Button opened the door to his home. To the place where he’d spent his entire life living in. Where he’d lived. Where his mother and him bonded over hours and hours of game. Where he grew up learning to be kind. To care. To never hurt another person. Not on purpose. If you did, you had to have a damn good reason.

His knuckles became white from tightening around the grip to the pistol in his hand. It was a forty-four magnum. Part of it was reference, but it was more that it inferred to him what he needed. One shot. One kill. That’s all it would take.

His eyes never left his target though. The man who sat on the couch, beer in one hand, television remote in the other. Some stupid football game was on the television. They were on so very, very often. He didn’t like them. His mom didn’t like them. His dad liked them but he made a game of it himself to bring everyone in on it. This man didn’t.

He stepped in front of the couch, his eyes down on the man as he stood between his step-father and the television. He should have done this months ago. The day he’d tricked his mom into marrying him. Better, the day they’d met. He was never who he’d said he was. Just tricks and lies. Tricks and lies that ruined everything.

He slowly began to raise his arm. The steel of the gun glinted in the light of the room, though most of it was covered from the dust in where he found it. It had taken him almost a dozen houses to find something he felt comfortable using. Knowing it would make it easy. He wasn’t going to be able to shoot twice. He… No, he would be strong enough. He had to be. Just in case he missed.

He shut his eyes and turned his head away as one of his fingers moved toward the safety. Just a little more and this would all be over. No one would be able to pin it on him. It’d just be a weird, freak accident. Then him and his mom would be together again. He just had to do it. That was it.

Button brought up one of his arms, rubbing it across his eyes as he panted. The click of the safety told him it was ready. That it was time, but he couldn’t stop sweating. Couldn’t stop shaking. He couldn’t miss, so he couldn’t have anything in his eyes, and especially not the dust that was making his eyes water. This was for the best after all.

When he brought his arm away, for just a split second, he saw his mom standing in the corner. Her slumped shoulders that carried the weight of the world. Her long, brown hair that he’d tugged on so many times in the past. Her eyes, once so full of life and hope, were now dim and dark. They had been able to force back any amount of bullies, loneliness, or fears in his life. At least, when she’d had the strength to do so and they hadn’t been made black so often.

He was doing this for her. Them. They would be happy once he was gone. But…

His eyes drifted to her hand, one of them running against a picture of him and her. He was so small in that picture. Had such a bright, wide smile in it. She looked as happy as she ever had with a smile that was free of worries. Free of needing to fear that anything would go wrong. All it promised was the hope she had for her little man...

What are you doing? This monster took everything from you.

The pocket watch wasn’t in Button’s hand this time as his anger reignited inside of him, his pants following suit as strands of smoke and licks of flame came from them. It was right after all. He spent next to no time at home now. Not when he didn’t have to. It meant being around him. Risking another bruise. Another concussion. Another please from his mother to understand the man’s anger. To listen to her defend the monster with nothing that kept. No promises, no attempts to change, only his mom being wrong each and every time.

His finger slowly moved to the trigger, his arm shaking from the effort of keeping the gun up at this point.

That had started months ago. They’d married only a month after he turned eighteen. In another month he’d been the reason his mom hadn’t made it to his graduation. She’d been in too much pain from his drunken raging the night before. That pain would end with one bullet. That’s all. He just had to do it.

Just. Do. It.

His entire right thigh had caught fire now as his stance shook and wavered. He brought his other hand up to help steady the gun, but he couldn’t see anything now. His vision was nothing but a blur from the memories. From the pain. From all that his action would end but… all that it wouldn’t bring back either.

He pulled the gun back, one of his fingers hitting the safety as the fire extended past his knee. He then threw it away. No. He wouldn’t shoot him. He couldn’t. He would figure out a different way. Or… maybe not… He was still so weak after all…

You were. You have power now. You do not need to be desperate. You have more than enough to do this.

Button blinked, finding himself in his kitchen. In his hand was the largest knife in the house. Nothing too impressive due to how bad they were all at cooking. More than enough for what he wanted to do though. He’d put right his own mistakes with it. Use his own hands.

After all, his mom wasn’t the only blind one. The man had acted so nice before the wedding, before he had a claim to his mom’s entire life, but there’d been so many times where he could have stopped it. Times when his mom asked him if it was okay for her to remarry, or even date. She had seemed so happy though, and it meant having his dad back. Having someone who could be stronger than them.

It was all so weak though. The knife fell into the counter as he put his head into his hands. It didn’t give him the right. He knew better. He was raised better. If he hadn’t been… He shut his eyes to the rest of the day. What mattered was now. What he could do. What he would do.

When he opened his eyes, now hardened with determination like they had been when he first chose to do this, they were as clear as they had ever been, even as the pocket continued to consume him.

======+++++======

Button brought up the watch, his arm barely being able to move at this point. He’d spent the last hour getting this moment. Getting his homecoming just as it needed to be. His body had been growing so tired during all of it. First his legs dragged at him as he left the house, almost as if pulling him back. Begging for him to go back. Trying to force him back.

Then his breathing had gotten labored as it felt like smog and fire filled them. It had stopped him from calling the cops like he’d planned because he could barely speak, let alone be coherent. Even now he spewed black clouds with each forced, quaking breath. Not that he could see them. He could see none of the flames that were turning his body into charcoal. His arms had been the most recent to be added to the kindling, turning them weak and brittle, every bump and falter hurting as much as getting punched by a proper boxer might.

Now even his vision was beginning to go as it felt like his mind was trying to melt. The words ‘Kill’ and ‘weak’ kept spinning around over and over in his head, but a single thought of his mother made him stick true to his course. He hadn’t been able to put everything into place, but that was fine. He had enough that he could act on it properly when he felt stronger.

Click.

The door swung open, hitting the wall from how hard Button had hit it when he had first come into the house. Before he’d even decided to enact this plan. It was exactly what he needed though as his mother and the man both jumped at the noise.

She didn’t have time to move before Button’s step-father stood up, his voice already loud as a gunshot as it competed with the echoes of the door. “What in hell are you doing, boy? Didn’t your mom teach you any fucking manners?” He stomped towards him, his brown eyes smoldering with fury that only got ignited more when he got a good look at Button. “You didn’t even do as I told you to?”

“H-Honey, he’s only eight-”

“Shut up!” He stomped towards Love Tap before turning back towards Button. One of his arms shot out, far faster than Button could react to in his weakened state, before he was thrown inside, crashing against the stairs that were across from the door. Button lost his breath, gasping as it felt like his ribs snapped like kindling. He couldn’t even bring his arm across his body to try to check them though, not as he laid there, gasping like a fish on the beach.

Not that his stepfather cared much as he slammed the door shut. The whole house shook as he turned back to Button. “First your mother spills my lunch, then my team loses, and now you can’t even fucking do anything right? I knew I was right to start drinking early today. I just didn’t expect you all to be such colossal fuck ups.”

Button shut his eyes, tears coming down as one of his arms got some strength back into it. Those thoughts were still in his mind after all, and the reminder, the all too clear reminder of why he almost did what he had… It was more than enough what he needed. He just had to reach the watch.

“Oh, what do you have here?” The man reached into Button’s pocket, wrenching the watch out of Button’s pocket. The silver no longer gleamed in the light, the metal having been turned blackened and cracked from whatever strain it had been under. The stepfather scowled at the sight as he opened it and tried clicking the top. It did indeed click, but nothing happened. It didn’t even properly start tracking how much time passed from the last time.

He chucked the watch before turning back to Button as the young man watched the device shatter against the wall. The voices stopped the second it was gone, but his strength didn’t come back. He was still unable to do anything except stare at his step father. His stepfather who had a demonic fire in his eyes.

“How long had you been hiding that from me? Or did you steal it from me? Yeah, that has to be it. You couldn’t get your hands on something like that yourself.” He snorted for a moment and it felt like a knife through Button’s heart. He knew the joke after all. He’d mocked Button about not having any girls who came to the house after all. No friends even, at least in his stepfather’s eyes. If not for his mother, he’d know not a single girl above a three, let alone a ten like Love Tap.

The first time his stepfather said that, he had broken Button’s arm and four of his ribs because Button couldn’t stop screaming. He’d stopped after that. Until today he had accepted that this would be it. He took a long, slow breath before saying, “No. I didn’t. A good… good friend gave me it.”

His stepfather’s eyes only grew darker before he brought a foot down onto Button’s chest, pushing him into the stairs as the larger man’s weight bared down on him. The ribs that were already cracked now felt like they splintered and shattered into nothing. Button would have screamed if he could, but all he could manage was a strangled gasp. The moment of refusal had taken the last of his air already. Now he felt like he’d never breathe again. A bit more weight and his stepfather would make his entire chest cave in.

Button looked into the other man’s eyes and paled as he saw there was nothing that was going to stop him this time.

“My, my, my. What do we have here?”

Love Tap and Button’s stepfather turned towards the window that looked into the living room. Normally it just looked out towards the wall of the next building beside them, but today a man was there. It was a cop who wore his hat mostly over his face. Even his hair was covered except for red tips at the end of it. The voice was sarcastic. Mocking. The casual, relaxed posture only made it all the more infuriating.

The stepfather stepped towards the door before pointing towards the door. “Leave. This is a family matter and you have no part in it.”

The cop tapped his cheek, humming to himself before shrugging his shoulder. “I suppose that might be true. I did also see assault though and, well, I might be new to the force but I still believe that that’s a part of my jurisdiction.”

The stepfather’s knuckles popped as he stepped up to the window, towering almost a foot over the man who was leaned against the windowsill. “It’s simply teaching my stepson a lesson. When did it become a crime to do that?”

The cop chuckled, extending one of his arms as if to check his nails. “Oh, a long time ago actually. Not really supposed to bruise your kids anymore, let alone crack their bones. That, or you damaged your stairs and you really should get an inspector in here. I could recommend you one. He makes great deals, though often with their own little quirks.”

The stepfather lowered himself, gripping the windowsill as he hissed out, “Leave.”

“No.”

A vein bulged hard enough on the hulking man’s forehead that it looked like he might have an aneurysm as he panted and shook in front of the cop. The cop for his part pulled out his gun, humming as he checked the barrel. “I still have no idea why they gave me this you know. I swear I’ll shoot myself before I ever hit someone else. You ever worry about getting yourself into that sort of trouble?” Right before he rattled his knuckles on the windowsill with his free hand.

Right next to a magnum that was now there instead of the floor where Button had thrown it.

The stepfather smirked, the fire in his eyes at full power now as he whispered, “No.” He then reached over, grabbed the grip to the pistol, pulled it up, and pulled back the trigger.

Or, tried to. It refused to go. He made sure the hammer was pulled back as the cop blinked at him, but it wouldn’t move any farther back. “W-W-What?”

A light chuckle escaped the cop as he reached over and took the magnum from Button’s stepfather. He lifted the run up, tapping it on the side as he said, “It might be because the safety’s on. Whoever uses this must know his gun safety.”

The cop then lifted his hat a little, letting one of his blood red eyes show itself as he whispered, “Unlike you. If you’re gonna attempt to murder a cop, you better know what you’re doing.”

The stepfather stepped back, his eyes wide in fear of the cop who now slipped through the window and continued to walk towards him. “I-I-I didn’t do anything though…”

The cop took off his hat, throwing it to the side as he let his black hair come out freely. “Oh, I think you’ve done plenty wrong.” He then reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver pocket watch and snapping it open. “And I do believe it’s time you paid for them.”

Click.

Button felt the pull of time being stopped, but it wasn’t him. It was… “Faust?”

Faust grinned as he lowered himself, bending his knees as much as he could. “I’m happy you can figure out it’s me even when I’m in a new costume.” He then slowly curled his fingers in, letting each one pop with a satisfying crack. “Watch and enjoy.”

Click.

The punch would have never landed normally. The setup was simply too long and telegraphed. An uppercut was dangerous for that reason in general, let alone one that wasn’t from a trained professional. All the stepfather saw was Faust having suddenly disappeared before coming up from below him. The cop’s arm seemed to move in slow motion as it stretched across the entirety of the hulk’s body. From any other person, he might have even been able to dodge it still.

But then there was just a moment’s stop where Faust seemed to warp about another tenth of a second ahead of where he had been, throwing the stepfather off balance. Suddenly there was no chance. There was only the demonic fury that was coming straight at him.

The fist hit the man in the cheek, hard enough for a sickening crack to resound across the room. His skin flatted and tried to spread over Faust’s fingers at the level of force that was crashing against it. For a moment, his head tried to resist the overwhelming force, but that seemed to only cause what felt like a second punch to hit him in the same place again. This one got no resistance and went from the cheek straight into his nose next. Cartilage cracked like tinfoil under the blow as the man’s feet lifted off of the ground.

With a third punch that only Button could see, this one into the man’s gut, he was thrown across the room, crashing against the wall and leaving a crack in it before crumpling onto the floor in a large, immobile pile. Faust waved his hand out as he chuckled a little. “Think I overdid it a little?”

Love Tap stared at him from the corner, her eyes darting between Faust and her husband before whispering, “What… What are you going to do?”

Faust hummed to himself as he looked around. “Well, he did unfortunately have a point. Attempted murder, even of an officer of the law, wouldn’t help you keep custody. I mean, if you wanted of course. He’ll be going to jail for a very, very long time though. I can say that.”

Button managed, barely, to get one of his arms up and whisper, “Cameras.”

Faust smirked as he turned to exactly where the hidden camera was. It wasn’t the only one actually. Button’s last gambit. Recorded proof of his anger. Of his brutality. A single testimony from Button or his mom about him being abusive to them and he’d have nothing to fight back with. Faust did go through the theatrics of playing some of it, wincing at the moment where Button got thrown against the stairs. “Well, I think the court will be very, very interested in this.” Faust then turned to the stepfather’s body. “Oh, and let me get this out of your way. I can send another couple officers down to take your testimonies but I suspect you two need some time to yourself.”

Button sighed as he laid back down, breathing a little easier at the thought of getting a moment with his mom. He could really use a hug right now. He didn’t get that so quickly though as he felt the world shift again. Back into time stop.

Faust stepped over to the stairs, clapping his hands as he stood over Button. “Good. Very good. I knew that I was right in making a deal with you. Now, on to your rewards for having won.”

Button furrowed his brow before watching Faust’s hand sink into his chest. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Not that it hurt. Actually, he could feel what felt like a large wave of water coursing through his bones and veins as they soothed the burns. Even the splinters that had been his ribs came back together and formed back into proper bone. Only then did Faust take his hand out.

He didn’t give Button a chance to speak though as he placed a finger on his lips. “Come my boy, are you that surprised? You accepted out of the gate I was somehow magic, so is this really that surprising? Now,” he said as he grabbed one of Button’s hands, “Let’s get you up. You have no reason to stay low anymore.”

Button swayed on his feet, his body still recovering from the stress it’d been underjust a moment ago. It was entirely mental, he could recognize that, but that didn’t make it easier. “I… Why? How? And how wasn’t I misusing it?”

Faust laughed at the last question before flicking Button’s forehead. “If I had punished you for deciding to have any fun with it than what would have been the point? You didn’t ruin anyone’s life with it. You didn’t hurt anyone in a way they couldn’t recover from in a day or two. Compared to what others would do, you were positively tame. This though,” he said as he gestured to the room, “this was the why, and where I knew you’d win or lose.”

Button was beet red at the comments on his behavior, but looking over the living room he could only whisper, “What would have happened if I…”

“Come now, Button, my name is Faust. Back when you were fourteen you even made a joke about me having made a deal with a devil to get a job at the arcade. And,” he said as he turned to Button, the whites of his eyes now red as his irises turned yellow, “while I am not as cruel as the demon who I beat, I still have to make bargain’s that stick to the principal, even if I allow for easier loopholes.”

Button turned pale, backing against the wall. “You would have killled m…” He stopped. After all, he hated his stepfather. He hated the beatings. He hated the screaming. He could have always taken them though. What he couldn’t stand was- “You would have killed my mom?”

Faust winced at the heartbreak that was in Button’s voice, but he still had to nod. “Yep. Your bullet would have ricocheted if you’d shot him. Or, she would have fallen and gotten herself stabbed on something if you had slit his throat. However you killed him, I would have done worse to your mother so you had to watch her die in agonizing pain before you.”

He shut his eyes, his entire body shuddering as he looked down. “I don’t like making these deals Button. The watch speaks to you though. Whispers your darkest thoughts to you. It will make sure you never forget about them and what you might want to do, no matter how hard you try. My… entire existence since I assumed this position has been like that. I try to make sure I make them with people I think can win though, unlike the demon before me. I dedicated my time under my bargain to fix the mistake I knew I’d made. This… This was the best answer.”

Button shut his eyes, his body shaking as Faust stepped closer. “It’s okay. I know it’s a lot to take-”

Faust was cut off as Button’s fist caught him square in the face. He couldn’t bring the same amount of force as Faust could, he was simply too young and rarely worked out, but he still sent the man crashing down the stairs from the shock of the blow. The contact was what mattered to him. That, and the screaming. “I didn’t agree to this! You offered a game! You never told me a price, the conditions, or any of that! I would have never put my mother at risk and you know that!”

Faust rubbed his jaw as he began to get up, a hand on one of the walls to support himself. He even whispered, “First time I’ve been punched in a long time,” before getting more serious and looking up at Button. “You’re… you’re right. But as it was a game, you could have stopped playing. You could have thrown away the watch. Tried to find me to give it back. You didn’t need to take it and you didn’t have to use it, especially when you knew what you wanted to do with it within fifteen minutes of getting it. Like any of the great open worlds though, your choices mattered, and I did warn you about that. Would you not agree?”

Button was silent as he stood on the stairs, tears beginning to come down his cheeks. He tried to say something but nothing would come out. He began to lower his head, his hands slowly coming up to cover his face. He didn’t want to be seen. Not after everything he’d done. Not after everything he could have lost.

“Catch.”

Button looked up just in time to see something metal flying at him. He threw up his hands, batting it up at first before flailing to actually catch it, his mind in too much chaos not to at least try. He did eventually manage it, even if he almost fell off the stairs to do so. When he brought it up to his face, he saw it was another pocket watch. This one was engraved with ‘You won, be happy, do crimes.’

Button looked down at Faust who smirked at him. “Listen to it. It’s yours to keep, and this one won’t try to turn you into a bonfire. Just remember that if you do misuse it I will come to smack you on the head. I mean that literally too.” Before he snapped and vanished.

Time restarted a moment after as Button stood on the stairs. He couldn’t stop staring at the watch. ‘You won’. Such a simple statement but it was a reminder. He had played a game after all. When you won a game, the player didn’t theoretically lose anything. Well, anything other than the time and effort they put into it. Was… Was it really that simple here too?

He couldn’t dwell on the thoughts though as he realized that he could hear his mom softly sobbing in the corner. He ran down the stairs before running straight for her. He pulled her up by the arms and squeezed her tight as his body shook like a leaf. “Mom. Mom. Mom, are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”

Love Tap wrapped her arms back around him hard enough that it seemed like she was afraid he’d suddenly vanish. “Honey. I don’t know what just happened. Your father-”

“No!” Button grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away a little as he looked her in the eyes with all the fury and hate he had for himself for so long about not saying this. “He isn’t my dad. Even when he was nice he was never that. He was just a guy who was fun to have around until he became an asshole no one should be with. I…” He swallowed hard, tears in his eyes as he whispers, “I’m sorry. I lied to you. So many times. I was just afraid of how you were handling dad being gone with how fast you looked for someone else…”

Love Tap’s tears came down harder as she began choking up. “You… Really? I… I was… Button… I’m so sorry. I was… Thank you. But…” She squeezed him tight again, taking in a long, deep breath to calm herself before she said, “I was selfish. After your dad passed, I knew I’d be fine. I had my work and I had you. But then your eighteenth birthday happened, and one of my friends talked about how much you’d grown, and about wanting to be with you, I realized I’d soon be alone. I’d have this house, myself, and that was it. No more family. It all was happening so fast…”

Button opened his mouth, trying to figure out what to say. He could stop time, but he didn’t need to. Not this time. “Mom, I’m not going anywhere. Not anytime soon. I plan to go to college in town, I’ll always be up for gaming with you until two in the morning, even if I’m across the country and… And I’ll always need you. You have been my everything for so long mom that I… I know I’d rather be beaten a billion more times than ever lose you. I swear.”

Love Tap smiled at him before letting go and letting out a very small chuckle. “How can my little button masher be so calm right now of all times?”

Button smiled as his eyes glanced to his pocket. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about this stuff today.” He then looked back to his mom and said, “Now about this friend of yours…”

Love Tap tried not to smile as she said, “Oh no. I’m not making it that easy for her to take you from me. Not while you’re still under my roof.” Before they both managed a small laugh together. The first laugh they’d shared in months.

Author's Note

One more week to the last chapter and the final twist I have about this story.