Crave, after some time, returns to Gibeon's family home to meet with Amethio and discuss their plans going forward. However, Crave is met with an immediate obstacle: the giant portrait of his dead wife.

NOTE: This includes my headcanon that Maria's death was a result of her Rakurium research and not a traffic accident as Amethio said. Please take that part with a grain of salt.

Crave had never liked the atmosphere of Gibeon's family home. He wasn't sure how to describe it. 'Oppressive' wasn't quite right, but it was something along those lines, perhaps.

He tended to avoid it. He had even bought a small apartment near his office so that he could focus on work.

...So that he didn't have to confront himself. Or *her*.

But it had been a rather long time since he'd visited. And now he was helping Amethio, it made the most sense for them to conduct their meetings there. Spinel couldn't harm them, after all.

As soon as Crave entered the house, he was hit with an overwhelming sensation that he was somewhere he didn't belong. Every inch of his body was telling him to leave. To get as far away from there as possible.

Amethio, who had walked in before Crave, turned to face his father.

"I'll tell Zir and Conia to prepare some tea," he said. "Hamber will show you the room."
"R-Right," Crave nodded.

Amethio, alongside his partner Soublades, headed up the stairs. Crave kept his head down. He couldn't look up and follow Amethio.

Because if he did, he'd lay eyes on her.

"Crave-sama," Hamber said, "Are you not going to greet Maria-sama?"
"..."

What was he even supposed to say to Maria? 'I'm home' hardly seemed appropriate. Should he apologise to her? But knowing her, she'd smile and tell him he had nothing to be sorry about.

And if he said nothing, Amethio would no doubt call him a coward again.

He knew he was a coward. He'd known that all along. Amethio was right. And even though Amethio had said Crave needed to be braver and do things only he could do, when it came to Maria...

"Crave-sama?" Hamber called out to him gently.
"O-Oh, uh..." Crave mumbled. He glanced up at Hamber. "Sorry. I just... still feel odd being here."
"This is your house too," Hamber reminded him. "Gibeon-sama said as much."

*'He only said that to be polite,'* Crave wanted to say.

"Perhaps you should tell Maria-sama that you are spending time with Amethio-sama again. I am sure she would appreciate that."

Crave wanted to run away. He wanted to leave and pretend he was never part of this family that was too grand and magnificent for him. He never asked to get involved in such a fantastical story.

But Hamber's words struck him. He recalled how often Maria would talk about Amethio. How proud she was of him reaching his milestones and how much she loved him.

"...Give me a minute, then," Crave forced himself to say as he grit his teeth. "I'll catch up to you and Amethio."
"Understood."

Crave waited until Hamber had left the room. As he walked forward towards the main staircase, which branched off in two different directions at the top, he stared firmly at the floor.

Maria.

Maria was right there.

And yet... he couldn't face her.

Because facing her meant admitting the truth. It meant acknowledging what happened all those years ago. Reliving the worst moments in his entire life.

For Amethio's sake, he needed to talk to her. Had Hamber been updating her about Amethio? Crave didn't know Hamber well enough to be able to tell.

Crave took a deep breath and clenched his fists. The sooner he talked to Maria, the sooner he could go and talk to Amethio. And the sooner that conversation ended, the sooner he could leave.

The moment Crave finally lifted his head and looked up at his wife, he instantly broke down.

He'd forgotten just how large the portrait was. Even if it had been half the size, it would've been far too big.

But more than that, he'd forgotten her smile. Her warm, kind smile. How could he have ever forgotten how beautiful and gorgeous and elegant she was?

No, Crave knew why.

It was because his image of her had been overwritten with her bandaged, damaged face begging him to protect their son.

*'That's right... this is what she looked like.'*

This was... his wife, Maria. Amethio's mother.

Why Maria had chosen someone like Crave, the man himself couldn't fathom. It had always been a mystery to him. But she loved him, and he was fully aware of that.

And he, in turn, loved her.

...Which he was also fully aware of, having seen her breathtaking face again.

There were so many things he wanted to say to her. So many things he wanted to apologise for. To tell her about. To ask her about.

But he didn't have all day. He exhaled deeply to try and calm himself down.

"Amethio... has grown into a fine young man. Y-You... You would be... s-so... so proud.. of.. of.."

Crave covered his face with his hand, ashamed of himself. He couldn't speak to her.

It was too much.

All the painful, harrowing memories of the day he lost the most important person in his life came flooding back to him. Memories he had been trying so desperately to suppress all those years...

"Maria, I--"
"What's taking you so long?"

Crave froze as Amethio's annoyed voice berated him.

"...What? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, I..."

Crave cleared his throat, quickly tried to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand, and looked over at Amethio, who was looking rather confused.

"Why in the world are you crying?" Amethio asked, perplexed. "It's not like this is the end of everything. We're going to take down Spinel, and--"
"That's not it," Crave replied. "I was just..." he suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. "I wanted to talk to your mother."
Amethio raised an eyebrow and glanced at the portrait for a moment.

"But Mother's dead," he said bluntly as he looked at Crave again in confusion. "She's not here. There's nobody to talk to. It's not like that portrait is going to respond."

Crave opened his mouth to retort, only to close it again. He had no counter argument. Amethio was, once again, correct.

"The tea Zir and Conia made for you will get cold," Amethio continued. "Let's get started already."
"R-Right," Crave said.

Amethio, who was at the top of the stairs, turned around and waited for Crave to catch up to him. When Crave was closer, Amethio spoke again.

"...That way, you can leave here quicker. That's what you want, isn't it?"
"...Er, well..." Crave didn't know what to say to that.
"I get it," Amethio said. "I hate it here too, sometimes. Nothing about this place is welcoming."
"You do?!" Crave was extremely surprised. "But it's the only house you've lived in."
"Maybe," Amethio shrugged. "Although... in some ways, I prefer the submarine."
"Hold on. What's this about a submarine?" Crave couldn't believe what Amethio was saying.
"Oh, didn't you hear?" Amethio still kept his back to his father as he walked into the room they were using for their meeting. "I've been using it with Zir and Conia for missions. Grandfather permitted it."
"...You know," Crave sighed, "Your mother would have never let you anywhere near a submarine."
"And she probably would never have let *you* devote so much of your time to work instead of looking after me," Amethio retorted. "Based on what Hamber's told me, at least."
"..."

Crave had no idea when Amethio had become so sharp-tongued, but it was a trait he definitely inherited from his grandfather Gibeon.

When Crave sat down in the room, he made sure he chose an angle where it was the hardest to see the family photos displayed proudly on top of the mantle. He needed to focus on Amethio, not on Maria.

But as Amethio talked, Crave started to see hints of Maria in him. His mannerisms, his speech... Just little, subtle things. Mostly, however, Amethio reminded Crave of Gibeon.

There was no trace of himself in his son. But to Crave, that was a good thing. It meant Amethio wasn't a coward. It meant he was just as special as his mother and his grandfather. That he was a somebody -- unlike Crave, who wasn't anybody at all.

Once their meeting ended, Amethio essentially kicked Crave out of the house (Crave knew he was trying to be polite), and Crave returned to his small apartment in Hakkou City.

After Crave got home, he immediately sat on his sofa and proceeded to call his Chillacino out of her Ball... and then promptly buried his face in her long, silky fur.

"Maria..." he mumbled to himself. "I miss you... I... I'm so... I..."

He started crying again. Sobbing, this time.

He tried his best to block out the words that had been playing over and over in his head ever since he'd looked at Maria's portrait. Words that had broken his heart and destroyed his soul...

===

*"Crave-sama... I have some important news to tell you."*
*"Can it wait? I have work due today, and--"*
*"Maria-sama is in critical condition."*
*"What... do you...?"*
*"There was an explosion at an Exceed research facility. She... was caught up in it."*
*"...Hamber. Is... is she...?"*
*"I am afraid... that she will almost certainly succumb to her injuries."*
*".......No. You're lying."*
*"I wish with all my being that I was lying, Crave-sama."*
*"She can't... Maria..."*
*"Shall I take you to her? You should say your farewells."*
*"........Does Gibeon-sama know?"*
*"Yes. He is already at her side."*
*"Then I don't need to go."*
*"You do. Maria-sama was apparently calling for you. And I do not think that Gibeon-sama would lie about something like that."*
*"Right. If he didn't want me there, he'd make it obvious."*
*"Indeed. Shall we?"*
*"....Okay."*

Crave could still recall how odd she smelt. She was covered in bandages. As he had held her hand, he had realised that they were oddly warm to the touch.

*"Crave... Honey... Please. Please take care of Amethio. Please love that child enough for the both of us. He deserves everything. Love him so much that he won't ever suffer because I'm not around. Please..."*
*"I will."*
*"I love you. Thank you for... for everything..."*
*"...Maria, I... I swear I'll do whatever I can to protect Amethio. And to make your father's wishes come true."*
*"Fufu. I knew I made the right decision..."*
*"Huh?"*
*"Loving you, I mean. And-- And I..."*
*"Don't talk. You just... rest. You rest well, and then you'll get better. And we'll go home together."*
*"I won't... [cough] be..."*
*"..."*
*"I can't. Crave... is... is my father still there?"*
*"Not right now..."*
*"Get him, please... I must s-say... g-goodbye to... to him... t-too-- [cough]"*

Crave hadn't wanted to move. He'd wanted to be the one by Maria's side when she departed. But he'd obeyed her wish, and had fetched Gibeon.

The next day, Maria had passed away, with her father and her husband beside her.

Neither men had said anything to each other the entire time.

The only thing Gibeon had said to Crave after that was "Leave". Crave had reluctantly followed his orders. It hadn't been the right time to try and fight with him.

After all, Gibeon had been grieving too. Crave had never expected a man as powerful and intimidating as Gibeon could look so... broken.

===

Crave vowed to himself that the next time he set foot in the family home that he'd talk to Maria properly, with dignity. He had so much to tell her. And there was no reason why he couldn't.

More than anything, he wanted to finally and properly thank her for the wonderful time they had spent together. And thank her for choosing to spend her life with someone like him. He also wanted to apologise for failing to protect Amethio as she had asked, but... maybe that could wait for another time.

As Crave watched Chillaccino lick herself clean from his tears, he chuckled and ruffled the top of her head.

"Sorry," he said. "I know you don't like that very much. Thanks for putting up with it."
"Ccino!" Chillaccino smiled happily back at him, as if to tell him to not worry about it.
"I'll treat you to some good food tonight. And maybe..." Crave sat up a bit more. "Maybe I'll treat myself, too."
"Ccino! Ccino!"
"Oh? Sounds good?"
"Cci!"
"Ahaha. Alright, let's do that. A reward for you, and a reward for me."