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Marche was the first one awake, and had trouble getting out of the stack of blankets on top of him. Once he was freed, he groggily made his way to the bathroom and went to the sink to splash some water on his face.
Home.
He smiled and ran his hand through his hair. He felt right with the world and understood that his friends didn’t hate him and that maybe, maybe they were glad that he brought them back, because it made them appreciate this world all the more. He looked up at himself in the mirror at his face, his skin as smooth and healthy as it always was. He rubbed his hand across his cheeks and thought back to how he had gotten his jaw broken and his body destroyed in the dream Ival-
No . . . in the Gran Grimoire.
He wasn’t sure why he knew that, but he did. He had memories of learning the name somewhere . . . but he couldn’t remember where.
He chuckled and shook the notion away and headed back to his bedroom, where his friends were lounging on the floor and Doned in his wheelchair. He walked to Mewt and put a pillow beneath his head then picked Ritz up, amazed at how light she was, and put her on his bed. As he did, he noticed the Grimoire lying on the bed. He picked it up and tried to open it, but it wouldn’t open. Upon further investigation, Marche noticed that the inside, what once was paper, was now completely stone. He shook his head at it and put it back on the bed. He looked at Ritz and Mewt again and then smiled and turned around to see Doned awake and looking up at Marche from his chair.
“Doned,” Marche said. “Hi.”
Doned didn’t say anything, but Marche could see tears in his brother’s eyes. In a effortless motion, Doned wheeled forward enough to knock knees with Marche then lean forward to hug him, crying into his abdomen.
Marche opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but he heard a laugh in Doned’s tears and smiled.
Thanks, Doned, he thought, and wrapped his arms around Doned’s head to return the hug. He leaned down to rest his forehead on his brother’s head.
Thank you.
And they sat like that until the sun outside started to rise, the morning light looking very much like heaven’s gates.
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