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There was no easy way to do this.

A dozen plans and flowcharts all mapped out in a notebook and nothing seemed to end favorably for either of them. Thackery could not, of course, actually foresee what would happen in each instance, but he could guess. And all of his guesses led to tears or bloodshed (or some really weird things in between that he felt uncomfortable writing down).

He sighed heavily and flopped over backwards on his bed, head hanging off of the side. Maybe if everything slid to his head he could think better...

By complete coincidence that had nothing to do with the terrible plan of letting all of his brilliance run into his head, he remembered something. Something that just might work.



Whoops, capitalized the whole thing instead of just the first letter of his name. Hopefully he would still get the point.

While waiting for a response, Thackery did nothing but hold his phone in both hands, staring expectantly down at it. He passed the time at first by counting the seconds, eventually opting (once he lost count) to untie and tie a charm through the little plastic loop on the side of his phone over and over again. Remi was probably busy, he convinced himself; after all, he was both a kitsune and Remi. Maybe he had whole calenders full of things to do and demons to see. The fact that he'd neither run into a scheduling conflict or ever actually seen Remi write things down on a calendar before was, somehow, an unimportant detail in all of his musings.

By the time the notification of a new text came through, he was so caught up in thinking up excuses for the boil that he forgot he'd been waiting for it. He watched the message icon blink, dumbfounded, as if he'd forgotten what the little device in his palm was for.

Oh! Right!

The message, once read, was at the receiving end of another blank look. Where? He hadn't actually thought of that part. And even if he had, by now it was lost under all of the assumptions that he wouldn't be free today.

He made a face full of uncertainty and rigidly replied, dropping the phone into his lap when he'd finished.

It was only a matter of time before he really messed this up. Maybe he already had.

A double acceptance and a reversal. Thackery turned the phone over in his hands and chewed his lip, idly poking at the screen, despite the fact that none of that would help him figure out what to do right now. With a nervous little sigh, he pocketed his phone and slid from his bed, already combing his fingers through his hair as he moved towards the mirror.

If he didn't know what he was doing, he could at least look good.

He pulled on a fresh shirt and his favorite pair of boots, took one last look at the mirror, and hurried out the door, hoping he wouldn't keep Remi waiting.

---

The maul was just busy enough for a steady hum of conversation, but not bustling and full of students and shoppers today. Thackery wasn't sure if he should worry about the lack of distractions or be grateful that there would be fewer things to focus on; what if their conversation fell into silence? What if he didn't know what to say?

His ears were a little droopy by the time he started searching for Remi. He never thought he'd feel awkward in a crowd, but he felt he stuck out, like he didn't belong around them. Passing through the sparse crowd, he found himself hoping that the feeling would go away when he found who he was looking for. He couldn't imagine considering him a stranger.

The sound of someone speaking wasn't such an odd thing for the maul, but the inquiry still caught Thackery's attention, the familiarity of Remi's voice soothing through the chaos in his mind. There were a million words in the answer to his question, and they all wanted to come out at once. He felt a little sick. There was nothing that seemed right to say. 'Hi' wouldn't really cut it, and saying too much might scare him away, and...

He needed a hug. He needed one, but he couldn't touch him without asking first, and really it was impolite anyway, and Remi probably didn't want--

But the whole reason he 'bought' him for a day was to avoid thinking like that, he reminded himself. They were equal now. He drew in a deep breath through his teeth and stretched up to wrap his arms around the kitsune in a shaky embrace, face smushed into his shoulder.

"I'm sorrryyy," he cried against him, clinging desperately to the back of his hoodie.

After all the things that happened beyond his control, Remi was apologizing to him. Thackery felt a tightness in his chest. All this time he'd seen him as someone to be admired, someone whose needs he was meant to serve (or what he imagined his needs might be, since the kitsune never really asked anything of him), but these were words and a hug of something more than that. Something more caring than Cerberus history allowed.

"It's just that I...he...told me a whole lot of things and I think that I--" He paused and made a face, frustrated that even he couldn't keep the fragment separate from his existence in this world. "Everything was really awful and I feel really awful and I don't want anyone to feel bad. I don't think he wanted anyone to feel bad either...just to be happy and stuff. I'm sorry things couldn't be happy, too."

Not really what he'd planned to say, but it was honest, at least. He glanced up at him, then quickly down to his feet, ashamed that he still didn't know what the right apologies were. He didn't want to lie, but telling everyone he'd wronged, looking into the eyes of someone he cared about and admitting that some of things that happened were things he kind of wished would happen...how could they forgive him for that? The fragment told him how that ended up the first time. And he didn't get a do-over this time.

"If you don't wanna be around me any more after today, I understand. It's okay." It made sense that any of them in the Kingdom of Reflection would be repelled by his presence, even if it would hurt if it happened.

It wasn't him. Thackery spent so much time reminding himself of that, knowing that the two of them were, technically, separate entities though they'd joined in some weird way he couldn't really understand. He'd told himself that, should he ever find himself wearing a crown again, he wouldn't be the same. It took so much convincing that he'd worried nobody else might feel the same way, but this meant he was wrong. This meant that he could maybe worry a little less. He felt himself slowly able to relax, the tip of his tail finally beginning to wag with a hint of contentment.

"That makes sense. I don't want to give all the blame away, and there were some things, especially some good things, that I might have done, but...maybe...if we have to think about it, we can try to just think of the good stuff? Like a happy dream?" He knew it was far easier said than done, but it was worth trying. He sure wished it would work that way.

At the word 'stupid', his ears went back, eyes flashing with hurt...until he listened to the explanation that followed, and the relaxed tail-wagging started up again.

"I know it might seem kinda weird, and maybe something you wouldn't wanna hear but..." He frowned, considering the best way to phrase what he meant. "Even after all the things that happened, and I think even when he came to talk to me, he still loved you. Or the other Remi. Or maybe both of you - I dunno. And if he can forgive you, you've gotta know that I definitely can. Because you'll always be the better Remi, and I'll always be the better Thackery." He paused to smile playfully up at him.

"Right?"

If there was any real sentient fragment left of King Thackery in the real Thackery's body, he might have exploded with contentment at Remi's words, because one could always know, but never really know until they heard it from the one source that really mattered. Still, it resonated with the boil in this world, it meant something, and in the center of himself he felt a little warmer than usual.

He thought that he'd asked he did?, but the question never made it out, choked back with that first set of brimming tears that he refused to let Remi see.

"I...I am?" That one was audible, if only barely so, and with another deep breath and a hopeful smile everything felt right again. Except maybe a little better than 'right' had ever felt before.

Any awkward feelings went completely ignored (and heavily contributed to) by Thackery, who just kept smiling that silly, happy smile up at him. It seemed as if he might just keep looking at him like that for an eternity, but one very important word jarred him from his floaty state.

"Shopping? You want me to pick out clothes with you? And for you? And stuff?" Somehow, in all of his terrible logic, this was just the icing on the cake of this situation. His eyes were full of excitement, and seemed to almost sparkle - or maybe that was just the glossiness left over from his almost-tears.