Author's Note: I'd like to thank the real version of André for granting me permission to use his lyrics.

Chapter 54: Painted Colors

The walk back to the Blooming Planet Festival eased Mokuba's aching nerves. With each step, he slipped deeper into the fantasy of being a university student. By the time they arrived at the stage, he had forgotten about the ring and Seto's agitation over it.

André, Kris, Dimitri, and Jessica had already set up onstage and begun playing by the time Mokuba and Joan got there. Children and adults alike danced on the grass with freeform jumps and twirls. Joan and Mokuba joined in the fun, the music stitching them closer to this wondrous place and time. André and Jessica sang about trains, about wildlife, about heartbreak, and somehow they made even that into cause for celebration.

Well I thought you skipped off

Leaving my heart black and dead

But when that black chipped off

I saw you'd painted it beautifully instead

For the first time, Mokuba realized that every loss in his life had also brought him a new opportunity. Even the death of his parents, even losing touch with his high school friends and girlfriend had opened doors for him. The threads of his life wove together like a tapestry, and he liked what he saw when he stood back to admire the big picture.

Seto had always scoffed at claims of destiny, but the fact of the matter remained that if all of them hadn't wound up in the lounge of Mokuba's office at the same time, things could have turned out much differently. If Joan hadn't learned that Seto and Mokuba were brothers before Seto approached her, if she hadn't received warning of Seto's tastes, she might have taken offense at Seto's approach. Instead, she'd seen an opportunity and seized it, much like Seto had when he'd challenged their adoptive father to a chess match in order to get them out of the orphanage.

Mokuba locked eyes with his dance partner. Like Seto, she didn't wait for destiny to happen to her; she created her own destiny. If she hadn't met him and Seto, she would have kept searching until she found the brothers she wanted. Mokuba laughed when he remembered Marc had three brothers.

"What's so funny?" Joan asked.

"Have you met Marc's brothers?"

"No, but I've seen pictures." Light danced in Joan's eyes. "I know the Aurelios are a long shot anyway, but if they ever took interest in me, do you think Seto would make an exception for them?"

"Your time is stretched thin as it is." Mokuba pulled her to him. "What makes you think I'd make an exception for them?"

Joan sensed Mokuba's ardency, his desire for private intimacy growing again. His need sprung not from any desire to control her but from the simple fact that the clock was ticking on both of their lives. She fell into his kiss as the chimes of the campus clock tower resounded over the quad, signaling an end to the Neverlanders' performance and six hours remaining before Joan's flight to Japan. Damn, they'd already packed up the tent, and she didn't want to impose on Jessica again for help putting it back up. Ideas about where they could copulate flew through Joan's mind and she shot them down until one crashed through her common sense.

Joan broke the kiss, grabbed Mokuba's hand, and ran to the back of the stage where the Neverlanders were packing up. "Hey André!"

"Yeah?" the bald musician responded.

"Can Mokuba and I fuck in your room if I give you a blowjob afterwards?"

"Say what now?"

Joan went back to square one. "Remember how last night you told me to ask for your cock tomorrow since you were high and all that?"

"Not really, but sure, if your man is cool with that."

Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Mokuba simply nodded.

"Sweet!" Joan kissed André on the cheek. "We'll meet you back at Neverland."

Joan took off with Mokuba, their bodyguards still following at a respectful distance. They passed through town by a different route, crossing diagonally over a grassy park with a couple of community centers and a rose garden. They crossed two more streets and stopped in front of a cute red brick church with a little bell tower that looked like something from a storybook.

"Here's where my parents got married," Joan declared.

As the congregation's 5pm Saturday mass progressed, music from their unique version of Agnus Dei drifted out of the wide-open, arched door. Not wanting to go in, Joan simply stood there and sang along for old times' sake, letting Mokuba bask in the fantasy of belonging to this community for a few moments. Joan noticed some of the parishioners glancing outside and decided to leave before any of them recognized her.

"Are you sure we can't have our wedding here?" Mokuba asked as Joan dragged him away from the church.

"I'm sure we could if you threw enough money at them, but I don't worship that god anymore. I still like Jesus in some ways, but his dad, the white man in white robes with a white beard among white clouds is for people with daddy issues." Joan clapped her hand over her mouth the instant she remembered Mokuba's upbringing. She scanned his face for a reaction.

"You have a point there," Mokuba admitted. "I've been considering therapy for a while now. It's just that Seto always handled that stuff on his own, and I thought I should be able to put it behind me as well."

"Do what you need to do," Joan said. "The same things don't work for everyone."

They walked the rest of the way to Neverland in silence, admiring front-yard gardens as majestic trees shaded their path.