Dead Men Smiling

1.3

There will always be three sides of a story: yours, theirs and the truth.

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"Heroes never lie," she whispered with a fond smile.

"Perhaps they don't have the time and energy to," Rowan retaliated, "I mean, they clean up after everyone and fight villains all the time. They barely have time for themselves as it is."

I'm no hero, mum. I'm not good enough to be one.

"You probably hate me for putting you in an orphanage despite being alive."

You aren't wrong there.

But did Rowan hate the woman who carried him for nine months and birthed him?

He didn't; he just wanted to know her reasons for abandoning him and only paying visits to the orphanage but never asked for him back.

Normally, the thought of someone abandoning him made him livid but the woman in her bed in her shabby home loved him unconditionally and because of that, he was more than willing to forgive her.

He smiled sadly at her. She wasn't going to make it.

"Why didn't you go to a hospital, mum?" he asked as he grabbed her frail hand and held it tightly.

"You know how the government feels about people like us, sweetheart. We aren't like them. If anything, they wish we didn't exist."

Rowan could feel her life source deplete. He could feel her slowly falling into the eternal abyss; she was barely hanging on.

Where the heck were you when all this was happening? Right, somewhere in probation. I couldn't even communicate with Dolan even if I had wanted to.

This is all my fault.

The least I can do is tell her the truth. She deserves to know the truth.

"Mum," he started, "About my probation-" "You should sue the government for accusing you and your friends. I know my peace loving baby couldn't do something as bad as joining The Rebellion."

If the guilt wasn't bad at first, it was definitely horrible now.

He squirmed in his seat as the courage that he had borrowed finished, leaving hi exhausted. He'd tell her the truth another time.

His mother smiled, proud that she managed to raise such a good man and let go of his hand before kissing her palm. She held out her palm to Rowan who smiled as he lightly pressed his palm against hers before he pressed his palm to his cheek with a small smile.

"I love you baby," she whispered, grinning at her son.

"I love you too mum," he replied.

She closed her eyes as she fell asleep, though Rowan knew that this particular slumber was permanent.

A tear fell and landed on her blanket, darkening the light blue.

"When I die, don't come near my body because my hands may not be able to wipe your tears away."

He tensed at the memory. She didn't know the truth; she believes he's a hero but was he really?

He felt overwhelmed. What he needed was to find any member of Dead Men Smiling and just talk to them.

He placed his mask on his face with a sad smile, "I know just who to find."

Maximus happened to be minding his own business as he walked to a cottage in the forest after buying a few things for his overly cranky friend.

I owe him as much after ghosting The Rebellion.

"One member down, three more to go," he muttered to himself. "The question is where could they be hiding?"

He stopped in his tracks and looked around as his hair stood straight at the back of his neck. He sniffed the air in suspicion before shrugging; he shouldn't have listened to Sora's story about hell.

He's now being paranoid.

He heard a twig break under the weight of a person's foot and scowled, "Whoever you are, show yourself. Fighting me when I'm not alert is an excellent example of cowardice."

"So is disappearing when a plan you made flops and leaving your friends to take the heat."

Maximus froze at the familiar voice and scanned the area, "Rowan?"

The tall male was soon standing in front of him and took of his mask. Maximus craned his neck and furrowed his brow at the tear stained cheeks before pulling his friend into a tight hug which was gladly returned.

He felt tears fall on his hair but ignored it; right now, Rowan needed comforting.

"What did not happen?" He asked once the male had calmed down. Rowan looked away suddenly feeling ashamed. He was Beast for heaven's sake; one of the most feared individuals in the empire and here he was crying because someone died.

I should get a grip. I've had blood on my hands before, how is this any different?

"It's nothing, Max," he grumbled. "Lets just go to the cottage." "Great idea. You'll tell me what's wrong over some hot chocolate."

They walked in a comfortable silence until Rowan realized something, Maximus owed them an explanation.

He voiced his thought as he fixed the brunet with a glare that would make anyone weak in the knees.

Maximus rose a brow as a ghost of a smirk made its way on his lips. His face quickly turned to a cross of fatigue and guilt.

"I really can't tell you now. I'll explain what happened later." He said with a grimace as if the memories were almost too much for him. He squeezed Rowan's shoulder, "Okay?"

"Not 'okay', Max. You and I both know that everytime you say you'll tell someone next time, it translates to do not ask again. I'm tired of your games."

"You're taking out your frustrations on me." "I'm calling you out on your nonsense."

"Do not speak to me like that ever again, Rowan. I'll tell you when I'm ready," Maximus' words were sharp. He then smiled brightly, "We're here. Now about that hot chocolate..."

Maximus opened the door, "Honey, I'm home. And I brought an old friend." "Leave me alone!"

Rowan grinned, "Is that Sora?" "Yep."

"He sounds cranky."

"He hasn't been taking care of those wounds so I had to reopen them a few days ago so they can heal properly."

Maximus poured a blue liquid and mixed it with a purple one as he spoke. He paused mid explanation to address Sora, "You better be shirtless when we get up there."

"Screw you."

Despite his harsh words, Sora was infact shirtless and let Maximus clean the wound with the correct herbs and potions while they both spoke to Rowan.

Sora sucked in a breath when he felt Maximus hold back some skin.

"We need to find Dolly as soon as possible. They're starting to come out."

Great. Sora thought with an eyeroll as he groaned. More pain for me.