Chapter Text
When Abolish was ten, he lost his parents.
There really wasn't much to say about it. It wasn't a murder, an explosion, a disappearance, or anything dramatic like that. It was just a car accident, just a drunk driver swerving into the car to avoid hitting a deer. The only tragedy there was that it left behind the Veylockes' two children behind to fend for themselves. Abolish, and his brother, just five years older than him, Louis.
Sure, on paper, they were living with their uncle Morcant. But with how often the man was away on business trips, the adoption always felt more like a formality than a real thing. Louis was the one who had to raise his little brother.
All on his own.
Well…almost alone.
Noah Legundo, was a sixteen year old kid from the middle of nowhere. He and his parents had recently moved and therefore knew nothing about the Veylockes' deaths, the responsibility on Louis' shoulders, or how close to breaking the eldest had been. What he did know was that Louis was a smart kid, and was his assigned partner for their shared biology class.
"You don't mind if my brother joins us while we work on our project, do you?" Louis asked, tapping his pencil against his wrist. "There's no one at home who can watch him and he's still pretty young. I don't want to leave him alone." Louis muttered, avoiding the pitying look in Legundo's eyes that he had gotten far too used to seeing on his peers faces.
"That's fine," the boy said, readjusting his glasses with a smile on his face. "If your brother wants to join us, I don't mind. We can study in the library if you'd like." He then opened their textbook, pulling it closer for Louis to look at. "So for the project, I was thinking of applying our unit to water bears."
The project was just the beginning, they found that they worked well with one another. In more than just classwork. They balanced each other out, provided support each other, and realised that they had similar personalities. Soon enough, Noah—who insisted on being called Legundo, or "Legs" as Louis took to calling him—came around so often, Abolish got used to him being around.
Legundo was always there when Abolish got home. He was there, helping Louis learn how to cook and prepare packed lunches. He was there when Abolish tried to sneak out for the first time, he was there when Abolish got in trouble, and he was there holding Louis up when he came out as trans.
Abolish grew up, not with a mom or dad, but with a Louis and a Legundo. His family wasn't normal, but it was his, strangeness and all. Louis was his brother by blood, but Legundo was his brother by relation. His brothers taught him how to be open-minded, to be kind, and to help those in need.
When he was fifteen, Abolish learned that he wasn't…good at dealing with people. Maybe it was because he lost his parents when he was young. Maybe it was because most of the social interaction he got was with people five years older than him. Maybe it was because there was something wrong with him, like his peers claimed.
Whatever the reason, Abolish didn't have friends in high school. A trend which continued into college. All of which to say, Abolish didn't go out much, he didn't attend clubs, and the idea of being in a tight, enclosed space with hundreds of bodies pressing against one another as lights flashed overhead didn't fill Abolish with excitement. His idea of a fun night didn't involve being pushed around, people touching him when he didn't want to be touched, or paying for overpriced alcohol.
So why was he standing in line in front of a high rise building where the entrance was decorated with pink, white, and red balloons again?
The simple answer? His brothers. The more complex answer? Well…
"Why am I here again?" Abolish asked, toying with the cuffs on his leather jacket as Louis readjusted the deep wine red tie around his neck. "I was hoping for a quiet night, it's not like anything special is happening today."
"Don't be such a sour puss," Louis teased lightly as his hands smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles from Abolish's shirt. "It's Valentine's Day, you should have a bit of fun, let loose!" Louis' silver blond hair fell like waves past his shoulders as he turned to his best friend and dusted off the front of the dark green sweater the man wore.
"It is nice to take a little break every now and then," Legs admitted with a small smile. The older man had cleaned up pretty well. Dressed in a dark green sweater with a white dress shirt collar peaking out from underneath. A set of beige corduroy pants fitted the man well. And the typical plain wire framed glasses had been traded for a pair of tortoise shell and black framed glasses.
It was certainly odd seeing the doctor out of the blue and white scrubs that Abolish had seen the man wear for nearly five years while working to complete his residency. At the same time, it was good to know that his brother knew that other clothes existed. Though he had a sneaking suspicion that Louis was actually the one that had dressed Legs.
"Besides, it's been so long since you've last seen the others. They'll be happy to see you and they'd want to know what you've been up to since you left for college."
Abolish shrugged, kicking the pavement. "They're your friends, not mine, Lou. I was just the stray kid that you all tolerated," he muttered. "And I've been busy with…stuff."
Louis' eyes turned sorrowful, hair falling in front of his eyes as he reached out and took Abolish's hand. "Abby, our friends are your friends as well. They love you and they have missed you while you were away at college. They'd love to see you again, catch up, and…to be completely honest, I'm worried about you."
Abolish hated the look of sorrow on his brother's face, hated the worried frown that crossed his face. "I just think they wouldn't be that upset if I wasn't there. People never are," he pointed out with a shrug.
"People might be hard to talk to, but sometimes, people are worth it," Legundo said wisely, resting a steady hand on Abolish's shoulder with a smile. "We aren't expecting you to make new friends tonight, we're just asking you to try. We're not expecting you to drink, talk to anyone you're not familiar with, or anything of the sort. If you're not having fun, you're free to go after a little while."
"I'd never want you to feel like you're trapped in a situation," Louis reassured his brother, squeezing his hand. "Just text me before you go, and then text me when you get home if I don't see you tonight."
Abolish nodded, the things I do for my brothers… he thought to himself before letting out a slow breath. "Alright, I'll try, just for the night. I'm not making any promises, but I'll try."
"Thank you," Louis said earnestly, smiling brightly before letting go of Abolish's hand. "Now, I had a promise to meet Cherri for a drink. Pearl wants to try and beat Legs in an arm wrestle, and they texted me that they're already inside. Let's go!" Abolish watched as his brother grabbed Legundo's hand, missing the faint blush that coloured his cheeks, and pulled them towards the bouncer.
Louis turned his bright smile onto the bouncer, unaware of the way the bouncer's eyes lingered on his face and then the curve of Louis' hips. Gross. The man cleared his throat, shifting in place before holding a hand out. "Id? Name?"
"Oh, right, here!" Louis collected their id's before handing them over, "Three of us, should be under Louis Veylocke?"
The bouncer barely glanced at the ids in his hand, instead, he turned his attention to Louis. "So, you got a partner?"
"Hmm?" Louis looked up from his phone, "Are we okay to go in?"
"Sure, if you're fine with getting a drink, tell 'em to put it on my tab. The name's Diego."
"Oh, I couldn't, that's very kind of you though," Louis responded sweetly, taking their id's back.
"I insist, just leave your number for me, so see you later."
Abolish rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around Louis' arm and shoved Legundo forward before they caused a scene. "Yeah, thanks, but I can buy my brother his own drinks," he said coldly, glaring at the bouncer. " You said we were cool? Cool, come on Lou, I'm sure Pearl's getting antsy."
"Huh? Okay, thanks again!" Louis waved at the bouncer before following Abolish into the club. "That was nice of him to offer us a round on him," Louis mused as Abolish let go of his arm.
"Nice…sure," Legundo grumbled, then shook his head. "I think I see girls and Martyn, they're in the far booth in the corner." He gestured across the room, "I'll grab us the first round, any requests?"
"I'll go with you," Abolish insisted, "Lou, did you want anything?"
"Oh! Cherri said that she got something called an Love Smash? I have no clue what that is, but she said it's pink and delicious, and I want to try it!" He then leaned close to Legs and pressed a kiss onto his cheek. Leaving behind a faint wine red outline of his brother's lips on his cheek.
Gross.
"Thanks Legs! I'll meet you at the table."
"S-sure," Legs stuttered out, Louis giggled before disappearing into the major crowd. Abolish smirked as Legundo pressed his hands over his eyes. "Fuck…"
"Wow, you still haven't-?"
"Shut up," Legundo muttered as they elbowed their way to the bar. He sighed as he leaned against the bar counter. "It's complicated."
"Complicated how again?" He asked as the doctor took of his glasses and massaged his forehead. "Louis never dated, not before he transitioned and not after. You two have been like this since high school!"
"He's been busy with his schooling, and then his job, and you know I'm not the best fit for him."
"Bullshit," Abolish scoffed, rolling his eyes as Legundo grabbed a napkin and wiped the lipstick off his cheek. "You two are so stupid."
"I do not need the kid who thinks The Crow from '94 is better than Batman: The Dark Knight from '08 giving me advice on what is or isn't stupid," Legundo pointed out.
"You're just angry that Eric gets to have a relationship and you don't," Abolish said smugly.
"I will hit you," Legs threatened.
"I'll bite back."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't," Abolish said confidently, grabbing two of the beers that his brother had ordered while he grabbed the drink that Louis had requested and a can of soda. "Come on, the others are probably waiting for us."
"You say nothing about this," Legundo insisted as they made their way over.
"Sure," Abolish shook his head before turning his attention to the chaotic and lively group that was squished into a corner.
Louis was laughing at something a blond man with a Naruto headband tied around his head said. Leaning against him was a woman with chestnut curls, dressed in a soft pink flared skirt, a white frilled blouse, and matching stockings with little hearts and roses stitched at the ankles.
Across from her was a woman with dark burgundy hair, cloaked in black, but in a similar style to the first. She wore a corset with blood red flowers outlined with silver vines. Her flared skirt had similar roses, but also moons decorating the hem.
"There's the man of the hour!" One last woman cheered, raising her hand as Abolish and Legundo approached the table. The woman's loose fitting flannel slipped off one shoulder as she leaned back. One leg drawn up to her chest as she grinned wolfishly as Abolish and Legundo set the drinks down.
"Aw, look! It's Little Bo!" The man grinned as Abolish slid into the seat beside the woman in black. Legundo sat beside Louis, pushing his drink towards him. "How does it feel to be back in the city?"
"More or less the same," Abolish reported with a shrug. "Morcant helped me get an apartment close to the building I transferred into. Work is simple enough right now, it's easy enough."
"That's great to hear!" The woman in pink said cheerfully, clapping her hands in delight. "I'm glad you're settling in so well! Louis and Legundo don't share much about you when you were in college."
Probably because there wasn't much to say. Abolish thought, but said nothing as he watched Cherri take a sip of her bubblegum pink drink. Abolish watched her stir the cherries that laid at the bottom. "I didn't share very much, I didn't think it was all that entertaining," he confessed.
"Hey, it's your life, we always love to hear about it!" Martyn protested, chuckling as Louis looked at his brother pointedly. As if silently saying he told him so. "Oh, speaking of life changing news," Martyn started, jumping into a story about his co-workers at the bookstore Ren-chanting, or something along those lines.
Abolish listened partially as he learned of Martyn's promotion. Pearl's music career was starting to take off. Cherri and her girlfriend—Apo—were thinking of starting to soft-launch their next line of clothes. Louis mentioned taking another case in his office, and Legundo mentioned a heart surgery he had scheduled in a few days.
Abolish didn't hate listening to Louis and Legs' friends update him on their lives. He didn't mind listening to Cherri and Apo discuss colour shades for the coming spring. He didn't mind listening to Martyn's odd flirting attempts to get with his…friend? Boss? Abolish wasn't certain about that. And Abolish didn't want to be left out of the loop when it came to Pearl's music because he loved listening to her play when they were younger.
And yet he still felt like there was a chasm between himself and them. Drinks slowly drained, conversation eventually waned, and then Cherri was dragging Apo onto the dance floor. Martyn followed after with Pearl in hand. Then Louis was pulling Legundo onto the dance floor too.
And suddenly Abolish wanted to be literally anywhere else.
Pushing through the crowd that seemed to have only gotten bigger in the last hour or so. Abolish made his way to the bar, hoping for a moment to breathe, to calm down, to get rid of the itchy feeling that was crawling down his spine when some random girl tried to touch him.
Abolish felt like he was reaching the end of his rope. The music was too loud, the lights too bright, the itchy feeling wasn't going away, and his chest was starting to get tight. Maybe he could call it. Text Louis and Legundo that he tried, but it didn't work out. Maybe he should leave.
That's when he saw him.
This man with eyes so bright, Abolish first thought they were fake. This unnatural glacial blue that flickered across the dimly lit club hesitantly. Framed with beautiful long brown lashes, tight with nerves and anxiousness as he made his way up to the bar.
The man combed a hand through his dark brown hair as they took in a shaky breath. Abolish knew it was impolite to stare, but how could he not? They were gorgeous. Dressed in a gentle yellow loose fitted button up, black jeans, and a brown bomber jacket that they seemed to use to protect themselves from everyone's hands. Abolish tilted his head, observing him for a moment as they reached the bar and placed their hands on it.
Abolish watched as they took in a slow breath, held it, and then let it out. "You're okay, you're fine. He didn't see you, he wouldn't try and cause a scene here. It's…it's going to be okay," they muttered. It was like a mantra, a way to calm himself.
It wasn't any of Abolish's business. He shouldn't get involved. There wasn't a reason for him to talk to this guy, as pretty as he might be. Abolish had no reason to talk to a stranger when every piece of him wanted to leave the club and go back to his apartment.
Back to his cat.
Back to being comfortable being alone.
And yet…Louis didn't raise him to ignore someone in need. "Hey," Abolish called out softly, taking note of how the other man jolted at his voice. Eyes flying wide expressively before finding Abolish's eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Oh…I- um…yeah! Sorry…was I bothering you?"
Abolish shook his head, sliding a little closer to the man. "Not at all, you just looked a bit tense." The stranger laughed, shoulders relaxing minutely, which Abolish took as a success. "First time?"
"Hmm? Oh, no…I just…" The man trailed off, looking over his shoulder before those pale eyes widened again. Abolish was caught off guard at how expressive they were. They seemed to scream every thought the man had and laid it out in the open for Abolish to analyze.
Or maybe it was just that Abolish was strange.
"Everything okay?" He asked as the stranger spun back around with a muttered curse.
"I…okay, this is going to sound insane," the man started to ramble, fingers tapping against the bar's counter as Abolish listened. "Um…so my ex got wind of me being recently single and he's been blowing up my phone even though I thought I lost his number. He managed to track me down to this bar and looking for me." The stranger's words started to spill out faster as his breathing picked up. "He won't leave me alone, usually my friends can get him to back off. But I lost them in here about an hour ago? I-I really hate to do this, but it'd be a huge favour if you could pretend to be—god, this is going to sound nuts—could you pretend to be my boyfriend? Just long enough to leave me alone, once he gets the hint, he'll leave me alone and I'll buy you a drink. I swear, I just-"
"What's your name?" Abolish cut off the man's rambling with a simple question. "I might as well know the name of the cute guy I'm pretending to be dating."
Abolish got the privilege of watching the man's face flush bright pink. "I-I…you don't have to-" Then he took a deep breath, pressing his hands together before he spoke, "Pyro…you can call me Pyro."
"I'm Abolish," he introduced himself before waving down the bartender, "Why don't you get something for yourself? Just to calm the nerves and make it seem like we've been here for a bit? On me."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly- I can get it myself and-"
"I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it," Abolish promised, tilting his head slightly to better study the man. "Any hard boundaries I should know of?"
"Hmm?" Pyro looked at Abolish with a wide eyed look. "Uh…what do you mean?"
"Do you mind if I called you stuff? Pet names? I wanna sell it to your ex that you're in a new relationship."
"Um…I-I don't mind, I suppose." Pyro offered him a nervous smile as a lock of fluffy brown hair fell in front of his eyes. Abolish hummed, watching as the bartender set a beer down in front of the man. He turned slightly, resting his arm against the bar counter as his eyes swept through the crowds. "Just…don't call me insults, you know?"
"Sure," Abolish agreed, spotting a man in a black jacket, graphic tee, and ripped jeans shove his way through the crowd towards them. "Remind me what your ex looks like?"
"Hmm? Oh…um…well, he's got this sort of dark look to him? He likes to dress in all black because he thought it made him look tough. He has dark hair that's messy, lots of rings, and…" Pyro trailed off as the man he just described tried to shove his way between Pyro and Abolish. "C-Czeslaw! What are you-?"
"I've been looking for you, baby," the man's voice was vile, like muddy water mixed with gravel. Abolish frowned as Pyro leaned as far away as he could from the man. Tensing when the man tried to rest a hand on Pyro's hip. "Don't be like that, baby. I heard you finally came to your senses and dumped that rich boy, huh?"
"Scott and I broke up because we're better as friends," Pyro argued, trying to be stern. Though Abolish noticed the slight tremor in his shoulders. "What are you doing here? I thought they didn't let cheaters into clubs like this."
Instantly, the man's face darkened. Sickly algae green eyes narrowed as Czeslaw tried to grab at Pyro. "Listen here you little-"
Okay, and we're stepping in now. Abolish thought as he grabbed Czeslaw's arm and shoved him away from Pyro. He then looped two fingers around one of Pyro's belt loops and pulled him closer to him. "Are you okay?" He asked, eyes not leaving Czeslaw as he clumsily knocked into a girl. Spilling her drink over the front of his shirt.
"I…I'm fine, he didn't hurt me…yet," Pyro muttered, letting out a shaky breath as he rested a hand on Abolish's chest. His palm was warm, pulling Abolish's eyes to the hand touch him. Then back up to those pale blue eyes, to that shy smile. "I…um-fuck, look out!"
Abolish quickly pushed Pyro back, just as Czeslaw's fist swung and clipped the bottom of his jaw. Ow. Abolish hissed through his teeth as he took a moment to see the thunderous anger on the stupid guy's face.
"And who the fuck are you, huh, freak?!" Czeslaw demanded, putting up his fists with a sneer. "This isn't any of your business, so why don't you fuck off. My boyfriend-"
"-isn't your boyfriend," Abolish cut him off, watching as the fight in the ex's eyes momentarily changed to bewilderment. He rolled his eyes as his eyes traced over the man's posture, how he stood, and mentally calculated how difficult this would be.
In short, not hard at all.
"Pyro's my boyfriend, you're just the crummy ex that he traded up for."
"Boyfriend?" Czeslaw turned to Pyro, suddenly ignoring Abolish like he was invisible. "Baby, is that true?"
"Y-yeah," Pyro cleared his throat, his hand finding Abolish's as he spoke. "My boyfriend. Scott and I broke up, but I met Abolish a little bit ago."
"You okay, Sweetheart?" Abolish asked, tilting his head as Pyro's blush coloured his pale cheeks. "Sorry, I didn't step in sooner. I should've noticed he was making you uncomfortable."
"I-It's fine," Pyro promised, ignoring how Czeslaw's face seemed to shift through several emotions before settling on annoyance. "Thank you for stepping in. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him sooner, I…I'll be better."
Abolish shook his head, "There's nothing you need to be better at. Whenever you want to share something, I'll listen. It doesn't matter how long I wait." And just to screw with the poor guy's ex, Abolish lifted Pyro's hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. He got the added joy of seeing Pyro's face flush pink as he was flustered. Pressing his other hand over his mouth with a stuttered out "oh".
It was cute. Maybe clubs weren't too bad after all.
"Hey, baby, still here!" Czeslaw called out, shattering the moment between the pair. Abolish rolled his eyes with an annoyed huff. That annoyance grew as Pyro's shoulders tensed and the grip around his hand tightened. "C'mon, don't tell me you're fucking this freak. You know you can do better! Look, if you come back with me, I'll forget your fuck-ups and we can go back to how things were!"
"I…I said no," Pyro said as firm as he could, Abolish felt a little proud to be honest. Did he think it'd get the guy to leave them alone? Unfortunately, no. But it was a start, and hey, baby steps. "Just leave me alone, Cze. I dumped you, remember? I'm not getting back with you, not now, not ever."
"You heard my boyfriend," Abolish added, unable to fight his smirk as Czeslaw scowled. "Leave him alone. He isn't dating you, he's dating me, and you're history."
Czeslaw puffed out his chest and stepped towards Abolish, "You wanna take this outside? I bet I could beat an undead freak like you to a pulp!"
Abolish gagged, "You could probably take me out with that rancid breath of yours. And who are you calling an undead freak? You're more of a zombie than I am." Abolish let go of Pyro's hand, shifting so his body stood in between Pyro and his ex. "Pyro told you no, so fuck off."
"You rotten piece of-!" Czeslaw swung his fist, likely aiming to nail Abolish in the face again.
But Abolish was faster. Slamming his boot into Czeslaw's groin. While the man was crippled for a moment, Abolish stepped forward, grabbed the back of the guy's head, and slammed it down on his knee. Czeslaw's pained groan was better than any drink Abolish could've gotten in that moment.
Czeslaw crumpled to the floor, curling up in a fetal position as he whined and whimpered about his broken nose.
"Yeah, yeah, and I'll break a whole lot more if you don't scram," Abolish threatened flatly. "Now get out of here, I'm not the one to blame if you get trampled."
The man slowly picked himself up, glaring at Pyro, "This isn't over," he swore, then awkwardly shuffled into the crowd.
"Asshole," Abolish muttered before turning his attention back to Pyro. "Are you sure you're okay? Your ex sounds like a real piece of work."
"I'm okay, thank you, really," Pyro promised, uncurling his hands with a shaky breath of relief. "I…I'm sorry for getting you involved. I'm so sorry he hit you. I-I should've known better than to drag some…stranger into my problems, but I can make it up to you. Um…that drink, did you-?"
"I mean, I wouldn't call us strangers," Abolish argued, smiling up at Pyro. "And I don't need the drink, that's not why I helped you. Also, your ex punches like shit, so it didn't hurt that much."
Pyro laughed breathlessly, it was drowned out over the music of his friends playing, but the smile was enough for Abolish.
For now.
"You are…so weird," Pyro said fondly, his tone warm as he bumped his shoulder against Abolish's.
"Comes with the whole…"undead" thing, though I think your ex has me beat there," Abolish said, grinning as Pyro laughed again. Leaning close into Abolish's space as if it were just them in this club. Not the hundreds of other bodies pushing and shoving against one another. "Seriously, is he okay? He looked like he got into a fight with a river and lost."
Pyro laughed again, "No, he just looks like that. And…for what it's worth, I don't think you look "undead" or whatever he called you. You look…you look really cool."
Abolish chuckled, cool wasn't exactly the first thought that usually came to people's minds, but he'd take it. "Thanks, you don't look half bad yourself." Which was true, the soft browns of the man's shirt and jacket looked comfortable on him. Like it offered extra protection against the world or its harsh eyes.
Abolish was far too aware of how harsh people could be.
"O-oh! Thanks," Pyro rubbed the back of his neck, toying with a few locks of his hair as he looked away. Had Abolish said something wrong? Was that not the right thing to say? Louis always said complimenting a person's style was a good thing. It helped boost their confidence and it told them that you saw the effort they put in to what they wore. "I…I like your piercings, the lip ring…I think my friend talked about getting one for a while."
Oh, he was just trying to think of something to say. Okay, that was fine.
"Did he want a lip ring specifically, or was it just piercings in general?"
"I guess both?" Pyro offered, toying with a silver ring on his fingers, it looked like a simple band, yet it never failed to catch Abolish's eye as the man continued to speak. Gesturing with his hands as he did so. "Owen's here…somewhere, I know he's been experimenting into other styles as of late. He likes the comfort a lot Shelby and I's clothes offer him, but he thinks there's too "bright," which is funny considering most of what I wear is brown and the most colour I've seen on Shelby is a galaxy print or green."
"Not his vibe?"
"No, Owen's always been drawn to more reds, though he did try blue once. But he lost a bet against Scott, so maybe that's why," Pyro mused before shaking his head. "I still feel like I owe you for handling my ex, are you sure there isn't something you want?"
Abolish thought for a moment. Was there something he wanted? That was a loaded question. One that he didn't feel like sharing with someone he didn't know all that well just yet. However, he couldn't deny that he did have one desire in that moment. "Fresh air, some ice cream, and then getting to know you sounds pretty nice," Abolish suggested, holding a hand out for his "boyfriend" to take. "Who knows, your ex might be lurking outside, I might as well stick by you just in case."
Pyro looked at Abolish's offered hand before slipping his hand into it. Squeezing tightly, "I wouldn't mind getting ice cream, I can pay."
"Like I'd ask my "boyfriend" to pay after the shit he just went through," Abolish rolled his eyes, as they made their way towards the entrance of the club. "But if you do want to "pay it back" to me, you can tell me the worst movie you've seen."
"It's got to be to be The Room, you know?" Pyro explained with a growing smile on his face as they stepped out into the cold night air. "The one directed by Tommy Wiseau, you know him? God, that movie was atrocious. The plot lines made no sense, the acting was subpar at best, and the writing? Don't get me started."
"No, no, please get started, I haven't seen the movie, but apparently my brother hates it with a passion," Abolish encouraged, walking away from the club, content and comfortable as Pyro started into another rant about the god awful movie that Abolish was mentally wondering if he should watch. Just to understand what Pyro was rambling on about.
Neither realized this was the start of something amazing.
They also failed to realize that they hadn't told anyone that they were leaving.
I'm sure it'll be fine.