Summary: Neah's return crawls closer and closer and the Earl thinks it's finally time to prepare his room and that stirred up feelings long ago locked up.

A/N: Take place in the current timeline. Sorta vague but it's after Wisely's return and Road's disappearance.

Smile Like you Mean it. Chapter 2

More than 35 had passed since anyone open that room. After the 14th's failed mutiny the Earl sealed his bedroom and hidden it away in the the farthest possible corner of the ark. Simply looking at the room made Adam tear up and he avoided the place at any opportunity. It held too many memories of the traitor he missed so much. However, when the ark was taken over by the Black Order it was time to make a new one; he asked Mightra to recreate the 14th's room. The Noah of Ability looked at him puzzled, but obeyed the order nonetheless.

Now that the 14th's awakening was upon them he started preparing the room on his spare time. When he first began the project the place was empty with only a bed and closet occupying the room. He added little things slowly, like a mirror, or a couple hand-knitted sweaters in the closet. It became his labor of love to make the room as comfortable as possible to welcome the return of his brother, but something was missing. The room looked appealing but felt cold.

He spent weeks trying to figure it out but he thinks he found the answer. During the move he hadn't been able to preserve certain items that held sentimental value. He was very thankful at that moment that he sealed the room practically making it separate from the rest of the ark or else it would have been impossible to retrieve Neah's belongings. With his mind made up he gathered the noahs that were available to him calling them in an impromptu meeting inside the bedroom.

Road, Tyki, and Wisely were the ones tasked with packing the 14th's belongings, much to their dismay. Their complaints stopped when they stepped through the gate however. It felt strange going into the traitor's room. They roamed around taking in every detail. Judging by the clutter the 14th was a messy person making it hard to distinguish trash from treasure. They walked cautiously making sure to avoid stepping on anything.

Wisely's attention was caught by the vanity opposite to the bed. He scanned the table and his eyes snapped to an awfully eerie picture. He held it up for closer inspection not truly believing what he saw. It was a picture of the 14th and… his previous incarnation. The two were in a one-arm hug as they ate pretzels together. The other Wisely had a smirk and was winking at the camera with salt sprinkled across his face; Neah gave a wide grin and had his eyes closed. He showed no disdain or ill-will in his face- he was laughing in the photo. The picture was showing a genuine moment of love between two family members, rather than a murderer and his victim. The noah inside him thrashed and squirmed uncomfortably and he felt tears falling down his face. Why was he crying? He thought the noah inside him hated the 14th with all his heart.

"Hey, you okay? Why are you crying?", Tyki asked extremely confused by Wisely's behavior. He took the picture out of his hands and nearly dropped it after glancing at it. What the hell? He found himself staring. That child, the murderous, sinister, mysterious, 14th, was a near spitting image of him. Except for the mole he was almost the same when he was a young teen, he honestly don't know what to make of it. He couldn't figure out if this detail was significant or just awful coincidence. He snapped back to reality when he heard whimpering, he turned and saw Road staring at the wall that was covered in dozens of drawings signed by her. There was drawings of the Earl, herself, Neah, and the rest of the family drawn in crayons. They were hung with stickers and colorful thumbtacks. She had her eyes on a particular one in the center, the way it was arranged it obviously was the most important out of the collection. It was a card covered in glitter with the words "BEST UNCLE EVER! HAVE AN AMAZING FATHERS DAY" written in colorful bold letters with Lero's face cut out of construction paper plastered on the front.

"Sorry, don't mind me. I'm just being nostalgic.", she wiped her tears and gave her current uncle a weak sorrowful smile. She grabbed a ball from the floor bouncing a couple times.

"This was Cindy's favorite toy.", she squeezed it but it only blew air, "Played with it so much the squeaker broke."

"Who's Cindy?"

"Neah's dog. The family loved her and she was always by her master's side. But I don't think we need to bring broken dog toys to the new ark, though.", she threw the ball on the floor and began stripping the wall and placed the drawings in a folder. "You can put the pictures in that box over there.", she pointed to the box on the bed.

"Okay. Do we need to pack anything else?", he checked the closet but it was mostly empty with a couple of shirts and pants in it. He probably took most of his clothing with him while he was on the run.

"Neah liked collecting destroyed innocence.", she grabbed an unassuming brooch that had a huge hole in it with cracks spidering out and gave it to Tyki who would have never known that it was once innocence.

"Is this also one?", the man picked up a fiddle that looked well worn.

"No, that was a gift given by Tanni. He was the former Noah of Pleasure.", Road's voice wobbled as her composure began to break again.

"He gave that to him on his birthday and… he made it a tradition to… play it to the family every birthday since then…", she began crying. Tyki was alarmed but was at a loss on how to pacify his distressed niece.

"Hey, hey! It's okay! I'll just put in with the rest of the stuff, okay?", he hid the gift out of Road's sight. This was a bad idea. Everyone is getting emotional and the Black Order could figure out that they're here any moment. Even though the room was sealed it didn't mean they're completely safe.

Wisely was still standing stiff as a board looming over the photos. His inner noah was very confused switching back between hate, love, and yearning. Seeing the photos had sparked an emotion out of the noah other than intense hatred. Smiles of the 14th, his dog, the Earl, and the previous generation seemed to be too much for him. He finally moved from his spot after what felt like an eternity, he grabbed several of the frames trying to avoid seeing the images and went to box them. He ignored his noah's nonsense ramblings.

'He betrayed us after everything we've done- unforgivable! We loved him, we cared for him, we respected him! He was my best friend and my brother, how could he! Why? Why, Neah? Why did you disobey and rebelled? Why couldn't you just stay by our side? What made you want to kill our Earl?'

Yes, as the Noah of Wisdom he remembered Jacques quite well and he remembered the antics he would get into with Neah. He'd always teased him and pulled pranks on him, and in return the 14th would retaliate starting prank wars within the ark, and he would play music right next to him when the man got a headache after an argument. They were both very childish judging by the things he remembered, and constantly got in trouble with the Earl. But at one point they were very close friends.

'We could've had it all! We were so close to our goal, but you turned your back to us! Now look at us! Look at you! You're running a lost cause!'

The noah continued to rant causing a headache in Wisely. It wasn't as bad as he would normally get but it was still annoying. He was done packing up the pictures before turning to Tyki who was gathering up the collection of broken innocence. He kept asking Road which were innocence and which were junk as the girl was getting more frustrated the more he asked. Wisely sighed before walking back to the vanity. He opened the drawers looking for anything. He found a music box, sheet music, more dog toys, a harmonica, something weird that kinda looks important, moldy dog treats(gross), books about birds, and a journal. Interesting. He stuck the journal in his jacket making sure neither Tyki or Road saw that. He'll go over it when he's alone in his room.

Tyki gazed at the harlequin masks hanging on the wall creeped out at the weird faces they made. He wasn't packing that and if Road insist he'll stand his ground. He could swear they were leering at him with those empty eyes. Who the hell even keeps something as creepy as those in their room?! They were so out of place in comparison to everything else.

"They're not going to jump out at you if that's what you're thinking.", Road laughed.

"I wasn't thinking that! Are we done or what?", the man asked annoyed.

"Yes I think that's about it.", Road stacked the boxes on top of one another.

"We're going to have to go back and get the piano.", Wisely sat on the chair experimentally pressing on the keys. The piano may need some upkeep judging by the less than graceful sounds it was making.

"Ugh.", Tyki groaned not looking forward to the nightmare of carrying that behemoth back to the ark. Road opened the gate and the three walked through it and were greeted by the Earl. He happily took the boxes out of their hand and opened them up like they were christmas presents then began talking about each one joyfully recounting events and people. While Wisely and Road could (kinda) understand what the Earl was saying, Tyki was at a lost. Names such as Tanni, Jacques, and Sofía meant nothing to him. They all wanted to leave but Adam looked so happy, happier than he ever been in years, talking about each object. They simply didn't have the heart to refuse him an audience.

"Neah loved birds! He would always go bird watching and read about different species! He always wanted to get a pet dove and would beg me for one, but that was just asking for trouble. Oh! And this one was his favorite innocence!", he held up a music box, "Even though the innocence had been shattered it still plays music. It's such a lovely sound.", he twisted the key and the music box opened to show a pond with two koi fish swimming in circles. He gently placed the music box on prominent display on the vanity. Adam scurried from box to box searching for something specific.

"Where are the clown masks? Those were a gift from the Bookman's former apprentice, a shame there not here. Neah never liked them but he kept them on display because he grew really attached to the man. Tyki, would you mind going back and-"

"No. Look, if the 14th never liked the masks then what's the point of getting them?", Tyki argued as a shiver went up his spine.

"I guess you have a point.", Adam dropped the discussion. He spotted a familiar object across the room.

"Ah! It's the kalimba! Thought I would never see that again!", he picked up the hand held instrument and showed it off to the three noahs who were intrigued.

"A what?", Tyki asked, his face visibly perplexed.

"It's kinda like a piano, but handheld and you mostly use your thumbs. Neah loved learning and playing new instruments. He tried teaching me, but I never got the hang of it.", the Earl tapped out a song that vaguely sounded like "Mary had a little lamb". "It sounds absolutely awful when someone like me plays it, but when someone like Neah played you could swear the heavens sang along with it.", the expression of Adam's face suddenly turned somber. He put down kalimba and went back to rummaging through the boxes. Silently, the noahs noticed.

The Earl began arranging the collection neatly making sure each object was handled with the utmost care. "Hmmm, I think this will do for the time being. I'll have a skull build a case for Neah's innocence collection. I don't want him making a mess like he used to do. Just put the box over there in the closet.", Tyki obeyed as Adam began pulling out pictures. He stopped when he saw a family portrait. The Earl was front and center with Neah by his side, they all were in formal wear and posed straight with a slight smile. His thumb rubbed the ornate golden frame fondly.

"Can… I please have a moment alone?", the three turned to their Earl concerned.

"Are you okay?", Wisely asked very worried.

"Yes, I just feel like being alone for a bit. I can handle the rest of the unpacking.", the three noahs reluctantly left not wanting to upset him further. Adam stayed put just gazing at the picture. Like every photo there was a story behind it. The photo was a true pain to take. At least 4 akumas died and they had to redo the shot around 10 times. Either because Sid was making a scene, or because Road sneezed right in the Earl's face, or because Tanni couldn't himself and snuck a bird into the shot, or because Luciana pushed Sofía out of frame, and don't ever forget the one where they almost made the perfect shot but then Jacques projected a screamer in everyone's head a second before the camera flashed (the list went on). Earl chuckled, at the time he was beyond pissed, but years later it was downright hysterical. He regretted not keeping that picture. And after the photo shoot the entire family fell over with exhaustion vowing to never do another family portrait. Maybe after Neah and Wrathra are reborn they can do another one despite the previous promise. Adam grinned. Yes that would be nice.

He laid on the bed reminiscing more of Neah and the rest of his family as a grin was stuck on his face but then he began to sob when it became overwhelming. Hopefully this time around it'd be different and they can live peacefully, as a true family. He only wished he could convince Neah to drop whatever foolish ambition he has and be by his side- like they were meant to be. Adam fell asleep shortly afterwards.

A/N: If you're wondering what a kalimba sounds like go look up "SaReGaMa - Kalimba solo for Lotus" by SaReGaMa. It's amazing, but I heard kalimbas (they have alternative names to them) are very hard to master. And yeah it's the "weird thing" that Wisely pulled out of the drawer.
For clarification, Past!Adam =/= "Adam" =/= Current!Adam. "Adam" is the noah memory while Adam is the person(s). I try to differ facets of the Millennium Earl's identity as much as I could without being confusing depending on the time and situation. Hence I said Mana last chapter and Adam in this chapter. I don't know what Past!Adam was like but I doubt he was as awful as "Adam" was considering "Adam's" hatred towards Katrina. Hope it clears some stuff up. The noah characters of Tanni, Jacques, Sid, Sofía, and Luciana, along with others will be expanded upon in "Cult of the 14th", so it won't be the last we see of them. I enjoyed writing them and I'm glade to see you guys like them as well.

I'd also like to thank everyone for the favs, follows and reviews! I've been busy so I havn't been able to respond in time. But thank you so much! It means to world to me!

Headcannon- Neah's room was sealed, locked, and hidden away by the Earl after his betrayal and the Earl never had the heart to destroy it or even look at it. He even recreated it when making the new ark, hoping one day the 14th will come home. So somewhere in the old ark there is a room no one can open with drawings from Road and pictures of the old generation of noahs.