I.M.POSTER

Chapter 4.5: Goodbye Small Prince

Authors note: You might want to read this one if you're a bit curious about Beige!

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Beige's pov

You couldn't exactly determine why, but when Red leaned forward to embrace you for a split second you were revisited by a memory long forgotten.

You were small, you could tell just from how larger everything else around you was. Not only that but the big obvious clue was the old wrinkly man in a chair, head tilted forward so he could stare down at you. There was no hatred or spite in his eyes, only admiration, and an overwhelming presence of love. Unconditionally your hands reached out to him and a weak lanky arm grabbed at yours, pulling you up into his lap.

"Tell your mother to stop feeding you so much," he falsely snarls, "she's always so worried about this and that and how you'll never grow. You'll just keep getting wider instead of taller if she keeps this up, and that extra weight will make you even shorter I promise you."

To show there was no venom behind his words he tickled your sides, making you giggle and let out desperate shrills and gasp for air. Finally, you both grew tired as the still room was filled by your presence. You noticed something, however, a small marking you had never seen before on his lower collar bone. His shirt covered most of it but it still caught your eye. You tapped your finger against it in curiosity.

"Abuelo, what is this?"

He struggles to crane his neck down to see what you're staring at, "Ah that? That's a tattoo." He takes his boney fingers to nimbly unbutton his shirt revealing more of the mark. It was a dark black ink spot littered with thousands of white dots and a small shade of purple that made it look as though it were a galaxy. "I got it for your Abuelita before she passed away, it was meant to be a promise."

You were mesmerized by the marking, scratching it carefully to see if it would come off. "What did you promise her?"

His eyes seemed to daze off as if he too was remembering something himself, "I promised her that one day I wouldn't just give her the moon, I'd show it to her. I was going to apply to become an astronaut and travel to space. We would have gone there every year on our anniversary and spent at least a week staring at nothing but the stars."

Suddenly his face fell, though his smile remained. "But then there was the war, and they needed all young boys eligible and old enough to fight. At the time the law was unfair and I was forced to go. Both my legs got shattered when a bomb went off that made an entire electrical line fall on me. It's a miracle I'm still alive, to be honest. I was so heartbroken by the news, knowing I'd never walk again. I apologized to her for not being able to keep my promise, but she told me I should apologize for nearly causing her a heart attack instead."

The tattoo on his chest, although drooping a bit at the way his skin sagged, was still beautiful to stare at. It made you wonder if the stars in the actual sky were as gorgeous as they looked here. 

"But, Abuelo, if you weren't able to keep the promise then why don't you just get rid of it?"

He laughed at your question, patting your head softly. "Because, mijo, promises can never be broken, they just have to be remade. Your Abuelita was so scared that I died. She was more traumatized about it than me, it haunted her for months. She never left my side, taking care of my left and right. Wouldn't even let me use the bathroom myself, crazy bitch."

He reached forward to cup your face, "I felt so bad that I made another promise to her. When she dies I promised to take care of myself. I promised to watch over our daughter, our grandkids, and even their grandkids if I managed to live that long. Regardless of who they were, which side of the family they came from, or even if they were currently leading bad lives I'd watch over them all. I'd never abandon anyone and make sure we were all safe," he leaned forward to kiss your forehead, then pressed it against his own. "That means you too, mijo, I fought a war for my people and I'll do it again."