Hanahaki

Exposed

A few days passed and Anti finally seemed to be recovering from the battle. Of course, even with his healing wounds, he looked more pale and sickly than usual. Since he hadn't bothered to adjust his appearance, he looked more like a corpse of Seán than anything. But he could honestly care less. Dark was seemingly avoiding him for some reason, simply coming over to do his job as a chef rather than being a babysitter.

Honestly, Anti hated the quiet that passed through the house every second either Dark or Henrik wasn't present. It scared him at times, as his sharp ears would pick up every little sound- no matter if it came from outside or not, it would always freak him out and cause him to glitch in panic. He wished he'd just decided to go with Jack and the others to America. But he'd probably being seeing even more of Dark that way, since even though he managed cooking for Anti, he still had his own role back at his own home.

So Anti simply absorbed his time eating, sleeping, and watching TV; basically his schedule everyday and all day since he can remember. Or rather, since he stopped trying to murder Jack every second he got. Sorting through the shows with a flick of his wrist, he sighed softly at the garbage content. He didn't know why he wouldn't turn on something from Netflix or Hulu, or heck, even YouTube. Anything would be better than the crap on cable.

Suddenly, however, his motions halted, and his eyes swirled their forest tone as he stared into the glass. It was a news station- a channel full of fakes and lies- but what caught his attention was the story being broadcasted. He froze, tensing upon seeing his fight on full display, being recorded from a phone in the crowd. Luckily, Anti's face seemed to be shielded by the cap he was wearing, but his body was on full display. He watched in horror as Saleos disappeared, before Dark raced out of the crowd, took Anti in his arms, and vanished as well.

The news anchor spoke as the video ended, "The employees at the parks say that this particular fight wasn't a stunt from Disney, nor something that has happened in all of its history. We haven't come into contact with either of the three, and we don't know if they are still alive. After asking a few witnesses, all say that the attack came fairly out of nowhere, and a few heard this green-haired victim telling his supposed boyfriend they should leave, seemingly expecting the attacker. Currently, the case is under investigation by the L.A.P.D, where these criminals will soon be caught. This is Julia Michaleson, signing off."

Anti swallowed as he snapped his fingers, the TV shutting off. He leaned back against the couch, breathing heavily with fear. He knew they'd probably go after Chase first. After all, it's his cap Anti had borrowed- and Chase fit the part fairly well. Besides, Anti was still in Brighton, so they couldn't possibly suspect him or Henrik. Unless... unless they suspect he was able to fly all the way to Brighton in a matter of a few days. Then they could come after anybody.

Anti jumped as he heard the familiar ring of his cellphone from his back pocket. Hesitantly, he grabbed it and checked the Caller ID. Of course it was the magician. Hesitantly placing it up to his ear, he answered. Shakily, he mumbled, "Hey Marv... How's America...?"

"ANTI YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT! Do you even realize how many spells I had to place on Seán so that he wouldn't worry?! Heck, he's already getting a thousand messages and dms about it! Not only that, but Dark won't say a word about what happened! Now explain to me why I just saw you fighting another demon on global television!" Marvin screeched, and Anti, who was holding the phone away from his face, put it back to his ear after the yelling had ceased.

"Marvin... please understand... I swear I didn't want to fight in public like that... it's just... well... When Saleos showed up I didn't know what to do!" Anti shouted, tearing up. Marvin seemed to pause questioningly, "I'm sorry... did you say Saleos? Like... your abusive ex? That Saleos?! Anti, you swore to us all that you'd gotten rid of him! I may not be one to care about your relationships, but why didn't you just call me! I could've teleported over and stopped this whole ordeal!"

"But you couldn't just do that... You can't get involved in a demon's love life. It's been a law for centuries... if you broke the rules and stepped in to try and kill him..." Anti trailed off, not wanting to think about what might've happened if Dark had stepped in that day. Marvin sighed, getting the point, "Alright, alright. Look, Chase is really worried about what's happened- especially since he looks the most like your disguise."

"I'm sorry..." Anti whispered into the phone's receiver. Marvin inhaled deeply, "It's fine... Okay, look. I'm not able to teleport any of us back home. It'll be more suspicious if suddenly Seán was back in Brighton making videos. There's no way to fix this, so we're just going to have to deal with the consequences. If anything happens, I'll call you. Just promise no more public appearances."

"I promise." Anti muttered. Both quickly said their goodbyes before they hung up. Placing his phone on the couch, Anti took a pillow and clutched it tightly to his chest. Staring up at the ceiling, he tried to stop the tears pricking in his eyes, but he knew that all this was caused because of his past failures. Quietly, he mumbled, "Malcom... I miss you..."

Putting his hand in front of his face, he glitched slightly and watched as a ring formed on his finger. He watched as the black diamond in the center swirled a neon green. Adjusting himself so he was now laying down, he held his hand close his chest and slowly began to fall asleep.

~Time Skip~

Henrik sadly watched his brother's chest rise and fall, holding the ring he'd gotten from his fiancé close to his chest. It was one of those particular days where Anti was missing Malcom dearly. It wasn't surprising today was one of those days. Honestly, Henrik was surprised he wasn't like this sooner after the fight he'd had with Saleos.

Malcom was the only demon outside all the egos that Henrik could tolerate. He seemed to truly love Anti at the time, and never abused any of them. That was a time where Anti had the least wounds- and for those few years they'd been together, they'd been such a wonderful couple. But... Malcom was gone now. He'd never come back, and Anti refused to accept that.

Henrik shook his head, kneeling down and stroking a hand through Anti's fluff of hair, "You'll be okay, brozher... Zhere is somebody out zhere for you. In zhe meantime, trust zhat ve vill protect you. Vell... guten nacht Anti... Sleep well..."