Crown of Pride

Four

Valentine groaned as he turned over in his bed, he slammed his hand against the alarm just as the door opened and the light patter of footsteps entered his ears. He sat up just in time to see a small pink bundle jump onto his bed and effectively land on him.

The breath was knocked out of him, he fell back as his little sister wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the gesture with a lot more tenderness than the five year old clinging to him.

Valentine chuckled, "Iz, get off, you heavy little leprechaun!"

"Okie!" His little sister chirped and sat up. Her black hair was tied into pigtails, a sign that their mother was already awake, "Moma said breakfast is ready!"

"Tell her I'll be down in a minute," he grinned at her. She chuckled before leaving the room with a skip in her step.

With a sigh Valentine kicked his legs over the edge of the bed. He rubbed his face as he walked to the bathroom, he stared at his reflection for a second before ducking and washing his face. When he looked back up, he let out a startled curse. It was Mal staring at him with an unimpressed eyebrow.

To say the least, the demon was unamused.

"What is it?"

Mal crossed his arms again and gestured towards the bathroom door with a tilt of his head, “food’s getting cold.”

Valentine rolled his eyes then left, leaving the demon staring after him. The boy jogged down the stairs, he kissed his mother, Clarissa, on the forehead and mumbled a quick good morning to his stepfather who was reading the local news. His eyes drifted to the front cover where the burning remains of a car was displayed. He swallowed thickly before sitting down. His mother came and joined them after putting the frying pan of Pigs In A Blanket in the middle, Valentine took two first, seeming as everyone was still fussing about but he was patient enough to wait. He watched as his mother helped his baby sister into the chair and put some food on her plate, then he turned to John who closed the paper with a slow crinkle and put it down before serving himself, the lively chatter of Mickey Mouse playing in the background caused Isabelle to giggle. A soft smile spread on his lips as he watched them, he tucked into his breakfast with that same smile lasting on his face the whole of the morning.

By midday, the calm and euphoria of the morning was gone, replaced by frantic hurried movements and packing. Valentine found himself rummaging through his closet looking for something nice to wear while Mal stood in place of his reflection, he was fiddling with a brass bracelet while watching Valentine run around the room and throw things onto the bed with barely hidden amusement. The boy made a noise of triumph and pulled out a denim shirt and black jeans, he quickly threw them on and turned to Mal with his arms spread. The demon took a visible step back.

Valentine rolled his eyes playfully and dropped his arms to the side,  “don’t worry, I’m not going to hug you and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. But that’s besides the point. How do I look?”

Mal glanced at him before looking back down at his bracelet and proceeding to fiddle with it, “Nice.”

“Nice? Really?” Valentine raised his eyebrows in question, “am I only ever gonna get one word answers?”

Mal sighed and dropped his arms before crossing them over his chest, “What else do you want me to say?” The demon paused for a second before continuing in a higher pitched voice and an arm over his forehead, sarcasm dripped from every word, “‘Oh, Valentine, you’re so handsome all the girls are going to swoon over you!’”

The blue haired teen snorted and walked away to finish packing, “Actually, yes, that is what I wanted to hear.”

“Where are you going anyway?”