as it was parked, heading for the front door. Elizaveta knocked, fiddling with the strap of her bag. Footsteps could be heard coming towards the door, Lovino answering it.

His normally abrasive attitude seemingly had been replaced with a more concerned one. "There you are. Feli's waiting with your brothers-" Lovino couldn't even finish talking before the three dashed in, heading towards the guest room. The group was in there, with Ludwig sitting on the bed next to a half-passed-out Gilbert, Vash standing in the corner, and Feliciano by the window. Gil looked like he'd just been through war, with red spots where bruises were inevitably doomed to form. There were a few smaller cuts and scratches everywhere, with larger cuts being bandaged up.

Roderich's breath hitched from seeing Gilbert like that. "I..." He was at a complete and utter loss for words. Lilli ran for Vash, hugging him. "Oh- Oh my god- You're okay-" Vash hugged her back "It's okay Lilli. I'm here..."

Roderich and Elizaveta came over to Gilbert. "Gosh... Gil, are you okay?" Elizaveta asked. Gilbert rubbed his eye, wincing in pain as he moved his arm. "Ye- Yeah. Felt like I died for a bit there." Roderich's breath hitched. Sure, he and Gilbert didn't get along the best, but the thought of him dying was... terrifying.

Ludwig looked at the others, standing up from the bed. "Alright, what the fuck do we do now? We're not financially stable enough to live on our own, and not all of us have somewhere to go-" Roderich stopped him. "Woah, woah. Maybe we're thinking a little too far ahead, don't you think? I'm more concerned about how we're supposed to approach father after all of this. Where even is he?"

Ludwig bit the inside of his cheek. "Most likely a bar or something. Nothing like a good beer after almost killing someone, huh?" He said sarcastically, getting a small chuckle from Gilbert.

"It's not funny Gil! You almost died!" Roderich hissed, his arms crossed. Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Hey! I'm the 'someone' in question, I can laugh!"

Ludwig sighed. "Okay. So, back on topic. Where are we all going tonight?" Roderich shrugged. "As much as I don't want to be around father right now, he'll throw a hissy fit if we go elsewhere, honestly."

Ludwig shook his head "Sad truth, honestly..." His head hung low, in shame, almost. Roderich gulped "Y'know... fuck him. Let's just go on home and if he's not back by four in the morning we can begin to be slightly concerned, alright?" Roderich said, getting another chuckle out of Gilbert.

"Okay then. Gil, you ready?" Ludwig asked. "Yeah, I'm good. Obviously still in pain and all but I'll survive." Gilbert sat up, swinging his body to be sitting on the side of the bed. "Probably the worst beating any of you guys have ever taken from my knowledge." Feliciano chimed in, walking up behind the others. "Gil was out cold for about five or six hours there."

Ludwig's breath hitched. "Yup. I'd say the worst..." He mumbled.

Roderich spoke again, sarcastically "So, We're cramming five people into Lud's car. How lovely." Ludwig gently smacked his shoulder "It'll fit us. You're just entitled." He gasped in return "How dare you! I'm not entitled you-"

After a small argument between Roderich and basically everyone else ensued, the five siblings were out of the house, Ludwig helping Gilbert as he limped. Roderich and Ludwig were sat in the front, Gilbert and Lilli at the sides of the middle row, while Vash was grumpily crammed in the middle.

"..."

"..."

"So when are you gonna apologize for-"

"You were the one who pissed him off, Gilbert!"

"I pissed him off standing up for you!"

"So?"

"YOU STARTED IT!"

"AND YOU HAD THE AUDACITY TO FUCKING ESCALATE IT-"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ludwig yelled at Vash and Gilbert, who were bickering in the back. Lilli kept her hands over her ears, while Roderich continued driving the car. "I swear this family is the textbook definition of completely fucking dysfunctional."

Roderich sighed. "And that is how we know we're fathers'." Gilbert laughed again, being the sole sound in the car at that moment, apart from Vash's angry grumbling under his breath. "Someone's pissed..." Gilbert teased, ruffling Vash's shoulder-length blonde hair. "I'm about to pull a father and punch you in the nose if you don't give it up immediately." Gilbert only chuckled in response, looking away from Vash.

Lilli finally spoke, "He certainly didn't knock your humour out of you." Gilbert smirked, now ruffling Lilli's hair instead. "Y'know, it's not humanly possible to knock it outta me."

The drive continued, now in pure silence. The only noise that remained was the sounds outside, but no one seemingly paid any attention to it. They soon encountered their gloomy home neighbourhood - worn down houses, some even abandoned, with their house fitting perfectly into the dreary atmosphere of it all. Not all the families were as bad as theirs though. Some had all the happiness of a functional one, but just didn't have anywhere else they could afford to live.

They all dreamed of living elsewhere, but they all had different ideas. While Roderich imagined a beautiful, dark academia manor, Gilbert envisioned a vibrant, futuristic apartment with his buddies. Ludwig dreamt of a modern city house, while Vash had his dreams of a quaint log cabin in the woods. And Lilli saw herself in a beautiful cottage situated in a field of flowers.

They all had dreams. Dreams that were more realistic than others, but dreams and wishes nonetheless.

But they were stuck here.

Because the world is just so fucking unfair sometimes.

———————————————

"Ludwig?"

He ignored the voice, turning over in his sleep.

"Ludwig, wake up."

"… What?"

It took Ludwig a second, but he recognized the figure standing in his doorway as Vash. He sat up, his eyes still squinted. "It's like… 4:30, and father isn't home." Ludwig groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Do we have to go out and look for him?" He asked. "Well, it's best we do before he does something that'll either get him arrested or killed."

"Not that it's a bad thing, honestly…"

Vash and Ludwig had thrown on some quick clothing, getting in the car. It was pitch black out, visibility limited to only what the car's headlights could make out. They drove down a familiar street - the route Gauthier always took home. They drove it up and down twice, with no sign of him on either's side.

"… Fuck this." Ludwig eventually muttered, heading for the route back home. On the way, Ludwig's phone began to ring, lighting up in the darkness. "Can you answer it?" He asked, Vash picking it up. It was Roderich.

"What?"

"… Father's just drunkenly called the house phone." Vash face-palmed. "We've been driving down the same road for an hour like a bunch of morons looking for him! Where the fuck is he?! Hell, did he even say?-" Roderich cut him off, yawning in the process. "Apparently, he's by the convenience store down on… the one down by the graveyard."

"The one that…" Vash didn't finish his sentence, Roderich sighing. "Yea. The one we buried Mother in."

Vash gulped. "Okay. We'll go find him," He hung up before Roderich could say goodbye. "The convenience store down by the graveyard. Y'know, the one Mother is in." Ludwig shuddered slightly. "He… Maybe he took a detour to visit mother's grave?" Vash shrugged in response "Dunno. Seems unlikely of him, drunk or sober."

"Well, it is Father we're speaking of here. He's spontaneous in his ways…" Ludwig said, turning the car towards their new destination. "… When's the last time we even went to her grave?" Vash asked. "Gosh…" Ludwig mumbled, thinking "I would say last month? Early last month, yea."

Vash and Ludwig were only young children when Alia passed away. Their memory of her was little, but oh so precious to them. Alia was the mother who although could never pull herself to raise her voice at the boys, still managed to make sure they behaved. She took them on strolls to the park, let them help her out with smaller parts of her chores, and willingly played whatever imaginative game they had made up.

Although her marriage to Gauthier was arranged against her own will, the boys never fully understood what it was at such a young age. They just knew that their father… ignored them. He only ever left his office once dinner was served, only to go back in after. They also remembered Alia's 'friend', Silvija. She had two young kids of her own, and they frequently played with the eldest one, him being around the same age as them. There was also another kid, who was just a year older than Lilli.

Alia loved the boys so much more than she could describe, but there was one more thing she always wanted: A daughter. A daughter who was just like her. Even though she'd gotten her wish, it wasn't in a pleasant way…

When Gauthier found out about Alia's 'friend', he was furious beyond words. Sure, she did cheat, but Silvija actually loved her and didn't just use her for personal benefit. Gauthier, despite his indescribable anger, commanded that Alia stayed with him, and began keeping even stronger control over her. Gauthier had only one idea of how to fix their relationship…

A baby.

A baby born out of hate. Of fighting. Of force.

And that baby was her daughter. The daughter Alia always wanted…

… Did she still want it?

…

… The car eventually pulled up to the gas station. Gauthier stood outside, smoking a cigarette. Ludwig sighed, looking at him standing in his classic, brown jacket. "Piece of shit…" He muttered, pulling into the gas station. Gauthier saw the car, squinting in its bright headlights.

Vash rolled down his window. "Where the fuck have you been?!-" Ludwig placed his hand on Vash's shoulder, trying to calm him down. Gauthier rolled his eyes "Nothing. Smoking a few cigarettes." Vash sighed, rubbing his temples. "C'mon, get in."

Gauthier mumbled something snarky under his breath before he got into the back of the car. Ludwig began driving again without saying a word. On their way, they passed by the graveyard. "Why don't we-" Gauthier cut him off. "No, we aren't visiting that cheating slag's grave."

"Don't call her that!" Vash hissed, turning back at him. "I'll call her as I please! In fact, she was exactly that! She never appreciated what I did for her!" He yelled back. "You didn't do shit for her!-"

"I FUCKING GAVE HER-"

"CAN BOTH OF YOU STOP?!"

"… Fine."

Ludwig gulped, looking back at the graveyard through his rearview mirror.

'I'll visit you soon, Mother…'

———————————————