Weeks after his awful confrontation with them, Lonely saw Sadness and Disgust out in the streets of Zajed. He was buying more books for the first time in a long time, Confidence standing next to him, holding his hand tightly. He’d drifted off as Confidence and Wisdom spoke and locked eyes with the one person he shouldn’t.

He froze, his hand clenching tightly around Confidence’s, but neither of them moved towards him. They just stared at him, a strange look in their eyes and a frown on their faces. He gulped and after a moment, turned away from them, but he could still feel their eyes boring into his back.

Nothing had happened since he’d forced them away from his home. According to Confidence and Love, they hadn’t tried anything with them either. It was all silent, but he knew eventually they would try something. When they did, he would be ready, they had to be.

“What’s wrong?” Confidence whispered in his ear.

“They’re staring at me. Behind us,” he answered and took a deep breath. “I don’t think they will do anything.”

Confidence looked over his shoulder and scoffed. “They won’t. Their influence has dwindled since you did what you did,” he said. “I’ve been spreading the news around to those who know the truth. I have the feeling they’ve spread it to others.”

It was only a matter of time before no one wanted to listen to Sadness and Disgust anymore. Then they would know what it was like to be lonely. Thinking it, he hated it. He didn’t want anyone to feel the way he did, it was awful. But at least Sadness and Disgust would have each other and when they finally realised the truth and accepted it, they would have the acceptance of everyone else.

He looked back at them and found that they had their back to him again. Seeing them was strange after everything that had happened, but for the first time in his long existence, it didn’t feel him with dread, just sadness and in the back of his mind, the tiniest bit of pride in himself.

“Do you have everything you want?” Confidence asked, pulling him from his thoughts. He nodded, shrugging the rucksack filled with their new books onto his shoulder. “Come on. You don’t need to worry about them anymore.”

He wasn’t, not in the way he usually did, but there was nothing he could do about their wellbeing. They’d never welcome his help, not in their current state. Until they did, he could live his life as well as he possibly could, his friends by his side.

He smiled at Confidence as they walked down the main road together, heading for Confidence’s home. They still got strange looks from people they passed, but Lonely had no idea what they meant. It wasn’t as if many of them were still pretending they followed Sadness and Disgust anymore, so why stare at them in such a way?

Ignoring the looks was the easiest solution and he allowed himself to drift off while they walked. Confidence’s home looked the same as ever, neat and cared for. Lonely had used it as inspiration for his own home, choosing to make sure it was clean and the plants outside were looked after.

“I changed up the back garden a little,” Confidence said as they walked into his home, locking the door behind them so that they weren’t bothered. “You should go look while I sort out the food.”

Lonely frowned and stared down the hall. “I liked the garden,” he said.

“Trust me,” Confidence replied with a laugh. “There isn’t much difference, but you’ll like it.”

He had to take his word for it, it was his garden, after all, it would look good no matter what. Of course, it took him a moment to realise what had changed. It was mostly the same, the stone path wrapping around to meet on a bridge. To one side, where there had once been two chairs, was a chair swing surrounded by flowers of different shades of pink and purple. With a smile, he sat down on the swing, leaning back against the soft cushions.

“It’s pretty,” he said when Confidence walked out a plate of sandwiches in his hands.

“I’m glad you like it,” he replied and sat down next to him. There was a tiny table next to the swing and he placed the plate on there, leaning back against Lonely.

Lonely pulled the books from his bag and sighed in content as he opened one. That was all they were going to do for the next few hours, sit and read in peace. It was what he needed after centuries of fear and panic, a relaxing afternoon with someone he cared about and who cared for him.

He had one arm around Confidence’s waist, the other hand struggling to flip the pages of his book. The taller man hummed a tune he didn’t recognise, but the sound was soothing. He didn’t pay much attention to the words on the page, happy to sit and listen to the sound. The sound of rushing water joined in and for once, he felt calm.

The humming cut off and he frowned down at Confidence in confusion. They both let out grunts when the taller of the two shifted to face him. “I’m proud of you, you know,” Confidence said, smiling sweetly at him. “Of what you’ve done. I know I wasn’t there when Sadness and Disgust tried to take you away and I’m sorry for that, but I’m so proud of you.”

He stared down at him, unsure of what he was supposed to say. “I’m… I did what needed to be done. You being there might have made things worse. I think it was one of those things that I needed to do myself,” he explained, trying to find words that wouldn’t offend him. “You came when I needed you to. Thank you for that.”

“You don’t have to do everything on your own, you know that, right?” Confidence asked, cupping his cheek with a cold hand. “I am here for you. So is Love and Happy and all the others. If anyone tries to hurt you, we can help.”

“I know,” he replied and smiled softly. “It was for the best that I did it on my own, that way Sadness and Disgust can see that even on my own, there isn’t anything they can do to me anymore.”

For a long moment, there was silence between them. It was awkward, but comfortable as Confidence frowned down at the ground. Patiently, Lonely waited for him to speak, hoping that he hadn’t said anything wrong. To him, it hadn’t sounded like it, but there was always a possibility.

“No, I understand that. Next time, alright? If there is one, of course,” Confidence eventually said, leaning forward to peck him on the lips.

“I think there might be, eventually, but for now… I don’t know, but I actually feel good,” he said and sighed, staring up at the clouds above them. “I feel like I can relax for a moment and not worry about a thing.”

Confidence relaxed against him again, as if satisfied with what he said. “You can. There isn’t anything you need to worry about anymore, not with me, not with your friends and hopefully not with Sadness or Disgust. Give it time,” he said. “Things will change and there might be something new to worry about, but it won’t be them and it won’t be for a long time.”

Somehow, even though Confidence believed something new would arise, the words soothed him, made him feel safe. He ran a hand through his partner’s hair and stared up at the clouds. If humanity was anything to go by, there would always be something to come along and change his happiness, but they were a strong race. If he was anything like them, he would be able to deal with him.

He had his friends, he had Confidence, and he had himself. After centuries of sitting alone, reading his books in the hopes that it would take him away from his life, he finally had a life to be proud of. It wasn’t an easy one, but it was his, and he wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of that.