Beautiful blonde waves coiled around his fingers, soft skin beneath his lips. Delicate hands gripped and massaged his shoulders, melting him to goo. Simon felt as if his bones from jelly, or as if he never had them. At the same time though, he felt strong, masculine, and touch compared to her slight and soft frame. As he pressed kisses to her face, he slid his hands down from her hair and to her back, feeling her hands move to stroke his Mohawk. She began humming to him and the bell like quality of her voice sent shivers down his spine. He felt his throat close up and he drew in a deep, steadying breath, gripping her tightly by the waist. "Are you gonna cry?" Came Molly's playful voice.
Simon chuckled, swallowing hard and shaking his head. "Nah," He murmured, looking into her eyes. They were deep blue like the night sky, and he smiled. "Why would I? You're alive."
"Because you're a big baby," She laughed, kissing his cheek. "You've always been a sap. You cried at our wedding, you cried when I told you I was pregnant, and you cried when Tavros was born. Name one emotional moment that didn't make you cry."
Simon paused, cupping her cheek in his hand. "I didn't cry at your funeral."
She looked surprised. "Really?"
"Really. I truly believed that you were dead, all of the evidence proved you were gone, but in that church I had to stay strong. For Tavros, you know?"
"You always were the best father," She said pausing for a moment before smiling. She gave him a light shove. "I bet you bawled when you were alone, though."
"Hey, watch it," He said defensively. "I was a wreck without you."
Molly laid her head on his chest. "I tried so hard to get back to you and Tavros, I missed my boys, but I just couldn't get away. Grant had me guarded around the clock."
His grip tightened as the Grand Highblood's terrifying laugher rang in his ears. He knew then that he was scarred for life. That monster would never leave his head. "He's dead," Simon said flatly. "I should track down and kill every last one of those demented little clowns for what they did to you."
"They never harmed me, Simon," Molly told him. "Not once did Grant or a member of his mafia lay a hand on me."
Simon thought about that for a long time. He wouldn't have put it past The Grand Highblood to hurt her just to torture him, but he knew in his heart that he owed her safety to Grant, his childhood friend. He sighed, grieving the loss of his friend. It wasn't the first time. "I wish Grant could have lived to see our kids fall in love," He said after a while. "The kids are crazy about each other."
"Love?" Molly asked, looking up at him, curiosity glittering in her eyes. "My little baby?" She smiled when Simon gave a nod, but then frowned in confusion. "Wait, Grant had a daughter?"
"No, a son actually," He clarified. "But they're in love, I can feel it in my gut."
"That's… so sweet," She gushed.
"Yeah," Simon agreed. "Whatever makes the little punk happy. Where'd he get off to, anyway?"
Molly shrugged, so Simon decided it was time to get out of there. Simon got out of bed and took Molly by the hand, walking to the front desk and checking out of the hospital. He assured the doctors that they were all just fine and needed to be home, together, more than anything else. The first thing they did was look for Tavros. Simon wasn't worried, he almost positive the kid had gone to find Gamzee. When he got the juggalo's flat it was pretty late, so Simon let himself in quietly with the spare key. His suspicions were confirmed. In Gamzee's bedroom, the two teens lay tangled in each other's arms, snoozing peacefully like little angels. Simon smiled affectionately and snick back out, just letting them be. He was years overdue for a little alone time with his wife, anyway. "Is he alright?" Molly asked when Simon returned. "Is he coming home?"
Simon could see the longing in Molly's eyes, he desperation to see her little boy again. He kissed her on the hand. "Not tonight," He replied gently. "Tavros needs a little time. We'll call him home tomorrow, okay?" She looked unsure, so he flashed her a smile. "He's okay, I promise. Gamzee would never let anything happen to him."
Ultimately she sighed, trusting Simon's judgment and agreeing to leave him for the night. When they got home, Molly's eyes filled up with tears and she slowly moved through the house. She touched the walls with a tender affection, she looked at every picture, and she scolded Simon when she found things that were somehow out of place, but just looking at her he knew she had missed the places so much, messes and all. "Our room," She said incredulously. "S-Simon, what happened? Is that blood?"
"I'm no easy abduction," He replied with a wink. Together, they cleaned the place up in no time.
When they work was all finished they both dressed in a pair of Simon's old pajamas. "Is that better?" He asked as they cuddled in bed.
"Almost," She murmured. "You didn't happen to keep my pajamas around, did you?"
Simon rolled his eyes. "You hardly ever wear pajamas." When her only response was batting her long, pale lashes, he sighed and rolled out of bed, ignoring the soreness of his body as he knelt by the dresser. He had always kept most of his clothes in the closet, pajama's included, but most of Molly's clothes belonged in that dresser. He never had the heart to clean it out. "How's this?" He asked, holding out a short red night gown. More often than not Simon wound up taking it off of her when she wore it, but he resolved to behave.
"Perfect," She told him.
Eyes softening, Simon sat by her side, set the nighty down and slowly undressed her, letting his fingers winger over her soft, lightly flushed skin. Every inch of her body was exactly as he remembered it, and he pressed sweet, gentle kisses wherever he could reach. He missed the way she felt, the way she smelled, he had missed everything about her, but he did manage some self-control and helped her into her night dress before pulling her into his arms. For the rest of the night they just held onto each other, whispering overdue "I love yous." Before long they drifted off, and Simon dreamed peacefully, walking up to the smell of home cooked food and the feeling of soft lips at his ear. "Mmm, c'mere," He mumbled, reaching blindly for his wife. She giggled and tried to dance out of his reach, but he gripped her by her waist and pulled her down into the mess of blankets and pillows he was swimming in, pinning her down just to kiss her once, slowly and softly on the lips. "Morning, Molly."
"Good morning, Simon," She laughed. "Our son is home."
"Food on the table?"
"Of course."
"Excellent," He said, pressing a final smooch to her forehead before standing, offering his hand. "Shall we?"
Smiling, she laced her fingers through his and he hoisted her up, leading her into the living room to see Tavros parked by the couch, his past school year books and four shoe boxes full of pictures piled all around him. "We were catching up," Molly explained.
"All alone I see, huh Tav?" Simon teased.
Tavros looked up, nodding sheepishly.
"Go on," Simon laughed. "Go fetch your little boyfriend. Bring him over."
The teen's facial expression went from stunned, embarrassed, to pleased all in about four seconds, then he hurriedly excused himself to go make a phone call. When Gamzee arrived, the four of them gathered around the table for a delicious meal of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs. It took all of about two minutes for molly to take a liking to Gamzee. She gushed over how deeply he cared for Tavros. It was as if the clown had been part of their family all along. After their little brunch they all sat in the living room for a bunch of Disney movies, and though Gamzee snuggled Tavros and seemed cheerful enough, Simon felt those indigo eyes watching him, expression conflicted, grieved, and confused. Simon waved him over, murmuring to Molly that they'd be right back.
Gamzee didn't meet Simon's eyes, so he gave the kid a comforting pat on the back. "Come on, you punk," He said, getting into his car. "There's something I want you to see."
The drive wasn't long. The college campus was only a couple of miles from the high school, and behind it, was a large forest. Simon, Silas, and Grant had hung out in that forest from the beginning, so when Silas died, the forest seemed like the perfect place to bury him. "I know this forest," Gamzee said. "I all up and found Tavros here one day."
Simon nodded, and they hiked silently for a time before finally stopping in a clearing full of wild flowers, the home of two small graves. "Your father and I were close, once," Simon began. "We and our friend Silas Vantas did just about everything together, we started the Mafia together. After a while, though, your father began to change towards us. He killed Silas, and I buried him here in this forest where I friendship began. I knew he'd be at peace here." Simon pointed down to the grave on the right. Then, he looked over at the other. There was an old, rusted unicycle resting there on the tombstone. "The other night in the junkyard, I killed The Grand Highblood, but Gamzee, your dad… I buried Grant Makara here a long time ago, right by Silas, so he could be at peace too, free of that evil that took over his body. Do you understand?"
"You freed him," Gamzee breathed, looking as if the words put him into a trance. His eyes grew misty. "Like my mom said…" Then suddenly, Simon was being squeezed, Gamzee's head on his chest, tears rolling down the young clown's face. "Thank you."
Simon patted his back, hugging tight. "Not a problem, buddy." Hearing Gamzee mention his mother made Simon stop though, looking down. "Your mother…" He said slowly. "That fire that took her life-"
"It freed her, too," Gamzee said firmly. "We were being hurt real bad, she and I, the big man in the house, my dad, he loved her for sure, but… The motherfucker showed it real strange, like. He hurt us real bad, you freed her from all of that."
Simon hadn't looked at it that way before. He smiled, lightly patting Gamzee on the head. "I'm glad."
After that, everything settled into a brand new normality. Gamzee moved in with the Nitrams, and years passed peacefully, playfully, and lovingly. Tavros graduated with a solid three point five grade point average, and when he rolled off of that stage with his diploma, Gamzee lifted him out of his chair and proposed. Molly cried, delighted and overwhelmed, but not nearly as much as Tavros had been. Simon continued being The Summoner, a hero, actually working alongside the police with his own team of nearly one hundred loyal followers. Through physical therapy, Tavros regained complete feeling in his legs, and then through the studies of a junior med student named Equius Zahhak, an opportunity to walk again was presented. Zahhak proposed they surgically implant robotic support inside his legs, giving just the strength he needed. Tavros eagerly agreed to try, and with his whole family there the whole time, he entered surgery.
He came out of it like a champ, there had been no complications, and after a short recovery, they informed him that he'd be able to take his first steps with the help of only a little brown crutch. Instead of getting up right then and there, walking home, and ditching that chair forever, Tavros chose to wait, foot constantly tapping. "I think you're attached to that chair," Simon had teased him over dinner. "You just won't admit it."
But that wasn't it at all. When everyone else was asleep that night, Tavros snuck out of Gamzee's arms and into his chair, grabbing his new crutch and rolling effortlessly out the back door. He looked up at the sky. The star he liked to imagine would lead him to Neverland sparkled bright, glowing stronger, it seemed, than every other in sight. He hadn't really looked at it since that day in the forest, and so much had happened in his life since then, but nothing about that star changed at all. The star used to be what had given him his confidence, and as he started to smile he realized that it still did. With slow, measured movements, Tavros set both feet on the ground and took the crutch from his lap, using it to rise up. He felt tall, strong, and over joyed. He stretched his back and legs, hobbling through the yard on his own two feet. His laughter rang out and he grinned up at the sky. Suddenly, everything positive was at the very front of his mind. Finally walking felt amazing, but learning to stand had felt so much better.

THE END