anyone but you

by shallowbay

Summary:

"Dagbert seems pretty harmless now," Tancred told them. "I think he's changed. There's nothing weird about him now. He doesn't even smell fishy." Was it true? Who cares. Either way, the zeros on Tancred's skin were holding him to Dagbert at gunpoint. He didn't like Dagbert. He didn't want this. But between this and nothing, it was better than nothing.

aka soulmate au but soulmates suck. dont take this fic seriously.
sorry Tanc fans, I massacred your boy

Chapter 1

Dagbert thought it was rather cruel of the universe to wait so long before introducing him to his soulmate. Here he was, nearly twelve years old and almost at the end of his life. Unless he somehow managed to kill his father, that is. His confidence around that rose and fell, one day feeling so certain he'd survive and the next day writing out a pitifully empty will.

Lord Grimwald didn't mind that Dagbert was about to get a girlfriend (or whatever - gender didn't matter to either of them). The glowing timer on every body was fate's doing, and nobody had ever fought fate and won.  Holding off on sending Dagbert to Bloor's would have just made fate twist around that to deliver Dagbert to his other half some other way - meeting in the street, his soulmate taking a vacation, a wrong number dialed, or so on. This love was as inevitable as the death of a Grimwald. If Lord Grimwald had to kill two kids instead of one, just like his grandfather, he was convinced he could do it.  

The day came, and Dagbert walked into the King's Room feeling apprehensive and excited. For most people, meeting your soulmate at eleven is early, but for Dagbert it felt like a last minute pity gift at the end of his likely short life. He couldn't help but wonder if he was meeting them now because he wouldn't be able to meet them later.

Trying to push away the thought, he took a deep breath and walked into the room.

Chapter 2

Tancred Torsson knew his heart was a goddamn liar. Not in the usual way, but in the way that it kept ticking down even though Tancred had already met Lysander years ago.

Lysander was his soulmate. He didn't have a single doubt in his mind. They were best friends, each knowing the other better than he knew himself and deeply bonded over simply loving each other.

Lysander, ever logical, disagreed. He had always said that if they were meant to be, their timers would have stopped. They had to just be friends, for their soulmate's sake. Tancred didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do but sit around waiting for his alleged "real" soulmate.

Then he met Dagbert.

Tancred could admit Dagbert was cute, in an unconventional way. He had pretty eyes and the row of sharp teeth in his grin was cool. But he wasn't Lysander. Nothing about Dagbert was as warm, or comforting, or familiar. Not like Lysander. Not like any human.

But Tancred was good natured and he wanted to make the best of it. Maybe this strange boy really would be someone he'd want to share the rest of his life with. Maybe they were an even better match than Tancred and Lysander.

As time went on, Tancred began to doubt it.

Nobody else liked Dagbert except the evil kids. Tancred had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of them being the company Dagbert chose.

Then Dagbert started insulting his friends. Tancred called him out every time, and every time Dagbert swore he was just commenting on Charlie's friends, as if that made it ok. Dagbert would apologize to him and only him, even when Tancred asked him to apologize to the actual victims of his remarks.

"I don't know what you're so worked up about, darling," Dagbert would sigh, trying to grab Tancred's hand. He had taken to the soulmate situation smoothly, no doubts or worries to hold back whatever version of love he was giving Tancred. "I said I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so defensive over some girl's garish hair."

"Olivia has a name." Tancred let Dagbert hold his hand, but only obligingly. "You're being a jerk to everyone for no reason."

"If they can't handle hearing honesty, that's not my problem." Dagbert shrugged. "But, for you, I'll tone it down." He already decided he valued Tancred over his father, and anyone that would put his father over him. But he still wanted to eat his cake and have it too, so he quietly decided to continue ripping away the bonds of Charlie's friend group when Tancred wasn't around. And if it affected Tancred, too, oh well. Dagbert thought Tancred and Lysander were too friendly, anyways.

"Thanks... babe." The nickname felt thick in Tancred's mouth, something so sweet it was vile enough to spit out. Tancred didn't love him. He didn't even like him.

Dagbert grinned. Tancred felt less and less charmed every time he saw it. The fish boy's hand felt cold in his own, and as Dagbert started babbling about the potential hurricanes they could make by using their endowments simultaneously Tancred wished he was with Lysander instead. This felt like some cruel joke. Why would he be given this type of kid as a soulmate? He had gotten along with Lysander like peanut butter and jelly. With Dagbert, it felt like tuna and jelly.

The only silver lining was that, when the evil kids swarmed to chat, he could escape from his soulmate by talking to Charlie. How wrong it is, Tancred thought, to need an escape from a soulmate.

When they were alone, properly alone, things were a little better. Tancred liked Dagbert better when he wasn't bragging or insulting. It was in these rare moments that the idea of Dagbert being his soulmate wasn't entirely off-putting. Most of the time, however, the idea made him nauseous.

Late at night, when he and Lysander snuck off to the art room, he felt more free than he ever had near Dagbert. "I love you," Tancred would whisper during those meetings. "I don't love him."

Lysander would shake his head. "I don't know what's going on, or why your soulmate's a rotten fish, but it's fate. Maybe you're supposed to save him." It was almost a joke, and a smile seeped into the corners of Lysander's mouth. Tancred stared at it and wished he lived in a universe that let him kiss Lysander.

"I don't want to. I don't want him, or any of this. You gotta help me, Sander. Something's wrong." Tancred gently grabbed Lysander's shoulder. "I want you. I'm in love with you." The silence only lasted a few seconds, but each one was a heavy blow to his patience. "Say something!"

"Like what?" Lysander wasn't angry. Not Lysander. It sounded more like pity, and Tancred wished Lysander was angry instead. "Do you want to hear me tell you I love you? I can't. You know I can't. You're not my soulmate. But you are my friend, and I'm going to help you through this. We'll find out why you and Dagbert are at odds, fix it, and then you two can fall in love like you're supposed to."

The wind around them picked up violently. Lysander began to rub Tancred's back. "Breathe."

Tancred did so, and the wind began to die down. "…I guess you're right. Just gotta think positive."

"I'm sorry this is happening to you. I'll ask my dad what he knows about divorce cases."

"Divorce?" In a world of soulmates, the concept was rare and taboo. Tancred stared at Lysander with wide, surprised eyes.

"It happens." Lysander shrugs. "Usually because one of them is a bad person."

Like Dagbert, Tancred thought.

"If things don't work out with Dagbert…" Lysander stared at the wall, and for a few terrible seconds Tancred hoped for something he would never hear, "…then you might just not get a soulmate. I'm sorry, Tanc."

"What, like, never?" Tancred's heart dropped. "Like Emma?"

"Well… Emma's soulmate is still at Bloor's somewhere, she just doesn't remember them because she met them as Emilia."

"So worse than Emma? She has a chance and I don't?" Even if the winds weren't picking up, anyone would see Tancred's agitation in his face, his hands burled into fists, the sparks that shot through his hair.

"I never said that," Lysander said. "Hey. Hey. Things can work out with Dagbert. You're soulmates. Love always finds a way."

"I don't love him." Tancred was getting very, very tired of saying it so clearly and yet-

"Yet," Lysander said, as if he thought he was reassuring Tancred. "You will. Dagbert's annoying, not evil. Maybe you'll be more compatible when you're older."

"So I have to wait?" Tancred huffed.

"Probably. Just wait. Maybe Dagbert will get better in time."

"Maybe." Tancred shoved his fists in his pockets. "I'm going to bed. Later, Sander."

"Goodnight, Tanc."

---

For Tancred, the breaking point was the encounter in the ruin. He was forgiving, and he stretched that as far as he could for his "true love", but this was too far.

"Stop that."

Dagbert grinned at him, and Tancred wanted to knock all his teeth out. "Hey, darling."

"You heard me. Stop that. I can hear water. It's drowning them. Give it up."

"Why should I? I'm having the time of my life." Dagbert scowled at him. "Aren't I more important than your friends? I'm your soulmate. You're supposed to be on my side."

"My soulmate wouldn't kill my friends. Quit it."

"You're too attached to them," Dagbert sneered. "You and your group are always so clung together. What are you going to do when they betray you?"

"What?" Tancred crossed his arms.

"That's what friends do. They rat you out, they talk behind your back, even Manfred's friend went and helped his greatest enemy." Dagbert's face darkened. "You're better off without them. All we need is each other, and our love."

"I don't need you," Tancred swung his arms out, "and I don't love you."

"What-" Before Dagbert could finish, Tancred blasted him, and before he realized what was happening he was crashing back down.

Dagbert knew at once he was without his charms by the way he began to shake and glow. "G... g... give... m... m... me... the... s... sea-gold... cr... creatures… d… d…. dar…"

Tancred didn't want to hear any more. "These? I don't think so."

"F… Fiend!" Dagbert screeched. It was just one word, but Tancred wouldn't forget the anger and betrayal it was poisoned with.

"Stop the water!"

"N… No!" It was spite, now. If Tancred wouldn't help him, he wouldn't help Tancred. Not after this.

Tancred blew him away. He wished he could at least be happy to see the branches and thorns cut into Dagbert, to feel some kind of satisfaction when the other boy fell to the ground and shook. But Tancred wasn't that mean, and more than anything he felt sad.  He didn't want it to come to this. But he would never let Dagbert hurt his friends. It was never even a question.

"G... g... give me…"

"I'll give you nothing until you stop the water." Tancred stayed where he was. He couldn't stand to be near Dagbert.

Just as well, because Dagbert heard him regardless. With a defeated noise, Dagbert clung to earth. The water ebbed away until Dagbert looked up at Tancred with a hateful expression. "D… done!"

"Hmmm. I won't thank you." It was stupid, the way they had to fight over this. Over murder. "If you really loved me, you would have stopped it when I asked."

Dagbert wasn't in any mood to argue, not anymore. "P... please. M… my…"

"Your sea-gold creatures? Come and get them." Tancred took every charm but the urchin and dropped them in the grass. The last one he pocketed.

Dagbert, shaking violently, began to crawl his way. Tancred didn't want to see this. He turned and left him behind.

Chapter 3

Dagbert was in turmoil.

Over the span of a few minutes, Tancred Torsson had stolen from him, betrayed him, insulted him, and broke up with him. It was humiliating, it was shameful, and it was a grievous insult that couldn't go unpunished.

Dagbert wasn't just furious. Beyond anger was something sharper: betrayal. Grief. The suffocating realization that not even the one person obligated to love him could do so. That Tancred wasn't just a thief, he was a backstabber and a heartbreaker. Soulmates were supposed to love each other over any meaningless friendships. Dagbert would have let Tancred kill his friends, and he didn't understand why that intense loyalty only went one way.

To make matters worse, Tancred refused to return the charm. He freely admitted that he wanted Dagbert to be weaker, that he'd rather protect his friends than help his soulmate.

Their fight became the hottest gossip at school. Judgemental eyes stared them down wherever they went, and whispering mouths spoke about how a pair of soulmates broke up. It was unheard of. Something had to be deeply, horribly wrong with them.

Dagbert ignored them. He was used to being a social pariah. He had bigger fish to fry, such as Tancred's death. 

Tancred was obviously upset these days. Dagbert couldn't tell if it was the breakup or the social scorn, and he didn't care. He just enjoyed seeing his ex so miserable.

But life didn't stop for them, and soon Dagbert had a mimicry of a moth and Tancred had the time to trade.

Nobody wanted Tancred to go alone, of course. Not when the situation was so tense. The plan was that Lysander would join Tancred, as backup.

Dagbert said that was fine. They were just here to trade, nothing sinister. Tancred and his boyfriend could meet him in the sculpture room.

Emma watched as Tancred and Lysander descended to meet Dagbert. None of the good kids had felt easy about this, including her. She told herself that Tancred and Lysander combined could defeat Dagbert, if it came to that. That storms and spirits could hold up against the water. That following them would only make her look bad.

Even though she knew Tancred wasn't her soulmate, he and Lysander were still her friends. She worried about them. All she could do was worry.

When the little wren flew into the room, she saw her friends, Dagbert, and… a Branko?

"...it's only fair," Dagbert was saying. "Two against one? You'd beat me, steal the moth, and leave with my urchin. Inez is here to keep things balanced."

"Why not Joshua? Or Manfred?" Lysander asked. He couldn't look at Inez without betraying his distaste for her, so he steadily stared Dagbert down instead. It was the same reason Tancred and Inez were locking eyes.

"They were busy," Dagbert said airily. "The twins were free. And as a show of goodwill, I only brought one."

Tancred kept his eyes on Inez. "I didn't know they could be separated."

Inez stuck her tongue out at him.

"Enough formalities. Have you got my sea-gold creature?" Dagbert said, taking on a harder tone.

"The moth." Lysander demanded.

Dagbert took out a jar, and Tancred stepped closer. Lysander and Inez watched their boys expectantly. Tancred looked at Lysander, nodded, and took out the charm.

The swap was over in an instant. Tancred held the jar, and Dagbert's creature collection was complete.

The silence was broken by the shatter of the jar.

"You tricked us!"

Wind filled the room and the soft sound of drums filled the air. The older boys were pissed.

"Take care of him," Dagbert told Inez, pointing at Lysander. As he spoke, a flood of water destroyed the tap as it began to fill the room.

Inez cackled, and the Griffith sculpture slammed into Lysander at an alarming speed. The drums died down as Lysander lay on the floor, water rapidly reaching up to cover his face.

"Sander!" The wind was so great, Dagbert and Inez were thrown against the wall. Tancred ignored them, opting to run to Lysander. "Sander?!"

"Heartbroken?!" Dagbert spat. "I hope he's dead! I hope-" A bolt of lightning nearly hits him, shutting him up for a moment. "You don't scare me!" He strode towards Tancred, a difficult feat against the wind.

Emma willed herself to change back into a girl, but she wasn't fast enough.

Tancred was so busy trying to wake Lysander up, he never saw Dagbert come up behind him. "Sander, please, you gotta- hey!" He felt two slimy hands grip him and shove his head underwater.

"What's wrong, darling?!" Dagbert laughed. Tancred scratched at his hands, but they remained firmly on Tancred's throat. "Can't breathe?! Are you hurt?!" His laughter increased, giggling and cackling as he kept Tancred's head beneath the waves. "Haha, you're drowning!"

Emma, human again, ran for him, only to feel herself thrown back -not by the dying winds, but by the silent girl in the corner. Inez moved towards her, her eyes holding Emma in place.

The telekinetic force was so great, Emma couldn't even move her gaze away from her target. She watched, helpless, as the winds died down and Tancred's body became limp. "No!"

Dagbert looked up, and met her gaze. "Spy!" he cried, but it was almost playful. Leaving the bodies floating in the still rising water, Dagbert walked to her.

"Poor little bird," Inez jeered. "Whatever shall we do with her?"

"What do you think?" Dagbert asked, his bright mood souring. "The last time I left a witness alive, he snitched. I'm not going to make that mistake again."

"You... you...!" Emma couldn't move, but she could shift. Doing it in front of anyone, much less those two, was something that she had hoped to avoid, but she had no choice. "You'll regret this!"

They laughed as if her threat was empty. Without touching her, Inez threw Emma into the water. It was a surprise, but Emma remained determined. By the time the sinister duo was upon her, she was more Tollroc than Tolly. They looked at her talons, her beak, and the rage in her eyes. As the great bird got to her feet, the two scrambled for the exit.

That wasn't enough for Emma. Something more would have to be done about them. Whatever it would be would have to wait. Emma's friends always came first.

It was a weak and pitiful hope that they were merely unconscious, but it kept her going until now and it kept her going until she was feeling their pulses.

Every student in the area heard her scream.

Chapter 4

 Two of Bloors most powerful endowed were dead. The only official witness, Emma Tolly, blamed the drowner and the telekinetic. Further mucking up the situation was how the duo claimed Emma was the reason they showed up to class with scars the next morning.

"Did you really attack them?" Charlie whispered as they made their way to the King's Room.

Emma just smiled serenely.

---

The Flames were powerful cats. The first night, they brought Lysander back. The second night, Tancred.

The best friends were overjoyed to reunite. After the celebrations, they had a sleepover at the Sage house.

"So." Lysander paused, choosing his words carefully. In the end, he settled on one. "Dagbert."

It was a topic Tancred had managed to avoid until then, and his expression indicated he wanted to avoid it further. But, for Lysander, he caved. "What about him?"

"I don't think he's your soulmate," Lysander confessed.

"You had to die to believe me?" Tancred frowned.

"The universe doesn't usually make mistakes like this."

"Well, it did." Tancred huffed. "It fucked up and now I don't have a soulmate."

Lysander stared at his own hands for a while. "I'm sorry. I wish I was yours."

"But Lauren, right?" Tancred scoffed.

"She's the one, Tanc. I can't change that." Lysander looked at Tancred with sad, dark eyes, and any irritation Tancred felt melted away.

"...Don't be sorry. I'm glad you're happy." Tancred was, he really was. He just wished Lysander could be happy with him.

"We'll find someone for you, Tanc. Someone else whose soulmate was a bust."

Tancred wondered what the odds of that were. "Thanks, Sander."

---

What Tancred figured it came down to was spending his life alone or spending it with his murderer. He'd still have his friends either way, but without Dagbert he'd likely end up living alone, waking up alone, and showing up alone to everything. Tancred was a social boy. He decided he'd rather live with the wrong person than live alone.

But that was pathetic, wasn't it? To stoop so low just to avoid being lonely. He hated to think of the pity in his friend's eyes if they knew. If they thought someone as strong and confident as him had such a weakness. They couldn't know.

"Dagbert seems pretty harmless now," Tancred told them. "I think he's changed. There's nothing weird about him now. He doesn't even smell fishy." Was it true? Who cares. Either way, the zeros on Tancred's skin were holding him to Dagbert at gunpoint. He didn't like Dagbert. He didn't want this. But between this and nothing, it was better than nothing.

Unfortunately, Dagbert didn't want to see him again. He refused to even be in the same room as Tancred. It was bizarre to everyone.

"He killed you, and he-"

"And Lysander."

"-right, and Lysander, and he wants you to apologize?!" Charlie shook his head.

Tancred nodded. "He's out of his mind."

"You're soulmates!" Charlie added, and Tancred feels something heavy form in his gut. "He should at least hear you out."

"Yeah." Tancred nodded weakly. "I guess I just gotta give it time."

---

The time came when Mrs. Kettle told Dagbert quite firmly that he was going to sit down and talk to Tancred. It was ridiculous how he was the killer and the one holding a grudge. "You lost that right when they lost their lives," she told him.

"I'll let him talk to me," Dagbert agreed. "But I never, ever promise to forgive him."

"It's a start." Mrs. Kettle sighed.

So now Dagbert and Tancred were alone in Dagbert's room, and if looks could kill Tancred would have died again.

"I can't believe you're mad at me," Tancred said. He was leaning against the wall farthest from Dagbert.

"You stole my mother's sea gold urchin, threw me into a tree, put your friends over me, told me you never loved me, and after all that you couldn't even stay dead. You're lucky I'm not drowning you again." Dagbert gripped his bed sheets.

"That's the thing: you did drown me. I died and I'm not being a stuck up priss about it." Tancred crossed his arms.

"So? So? I never asked you to forgive me." Dagbert scowled. "Go on and get mad. Hate me. I don't care. I hate you and I never want to see you again."

"You've got some nerve." Tancred shot him a judgemental look. "You already killed me. Why isn't that enough for you?"

"I have nerve? I'm not the one playing mind games."

"Mind games? What are you talking about?" Tancred's nose scrunched in confusion.

"When I was nice to you, you were desperate to get away from me. But now that I've killed you, you won't stop asking me to take you back." Dagbert looked him up and down. "What's wrong with you? Do you like it when people drown you or something?"

"It's not that simple." Tancred's gaze fell to the floor. "It's just… you know."

"No, I don't." While it wasn't unlike Dagbert to be contrary just to argue, this time he really didn't get it.

"You ever consider that… well… I'm…" Tancred paused.

"A thief? A heartbreaker? A liar? A traitor?" Dagbert offered spitefully.

Irritation surged through Tancred, and he scowled. "That I'm the only person who's ever gonna love you?" It's what he had meant to say in the moment, but the moment passed and Tancred bitterly regretted saying it.

"Get out." Dagbert stood. He was trembling slightly, but Tancred couldn't tell if he was angry or sad. Probably both.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Get. Out!" The room began to take on a blue tint. "Right now!"

Tancred decided to leave while he still could.

Chapter 5

How dare he? How dare he?

After Tancred left, Dagbert chose to screech into a pillow before the tears exploded out of him. When they did, they were as hot and violent as they were heavy and miserable.

It was true that, after his mother, nobody had cared about him. Not his father, not his guardian, not anyone he has ever called a friend. When he was younger, it didn't bother him. He always thought he'd at least have his soulmate, and it could be him and them against everybody else. That hadn't worked out. Now Dagbert was stuck living with a woman he didn't know, trying to make amends with kids who hated him for the killings.

His sobbing was interrupted by a firm knocking. "Are you OK? Tancred told me what happened."

"Go away!" Dagbert took his face off of his pillow so she could hear him clearly.

"...Alright. If you change your mind, I'll be downstairs." Katya paused. "Nobody really hates you, Dagbert."

Dagbert didn't believe it. Instead of responding, he pushed his face back into the pillow. After a minute, he heard her walk away from his door.

Dagbert stayed in bed, hating himself. What had he become? He used to kill people when he got upset. Why was he crying? Why was he lying here like a little bitch when he should be draining the life out of Tancred? Had killing his father really made him go soft? It had to. That must be it. There was no other explanation, or at least no other explanation he was willing to believe.

Dagbert would eventually regain enough control of himself to leave his bedroom. Katya obviously saw how red his eyes were and the wet streaks on his face, but if Dagbert didn't want to talk she wasn't going to force him.

"If you see Tancred before I do… Tell him I'm willing to talk again," Dagbert told her quietly.

She nodded. "Will do."

"I'm going for a walk."

"Have fun."

---

Dagbert didn't see Tancred for a few days. When he did, it was at Bone Academy. "Hey."

"Oh. Hey." One of the first rules the Bones had lifted was the commandment to be silent. Tancred and Dagbert had to walk close together to hear each other.

"I want to talk to you tonight." Dagbert said.

"OK. Where?"

"You pick."

Tancred chuckled. "Art room? Midnight?"

"I'll be there." Dagbert promised.

---

Both of them showed up on time.

"Tancred." Dagbert gave him a faint smile, one that didn't show any teeth.

"Dagbert," Tancred greeted. "I'm sorry about what I said. People like you."

Dagbert looked surprised, then shook his head. "No. They don't. I don't think you do, either."

"I do. You're cute." It was one of the very few compliments Tancred could sincerely give Dagbert.

"But you don't like me." Dagbert looked at him. "I was thinking about what you said. And about how unfair it was that you have loving parents and friends that like you. Then I realized there's something you don't have: a boyfriend. I'm all you have for that, aren't I?"

"...Yeah," Tancred admitted. "But you don't like me, either."

"I fucking hate you. I hate you so much." Dagbert was strangely calm saying so.

Tancred looked around, but couldn't see any immediate water sources. "Then why are we talking?"

"Because it was nice when Josh and Inez and everyone at least pretended to like me." Dagbert kicked at nothing. "I don't like you. You don't like me. But neither will anyone else. Do you wanna start dating again?"

Tancred nodded. "You're better than nothing."

"I can't say the same." Dagbert frowned.

"If that was true, you wouldn't be here."

"Hmm. I suppose you're right, darling." Dagbert grinned. Tancred felt… more resigned, than anything, to seeing it.

"Yeah." Tancred yawned. "I'm gonna head to bed. See you tomorrow." He walked to the door a little too quickly, as if trying to escape before he had to express any affection for his boyfriend.

---

The others congratulated them. It was all "I'm glad you two made up" and "I knew you guys would work the soulmate thing out" and "You two look cute together" and never "Are you sure you want this?" and "You shouldn't have to date a boy like that just so you won't be lonely" and "Why do you look so tired, Tancred?"

Tancred wanted to see the bright side. If nothing else, he was determined to have his optimism.

Dagbert was cute. Dagbert laughed at his jokes. Dagbert didn't mind how windy his house was. Dagbert liked to listen to Tancred talk, especially when he was recounting a story. Dagbert had a nice smile.

Like many relationships, things improved once they stopped backstabbing and killing each other. Dagbert became something steady and familiar in his life. They talked a lot. Dagbert never insulted his friends. The bragging became much more tolerable. Dagbert would even brag about him, sometimes, boasting about how his soulmate was powerful and beautiful and wonderful. Tancred loved to hear it, of course, and it put him in such a good mood it was easy to say the same things about Dagbert.

A few months in, he woke up in Dagbert's bed after a sleepover and felt warm seeing Dagbert's sleeping face. This wasn't so bad. It couldn't be that bad. Maybe things would be alright.

Even so, Tancred would always feel a little resentful over how they got here. He often wondered if things might have been better if they hadn't been forced together. If he could have actually loved him if he was allowed to do it on his own terms. These thoughts never lasted for very long. Tancred didn't want to dwell on gloomy what-ifs. Tancred and Dagbert were together now, just like the universe wanted, and it didn't matter how much suffering they went through to get here.

When they were both old enough, they got engaged.

Tancred had proposed. It was, strangely, something he was excited to do.

At the altar, Dagbert grinned.

Tancred grinned back.