“Someone should tell Pride that she was right,” Love said as he and Lonely walked through the market.

“Hmm? About what?” Lonely asked, frowning in confusion.

“You and Confidence,” he answered, smiling slyly at him.

Heat rushed from Lonely’s cheeks to his ears and he glanced down at the ground. “Well, she wasn’t at the time. It’s only a recent thing,” he said. It had only been a few weeks since he’d mustered the courage to let Confidence know how he felt, almost a month. It had been even less time since he’d confronted Sadness and Disgust.

Love shrugged. “Still, I’m sure she’d been excited about it,” he said. “She’s mentioned double dates a few times, I think hinting at me getting in a relationship. So thank you, maybe she’ll leave me alone now.”

Sometimes, his friends said things that sounded like they should be rude, but the tone of voice turned it into something joking. He couldn’t understand, but smiled anyway when Love laughed, trying to understand how exactly friendship worked. The others seemed to understand, for the most part, that he was still getting used to even talking to people.

It had been a while since he’d seen Sadness or Disgust for more than a few seconds at a time, but they stood in the middle of the marketplace, talking quietly among themselves. Love froze at his side and made a noise in the back of his throat, while Lonely watched them curiously. To think that they had once controlled him, once terrified him, it was strange.

When they looked at him, there was nothing he could do but give them a polite smile. It was far nicer than what they deserved, considering what they had done to him over the years, but he didn’t want to sink to their level. Disgust sneered at him and he faltered for a moment. Sadness finally caught his eye, but only for a moment before turning away and pulling Disgust with them.

“They could at least be polite,” Love said disapprovingly.

“I don’t mind,” Lonely replied with a shrug. It could have been so much worse. “It doesn’t matter much to me.”

There was a small smile pulling at Love’s lips. “You’re a far better person than them,” he said and while it was an odd compliment, his cheeks still grew hot.

Once Sadness and Disgust disappeared into the crowd, Love moved again and Lonely followed by his side. They were supposed to be getting ingredients and other things so Love could cook up a feast for them tomorrow and had invited him along for a reason he had figured out. Maybe it was just so he could have company, either was, Lonely didn’t mind.

It was still strange for him to be able to wander the streets and talk to anyone who passed without getting in trouble. Not that he did talk to everyone who passed, but he could if he truly wanted to. That kind of freedom was something he was still getting used to, but he loved it.

Even so, he smiled awkwardly at Calm when they came by her shop, listening to Love’s cheerful conversation with her. With his hands in the pockets of his long coat, he watched people talk to their friends, grinning and laughing. For the first time, he felt like he was one of them, like he belonged in Zajed.

“Lonely!” a familiar voice called from the crowd. His smile widened when Confidence came out from behind a bored-looking couple, a bright flower crown in his blonde hair, Fear and Happy trailing behind him.

They shared a chaste kiss, Lonely still smiling when they pulled away. “What’s with the crown?” he asked, reaching up to finger a petal.

“We were making them in the garden,” Confidence answered and suddenly, flowers tickled his forehead. “I made one for you too, but I was going to give it to you tonight.”

He had no idea what colour it was or what flowers they were, but he didn’t mind. “Thank you,” he said, heat in his cheeks once more.

“You look stunning,” Confidence said, which did nothing to help his blush abate. “Alright, I have to head off, but I’ll see you tonight, alright?”

Another kiss and he was gone before Lonely could say anything. He wanted to return the compliment but he wouldn’t get a chance until later that night. Love was done by the time he turned back and was eyeing him in amusement.

“That’s cute,” he said and gestured at the crown. Lonely kept his gaze on the ground but there was still a smile on his face. “Come on, you dork, I still have things I need to get. You can gush later.”

“But… I’m not gushing,” he replied as Love walked away from the stall.

His friend scoffed and shook his head. “You are. I can tell,” he said and grinned at him. Of course, he could, he would know affection better than anyone else. Part of Lonely wanted to jokingly tell him to hush, but wasn’t sure how well it would go down. Instead, he shook his head and kicked sheepishly at the ground.

For the next hour or so, he followed Love around and helped him carry his new things back to his mansion down near the beach. Their feast the next day would be a big affair, supposed to introduce Lonely to the world and the world to Lonely. He was nervous, but he knew he could handle it.

“See you tomorrow night, Lonely!” Love called from the doorway when they were finally finished. Lonely waved to him and started down the long road back to his own home, still on the hill outside the town.

He liked having it there now that things had changed. Sometimes, Zajed was far too loud, far too busy and while he liked it, there were also times where he needed the peace and quiet. His home was that peace. A place that had once felt like a prison was now a kind of sanctuary.

Of course, that didn’t mean he no longer had to work. He still played the violin every day if he could, watching the faces of the humans he passed his emotion onto. Sometimes, it made him feel awful, but he had no other choice. Sadness and Disgust were right in that respect, he had a job to do.

The first thing he did when he finally got home was head towards his studio. It was as empty as ever, but he was thinking about decorating it when he got a chance. Maybe it was something he could do with Confidence. He would have to bring it up when he arrived for dinner.

The violin was cool and smooth in his hands, the wood polished so that it shone in the dim candlelight. Placing bow to string, he lost himself in the music as magic swirled around him. He watched with tears in his eyes as images of humans he didn’t know filled the room. Most of them were on their own, staring off at something he couldn’t see, but others were with people. Somehow, it was possible for them to feel lonely even when they were in the company of others.

Watching them, he was immensely grateful that he wasn’t one of those people. He had happiness with Confidence and his friends. Sometimes, he still felt lonely, felt awful, but he was able to deal with it. So would the humans. They’d had emotions far longer than him, he just gave them to them.

Once, he had felt awful for them and awful for himself in turn. But he knew the truth, now. He knew that anything he felt was fleeting, would go away after a time. It was the same for humans. The loneliness he gave them was only temporary, they would grow past it, just like he was.

The music and magic swirled around him, faces flashing by faster and faster until they became a blur of hundreds of thousands of people. All of it fleeting, all of it temporary, a path to happiness or something else. Lonely closed his eyes as the music soared and he poured every ounce of himself into the sound. He let it flow through him, through the room, through his house and his life and every fibre of his being. For the first time in his life, he embraced the music he made.

He could have been playing for hours, or only minutes, but it didn’t matter. He let the music take him where it wanted to, happy to lose himself to the instrument for a while. He moved along with it as the pitch varied from high to low, the tone flowing between his many emotions. It was a song of himself, sung for the whole world to hear, but he was the only there to witness it.

Ever so slowly, the music began to end, petering off on a long, deep note. With a deep breath, he dropped his hands to his sides and opened his eyes to the empty room. He would probably never play a song like that again, but it was one he would never forget, not for as long as he lived.

With the violin back in its normal place, he turned to leave and frozen at the wide-eyed face that stared back at him. “Confidence,” he said. “How long have you been there?” How long had he been playing?

For a long moment, Confidence said nothing, just stared at him with an expression that could only be described as awe. “A while,” he whispered. “I just wanted to listen.”

Embarrassed, Lonely went to run a hand through his hair, only for his fingers to brush against the soft petals of the flower crown still on his head. “Sorry. I got a little carried away,” he said and brushed down his shirt.

“No,” Confidence said and moved towards him, placing his hands on Lonely’s hips. “No, that was beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you play like that. It sounded more like you.”

“More like me?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around Confidence.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but it was beautiful,” he said and when Lonely looked up at him, his cheeks were dark. “You’re beautiful.”

Once again, he was at a loss for words, but after a few seconds, his voice came back to him. “So are you,” he said. It wasn’t enough to show Confidence how he really felt, but it would have to do for the moment. He leaned up and pecked him on the cheek, smiling when Confidence’s thumb brushed against his own.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, laughing when Lonely stomach rumbled loudly. “Come on, I brought food.”

As they walked down Lonely’s hallway towards his book-filled living room, waves of emotion washed over him. Once upon a time, he wouldn’t have been able to recognise them, but after only a few months with a man who stopped at nothing to be his friend, he knew the truth. And as a result, he had everything he wanted.

There were still things he had to work on, but with time and effort and focus, he would get there. He would be the person he wanted to be. With people who cared for him by his side, with Confidence, both the person and the feeling, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him from being him. Being Lonely didn’t mean he had to always feel that way, it was just a name, a title. He was Lonely, but he wasn’t alone.