Three minutes had been up long ago, but Dimentio didn't reappear. He was still there, but he didn't feel like becoming visible again. He didn't want to, for fear of the other two seeing the jealousy in his eyes. Not that they'd even notice. With the wave of his hand, Dimentio placed more sand in the hourglass without their noticing, giving himself more time to compose himself.

They didn't notice the extension of time from three minutes to an hour. They just continued talking. The sun had set within that time, and the stars had come out. Dio gushed about how he knew the constellations and how they used to be the same in his own home.

"You like stars, right?" Dio asked, beaming up at the sky.

"Uh... yeah. How'd you know that?" Mr. L asked, curious. Had it been a lucky guess?

"Luigi mentioned it!" Dio beamed. "You know what's funny... when Luigi first spoke of you, he didn't quite describe you the way I see you now. I imagined an evil alter ego. But... you're not really that."

"Huh?" Mr. L asked, not sure if he was offended or not by the fact that Luigi described him as evil. Technically, could he blame Luigi? He took control over his body and worked for the Champion of Destruction himself.

"I think Luigi has just been having a hard time seeing the good. Everyone here seems to be having that issue..." Dio pointed out. "But... I think that'll be fixed soon. I can already tell that Luigi was starting to find his smile once again. When I bring that Count back for that one girl, she'll start to see the good too, as will her friends. And with that, goodness will spread until everyone has healed."

"You sound like some sort of motivational speaker," Mr. L laughed.

Dio lightly giggled in responce. They looked happy. They really looked happy.

"You know, I hate to admit it, but I think I'm gonna miss you when you're gone," Mr. L admitted, not even feeling embarrassed about it. "You're easy to talk to."

Dio slowly stopped laughing, but not in a bad way. He wasn't upset. He felt... honored by hearing that. By hearing that he made a good impact on someone. He felt happy that someone would miss him, even if missing someone was a bad feeling.

When you miss someone, it at least shows that you cared for them. Being missed showed that he made an impact on another.

"... I'll miss you too," Dio softly smiled. "I... I really hope there's a Mr. L just like you in my world."

This was when Dimentio had heard enough. He needed to take a step back and stop listening because this was too much.

Dimentio knew that Dio knew there wouldn't be a Mr. L exactly like this in his own world. Part of what made Mr. L the Mr. L he is now was his trauma and the way it shaped him, so in a world where Dimentio had never killed him, he'd still be that cocky, arrogant person he was before. Dio had to know that! What was he doing?! Trying to guilt Mr. L into coming with him?!

Wait... was he? Was that his goal? To take away Mr. L for good?!

Whatever. Dimentio was tired of hearing this. He needed a breath. He had to stop listening for his own sake. So, he floated off, giving himself the alone time he needed.

"Yeah.... But I don't think he'd turn out exactly like me," Mr. L pointed out. "I mean... you were never there, so if he exists he must have turned out different."

"True... but he'd be the closest thing to you I could get," Dio pointed out. "Either way, I hope I have one. Your Dimentio is really lucky to have you."

Yes, the idea of leaving hurt, but... it was okay because he had hope. When he got home, maybe he could find a Mr. L there. Maybe he could be friends with that one like he was with this one. After all, why wouldn't there be? If there was a Dimentio in this world, why wouldn't there be a Mr. L in that one too? Now that he thought about it, technically everyone from this world should be in that one, and vice versa. Maybe there would be a Luigi and a Daisy over there too. Maybe someday he could go and search for them.

That would be nice...

The thought of taking Mr. L with him had never even crossed his mind. But it had crossed Dimentio's.

It seemed that the worst people think the worst of the best people, and the best people think the best of the worst.

But for now, they looked at the stars, not thinking of leaving. Dio listened to Mr. L as the man in green explained the planets that were visible. He asked questions and kept the conversation going for another fifteen minutes until Dimentio finally found the courage to show up again.

He didn't float this time. He walked up behind them, clearing his throat to grab their attention. He made sure that his eyes and voice showcased no emotion because showing emotion was almost like showing weakness. People could read reactions and determine things about one another, which was why it was always better to wear a mask and protect oneself.

"Oh, greetings!" Dio chimed, waving his left arm. His right arm was still sore, but it didn't hurt nearly as bad anymore, which was a relief. He was worried he had done some permanent damage, but it turned out to be healing faster than his cuts, so that was good news.

"Three minutes, huh?" Mr. L sarcastically laughed. "You didn't get lost, did-"

"It is late," Dimentio interrupted. "We will continue in the morning."

Mr. L and Dio both blinked in confusion. Yes, the night was upon them, but they weren't truly thinking about sleep. Where would everyone even sleep? There were no houses to lie down in. No beds to fall into. Just the grass and the remains of a once happy home.

"Your magic will be easier for you to harness if you are well-rested," Dimentio explained, seeing in their eyes that he needed to offer an explanation. And this was just the one he needed to give because they both seemed to nod in understanding.

______

The night air was chilly, so it would be hard to drift off, but not impossible. Dio wasn't particularly worried, as he was used to sleeping outside alone, and his cloak was fairly warm. It wasn't raining, so that was nice. It was always much harder to fall asleep in the rain. The cold water made resting difficult, even though the sounds of the drops splashing and crashing against the ground were soothing.

Mr. L and Dio decided to lie a few feet into the woods, where the grass was soft. There was a small clearing of trees so they could see the stars. They thought Dimentio would follow then, but instead, the jester chose to lie down nowhere near them, instead staying within the destroyed town and lying on the dark black ground. He curled up around himself, hugging his arms and bringing his knees as close to his chest as he could as if he was trying to conserve body heat. Even when falling asleep, he didn't take the mask off.

"... Does he ever day his mask off?" Dio whispered to Mr. L, lying down on his side, but still thoughtfully looking over at Dimentio, who shivered as he lay there.

"Nah," Mr. L whispered back from behind him. "Truth to be told, I never knew what his face looked like until I saw you."

"Oh..." Dio replied, pausing for a moment as if he was thinking Mr. L's words over. "Were... you disappointed?"

"Huh?" Mr. L asked, turning his head and looking at Dio. However, Dio didn't look back at him. He just continued watching Dimentio, as if avoiding eye contact.

"Well, you've known him for a while. Surely you had imagined what his face looked like. So... when you saw me, were you disappointed?" Dio repeated.

How could he think such a thing?! Mr. L didn't quite take Dio as someone to be very insecure. Where was this coming from?

"Dio..."

"I'm kinda funny looking..." Dio interrupted. "I... I know that. Most half-human half-ancient people like myself do look a little odd, but most of them look more normal than I do. Did... you expect him to look normal like you?"

Mr. L paused, then sat up and grabbed Dio's shoulder, forcing the cloaked boy to roll over and actually face the man in green, who was smiling a small smile.

"There's not a single being in any world... who looks normal," Mr. L promised. "No one is normal. Normal is an imaginary concept that doesn't really exist. But what I do know is that when I saw your face, disappointment was not among the things I was feeling."

Dio blinked once or twice, looking for signs of lying. Looking for a reason not to believe Mr. L. But he saw none. His face looked truthful and his voice was steady. A whisper, but still steady.

"... Thank you," Dio breathed, resting his head on the ground and bringing his eyes back over to Dimentio.

Mr. L nodded and lay back down as well, resting on his back and just watching the stars and the beautiful, infinite sky he had loved so much. Just lying there, it seemed so big. There were so many stars, each with their own stories and worlds. It was funny how small the sky could make one seem. He could just lie there and stare at it for hours and hours.

______

"... He's crying," Dio whispered, much later.

Mr. L was slightly thrown off, as he thought Dio had fallen asleep long ago. But the man in green dismissed this and just assumed that Dio was sleeptalking or something of the sort.

"Did you hear me? He's... crying." Dio repeated, still quietly, but slightly louder than before.

"Huh?" Mr. L asked, sitting up once again and looking down at Dio, who still had his eyes wide open and trained on Dimentio. Had he just been lying there and staring at him this whole time??

"...He's crying," Dio repeated once again, his voice small. "But he's asleep. Does... this happen often?"

Mr. L didn't reply. He didn't want to say yes, but that was the truth. He remembered the first time he had heard Dimentio crying in his sleep, back at Castle Bleck. It was a normal thing that everyone had gotten used to and just dismissed. He remembered hearing it one night when he was walking the halls to work on one of his machines. He wanted to go in and see what was wrong back then but decided against it because he didn't wish to be a bother. He wasn't sure if Dimentio was even aware that he cried in his sleep, and waking him to tell him could have potentially been humiliating for the jester, so he never did.

Should he have?

"... I used to cry in my sleep," Dio breathed after giving up on the hope of Mr. L answering him. "When I was little... I would cry every night because I missed my dad. But... then my brother would help me. D-did you ever help him?"

Again, Mr. L didn't reply. He didn't want to admit that he could have but chose not to.

He didn't feel guilty about not helping before. He sure did now.

He didn't think Dimentio would have wanted help. But how could he assume that? How selfish was that?! Assuming another didn't want help.

"... Are you going to help him now?" Dio asked, finally rolling onto his back and turning his head to Mr. L.

Again, Mr. L stayed silent.

What would he even do now? Wake him up? Dimentio would probably just shove him away. How could he help??

"No...?" Dio asked upon hearing L's silence. He then turned away, letting out a slightly disappointed sigh. "I worried you'd choose that. I just want you to know that help would mean much more coming from you than me,"

Mr. L continued to wait in total silence, just watching as Dio sat up and took his cloak off of himself, probably for the first time in a very long time. Underneath he had nothing but a black tank top, which was clearly doing nothing to keep the body heat in, and those leggings with boots.

He then walked over to Dimentio, kneeling down next to the jester and lying the cloak over him, as if it was a blanket.

Dimentio didn't wake, but being closer now Dio could see that there were indeed tears on his face. However, the jester trembled slightly less as soon as the cloak was draped over him. Dio smiled, the lied down next to him, gently hugging Dimentio.

"Shh..." Dio whispered, closing his eyes. "You are not alone... you are never alone."

"Shh... you are not alone. You are never alone," the young boy with white hair whispered to his older brother, crawling up to the top bunk, where the nine-year-old boy with dark hair had been crying in his sleep. The younger boy then grabbed their father's cloak, draping it over his brother, hugging him tightly. "I'm here. Nothing bad is happening to us..."

Dimentio nodded, though he was asleep, and subconsciously hugged his younger brother back, sobbing into his chest.

"M...Miss him," Dimentio whispered, tears still flowing from his closed eyes.

"Miss him..." Dimentio whispered, hugging Dio back tightly and softly crying into his chest as if it was a reflex. He wasn't awake or aware of what was happening. If he was, he would have surely shoved Dio away.

"I know..." Oitnemid whispered back, stroking Dimentio's hair. "I know... but you are not alone. I'm still here."

"I know..." Dio whispered. "Believe me... I know. But... you are not alone."