▐▒ ᴿᵒˢᵉˢ ᵇʸ ᴮᶫᵒᵒᵈ

Eros truly was a well mannered young man. For that, she was thankful. Her poor Rudolph though.. It tore her heart in two that she wasn’t able to reach out to him as easily as with Eros. But the subject of mistreating Cyrus needed to be dealt with. She’d never forgive herself if she didn’t at least try to talk to him about it.

“Never say that name, Eros.”

Tears sprung to green eyes as the smile on her face faded. Just the memory was enough to snap her self control– But, Eros was a weight. All three boys were. So she didn’t get angry. Instead she caressed Eros’ cheeks and shook her head.

“That parasite has no right to a name. Knowing I wasn’t able to do anything against it with the magic I control hurts so much-”

“I promise I’ll try to find a solution to this- But for now my darling boy, I want to focus on this family. On you and your brothers..”

Hands slip from her son’s face and arms instead wrap around him in a tight hug. Her being the Universal Witch meant nothing if she wasn’t able to save the one person she cared for the most..

“I’m sorry my baby.. I am going to heckle your brother though.. I need him to know I’m here for him. I have been a bad parent. I should have been there for you boys; not locking myself away and making you two handle it on your own.. I’ll never let such a thing happen again- I’ll always be here. I couldn’t bear losing my star lights..”

❘ ♠ ❘ – “My sincerest apologies, mum...I did not wish to make you cry, but the subject...I had been asking mother’s friends about the evil that lurked within her body, and...The results are not simply easy, nor was the tale of how they destroyed her previous body, only for her to inhabit someone else...They...Said it was not a simple task of just magic alone...Though, they did mention something in particular, something about relics...Please, do not blame yourself...”

A hand reaches up to lay onto his mother’s cheek as his thumb would gently brush any tears that fell away. Returning the intimacy he’d been given from his mother as of right now, though not entirely raised by his two mothers, he was taught that it was wrong to make girls and woman cry...To see Lilli cry caused something that felt hollow in his chest to arise, perhaps guilt or anxiety? Most likely both. Placing his arm to his side again, Eros would simply bow his head toward Lady. 

“I know.. I wonder who he inherited the ability to be that bitter from though..”

The witch sighs, pulling back just a little so gentle hands could cup and smoosh her darling Eros’ cheeks. He was such a sweet boy! A handsome young man with such a brightness to him- Though- She knew better than anyone that the brightness normally hid shadows. So she rose from the ground, floating just a little to smooch her boy’s forehead.

“My sweet baby~ I’ll try to work on your brother- If I can find him. I need to heckle him a bit for making Jellybean cry too.. Goodness that boy..”

Cheeks puff out in a momentary pout that deflates with a shake of her head.

“Love me or hate me I still love my boys so listen Eros, if things get hard or you feel like you’re being crushed- Come to mum. I’m going to try to be a better parent for you boys because of that. Sunshine’d have kicked my ass by now I’m sure for being such a knucklehead..~ And I’m sorry if I ever made you feel bad, mum done goofed~”

❘ ♠ ❘ – "Most likely the both of you.” 

He’s an honest young man, no matter what and even if it gets him in trouble. Eros of course knows how to hold his tongue back, but in terms of their mothers being quite upset and throwing tantrums, it was from both that Rudolph got it from. The boy shrugs his shoulders with a smile on his face, looking up to his now floating mum, he would tiptoe to kiss her on the cheek. 

“I’d let him feel everything he needs to, even if it seems likes he getting nowhere. Rudolph must be honest about how terrible he feels, how the loss of mother has taken a toll on him, that way he can move on...He’ll seek us out if need be, but the cold behavior toward Cyrus is inexcusable.” 

For a child who’d only been born quite sometime ago, he matured differently than his brothers. After all, he was the first born, Eros thought he had to make an example for themselves. Watching his mum puff up her cheek in pouting was something normal he was used to seeing, and the boy’s smile would not falter. 

“I object to that statement Bubblegum..”

Soft voice and even softer embrace, Lady hugs her baby from behind. Sure, she figured the twins hated her guts for the crap she did in bringing about Cyrus and the fact their mother was.. Gone.. And she blamed herself for that entirely. But- She still loved them..

“You’re my baby Bubblegum and I love you.. I’m sure your mother would have noogied little Gumdrop into a smile.. I know I wouldn’t be able to, he’s still mad. Ahhh.. I’m sorry for being such a terrible mum baby boy. But I do love my baby boys, my sweet little twinkling stars..~”

❘ ♠ ❘ – He hadn’t sensed her presence, and the feeling of someone wrapping their arms around him was not common for the young man. He nearly jolts from his mum’s hug, upon hearing her soft voice, he becomes at ease. Turning to face her, he blinked silver eyes...Eros knew not much of either of his mothers, to them, that was probably a good thing. But for him, it was a big mystery that ate at him to find out more about them. 

He did not hate his mother, not in the slightest. Instead, Eros was merely insecure! One would think he was the confident brother, in actuality, he was frightened to be the reminder of why his mother beats herself up...After all, his eyes are the perfect match of Ruby. 

Of course the witch is patient when it comes to her little ones. She wouldn’t want them to feel forced into anything they didn’t want to do.. And more often than not, she felt as if they- perhaps just the one- didn’t really want anything to do with her. Thus, she’s relieved when her request is met- And with a smile as too.

“Oh thank you Bubblegum~ This is a wonderful hug..~”

❘ ♠ ❘ – “Of course, mama!!”  

The boy can’t help but giggle as his mother held him, though he does tip toe to kiss his mother on the cheek. Having not been a great deal taller than her just yet, it was enjoyable to be a bit smaller than her.

“I don’t think anyone will best mum at magic–”

Cyrus watched his brother, shifting himself to his knees and bouncing a little on his brother’s bed. Though the moment his dear brother spoke of being a ‘freak’ he ceased bouncing and threw his hands down with an angry-ish noise.

“You are not! Nor is Rudolph! You two were made when both mama and mum were together! You- You were made of love! That makes you not freaks! Not at all! You’re my brothers! I love you! A-And mama said those things to you because you’re loved and normal and awesome!”

While on his knees Cyrus pumped his fists into the air simultaneously. He didn’t want either of his brothers to feel like they were bad, or didn’t belong, or– How he was made to feel.. A sigh leaves him but whatever had come to his mind was wiped away the moment he was given Eros’ book. Green eyes focused on the page in question- Then widened.

“Th-This is mama?! Sh-She’s the pretty lady in my dreams!?”

Never had he met her- And yet– He saw her nearly every night. That warm, caring smile that eased his nightmares and brought such peaceful sleep to him.. Tears once again spring to his eyes and he looks back at his brother. Gods- Maybe their mama wasn’t actually gone.. That- Or his mum had messed with something inside of him.. Either way, his heart fluttered with joy, and as he smiled a small red figure seemed to emerge from the paper- Like a small projection of the person drawn brought out by the will of the magic within him.

“B-Big brother Eros- D-Do you think– Mama can come back..?”

❘ ♠ ❘ – “Cyrus...Uh, biologically speaking Rudolph and I being born or conceived was not a normal thing. Hence why we are not so normal, seeing as how we were made is typically done by male and female. Not female and female, best we further not question mum on that...Not that she’d be talking anytime soon, she’s a bit too...Depressed at the time.”

Hearing his brother mention their mother as a ‘pretty lady in his dreams’ made him a tad bit curious, though in the back of his mind he knew it was not possible for his mother’s soul to still be lurking...He had hope, Leo did not stop until they had their mother back...Eros nor Rudolph never thought to ask why their Uncle cared so much in bringing her back, they had just assumed the two perhaps had been close...His attention is snapped back into reality when he see’s his picture...Appear outside of it’s page, almost similar to something their mother had left behind...

“I-I...Er, I’m not certain...Prince Leo said he was working hard in research to bring her back, but it’s been sometime...Of course something like that would take a lot of time, but I wouldn’t doubt him...”

The younger couldn’t bring himself to speak on Rudolph’s hatred of him any longer. He’d just finished crying, he didn’t want to start again.. Thus he sighed softly and merely held onto his brother. Though, when he was put down he pouted a little- Especially when his hair was messed with! It looked messy normally, this wasn’t going to help!

“B-But you have the strong heart! Rudolph is the muscle man! I-I don’t have any of those things.. I’ll be lucky to be able to do magic or even toss a rock..”

Legs kicked lightly over the side of Eros’ bed, Cyrus watching him patiently as he searched for– Something. Perhaps it was the thing he mentioned that’d show him their mama.. He really hoped it was. Though.. Even with that sparkle of excitement, their other brother’s bite still stung..

“Big brother.. Am I a.. Disgrace to mama’s name..? A freak conjured by magic?”

❘ ♠ ❘ – “It’s much easier to be kindhearted rather than spiteful and shrouded in one’s negatives, especially in this world we live in...While I myself try my hand with magic, I’m not quite as skilled as mum is, nor am I as great with a sword like mother used to practice with.” 

Standing up from where he was rummaging through, the boy would place a hand on his hip and rubbed the back of his head. Silver eyes were closed for a moment before walking toward Rudolph’s side of the room, looking through his twin’s stuff before smiling to see his sketchbook had been hidden away by him. However, his smile would fade away the moment Cyrus asks him those two questions. 

“Biologically speaking, neither Rudolph or I are exactly normal either. We too, are also freaks...Ah, you’re not a disgrace to mother’s name. ‘You’re normal boy with normal knee’s’, is how mother would...Always oddly put it.” 

Letting out as small chuckle, he was always humored by that phrasing that Summer had told he and Rudolph on the occasion when she would visit their deep realm.  But he was not wrong, if Cyrus was a freak than so were they. A rather curious young man he was, so he asked on the subject of how they two managed to create them...His answer was well explained, most teenagers would most likely be disgusted, but it only made sense that their mum had used magic. 

Opening his sketchbook, Eros would begin to flip through various pages, each having something that happened to be in his line of sight on every page. Until finally stumbling on one page with the shades of red and black, there it was...There she was, handing over the sketchbook to his younger sibling. The blond would shrug his shoulders with a content facial expression. 

“Y-Yes he does.. H-He called me a thing.. Y-You don’t do that if you don’t hate someone..”

Cyrus laid his head on his brother’s shoulder once he was lifted. He loved his brother so much.. Eros made him feel warm, much like how their mum did. He was like one of those storybook princes, kind, loyal, strong.. Someone to look up to.

“I-I love you big brother.. I-I wish I could be as strong and cool as you and Rudolph..”

Huffing softly, the younger shifts his head to knock against the side of his brother’s in a playful manner. At least now he’d stopped crying. Eros seemed to have that magic touch- Enough so that he decided to be somewhat clingy and refuse to let go even when their destination was reached. Nope, he’d remain attached to his big brother like a brat. Just to play around, of course.

❘ ♠ ❘ – “He called me a blight the last time we had a fight, but that doesn’t mean he hates me. Rudy is just mad right now, he’s been angry since mom died, and that anger hasn’t led up unfortunately...So, we must be patient with him and forgive him for what he’s said because he truly doesn’t mean it, Cyrus...I think you know that, you’re just being blinded by negative emotions caused by this negative event. ”

He truly was the older brother of the three of them, stopping in his tracks for a moment, Eros had to shift a bit in picking more of his little brother up to make sure he did not drop him at all. Feeling Cyrus playfully knock his head against the side of his made him chuckle, only to turn his head to kiss the temple of his youngest brothers head. Eros was truly relieved to see that Cyrus had ceased his crying, he preferred to see his brother happy after all. 

Once the brothers had reached Eros & Rudolph’s private quarters, Eros would set the black haired male down on his bed gently with a warm smile on his face...Hand moving atop of his to ruffle messy locks of hair, to which he would stop to look through one of his drawers for his sketchbook. 

“I didn’t come out right- Rudolph hates me..”

Maybe if he had their mum’s hair colour like Eros then he’d like him better.. Who knew.. Cyrus was so tired of being the black sheep of the family that he’d rip all of his hair out if it’d make them love him more. Even with that sharp pain in his chest, he nestled against his elder brother and tried his best to stop his weeping. Eros didn’t need this.. He deserved a cute, happy little brother..

“W-Wait is that why he hates me..? B-Big brother– I-If I cut my h-hair off will Rudolph love me too-? You all loved mama so much- I wanna see mama too..”

Small hands tightly grasped the back of his brother’s shirt. Was their mama really so wonderful that it’d make Rudolph hate him for looking similar to her? Ugh, his heart hurt worse thinking of the worst scenario.. Maybe he was hated because he had some part in their mama’s passing..

❘ ♠ ❘ – “He does not hate you, don’t think or say such things, Cyrus...It’s not good for you, he’s just upset still about mother...I’m still upset about mother’s death as well, but, I’ve come to accept the terms of possibly never seeing her again...I’ve mourned and kept moving forward because that’s what she would have wanted, Rudolph just needs more help seeing that, despite how fickle he is...”

Placing slender hands down to the back of Cyrus’ thighs, he picked him up with ease, he was going to carry his little brother back to their private quarters. Seeing as how the two boys shared a room together only seemed right, Rudolph perhaps was not there. 

“There’s nothing wrong with your hair, silly...It’s perfect the way it is, just like you...I have some drawing’s of mother in my part of shared room, Rudolph is probably at our make-shift memorial for mother...So no need to worry about seeing him, beloved brother.”

Slowly, Eros’ words sank in as they were intended to and Cyrus’ tears began to flow again. He held so much love for his brothers.. Both of them.. So the pain from Rudolph’s words and actions still stung even with Eros’ sweetness.

“N-No you have the pretty hair– I-I have weird red underneath.. Yours looks like mum’s..”

He sniffles, shifting himself to wrap his arms around his big brother’s neck and cling onto him. He needed the closeness of his family.. He was fragile, a bit of a cry baby too.. Neither mother was a cry baby..

“I don’t even know what she looked like Eros-! She was gone when I came- I-I was just– Maybe I was just made cuz mum went mad- M-Maybe that’s why Rudolph hates me so much- I-I’m a freak..”

❘ ♠ ❘ – “I would not call the part of your hair that fades into red ‘weird’...Sure, I have mum’s hair, but out of both Rudolph and I you came out right...Sure, you don’t know what she looks like...But, I have somethings to give you to show you our mother, if you’d like.” 

Eros was a little artist when he was younger, he still is. He has sketches of Summer and Lady in his little notebook he keeps close to him at all times to remind himself of the happy family that used to be, he clings to it with dear life. Eros holds their Uncle Leo to his word when he said he would find a way to bring their mother back, it’s all the hope he has in this world to hear her, to see her, and hold her again. 

Wrapping his arms around his younger brother’s back, he began to pat at it and rub at his back...He knew Cyrus was fragile, he treated him delicately as he knows Summer would do the same.

“Mama Summer, she had parts of her hair that was black that dipped into red...Rudolph’s hair dips into blond at the tips of his hair, I’m completely blond, but your hair is the closest to mother’s by far.”  

Cyrus wanted nothing more than to just vanish. No matter what he did he’d never be loved by his brother- Hell he didn’t even know if the other brother felt the same way or not.. He hated it. He hated being the freak, being the one kid that apparently wasn’t wanted or needed. It hurt..

Even when the kinder of the twins came to him, Cyrus didn’t lift his head. The tears wouldn’t stop, even if he was patted in such a nice way.. He was just.. A magical mistake..

“Don’t call me that.. He’s right.. Mum just sorta.. Made me with a piece of mama so I’m just.. A thing.. I really shouldn’t live..”

❘ ♠ ❘ – “I beg to differ, Rudy is very wrong and very cruel at this time...You’re not a mistake, not at all, if anything mom made you with a purpose. After all, we are the last Rose’s of mother’s legacy...You aren’t just made from a piece of our mother, you’re made of love, Cyrus.” 

Gently stroking the top of his little brother’s head, he did not cease in giving the other love...Must his brothers be as stubborn as their mothers? Apparently so, seem’s he’s the only one out of this family that seem’s to have come to be the right mix of the two, it’s not without his own flaws either...Regardless, he moves the other’s arm’s away so that he may get a look at Cyrus’ face, even if he were to look away, Eros would do anything to get a look. 

❘ ♠ ❘ – The air at the time is uneasy, filled with anger and malice with words being spewed out without a thought. Coming from a place of hurt, Eros heard it all, but he waited for his twin to leave Cyrus be...That is when he stepped in, seeing the youngest of the brothers crying and holding himself truly broke his heart...Quietly, he knelt down in front of Cyrus, a hand patting the top of his head gently. Eros would open his mouth to speak with am empathetic tone of his voice, he truly knew the struggle this one had. 

“Please don’t cry, little brother...He knows not what he says, knowing him, he will regret it...We are all we have after all.”

Chest tightened painfully and he almost forgot how to breathe. How could Rudolph say such a thing? They were brothers- Their mum had told him so- She said so– So why was he being so cruel?

“M-Mum said– I-I was born with mama’s help– I-I’m not a freak- Th-That’s mean to say- M-Mum wouldn’t– L-Like it- I-I– I– U-Uuuwww–”

Cyrus was quick to crumble and began to cry aloud. Rudolph hated him.. His big brother, the one he thought was so cool, hated him.. It hurt. He just wanted to be loved by his brothers.. He loved them after all..

❘ ☾ ❘ – “Knock that off, you big baby.” 

The boy himself...He couldn’t take back what he’s said, no matter how angry he is, even he knew this time...He took his words too far, nothing could ever make up for what he’s said. Moving a hand out toward his youngest brother, he would curl his index finger and his thumb, releasing it against his forehead. Simply flicking him to spook him out of his crying, though that most likely would make it worse...Where was Eros at a time like this? Not by his side, not since their last fight.

Being pushed down like that when he only wanted to help- That was so mean- Then again what did he expect? Rudolph hated him, he only loved Eros. Did he even love their mum? Why was he so mean to him? Just thinking of that made green eyes fill with tears and jaw clench in frustration.

“M-Mum told me about mama! I-I hear a lot about mama! It’s not my fault I didn’t get to meet her-! I want to know her too! But I didn’t get to-! Is that why you hate me?! Cuz I didn’t get to meet mama?! Or do you hate mum for having me?! Even if you– Even if you do I-I still love you big brother!”

❘ ☾ ❘ – Rudolph would lean down, hands resting on his knees...His anger couldn’t be compared to his mother’s, it only came close to what Summer looked like when she was angry...It was the one thing this brother took pride in, how close her truly looked like their mother. 

“I hate you because you are a mistake to have been born of nothing from my mother, you’re a freaked conjured up by magic. You are a ‘thing’, to think you’re alive is a mistake...To think we’re brothers is even bigger one, you’re a disgrace to the name ‘Rose’.”  

“You’re hurting.. Both m-mama and mum would want me to hug you!”

As much as Rudolph made him feel as if he was hated, Cyrus still wanted to help him. They were family, so it only made sense that he’d keep trying. Eros was nicer, sure, but.. Rudy needed some love too.. Thus he wasn’t going to let go. Nope. He’d cling to him all day if he had to!

❘ ☾ ❘ – Rudolph’s eyes widened, shoving the boy away from him harshly to the ground. His hands balled into fist at his sides, a soft growl escaped past his lips, he was furious. Why was this? Because this ‘thing’ decided it’d be fit to bring up their mother. 

“WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MOM!? YOU’VE NEVER EVEN MET HER!!”