So this is something that goes along with my Ghost AU (i.e. Gold Hearts and Glass Bones) so make sure you read that along with it. This first bit is about them going to Mexico City and seeing Joaquín's mom. Hope you guys like it!

"You sure this is a good idea?" María asked as the pair of them stood outside the giant pair of wooden doors.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Joaquín gave off a laugh and grinned at her. "She's my mom."

María had come to suspect that smile.

The pair had only been on the road for about a month now. They had stopped in a few smaller towns before finally arriving in Mexico city. It was incredible, crowded, and it seemed like there was something new to do every day. Joaquín insisted, however, that they first stop and see his mom.

María hadn't been sure, she still wasn't. It was true she didn't know the women all to well but that was because she'd often stay inside Joaquín's house those few times she visited San Angel. María at least knew that her eyes were sharp enough to make anyone go quiet and that whenever she left Joaquín wanted to play twice as much as usual. She thought to ask him why, but knew she'd just be met with a loud laugh and that typical smile.

And now, interacting with the woman herself, María had no idea what could happen.

"She just seems kind of... stuffy. Are you sure that she'd be okay with you dragging a girl my age around Mexico?"

Joaquín's knuckles paused over the door and he stared straight ahead. "Ah, well, maybe not? We can just pretend your father wanted you to come here."

María had the feeling that wasn't going to work.

The soldier finally pounded on the door.

She held her breath as they waited. Joaquín's hands retreated behind him and he started to rock back and forth on his heels.

The door opened to reveal an older man, a stern expression on his face.

"Yes sir? What can I do for you?"

"Hello señor. I came to see if my mother is open for visitors."

"Ah, pardon me young sir I didn't recognize you." The butler gave him a nod. "I shall go and see if she's willing to see you."

The door shut and María waited until she couldn't hear footsteps before she spoke.

"Not sure I like the sound of that."

"Well, she could be busy, or we could be unexpected. I mean a letter a month in advance only lets you plan so far."

"She's your mom, she should be excited to see you." María muttered recalling how excited her mom was when she came to visit. Her mother had moved a few towns away after divorcing her father. María only stayed in San Angel in order to stay close to her friends. While she sometimes regretted the decision, having to deal with those "lady lessons", in the end she knew she chose right.

"My mom's just a bit complicated." Joaquín said.

There were a lot of things she wanted to say to that but she didn't. She didn't really have the right to.

When the door opened again María was surprised to see someone different standing there.

This wasn't the first time María had seen Gertrude but something about this instance made her freeze. Even though she was older the woman still seemed to tower over her. Those sharp eyes glanced down at her before they darted over to her son. She swore the temperature around her dropped.

"Mamá? Why are you-"

"Wasn't expecting you." She cut him off even with her calm voice. "So I can't visit for long. But it's... nice to know you're in town." Her eyes drifted back over to María. "And this is... María?"

She opened her mouth but found she had to take a moment to find the right words. "It's nice to see you again... señora."

Her eyes seemed to narrow at the title but she blinked. "You're a long way from home at your age."

"Um, well you know." Was she starting to sweat? "Papá thought it might be good for me to travel a bit."

Gertrude raised an eyebrow and studied her. "To be frank, dear, with the state your dress is in I doubt your father sent you on this errand."

She flinched. Damn her clothes, she hadn't even thought about that.

"Don't fret I... understand your position." The woman pressed her lips together.

María had no idea what that meant but wasn't brave enough to ask.

"How long do you plan on staying here?"

"A couple of weeks? I've always wanted to see the city." Joaquín grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "You wouldn't have any suggestions would you?"

Gertrude's eyes suddenly went wide, as if she was afraid. They were fixated on Joaquín's chest and she even took a step back. "Where did you..."

"Huh?" Joaquín's arm froze.

"I should have known." Her eyes narrowed. "You're just like him."

María felt a chill at the woman's expression.

"Wh-what do you mean?" His voice wavered.

"You're just like him." Her voice suddenly rose and she gripped the door. "An ambitious and foolish tool."

Joaquín opened his mouth but she slammed the door.

María's gaze darted between it and her best friend who just stood there with wide eyes. The longer she stared at him she noticed his shoulders were shaking as he shut his mouth.

"Joaquín?"

When she touched his arm he stumbled back and laughed.

"Geez, I guess it's been a long day for her huh?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

His grin had pain written all over it. His eyes were focused on the door and then the sky.

"Are you okay?" She stepped toward him.

He moved away. "Yeah, I'm fine, really. But it's getting late you know? We better find a place to stay." His grin softened to a smile but his eyes stayed fixed on the ground.

She knew that smile. There had always been something off about it but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

But now it was beyond clear.

"Joaquín-"

"Come on, I saw a decent inn just down the road." He already headed in that direction, grabbing Plata's reigns as he went.

"What? Joaquín hold on." She ran after him.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I told you I'm fine." There was that smile again. "I mean, really, I told you she's complicated. I'll just try again some other time."

María frowned. He was lying, and she damn well knew it by now. But how the hell did she get him to admit that?

For now all she could do was wait.

The pair checked in and she insisted on helping put Plata away for the night. She tried to call it a bonding exercise but most of the time she was staring at Joaquín and taking note of his face when he thought she wasn't looking. Her distraction cost her getting smacked in the chin with the horse's nose.

After a while her friend ran a hand over his horse's back. His eyes were unfocused, empty, and for the first time his smile fell.

But when he glanced up at her he grinned again.

Somehow that expression hurt even more.

Joaquín always got them separate rooms, even though it cost a bit more. He would just laugh that off too and mention the fact he had plenty of money to spare.

This time when they headed upstairs he gave her a hurried good night and fled into his room with his supplies. María didn't even have the chance to say anything.

So she let out a long sigh and went to her own room. She unloaded a few things and tried to focus on settling in for the night. The novel novel she had bought in the last town offered a bit of a distraction but it didn't last for long.

Her concern for Joaquín lingered but it was becoming smothered with anger. What was that woman's problem anyways? What had she even been talking about? Joaquín had barely said anything and she was suddenly spitting accusations and slamming the door in his face. It didn't make a lick of sense.

She wasn't taking it sitting down.

In seconds her boots were strapped back on and she rushed out the door.

It was getting dark out, and she wasn't unaware of a few leery men giving her looks, she just chose to ignore them. There were far more important things to worry about right now than starting a fight with some bystanders.

She pounded on the wooden door with all the force she could muster and stood there with her arms crossed. Once again the same stuffy looking butler answered the door and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes señorita?"

"Where is she? I want to talk to her."

"It's doubtful she wants to speak to anyone right now. I would-"

"Tell her to either come down here and talk or I'll break in there myself."

It crossed her mind that was possibly a foolish thing to say, but the butler just raised an eyebrow and gave her a daring look.

Then he stepped back and shut the door.

Certainly she shouldn't have admitted her plan but that didn't mean she was joking around. How hard could it be to climb through one of those windows? María studied the walls and looked for the best climbing point as she tapped the toe of her boot against the stone steps.

When she heard the door open again she turned with the intent to give whoever was standing there a piece of her mind.

Gertrude's cold and unyielding gaze made her mouth clamp shut. The temperature seemed to drop again, her anger along with it.

"What's so urgent that you feel the need to threaten my property?" Even with her monotone the anger in her voice was still clear.

"I-" Her heart wouldn't stop hammering in her chest all of a sudden "Why did you talk to him like that?" She pointed in the direction of the hotel.

"I fail to see how that's any of your business." Gertrude didn't even shift her gaze as she folded her arms together.

María pressed her lips together and growled. "He's my best friend, of course it's my business."

"Do you love him?"

The question made her pause and her arm fell back to her side. "I- like I just said he's my best friend-"

"Don't give me a half-hearted answer." The woman narrowed her eyes. "Half-hearted feelings will fail you."

"What are you even talking about?"

"If you do love him," Gertrude gripped the door. "I suggest you get rid of that cursed object as soon as you can."

The door was shutting. María's foot shot out and stopped it.

"What cursed object?"

"You don't know?" The woman raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know is the better question." Fear was creeping up on her again, for more than one reason, but she didn't dare move.

Gertrude studied her for a moment before she lowered her hand. "I don't owe you an explanation, but I will tell you this. My son is carrying something dangerous with him. I suggest you find it and toss it out as soon as you can. If not then stay away from him."

"Hey," María raised her voice. "If it's so dangerous to him then why don't you get rid of it?"

"Because I have dealt with it once already, never again."

"Then put a stop to it now."

The woman's eyes grew dark and she gripped the door again. "Never again. I'm giving you a warning. Trash it or stay away from it. If he's anything like his father he's already doomed himself."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Excuse me?"

"You just told me that half-hearted feelings would fail me. If this happened before are you sure it's not your fault?"

Gertrude's eyes widened. "Get out."

"No way, not until you explain-"

The sentence was cut off when the door slammed against her foot, hard. She stumbled back and growled in pain as the door shut completely.

"Hey." She shouted and kicked the door with her injured foot. "I'm not done."

Silence.

"Fine. I'll show you. I'll actually protect him unlike you. Some mom you are you frigid-"

"Um, excuse me Señorita?"

When a man tapped her shoulder she whirled around and glared at him.

"Do you mind keeping it down?"

"Back off." She jumped a bit to get eye level with him. "It's none of your business."

But when she glanced back at the still and quiet door she decided that yelling into the night air was useless.

María clutched her skirt as she stomped back down the road cursing all the while. What was with that cryptic woman? Why couldn't she just explain clearly?

At least one thing was for sure, she needed to talk to Joaquín, right now. She had no idea what this "cursed object" was but he probably did. How long had he had it? Why hadn't he told her about it?

Her friend was hiding too many things by this point. It needed to stop.

Her steps became much quieter as she walked down the hall of the inn. The second she was outside of Joaquín's door she raised a hand to pound on it.

But when a foreign sound reached her ears, she hesitated.

With her arm still in the air she leaned against the wood. There was a sniffle, a gasp, and then a whimpering sound.

He was crying.

Without thinking her foot slammed into the door and it flung open. Joaquín, who had been sitting on the bed, was on his feet in seconds. She could still see some the tears on his face, shining in the pale moonlight from the window. His uniform jacket had already been put away as well.

"M-María what?" He furiously wiped at his cheeks. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" She shut the door and ran over to him. "Am I okay? Are you okay?"

"I told you earlier I'm-"

"I heard you crying you idiot."

He flinched and stepped away from her. "It's nothing, really."

María didn't move her gaze. His eyes couldn't stay focused on hers and they drifted to the floor.

"I'm okay, you should go back to sleep."

"No." She stepped closer and took his hand. "You're not okay. Talk to me."

He shook his head. "You don't need to worry about it." When he tried to pull his hand away she tightened her grip.

"Well I am worried about it. Now come on," She tugged him toward the bed. "Sit down, talk to me."

He didn't budge. "María, it's okay." He took a deep breath and plastered on that false smile. "It'll be fine."

She stared at him for a moment. At this point she was certain that smile was nothing but artificial but there was something about it that bugged her endlessly.

"Nah, you guys go have fun. I have a lot of training to do anyways."

Suddenly it hit her.

How the hell had she not noticed before what a lie that smile was? How many years had she gone seeing it and just taking it at face value.

"Oh sounds like you guys have something big planned."

"Dinner with his dad huh? Doesn't that sound terrifying."

"Well it's been a busy week anyway. I hadn't even noticed."

"Oh don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Um, María?"

When she came back into focus she still saw the same damn smile on his face.

"Is something-"

Without thinking she slapped him, hard.

"M-Marí-" He put his free hand over his cheek.

"Stop it." She shouted. "Stop smiling at me like that."

"What do you-"

"How long, huh?" She got up on her toes to get closer to his face. "How many times did you use that smile and pretend like everything was fine when it wasn't?"

"I-"

"How many times did you lie to us when we asked if you were okay?" Her throat tightened up and her voice fell.

"N-no. I wasn't lying it..." His lips started to curve up and he pressed them together instead. "You guys didn't need to worry about me, you know? I didn't want you to worry about me."

"And why not? We're your friends aren't we?"

"Well yes, but it's not like it's a big deal. I... I'm a hero after all." He straightened out his shoulders but she could see them shaking. "It's not like it's anything I can't handle."

Once again he tightened his lips to keep himself from smiling.

María ran over the times he had used that smile. Every phrase she could remember she lined up and went through them one after the other. It was clear by now Joaquín wasn't going to drop his wall that easily. She had to figure out why he smiled like that.

Her gaze darted around his face but finally fell on his eyes. "You were lonely, weren't you?"

Joaquín's eyes widened, his mouth opened slightly and his shoulders went slack.

"With Manolo and I always running off to be with each other you were-"

"N-no." He tried to step back but she still had a grip on his hand. "I mean it wasn't like-"

"Fine, we don't have to talk about that." She shook her head and gestured to the bed again. "So let's talk about your mom."

His lip quivered and he covered his face.

"Joaquín." She ran her finger over his knuckles. "Joaquín, look at me."

There was an agonizing silence. Her chest felt tighter and tighter with each passing second.

Finally he lowered his hand and met her gaze.

"Please don't be scared." She urged. "I know a hero has to be fearless and unstoppable but... you don't have to be that hero all the time."

He took a long breath. "You're right."

He let her pull him over to the bed and she let go of his hand as they both sat down. Her friend didn't actually say anything for a while. His face stayed buried in his hands as his arms rested on his knees. At least he wasn't crying again, or he didn't appear to be. María just sat next to him, hands folded and toes tapping together as she waited for him to say the first word.

"I just don't understand." Joaquín whispered.

"Don't understand what?"

"Wasn't... wasn't my father a great man? A hero? Why would being like him make my mother so..." His shoulders shook again and María rested her hand on it. "What if... everything I knew about him was wrong."

Her grip on his shoulder tightened. The way Gertrude had spoken earlier implied that whatever that cursed object was, it had done something awful to his dad. Joaquín probably had no idea.

But there was no way María was letting that happen to him.

"It doesn't matter." She said.

"Huh?" He looked up.

She lightly put her hands on his cheeks. "It doesn't matter. I mean, I get that knowing who your dad was is important but it doesn't matter what kind of man he was in the end. Are you a good person Joaquín?"

"I-" His gaze fell to the side.

She shook his face and made him look back up. "Are you a good person?"

"I- Yes. At least I want to be."

"Then that's what matters. If your mom can't see that then it's her problem not yours. We'll just have to prove her wrong."

He almost managed a smile but it fell apart. "I still don't understand why she... I mean... why did she just leave me in San Angel?"

María opened her mouth but had no answer.

"If she just thought I was a lost cause why did she come and visit? I don't..." His shaking got worse. "Even when she was there it felt like she wasn't."

"Joaquín? Isn't your mom in town for the week?"

"Ah, you know," The same fake smile. "She's tired after the trip."

María trailed her knuckles over his cheek and the tears returned. When he tried to cover his face she pulled him into a hug instead. One hand pressed against his shoulder and the other kept his face buried in her shoulder.

"You were lonely, weren't you?" She whispered.

His arms suddenly wrapped around her middle and almost squeezed the air out of her. "Yes."

María didn't say anything to that. She just held him there and let him cry. After all he hadn't done this in years, or if he had he did it behind closed doors. Joaquín deserved better than that. It didn't matter if he was supposed to be a hero he was still human.

But it seemed like someone needed to remind him of that.

"Don't smile at me like that ever again okay?" She whispered.

He sniffed and managed to stop the tears. "Huh?"

"That fake smile. Do it to anyone else if you want but don't smile at me like that again, okay? Please be honest if something is bothering you."

He was quiet for a moment. "Can it at least wait until no one else is around?"

"Deal."

The tension in his body melted away and he pressed his face closer to her neck. Her fingers ran through his hair a few times.

It was peaceful, warm, and she thought for a moment she could fall asleep like this.

But Gertrude's words started to ring around in her mind again. Half-hearted feelings would fail her, huh?

"Joaquín?"

"Hm?"

"I'm going to promise, from now on, I'll never leave you alone again."

"What?" He pulled away but kept his hands on her waist. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that no matter what happens I won't leave you alone. During this trip, when we return home, even if I do end up marrying Manolo or whatever else I won't leave you alone. I... I don't want you to ever feel that way again."

He looked like he was going to argue. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. A few time syllables managed to escape his lips but they fell short.

"You- you don't- you don't have to do that."

María squeezed his shoulders. "I'm doing it anyways."

His eyes searched hers for something but eventually a smile came across his face. But this one, it was different. It was real.

"Of course you are." Tears returned to his face but he laughed. He pulled her back into his arms and continued to laugh into her hair.

"Thank you," He finally whispered.

María's only response was holding him tighter. She still had questions about that supposed cursed object, of course, but it could wait.

She would prove that woman wrong.