Dear Valued Customer,

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Mal watched them.

He watched the family reunion and he couldn’t help but feel contempt. His father had left his mother and formed another family. He had had brothers, another possible life but a few worlds away that he didn’t even know of until a fluke accident. There was jealousy towards Ezra and Pace, jealously that they got his father while he hadn’t, as well as anger towards Hershel for obvious reasons.

Pacey looked up at Mal, peeling away from the eight year reunion with his father. “Listen, thank you so much for buying him.” He dug into his pocket and handed back over the last of Mal’s money. “Ezra bought him some clothes, we figured since ya sprung him you didn’t need to clothe him.”

Ezra feigned disgust as he was still with Hershel. “Yeeaah, come to think of it, you do smell like prison.”

“Son, if I didn’t miss you so much I’d cuff you upside the head.” Smiling he was given a bulky parcel as he stiffly walked towards the other room to clean himself up. Hershel gazed at Mal, but saw his oldest didn’t even so much as want to look at him sideways, so he merely shut the door.

Mal looked to his brothers, feeling out of place, and retreated towards the door. “Listen, I gotta go.”

Both of his kin blocked the way. Pacey was the first to talk, gracious and still not believing he had his father back. “But we need to talk, I dunno how we’re ever gonna repay you….”

“There’s no need. Your Pa did long ago, just doin’ the right thing.” His mouth pulled into a fake smile as he sho