Nesscas oneshot haven

by Breakdown003

This will have a lot of Nesscas one-shots. That's all I need to say really. These will be my first one-shots for Nesscas so let's hope they're good.

52. Snuffed

WHOOO BOY! This is a little long. I didn't realize this at first, but the this story is my 50th and I just wanna say THANKS to anyone who's read even half of the stories. I still hold so much drive to write more stories so I expect to surpass 100 eventually. Anyway, there's a few things I should say about the story. IT'S NOT PG...NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST. If anything, it's rated M or R at the least. This is also one specific scene that I was contemplating editing out, but I felt it was too important to the story so I kept it in. I'll explain in further detail when you make it to the scene, but you'll be able to skip the scene if need be. The scene gets explained in less explicit detail various times after the scene, but I didn't feel right outright cutting it out, even if a small part of me cringes at the thought of reading through it. Anyhow, sorry for the longwinded explanation, and I really do hope you enjoy this. Thanks in advance. :)

---

Life has always had its ups and downs, its rights and wrongs, its negatives and positives, etc. But one thing that has always seemed to come up was the lack of change a person could make. People don't know the impact they have until they've made a mistake and everything came crashing down. Only then does the reality that one person can change the world-or at least a large portion of it-can be seen as a possibility.

---

Lucas was an average kid. He had his friends, his family, his teachers, his acquaintances, and even his enemies. Nothing about him stood out. He was just a blonde, short, and somewhat simple-minded….he was just Lucas.

Lucas lived in a large city called Ultimatum. He was a senior in his school, specifically the school, Smash High. There were various schools in Ultimatum. What made Smash High stand out against the others was its acceptance rate. Only about 1 in 100 people would be accepted into the high school. On the surface, the school isn't much different than all the others...and it's not. Despite this, the school is seen as the shining star of Ultimatum.

Lucas was walking through the crowded and loud halls with headphones over his ears. He didn't do this because he was listening to music though, he just didn't bode well with noises. He finally got to his class, class 322. He entered the classroom and breathed a breath of relief. "Finally…" Lucas said with his soft and high pitched voice. It wasn't ear-shattering high, it wasn't even high compared to the normal girl, it was just high compared to the boys. There were already a few people in the class as is, one of which was his friend, Red. Red stood up from his seat and ran to the back of the class, where Lucas entered. Red was always taller and stronger than Lucas, but his face made him seem much more gentle. Red was equipped with his trademarked red cap, red and white vest, and then his blue-slightly ruffled-jeans. Red chuckled-showing his pristine teeth-as he wrapped his arm around the back of Lucas's neck.

"Lucas, wassup?" Red happily asked. Lucas raised a suspicious eyebrow as he glared at Red's obviously fake smile.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Can't a guy just say hi to his friend?" Red stepped away from Lucas, knowing he failed at hiding his true intention. Lucas crossed his arms. Despite being shorter than Red, Lucas was always able to assert his dominance. Red sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do to escape the situation he idiotically put himself in. "Leaf and I are going out."

"So?"

"...So I'm gonna have to cancel our game night….sorry," Red flinched. He hated canceling plans with Lucas. Ever since Lucas told him about what happened to his family he felt bad whenever he had to cancel. He knew Lucas still kept feelings bottled up inside, despite allowing his friends to drink some of it. After a few silent moments, Red looked back at Lucas and saw his judging eyes. "S-sorry, please, if you want, I can cancel the date," Red flinched once more. Lucas just started chuckling which evolved into a laugh. "Wah…." Red questioned as he watched Lucas laughing as if he'd never laughed before. Lucas gripped his gut when he stopped as he wiped his tears away.

"Seriously, man, you worry too much."

"Huh? I-I don't understand…." Red slouched. Lucas walked over and gave a powerful slap to the back of Red's back. The slap wasn't too powerful, but it still held impact.

"Come on, you're going on a date, don't worry about me." Red stood up straight.

"Y-you sure?" Lucas gave an innocent smile. The smile that warmed the hearts of anyone who saw it. It made Lucas's eyes close and made dimples form at the edges of Lucas's lips. Red grinned as he planted his hand on the top of Lucas's stylized hair. He started ruffling with it.

"Ow...the hell?" Lucas shook his whole body just to get the hand off his head. He gave a jokingly angry look up to Red. "You ruined the moment!" Red couldn't help but chuckle.

The class they had was Algebra II. It was difficult for Red, but Lucas had no trouble. Their teacher was a relatively nice lady. She was tall and had long brunette hair. Her attire was also very casual for a teacher; a baby blue tank top with white-knee-length-shorts. She was known around the entire school as being an easy-going teacher. If someone missed an assignment, she'd allow months for that person to turn it in. Renae Jinny, known around the school as RJ, was the one person that changed many lives.

The final school bell rang, giving the kids a new hope for being able to actually do something other than sitting at a desk all day. Lucas stood up from his desk and started placing his supplies back into his yellow backpack. RJ walked over to Lucas's side. "Hey, Lucas, can I ask a favor?" she asked in her sweet yet deep sounding voice. Lucas zipped up his bag, placed it around his back, and turned to his right.

"Sure."

"I'm supposed to be moving boxes from the storage room to Mr. Robin's class, could you help me?" Lucas tilted his head in confusion. He didn't know why she decided to ask him. It was obvious to everyone that he wasn't very strong. Especially when compared to the others in the class, he had no chance of being able to help efficiently.

"A-are you sure I'd be the best for this?" RJ looked out of the window that Lucas sat next to.

"While it's true you're not very strong, you have an overwhelming amount of tenacity and perseverance." She grew a smile that seemed like it could brighten anyone's day. She turned back to Lucas and gave a single chuckle. "And you were also the only one that seemed like you didn't have anything planned after school." Lucas's face grew dull as he looked down.

"Way to make me seem like a loser…." he pouted. The words shot into RJ's heart, making her bounce back slightly and shake sporadically.

"Nonononono, th-that's not what I meant...I-I didn't….dang it," she said as she looked down. Lucas sighed to himself before picking his head up. He put on his fake smile.

"Don't worry about it, I'll help." He really didn't want to help. He could never pinpoint it, but he never really trusted RJ. Ever since the school year started she would give odd looks toward her students, whether it be in class or in the halls. It wasn't a look Lucas recognized so he couldn't say anything about it, he just felt the looks weren't right. However, he also didn't want to assume anything because he hated the feeling of being negative, so he assumed that she meant no harm by it. Within a month of school, her looks centered solely on Lucas, which-strangely enough-made Lucas somewhat relieved. He liked knowing that no other student would get the odd looks.

It didn't take them too long to walk down the crowded halls to make it to the third-floor storage room. Despite making it there, they didn't enter the room. Lucas tried to ask why, but he never received an answer. He already started regretting going with her. The halls, at a seemingly impossible rate for the number of students in the school, cleared out, leaving only Lucas and RJ.

"Ok, let's go in." She turned toward the door and opened it without needing to unlock it. She motioned for Lucas to enter. He did and saw how large the room was. There were shelves and shelves of boxes, most of which were overflowing. Lucas soon heard the door behind him close, slightly scaring him. "S-sorry didn't mean to scare you, come on, I'll lead the way." She stepped in front of Lucas, but Lucas decided not to move.

Something about this is….odd. If I'm going to help lift things out of here then wouldn't it be easier for the door to stay open?

"You coming?" This broke Lucas from his thoughts. He opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't formulate any words. He just walked forward. RJ led Lucas through the large, grocery store-like, storage room. They soon made it to the corner of the room. RJ pointed to a large blue box that had the school's symbol plastered on it-known as the Smash Ball. Lucas walked over and braced his arms for liftoff as he crouched to grab the box. He was expecting the box to be heavy, so when he picked it up he stumbled backward for a moment.

What the…? Either I'm literally Superman, or this is empty.

There was a small hole, formed by the four sides of the top not fully closing, so he peeked in. Inside he saw nothing. The box was empty. "Hey, I think you've got the wrong box." Lucas looked around the shelves to see if she pointed toward the wrong box.

"No, no, I'm sure that's it," she said with a slight alteration in her voice. The alteration showed that it was a scheme. Lucas shot around and dropped the luckily empty box. He took a few steps back as he saw RJ. She was naked.

"Wah….RJ, y-your clothes." RJ stepped forward, causing Lucas to shield his eyes and look away.

"Come on….I'm hot and you're cute…...we're made for each other…." She sadistically said.

"N-no, I'm gay, I don't even like—" Lucas was cut off by RJ's hand going over his mouth. Lucas shakily moved his eyes to see RJ's sadistically lewd face.

"I didn't give you an option to be gay." She gripped Lucas's shirt and ripped it off him. Lucas tried to scream, but his voice was muffled. He tried to rip RJ's hand away from his mouth, but she was much stronger than Lucas.

The hell? Why do I gotta be so weak? Please…..please…...please!

"Why even try….you said it yourself….you're weak." RJ then suddenly grabbed Lucas's crotch, making him scream louder, but once more, it just got muffled.

Someone….

RJ forced Lucas's pants off.

Please….

---

Meanwhile, there was a junior detective that was overlooking a few cases. This detective was named Ness. He was a rather tall 16-year-old who was still in high school. Despite this, he was seen as one of the best on the squad. His squad consisted of Ren Amamiya [Code name: Joker], David [Code name: Solid Snake], Cloud Strife [Code name: Strider], and Samus Aran [Code name: Helm].

Ness sat at a circular table with the rest of his team. "Well, I didn't think we'd have two high schoolers here," David said with his raspy and deep voice.

"You have a problem with that?" Ren asked. He wasn't afraid to get confrontational. Samus sighed loudly.

"Can you two get along for at least a damn minute?" Samus asked. Ness could tell fighting between Ren and David was a way they showed their friendship.

"He started it."

"What was that, kid?" David shot out. Ren glared a venomous glare toward David. That was when they heard a loud bang and the entire table shook. The two of them straightened up instantly. Ness looked around and noticed that Cloud was the one who slammed his fist into the table. Cloud looked angry.

"I have had it up to here with your bullshit, so sit up and shut up, am I clear?" Cloud ordered as he stood up. His presence alone was enough to shake the confidence of anyone even thinking of misbehaving. Cloud glared his strict yet determined look at both of the perpetrators. He let out a breath before sitting back down and looking at the obviously "out of the loop" Ness. "I apologize for that. We've had a recent falling out."

I doubt he knows they're joking.

"I-it's ok," Ness said. He looked around at everyone and could already tell, just by the look in each of their eyes, where they stood in the group. Cloud was obviously the leader, brought on to keep everyone on track and in line. Samus was there because she was smart with technology and technological weapons. Ren was an "up close and personal" cop while David was the stealthy cop. Ness knew his purpose too.

I'm the detective.

"What's the case we need to do?" Cloud looked at Samus, who nodded. She stood up and pressed a button on a remote she had. This made a small hologram appear from the middle of the table.

"We have reason to believe that…." The meeting went on like they planned, learning the info they needed to commence the job.

---

Lucas entered his house quietly. He didn't even look at his mom, who was on the couch greeting him, before turning to his immediate right to where a closet stood. He started to take off his shoes. Lucas's mom-or technically his step-mom-started walking over since she felt a strange aura with Lucas. "Lucas, hun, is something wrong?" She lightheartedly asked as she walked toward Lucas.

Lei-Lucas's step-mom-was always a sweet lady. It didn't take long for Lucas to accept her and her daughter as part of his family. Lucas always relied on her when talking about his issue, whether it be about emotions or about his past, and she'd listen without a second thought. Lucas truly loved her and she truly loved him. But Lei didn't feel that love from Lucas anymore. He always emitted a loving feeling if he was around someone he felt that way about, but she didn't feel it anymore. Lucas lost his love for his mom.

Even as she stood right behind Lucas, he still didn't bother with saying "hi". "Lucas?" She placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder, which seemingly shot a certain feeling throughout Lucas's entire body, making him tense up. Lucas's face started twitching before he slowly peered back at Lei. She let go of Lucas as soon as she saw the evil and the despair in Lucas's eye. Before Lei could say or do anything else, Lucas slammed his foot into her gut and he ran off to his room. "AAACK!" she groaned loudly.

Lei's daughter, and Lucas's step-sister, heard Lei groan so she ran out of her room. She ran out as soon as Lucas entered his room, so she didn't see Lucas and just ran to her mom. Lei's daughter, Marie, isn't that much older than Lucas. She was slightly taller but other than that they looked strangely similar to be step-siblings. Lei was on the ground gripping her gut so Marie kneeled and placed a hand on Lei's knee. "Mom? Mom, what happened?" Marie asked in a slightly panicked voice.

"L-Lucas…..he….." Lei struggled to spit out.

If I tell her Lucas hit me, she'll erupt on him. Something is wrong with Lucas, I can feel it...I don't want him to be attacked. Sorry, Marie….

"What did Lucas do to you?" Marie demanded an answer as she helped her mom stand.

"Nothing….he just seems sad…..I just suddenly…..suddenly got a stomach cramp." Lei saw the fire in Marie's eyes get distinguished as she helped her sit down.

"I-I see, I'll go get your medicine then." Marie ran off. Lei reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. She hurried to her messages and got to the "Hubby" contact.

Lei: Flint, please hurry home. It's Lucas.

Hubby: What about Lucas?

Lei: Just hurry home, I'll tell you when you get here.

Hubby: On it.

Around thirty minutes later, Lei's "stomach cramp" finally subsided and Flint made it home. He hurried into the house to see the two worried girls sitting at the kitchen table. Flint tossed aside his bag and walked over to them. He didn't sit in a chair though and just decided to stand at the head of the table. "What's this about Lucas now?" Flint asked, the worry in his voice outweighed any worry in the girls. The girls understood, though. Flint already lost one son, so he'd do anything to make sure his second is safe.

"He hasn't said a word to us since he got home," Lei said. Flint stood up straight and crossed his arms.

"That's it? That's why you made me leave work early?" Lei stood up and whispered to Flint about what Lucas did. Flint took a surprised step back as he watched Lei sit back down. "What….he'd never….he would never just do that."

"Do what?" Marie asked. Flint turned around and looked in the direction of Lucas's room, despite not even being able to see the door to it.

Lucas attacking Lei? He would never do anything abusive to anyone, not even his worst enemy, so why?

"What's stranger is that he wasn't like this before school," Lei pointed out. Flint lowered his head.

He wasn't? Something must've happened at school. A bully, possibly? Ohohoh, if that's the case….

The girls started to feel an anger-filled aura surround Flint, scaring both of them. They also saw Flint ball up his hands into tightly closed fists. "H-Hunny, calm down." Flint growled.

If anything happened to my boy….whoever did it will regret it for the rest of their damned lives….I don't care if I have to go to jail.

Flint started walking in the direction of Lucas's room. "DAD!" Marie yelled. This finally stopped Flint and made him turn his head. Marie was standing. She was scared. "Lucas will only get scared if he sees you angry….don't ruin your chance."

Urgh, I just can't not be mad. What the hell do they expect from me? Someone fucking hurt my son, and they expect me not to be pissed off.

"Dad….He never truly got over Claus." Flint looked toward the ground. He knew that. He knew that Lucas would never get over Claus or Hinawa, neither could he. The fact Lucas could smile after the funeral was strengthening Flint, even if it was fake every now and then. Knowing that Lucas is sad once more is making Flint lose his cool.

"I-I know….I know."

"Don't give him another reason to be sad, try to be calm." Flint looked down with a click of his gums.

I know that. I know I shouldn't make him sadder.

Flint forced his eyes closed.

Hinawa…..Claus…..what would you guys do?

Flint started to tear up.

No...Marie is right...I've gotta be strong. I'm all he has.

Flint wiped the tears away and picked his head up. He opened his eyes and looked at Marie, showing his new determined eyes. He held up a thumbs up. "I've got this, trust me," Flint smirked. Marie let out a breath of relief before sitting down. Flint walked toward Lucas's room. He stopped at his door and hesitated to knock. He took in a long and deep breath, before letting it flow back out. He gave a single knock with his index finger's knuckle. He gave two more before the door opened.

The door didn't open all the way, though. It just opened enough for Flint to see Lucas's right, and dread-filled eye. Seeing Lucas's normally bright blue eyes turn to a cloudy shadow of what it was almost made him lose control. He was able to keep Marie's words in his mind though, so he kept his composure. "Lucas….wanna talk?" Lucas's eye lowered. Lucas wanted to answer, but he couldn't. He wanted to say yes, but he couldn't.

Sorry, Dad….

Lucas shut the door. The sound of the door shutting was quiet and light, but it held a major impact on Flint. That sound echoed in his mind as he was frozen still, looking at the doorknob that might as well disintegrate. Flint lowered his arm to his side.

Lucas….

Flint lowered his head slightly.

I'm sorry

He clenched his eyes shut as tears started streaming out.

Sorry…..

He still didn't move. Lei and Marie soon came over and saw him frozen. They saw the tears streaming from his eyes and knew what happened. They pulled Flint into a hug. None of them could find any words to spit out. The sound of the door shutting shut all of them up. They were all closed.

---

Lucas opened his locker at school and looked inside it. He grabbed the supplies he knew he needed. Red saw Lucas from down the hall and ran over, having to dodge the other students walking against him. He accidentally slammed into the lockers right next to Lucas's, but Lucas was used to it so he didn't flinch. However, unlike any time before, he didn't bother with asking if Red was ok. Red recovered as he rubbed his nose. "Yo, Lucas, guess what," Red said as he lightly pinched his nose, changing up his voice slightly. Lucas peeked over at him.

"...Yea?"

"Leaf and I did it….we had sex!" Red cheered. Lucas looked back into his locker. He wanted to tell Red he did too, but he didn't want to cause him trouble.

"Oh….good for you," Lucas said with a low voice. Red-being smarter then he seemed-noticed the difference in his voice from yesterday. Red lowered his arms and tilted his head.

"Lucas?" Lucas took a step back from his locker and closed it. He turned toward Red. He could tell something serious was up with him. There were bags under his eyes, the skin around his eyes was red, and the look in his eyes showed distraught. "You….tired?"

"...Yes."

Liar, er, maybe it's not a total lie, but it's definitely not the full truth.

Red was about to ask something else, but stopped once he saw Lucas tense up and seemingly shake. His face started to twitch. Red looked behind Lucas and saw Leaf had her hand on Lucas's shoulder. Lucas shot a look back at Leaf that scared her and made her step back. Lucas balled up his hand into a tough fist and made a small motion that told Red he was going to attack Leaf. Right as Lucas raised his fist, Red grabbed it. "Stop." Lucas looked back at Red and he saw the glare Lucas gave to Leaf. His blue eyes seemed nearly black and void of life. Lucas was no longer Lucas. He ripped his fist from Red and walked away from Leaf, slamming his shoulder into Red's. Red walked up to Leaf.

"The hell's wrong with him?" Leaf asked. Red looked back at Lucas. The way he was walking showed he was angry yet fearful of everyone around him.

"He's scared or mad…..or even both."

Lucas….You really need to learn to open up to people.

"I didn't do anything, so why would he be mad?" Red looked at Leaf's scared eyes.

"He's not mad at you, I dunno who it's directed to, though. Let's go get the others, maybe they know." Leaf nodded and they parted ways to get everyone from their group.

---

Red walked into the cafeteria and saw his group waiting for him. He ran over to one of the few circular tables and took the only available seat. It was lucky that all eight of them could fit. Red looked at Leaf. "Did you tell them?" Red asked. Leaf shook her head. The other people at the table were Young Link, Toon Link, Kumatora, Inkling, Mega Man, and Ninten.

"Listen, guys, you're interrupting my studies," Kumatora tried to convince, but no one believed her.

"Oh please, we all know you were trying to get the bang bang from Jeff," Ninten said as he crossed his arms. Kumatora slammed her palms into the table and glared at him.

"You dare speak to me like that." Ninten gave a sly smirk.

"You wanna go?"

"Yea, I wanna go."

"Goo—"

"GUYS!" Red yelled. The two of them looked at him and saw the seriousness in his eyes.

"Woah…"

"If you two can calm down, there's a reason we brought everyone here."

"Better be a good one," Inkling said. Red then explained what he knew about Lucas's situation. All he did know was that Lucas nearly attacked Leaf, he talked in a weird tone, he didn't seem to care a bit about what Red said, and he had a strange sad aura about him. Mega Man closed his eyes as he thought about all that Red told him.

"Have you called his parents? Maybe they know," Mega Man asked without opening his eyes.

"Wow….you're smart," Young Link gushed. Mega Man gave a small blush as he looked away from the group.

"I-it was nothing." Red brought out his phone and called Lei. He then put the phone on speaker and placed it in the middle of the table.

Please….answer.

They answered. "Red? Is something the matter?" Lei asked over the phone.

"H-hi, ma'am, I've got a question," Red brought up.

"Sure."

"Uhh, Lucas was acting a bit weird just now, do you know what's wrong?"

"..." There was a decently long silence.

"This can't be good," Toon Link finally broke the silence.

"He…." As soon as she said that it perked everyone's attention. "He….was acting weird after school yesterday. I was actually hoping you guys knew what was wrong." Everyone's eyes turned toward Red.

"Sorry ma'am, but I was the one who had the last class with him and even then he seemed to be like he always is," Red sadly said. He looked away.

"Well, that does mean one thing," Mega Man brought up. "If he was how he normally was in 8th period, then something must've happened after school but before he got home."

"Wow….you're very smart," Young Link gushed once more. And just like last time, Mega Man blushed as he looked away embarrassed.

"Ma'am? When did Lucas get home yesterday?" Leaf asked.

"Around 5," She answered. Leaf looked slightly down.

Strange...Red told me he had to cancel his game night with Lucas so Lucas wouldn't have had anything to do after school. What stalled him for nearly two hours?

"Ma'am, if I may?" Inkling started.

"Uh, sure, go ahead."

"Has Lucas ever talked about being bullied or something along those lines?"

"No, not once, why? Has he told you?"

"No, I just thought that maybe he'd tell you over his friends."

"Ugh, we're not getting anywhere," Toon Link pouted as he put his head onto the table.

"Not true," Mega Man started, "We have a pretty decent hunch that something bad happened to Lucas from when school ended, 3:05, and when he got home, around five. All we have to do is play detective to try and find out what happened during those times."

"Wow, you're—" Young Link was cut off by Kumatora smacking him in the back of the head.

"Shuddup," she ordered. Young Link growled to himself as he rubbed the back of his head. "How're we gonna play detective anyway?"

"Well, we all share one class with Lucas, correct?" Red asked. Everyone nodded.

"Strange how that worked out, huh? Eight different classes, eight of us….pretty coincidental," Inkling said to herself.

"What would you like us to do, then?" Toon Link asked, picking his head back up.

"I want all of us to sorta analyze what Lucas does, how he reacts to people, and how he reacts to situations. I will have the job to analyze what Lucas does after school," Red said.

"So, we're basically stalking him?" Kumatora asked.

"Basically, but it's for the best."

"..." Lei was speechless over the phone.

"Ma'am, is something wrong?"

"You guys….are you really going to do this?" she asked. Her voice showed that she was crying. The tears that she was crying, though, weren't ones of sadness but happiness. She just couldn't believe that Lucas had such dedicated and good friends.

"Of course…." Ninten started. Everyone turned to him. His relationship with Lucas was a bit different from the others. Unlike the others, Ninten didn't start out as a friend of Lucas, but as a friend of Claus. Ninten balled up his fist and stood up. "I made a promise to Claus….that I'd make sure Lucas stays safe and happy….I'll never break that as long as I live."

"Ninten….thanks." Ninten started to tear up but then he just wiped the forming tears away and ran off. Leaf was about to follow him, but….

"Don't, he hasn't talked about Claus for nearly a year...you know how close they were," Red said.

"I don't….I just knew they were good friends. How close were they?" Lei asked. Everyone lowered their heads.

"They were…..more than friends. Despite being pretty young for it….they loved each other more than many relationships of adults," Mega Man answered.

"Oh…." Lei knew what it felt like to lose someone you love that much. "Well, next time you see him, give him another thanks for me, please?"

"Of course, ma'am. Oh, and one more question?" Red asked.

"Sure."

"How did he act when he was at home?"

"...Well, he didn't seem to like me, like at all. He even went as far as attacking me…." Red looked up at Leaf.

So something similar.

"Luckily, Marie was in her room at the time. Oh and he completely shut out Flint, not even giving him a chance to speak."

Jeeze, this is bad. He and his dad were always close, even closer after the incident, yet he just completely shut him out? But then, if he did all of that, why did he talk to me? Maybe he still talked to his mom.

"Did he talk to you, ma'am?"

"No, he didn't say anything to anyone, which is what scared me most. He's never that quiet." Red lowered his head.

So….I was the only one he talked to.

"Why did he attack you? Can you remember doing anything to him when he came home?" Mega Man asked.

"Uhh, well, the only thing I did was greet him…..oh, and I put my hand on his shoulder. That's it." Red looked back at Leaf, who did the same thing. Leaf seemed to have the same realization.

"W-well, thanks for everything ma'am. We'll call if we find anything of note," Red said as he looked around at the group for a unanimous agreement.

"I'll be waiting then." Red hung the phone up and pocketed it.

"Leaf? You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I believe so," Leaf said. The others exchanged looks of confusion. Red stood up.

"Everyone. Pay attention to anything that Lucas does, and try your best to talk to him. Also, try to avoid physical contact and analyze any contact you may see someone have with him. Got it?" Everyone nodded their heads in a strange, unplanned unison. That was when the first bell rang and everyone departed. Red was the last to leave the cafeteria though.

Jeeze, Lucas, what happened to you? If anything bad happened, Ninten is going to feel so guilty….I should find him.

Instead of going straight to class, he decided to search the school to find Ninten. Eventually, with about a minute left until the late bell, he found Ninten in a bathroom. Ninten was crying in a stall. "Hey, Ninten, I know that's you." Ninten was sitting on the closed toilet and slightly jumped at the sudden voice.

Crap, I thought I locked the door.

Ninten sighed before stepping off of the toilet and opening the stall. Red stood at the sinks looking at the exact stall Ninten stood in. Ninten avoided eye contact as he walked to one of the other sinks. "Oh, hey….How'd the meeting end?" Ninten asked as he turned the water on.

"Ended interestingly, to say the least." Ninten simply raised his eyebrows to say "Oh yea?" "Oh, and, Lucas's mom said thanks."

"Yeah….." Ninten squirted some soap onto his hands and started to rub them together. "...Claus would be mad at me if he was still here." Red crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and lowered his head.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Ninten put his hands back under the water. "If something did happen to Lucas, something bad, I failed him."

"Well, if his own family doesn't know what's wrong, I'm sure Claus would be pissed off with himself." Ninten chuckled.

"Yeah, such a sweet guy he was. Taking responsibility for everything. Did I ever tell you about the Baseball incident?" Red raised his head and looked at Ninten, who turned off the water and walked toward the paper towel dispenser.

"No, what happened?" Ninten ripped off some paper towels and turned to face Red. Red stopped leaning against the sink as soon as he saw tears welling up in Ninten's face.

"Well, it was more like tee-ball, but you get the point. He hit the ball with this metal bat and the ball got flown into Bowser's window." Ninten started to laugh, but the laugh was bittersweet. Red could tell, Ninten severely missed Claus. "Oh man, the lecturing we got from Bowser and Flint." Ninten smiled as he finished drying off his hands. He lowered his head. "And Claus took all the blame, yet he still smiled. He was still the happy-go-lucky kid, even as he was being punished. That's why I loved him." Ninten threw the balled up paper towel into the trash can. He stayed looking away from Red as he wiped his tears away. "But….I've gotta follow his footsteps." Ninten looked back at Red. Red took a few steps of surprise back. Ninten was smiling, it was forced, but still smiling. However, he was also still crying. The tears Ninten was forming fell into the crevasses of his smile. "How do I look?"

"...Creepy." Ninten turned away. He gave a few bittersweet chuckles.

"Looks like I've still got a ways to go." Red heard Ninten leave the room. Red looked into the mirror.

Man….I never knew Ninten could be this….sad.

Red started to feel tears forming, which made him shake his head.

No, don't you dare cry, you idiot. You're supposed to be Lucas's best friend. Lucas wouldn't want you crying.

The feeling of the tears didn't stop, they only grew.

Nonononono, please, be strong. If I'm not strong, then the others won't be.

Red then saw a single tear drop from his right eye. Red watched it stream down in slow motion. He failed. He knew he failed. He couldn't stay firm, he couldn't stay strong.

No…...goddamnit.

Red groaned as he faintly looked down. He felt more, and more, and more tears fall from his eyes.

Goddamit….please, stop it. Stop crying, I beg of you.

He couldn't stop. The tears only fell faster and hit the sink heavier. No matter how hard he tried to wipe them away, it only seemed to inspire his eyes to continue the challenge.

….I'm sorry, Lucas...I'm sorry, Ninten…..I'm sorry, Leaf…...I'm sorry everyone.

---

Ness arrived at Smash High. He was here on his part of the job. He entered the school and saw everyone retreating to their classrooms.

Man, for a school that rarely takes people in, it's quite packed.

Ness reached into his pocket and found a notepad. On the pad, he found the note he made to himself. "Second floor - Main Office - chat with the principal," it read. He put it back in his pocket and walked up the nearby stairs. He saw the sign that labeled the main office so he walked faster toward it. However, the room was at the corner, so he couldn't see if anyone was coming from the other side. This ended up making Ness crash into someone. Ness stayed standing as the other person fell. He shook his head and looked at the boy he crashed into. "Oh, crap, sorry," Ness shot out instantly. The boy looked up and Ness saw nothing but despair in his eyes. The boy was Lucas. Lucas tilted his head as if he was analyzing Ness. Ness held out his hand. "Come on, lemme help ya." Lucas glared at the open palm extended toward him. He grabbed it and Ness helped him to his feet. "Again, sorry for crashing into ya."

"...I-it's fine," Lucas stuttered. Ness crossed his arms and tilted his head.

"Soft-spoken, huh?"

"I-I guess…." Ness simply shrugged.

"Name's Ness, by the way. What about you?" Lucas looked away from Ness.

Should I tell him? He's not a student here, I can tell. I probably won't see him again, so it won't be a big deal…..yea, I guess.

Lucas sighed before turning back to Ness, who grew slightly concerned. "I-I'm Lucas."

"Lucas, huh….nice name," Ness said as he put his hand on Lucas's shoulder. Lucas softly chuckled.

"Y-yea, I guess." Ness removed his hand and tilted his head, keeping the crash in his mind.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no, b-but thanks." Ness smiled happily. Lucas admired the smile. It was wide and with no lie in it, no deception.

That'd be nice.

"Anyway, you probably got some class to go to." Lucas slowly gave a nod. Ness patted Lucas's back, showing more of his happy face. "Welp, nice meeting you, Lucas. Hope to see you again."

"R-right." Ness chuckled as he left Lucas to enter the main office. Lucas kept his eye on the door to the office. His legs, for one reason or another, he couldn't move them.

Ness…..He's nice. Wonder what he's doing here. Wonder why he wants to see me again.

"Excuse me, kid, you're not skipping are you?" a guard-Donkey Kong-said. Lucas turned around and found Donkey Kong walking toward him. Lucas simply took a few fearful steps back, making him look more suspicious to Donkey Kong. "Running away, are we?" Lucas was about to turn down the hall Ness was walking down, but Donkey Kong grabbed his arm. This made Lucas snap. His face started twitching. He shot his despair ruined face back at Donkey Kong. "We're going back to—" Donkey Kong was cut off by Lucas since Lucas bit Donkey Kong's hand. "AAAARG, stupid kid." Lucas was able to duck under Donkey Kong's other arm and run down the hall.

Ness hurried out of the main office to see Donkey Kong rubbing the bite mark on his hand. "What happened, sir?" Ness asked. Donkey Kong looked at Ness and showed him the bite. Ness stepped aside and saw Lucas running down the hall. "He did it?"

"Yes, that bastard skipped class and decided I deserved punishment….that kid used to be so good too." Ness tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

Lucas? He didn't seem like the type. Then again….his eyes weren't happy ones. Maybe…..no, I can't think like that. I've gotta focus.

Ness gave an apologetic bow toward Donkey Kong before turning back into the office.

---

Lucas knew what class he had next, and he hated it. It was Algebra II. He was thinking of skipping, but then the image of Donkey Kong filled him with fear. He sighed to himself, but before he could open the door to the classroom-since he stood right in front of it-he felt a hand be placed onto his shoulder. Lucas, for whatever reason, didn't feel angry or scared by it. He calmly turned his head back and saw that it was Red. "Yo," Red simply greeted.

"Oh, h-hi," Lucas stuttered.

"Hello boys," a sadly familiar voice said from behind them. They turned back and found their teacher, RJ. Lucas refused to look her in her eyes, which Red instantly took note of.

Lucas….he's not even bothering to look at her. Hmmm. She must be involved in some way.

"Hi, RJ," Red faked being jolly.

"Well…." RJ placed a hand on both of their shoulders. Red was expecting Lucas to snap since he knew he was the only one able to touch Lucas without Lucas freaking out, but he didn't. Lucas tensed up. His eyes were full of hurt and fear. Red raised an eyebrow but still kept his fake, suspicious-less face. "We'd better get in, we don't wanna be late." She started laughing as she walked into her classroom. Red turned to Lucas.

"Hey, you ok?"

"...y-yea…." Lucas slowly said. Red could tell the feeling Lucas had during it. And knowing this made him mad. Red balled up his fists as he watched Lucas begrudgingly walk into the room.

That bitch did something to Lucas….We're going to find out what it was, we're going to help you, Lucas. I promise.

Red walked into the classroom. During the entire class, Red kept a firm eye out on Lucas and on RJ. Whenever RJ interacted with Lucas, Lucas tensed up and the fear returned to his eyes. One moment, Red swore he could even see a tear start to swell up in his eye. This only made Red angrier.

The bell rang, and Red instantly left the classroom. However, he stayed outside of it to see where Lucas would go. After waiting for a bit, he saw Lucas and RJ walk out of the room together. They didn't notice him. He followed them through the halls until they stopped at a storage room. Red had to hide behind the corner. He looked directly at Lucas, who was clearly scared and sad. He didn't want whatever RJ wanted. Red crossed his arms. Once RJ opened the door, Red could see Lucas's eyes instantly tear up before walking in. Red growled and slammed a fist into the wall.

She is doing something to him…..dammit. I should've never canceled on him yesterday. I've gotta get the others.

---

Red made it back to the lunchroom and found his group sitting at the same table and even in the same order as last time. Red rushed over and sat in his seat. The others instantly noticed the angered expression on his face. "So….you find something out?" Toon Link asked.

"...Sadly," Red said. "But first, what did you guys find out?"

"Wel…" Ninten adjusted himself in his seat. They all, one-by-one, explained what they saw Lucas react negatively to. There were a few things that stayed consistent, which only confirmed things in Red's mind. Lucas would react negatively toward any female and adult that gets even slightly aggressive and touchy with Lucas. However, whenever a male of the same age as Lucas did those things, he wouldn't react negatively. He also refused to say a single word to females and adults, yet was seen going into full conversations with males his age-granted he seemed to have pretty broken speech, stuttering and stumbling over his own words.

After going over all of that, they turned toward Red. Red looked down at his table, still unable to get the vision of RJ leading Lucas into the storage room out of his head. "Red?" Leaf asked.

"...I don't really wanna rush to conclusions, but…." Red started.

"But?" Toon Link repeated.

"Red, even if you have a theory with no proof, please, shoot it at us," Ninten persisted. Red looked up at Ninten and remembered seeing him cry. The normally happy Ninten crying was something he didn't want to see again. Red gave a small sigh before sitting up normally-since he was slouching before.

"W-well….I believe our Algebra teacher, RJ, is doing something to him."

"RJ? Do you mean the fan-favorite teacher? Quite the accusations," Mega Man pointed out.

"Man, you can make anything sound sophisticated, can't you?" Young Link flirted. Mega Man gave a simple wink.

"Oh my god, now's not the time to flirt, this is serious," Kumatora angrily said.

"What makes you accuse her?" Inkling asked.

"Well, I saw her leading Lucas into the storage room after classes ended," Red answered.

"Oh…..that's odd, but don't you think he could've just been helping her? There's still no proof that she's doing anything," Toon link mentioned. Red looked back down at the table.

"I know that. But the fact he seems pissed off with every female and adult has to mean something. And when the one female and adult he isn't outwardly pissed at confronts him, he's just scared. It has to mean something."

"Well, we won't be able to do anything without proof," Ninten said, "You know of a way?"

"Couldn't we just set up cameras in the storage room?" Young Link asked. Mega Man shook his head.

"The storage room is larger than it sounds. While we may be able to buy one or two, we'd never know where they're going in there, and thus it gives us a higher chance to buy cameras for no reason. We also can't get into the room, only teachers can, unless of course a teacher goes in with you, but….." Mega Man explained.

"But they'd never allow us to set up cameras," Red finished. Everyone looked down at the table. They eventually all felt the anger Red was feeling. They all saw Lucas nearly attack someone because potentially his own teacher was doing something to him.

"Well, there is another way we can get proof." Everyone shot their heads toward Mega Man, who oddly seemed to be the brightest sun of the group. "We can always get Lucas, himself, to admit what RJ does, if anything of course.

"What're you saying?" Leaf asked.

"We can buy some kind of recording device, find a way to get Lucas to confess, record it, and give the recording-if he confessed to something of course-to the police." Before anyone else can say anything, Ninten shot up.

"I know what to do….Red, where's Lucas?" Ninten asked.

"Wah….? Lucas, he probably left by now or is leaving. And plus, we still need to buy the device," Red said.

"Tch, damn it," Ninten said under his breath as he jolted his head away from his group.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Damn it. Why can I never do anything? Why am I always so damn useless? If Claus was here he'd be able to handle this situation perfectly. I hate this. I hate this. I really hate this.

Red stood up, knowing just how mad Ninten was. "Well, I think we made good progress, first we've gotta get the device."

"Alright, I'll buy it, I'm the richest out of all of us," Kumatora said, with a small hint of proudness to be saying that.

"Tch, egotistical bitc—" Young Link was cut off by Kumatora's death glare.

"What was that?" She gave a twisted smile.

"N-nothing."

"Alright, let's go," Red clapped his hands. Everyone, but Red and Ninten, started leaving the lunchroom. Red walked over to Ninten, who was holding back tears. He looked to be frozen. "Ninten….you're trying to make up for what happened with Claus?"

"...I couldn't help him…..I couldn't do shit…..I was just a useless piece of shit," Ninten complained. Red analyzed Ninten's stance. His hands were balled up into fists. He seemed frozen yet still looked like he would fall over with the slightest bit of wind. And his clearly saddened face showed all the guilt and blame he placed onto himself.

He still blames himself? This is worse than I thought.

"You have a chance to make up those feelings. You can help Lucas."

"I know…..trust me, I know." Ninten's entire body instantly tensed up and his face clenched, showing he was closer to balling. "Why'd he have to go?" Red opened his mouth but didn't have anything to say, only closing it back up.

I don't know. He didn't deserve it, but it happened. Just like Lucas. He doesn't' deserve to be hurt, but…..but!

"Hey, Ninten, you remember what class Claus had right?" Ninten's body seemed to slightly calm down as he turned his head back toward Red.

"Of course I do, why?" Ninten's face seemed to also be slightly calmer.

"What teacher did he have?"

"Well, he had many….." Ninten went through his maze of memories trying to find which exact teacher Red was referring to. He soon found it. "Well, one of them was RJ." The realization instantly kicked in, making his face twitch and anger replace all hints of sadness. Red smirked.

"There ya go, I knew you were smart." Ninten slammed his fist into the table.

"THAT FUCKING DISGUSTING BITCH! If she did anything to Claus….."

"Relax, we still don't know….but." Ninten shot around with a growl and started to walk toward the exit. "Ninten! Remember the plan?" Before leaving the room, Ninten looked back.

"Of course I do, they better hurry with that fucking thing…." Ninten looked away from Red, "I need to know what the hell she's doing." Red gave an exhausted sigh to the empty lunchroom as Ninten left.

Man….this is stressful. We probably shouldn't even be doing this, but what cop isn't an adult…..wait.

Red chuckled to himself as he found the right person to help them just as a plan B. He just needs to know how to contact him.

---

Two months have passed. Every day, since the day they bought the device, they tried to make Lucas confess to whatever RJ was doing, but he wouldn't. He would just cry before running away. The strangest thing was that Ninten didn't even give an attempt, despite claiming he knew what to do. Not only that, to the others' obliviousness, but RJ was also making Lucas do the same thing almost every day.

Today was a different day than all the others. Lucas was lucky that RJ was absent, so instead of having to worry if she wanted some, he could just go straight home. However, when he left the classroom, he still couldn't go straight home. Ninten stood right outside of the classroom, waiting for Lucas. "Lucas, can we talk?" Ninten asked.

"Nothing is going on….everything is fine…." Lucas lied.

"This isn't about that….it's about Claus." Lucas looked away and gulped. "Follow me if you want, if you don't, then go home." Ninten started walking down the hall. Lucas didn't move for a bit, he just wanted to think.

I know it's a trap. Don't go with him…..But, he really cared for Claus. His care for him nearly rivaled mine. But no….stay strong—stay strong? Did I really just…..Damn it.

Lucas quickly walked over to Ninten's side. Ninten led Lucas through the halls until they made it to a bathroom. Ninten opened the door and motioned in. "I don't want anyone to hear." Lucas walked into the, almost ghostly empty, bathroom. Every bathroom at least had a stain in the stalls, or a dirty toilet or urinal, but this one didn't. This bathroom looked as if it was just created. Lucas turned around to see Ninten locking the door and put his hand into his pocket. Ninten turned around, taking his hand out of his pocket.

Strange….Why'd he…..?

"Lucas….did you know Claus had the same teacher as you?"

"Same…..teacher?"

"RJ…." Lucas's eyes slowly widened at the news, giving Ninten his answer.

"He…..he what?"

"If I find out she had something to do with his…..with him, I'll….." Ninten had to force himself to stop since he started to feel his face twitch. He shook his head and looked directly at Lucas's faded blue eyes. "I'll cut the bullshit…..Is RJ hurting you?"

"You lied to me."

"I had to." Lucas balled up his hands.

"Nothing is going on, why can't you guys understand that?" Lucas started walking toward the door to the bathroom. Seeing this, Ninten felt angry. He knew that all previous attempts failed. Unlike those times though, Ninten wasn't going to give Lucas a choice to not confess. Right as Lucas was about to pass Ninten, Ninten reached out and grabbed Lucas's collar. "What the hell….?" Lucas didn't even have enough time to fight back before Ninten slammed Lucas against the wall. "AAACK!" Lucas looked at Ninten and saw his anger. Ninten's grip on Lucas's collar tightened.

"I'm not letting you leave until you tell me what's going on."

"I told you...nothing—" Ninten slightly pulled Lucas away from the wall and slammed him back against it again.

"STOP FUCKING LYING FOR ONCE IN YOUR GODDAMNED LIFE, WILL YOU! I JUST WANT TO HELP YOU CLAUS!" Lucas, despite feeling pain in the back of his head, looked at Ninten's sad and angry eyes.

Claus….? Does he think….?

"I just want to fucking be useful."

"Huh...u-useful?" Tears started rushing from Ninten's eyes.

"I couldn't prevent what happened to you before, I'M SURE AS HELL NOT GONNA LET THE SAME DAMN THING HAPPEN TO YOU NOW! By force, if I have to."

"B-bu—"

"CLAUS PLEASE…..PLEASE JUST OPEN UP TO ME. YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT THIS YOURSELF, YOU HAVE YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR FAMILY…." Ninten forced his eyes close, his tears seeming infinite, "You have me…."

"...Ninten…."

Why does he keep thinking I'm Claus…..? He of all people should know the difference. Wait….does he feel….guilt? But there was nothing he could've done.

Ninten looked up with teary eyes. "I'm not Claus..." Ninten's grip on Lucas's collar somehow got tighter. He also slammed his other fist into the wall next to Lucas's head. Ninten opened his mouth, but from the corner of his eye, he saw himself in the mirror. He looked over and saw how he had Lucas against the wall.

"I…..I…...no….." He let go of Lucas and stumbled over toward the sink-since the mirror was behind it. "I…..I was doing…..what RJ was doing…..to you….."

"Hey, I-I didn't say—" Lucas stopped himself when Ninten gripped his own head.

"DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!" Lucas looked into the mirror and saw the tears still not stopping. "I JUST WANTED YOU TO BE SAFE….TO BE HAPPY!" Ninten shot around, and the sad yet angry expression on Ninten's face made Lucas's heart collapse. "WHY AREN'T YOU HAPPY CLAUS….I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING JUST FOR YOU TO KNOW I LOVE YOU, THAT YOU'RE CARED FOR, THAT YOU HAVE ALL THESE DAMNED REASONS TO BE HAPPY. SO WHY…" Ninten lowered his head, "...why weren't you happy?" Lucas looked down as well.

"...'Cause every day I'm being hurt more than I'm being loved." Ninten looked up. "Every day…..I see that FUCKING FACE! Every day…..every damn day….." Lucas started crying. He fell down to his knees. "You guys have been trying so damn hard to make me happy…..inviting me to the arcade, sleepovers, you guys even bought me tickets to Nintendo Land….but I was stingy and wasn't happy….." Lucas looked up at Ninten. "You want to know why….why I'm being hurt? Why you should STOP FUCKING BLAMING YOURSELF LIKE THE STINGY ASS BITCH WHO TOOK HIS OWN LIFE!" Ninten took a step back.

He called Claus…..no, he's been hurting just as much as me. He's been missing Claus just as much—no, more than me. I was stupid to think I was still the only one that cared. I was too stupid…..

"Clau—Lucas…..I-I'm—"

"I SAID STOP FUCKING TAKING THE DAMN BLAME!" Lucas lowered his head. "You and Claus never learned…."

"Lucas…..what is going on?"

"..." Ninten kneeled down.

"Now you better not become the new 'stingy as bitch who took his own life'."

"...RJ," Lucas started. He was able to move his head to look into Ninten's eyes. "RJ….she's been forcing me to….." Ninten gulped. "...To….have sex with her." Lucas lowered his head once more. "Nearly every day for two months…..it's unbearable."

"Why haven't you told anyone?" Ness put his hand into his pocket, preparing.

"...Because no one would believe being raped by a woman." Ninten then clicked the "stop recording" button on the device in his pocket. He stood up and wiped his eyes. "...Please, help me….." Ninten started walking toward the door. Lucas struggled to stand up. Right before Nitnen was able to touch the door, Lucas spoke up. "I don't think he ever told you this."

"Who?" Ninten asked without looking back at Lucas. He just looked at the plain door. Lucas looked at himself in the mirror as he wiped his tears away.

"Claus." Ninten planted his forehead against the door. "He loved you more than anything. I remember him saying, if anyone, even as much as flicks your forehead, he'd kill them. Every time you contacted him, he grew happier. Every time your name was brought up, he smiled. Every time he thought about you….he couldn't help this cute smile."

"The one with those cute dimples?" Lucas gave some finally genuinely light-hearted giggles.

"Yup, those ones." Ninten started smiling. "He loved everything about you. He wanted to get married….to grow a family….grow old…..and even die…..all with you, because he loved you. He died because you were the only one who showed care for him-outside of his one sided family. I just hope RJ wasn't involved, not how she is with me, at least." Lucas looked at Ninten's reflection. He saw Ninten turn around, and slowly walked toward him with this small smile on his face. Once he got close to Lucas, he pulled him into a hug.

"I miss him." Lucas returned the warm embrace.

"...Yea, you're not the only one."

Claus…..I can't promise my safety….but I can at least promise Ninten's. I promise you, Ninten will be truly happy one day. I don't know how, but he will be. I…...no…...We love you, Claus. I'm sorry if I didn't always show it.

---

Ninten met with his group, and Lucas's family, at the Ultimall. They sat at one of the many tables on the bottom floor. They were listening to the recording that Ninten gathered. All of them seemed teary-eyed. "Man, this is worse than I thought…." Toon Link said.

"Because no one would believe being raped by a woman," Lucas's final words on the tape said. Kumatora and Inkling pulled Ninten into a group hug.

"You did it, you did it, you did it," Inkling happily said.

"You put on quite the act, ever think of being an actor?" Kumatora asked. Ninten just chuckled awkwardly. Red grabbed the device.

It wasn't an act….but I'm sure Ninten doesn't want them knowing that much.

"Well, let's give this to the cops," Mega Man said, finally relieved with the fact it would be all over soon. Ninten was able to break out of the group hug.

"I don't think that'll be right," Ninten said.

"WHAT! How come, I want to protect my son," Flint asked. Ninten looked down.

"I don't want to force him to do anything more than I've already done…"

"Well, how're we going to get him to confess to the cops, he doesn't talk to adults?" Leaf asked. Lei loudly groaned in despair.

"WE WERE SO CLOSE!" she groaned

"Not every cop is an adult," Red brought up.

"Huh? Do you not know cops, dude? They're like all adults. I'm pretty sure that's one of the requirements," Young Link said, trying to be smart. Red was staring at something, but no one decided it was important enough to look at what that was.

"While he isn't a cop, per se, he is a detective. That has to mean something."

"Who is he?" Flint asked. Red pointed at a boy who was currently ordering from the fast-food venue at the very opposite of the mall.

"Ness, the junior detective." Flint didn't waste any time and instantly ran toward Ness.

Ness thanked the lady who gave him his food. He turned around and found Flint bolting toward him. He stopped, much like the roadrunner did in those cartoons, right in front of Ness. "Are you Ness, the junior detective?"

"Huh, uh, yeah, why?" Ness asked.

"We need your help." Ness sighed as he reached into his McDonald's bag.

"I don't know if you can tell, but I'm on break."

"My son is being rapped." Ness grabbed some fries and threw them into his mouth. He looked up at Flint.

"Did I stutter? And plus, I work on homicide cases, I'm not proficient in rape. Sorry. Now please, allow me to enjoy my break in peace." Ness pushed past Flint and started toward the front doors to the mall. Flint looked back.

"Do you know the case of Claus Cross?" Ness sighed before turning around.

"You mean the boy who committed suicide due to suspected rape?"

"Yes…." Flint fully turned around. "This is about my son….his twin brother." Ness sighed once more.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened. I can never imagine how it feels to lose two people in such a short time, but I truly can't do anything. I'll file a case at the station, what's your son's name." Flint gave a defeated groan.

"Lucas Cross." Ness's eyes widened.

"Lucas….?" Flint raised an eyebrow.

"Um, yea."

"Blonde hair? Kinda styled like ice cream." Flint's eyes slightly beamed.

"Yes, that's him!" Ness looked into his bag.

So something was going on. Even with that thought, I just let him continue on. I probably could've prevented something from happening. If I'd just acted up…..damn it. Guess dad was right, I can be too much of a pussy sometimes. Wait, no, two months later and Lucas still seems to be fighting. I have a chance.

Ness closed his bag and looked up at Flint. "Fine, I'll try everything in my power to help." Flint nearly jumped for joy.

"Really?!"

"But I can't promise anything, as I said I'm not proficient in rape cases."

"That's fine, all we needed was for him to confess to you."

"Con-confess?" Ness asked, tilting his head. Flint ran to Ness's side and gripped his arm.

"I'll explain everything, come on." Flint bolting into another run, dragging Ness with a comedic "WAHH!"

---

Back at the police station, Ness was talking to the rest of the team about the situation with Lucas. "Listen, as much as I'd like to help, we're already busy with a tough homicide case, so no, we can't investigate this," Cloud said. Ness shot up from his place at the table.

"How can you just deny it like that!" Ness yelled.

"What're you so uptight about, it's not like you knew each other for that long," Snake brought up.

"I could've prevented it, but I didn't. He possibly got hurt because of me."

"Still, Ness, we will not do that case. Just go file a report and someone'll get it done."

"Tch…." Ness shot his head away from Cloud.

He wouldn't understand. Looks like it really is just me who's able to get this done. Damn it, I was hoping for some help.

That was when he remembered what he was. He looked back at Cloud. "Well, remember, I'm a freelancer, so I'll take this case on by myself."

"What, you can't just leave us," Samus shot.

"Well, due to his position, he can. And as much as I'd love to force you to stay, I'm not able to do that," Cloud said. Ness chuckled as he ran toward the door to the room. "Make sure you don't regret taking this case up, 'cause we won't take you back." This made Ness hesitate a little. He grabbed the doorknob and looked back.

"I failed once, I won't fail again. And plus, I don't fully believe you," Ness said. He then left the room. He ran through the police station and ran out of the building. This almost resulted in crashing into someone. Ness was able to stop himself though. He looked at the boy-who had flinched-and he recognized him. "Lucas?" The boy lowered his hands, showing that it was Lucas. "What're you doing here?"

"Huh, I actually can't believe you remember my name."

"I have a pretty good memory," Ness chuckled happily.

"W-well, I'm just on my way home." Ness crossed his arms, noticing something slightly different about Lucas.

"You seem….happier."

"D-do I?" Lucas innocently smiled as he rubbed his neck. "I feel the same as last time." Ness could definitely see a difference. The smile he just gave was a genuine one. His eyes were also less faded. Ness really enjoyed seeing Lucas like this.

"Hey, could we go chat for a bit?"

"Chat, about what?"

"About whatever's on our mind." Lucas smirked.

"Sure, t-that sounds like fun." Ness felt oddly happy that Lucas accepted his invitation.

Yes! I get to spend more time with him. Wait, no, why am I so happy? This is for the case, yea, for this case!

"W-where're we going?"

"What about the park?" Lucas beamed instantly.

"I LOVE THE PARK!" Lucas yelled with so much joy that it could fool anyone that he was going through anything remotely bad. "Are we going to the Ruined Zoo?!" Ness chuckled.

"Why, is that one your favorite?" Lucas started nodding his head sporadically. Ness couldn't contain a giddy smirk.

Man, when he's not so sad, he's actually pretty cute.

"Welp, let's not dilly dally." They started walking down the sidewalk. Ness felt a way different energy being emitted from Lucas. It was an energy he loved, and energy that made him happy. Lucas was so genuinely happy that it was rubbing off onto Ness. "Man, you really love the park."

"HELL YEAH, I DO!"

"You sound like a dog," Ness giggled. Lucas gave a playful jab to Ness's gut.

"Hey, that's not very nice. I'm not a dog. I'm at least a cat." Ness smirked as he rubbed his gut.

"So, you're saying you like pets?" Lucas's eyes widened.

"I-I'm not saying I hate them, at least," Lucas blushed. As soon as he felt the heat rushing into his cheeks, he looked away. Despite not looking where he was going, he was still walking down the sidewalk perfectly. They turned the corner and Ness decided to do something. He looked down the sidewalk and placed his hand on the back of Lucas's head. Lucas tensed up slightly but eased up as soon as Ness started scratching the back of his head. Lucas really enjoyed the feeling.

Oh my…..ohhh

A small moan escaped Lucas's mouth, making him cover it up instantly. Ness realized what he was doing and to whom he was doing it too. He shot his hand back. "Oh fuck, I'm so sorry, I-I just….I didn't mean to."

Damn it, after all this rape shit, how the hell can I just scratch him like that. Fuck, what am I doing?

Lucas stopped, making Ness panic a little. Lucas removed his hands from his mouth, showing a deep blush around a small smirk. "I-it's ok….umm…..I never made that sound before," Lucas said, embarrassed.

"Again, I'm sorry about—"

"Can we hold hands?" Ness's face started to heat up.

"Huh?" Lucas gulped. He held out his hand.

"You made me…..feel good. I-if you don't want to hold my hand I-I'd understand—" Lucas was quieted when Ness put his hand into Lucas's. The warmth of Ness's hand made his heart skip a beat.

Wow….it's just his hand but…..

"W-well, shall we continue?" Lucas smiled.

"I'd like to."`

---

Red and Leaf were holding hands as they walked through the city. "We haven't had a moment like this in a while," Leaf said.

"Well, we were busy trying to help Lucas," Red said. They continued to walk. Eventually, Leaf saw something that was familiar. She squinted her eyes, making her motionless, and realized who it was. Red was forced to stop due to Leaf. "Hey, what're—"

"Is that who I think it is?" Leaf asked as she pointed down the sidewalk to the backs of two boys, one blonde and the other had a cap.

"No way that's Lucas and Ness. They're….they're holding hands?"

"Where're they going?"

"I dunno, but they're about to pass Young Link's place." Red reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. He instantly called Young Link, who took a little bit to answer. "Jeez, what if I was dying and needed help."

"You'd never be stupid enough to call me," Young Link said.

"Who is it, babe?" Mega Man's voice could be heard in the background.

"..." There was a long moment of silence for a while.

"So, why're you calling?" Young Link asked, hoping Red would just forget what Mega Man said.

"Uhhh, well, are you home right now?"

"Yea, please don't tell me you're coming over."

"No, but even if I was, I doubt I'd want to now. Anyway, look outside your front window."

"Why?"

"Just do it dammit. But stay on the line."

"Ugh, fine…" Young Link lowered the phone and looked over at Mega Man. "That was Red."

"Oh, what'd he want?" Mega Man asked.

"He told me to look out the front window….it's probably a waste of my time, but imma get this over with." Young Link exited his room and walked toward the window that looked at the sidewalk and road. Young Link moved the phone up to his mouth. "There's nothing."

"Just….be patient."

"Ugh, you're cutting into my—wait a damn minute."

"You see them?"

"MEGA MAN, GET THE FUCK OUT HERE!" Mega Man ran out, worried that something happened.

"What is it, who do I have to shank and who do I have to shoot?" Mega Man said, looking sporadically around the room. Young Link pointed outside the window.

"Please tell me I'm not seeing things…." Mega Man walked over and his eyes instantly widened.

"Lucas…..Ness?"

"What're they doing? What does Lucas look like?" Red asked.

"He's…..smiling."

"And blushing," Young Link said.

"Take a picture and send it," Red said.

"On it." Young Link hung up and handed Mega Man the phone since he can practically freeze any of his movements to take a fully still picture. Mega Man walked to the front door and opened it. He stuck the phone out and zoomed in on Lucas and Ness. They were just walking down the sidewalk. Both were smiling and blushing. Ness then said something which made Lucas laugh. That was when Mega Man took the picture. He shot back into the house and sent it to Red.

Red saw the picture and his mouth fell to the ground. That was when he sent the picture to everyone who knew his situation. All of them reacted in a very similar way, their mouths falling so far down that it broke through the Earth's crust and broke the core in half. Red invited everyone, but Lucas-of course-into a group chat.

Claus: You guys saw that?

Toon Link: Was he smiling?

Young Link: More importantly, was he just blushing?

Mega Man: Yes to both

Ninten: I-

Ninten: I can't believe it

Leaf: Ninten? Care to explain?

Ninten: He looks so damn happy

Flint: …

Inkling: It must've been something Ness did

Lei: Flint, you thinking what I'm thinking?

Flint: Yea, but will it work?

Lei: We have to give it a shot

Kumatora: You've all gotta admit, they're cute

Ninten: …..

Marie: Ninten, something wrong?

Ninten: Claus would be so happy

---

Ness and Lucas made it to the park-The Ruined Zoo-which used to be a zoo that got turned into a park. However, despite all the many attractions to the park, both boys decided to just sit on one of the many benches. They were still holding hands. Ness was expecting one of them to feel sweaty, but it didn't feel like that was going to happen anytime soon. Ness looked over at a very relaxed Lucas. "You sure you don't wanna go play?" Ness asked, worried that Lucas was bored. Lucas shook his head.

"There is something else that cats and I have in common, we like to be lazy," Lucas said. Ness giggled. He looked out at the park. No one was there, due to it being rather late.

"Do you feel comfortable with me holding your hand?"

"Of course I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked for it."

"E-even after what I did to your head?" Ness asked, turning toward him.

"W-well, I was surprised…." Ness's eyes lowered. "But….I really liked it." Ness looked back up.

"Y-you did?" Lucas turned toward Ness and nodded. Ness let go of Lucas's hand, instantly making Lucas miss his comfort. "Even though I'm a boy?" Lucas rubbed his neck.

"You being a boy was probably one of the reasons why I liked it." Ness let out a breath of relief. He turned back toward the empty park. That was suddenly when Lucas laid down on the bench, putting his head on Ness's lap. Ness looked down and saw Lucas's smiling face. "You don't mind if I lay here, do you?" Ness's face exploded in blush.

"Of course not." Lucas giggled as he rolled over onto his side, so he could look at the park. Ness smirked at the sight of Lucas's head on his lap. He started lowering his hand to Lucas's head, but before he made contact, he stopped.

No….he's been forced to do too much, I can't just—

Ness's thoughts were stopped by Lucas grabbing Ness's hand and forcing Ness to put his hand into his hair. "It's fine." Ness smiled wider. He started to slightly scratch his head, making Lucas almost purr. "They told you all that stuff, about me?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Oh please, I'm not stupid….Mr. junior detective. They want you to help me."

"Y-yea, but this wasn't part of their—"

"I know…..that's why I like it so much." Ness breathed another breath of relief. He started scratching harder, making Lucas's purrs seem more like moans.

"You think…..you think I'll be able to do what RJ has forced me to do….just, you know, when I want it."

"I'm sure you'll find the right guy." Lucas rubbed Ness's knee.

"Yea, I'm sure I will." Ness then scratched a very specific part of Lucas's head which made the kinda-purrs-kinda-moans into one big moan. Lucas covered his mouth. Ness lowered his head.

"Shhh, we're still in public."

"R-right, sorry." Ness moved his head back up.

"Say, could you come to the station tomorrow?"

"Sure, but what if she—"

"Don't worry about that. I already have an escort for you to leave the school safely. And, don't worry, he's 17, so not an adult." Lucas closed his eyes.

"Thank you, Ness, thank you."

"Any time, Lucas, that's why I'm here." Lucas rolled back around so he could see Ness's face. Ness was also looking down at him, so for a long while they were just staring into each others' eyes. Lucas's eyes weren't as faded as they were when they first met, even when they met not but an hour ago. "Lucas?" Ness asked, breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"You….did anyone tell you that you have great eyes?" Ness started to rub the skin around Lucas's eyes, which only seemed to bring out the beauty even more.

"No one's ever really looked at them for that long." Ness grew a dreamy smile.

"That's truly a shame….everyone is missing out." Lucas giggled, which made Ness really happy. Ness continued rubbing his cheeks with his thumb as his heart pumped more and more blood around his system faster than it ever has. Lucas smiled.

"You're not tryna kiss me, are you?" Lucas suddenly asked. Ness's face turned tomato red.

"WHAT! Nonononono, th-that's not….I-I would never…..damn it….I…..ugh," Ness said, completely flustered. He looked away with a huff. Lucas giggled as he sat up and stood from the bench.

"Awww, you're cute." Ness shot his head toward Lucas.

"I AM NOT CUTE!" Lucas giggled cutely.

"Y-you're the cute one," Ness shyly said. Lucas smirked very slightly.

Does he really think….that I'm cute? If he thinks I'm cute….would he want to…..no, I can't raise my hopes like this.

"A-anyway, I've gotta head home. It's getting pretty late. My mom would kill me if I stayed out too late." Ness stood up with a smile, but the blush still stayed in his face.

"Yea, I don't know if I left food out for my dog…..so I should skedaddle on home too. But….you want me to escort you home?"

"Don't worry, go take care of your doggy." Ness's blush grew.

Doggy? He….man he really is cute. And…..why'd I lie about having a dog?

Before Ness could say goodbye, Lucas gave a little kiss to Ness's cheek. Ness's face grew shocked and it seemed every ounce of blood in Ness's body reached up to his face. It almost seemed like his head was going to pop like a balloon. "See you later." Lucas started walking away. Ness shook his head and finally gained his ability to think back. He saw Lucas walking away.

"That had better be a damn promise." Lucas stopped and smiled. He looked back.

"Or what, you'll punish me?" He winked. That did it. Ness started to bleed and he just fell to the ground. Lucas giggled. He knew Ness was fine so he just continued on home. Ness picked his head up and wiped his nose, getting blood all over his arm, but he didn't care. He kept his eyes on Lucas. Ness stood back up and rubbed the cheek Lucas kissed.

Did he…..HE was the one who kissed me?! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! DOES HE LIKE ME? ARRRRG I DON'T KNOW! ...At least he was happy. I…..I'm gonna keep him happy. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to him.

---

Lucas made it home. Unlike the past couple of months, Lucas didn't hesitate to walk in. He turned toward the closet to drop off his shoes and backpack. He opened his mouth and the corners of his mouth curled into a small smile. "...Hi mom." It took a while for what Lucas said to drain into Lei's brain. She was on the couch that was mere feet from the closet. Lucas turned around and smiled. "Sorry for being a bitch the last two months….can you forgive me?" Lei stood up as her eyes teared up instantly. She ran over to hug Lucas, but when she got close, she hesitated. That was when Lucas pulled her into a hug. Lei was so overcome with emotion she couldn't return the hug, she simply cried as she patted Lucas's back.

"Hey, Lei, what's the matte—" Flint walked from the nearby room and dropped whatever remote he had in his hand. Lucas broke the hug up and turned toward his dad.

"Hi dad," Lucas cheerfully said as he gave a small wave.

"Lucas…." Flint slowly walked over to Lucas and kneeled in front of him. Flint smiled as he placed his hand in Lucas's hair. "It's…..It's great to have you back." Lucas saw tears in Flint's eyes. This made Lucas cross his arms and playfully look away.

"I won't be back until you stop crying, crybaby." Flint simply sniffed and pulled Lucas into a hug.

"Oh just shut it." Lucas smiled as he returned the hug. The hug didn't last too long. "Hey, there's something we wanna talk about."

"Ok." They gathered at the kitchen table. Marie even found time to join. She hid it, but she too was happy to see Lucas back to his cheerful self.

"So, Lucas….we know you were with Ness."

"Oh, yea….I don't really wanna know how you do."

"How do you feel about him?" Marie asked, cutting away all the fluff and getting straight to the point. That was when Lucas grew a blush, which already somewhat answered the question.

"He's….nice….." Lucas looked down as his hands as his blush grew. "He treats me…..good. He makes me feel…...good." Lucas looked up with a bigger blush and a wider smile. There was even a small dimple in his right cheek. "I want to spend more time with him?"

"Do you like him?" Flint asked. Lucas turned toward him.

"I don't know, yet. But….what if I did? Would you be mad?" Flint opened his mouth, but couldn't get any words out because….

"Are you stupid or something?" Marie asked. Lucas turned toward her with a raised eyebrow.

"MARIE!" Lei yelled.

"None of us give even a single shade of fuck if you like him. He makes you happy, and you seem to make him happy, that's all the counts." Marie sat back in her chair. "And honestly, I'm a little jelly, Ness is pretty handsome." Lucas shot out of the chair and slammed his hands into the table.

"RIGHT!" He looked around at the surprised faces of his family. He cleared his throat and sat back down. "I-I mean, sure, I guess he's kinda handsome, whatever." Marie had a smirk. She slid forward on her chair and reached her fist over the table, making it about halfway.

"Good to have you back, Luke." Lucas grew a smirk and brought his fist over the table, where they then slammed them lightly together.

---

The next day went by smoothly. Everyone was very happy to see that Lucas seemed to no longer be in his slump state. He eventually got to the class he was most scared of. Despite Ness reassuring him that he would have an escort away from the school, he was still scared of RJ. He was thinking over his way of escaping the school if he happened to not have that escort.

Once the final bell rang, RJ walked over to Lucas, who was standing up and putting his stuff back into his bag. "Hello, Lucas," RJ smirked. Lucas froze slightly before turning toward her. She wasn't that much taller than he was, but her presence frightened him. He took a few fearful steps back as he gulped. "What's wrong, is it possible you missed me yesterday?"

"I-"

"Excuse me, ma'am, but Lucas here has plans," a deep voice said from behind Lucas. Lucas didn't hear though, he was still too scared. He eventually backed up into someone. He looked up and saw a high schooler with glasses, black unkempt hair, and a calming aura surrounding him. He looked down and gave a sweet and gentle smile. "Hi, the name's Ren, Ren Amamiya."

"R-Ren?" Ren lowered his head to Lucas's ear.

"Ness told me everything, don't worry, the others are waiting for us outside. We'll make it to the station as soon as possible." Ren picked his head up to look at the obviously disappointed and angry RJ. "Sorry, ma'am."

"Oh...it's ok, we can always postpone it to tomorrow. Right, Lucas?" She winked. That single wink was able to make Lucas's entire body shudder. Ren placed his hand on the scared boy's shoulder, instantly reassuring him. RJ finally turned away and walked out of the room. Lucas turned around and smiled up toward Ren. He took a surprised step back at the oddly innocent and kind smile Lucas now held right after being so scared.

"Thank you," Lucas happily said. Ren slightly looked away, hiding his embarrassed blush.

"Pfft, it was all Ness. He really cares for you." That was when Lucas felt a warm shiver through his spin.

He cares for me! He truly cares for me! Why did I think otherwise? I…..I can't wait to see him again!

Ren then led Lucas through the school. Lucas stayed very close to Ren, almost gripping onto him, the entire way. He loved the comfort Ren gave him. They eventually made it out of the school and Lucas saw the vehicle Ren must've meant. There were a few strong looking people around this vehicle. Ren patted Lucas's back and ran over to the car. He put his arm on the shoulder of the toughest looking one of them. This man was pretty tall, his arms were exposed-showing some pretty firm muscles-and his spiky blonde hair looked like it could cut even the sturdiest of metals. "Cloud, there's the man of the hour," Ren smirked. Cloud shrugged Ren's arm off him and walked toward Lucas. Despite being an adult he never met before, Lucas felt calm around him. Cloud kneeled to Lucas's eye level and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Lucas?" Cloud asked with a voice that sounded like he didn't care much.

"Yes?"

"You're a strong kid…" Cloud stood back up and showed a small smirk.

"WAIT A DAMN MINUTE, DID YOU JUST COMPLIMENT HIM?" a hard-willed looking man said. Cloud shot a venom-induced glare back toward him, scaring the man enough to shut up. Cloud looked back at Lucas and his grin grew once more.

"Well, Lucas, we'll take you to the station for the confession. I'm assuming you want to confess to Ness?"

"D-don't make it sound like a love confession!" Lucas shot up with a blushed face. Cloud chuckled very slightly, which surprised the rest of the team.

"My apologies," he smugly said, "So, are you coming or not?" Lucas looked over at the car and thought for a moment. Ness would probably want him to take the ride. Everyone who was worried about him would probably want him to take the ride, but he doesn't want to. He looked back up at Cloud.

"I…..I can't grow to be strong if I take the free ride all the time. I'll just walk to the station." Cloud smiled as he placed his hand in Lucas's hair.

"I can see why Ness was so persistent on us helping you. You're stronger than I thought. Well…." Cloud walked back to the car. He opened the passenger door and looked back at Lucas. "We'll see you there, ok?" Lucas nodded. All of them piled into the car before they drove off. Lucas adjusted his backpack before smiling to himself.

Yea, I just need to walk to the station. I walk home every day, this isn't that big of a deal.

Lucas started on his walk. Each step he felt more comfortable. Each step closer to the station the more excited he became to see Ness again.

Ness…..I can't wait. I'll be there soon. There's…..something I wanna ask you.

Lucas stopped at a crosswalk and his smile grew larger, the station was in sight. Right as he was about to cross the street someone pulled up next to Lucas, on the street. "Hello, Lucas…." Lucas knew the voice. It was a voice he dreaded. He shakily turned his head and saw RJ in her car, smiling toward him.

"..."

"Where're you going?"

"I-"

"Oh, by the way…." RJ stepped out of the car. She walked over to Lucas's side and put her hand on his back. Lucas tensed up. He shakily looked over at the station that seemed to be getting further away from him.

Ness…

"Hey, you're what, 17? I can teach you how to drive, come on….." She lowered her head to his head. "Get in the damn car!" Lucas knew he could outrun her. He knew he could make it to the station if he could just start running. But his feet didn't start running toward it. Instead, they walked toward the car. He walked over to the other side and glared at the station.

Ness…...I'm sorry…... I won't make it

Lucas got into the car and put on the seatbelt. He heard RJ get into the other side and smirked at Lucas. "Well, start driving." Lucas gulped as he started the car back up. He drove forward. He had to stop at the red light, but the station stood exactly to his left. He could still make it. He could escape the car. But instead, he just drove by it once the light turned green.

Bye…..Ness

"Lucas…." Lucas kept his eyes forward and saw RJ in his peripheral. "Take your pants off."

"I-I…...I c-c-can't."

"Oh right, duh," RJ smacked her forehead in a condescending way, "You're driving. I'll just do it for you." RJ grabbed the rim of his pants and leaned toward his ear. "You deserve a prize for your astounding work driving." She slid them off, tensing Lucas up more. His grip on the steering wheel was firm yet uneasy. He felt his underwear get taken off, causing Lucas's breath to grow panicked and his vision to get shaky.

Please…..

Lucas felt the sensation of RJ. A sensation that a lot of people would love to feel, but Lucas hated. He started tearing up, making his vision even more shot.

…..

She didn't stop, she just kept going. This ensured Lucas's tears kept going. Eventually, Lucas had no idea where he was or where he was going. He no longer saw the road, the buildings, the people, the lights. All he saw was his own tears. This caused Lucas to run a red light. RJ, despite not paying attention, could feel Lucas speeding up. She picked her head up and saw Lucas was going 80mph in the middle of the city.

"LUCAS, THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!" RJ yelled. Despite yelling right next to Lucas, he didn't hear. RJ looked at him and saw that Lucas wasn't reacting to anything. Lucas just looked forward as he cried. His face was frozen. His eyes showed fear and his mouth showed anger. Lucas soon ran another red light. "LUCAS!" RJ started panicking. She lowered her window and stuck her head out. "HELP, THIS GUY IS TAKING ME AGAINST MY WILL!" RJ stuck her head back in and looked forward. She saw that the road wasn't going forward for much longer. The road made a turn left. "Lucas….you better turn….turn now!" Lucas continued racing toward the building. The closer they got, the more scared RJ became. "Lucas….I'm sorry…..I'm sorry about everything. Please, just please, turn." Lucas still didn't hear her. He still didn't see the road ending or the building he was lessening the space between. RJ closed her eyes. "LUCA—" Lucas crashed into the building.

---

Lucas struggled to open his eyes. He felt heavy pain in his chest and he had a head pounding headache. He was finally able to open his eyes fully and saw that he was in a hospital bed. He tried to sit up, but he felt a shooting pain through his ribs. "AACK!" Lucas reacted. Lucas looked up at the roof and felt his cold tears fall from his eyes from the pain.

….What happened?

"Hey, Lucas," a gentle voice said from the front of the room. Lucas felt the greeting shoot through him like a bullet, causing him to jump back. This did cause an even heavier shot of pain to go through his body, though. "It's ok, I'm your doctor." Lucas looked at the doctor. It was true. It was his doctor, Dr. Mario. He walked over and sat in a chair next to Lucas. "Try not to move, ok? You got into a very serious car accident with your driver's ed teacher."

My…..driver's ed teacher? Did she lie about her position?

Lucas opened his mouth to tell him she wasn't a driver's ed teacher, but he couldn't. He couldn't' bring himself to even say hi. His tears only fell faster. "Do you remember what happened?" Dr. Mario lowered his hand to Lucas's feet, which made him tense up. Dr. Mario noticed how tense he was. He retracted his hand and saw Lucas trembling. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry." Dr. Mario stood up and looked down at the tearful Lucas. "After you recover, you'll be taken to the station where you'll be asked about the accident. Try to cooperate with them."

The station…..I didn't make it? Ness…..I'm so sorry. I broke our promise. Please, forgive me.

Lucas started crying aloud. Dr. Mario knew the nature of the cry. It wasn't from pain or guilt, it was from sadness. He knew he couldn't do anything though. So he left the room and called for Lucas's family.

It took around an hour for them to make it. They rushed into the room and saw Lucas on the bed. Flint walked ahead of the other two. His eyes widened as he clearly saw the pain and struggle in Lucas's eyes. "...Lucas….." Lucas looked away. He wasn't able to speak to them.

Sorry, Dad.

Lucas forced his eyes shut as Flint's heart broke. Flint started walking back toward his family. Instead of embracing them, he just walked past and to the door. "I'll be in the car." Flint left the room. Dr. Mario stood up from his table in the corner of his room and walked to Lei and Marie.

"Can we speak outside the room?" Dr. Mario asked. Lei nodded. The two girls followed Dr. Mario out of the room. Dr. Mario gave one final look at Lucas before closing the door. He looked at the girls. Both of them were trying hard not to cry. He gave a dissatisfied sigh. "Mrs. Jinny, Lucas's teacher, is pressing charges."

"WHAT!?" Lei screamed.

"For what?" Marie asked.

"Attempted murder, I guess. She told the cops that Lucas didn't hesitate to crash into the building, and seeing that lack of hesitation is enough to start a case," Dr. Mario said. Marie looked down.

"But…..Lucas isn't like that." Marie could tell how angry Lei was. She took a step back, knowing Lei was about to lash out. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THAT BITCH!" Lei yelled. Dr. Mario held up his arms.

"Now, Mrs. Cross, please, calm down," Dr. Mario said, slightly scared of Lei's angry side.

"THAT STUPID BITCH RAPES MY SON AND SHE'S THE ONE WHO PRESSES CHARGES?! THIS IS UTTER BULLSHIT!" Dr. Mario lowered his arms.

"She did…..what?" Marie rolled her eyes. She walked up to Lei and whispered that she just outed RJ. This seemed to instantly calm her down, making her cover her mouth. "She…...raped Lucas?" Dr. Mario turned around and looked off into space.

"Doc?" Marie questioned.

"That would explain a few things?" Lei lowered her arm as she gave the back of Dr. Mario's head a confused look.

"Explain what?" Lei asked. Dr. Mario turned his head and showed his concerned look.

"Can you guys follow me? There is something I want to show you."

---

Ness rushed into the station at the call that someone he knew was taken into the interrogation room. He ran through the entire station, dodging the other officers and tables. He was stopped outside of a door by Cloud. "Cloud, the hell?" Ness asked. Cloud crossed his arms.

"I'm not supposed to let you in there," Cloud pointed out.

"It's Lucas, isn't it?" Cloud looked away with a single nod. Ness balled up his hand. His eyes started tearing up. "I wasn't allowed to see him at all during his recovery, and I heard he's reverted back to how he was."

"No….it's worse than before." Ness tilted his head. Cloud tried to look away from Ness's teary eyes, but for whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"We've tried to get some of Lucas's friends to see if they can get through to him….but he won't even bring himself to look at them." Ness looked down, his tears hitting and staining the ground.

Lucas…..I should've kept my eye on you. I should've gone with them to pick you up. I should've been the escort. I'm…...I'm sorry I let you down. Please forgive me.

"Can…..can I try?"

"As I've said before, I'm not supposed to let you—" Cloud stopped as Ness shot his head up. Cloud saw a sad determination. This wasn't just crying from the loss of a friend, or the knowledge that friend was being treated horribly, but it was like he lost a loved one.

"...Please…..at least let me shoot my shot." Cloud looked around the station as he planted his hand on the doorknob.

"Don't take too long, Lucas is to be taken to his cell soon." Ness nodded as Cloud opened the door. He rushed into the hall. He saw Ren and Samus standing right outside the large one sided window that looked into the interrogation room. Ness ran to Ren's side and looked into the room. Snake was trying to get answers from Lucas, but just like Cloud said, Lucas didn't even bother to breathe the same air as him. Samus pressed a nearby button.

"Ok Snake, we have someone new," Samus said. Snake nodded to no one and walked for the door.

"Oi, nothing is going to get through him," Snake said as he opened the door. He closed it and saw Ness walking toward it. Snake opened his mouth to say something, but he simply stepped back, knowing there was nothing he could say to Ness at that point. Ness hesitated to even touch the door handle.

This is my chance to see him again. I wished it wasn't in this setting. I wished Lucas and I would meet again at a theater maybe, or maybe even a restaurant.

Ness touched the door handle and gulped.

This is for Lucas. I have to help him.

Ness opened the door and saw Lucas still not bothering to look away from the handcuffs he had on. Ness gently closed the door and walked over to sit in the available chair. He looked at Lucas, who didn't seem bothered by the newcomer. Ness opened his mouth but he closed it the second Lucas moved his eyes up to see him. "..." The instant Lucas saw who was integrating him, he started tearing up. Lucas moved his eyes back down. "...I…" Hearing that sent a shiver through Ness's and the outsiders' bodies. Hearing that single word, that single letter, told his entire story. It was cold and sharp, seemingly capable of cutting through the toughest of rock. "...Ness…..forgive me."

"For what?" Ness knew why Lucas was in here. Lucas was in here because he is being charged with attempted murder, and the cops are trying to get a confession out of him. That was when Ness realized something.

They're listening. Everyone is listening. I could try to get Lucas to confess to what RJ has been doing to him, and Lucas could counter sue. Yes…..I've got to. I've got to protect him. This is my second chance, I won't let him down again.

"...I didn't meet you…...that day…..I…..broke our promise."

"Not really." Lucas looked back up. "I mean, we said we'd meet each other again in the station, and look where we are," Ness happily smiled. Lucas slowly looked back down.

"...I guess….." Ness's happy smile disappeared.

"Why were you with RJ?"

"...she….." Ness could tell by the look on his face, he was clenching his fists. Ness sighed. He planted his hands on the table face-up. Lucas glared at Ness's open palms for a while. He brought his hands up and held them over Ness's. He looked into Ness's eyes for the first time in over a month. He saw that he'd been crying, and was just holding back tears now. Lucas finally collided his hands into Ness's, with Ness firming up his grip on Lucas's hands, disgusted by the handcuffs. "...She said she was going to…..teach me to drive." Ness started rubbing the back of Lucas's hands with his thumbs. This eased Lucas's nerves slightly.

The others stood outside, gobsmacked. "How'd he get through to him so quickly?" Snake asked.

"Not sure. Not even his best friend was able to do it," Samus shook her head.

"They're not friends," Ren simply said. The two others looked at him.

"What?" they asked.

"They don't see each other as friends. They see each other as the support beam for them. Mainly, Lucas sees Ness that way." Snake crossed his arms as he looked back into the room.

"You think Lucas is gonna talk about what RJ did? We can't make this a case about her otherwise," Snake said.

"That's what Ness plans."

"How do you know?" Samus asked as she looked back into the room. Ness and Lucas just stared into each others' eyes as Lucas explained what he knew. Their hands were still connected, and it looked like not even the strongest of tornadoes could pull them apart.

"I just do."

"I see, one more question," Ness said. Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"...Yea?"

"I was reading the report and…..they said they found you naked from the bottom down." Lucas lowered his eyes but kept them on Ness. He knew Ness would protect him, even if he got arrested.

"She…..she said she wanted to give me a prize…..I think you know what I mean." Ness nodded to himself.

"Five more minutes, Ness, hurry it up in there," Samus's voice echoed throughout the room. Knowing he was on a time limit angered him, but he was able to hide it pretty well. Ness lowered his face to Lucas's ear.

"If you want RJ to go away forever, allowing us to be together for longer….you have to talk to me about what she's been doing to you." Ness brought his head back up. "Anything else you want to tell me?" Lucas forced his eyes shut.

RJ….could go away forever? And….I'd get to be with Ness for a long time too? Ness….I really do owe you so much. I….I want to spend everyday with you. Please…..

Lucas looked up into Ness's confident eyes. "She…..she sucked my…" Lucas would've normally forced his eyes shut, but he couldn't bring himself to look away from Ness's. He started tearing up as the memories of RJ came crawling back to him. "My…..p-penis…."

"And is that all she has done to you?" Lucas gripped onto Ness's hands harder, nearly indenting his fingertips into Ness's skin. It slightly pained Ness, but he didn't mind. The tears Lucas was forming looked as sharp as his first word. They looked cold enough to freeze the deepest parts of hell in a single instant.

"...no….."

"Please….." Ness brought Lucas's hands up to his mouth for no apparent reason. "Please…..tell us."

"...RJ….."

I can do this.

"...She…."

This isn't just for me anymore.

"...has…."

I've got Ness.

"...been…."

My friends, my family, who've worked through hell to help me, only to get the cold fucking shoulder.

"...raping…"

I can't be scared anymore, I'm doing this for everyone.

"...me…"

I did it.

"How long?" Ness asked.

The next few minutes were filled with a teary Lucas explaining how RJ has been raping him for two whole months-before the accident-in a disturbing amount of detail. Details that, even Ness, didn't know fully, and details that Ness probably could've lived without knowing. "Ness, time's up." Ness tried to let go of Lucas's hands, but Lucas's grip was too strong.

"Lucas, I'm sorry, I've got to go now." Lucas looked down at the table as he let go of Ness's hands. Ness stood up and wiped a single tear away.

Trust me, Lucas, I don't wanna leave either.

Ness walked over to the door. "Ness?" Lucas's soft and fragile voice said from behind Ness. He turned around and watched as Lucas embraced him in a hug. Lucas's grip around Ness's entire body made it seem like Ness was going to be broken in half. "Please…..please don't leave me." Ness started rubbing Lucas's back.

"I-I'm sorry, but I've really gotta go now." At this, Lucas tightened up his grip. Ness lowered his head to Lucas's ear. "But I promise you after everything is over, I'll never leave your side. No matter how annoying I may become, or what we have to go through after this, I'll never leave you." Ness picked his head up as Lucas looked up. Lucas's tears lighted up slightly.

"Y-you p-promise?" Ness placed a hand on Lucas's cheek and started rubbing away the few tears that escaped onto his cheek.

"I kept my promise about meeting you here, right? No need to worry," Ness smiled happily. That was when Lucas smiled the same smile he held when they were walking to the park together. He planted his head on Ness's chest for a bit before letting go of him.

"I'll be seeing ya."

"Not before I see you," Ness winked as he opened the door. He stepped out of the room but looked back at Lucas. He wanted to keep Lucas's smile in his vision, but he knew he couldn't, not yet at least.

Soon, Lucas, soon; we'll finally be able to relax together.

Ness closed the door, but it seemed to close in slow motion. Neither boy truly wanted to leave the other at that moment. Ness turned toward the others after wiping his eyes. He didn't say anything before walking toward the exit from the hall. However, before he opened the door, he looked back at the others. "That better be enough to make a case against her?"

"We can make a case, yes, but we'll need evidence to prove her guilty. Otherwise, Lucas will be charged with not only attempted murder but falsifying a rape case as well," Samus said. Ness looked back forward and burrowed his eyebrows.

"Don't worry about the evidence, I'll get it by tonight, I swear to you." Ness opened the door and walked away, a newfound purpose in his head.

"Man, he's kind of spooky when he finds something to be determined about," Snake said.

"But, will he be able to find evidence? I mean, all that we ever had was that teary confession from a month ago," Samus said, looking at the lonely boy inside the room. Ren shook his head.

"You guys worry too much. Ness won't allow someone like him to be taken down when all the hate should be centered on someone else," Ren said.

"You seem to know that quite well." Ren looked at the two others. His normally goofy aura was replaced by a serious and strict composure.

"You can say that."

---

Ness made it to Smash High. He was angry and prepared to rip the entire school in half. However, he saw someone he knew was one of Lucas's friends. This person looked kind of like him, just with a red scarf around his neck. This boy was crying next to a small shrine dedicated to the loss of another student. Ness walked to the side of the boy-Ninten-and looked at the shrine. "This was Lucas's brother?" Ness asked. Ninten knew the voice, so he stood up and wiped his eyes.

"Yea….that picture was at their birthday," Ninten said, pointing to a picture of Lucas's brother-Claus-Lucas, Ninten, Toon Link, and Red.

"I can definitely see the similarities."

"I loved him more than anything….I'm happy you've still got Lucas." Ness smirked as he turned toward Ninten.

"That's actually why I'm here."

"You called saying you got Lucas to spill the beans, but you seemed to be in a hurry," Red said as he approached the two from behind. They turned around and saw the rest of Lucas's group. "What is it that you needed?"

"We can make a case against RJ, but we need proof that she did what she did."

"Can Lucas's first confession be used as some?" Ninten asked, wiping his eyes.

"Yea, but we'll need concrete evidence of the….the rape."

"How're we gonna do that though?" Inkling asked. Ness thought for a moment. He snapped his fingers.

"Follow me, we're going to the office." Ness led the group through the school and up to the main office. They entered the office. The office assistant looked at Ness with a confused look. He stood up, making his wings puff out.

"Listen, we told you everything we know about the group," the assistant said. He looked rather young to be working on this type of job. Ness shook his head.

"I'm not here for that, I was just wondering if you could grant this group of students something." The man raised an eyebrow. "There are heavy accusations toward a teacher, RJ, and these students need to help my investigation."

"RJ? Isn't she still hospitalized?"

"Yes, but we're gathering further intel on the whole case." The man crossed his arms.

"What is it this time, did she forget to pay the fifty cents to use a cart or something?" he asked in a condescending way.

"RJ is being accused of raping one of her students."

"...oh….I see." The man cleared her throat. "I'll go ahead and grant you guys full access to the school, one sec." The man walked away into another room. Kumatora walked up to Ness's side.

"Way to be blunt," Kumatora said. Ness looked at her and she was slightly surprised by the look in his eyes.

"I don't have time to not be blunt," Ness simply answered. He crossed his arms. "I'm not leaving Lucas high and dry." Kumatora looked at the rest of the group.

"How do you feel about him?"

"Hm?" Toon Link walked up and rested his arm on Ness's shoulder. Ness gave a panicked, yet embarrassed look toward Toon Link. "Wh-why do you ask anyway?"

"We saw you walking with Lucas that one day," Toon Link said.

"O-oh, did you now?" Toon Link gave a sly smirk.

"Sooooo, what do you think of him?"

"I-" Ness's face started to get drenched in blush. "I…...why would you a-ask that?" Leaf smirked toward Toon Link then walked up to Ness. She put her head to his ear.

"If you ever wanna know how to impress him, you know who to call," she said in a seducing way. Ness shot around and tilted his head. He saw that the entire group had the same face.

"C-come on, w-we're j-just friends," Ness clearly lied. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Even before everything happened, Lucas never smiled the way he did when he was with you," Ninten pointed out.

"He…..really?" Ninten nodded. Ness looked away.

I was the first person he smiled like that toward…. It was a cute smile….What do I think of him?

"...What if I, I dunno, did have s-special feelings?" Ness awkwardly said as he rubbed his arm. Everyone turned toward Ninten as if asking for his consent. Ninten placed a hand on Ness's shoulder, making Ness look at him.

"Claus wouldn't want anyone else," Ninten smirked. The innocent smirk plastered on Ninten's face made Ness smile.

"Ahem, sorry to ruin the moment, but your passes are here," the man said from behind them. Ness chuckled nervously as he turned around.

"T-thanks, Pit," Ness said as he grabbed the large group of passes. He gave one to each of the members of the group. "Alright, you know the plan. Go to each of Lucas's classes and see if there could be any evidence, whether it be something he turned in, eyewitnesses, or other physical pieces of evidence." Everyone looked at Ness with a confused look. Ness raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, yes?"

"That…..was complicated," Young Link said.

"All he meant was we've gotta find evidence, that's literally it," Mega Man explained. Young Link looked at him with wide eyes.

"Wow you're—" Young Link stopped because of a death glare from Kumatora. Young Link cleared his throat and put his hands behind his back. Ness just shook his head.

"Anyway, everyone understand?" Everyone nodded. "Good, now good luck out there."

Later that day Ness arrived at the storage room he was told about. He didn't want to enter, but he knew he would need to. Ness reached into his pocket and grabbed a black light flashlight. He took in a deep breath before opening the door. He stepped in and shut the door with his feet.

Ok, Ness, this is for Lucas, just breathe.

Ness turned the black light on and pointed it on the ground. Nothing was noticeable on the ground. He started walking forward. Despite keeping the light on the ground, he couldn't find anything. He eventually arrived at the far corner of the surprisingly large storage room. That was when he finally found some streaks of light yellow across the ground. Ness kneeled and brought out a small notepad in his pocket that he wrote what color bodily functions would be. He saw that semen was light yellow. Ness looked back at the stains of light yellow and held a disgusted face. Ness stood back up and rubbed his neck.

Ok, found the stains, but I still can't confirm that it belongs to Lucas. It's too old to run samples….hmm, there's gotta be something.

"Ummm, e-excuse me?" a deep and feral sounding voice said from behind Ness. Ness turned around with a confused face. He saw the security guard from before when Lucas and him first met.

"Oh, uh, Donkey Kong?"

"Y-yes." Ness crossed his arms.

"How may I help you?"

"Well, I heard from Pit that you were looking into a case where Mrs. Jinny was raping a student?"

"Yea, do you have any info?"

"Uh, well, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but I can give you access to the cameras." Ness beamed.

"REALLY!?" Donkey Kong nodded. Ness calmed down when he noticed a somber expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

"...I saw Mrs. Jinny enter this room with Lucas….I saw it for around two months. It always happened around the time I was patrolling the area. But…..I didn't do anything. I didn't think anything was wrong, but after hearing about what she could've done…..I…..is Lucas the boy who was allegedly raped?" Ness scratched his head. He took in a deep breath, unsure if Lucas would want him to tell other people. "Please….I need to know."

"...Yea and we have audio of Lucas crying about what RJ did to him. He even went into graphic detail about it." Donkey Kong's head lowered.

"I could've prevented it, if I just stepped up, none of this would've happened." Ness knew the tone Donkey Kong had. He had it himself when he heard about the accident. Ness shook his head.

"No, if everything about RJ is true, she wouldn't have stopped with just school, which is out of your jurisdiction. And plus, you can make it up to him." Ness placed a hand on Donkey Kong's broad shoulder. "You can help him." Donkey Kong nodded and turned around.

"Yea…..He was always a good kid, I shouldn't have gotten so rough with him whenever I saw he skipped." Donkey Kong grinned and started leading Ness back through the storage room. They left the room and continued going through the school until they made it back down to the base floor and to what looked like another storage room. Donkey Kong used his ID-which was around his neck-to open the door via scanning.

They entered and saw a large table with a lot of small boxy TVs. On each tv was a live feed of each camera. Donkey Kong walked over to one of the many filing cabinets, primarily the one that said 2019. "We store every day's footage in case we need to use it. Do you know when it began?"

"I believe sometime in October, although I don't know the exact day."

"I'm assuming you know approximately what time it happened though?"

"Yes, so going through the 31 days shouldn't be as long as it may seem."

"Alright well…." Donkey Kong tossed a folder onto the large table. The folder was labeled "October 2019". Ness walked up to it and opened the folder.

Alright, here we go.

It took around an hour and a half for Ness to go through all the days in October. He saw that from October 12th onward, RJ led Lucas to the storage room, they would stay in there for sometimes thirty minutes, before Lucas left in a saddened and worn-out state. Ness, using what Lucas said, assumed that this continued for the entirety of November and some of December. Ness looked back at a disgusted looking Donkey Kong. "Why aren't there cameras in the storage rooms?"

"I'm not sure, for as long as I've worked here they just never had them."

"Well, you're gonna need to order them to put up cameras in there." Donkey Kong nodded. Ness grabbed the folder and walked over to the filing cabinet. He grabbed the November and the December folders. He walked to the door, but before opening it, he looked back. "Thanks for the help Donkey Kong, I'll tell Lucas what you did." Donkey Kong grew a smirk.

"Good luck." Ness turned around with a determined look in his eyes.

"I don't need luck."

---

It took another month for the case to be taken to the court since they needed to wait for RJ to heal. RJ came into the courthouse, obviously very cocky that she was going to win. But, Ness was able to find a very good defense attorney by the name of Phoenix Wright. Ness ensured to give Phoenix all the evidence that he and the others found. The evidence included the camera tapes, assignments that Lucas turned in that showed his desperation, eyewitnesses of Lucas's strange behavior, and RJ's own family-who were strangely on Lucas's side.

Each time he showed a piece of evidence, RJ grew more scared. Once the camera footage was shown, her face went pale. When she was asked if she did indeed rape Lucas, her lack of compatibility sturred the jury to Lucas's side. When the time came down for judgment, the jury decided Lucas did indeed deserved to receive some punishment, but RJ deserved more. Lucas was charged with a month of house arrest and the inability to drive a car, whereas RJ was to be imprisoned for 15 years.

Ness and Lucas walked out of the courthouse since Phoenix vowed to deal with the press and other media sources. Ness and Lucas were walking toward Ness's car but stopped before entering. Ness saw a smile across Lucas's face. "Happy you won't be in jail?" Ness asked.

"Obviously….but…." Ness tilted his head. "C-can I hug you?" Ness smirked. He held his arms out on either side of him. Lucas slowly walked up to Ness and wrapped his arms around him. "You went through so much trouble, just to help me." Ness started petting the back of Lucas's head, making Lucas purr like last time.

"You're like a cat, you know that?" Lucas looked up.

"..." He smiled wider. "You remember I said that?" Ness scratched harder, remembering exactly where Lucas's tender spot was.

"Of course, but there's one last thing you have in common with a cat." Lucas tilted his head in a way Ness found unbelievably cute. "You're…...you're adorable." Lucas started blushing.

"Want me to meow for you?" Lucas said in a seductive way.

"I-...You trying to kill me, cause that's what you'd do if you did meow." Lucas's blush grew deeper.

"...~Meow~," Lucas said in a lewd manner. However, it wasn't just his voice that was lewd, it was his entire aura. He even made a small clawing motion. His eyes were nearly glowing with how bright they were, and his smirk was one that someone would have if they wanted sex. Some blood started twinkling out of Ness's nose and he collapsed.

"What did I tell you?" Ness said as he laid on the ground, bloody. This was when Lucas started all-out giggling. Ness's face grew red at how Lucas was giggling. It warmed his heart to see Lucas in such a mood, especially after all that had happened.

Lucas…..I definitely wouldn't mind spending way more time with you.

Lucas helped Ness up. "Ness, close your eyes."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it, ok?" Lucas held both of Ness's hands softly. Ness reluctantly obliged, closing his eyes softly. Lucas then kissed Ness's cheek. Ness's eyes shot open and saw a happy Lucas standing right before him. Ness rubbed the cheek Lucas kissed, which was also an excuse to hide the deep red blush he had. "You don't mind if I kiss you, right?"

"O-of course not. Y-you can kiss me whenever you want?"

"Wh-what about wherever I want?" Lucas said as he rubbed his neck. Ness chuckled.

"O-of course."

"What about…..on your lips?" Ness's eyes widened slightly.

"M-my lips?" Lucas nodded slightly. Ness raised his hand to Lucas's face. He slightly rubbed Lucas's lips and smirked. "...You can kiss me whenever, and wherever you want?" Lucas blushed before shooting around and crossing his arms like he didn't care about Ness's opinion.

"G-good. J-just wanted to make sure y-you were ok with it." Ness chuckled again.

"Want me to drive you home?" Lucas turned back around.

"Yes, please."

---

House arrest was very tough for Lucas. While he grew closer toward Ness, he still couldn't bring himself to talk to his family and friends. He could look at them, and write them notes, but could never speak to them. Despite RJ being away for a long time, he still couldn't get over what happened. Only when Ness visited could he feel like the world stopped and allowed them special time. This was also the only time Lucas's family and friends were able to hear him speak, or see him smile, so Ness visited quite often. Ness even started to call Lucas's family his own.

Lucas's house arrest finally ended. Ness had planned to come over to celebrate, but before he got in his car he received a phone call from Lucas's doctor. Ness picked it up as he entered his car. "Yes, Doctor?" Ness asked.

"You're still the only one Lucas will talk to, correct?" Dr. Mario asked.

"Sadly, why?"

"Well….I've got some news I need you to give him."

"Good news or bad news?"

"...I'm not sure. Some may see it as good, some may see it as bad."

"Ok...what is it?"

"Well….."

At Lucas's house, Lucas was in the living room since he knew that it was almost time for Ness to come over. Ren had come over earlier to debrief Lucas on his new freedom from house arrest. Marie couldn't help but find Lucas's excitement for Ness's coming adorable. "You know, whenever Ness calls you his little kitten, I get disgusted. But I think I finally see why," Marie said. Lucas looked back and raised an eyebrow. "Come on, you're blushing and waiting at the window on all fours waiting for your 'master' to come back." Lucas grew into a deeper shade of red as he shot his head back to look out the window.

It didn't take much longer for Ness's car to pull into the driveway. Marie saw Lucas's entire world light up before he jumped off the incline at the foot of the window. He ran to the door and started hopping, waiting for Ness to knock. Marie started laughing at Lucas's excitement. Lucas stopped and glared toward her. He stuck up his middle finger toward her but stopped once he heard Ness's unique knock. Ness always hit the door twice, then left a little pause, then knocked two more times, a little pause, and ended it with a single knock. Lucas opened the door and collided Ness with a hug. "NESS! You're late," Lucas said, slightly disappointed. Ness patted Lucas's back.

"Hehe, my bad Lukey, I had a phone call," Ness said. They walked into the house. Ness closed the door but then felt Lucas tug at his arm. Ness slid his head closer to Lucas-without looking at him-so Lucas moved his head toward Ness's ear. "Ok…..right….aight, I got you." Ness looked at Marie. "He says you're a bitch." Marie gave a jokingly offended face toward Lucas, who was utterly proud of himself. "Lukey?" Lucas looked at Ness.

"Yea?"

"...Dr. Mario called, he has some…..questionable news. Where's mom and dad?"

"They went to work," Marie said, "Want me to call them?"

"No, don't worry. This doesn't necessarily involve them. Can you sit down, Lukey?" Lucas nodded and walked over to sit on the couch.

"You're so submissive." Lucas hissed over at Marie. She jumped back slightly.

"Ok, calm down, Lukey."

"'Kay," Lucas seemed fine with being ordered around. Ness started pacing back and forth, worried about the info that Dr. Mario told him. "Ness….is it that bad?" Ness stopped and looked directly at Lucas. Ness took a deep breath.

"RJ is pregnant." Lucas and Marie's eyes widened.

"I…... I almost killed a baby….?" Lucas started looking down.

"That's not all." Marie tilted her head, and instantly knew what he was getting at. Marie shot up.

"Don't fucking tell me," Marie shot. Ness simply nodded toward her before walking to Lucas. He crouched and placed a hand on his knee, prompting Lucas to look into his eyes.

"There's reason to believe that it's your baby." Lucas's eyes somehow widened further.

"M-my baby?" Lucas questioned.

"Nothing's confirmed. But by the appearance of the baby, it seems to be five months. Meaning it was conceived around early to mid October….which is when, you know, happened."

"D-does she not have a husband?" Ness shook his head.

"Never did." Lucas looked down and started rubbing his hands together, showing his anxiety.

"I-I could be a father…..?"

"Lucas, Dr. Mario asked me to ask you something." Lucas looked up. "Do you want a picture of the ultrasound?"

"I-I get a picture?" Ness wrapped his arms around Lucas's anxious ones.

"It is your baby, presumably, that is." Lucas placed his head on Ness's shoulder.

"I'd love a picture." Ness smirked. He stepped back and looked at Marie.

"If mom and dad come back—"

"Tell them you're out? No worries," she said, still not completely over the fact that Lucas may have a kid. Ness looked at Lucas, who was somewhat confused.

"Where're we going?" Lucas asked. Despite not knowing where they were headed, he followed Ness to the front door.

"We've gotta pick the picture up from doc himself," Ness said as he held the door open for Lucas. Lucas gave a small bow before exiting. Ness looked back at Marie. "I'm not sure if it's right to tell them about the kid, not yet at least." Marie nodded before Ness exited the house, closing the door.

It didn't take them too long to get to the hospital. The two of them didn't leave the car though. Lucas was clearly nervous. He was fiddling with his fingers and didn't bother looking out the windows at all. Ness turned the car off and turned toward Lucas. "Lukey? Wanna go back home or….." Lucas shook his head. He still kept his glance at his anxious hands.

"...I don't wanna see her again."

"If she is in there, and she even thinks about looking our way, I'll beat her ass up without any hesitation." Lucas gave a single chuckle as he turned his head to Ness.

"You'd get arrested." Ness innocently smiled, which filled Lucas's heart with warmth.

"No one messes with my Lukey." Lucas was able to grow a large smile.

"Since when did I become yours?" Ness playfully crossed his arms and looked away.

"Then I won't scratch your head anymore." Lucas's eyes widened.

"Nonono, sorry, I want scratches." Ness still looked away and smirked as he heard Lucas's plea. "...Please scratch my head…" Ness giggled before turning back toward him. Ness placed his hand on Lucas's head-inside his rather thick hair-which was enough to make Lucas purr slightly. Ness started scratching the back of Lucas's head, which filled Lucas with a sense of pleasure. During his purring Lucas gave soft giggles. When Ness took his hand away, Lucas felt very dissatisfied.

"Ok, ready?" Lucas opened his mouth to say he was, but then felt a certain feeling and decided to cancel what he was going to say. He sat upright with his hands on his lap.

"I-I don't wanna go…" Lucas said with his face flushed in red.

"You don't wanna see the picture anymore?"

"N-not that, i-it's just…..the petting kinda….you know….." Lucas crossed his feet which told Ness what Lucas was having trouble saying.

"Oh….I-I see. S-sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"What?! No worries…..it felt good," Lucas said, lowering his head slightly in embarrassment. Lucas started rubbing his arm. Ness put his hand on Lucas's right shoulder, which was the furthest one, and grinned to himself as he looked out of the front window.

"It's good, no worries. It's only natural. You don't even want to know what turns me on," Ness chuckled. Lucas turned his head to Ness.

"What does?" Ness's eyes widened before turning to Lucas.

"W-what?"

"What t-turns you on?" Ness's face instantly exploded in blush.

"W-w-why do you want to know?" Lucas grinned as he looked down at his feet.

"I-I just do…"

You've been pleasing me for a while, I wanna return the favor.

"Umm….I guess….uhhh, I-I l-like it when I can kinda be in control….Oh, and I-I guess I also like cuddling…..a lot," Ness explained. Lucas smirked.

"That's good…..I…..C-could we try that later?"

"Try what?" Lucas gulped.

"C-cuddling." Ness smiled as he looked out the front window.

"Are you sure you're comfortable with it?"

"With you…..I'm comfortable with everything." Lucas's face somehow grew redder, which Ness saw in the corner of his eye. Lucas took in a deep, reassuring breath. "Ok...I'm ready." Ness nodded then left the car. He saw Lucas leave and instantly run over toward him. Lucas grabbed Ness's arm as he looked at the large hospital.

"What's wrong, Kitty?" Lucas shot his blushed face up to Ness.

"DON'T CALL ME KITTY!" Ness gave a sly smirk and rubbed Lucas's cheek.

"You don't like your little nickname?" Ness played at being disappointed. Lucas simply looked back at the hospital.

"Ready, Kitty?"

"Mhm, ready."

---

Ness and Lucas sat in the hospital room alone. They met with Dr. Mario and he left to go grab the picture. Ness looked over at an understandably nervous Lucas. Ness rubbed Lucas's back, which calmed his nerves down slightly. The door to their room opened up and Dr. Mario walked in. "Sorry for the wait, it took longer to print out than expected," Dr. Mario said.

"No worries," Ness said. Dr. Mario pulled up a swivel chair and sat in it. He handed the photo to Ness, who showed it to Lucas. Lucas's eyes instantly beamed as he looked down at the baby. His eyes started to water up. Lucas looked at Dr. Mario, wanting to ask some questions, but like always, he couldn't. He just whispered them to Ness. He nodded. "Doc?"

"Hm?"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"You guys want to know?" Lucas sporadically nodded his head. Dr. Mario couldn't help but smile at Lucas's reaction. His eyes were watery, but for the first time in a while, it wasn't from sadness. And his nodding showed he really wanted to know more about the baby. "It's a boy."

"And his other question was, can you confirm if he is his baby or not?" Dr. Mario sighed.

"Sadly, I cannot. We'll be able to give him a DNA test to verify when he's born, but we can't be sure anytime before." Lucas looked down somberly. "However…." Lucas shot his head back up with hope. "Due to the heavy assumption that he is your baby-we took the opinions from many doctors here-we decided to allow you to sign off as the parent." Lucas beamed at the knowledge of this. "There is just one issue."

"What's that?"

"If Lucas isn't the father, the contract would be null and void and the baby would be given to a foster home." Lucas shot up. He looked at Ness and forced him to stand up. He then whispered something to Ness which surprised him.

"Already? You don't wanna wait or—" Lucas shook his head. Ness looked at Dr. Mario. "He….he wants to sign off as the parent." Dr. Mario stood up and looked at Lucas.

"You do realize you're still underage, it could be real tough to raise a baby, with or without outside help. Are you sure?" Lucas straightened up and nodded his head. Dr. Mario smiled. He turned around. "Well then, please excuse me as I go grab the sheet. It could take a while so apologies in advance." Dr. Mario walked out of the room. Lucas sat down with a sigh of relief. Ness looked down at him with a smirk.

"You're ballsy, Kitty." Lucas giggled.

"Thanks!" Lucas happily said.

---

The two boys made it back to Lucas's house. They walked in, with Lucas holding the picture of possibly his baby, and Lucas looked over at his parents. "Oh, you're here, I thought you were at work," Ness said, confused. Flint raised an eyebrow.

"We were, it's 8 p.m."

"IT'S WHAT!" Lucas whispered something into Ness's ear. "We were really there for that long?" Lucas just shrugged.

"Where were you?" Ness looked at Lucas, who nodded. Ness looked back at Flint.

"We were at the hospital." Right after he said that a loud flushing noise came from one of the bathrooms in the house. Ness looked toward his right, where the sound came from and saw Lei rush out of the bathroom in a panic.

"Who got hurt?" she asked.

"No one, we went there for another reason." Lei pouted.

"Damn it, now I don't wanna go back in there." Lei slumped as she walked over to sit next to Flint.

"Why were you at the hospital?" Flint asked. Ness looked at Lucas once more for consent. Lucas gulped as he gripped onto the picture harder. He started walking toward his parents and held the picture-face down-toward his parents. Lei grabbed it, prompting Lucas to retreat back to Ness and grabbing his arm. Lei flipped the picture over and her eyes widened. She showed Flint as she looked up at the boys.

"...An ultrasound?"

"...RJ's pregnant," Ness started. Flint's face went blank. "And it's heavily believed that it's his baby." Flint looked at Lucas.

"Your…..your baby?" His eyes started tearing up.

"It's not confirmed just yet, but yea, I also think it's his baby." Streams of tears started coming from Flint's eyes. He started rubbing his eyes and Lei put a hand on Flint's shoulder. Lucas looked at his dad and grew a tiny smirk.

"...Dad….." Flint shot his arm away and looked directly at Lucas with a surprised look. Lucas's mouth stayed open. He wanted to say more, but couldn't. He just clung closer to Ness as he whispered something. Ness nodded.

"He said you guys can keep the picture," Ness said.

"Are you sure, Lucas?" Lei asked. It took Lucas a little while to think over his choice. He then nodded his head and kept his gentle smile plastered on his face. Flint, once more, started rubbing his eyes. Lucas started tugging at Ness's arm. Lucas whispered to Ness that he wanted to go to his bedroom with him.

"Well, Lucas and I will be in his room if you need us." Lucas gripped Ness's arm tightly and ran off, forcing Ness to run with him. They got into the room and Lucas closed the door instantly. "What'd you wanna do in here anyway?"

"I wanna cuddle," Lucas pouted like a cat who didn't receive a treat that was promised to him. Ness chuckled as he put his hand on Lucas's head.

"Come on, Kitty, you don't have to cuddle to make me feel good."

"I'm not doing it for you…..I just wanna cuddle." Ness grinned as he looked over at Lucas's bed.

"You sure?"

"Mhm." Once more, Lucas grabbed Ness's arm and forced him to go over to the bed with him. Lucas crawled in and got to the far side of it. He then patted the space next to him. "Come on." Ness playfully crossed his arms.

"I don't know, you don't seem to want it enough." Lucas groaned loudly.

"...Please cuddle with me." Ness couldn't help but blush at the request.

"Hmmm, fine." Ness took off his shoes and crawled onto the bed, and under the sheets. Ness wasn't even able to get comfortable before Lucas wrapped his arm around Ness's body. But, despite not being comfortable prior, when Lucas wrapped his arm around Ness and closed the gap between their bodies, Ness became very comfortable. Lucas dug his head under Ness's armpit and Ness could hear Lucas's soft breaths. "Kitty?" Lucas looked up at Ness and opened his eyes.

"Yes?"

"I've been wondering?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you feel comfortable around me?" Lucas closed his eyes and dug his head back into Ness's armpit.

"You make me feel happy….You can make me forget that the world sucks literal pieces of homeless ass." Ness started laughing. "I like you, I like you a lot." Ness stopped laughing and just smiled. He started scratching Lucas's back with the arm Lucas was coddled under.

"You're cute, Kitty, did I ever tell you?"

"Mhm, every day….."

"Good, I don't want you to forget that."

"Ness….." Ness looked down at Lucas and saw him slowly start to drift asleep. "...Thanks….I couldn't do anything like this without you."

"Anytime Kitty, that's why I was put on this Earth."

"...For me….?"

"Yup, I'm all yours." Lucas started giggling as he tightened his grip around Ness.

"Good…." Lucas finally was able to fall asleep. Ness saw Lucas peacefully sleeping with his eyes closed, his mouth slightly open with some drool coming out, and a light blush on his cheeks. Ness used his spare hand to rub Lucas's forehead.

"Yea….I'm yours….and your mine." Ness's eyes seemed to smile as he looked at Lucas. "I…...I love you, Kitty." Lucas's sleeping body gave a small moan which seemed to almost be a response to the love confession.

Yea….I love him. I want to spend every day with him. He makes me feel happy and I can make him feel happy. Lucas….Lukey…..he's my Kitty….Damn, a weird-ass nickname now that I think about it.

---

The next four months were slow for Lucas. He knew there was a chance that the baby wasn't his, but he was putting all of his bags into the basket. Lucas knew that the baby could be born any day now, which made him somewhat anxious. This ensured that Ness came over more often and longer.

One day, while Lucas was finally able to relax and watch tv, there was a knock at his front door. He got up from his bed and walked out of his room to see that Lei had opened the door. Ness stood there and held a panicked expression. Lucas ran over to him. Lucas stopped right in front of Ness and showed his worry through his eyes. "RJ is in labor." Lucas's eyes widened. "Doc said we could go over there and wait outside the room until he's born."

"What about RJ?" Lei asked.

"After she gives birth, she'll be taken to another room where she'd gain the necessary care before going back to jail." Ness looked back at Lucas and placed his hand on his back.

"You wanna go now or—" Ness was cut off by Lucas's sporadic nodding. Ness nodded and patted Lucas's back. "Get in the car, I need to talk to mom and dad for a quick second." Lucas nodded then ran toward Ness's car. Ness looked at Lei. "Will you guys be coming?"

"Not yet. He still doesn't seem comfortable enough around us yet, so I doubt he'd want us there so soon after he's born."

"Well, try to come by to see the baby in the nursery if anything." Lei nodded her head.

"Of course." Ness looked over at the car and saw Lucas looking impatient. He chuckled as he ran over. He jumped into his side of the car and looked at an anxious yet very excited Lucas.

"You ready?" Lucas looked at Ness and nodded his head. "Good."

---

They made it to the hospital and were instantly escorted toward the labor room. Ness and Lucas sat in two of the chairs that stood outside of the room. Lucas was slouched over and his left foot was sporadically tapping the ground. Ness sat back and put his hand on his right leg, with his palm facing up, and looked over at Lucas. Lucas looked over at Ness and saw his available hand. He took it without hesitation. "It'll be ok, Lukey, if anything happens, we go through it together."

Lucas looked at Ness's face and smiled. "Really?" Ness leaned over and kissed Lucas's cheek. After the quick kiss, he didn't move his head.

"Really." That was when they heard noises from inside the room that were different from before. Ness sat back up straight and kept his eyes on the closed door. He saw the doorknob move and Ness knew who was coming out. Ness forced Lucas into a hug, purposely hiding Lucas's eyes. The door opened and RJ was rushed out on a stretcher. As RJ passed Ness and Lucas, Ness glared into RJ's pained eyes. Ness tightened his grip around Lucas as if saying "He's mine." Ness didn't let go of Lucas until RJ turned the corner and got out of sight.

Lucas shot back after Ness let go and rubbed his head. "What was that for?" Ness chuckled.

"I just wanted to hug you." Lucas shot up after seeing Dr. Mario approaching them from behind Ness. Ness slowly stood up and turned toward Dr. Mario. He was smiling. "Doc? You seem rather happy."

"While he was being born, we were able to get a test sample of his blood," Dr. Mario started.

"And?" Dr. Mario turned toward Lucas with his wide smile.

"Lucas…..you are the father." Lucas's anxious face turned to one of pure joy. He covered his mouth as he stumbled back a bit. Ness grabbed Lucas's hand.

"Wanna see him?" Lucas instantly nodded. Dr. Mario turned around and led the two boys into the room where the baby was being taken care of by the nurses. One of the nurses, Nurse Peach, held the baby as she turned around. She smiled and walked toward Lucas. Lucas looked down at the baby and his tears of joy started falling fast. The baby was small, he had blue eyes, a slightly crooked nose, and hints of blonde hair. Nurse Peach held the baby toward Lucas. Lucas looked at Ness as if asking if he could take him, Ness gave a thumbs up. Lucas looked back at the baby and grabbed him. He made sure to rest the baby's head against his bicep as he walked over to sit in one of the chairs.

He couldn't stop himself from crying. Lucas took one of his hands and booped the crying baby's nose. This was when he giggled to himself. Lucas looked next to him and saw the chair empty. He looked up and saw Ness nearly on the opposite side of the room. Lucas patted on the chair, prompting Ness to walk over and sit down. Ness smiled as he looked at the loud baby. "He's adorable, like his daddy." Lucas slowly looked at Ness.

"Yeah….he is…." Lucas softly said. Ness nodded. That was when Lucas held the baby toward him.

"Wah… What're you doing?"

"He's gotta see his daddy."

"B-but, you—"

"Ness…." Dr. Mario butted in. Ness looked up at him. "When Lucas went to sign off on the rights to the baby, he also signed your name. Making you the baby's father as well."

"I…..I'm what?" Ness looked over at Lucas.

"S-sorry. I-I wanted to surprise you." That was when Ness's eyes started tearing up instantly. He rubbed his eyes.

"N-no, don't be." Ness grabbed the baby and looked down at him. He couldn't help a smile as he looked down at him. Ness grabbed the baby's little hand. "What's his name, Lukey?" Ness turned toward Lucas, who held a very big smile.

"Can we name him…..Claus?" Ness grinned and looked back down at the baby.

"That's perfect." The two of them spent some more time with the baby before he had to be taken to the nursery. Ness and Lucas stayed in the room for a while in complete silence. That was when Lucas laid down on the chairs and placed his head on Ness's lap. Ness started stroking his hand through Lucas's hair.

"We're a family now, Ness." Ness started stretching the back of Lucas's head just to hear his purrs.

"I know, Kitty, and I couldn't be happier." Lucas's purrs started getting louder. "Say, Kitty?"

"Y-yes?" Lucas asked through the pleasure of Ness's scratches.

"Where will you be raising the baby at?" Ness's scratching grew harder and thus, Lucas's purrs grew.

"Y-y-your house." Lucas was trying his absolute hardest to hold in his purrs as to not alert anyone outside the room.

"Oh? Since when did I say you could stay at my place?" Ness asked, clearly having fun seeing Lucas in so much pleasure. He, quite honestly, didn't care that Lucas wanted to raise Claus at his place, he just wanted to have fun. He strengthened his scratches.

"N-Ness…." Ness lowered his head.

"Want me to stop?" Ness winked, already knowing the answer.

"N-n-no." Lucas was full of pleasure and couldn't even think properly without some pleasure interrupting him. Ness sat back.

"Then answer my question."

"N-N-Ness, please…"

"Ness please, what?" Lucas closed his eyes in pleasure. He knew Ness was getting close to the spot on the back of his head.

"C-can w-w-we raise t-the baby at your p-place?" Ness giggled. Ness was fully aware of his place on the back of Lucas's head. He knew exactly where the place was and was purposely scratching around it.

"Hmmm, I guess we could." Ness started slowing down his scratches. Lucas shot his eyes open, sensing that Ness was stopping.

"N-N-Ness...please…..no…."

"Oh? Hehe, you want more?" Lucas gulped and nodded. "Fine then…" Ness scratched hard, but not hard enough to cause damage. He moved slowly closer toward the spot. With one single scratch over the spot, Lucas was sent over the edge.

"Ahhh….." Ness let go of Lucas's head after the surprisingly loud moan.

"Jeez Kitty, you really like scratches." Lucas sat back up and rubbed his neck.

"I-It's your fault.

"Aww, don't blame me. You're the one who wanted it." Lucas crossed his arms and looked away. Ness chuckled some more as he sat back and looked up at the roof. "So this is it, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're gonna raise Claus...at my place?"

"If you're not fine with it, we don't have to."

"Nono, that's not it. I just didn't expect me to be a dad." Lucas smiled happily.

"Well, now you are, so live with it." Ness chuckled.

"You're so needy, Kitty." Lucas grabbed Ness's hand.

"Yea….I really am." Ness looked down at Lucas and saw his worn-out face.

"You seem tired." Lucas suddenly yawned, which seemed to even surprise him. The way he rubbed his eye Ness found cute. "Want me to drop you off at home? I can come back and fill out the paperwork."

"You'd do that?"

"Mhm, you don't have to worry about anything, Kitty." Lucas embraced Ness in a hug.

"Thank you."

"As I keep saying, anytime."

---

About a week later, Claus was finally able to leave the hospital. By this point, Lucas's friends and family all saw him. Ninten and Flint both cried as soon as they found out the name of the baby. But despite all the support they shared and the love they gave, Lucas still couldn't speak to them. They all helped in buying Claus's stuff that Ness had already mostly taken them to his house. Lucas stayed in the car as Ness went into the hospital to grab Claus with the baby car seat.

Lucas sat, full of nerves and joy. He kept his stern eye on the front door to the hospital. Eventually, he saw Ness exit with Claus in the car seat. Seeing the happy face on Ness made Lucas even happier. He was slightly scared that he was forcing Ness to do this but seeing how genuine his happiness was resolved Lucas of that fear. Lucas moved to the left-middle seat so that he could keep his eye on Claus. Ness opened the right door and placed Claus-in the car seat-in the seat. He adjusted the seat belt and looked at Lucas. "Well, should we head to your place to drop the news?"

"Yea." Ness and Lucas never told Lucas's family that they were going to raise Claus at Ness's house. Ness walked over to the driver's seat. Before he started the car up, he adjusted the rear-view mirror to look back at Claus and Lucas. Ness couldn't help but smile as he watched Lucas play with Claus. Lucas soon looked up toward Ness. "What's with the smile?"

"No reason…." Ness readjusted the mirror then started the car up, "I just love seeing you so happy." Ness started driving. Ness drove them through Ultimatum and stopped right in front of Lucas's house. Ness looked at the house. "Are you sure you don't want to raise him here?" Lucas turned toward the house.

"Yeah….I'm sure."

"Right, I'll be right back." Ness left the car and walked over to the door. He knocked on it and the door opened to show Marie.

"Oh, Ness, where's Lucas?" Marie asked. Ness glanced back toward the car. He shook his head then looked back at Marie.

"Where's mom and dad?"

"They're in their room, why?"

"I need to talk to all of you." Marie, still confused, ran back toward her parents' room. Flint and Lei walked out with her. They made it to the front door.

"Ness? What's wrong?" Lei asked. Ness took in a deep breath.

"Well….Lucas said he doesn't feel comfortable raising Claus here." All three of their faces grew disappointed. They desperately wanted to watch Claus grow up and hearing that they wouldn't be there every day hurt them. Flint let out a sigh.

"Is that what Lucas really wants?" Flint asked. Ness bowed his head.

"Sorry." Flint shook his head.

"I'm assuming he'll be with you?"

"Yea…"

"Good, then I know both of them will be safe." Flint smiled and stepped out of the house. He pulled Ness into a hug. Ness was caught off guard since he was never hugged by anyone but Lucas. Ness returned the hug. "Thank you for making him happy, for making us happy." Ness smiled.

"It's my pleasure." Flint broke the hug up and turned toward his family.

"Well, what're you doing, it's late, we've gotta head to bed early." Flint started clapping his hands, prompting the two girls to rush in. Flint walked in and put his hand on the door. He smiled at Ness. "Keep those boys safe."

"You didn't even need to tell me." Flint chuckled.

"Yeah, I know." Flint closed the door. Ness ran back to the car and jumped in. He looked back at Lucas.

"They took it surprisingly well." Lucas smirked.

"I had no doubt." Ness gave one final look toward Lucas's house. Ness started driving down the street. While driving down it he turned the radio on and started shuffling through the stations. Ness stopped at a random station. Lucas continued focusing on Claus, making sure he was drinking his bottle. Soon, a song started on the radio that he loved. "As long as you love me," Lucas sang along with the song. Ness stopped at a red light and looked at Lucas through the rear-view mirror. He saw Lucas's eyes full of wonder as he cared for Claus. "Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine, I'm leaving my life in your hands." Lucas was singing directly toward Claus. Ness smiled as he started the car back up. "People say I'm crazy and that I am blind, risking it all in a glance." Lucas grabbed Claus's hand as he continued feeding him with the bottle. "I can't get you out of my head," Lucas sang this part as he slightly glanced toward Ness. "Don't care what is written in your history, as long you're here with me," Lucas sang as he looked back at Claus, who was starting to fall asleep. Ness started tapping the steering wheel as Lucas sang the chorus. He smirked.

"Every little thing that you have said and done, feels like it's deep within me," Ness suddenly joined. Lucas looked up at Ness with wide eyes. Ness stopped at a red light as he moaned slightly to the song. He looked back at Lucas. "It doesn't really matter if you're on the run, it feels like we're meant to be," Ness sang as he extended his arm toward Lucas. Before grabbing it, Lucas looked at Claus and saw him sleeping. Lucas grabbed Ness's hand and Ness helped him move to the passenger's seat. Together, they sang the chorus as they gave each other occasional glances. They both held love in their eyes and a deep blush in their cheeks.

"I've tried to hide it so that no one knows, but I guess it shows, when I look inside your eyes," Lucas sang as he turned toward Ness. Ness also turned toward Lucas and grinned. He reached out toward Lucas's cheek and lightly grabbed it.

"What you did and where you're coming from," Ness sang.

"I don't care," they sang together.

"As long as you love me, baby," Ness sang as he moved in closer. Ness kissed Lucas's cheek before sitting back right to go through the green light. Both of them continued to sing the rest of the song getting happier with each line of the chorus. This was the happiest that either of them felt. Together, they felt like the world bent to their will, and they loved it.

---

Ness pulled into a public parking garage. They got out, with Lucas grabbing the car seat, and walked out of the garage. Once they left, Ness looked up at the tall building on the other side of the street from the garage. "There it is." Lucas looked at it with a confused look.

"That's….your house?" Lucas said, confused.

It's clearly a large hotel.

"Yea...I guess I didn't specify." Ness looked at Lucas and grinned. "I have a penthouse, all the way up there," Ness pointed up to the highest floor.

"A…..penthouse?" Lucas looked at the highest floor. The front wall that overlooked the street and some of the left and right walls were all a connected window. The rest of the walls were made of a nice and clean material. Lucas could barely see what was inside the penthouse, but what little he did see he could tell just how rich he was. "I didn't know you were rich."

"Yea….I wouldn't say that…." Ness said with a sad tone. He shook his head. "Well, come on, if we stay out here any longer, Claus could get cold." Lucas nodded. Lucas stuck his arm under the carrier and used his other hand to grab Ness's hand. They carefully crossed the street and entered the hotel.

Inside, they found the hotel attendant. He walked up to Ness and slightly bowed. "Hello, Ness, it's been a while," the boy-who was obviously young-said with a rather high pitched voice.

"Nice seeing you too, Popo." Popo-a short and somewhat stubby teenager with a parka despite it being summer. Popo stood back up straight and looked at Lucas with the car seat.

"Who's this?"

"He is…." Ness glanced at Lucas, who smirked. "My boyfriend and this here is our son." Popo looked at the baby and smirked.

"He's cute," Popo complemented. He then looked back at Lucas and held out his hand. "Well, name's Popo, I'm basically Ness's butler."

"I wouldn't say that, and also…" Ness made Popo lower his arm, "He doesn't do physical contact with other people."

"Oh, my apologies, uhh…."

"Lucas and this is Claus." Popo nodded. He turned around and started walking toward one of five elevators. Lucas looked around and saw a lot of people he didn't know. He slightly retreated toward Ness. "It's ok, Lukey, Popo is someone you can trust. I trust him with my life." Lucas nodded and stayed close to Ness as they walked toward Popo. Once they made it, the elevator opened and the three of them stepped in. Lucas felt more at ease but started panicking when he saw other people walking toward the elevator. Popo put his hand in between the doors to keep them open. Ness pulled him back and looked at the people. "Sorry but, my friend here is claustrophobic so….sorry." The door closed and Lucas gave a breath of relief. "So, Popo, how's Nana?" Popo gave a sigh of relief.

"She's still sick, doing better, but…..I dunno." Lucas looked at Popo sympathetically.

"Really, I'm sorry to hear. Do you have a clue when she'll be better?"

"No...doctor's say that she'll never truly be better."

"Yikes…" There was now a very somber mood in the elevator. Lucas didn't like this mood. He scratched his arm. He looked away from the other boys and closed his eyes.

"...P-Popo?" Lucas stuttered. Popo and Ness looked over at Lucas, with Ness holding a surprised look. "T-things get b-b-better…." Lucas looked like he wanted to say more, but his voice stopped right after saying that first thing. Popo smiled happily.

"Oh, I know that," Popo chuckled.

"Lucas…." Ness said, showing complete shock. Lucas placed the car seat on the ground and hugged Ness's arm. Popo couldn't help but smile at them.

"I can tell something happened…." Ness looked over at Popo. "However, it's not my place to invade so...I won't." The elevator stopped and the doors opened showing the penthouse instantly. Ness motioned for Lucas to enter with him. After grabbing the car seat, they entered. Lucas instantly let the car seat down and ran over to the front wall to look out the window. He leaned against it and looked at the night sky and the buildings with wide, amazed eyes. Ness chuckled. He picked Claus out of the car seat, waking him up. Ness walked over to the window with him and showed Claus the view. Claus just didn't care, and simply did what babies knew best, cried.

"It's beautiful, ain't it?"

"Mhm…." Ness sniffed then groaned loudly.

"AAH SHIT, WHEN DID HE SHIT?!" Lucas giggled as he looked over at Ness.

"You're changing him this time," Lucas quietly said.

"Ugh, fine, only because you're cute." Ness kissed Lucas's nose before walking away. Popo hesitated to walk over to Lucas, but he did when Lucas nodded back toward him. Popo ran up and looked at the view.

"You're the first person he brought here since his dad bought the place?" Lucas gave Popo a confused look. "Did he never tell you?" Lucas shook his head. Popo smiled as he looked out the window. "His dad is apparently in this high paying job related to the city government, but he never told me more. He never gets to see his dad, all he can do is call him, and even that isn't the most reliable way for them to talk." Lucas looked back out the window. "Ness has been living up here by himself for years, I think it actually started to get to him." Lucas pressed his forehead against the glass and closed his eyes.

So he was always alone? He was alone longer than I was, and yet….he was so happy-go-lucky. He's truly amazing.

"I've known Ness for a while, so if you need anything, call me." Lucas turned toward Popo and smiled. Popo just chuckled. "Oh come on, there's no need for that," he said, slightly embarrassed. That was when Lucas extended his arm forward. Popo looked at it skeptically. Lucas made his hand jump, showing how antsy he was for a handshake. Popo gulped before colliding their hands together. Lucas didn't freak out or even feel off. They shook their hands. Popo let go and yawned. "Anyway, I'm gonna go visit Nana, so if Ness asks, tell him I went there." Popo walked over to the elevator. He stepped in and looked back at Lucas.

"...Bye…." Lucas said, waving him off. Popo grew a small smirk and saluted with his two fingers before the door to the elevator closed. Ness walked out of a small room while holding Claus. Ness was also slightly rocking the baby. Ness looked around the large, main room.

"Where'd Popo gogo?" Lucas giggled as he walked over to Ness.

"Went to see Nana." Ness nodded and looked down at Claus.

"He doesn't look like he'll be falling asleep anytime soon." Lucas walked over to the corner of the room and sat on the white couch. The couch looked at a large flatscreen tv. Ness walked over and sat next to Lucas. "Wanna watch tv?" Lucas nodded. He looked around the couch but couldn't find the tv remote.

"Where's the….the remote?"

"Watch this." Ness cleared his voice and looked at the tv. "Monita, put on Family Guy season 8 episode 1, please."

"On it," a feminine yet robotic voice said. The tv then turned on and instantly showed Family guy.

"Woah…." Lucas looked at the tv with wide eyes. Ness giggled seeing how excited Lucas was. They watched a large portion of the episode, with Ness continuously rocking Claus. Eventually, Lucas felt something fall on his shoulder. When he looked at his shoulder, he found that Ness had fallen asleep with his head falling on his shoulder. Lucas grabbed Claus to make sure Ness didn't drop him.

I guess I've kinda been overworking him lately. Go ahead and sleep, I'll be responsible for now.

Lucas looked down at Claus as he faintly rocked him. "Hey little guy, what's up?" Claus just looked up at Lucas with his wide blue eyes. Lucas bopped Claus's nose, making Lucas giggle. "You're daddy's a little sleepy, hehe, I hope you don't hate me."

"Ahh!" Claus seemed to respond. Lucas rubbed Claus's cheek.

"My little baby, I'll take good care of you." Lucas brought Claus up to his head and kissed his forehead. He brought him back down. "Your mommy was a bitch….I'll make sure I'm a better mommy." Lucas, with Ness's sleeping head on his shoulder and a smiling baby boy in his hands, couldn't help but feel finally like he had a family. "I love you…..both of you."

---

About a month after Lucas moved in with Ness, Lucas was putting Claus to sleep in the middle of the night since he woke up. Ness also woke up and kept his eye on Lucas as Lucas fed Claus the bottle. "You need help?"

"No….it's fine…" Lucas gave a rather large yawn, "This is what a mom does."

"Oh? Does that make me the daddy?" Ness winked. Lucas looked back at Ness with a tired yet happy face.

"Depends on which one of us you're talking about." Ness chuckled. He got off the bed and walked over to Lucas. He wrapped his arms around Lucas's body, rested his chest against Lucas's back, and placed his chin on Lucas's shoulder.

"So you're saying I'm your daddy?" Ness said with a lewd face. Lucas giggled. He turned his head and saw how close they were, but didn't mind.

"So what if you are." Ness then nuzzled his head with Lucas's before standing up and walking back toward their large bed. He got on and crawled to his side, the right side, and laid on top of his blankets. Lucas continued feeding Claus. Some of the formulae spilled out of his mouth, prompting Lucas to take the bottle out and clean up the mess. "You're a very messy boy….Just like Claus was….I'm glad you've got that in common." After cleaning up the mess he noticed that Claus was starting to drift off. Lucas let out a relieved breath as he stumbled over to join Ness on the bed. He collapsed on it and groaned loudly into the sheets.

"Are you not tired?"

"Not anymore…." Lucas said. He picked his head up and saw Ness calmly laying on the bed with his hands behind his head. Lucas smirked. For a long while, he was thinking about doing something special with Ness. He was just always nervous because of what RJ did. He knew Ness would be nervous to do it with him, but he has been thriving to feel what it feels like to do it with someone he likes and on his own fruition. He crawled over to Ness, making Ness a little confused.

"Kitty?" Lucas then sat on Ness's lap with a large blush and a smile.

"Can you pet me?" Ness smirked.

"Oh, horny for pets huh?" Ness chuckled. He started lifting his hand and moving it toward Lucas's head. Before he could make contact though, Lucas grabbed Ness's wrist.

"N-no, not there."

"Huh...then….what were you talking about?" Lucas let go of Ness's wrist. He closed his eyes and let out a cold and calming breath. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt and started lifting it up. He saw the blush in Ness's face grow as the shirt raised higher. Lucas took out one arm, then his head, then his other arm, tossing the shirt away. "Y-your chest?" Lucas slowly nodded. Ness started retracting his hand. "Y-you sure?"

"I am."

"I...I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Why would you?" Lucas happily smiled.

"What…?"

"I mean, I've never been touched by someone….so why would I feel uncomfortable?"

"Lucas…."

I see what he's trying to do. He's going to try and completely block out the shit with RJ. Even though he's clearly wrong when he says that…..I don't have a choice but to go along with it. Lukey….I hope you know what you're doing.

Ness still held some hesitation as he moved his right hand closer to Lucas's body. It made contact with Lucas's stomach. Ness felt nothing but warmth as his hand stayed on the smooth skin. He looked up at Lucas. Lucas's eyes clearly showed some form of uncomfortability. "...Lucas…."

"Continue."

"But…."

"Just continue." Ness gulped as he started rubbing Lucas's stomach. "Your other hand." Ness placed his other hand on the other side of Lucas's stomach and started rubbing. Ness kept his eyes on Lucas's. His uncomfort seemed to start disappearing, but it was still clearly there.

"Lucas….am I….making you uncomfortable?" Lucas sighed.

"I can't forget what RJ did to me. But…" Lucas smiled happily and his eyes showed happiness too. He was uncomfortable, yet he was also very very happy. "I wanna override what she did with something better. So please…..don't stop." Ness gulped as he continued rubbing Lucas's chest. "Higher…." Ness obliged. His hands went over Lucas's nipples which made Lucas's breaths slightly more pleasure-based than nerve based. Ness started rubbing harder and all over the front part of his body. The uncomfortability got closer to disappearing from his eyes. Lucas's eyes were also stuck squinting.

"Kitty….you really like being petted, huh?"

"Y-yes…."

"Yes, what?" Ness started adding some soft scratches with his rubs, which seemed to pleasure Lucas more. His purrs finally started up. "Come on, want me to stop?"

"N-NO….Please….I-I love being petted." Ness smirked. Lucas opened his eyes fully. Ness saw a different look in his eyes. Ness didn't see uncomfort any longer. Ness saw pleasure, happiness, and Lucas's lewd side. Ness chuckled.

"Well I'll be damned, I didn't expect to see this side of—" Lucas cut Ness off by colliding his lips into Ness's. He didn't give Ness enough time to react before he picked his head back up. However, he didn't allow much space to form between their heads.

"Oh shut up, you talk too much," Lucas slyly said. Ness instantly wrapped his arms around Lucas's head and brought him into another kiss. They stayed kissing each other for around three minutes. Lucas shot his head back up and started breathing heavily. "Trying to kill me here?" Ness grinned.

"Kitty?"

"Yes?"

"You wanna go all the way? Or is that a bit much?"

"All the way? You mean?" Lucas looked down at Ness's body with a raised brow.

"Yea...We don't have to of course."

"No….I want to. I want to do everything with you," Lucas said as he looked back at Ness's head. Ness smiled as he started rubbing Lucas's gut once more.

"You really feel comfortable with it?"

"Yea….I love you, I love you with all my heart. I'll do anything with you, so please….."

"Please?" Ness said with hopeful and bright eyes.

"Please…...please fuck me." Ness grinned. He gripped onto Lucas's gut and shot him around so that his back was against the bed. Ness put his hands next to Lucas's head and made sure their crotches were mere inches from each other. Lucas's entire face was blushed red.

"You sure you can handle it?"

"Oh please, I'm 18 and I can handle a horny junior detective, living in this high ass penthouse, and raising a needy and messy baby….I can handle anything you give me," Lucas said, squinting his eyes. Ness grinned. He started kissing Lucas's neck. Lucas instantly started purring. Ness ensured to suck in one specific part, adding a little biting as well, to give Lucas a hickey. Ness picked his head back up and smiled down at the result.

"Now everyone will know you're my little Kitty."

"God, you always make that nickname so weird." Ness sat up. He crossed his arms playfully.

"Fine then, I'll just go to sleep."

"WHAT, NONONONO, SORRY! I am your little kitty." Ness smirked. He brought his head back down and started licking Lucas's chest. Lucas's purrs grew louder. While licking Lucas's chest, he was rubbing Lucas's gut. He slowly got lower and lower and soon made it to the rim of Lucas's pants.

"Lucas?"

"...Go ahead." Ness nodded and allowed his hands to enter under Lucas's pants and underwear. He instantly felt Lucas's member. Lucas instantly let out a gasp. Ness shot a worried expression up toward Lucas. "D-don't worry….I'm just not used to your hand being there." Ness continued licking Lucas's chest as he fondled Lucas's goodies, slowly making them harder. Lucas's purrs grew louder and harder. Lucas gripped onto Ness's shirt. "Take…..take your damn shirt off already." Lucas took Ness's shirt off for him and held his chest closer. "You feel…..nice."

"Kitty?"

"Y-yes?"

"I'm….I'm gonna take your other stuff off."

"O-ok." Ness started crawling back down and gripped on the rim of Lucas's pants and underwear. He looked directly in Lucas's pleasure-filled eyes as he took them off swiftly but gently. Ness couldn't resist licking his lips as he looked at Lucas's hard member. Ness waited for some kind of approval from Lucas. "Hurry the hell up you bastard…." Ness couldn't help a giggle.

He's really bossy when he's horny. Hehe, it's kinda cute.

Ness took a firm hold of Lucas's member and started stroking it. Lucas's purrs started turning to moans. "Haaa….N-Ness…."

"Wh-what? Did I do it too soon?" Ness asked, stopping his hand.

"N-no...your hand feels nice." Ness smiled and continued stroking Lucas's member. Lucas's moans grew louder and more spastic. Lucas continued calling Ness's name out in pleasure. "N-Ness!..." Lucas suddenly stopped, making Lucas shoot a glance toward him. He saw Ness's wide smile. Before Lucas could say anything, Ness started licking the base of Lucas's member. "Woah…." Lucas shot his head back. Ness licked it up and down a few times, making Lucas's moans multiply. "N-Ness….." After a lot of Lucas's member was wet, he started putting it in his mouth. Lucas felt nothing but warmth as his member was inside Ness's mouth. "N-Ness….y-you're mouth…." Ness sucked further down, sending an even larger tsunami of pleasure to flood Lucas's body; making him feel like he was melting. Lucas continued to moan loudly and very high pitched. Ness sped up his sucking. A sensation loomed over Lucas. "N-Ness….Ness….I'm….Ness!" Before Lucas could fully say what he was about to do, he shot in Ness's mouth. Ness didn't take his mouth away until Lucas stopped. Some of Lucas's cream spilled out of Ness's mouth, but most stayed in, allowing Ness to swallow it. He looked at Lucas as he wiped away what dripped out of his mouth.

"Tasty…." Ness saw that Lucas was sweaty and his breaths showed just how much he enjoyed what he did.

"N-Ness….y-you bastard." Ness giggled.

"That was fun."

"Yea….but we're not done." Ness tilted his head.

"But...you already came? How're we not done?" Lucas sat up and kissed Ness. After the kiss, he kept his arms around Ness's neck.

"You didn't do what I wanted yet."

"What's that?"

"...I want you to fuck me." Lucas didn't allow for Ness to answer before he lowered down to Ness's pants-since Ness was on his knees. Lucas instantly shot Ness's pants and underwear down.

"WAH, L-Lucas…" Lucas licked his lips as he looked at Ness's member. He looked up.

"Don't tell me no one ever did this to you."

"I-I….." Lucas grinned. He instantly started sucking it, not leaving any time for foreplay. "Luc…...Damn….ahh." Ness's head shot up to the roof.

Jeez, Lucas is never this testy….crap…..I'm losing it…..Sorry in advance Lucas.

Lucas did surprisingly well, able to take all of Ness inside of his mouth. Hearing Ness's moans really pleased Lucas. Hearing the moans were enough for Lucas's own member to start hardening up. That was when he stopped and laid back against the bed. "There….now it's all wet for you." Ness looked down, showing Lucas his very own lewd face. That was Ness put his hands on Lucas's shoulders, even pushing him into the bed slightly. Lucas grew a grin. "Finally getting into it."

"If this goes south, it's all your fault." Lucas giggled.

"I'll happily take the blame." Ness looked down and found Lucas's hole. He stuck his finger in it and Lucas started gripping onto the bed. "Bastard….I want your dick, not your damn finger." Ness took his finger out and grabbed his member. He placed the tip right at the hole and looked at Lucas.

"There's a lesson you need to learn, Kitty, don't ever test your top like that."

"Wha—ARRRRRRG!" Lucas yelled as Ness shoved almost all of his member inside Lucas. Lucas's fingers almost broke through the bedsheets and tears from the sudden pain formed in Lucas's eyes. Hearing Lucas's scream broke Ness from his uncontrolled self.

"Oh god, Lucas, I'm so so so so sorry, I-I didn't mean to—" Lucas shot up and wrapped his arms around Ness's neck.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND MOVE ALREADY!" Ness gulped and did as Lucas told, mainly because he was afraid of what Lucas would do if he didn't listen to him. Both boys felt utter pleasure as Ness started to slowly pull out and back in, bouncing Lucas up since he still had his hands wrapped around Ness's neck. Since Lucas's face was so close to Ness's ear, the only thing he could hear was his loud moaning and panting. Ness started speeding up and going in deeper. "Argh, fuck….." Ness's hold on Lucas grew harder. Ness shoved it in the deepest he possibly could and he just so happened to hit Lucas's G-spot, making Lucas moan loudly. "N-Ness….Ness damn you….ahhh, fuck."

"L-Lucas….are y-y-you?"

"Y-yes...and it's your damn fault." With one more powerful thrust, both boys came together, with Lucas shooting on both of their chests, and Ness doing it inside of Lucas's hole. After they finished, Lucas collapsed back, Ness got out of Lucas and collapsed next to him. They laid there, slightly covered in their cream, and panting. "You fucker…."

"H-how was it? D-did I go too far?" Lucas turned his head to look at Ness.

"Not at all…..That was the best damn feeling in the world. Hell, you could've gone rougher." Ness giggled as he looked at the roof and had his hand over his rapidly beating heart.

"You were so loud, hehe, I'm surprised you didn't wake Claus up."

"Oh sh-shut up, idiot, you were the one who made me get so loud."

"Kitty?"

"Hmm?"

"Could we do this again sometime?"

"Of fucking course, we're gonna do it as much as we can." Ness chuckled.

"You're such a needy little kitty." Ness sat up and looked down at Lucas, who had the short end of the stick when it came to having his cream on him. "We should get cleaned up before bed." Lucas grinned.

"Sure sure, whatever, we'd better be showering together."

"Or what?"

"Or next time you're being the bottom."

"...Showering together it is."

---

The next day the two boys woke up next to each other. Lucas was cuddling Ness, having Ness's arm right over him, and his arms over Ness. Both boys were also nude. Lucas sat up and rubbed his eyes. He yawned loudly. "Hey, Kitty." Lucas looked back and grinned.

"S-sorry that I got carried away last night." Ness chuckled. He sat up and hugged Lucas closely.

"No, don't worry. It was kinda cute hearing you be so…..vulgar." Lucas giggled. Before he could say anything to him, Claus started crying. Lucas sighed. He got away from Ness, quickly put clothes on, and walked to Claus's crib. He smiled as he looked down at Claus. He grabbed him and picked him up.

"Hiya, Claus, mommy's here." Lucas laid Claus in his hands and started rocking him. "Daddy was mean last night, are you going to puke on him again."

"DON'T GIVE HIM ANY IDEAS, I'm still cleaning my favorite shirt because of him." Lucas turned around and played with Claus's little hand with his own.

"Well, you shouldn't have overfed him."

"...Sorry…." Ness said, lowering his eyes. Lucas giggled as he looked at Claus.

"Do you forgive Daddy?" Claus just ignored Lucas and focused on playing with Lucas's hand. Lucas looked back at Ness. "He says screw you." Ness rolled his eyes and hopped off the bed. He started getting dressed.

"By the way, Kitty?"

"Hm?" Lucas asked as he laid Claus down on a changing table. "Oof, you're a stinky boy."

"What's the date today?"

"Uhh, why?"

"My paternity leave is ending soon, so I don't wanna be late."

"When does it end?" Lucas undid the diaper and playfully gagged. "Jeez, you poop worse than Ninten, I thought that was impossible."

"It ends one month after Claus was born so…"

"August 2nd?" Lucas asked, dropping the dirty diaper into the nearby trash can.

"Yea, I think so at least."

"Ahh, well, you're gonna not like this…." Lucas said as he grabbed the new diaper. "It's August 3rd."

"Oh…..fuck."

"Yea, you should probably head out over to the station." Lucas started putting the diaper on. Ness walked over to Lucas and hugged his back.

"Are you fine alone with him?" Lucas gave a smug look back at Ness.

"I handled you last night." Ness clicked his gums and sighed.

"Right….I'll uh, I'll just get going." Lucas giggled. He kissed Ness's lips then looked back at Claus to make sure he strapped the diaper on correctly.

"Love you." Ness smirked as he leaned his head down and kissed Lucas's neck.

"Love you too." Ness then patted Lucas's back before leaving the room and heading toward work. Lucas also finished changing Claus's diaper.

"Ahh, there we go, little guy, nice and clean."

About a few hours later, Lucas was in the main living room watching tv. Claus was coddled up in a blanket like a burrito at the side of the sofa. He was drifting off to sleep since he had just had his formula. This was Lucas's first chance that day to relax. He was watching some Avatar the Last Airbender. "When you get older, I'm gonna make sure you watch this show." That was when Lucas's phone rang. Lucas raised his eyebrow since he'd never gotten a call on his phone since he moved. He grabbed the phone and answered it. He put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Lucas, dude, it's been a while," Toon Link happily said.

"TL!" Lucas covered his mouth.

Did I just….?

"Lucas, I just saw Ness and he gave me your new number."

"Oh, he did now….He's gonna regret that."

"Why's that?"

"Don't worry about it."

"...You seem more chatty than you've been in a while."

"Yes...actually, I wanna say something."

"Hm? Yes?"

"Can you grab the others and come to the Melee Hotel?"

"Uhh, the expensive ass, tall ass hotel downtown?"

"Yea, when you get in look for someone named Popo."

"Uhh, sure...I guess. See ya soon, dude."

"See ya." Lucas hung the phone up and looked over at the barely awake Claus. "Guess what? You're gonna meet your uncles and aunts. Hehe, they're bastards, but give them a chance." Once more, Claus couldn't care less. Lucas looked back at the tv and sighed as he slightly slid down the couch.

Jeez….I didn't expect myself to be able to talk so smoothly. Was it because of what happened last night? Hehe, last night….Is that what it feels like to enjoy sex? Is that what it feels like to not be forced to do it? I….I can't wait to do it again.

Around half an hour later, the elevator door opened and Popo stepped out. "Um, Lucas?" Lucas jumped from the couch and walked up to him. Lucas stopped a little ahead of him. "Uh, there's a pretty large group of people downstairs saying they're your friends."

"Are two elf boys and one robotic looking boy part of the group?" Popo's eyes widened.

"Uh, y-yea...t-they were."

"Good, they are my friends, you can let them up," Lucas smiled.

"You're…..you're actually talking." Lucas giggled. Popo shook his head. "Well, they'll be up here in a bit." Lucas nodded. He walked back toward the couch and picked Claus up. Claus started crying since Lucas woke him up, but Lucas started rocking him as he hummed. He wasn't humming any specific song, but he did have a tune to his humming. The humming wasn't like his voice. The humming was deep and calming. Claus stopped crying and just looked up at Lucas as he smiled down.

"Sorry I had to wake you. Your aunts and uncles are gonna annoy you, so be careful, ok?" Lucas winked. Claus just gave more of the baby talk. Lucas stayed there as he rocked a calm Claus in his hands. A few minutes of this rather calm silence before the elevator doors opened. Lucas stood up and started walking toward the elevator. Popo stepped aside and Ninten was the first person to step out. Lucas grinned. "Hey there, been a while." Ninten just looked wide-eyed around at the room.

"Is this….where you've been staying?" Ninten said, still not fully done with looking around the rich looking place.

"Mhm, this is Ness's place." Inkling ran up to Lucas and looked at Claus.

"Hello, little guy, it's been too long," Inkling said with a lot of excitement in her voice. Lucas couldn't help but feel her joy and excitement.

"Wanna hold him?" Inkling looked up at Lucas with wide and hopeful eyes.

"Really?"

"Yea, just try not to drop him, or I will literally stab your neck and drink your fluids with your intestines."

"Well, the regular Lucas seems to be back," Young Link said.

"I-I promise not to drop him." Lucas held Claus toward her. She picked him from Lucas's hands and smiled happily down at him. "Hi, little cutie." Kumatora and Leaf then stayed at Inkling's sides, all complimenting and loving the baby. Lucas gave a big yawn and walked back toward the couch. He sat down and rested his head back.

"Lucas seems to be tired," Mega Man said.

"He is raising a kid after all," Red pointed out. Ninten walked over to Lucas and sat down next to him.

"How is he?" Ninten asked.

"A handful, he's very messy and needy," Lucas answered, showing just how tired he was. Ninten started chuckling.

What he doesn't know is that I'm talking about both Claus and Ness.

"Yeah, sounds like someone I knew." Lucas joined Ninten's chuckling.

"I knew I wasn't the only one who thought that." Toon Link saw just how worn out Lucas was. He knew he couldn't just sit down and watch him like that. Toon Link stepped forward.

"Lucas?" Toon Link questioned. Lucas picked his tired head up and looked at him.

"Yes?"

"...You know you can call me anytime you'd like if you need a babysitter."

"What?"

"I mean, I imagine you and Ness haven't had much time to yourselves since you've had him, so if you ever wanted to go a few minutes or hours without worrying about him, hit me up."

"You'd do that?" That was when Mega Man stepped forward.

"I mean, I can probably say, all of us feel that way. I mean, I wouldn't trust YL with a baby, but the others should do well," Mega Man said. Young Link angrily looked at Mega man.

"THE HELL! I SO TOO CAN TAKE CARE OF A BABY!"

"YL, buckle down, Claus could be sensitive to loud noises," Red said as he smacked the back of YL's head. Mega Man gave Red the side eye, as if saying "Only I can hit him like that."

"Oh no, don't worry about that. He doesn't get thrown off by loud noises," Lucas happily said.

"OH MY GOD!" Kumatora said from behind Lucas. Lucas jumped slightly as he looked back.

"When did you get there?"

"The hell's on your neck?" Lucas knew exactly what she meant. It was the hickey Ness gave him last night. Lucas covered the hickey and nervously laughed.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Lucas blushed.

"What was it, Kumatora?" Toon Link asked.

"He has a damn hickey," Kumatora said with utter surprise in her voice. Toon Link looked at Lucas.

"Did….did Ness give you a hickey?"

"Uhh…..maybe?" Lucas shrugged. That was when everyone in the room held worried expressions. Lucas could tell they felt worried about his emotions during the hickey creation. "B-but don't worry. I'm the one who wanted sex last night, so you shouldn't worry."

"You and Ness….had sex last night?" Ninten asked.

"Hey, so did we," Young Link chuckled as he wrapped his arm around Mega Man's shoulders. Mega Man sighed as he punched Young Link's gut. "Fuck," he said as he fell to the ground.

"So…...sorry to ask this but—"

"It was the best damn feeling in the world," Lucas happily gushed. "In fact, I may have been the one that was a little….forceful." Kumatora looked at Lucas as he continued gushing about how he felt during the whole experience. She wanted to do something, she wanted to test something, but she also knew the risk if it failed. She brought her hand up and placed it on Lucas's shoulder. Lucas looked back at her. "Yes?"

"Lucas…." Kumatora said.

"What?"

"...You didn't freak out…." Lucas looked at the hand on his shoulder and smirked.

"That's because none of you are RJ and none of you will hurt me. There are only two people who can hurt me." Lucas grinned as he turned back toward the rest of his group. "That bitch RJ and Ness because man, is he packing."

"He is?!" Toon Link yelled.

"FUCK YES, WHERE'S MY DAMN MONEY, BITCH!" Young Link yelled toward Toon Link. Toon Link just rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket to grab Young Link's money. Inkling, still with Claus in her hands, walked up to Young Link as he grabbed his money from Toon Link.

"Will you shut up already, he just fell asleep," Inkling quietly said.

"The fact he was able to fall asleep at all is surprising," Red said. Inkling rolled her eyes as she walked over to Lucas. She held Claus toward Lucas, who picked him up. Lucas looked down at him with a happy smile.

"You like Auntie Inkling?" Lucas asked, despite knowing he was asleep.

"Auntie…..Inkling?" Inkling asked, full of emotion. Lucas looked up at her and gave her his innocent smile.

"Mhm, you and the others are aunts and uncles, so better get used to being called that." Inkling couldn't contain her smile any longer. She covered her mouth and shot around, hiding her crying.

"She's been wanting to be called aunt or auntie for so long," Leaf said as she came over to calm her down. Lucas stood up and walked toward his room to put Claus in his crib. He left and sat back down on the couch.

"How much longer will y'all be staying here?"

"One more hour, if possible?" Ninten shrugged. Lucas happily smiled.

"That's good, there's a lot we've gotta catch up on."

Later that day, Lucas was finally given time all to himself. Lucas's friends left happier than they came and Claus was still asleep. While watching tv Lucas started drifting off to sleep. His eyes would close and his head would fall forward, but this would wake him up.

Damn, I'm so tired. How much longer is Ness gone?

Lucas looked at the time and found that it was still only 2 p.m.

Jeez, he doesn't get off until 5. If I…..If I fall asleep now….I won't have to worry about it tonight.

Lucas finally decided to give in to his tired side.

A few hours later, Ness finally made it back to the hotel. He met with Popo at the bottom floor. "Hey Popo, how was Lucas and Claus?" Ness asked as he followed Popo to the elevator.

"Oh, he invited his friends to come over," Popo answered.

"He...he did?"

"Yup, and he was all talkative too, it was really surprising." The elevator doors opened and the two stepped in. They turned around. Popo scanned his ID with the small scanner near the elevator buttons and the door closed. "But he was also so happy. I stayed up there, to make sure he felt comfortable like you told me, and well…."

"He was?"

"Oh, he was a natural. He was gossiping, singing, yelling, all that with them. I'm honestly surprised Claus didn't wake up." Ness chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure Claus will be good with blocking out loud noises." Popo looked over at Ness, who looked proud and relieved.

"Why would you be worried about him? He looked like he was talking to them forever." Ness sighed.

"I can't go into detail, but he seemed to become afraid of people, and I was the only one he could talk to. But, if he can talk to people now, then he can finally start seeing his family."

"You gonna introduce him to your dad?"

"Fuck no, my dad's an asshole." Popo simply nodded.

"Whatever you say." The elevator stopped and Ness stepped in. He gave a thanks back toward Popo as he started to walk away from the small hall that the elevator was connected to. Once the hall expanded into the main living space, he saw Lucas sleeping on the couch. Ness gave a happy sigh.

"My little Kitty was tired…." Ness walked over to Lucas and kissed his cheek. "I'll take you to bed, don't worry." Ness held Lucas up in a bridal way and started walking toward their room. The closer they got, the more Ness started hearing Claus's cries. Ness entered their room and laid Lucas down on the bed. Ness then walked over to the crying baby. "Hey, hey, hey, daddy's here…." Ness picked the baby up, "It's ok. Shhhhh," Ness said as he slightly bounced Claus up. Claus soon stopped crying and just looked at Ness with his wide blue eyes. Ness looked over at Lucas. "Mommy was a little tired, you're a handful, you know that?"

"Ahh…" Claus responded like a normal baby would. Ness looked down with a grin.

"Wanna watch tv with daddy?" Claus tilted his head, but it mainly seemed accidental. "Don't worry, I'll get you your bottle." Ness happily laughed. He walked over to Lucas and tucked him in with his one available hand. He then kissed Lucas's forehead. "Have some sleep Kitty, you need to relax." Ness stood back up and looked back down at Claus. "How do you feel about watching Big Mouth?"

---

Years have passed. Lucas and Ness were now both 24 and Claus was 6. They decided to take a trip to an amusement park called Nintendo Land. Claus and Ness were on a ride that looked to be based on a haunted mansion. Lucas was too scared to enter, so he stayed out waiting for them. Lucas was tasked with holding their things, and he decided to steal a bite of Claus's pretzel. Right as he bit into it, he heard Claus calling out to him.

Shit shit shit shit, fuck, what do I do.

Lucas looked toward the exit to the ride and saw Claus running toward him. Claus was pretty tall for his age and his hair was completely unkempt. His eyes still sparkled the same as they did when he was a baby. Claus stopped right in front of Lucas with a happily sweaty face. "Dad, dad, dad, that was fun," Claus said with his high-pitched voice as he hopped up and down. Lucas chuckled as he swallowed the bite and ruffled Claus's hair.

"Is that so? Sorry I couldn't go in there with you."

"It's ok. Dad was fun." Lucas looked up from Claus and saw Ness walking slowly toward them. Lucas looked back down.

"Did dad scream?" Claus giggled.

"Yea, he screamed like a girl."

"Hey! I told you that was our little secret," Ness yelled out. Claus chuckled innocently as he reached up for the paper bag his pretzel was in. Ness stopped in front of Lucas as Lucas handed Claus the bag.

"How was it?" Lucas asked.

"It wasn't that scary, you're just a pussy."

"Hey, one of us has to be."

"...Dad?" Both Ness and Lucas looked down at Claus with a confused look. Once Lucas saw why Claus called out he grew nervous. "I'm missing some pretzel…."

"Y-you sure you didn't eat some yourself?"

"Maybe….I dunno." Lucas placed a hand in Claus's hair.

"I'm sure you did." Ness moved his head to Lucas's ear.

"Are you hungry?" Ness whispered.

"No, don't worry about it." Lucas placed the backpack with their stuff on his back and grabbed Claus's hand. "Ness, you said you wanted to save this next place for last?"

"Hm? Oh, r-right. Can I call someone real quick."

"Sure, I'll take Claus to go get some water." Ness nodded. Lucas walked off with a pretty oblivious Claus who was still glared at the pretzel with a pretty big bite taken out of it. Ness brought out his phone and called a friend. "Hey, Ren? You here?"

"Yea, this was hell to prepare," Ren said.

"I-I know, and I really appreciate you doing this for me."

"Anytime man."

"Alright, we'll be heading over soon."

"Right."

Ness, with Lucas and Claus, traveled to the opposite side of Nintendo Land. Ness still kept what the exact ride was away from them. Eventually, they made it to the ride. It showed itself to be a simple Ferris Wheel. Lucas tilted his head. "This is it?" Lucas asked.

"Mhm, let's go on."

"Yo, Lucas, Ness? I didn't expect to see you here," a deep voice said from behind them. They turned around and saw Ren approaching them.

"Uncle Ren!" Claus ran over and jumped into Ren's arms. Ren chuckled happily as he patted his back.

"Oof, you're getting heavy." Ren placed Claus back down, allowing him to salute slightly.

"My dads say I'm growing fast." Ren ruffled Claus's hair.

"You definitely are." Ness and Lucas walked up to them.

"Ren, how was the trip?" Lucas asked as he smashed Ren's arm.

"It was good to be back in Shibuya, but I got way too used to this place," Ren said, rubbing where Lucas hit.

"Hey, Ren, I've got a question," Ness said.

"Yup?"

"Could you watch over Claus as we go on the Ferris wheel?"

"Oh, of course, what I wouldn't do to spend time with my favorite nephew," Ren chuckled. Claus blushed from embarrassment and looked away. Ness smiled as he grabbed Lucas's hand.

"Ready?"

"I don't have a choice do I?" Lucas asked.

"Not one bit."

"Then yes, I guess I am ready." Ness ran back to the Ferris wheel, with Lucas in his hand, and started waiting in the short line. Lucas noticed something odd about the way Ness was acting. He was acting overly excited.

He's got something planned….Probably something with Ren. Ugh, I hate how you're always scheming Ness.

Ness and Lucas eventually got to the cart. They climbed in and it didn't take much time for the Ferris wheel to start. During the slow and somewhat choppy ascend, Ness seemed to get more and more nervous. Lucas looked out of the cart and breathed in the air he'd never be able to reach normally. "Why'd you take me up here?" Lucas asked. That was when their cart suddenly stopped at the top of the Ferris wheel.

"LUCAS!" a lot of voices yelled from behind Lucas. Lucas turned his head and looked past Ness to see all of his friends and family standing near Ren and Claus. He stood up and walked to the side and looked at the massive group with wide eyes. Seeing all of them together like that brought back memories. It had been a while since they were grouped together like that. It wasn't due to drama or other things like that. It was just life. Life let a few of them lead different lives which involved them losing the chance to see each other personally. So seeing everyone looking up at him with happy faces made him happy. His eyes started to tear up.

"Lucas?" Lucas turned his head and found Ness standing up. Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Um...Ness?" Ness smiled. He had one hand behind his back and had a small blush in his cheeks. He was nervous, Lucas could tell by how his other hand was slightly shaking.

"Lucas, we've been together for a while now."

"Uhh, I guess so, what're you getting at?"

"Umm…." Ness gulped. He let out a calming breath before going down to one knee and pulling a small case out of his back pocket.

"...no….." Ness opened the box to show a ring as he looked up at Lucas.

"I love you, I love you with every fiber of my being. So…..would you do me the honor, my little Kitty, and marry me?" Lucas's hand started shaking slightly, his heart started racing, and his mind went into a trance.

Is he….no, he's not… This is some sick game he's pulling. T-there's no way he's proposing.

"Ugh, I'm sorry, I guess that's a no…." Ness started standing up, but Lucas placed his hand on Ness's shoulder, forcing him to stay on his knee.

"You didn't give me a chance….." Ness gulped. Lucas grinned. "You coulda just told me you were gonna marry me, no need to be so nervous."

"Does….does that mean you—"

"Put the damn ring on my finger already." Ness started laughing hysterically as he slid the ring onto Lucas's ring finger. It was perfectly timed too since the Ferris wheel started back up. They sat back down. Lucas rested his head on Ness's shoulder and smiled. "It was about time you did it, jeez."

"Oh shut your mouth, you're not very easy to please."

"Yeah, but you always find a way to do that." Ness giggled.

"I know you pretty well." Lucas looked down at the ring on his finger.

"Then you'd know I'm not the ring type."

"Well, of course, I know that….that's why it's edible." Lucas shot his head from Ness's shoulder.

"REALLY?!"

"I obviously have a real ring, but that one right there is edible. It's strawberry flavored." Lucas chuckled as he bit into the softer then it looked candy.

They got down to the base floor and Lucas stepped out first with a very satisfied smile since he ate the entire ring at that point. Ness followed after Lucas. "Jeez, couldn't even wait 'til we made it down?" Flint walked forward with a scanning face.

"Well?" Flint asked.

"Well, what?" Lucas asked, licking his lips.

"D-did Ness not propose to you?"

"Huh? Oh, so that's why you're all here. He did propose." Lucas took off the small ring that held the main jewel and tossed it away.

"A-and…?"

"Uhhh, we're getting married." Loud bursts of cheers erupted in the crowd. Lucas was caught off guard. Ness leaned into Lucas's ear.

"They're your friends, not mine," Ness chuckled. Claus ran up to Ness and Lucas with a confused little face.

"Dad? Why is everyone happy?" He asked as he tilted his head. Ness chuckled. He crouched and put a hand on Claus's shoulder.

"Your dad and I will be throwing this big party where he and I will say that we'll never leave each other," Ness simplified.

"Ohhhhhh, you guys are getting married." Ness's eyes shot open wide. He looked back at Lucas, and he knew why. Lucas just shook his head. Ness looked back at Claus.

"Who taught you that?"

"Uncle YL." Ness stood up with balled-up fists and looked out at the crowd. He saw Young Link trying to tiptoe away, but then Mega Man held him by the collar.

"ACK, shit, Mega Man, you're supposed to be on my side," Young Link said. He looked out and saw Ness walking toward him. Young Link nervously laughed. "C-come onnnnn, he was gonna learn eventually. It's not like marriage is that big a deal to teach a kid anyhow." Ness didn't budge, he just continued to walk toward him with pure rage. "...welp this sucks…."

---

The special day came. Ness and Lucas's wedding. They arranged the date to be around eight months after the initial proposal. Lucas was putting on his suit with Marie as his helper. "Ok, step back a bit," Marier ordered. Lucas stepped back from the mirror, allowing Marie to get a full look at Lucas's appearance. "Oooo, handsome, ok, open your eyes." Lucas did and saw himself in the mirror.

"Oooo, look at you, you stud," Lucas said, snapping his fingers into a finger gun and shooting his reflection.

"Excuse me?" a deep voice asked from behind Lucas.

"AAAAAAAH!" Lucas jumped. Marie looked at the man with a raised eyebrow.

"Uhh, sorry sir, but the church is closed today."

"Huh, oh no no no, I'm here for the wedding," he said. Lucas started walking over to the man with a confused look. Marie ran over and made it to him before Lucas did.

"What's your name?"

"Dave Ryke." Both Marie and Lucas's eyes widened.

"R-Ryke? So that means you're…."

"Ness's father? Yes."

"Ness's…..dad?" Lucas questioned. Dave looked at Lucas and titled his head.

"Are you his best man?"

"You can say that, now, how may I help you," Marie said, interrupting Lucas from talking. Dave looked at her, slightly annoyed.

"What do you think? I'm here to see my son get married."

"Strange, you weren't invited."

"WHAT!? So Ness's sister and his mom were invited but I wasn't?"

"Apparently." Dave balled up his fist.

"That asshole forgot about me for nearly a decade?"

"Dave?" Lucas questioned. Dave looked back at Lucas and raised an eyebrow. "I'll let you in. But you'll have to stay at a distance." Dave crossed his arms and shot around.

"Fine, I'll take whatever I can get." Dave left the cathedral, leaving Lucas with Marie. She turned toward him.

"Ness is gonna be pissed if he finds out," Marie said.

"Yea, yea, yea, nothing a little rough sex won't fix," Lucas chuckled.

A while later, Lucas made it to the backyard of the church where their white, flower-themed wedding was at. Lucas had to go there last so he could wait behind the curtain to be walked down the aisle. He heard the small chatter from the inside of the curtain. Flint walked to Lucas's side and linked their arms together.

"You're ready, big guy?" Flint asked. The priest quieted down the crowd and the pianist started playing.

"...Yea…" Together, they both walked through the curtain. Lucas saw Ness standing at the altar decked out in a very neat tuxedo. Ness had a wide smile. Seeing this made Lucas smile as well. Each step further down the road made Lucas happier. Eventually, Flint walked him all the way to the altar. Their priest, Byleth, started preparing a book and smiled toward the two boys.

"We gather here today to watch two lives, two families, two phenomenal men finally become one. Please stay silent as our grooms recite their vows," Byleth said in a holier voice than he normally held. Ness opened his mouth first, but then….

"NESS!" a familiar voice called out. Ness looked out at the aisle and saw his dad rushing down it.

"Dad?!" Ness jumped off the altar and walked toward him. They met at the first row of seats. "The hell are you doing here?"

"I came to see my son get married…." Dave said. He looked at Lucas and growled. "Only to find out you're marrying…...that."

"Lucas isn't a 'that'. He's going to be my husband…..and he's the father of our kid." Dave's eyes widened as he looked down at Ness.

"You're…..kid?" Ness looked down the first row.

"Claus, come here a sec." Claus jumped from his seat and ran up to Ness. Ness wrapped his arm around Claus's back as he looked back at Dave. "Claus, this is your wack-ass grandpa. And dad….." Dave stiffened up. "You can either leave, or you can sit the fuck down, quiet the hell up, and listen to our fucking vows." Dave balled up his fists and walked back toward his seat all the way in the back. Ness patted Claus's back, prompting him to run back toward his seat. Ness sighed as he walked back toward the altar. He grabbed Lucas's arms and looked him straight in the eyes. Just with the look in his eyes, he knew Lucas was involved with having his dad at the wedding. "Lucas…..you were able to show me something that I would've never been able to see. You showed me what it felt like to have proper love and compassion. I doubt I would've been able to find such things without you, so I will forever be in debt to you. No matter what I'll say in the future, or what I'll do, I'll never repay that debt. You showed me true happiness, and I love you for that." Dave, in his seat, loosened his fist.

"W-well, Ness. You've helped me through the roughest of times. You were the only one I could talk to, and you were the only one who could make me forget about how shitty the world can be. You told me you're forever in debt, well, looks like I'll be in more debt. You've been with me, defended me, cared for me, and loved me through everything. Not many people would've done that, and…..I really really love that part about you." Dave fully broke up his fist and looked down.

"I now pronounce you, husband and husband," Byleth said. He turned his head to look at Ness. "You may kiss the groom." Ness smiled, let go of Lucas's hands, and put his hand behind Lucas's head. He then pulled Lucas into a kiss. There was a roar of applause as they kissed. The kiss didn't last long. They departed their heads and looked at each other.

"So little Kitty is my husband now?" Ness whispered. Lucas's face instantly flushed in blush.

"D-don't call me that here." Ness giggled.

"Come onnnnn—" Ness was cut off by his dad running up to the altar. Ness glared at him with an evil frown.

"You….were lonely?" Dave asked. Ness crossed his arms.

"What do you think? You paid me off to come live here and marry some rich girl." Dave looked at the ground.

"I…."

"Sir?" Lucas questioned. Dave looked up at Lucas and saw him smiling. Seeing Lucas smile made Dave confused. "I'm sorry I'm not a rich girl, but I'll do my best to keep Ness happy." Dave's eyes lowered and he shook his head.

"I….I'm sorry Ness. I should just leave you be." Dave turned around and started walking toward the curtain. Ness looked at Lucas, who still held his contagious happy smile. Ness looked back at Dave.

"Dad?" Ness called out. Dave turned his head. "You don't want some cake? And, I dunno, stay for a few dances with mom?" Dave struggled to pull up a smile.

"Are you sure Ness, I….I haven't been the best dad."

"I don't forgive you….not even close…..but I'm open to the chance." Dave fully turned around and bowed his head.

The party went on like a normal wedding from that point. Ness was finally able to see his dad slow dance with his mom, which he hadn't seen for a long time. Seeing the dance made him happy. During the entire wedding, Lucas would carry around a picture of Hinawa and Claus, Lucas's brother. He made sure they got to enjoy his special day to the fullest. Both Ness and Lucas cut the cake, ate it, and spent a few hours just socializing with their family and friends.

After the ceremony, Ness and Lucas laid in their bed, both very restless. They looked at the ceiling as Lucas laid under Ness's arm. "Kitty?"

"Hm?"

"You brought my dad there, didn't you?"

"...what if I did?"

"If you did….thanks. I never saw my mom so happy." Ness started giggling.

"Hey, Ness?"

"Yea?"

"Remember when we raised Claus?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Lucas wrapped his arms around Ness and smiled.

"I wanna have another kid."

"I'm not sure if you know this or not, but we're both boys, we can't exactly have a kid."

"We can just get a surrogate." Ness smiled down at Lucas. He used the arm that Lucas was under and started scratching the back of his head. Lucas started purring. "S-so….N-Ness. What do you say?"

"I'd love to have another kid, but I call dibs with them being related to me." Lucas happily giggled.

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Ness stopped scratching Lucas's head and leaned his own head down to kiss the back of Lucas's neck.

"Love you, Kitty."

"Mmmm, continue scratching me bitch." Ness obliged. He knew what would happen if he didn't listen to Lucas when he was in the state he was currently in. Lucas smiled and tightened his grip around Ness. "And….I love you too, Ness." Ness continued scratching Lucas's head and smiled as he decided to cut it short. He scratched the spot, making Lucas moan loudly.

"DAD, I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU'D STOP BEING SO LOUD!" Claus yelled from his room.

"S-sorry kiddo." Ness just all-out giggled.

"You really have no control, do you?" Lucas hissed as he sat on top of Ness's chest. Lucas held a sly grin. Ness knew the exact grin this meant.

Ahh shit, not again. Please…..please be gentle with me.

"I'll show you no control…." Lucas licked his lips. Ness nervously chuckled.

"...fuck…"