Prince of Penance

Chapter Twenty Four: A Lifetime of Penance

Gruffi looked out over the open waters with a sense of sorrow in his stomach. Or that could have been his sea sickness, he couldn't be sure. His stomach felt much better on the leave trip than the return though, he had at least that to say for all the pain they had experienced during their trip. No matter what anybody in his family said about how many friends they had and how many Gummi Bears they had finally met, Monteray was not a place he would be returning to any time soon if he had any say about it.

"Steady as she goes Mister Tummi."

Gruffi couldn't be prouder of Tummi, in his new sailor Uniform. He really looked like a full sailor, and was beaming with good health and a sense of worth from where he stood behind the steering wheel. Zummi had been upset to leave all the books of Monteray, but he was looking forward to returning home to his own Great Book, and the revisions that he had been pondering to make on some of the ancient text. Bryton had told him that it was within Gummi Law to revise old ones as he saw fit, otherwise Monteray would not have developed as a society the way it had. Zummi had just laughingly said he was going to stick to Gummi tradition, but that there were a few misplaced pronouns that he was going to edit out.

"'He' and 'she', perhaps? Page 2705?" Bryton had guessed rightly, with an arched eyebrow. "Let me know how your revisions go, and I'll see about updating our book here in Monteray."

Gruffi had been rather pleased with Bryton. The look on Sunni's face when Bryton had promised her he would come to see her when she was of age, presenting her with a little diamond tiara, had made Grammi rolls her eyes, but had brought tears to Gruffi's. She was going to be a woman by law in a year. Already engaged to be married, though she may not have realised it fully herself yet. It took time to come to terms with love. Gruffi had also been very very proud when Cubbi had told Sir Wallaby "Thank you, but I already have a Gummi Knight back home I'm going to be a squire for," and that he'd take his chances with him. Sir Thornberry was going to be really surprised to learn that he now had a squire; Gruffi sure was!

Poor Thornberry is going to get a run for his money with Cubbi. That cub had half the court in a tizzy, and he's only eleven!

But Gruffi had felt a twinge of sorrow when Gusto, saying goodbye to his relations, had hugged his nephew in real parental fashiong, a good old fashioned bear hug, and Bryton had only begrudgingly accepted the hug, promising thinly that he would take care of Arte for him. Gusto had many of those bear hugs for his sister too, who was more willing to be hugged by him. But even after all he had suffered for his people, they still looked upon him with fear and unease.

"What are you thinking about?"

Gruffi turned to look at Gusto now. His face was somewhat more sunken than it had been when they had left, and his eyes were paler now, and looked a little odd, magnified behind glass. No matter how much medicine they had used, Gusto's eyes would be weak from now on. He would be wearing spectacles for the rest of his life. It hadn't stopped him from painting, however. There were already fresh canvasses out on the deck drying in the sun, which had the sailors quite perplexed and amused.

"You, ironically enough," Gruffi ignored his twisting stomach and nuzzled closer to Gusto, leaning against his side. "I can't wait until we get home, and get to live out all those paintings you did of our family. All the ideas you had for us. Teaching Sunni how to dance, going fishing..."

"Oh...?" Gusto said archly. "Including sleeping naked in the moonlight?"

Gruffi coughed and nudged Gusto firmly.

"Yeah, I suppose that too."

A momentary pause occurred when there was nothing said between them. Then Gusto chuckled and Gruffi looked up at him.

"What's so funny?"

"You know, Misti said we'd be running away from the family eventually, you and me, isolating ourselves away from other Gummi bears, because we were in so much pain and all that rot."

"Oh she did did she? Well we'll prove her wrong."

"Yeah, I mean, how long does she think we'd last in a waterfall cave in the middle of winter? I think I'd like being warm inside Gummi Glen, with Grammi's cooking, and hearing Sunni try to sing, but very much off key..."

Gruffi joined in the chuckles of Gusto, then turned to look back out to the slowly disappearing Island of Monterey. Gusto had a look of deep longing and pain in his eyes, regardless of all he had said about enjoying life back home. A piece of him was being left behind in Monterey, a piece of him that was his sister.

"We should return here someday though..." Gruffi said, though the idea did not appeal to him.

"Eventually...but it will be when I'm ready, not when I'm forced to. I'll have a choice. Its nice to be able to choose where my life will go; in fourteen years I never have. But...I'm afraid."

"Afraid?"

"What...what if my choices will lead me in the wrong direction again, that I'll make another mistake that could cost a life?"

Gusto's eyes were so dismayed that Gruffi had to suppress a laugh, so as not to upset his lover. Here was a bear who held all the qualities of goodness and love inside of him and he was worried he would hurt people. If ever there had been any doubt in Gruffi's mind before about being Gusto's lover, those doubts melted under the warmth of his lovers eyes.

"Well, you chose me," Gruffi said simply, wrapping his arms around Gusto's waist. "And I happen to think that was a pretty good choice indeed."

They kissed, ignoring the uncomfortable looks of the crew and their family, and their tears mingled on their cheeks. The future before them lay in uncertainty. Life was so brief, and so easily lost. But a lifetime of uncertainty, fear, and the lingering shadow of death, was a worthwhile penance in return for a lifetime spent together.

Finis.

---Yes, this series will continue, but not for awhile. I have a ton of other Gummi related ideas and stories I must write out. This was just a single plot idea that grew and grew into a tale of its own. Some of this story may see itself reincarnated into Gummi bear scripts I want to write. Who knows? For now enjoy the fluff.