“I’ve been waiting for eons. Plotting, preparing, and building up my forces. When I felt the link form, I khat the time finally had e, the perfect opportunity. It would take time, I khat, but soon the day would e when I finally escaped this prison of mine a my rage burn the world HE created... By the Void, what a wonderful day it will be.”

  ~ Unknown, Edies ago

  In the end, Leo’s run might have taken a bit too long. The moment he rushed baside his house, he had barely ten mio spare before the meeting.

  No more all-nighters or waking up at one pm, Leo growled as he jumped uhe shower and in a record time ed himself of all the filth that gathered on him during the day.

  Looking in the mirror, Leo rolled his gray eyes wheiced that just like always his short hair somehow mao look like shit after a shower. With no time to fix the mess, Leo just ran a hand through his hair a few times ao put his clothes on.

  The doorbell eg through the house crushed any hopes of being ready in time. Leo cursed and quickly shoved the shirt over his head. This oime you just had to be on time. Someone up there really hates me.

  Dashing towards the sound, Leo swung the door open, his gaze hardening at the sight of a tall man with shraying hair. The two men standing at opposite sides were almost the exact copies of one ahe only difference was Leo’s slightly shorter stature and a bit softer facial features.

  “Leo, how ar...” The man stopped suddenly, taking notice of Leo’s disheveled state. “Is it the wrong time? We reschedule if you’re busy.”

  C a bit, Leo scowled, “Nothing like that Edward, my run just took a bit lohan expected. e in.”

  Ign Edward’s slight grimace at the use of his name, Leo waited for the man to put away his coat before leading him into the living room.

  “I’m afraid, I ’t offer you anything to eat. Like I said, I was running a bit te. Still, I do coffee or tea,” Leo offered, barely sparing the man a gnce.

  Edward waved him off, “Not a problem. I already ate, though I will never say no to coffee, I had a long day.”

  Try a long week, Leo grumbled internally with a sigh as he entered his kit through the doorless archway and thanked whoever desighe house that Edward couldn’t see him from the living room.

  Taking in a few calming breaths, Leo leaned against the fridge and closed his eyes. e on, you just promised Lily that you would at least try. Don’t take your annoya on him when he didn’t even deserve it.

  Finally, the coffee mae buzzed and Leo quickly poured two full cups. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the small frown away a back to the living room.

  “Here you go,” Leo murmured, passing over the coffee and taking a seat across the small table.

  A slightly unfortable silence fell upon the room as the two sipped their drink. Leo might have decided to go a bit easier on his father, but it didn’t mean that he would start the versation. Not when they didn’t see each other for almost a month.

  Thankfully after a minute or two, Edward broke the silence, “I see you still didn’t ge anything in the house,” he said, gng at the brightly colored walls and slightly outdated furniture.

  And indeed, ever since Leo received this house from Edward half a year ago, he did nothing to alter its general interior. Well apart from a few small ges to his bedroom and kit.

  Not giving aion away, Leo gazed at the cup in his hands, “Why would I? Mom always loved everything here. It helps me remember her. To touything would destroy the memories I have.”

  “I’m gd,” Edward replied, chug lightly. “When I bought this house and gave Menia free reign on designing the interior, she went all out. We never did any big renovations when we lived in the US so this became her real pyground. Though I still think that those colors don’t mix well with each other.”

  Leed, “I like it.” Although maybe ‘like’ was a bit to of a word. Rather it could be much worse. Besides, some childish part of Leo still wao disagree with everything Edward said. Old habits die hard…

  “Whatever suits you,” Edward replied and almost instantly went for a ge in the subject.

  The man definitely could read the room better than most people Leo knew. Any attempt at eveioning Leo’s deceased mother ended either in an argument or a very quick finish to their meeting.

  “How is your woing? I couldn’t get a hand on your stories in the past few weeks.”

  Good choice, Leo mused as he couldn’t stop the small smirk that formed on his face. He took pride in his aplishments. Especially when just a few years back his future looked quite bleak.

  As such Leo just leaned bad replied casually, “Good, very good. The editor says that if I tinue like that, I might get a promotion soon.”

  “You deserve it, Leo,” Edward smiled. “You worked hard. However, I’m sure that the little Hale hellion was also the main factor in your success. I have aken you for a writer in the past.”

  Because you don’t know me, Leo wao say but stopped at the st sed. o make this versation even worse than it already was.

  “I ’t deny that,” Leo instead replied stiffly. After a month without a meeting, he almost fot how hard it was to carry on a normal versation with his father. It sometimes reminded Leo of a dance, a dan a field full of ndmines. Step on one and the entire meeting could go up in fmes.

  Just calm down and try, Leo repeated while another part of him, the one he had been trying to kill for years, instantly objected. Why should I? He didn’t care when I needed him. He didn’t even care to speak with me, before leaving for years.

  It was always the same thing, two sides stantly waging war against each other. One fueled by Lily’s persistend the desire to have his father back. While Leo’s deep rese, stubbornness, and ability to hold a grudge sparked the fmes of the other side.

  Still, I promised.

  And so Leo extehe olive branch. Probably the first and, depending on how well the rest of the versatio, the st one.

  “So where have you been for the st month,” Leo offered. “I got your notice saying that you had to eetings, but it didn’t expin why.”

  Edward wihe st part definitely came out like an accusation, Leo didn’t even have to try. Way to put a foot in your mouth… Stubborn fool.

  “I’m sorry. I should have called you,” Edward’s shoulders slumped. “I had to leave out of the blue. My pany needed someoo finish a few deals with tractors in the US and the responsibility fell on me. For almost two weeks I was stantly iings or pnning things through phone calls. God knows why I even agreed to go…”

  That expined a lot. Edward was just as passionate about his job as Leo was when he first began. In addition, from what Leo gathered from his foster parents, the man used his job as a way to deal with problems. Not healthy, but Leo couldn’t fault him, not after everything he did in the past.

  Wait a sed, Leo’s eyes narrowed. “Two weeks?”

  Edward sighed, probably expeg the question, “I fihe st deal in Colorado, quite close to our old home.”

  Oh…

  They alked about the small house they left behind in the US. Not before the act and definitely not after. To hear Edward mention it now was surprising to say at least.

  Leo sighed, eyes closed. His mind traveled back to those better times wheill lived in the US. Back when his mother always waited for him to e back from school. Back when his biggest worry was homework. Back when his mother was still alive…

  Eyes opening, Leo’s gaze instantly sowards a small dresser where a lone photo sat.

  An image of a short blond-haired woman, smiling widely towards the camera, stared back at him. Her deep blue eyes shoh love as she gazed at the small child of ten in her arms.

  Leo blinked when he felt somethiravel down his cheek. Why now?

  It had been a while since he went down such a memory ne and Leo definitely didn’t pn to ti now. Not when Edward was just a few meters away.

  Quickly wiping the loear, Leo cleared his throat. “I thought you sold the house,” he stated, his voice barely a whisper.

  Edward looked like he wao address Leo’s previous rea, but thought better of it. They both khat nothing good would e out of that versation.

  “Just like with this house, I couldn’t. It just stood there empty. Degrading with every year of unuse.” Edward replied, taking another sip of the coffee that robably already cold at this point.

  “You know, I never found enough ce to go baot when it held so many memories,” he tinued, staring at ay space. ”But when I was so close I just told myself, ‘It is now or never, you probably won’t get another ce’.”

  Leo stilled. This versation was being a bit too emotional for his liking. Even then, not once did he try to stop Edward from tinuing. No, Leo had to know what made his father stay. Besides, the man talked like he was in some sort of trance.

  “When I arrived there, the house was barely habitable. I should have gone ba that moment, but I didn’t,” he chuckled. “Instead I called some time off work and just tried to fix that mess.”

  Edward stopped, but Leo wanted, no, he had to know more. “Why?” Only a single word a, it had the power to unravel so mas.

  The man refused to meet Leo’s gaze, “Because, son, for the first time in years, I found a pce that felt like home. A home that I didn't want to leave.”

  What?

  Leo’s eyes widened slightly, he didn’t realize that his father had such a problem. He thought that Edward found a new pce to call home a long time ago, just like Leo did with his foster family.

  Apparently he was wrong. Very wrong.

  And just like that, a realization hit Leo like a herd of running bulls. “You’re moving there.” It wasn’t a question, only a pure statement. A statement that they both ko be true.

  If Edreviously refused to meet Leo's gaze, now he ht avoided even looking in his dire.

  “I’m sorry,” Edward uttered, his head hung low. “It might seem like I’m abandoning you again, but I have to do this. Please know that there will always be a pce for you there. After all, it’s your home too.”

  Leo barely held his scowl while his fists ched uhe table. Not because Edward was leaving once again. Hell, anyone who khe man uood that he deserved a ove on. Just like Leo did.

  No, what made his blood boil was the fact that Edward still couldn't say it to Leo’s face. Just like always. Running or hiding away wheuation became too heated.

  Stubborn fool, I might be. But you father, you’ll always be a coward.

  Leo sighed, the heat of the moment evaporating like boiled water. What was the sense ing over something he knew for years? Why did it always hurt the same?

  “I uand,” Leo stated, refusing to say more.

  And so they just sat there. Leo tried to drill holes in his father with the power of sight alone, while Edward’s gaze refused to move even an inch away from the empty cup. Leo attempted to say something, to maybe finally put ao their decade-long issue, but he couldn’t.

  Each time, his mouth opened, words refused to form. The nagging of his mind just wouldn’t let Leo do what had to be done. Edward should be the oo put ao this. Not me.

  Once again, the past had defeated on sense.

  Maybe it’s for the best. Leo snapped his gaze away from Edward and tried to find anything to occupy his thoughts with.

  It was not to be as Edward’s movement caught his attention again.

  “I think it's time for me,” the man announced as he stood up. “Do you mind if I use the bathroom before I go?”

  Of course, you would run, Leo masked the shake of his head with a nod. “You know the way.”

  As Edward disappeared into the corridor, Leo squashed the urge to punch the table with all his might and just meically collected the empty cups.

  In the end, maybe we’re both cowards, father. Scared of fronting our fears. Worried that if it doesn’t work then our retionship will break just like it did all those years ago. Leo sighed as he ehe kit. After all, it’s better to keep what we have now, no matter how bad it is, than risk losing each ain.

  Absently, Leo put the cups into the dishwasher and leaned on the ter, right in front of a window. He took a few deep breaths and tried to clear his mind, just like after each meeting.

  His thoughts might have raged like a tornado inside his mind, but even that couldn’t stop his eyes from widening just a bit as his gaze stopped at a particur object.

  “What, the…” He muttered and leaned forward, thoughts halting for a sed.

  There in the sky, a small orb of dark red light hung. As if awakened by Leo’s gaze, it expanded, slowly ing more and more of the cloudless sky. Its quest didn't stop there. Instead, the light turowards the Earth, slowly desding like a vengeful angel.

  Eyes wide a hammering in his chest, Leo could do nothing but gasp as the light slid through the walls like a ghost and engulfed everything around him. Nothing ared.

  He fell to the floor, twitg and screaming as something invaded his body, burning him from the i.

  Through the pain, Leo heard more screams pierce the air. They were muffled, barely audible. Leo didn’t know where they came from, nor did he care. Not when his mind refused to focus on anything other than the red light and the inferno that threateo e his whole body.

  Leo didn’t know how lohrashed on the floor, howling like a madman and probably losing his voi the process. But when the pain disappeared like it was here, he had eyes for only two things before the world went dark.

  The dark red light that fell through the kit window and a few lines of text hanging in front of his vision.

  Universe No. 435 colpsed.

  The First Cataclysm of the 64th Outbreak is beginning.

  Survivor of the 237th Universe, prepare yourself.