"What's a little scar? It'll fade eventually."

Welcome Home...

(Tw... Swearing. :3)

**I've started school... So yeah. That's cool ig. I also lied and I'm still in the city we're just at the slight edges of it but the bills or whatever are CRAZY so don't buy a small 1 story house on the edges of NYC. Move to like Texas or smth. SHIT I SAID THAT THIS CHAPTER WOULD HAVE BOTH OF THEM DIDN'T I..? Well uh uifebvkl;swnabvlafsnb// JUST DON"T READ THIS OR WHATEVER I'M WRITING IT DURING OUR 30 MINUTE LUNCH AND I DON'T HAVE THE TIME NOR THE PATIENCE TO DO FLUFF. THIS IS NOT BETA READ, TO HELL WITH THAT. Maybe I'll do fluff at the end when I'm not sitting in the cafeteria of hell with a bunch of high schoolers who put the "drugs" in high school. -Ezra. :3 **

KEY: "|||" Means start/end of the "flashback" section.

"---" Means time passing or a transition.

After the "Fire" incident, Ein was placed in an orphanage as he had no known living relatives. Idk how this works, cause I did have a living relative, but trust the process?

||| He was sad.

He was always sad, it seemed, since he had come out of that building.

First, he went to a police station.

It felt like smoke and blood and ash, and everyone at the station gave him pitying looks. He didn't like the station.

Then, the police took him to an orphanage.

It felt like coldness and neglect and emptiness, and everyone at the orphanage gave him pitying looks. He didn't like the orphanage.

Soon, the Caretakers took him to a foster home.

It felt warm and loving and stable, and there were no pitying looks. There was an old woman who smiled at him, and told him to call her Amber. Amber made cookies with him on the first day he was there. He liked the foster home.

---

Days passed, then weeks. He liked this house. He missed his mom. Amber was nice. She owned a cat named Ira. But he missed his mom. Weeks passed, then months. He liked his home. He missed his mom. Ira slept in his lap while he was watching tv, and Amber taught him how to bake a cake. Amber homeschooled him, which he liked. But he missed his mom. Months passed, and then.

Then.

Then everything went wrong.

---

He was sat on the couch in the living room, reading some throw away love story. The couch was his favorite place in the house. It was blue, but not one of the ugly, neon blues- it was soft and dark, almost indigo. The cushions were all plush and soft purple, and there were enough hand-knitted quilts to make an identical sky blue couch right next to this one. His favorite part, though, was the window- giant and bright and open, always open. Amber let him keep it open. Amber was a good... parental figure? Caretaker? Mother? He wasn't sure, but she was good.

There was a knock at the door, which was weird because Amber never had anyone over. So maybe it was a package. He looked back down at the pages, where a heart-felt sob worthy backstory was taking up, like, A WHOLE CHAPTER. (I know from experience man this sucks)

But then there was another, louder knock.

He sighed, got up, and moved towards the door, baby-blue quilt wrapped around him like a cape. Shame he forgot to add a book mark to keep his place... and then.

"Police, open up!"

Smoke. Smoke clouding his mind, reaching through the cracks, infesting his thoughts, leaking through the doors-

"If you don't open the door, we'll break it down."

He darted to the door, abandoning the blanket as he shook smoke from his mind. It was fine. It was going to be Fine.

"Hel-lo?" His voice cracked halfway through and he winced as he opened the door. It was just an inspection, or something. Fine. It would be fine. Clear skies.

A tall, dark haired man in the signature blue police uniform- neon, why was it always NEON?- Stood in front of the doorway, looking down with a confused expression.

"There shouldn't be any kids here. What are you doing? The suspect lives alone."

"..Suspect?" What did that mean? It didn't sound like a routine inspection. Also, what did the cop mean, 'lives alone?' He had been living here for the better part of the year. Amber had the paperwork to prove it, stashed away somewhere.

"Yes, we're here to investigate the person living at 1234 John Doe of Houses Drive on the charges of fraud, assulting an officer, and escaping arrest. Do you know anything about that kid?"

He blinked. Once, twice. And then, he passed out in the entrance of his home. |||

---

He sighed as he finished recalling that story. He could tell Pierce what happened next another time, when he wasn't pressed up against the bathroom wall with tear tracks staining his cheeks and snot running down his nose.

His boyfriend hugged him close to his chest, murmuring something he couldn't quite make out. Finally, he caught something; "It's alright, dear, it's alright. You're here now, you're ok. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

The next thing he knew, a tissue had been dabbed at his cheeks and he was being carried, bridal style, into their shared bedroom.

"Sleep, love. It's alright, I've got you."

**Eh... yeah. That's it, that's the second chapter. And I did end up adding some fluff at the end because it's late and I can't sleep. Take this, you little gremlins of the Ein x Pierce Community. Take it and let me retreat to the procrastinating author's cave with my soul mostly intact, I bbeg of thee. Anyway, let me know what you think!! I was so tired the entire time I was writing this cause I had a panic attack last night and couldn't sleep for the whole time but uh- :D Anyways!! Thanks so much for reading, I think I have another chapter in my notes app... Somewhere? Idk, I'll find it. I SHOULD get it out by like... Next week or the week after? Idk I have a poor uploading schedule. See you later!! *Insert Miraculous Ladybug outro music***

Total Word Count: 1025 (I'm so done, only 1025 like wtf Wattpad)