Perhaps it hadn’t been smart to mention Vanaheim. Then again, at some point, he would have to tell him. He wanted his brother to come visit from time to time, so he would have to learn about the location anyway. Better to be honest about it right away. There were enough other things he was hiding from Kaz right now, and he dreaded the moment he would find out already. But how could he even begin to explain the fact that he was dating the woman that had tried to end his life? It didn’t make any sense in the first place. He had fallen in love with her, hard, and his mind was not stronger than his heart. He just wasn’t sure if Kaz would be able to understand, let alone forgive him.

And they were doing better, finally. His brother said so himself. ”I’m glad to be back”, He said, smiling at the other when he could catch him glimpsing at him. When he turned a corner and they arrived on a much longer road, with no houses next to it, he pulled up a brow. This road was clearly going somewhere, leading up the cliffs. ”Where are we going exactly?” He asked, curiosity clearly lacing his voice. Compared to the neighbourhood they just left, this place was much more fancy-looking. He wondered what else his brother had in store today.

The smirk around his brother’s lips gave away that he was enjoying this way too much. He would let him though. He liked surprises anyway. If they were positive, that was. But he couldn’t imagine him trying to set him up or anything. So he gladly went along with it. ”Alright”, He therefore said cheerfully, as he followed Kaz along the road. The view was spectacular already, though he preferred to look to the fields on his left rather than the vast ocean on his right. Because it was an unwelcome reminder of their past. This very ocean had ripped them apart, though all was good again now. They were back together.. Forever.

Mort carefully scraped his throat. ”So, how have you been dealing with.. You know, the whole.. Thing.. Lately?” He asked him. Before he had left, he had tried to help Kaz reconnect with his human side. It appeared to have worked, but he wanted to make sure. He still felt bad about cursing him, of course. Yet he hoped he would kind of learn to deal with it in the way he did.

Bringing up this subject was risky. They were just getting along again and this might ruin everything in mere seconds. Though it looked like his brother was not angered by his question, which was nice. It had been on his mind all the time, as he had wondered if there was any progress in the case. Perhaps he was hoping Kaz wouldn’t struggle as much as he had in the beginning. It had taken him well over a year before he finally was able to control the bloodlust. Even with Edmund’s help, through the sire-fledgling bond, it had been hard. And he wasn’t even helping his fledgling in the same way, as a sire should do. Though he had never aspired to sire one, yet he had had no other choice.

Maybe he hadn’t been ready. But his answer kind of reassured him. ”I’m glad to hear that”, He noted with a soft smile. When the other turned to him, he looked at him curiously, waiting for what he had to add. ''But I want to thank you for.. kind of saving my ass back then.'' He said, which surprised him. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with emotions again. ”Of course. You’re my brother, Kaz, and I love you”, He replied, his voice loaded with those same emotions. At least now he would know how true those words were. Even after spending nearly two decades apart, his love for him had never changed.

Finally the vampire had a feeling everything would be alright. They had talked about it, and it appeared like Kaz had kind of forgiven him. Perhaps not entirely, but he could live with what he had done because he knew he had had no other choice. Sometimes he wondered if the other would have done the same, or if he was the only one who had the terrible flaw of not being able to let go. Though he wouldn’t ask. After today, he would probably not bring up the subject ever again. He trusted his brother to speak up about it if he felt the need to talk about it, or let him know in a non-verbal way that he needed support. Because Mort would be there for him. Always.

The words he spoke made his chest feel warm, happiness spreading throughout his body as the full meaning of them settled in his mind. All was good now. When he continued, the vampire nodded softly. Without really reacting to it, he started following his brother again. ”That castle over there kind of reminds me of that day you won the sandcastle building competition”, He noted, watching the structure he could see in the distance. It had been a good day. One without any trouble. Just two brothers building sandcastles.

The reason why they were walking towards the castle was still a mystery. What business did they have there? Or was there something Kaz wanted to show him that was simply somewhere near the building? The other had made clear not to ask any questions though, as he would not answer them anyway. It had to be a surprise. Fair enough. It wasn’t as if he didn’t notice the building though. It kind of reminded him of that one day at the beach, where Kaz had won the sandcastle building competition. It had been a good day. So he decided to share his observation with the other, in an attempt to make him as happy as he was.

It seemed to work. His brother laughed, sharing his memory of the day as well. Mort chuckled when he mentioned the sunburn. ”I was too busy having fun, I had no time for sitting in any shadow”, He grinned. ”I had trouble sleeping that night because I couldn’t get comfortable”, He continued. Of course, in that moment, he had regretted it. Not spending the day with his brother, no, but not being smart enough to seek shelter from the burning sun. The sun had never been his friend, so it seemed. Not back then and certainly not now either.

This whole conversation had gone by more smoothly than he had hoped. After this, he had hope again. Hope that everything would be alright at some point. Perhaps not today, at least not entirely. But some day. He knew it would take some more time. Luckily they both had that on their side. For now they were reminiscing about their past, the couple of years they had shared before they had been torn away from each other. The vampire laughed when Kaz talked about sneaking outside. ”She couldn’t stay mad for long though”, He chuckled. After a few minutes she had cooled down and simply had sent them back inside, clearly knowing how to handle them when they were behaving mischievously.

Once they arrived at the castle, he heard the buzzing of voices inside. Loads of voices. As if a crowd had gathered. ”Are we actually going inside?” He asked. Perhaps there was some event going on tonight, which was open to the common folk. Surely it would be a nice distraction for them to relax for a bit and actually have fun together again.