With a huff he finally straightened the wayward wires out and placed them gently in his ears, letting the classical music swell within him. He swayed to the beat, words flowing from his lips without him realizing he was singing.

“I'm tryin' to hold my breath

Let it stay this way,” Oh how he wished he could pretend to be as blind as he had been before. To leave everything as perfect as it seemed before.

“Can't let this moment end

You set off a dream in me,”  He had walked around on Cloud Nine for months before he started seeing the signs. The rose tint of Wilford loving him back was enough to drown out everything else.  

“Gettin' louder now

Can you hear it echoing?” The looks Dark shot at him, the cracking of the demons shell when he saw Bim, how Wilford always pulled away for his affections when Dark was near.

“Take my hand

Will you share this with me?” He remembered the night Wil had come to him, tears prickling his eyes as he confessed he was done running and that he wanted to be with Bim. Just like that Bim was crying too and they had fallen asleep on the game show host’s bed after taking turns kissing away each other's tears.

“'Cause darling without you,”  It had been a whirlwind since then, and now Bim couldn’t believe there was a time without Wilford at his side.

“All the shine of a thousand spotlights

All the stars we steal from the night sky,” The studio lights had nothing on Wilford’s smile, the deafening applause of the crowds pathetic next to Wilford’s laugh, everything so dull compared to the colorful and eccentric nature of HIS boyfriend.

“Will never be enough

Never be enough,” Nothing compared to the feeling of being with Wil. It was like flying on cloud nine 24/7.

“Towers of gold are still too little

These hands could hold the world but it'll

Never be enough,” But slowly Bim realized there seemed to still be a hold on their relationship, however.

“Never be enough

For me,” He loved holding Wilford under the stars.

“Never, never,” He loved sitting with him in the studio giggling over coffee.

“Never, never,” He loved listening to him ramble on for hours about silly things, only making sense half of the time as his mustache practically danced on his lip.

“Never, for me

For me,” He loved waking up in the morning to see that stupid curly pink mustache in front of his eyes, having only a short stretch up to kiss that mouth that never stopped moving.

“Never enough

Never enough,” He loved being able to hold Wilford’s hand in his own as they walked around the building, knowing the others knew he was his.

“Never enough

For me,” He wished he could stay in Wilford’s arms forever.

“For me

For me,” But then he heard the story.

“All the shine of a thousand spotlights

All the stars we steal from the night sky,” The tragic story of William and the Kims and how they became the unstable Warfstache and horrific Dark he knew.   “Will never be enough,” His love for Damien, how he called him ‘old friend’ so people wouldn’t assume they were homos. How the fear drove them apart and William into Celine's arms. How they had served all ties 

“Never be enough,” The poker night turned murder mystery, with Will knowing he was why Mark had been ‘sleeping’ as all his friends rushed around in panic.

“Towers of gold are still too little,” How things kept getting worse as the day went on, his two loves pained and worried, friends confused and trying to maintain control. How it didn’t matter in the end.

“These hands could hold the world but it'll

Never be enough,” How the Kim siblings had been fused to create Dark, two shattered souls thrown into the wrong body and held together by some entity Wilford didn’t know the name of. How Wilford’s mind couldn’t handle the strain.

“Never be enough,”

For me,” Bim’s heart had cried out at him to hold Wilford, to comfort him, to let him know that he’d help him through the nightmares, but then Wilford had let out a humorless chuckle and told him...

“Never, never

Never, never,” That one of the reasons Wil had returned Bim’s affections so easily was because the game show host reminded him of Damien… Of the part of Dark that Wil had first loved.

“Never, for me

For me,” Wilford couldn’t even tell him for certain that he wasn’t just using Bim as a stand-in for his lost love.

“Never enough

Never, never,” He asked Wilford if he was still in love with Dark, but the man refused to answer. Bim didn’t think his heart could ache this much.

“Never enough

Never, never,” Why did this always happen to him?

“Never enough,” Why was he so blind he couldn’t see that others were using him? Playing with him and his emotions?

“For me,”  It was so obvious now.

“For me,”  He wishes he could go back to being blind, if only for a little bit more happiness, but...

“For me,”  He should have known...

“For me,”  He never had Wilford to start with. The song had faded into silence as he pulled the earbuds out of his head, throwing them off the roof before he convinced himself to move. The idea in his mind wasn’t one he was entirely willing to do but….

He entered the building and spotted Wilford sending him an unsure grin, but he knew… he knew that it wasn’t for him and his resolution grew.

“Hey Wil,” he greeted, not stopping on his trek through the building, “Great timing you can come with me to see Dark.”

Wilford froze for a second before scrambling after him, “What on earth do you want to see Dark for?”

“Something that I should have done a while ago,” was the haughty answer. “Bim if this is about what I told you-“

Bim didn’t even let him finish, “Oh it is. But not in the way you’re thinking of. I’m not out to stake my claim on you, Wilford.”

“Bim…”

Before Wilford could continue they reached Dark’s door, the soft swell of a violin coming from within. Without a thought Bim kicked the door open and threw out his hand, easily deflecting the black stream thrown at him that would normally send whoever was hit by it into Dark’s void with his own purple magic. NO one could redirect Dark’s powers, no one could match the power and intensity of his blistering anger.

Dark and Wilford stiffened as Bim marched over to Dark, magic smoking around his footsteps like dry ice.

“Hello Dark,” He rumbled lower then any of them could speak, an unnatural note to his voice as he balled his hands into Dark’s suit, “Let’s make a deal.”

“Trimmer,” Dark replied evenly, but his whipping aura gave away his inner turmoil, and Bim couldn’t help but smirk at the confusion and near fear hidden in Dark’s eyes. He could just picture the cogs turning in the monochrome man’s head as he tried to figure out how a simple game show host had overpowered him. “You seem to have me at disadvantage. Since when have you had power of this caliber?”

“Never had a need to use them,” Bim responded dully, “Now about that deal.”

“Bim?” Wilford asked taking a shaky step towards the pair, “What are you doing?”

“What should have happened the second you told me about Dark,” Bim turned his head sickeningly far to look at the pink reporter, the elder ego’s eyes widen in shock, “It’s not like I could sit by and watch a broken demon hurt himself trying to stay together.”

“What are you blathering on about?” Dark growl came out weakly, but Bim decided not to comment as he turned back to his captive.

“Wilford told me your history,” Bim said, watching as the demon stiffened, “He told me that you once went by Damien and Celine, that you were the broken shards of the Kim siblings held together by a demon. That you can’t feel love due to how you put yourself back together.”

“What do you mean how I put myself back together?” Dark growled back, “the demon that resides within me wanted nothing to do with human emotions, all it wanted was power, and revenge against those who wronged it!”

“You’re an idiot!” Bim roared back, “If you’re so certain about what the demon wants then what was its name?”

“It never cared about its name!” Dark was screaming back now, anger rolling off him in waves. Bim let out a bitter laugh.

“Demons always care about their names,” He spat, “They hold importance that human names don’t! It doesn’t matter if it’s their chosen name or their birth name. They care about their names. You. Are. Broken.”

“How would you even know?” Dark asked shoving at Bim’s hands, “How would you know anything about me!”

“Because asshole!” Bim’s voice was low, magic making his form flicker as Dark found himself several inches off the floor, an inhuman face staring down at him, “You’re not the only demon around here, Dark. Now. Let’s. Make. A. Deal.” Dark straighten his shoulders the best he could pinned to the wall as Bim heard Wilford scuttle back.

“Demon,” Dark growled.  

Bim just chuckled,“Why yes would you like my rank and legion or do you even remember what those mean?”

“B-Bim?” The pair eyes flicked away from each other and back to the third man in the room. Bim’s shoulders went slack, but he didn’t lower Dark even as his face softened. Wilford wasn’t afraid, instead looking at the pair with shock and a spark of confusion.

“It’s alright, Wil,” He said, switching back to English, “I’m just getting him to understand what I’m offering.”

“He’s a crossroad demon,” Dark cut in, “Offering a deal for what my soul? Sad to say I don’t have one of those anymore, even if I’m made up of the two broken remains.”

“Oh don’t flatter yourself,” Bim snapped, “I’m not doing this for you, and I don’t want to take what’s left of the Kims. I’m fixing the chop job you did when you pieced yourself back together, and all I want you to do is make me a promise.”

Wil was the one that  broke the silence after his boyfriend’s reveal,“A promise?”

Bim didn’t turn to look at him, “A promise to take care of Wilford, and to care for him as much as I know you wish you could now.”

Dark’s eyes widen and Bim could hear the tiny gasp from Wilford and closed his eyes to prevent them from seeing his heartbreaking. He had wished that fact was a lie he had been telling himself, but he knew that was too good to be true, instead, he pushed forward, “I’ve seen the looks you send Wil and myself when you think no one is looking, the way your aura cracks and whips. You may not be able to feel positive emotions, but there are negatives that go with Love, and I know you can feel those.”

“Why do you care?” Dark asked, voice coming out weak.

“Because Wil still loves you dearly, still loves the Kims too, and maybe he does love me,” Bim paused to take a steadying breathe, “But he also sees Damien when he looks at me and I refuse to stand by when I could do something that will make him truly happy, even if it means losing him.”

The room was silent, but Bim could see how Dark looked down, avoiding Wilford’s longing gaze over his shoulder. The game show host couldn’t tell if it hurt more than Wil wasn’t denying the fact that he saw Damien instead of Bim when they were together then if Wil had lied and tried to argue the point, but it didn’t matter anymore.

“Why should I?” Dark bit out, defiance burning in his eyes. He was fine with being broken, he had been broken for over a century and he didn’t need some two-bit game show host to fix him, fellow demon or not. He didn’t need Wilford. Bim just let out a low chuckle.

“Because this isn’t a one time offer,” Bim practically purred with the smugness of someone that just cornered his prey would have, “I’ll keep bring it up until you accept. Maybe next time we won’t be so private? How would the others react to knowing their oh so powerful leader is a broken husk?” BIm smirk grew as he saw a flicker of panic in Dark’s eyes, knew he was winning by the twist in the older demon’s aura, “Knowing that a lowly game show host was able to overpower him? Knowing that you’re nothing, but a disgrace to every demon in existence?”

Dark glared at him, but nodded, “Fine, I’ll make the deal.”

“Good, I hope you still remember how to seal the deal?” Bim said cooly, “Or is that something else you forgot while playing Frankenstein with your soul?”

Dark just growled, surging forward to lock his lips with Bim’s. Bim just chuckled, taking control of the kiss easily as his magic went to work. The kiss lasted a lot longer than normal as his magic worked over the jagged remains of the demon and two souls, smoothing them out and filling in what had been missing for too long. Finally, he pulled back, laying his forehead against Dark’s as both of them panted, Bim searching Dark’s eyes. There were spirals and sparks of things he never seen in the older’s demons eyes before, his shoulders shaking slightly as Bim shrunk back to his human form, lowering him to the ground.

“Name and legion?” Bim asked softly.

“Dur… Durans,” was the reply, equally soft as the demon didn’t even bother to switch Abyssal, “My name was Durans, I was from the 7th legion of the 4th cohorts.”

“A Jinn,” Bim laughed dryly, “Why am I not surprised. Either way Durans-”

“No,” He cut off, “I’m… I’m still Dark, Dark is still my name.”

Bim nodded, offering a weak smile, “Either way Dark, I fixed your memories as much as I could with my magic. I only gave you back an eighth of your emotional range at the moment so not to overwhelm you, we’ll need to renew the deal every month for the next year to get you back to normalcy, but you should be better than you have been.” 

“Tha-”

“Don’t,” He stopped Dark from speaking with his nearly feral growl, the first peek into his true feeling that he’s given them, “Don’t you dare thank me. I did what was right, even when I wish I just let you suffer in agony forever. Don’t thank me for trying to make Wilford happy, because I want nothing more than to slit your throat so that I can have him all to myself, that I can live in my fantasy of happiness for a little longer.” 

Bim turned on his heel, refusing to look at the teary-eyed Wilford as he moved towards the door. 

“You never did tell me your name and legion,” Dark called. Bim drew to a stop, drawing his shoulders back as he turned back to the other demon.  

“I am Bim Trimmer, I thought you would pay more attention than that,” He mocked with his usual cheeky smirk, no matter how fake it felt now, noticing the annoyed set of Dark’s jaw. He almost wanted to laugh, even with working emotions and a full memory, Dark was still Dark, nothing could change the control hungry man. 

“You know that’s not what I was asking.”

“You need to try harder than that to get information from me,” He countered, before ducking out. He wandered the empty halls of the Office, before finding his way to the studio, up onto the stage of his game show. 

“All the shine of a thousand spotlights

All the stars we steal from the nightsky,” He sang, walking across the darkened stage, tears pricking his eyes. He didn’t want this...

“Will never be enough Never be enough,” He should go back. Wipe their memories of this, kiss Wilford senseless, not caring about Dark’s stare, let them think he’s just a harmless game show host. 

“Towers of gold are still too little

These hands could hold the world but it'll,” He should drag Wilford back to his room, and let his incubus skill make him forget there was ever anyone other than Bim in his life. 

“Never be enough,” He should kill Dark, his powers might not actually be enough to overpower Dark like he made the demon believe, but with how off-kilter Dark was feeling not only with his new emotions but with just learning Bim of all people was a demon, Bim had a chance.

“Never be enough,” But he wouldn’t, he knew he wouldn’t 

 “I thought I’d find you here.”

Bim didn’t get up, not even glancing up from his podium as his now ex-boyfriend entered. He didn’t need to see the sad smile that he could hear on his voice, see those eyes sparkling with unshed tears, to see that stupidly cute mustache twitch. 

“Bim I want you to know,” Wilford started, sincere and honest, “That I do love Dark a great deal, and loved the Kim siblings with all my heart, howe-”

“Don’t.” Bim cut him off in an inhuman growl, knuckles turning white from where he gripped his podium.

“Darling-”

“I SAID DON’T WARFSTACHE!” Bim howled, eyes turning into purple slits as he glared up at the reporter only for his shoulders to fall when he saw the hunched form of his once lover, “You can’t give me hope, Wilford, you can’t...” 

“Why would telling you the-”

Bim didn’t let him finish, he couldn’t, “It’s not the truth. The truth is that you were using me because I was too like Damien, that you didn’t see me as me. You never loved me. That’s the way it has to be Wilford.” 

“Why? Why can’t I say what I feel? Why must it be this way?” Wilford argued.

“Becuase I’m not human,” Bim didn’t pause at baffled look Wilford shot him, wood creaking under his hands, “If I knew for even a split second that I had a chance of being the one you loved instead of Dark then I would do everything in my power to make you mine, kill dark, erase your memories, use every trick up my sleeve to make you forget your own name, let alone that you loved someone else. Don’t let me go down that path Wilford, don’t give me hope.”

Wilford looked conflicted look on his face, wanting to say something but refraining, until finally, he worked up the courage, “Why’d you do it then?” 

Bim’s eyes flicked back to brown as he looked down, hands falling to his side. 

“Because I’ve been lost, and hurt, and confused. Not knowing if there was ever a way to fix myself back up again after she...” He trailed off, hand gripping the front his suit, right over his inside pocket, “I knew from the start what choice I was going to make. “

The reporter’s eyes glossed over with unseen memories. Bim just signed, turning away. 

“Have a good night, Wil. I’ll see you in the studio tomorrow morning.”

Bim was almost out of the room before Wil spoke up, calling after him,

“Goodbye old friend, I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Bim didn’t reply as he swiftly exited the studio, instead choosing to do as all previous that had heard William use that phrase, ignore the message he hid deep within the words. It was better that way.