Note: This was written for the Zexal Flash Bingo challenge for the prompt "Deceiveshipping (Tron/Dr. Faker)"

"Oh, dear," said Dr. Faker. "I had no idea it was this bad."

A smile tugged at the corner of Tron's mouth. "Well, you did say it would need some cleaning out."

"Yes, but I didn't think it would be quite this... extreme."

The two of them were standing to the doorway of what had once been Mr. Heartland's suite. When it had originally been designed, it had been second only to the rooms used by Faker and his sons as the best living quarters in the building. When Tron had mentioned needing a place to stay in Heartland City, Faker had immediately offered him the vacant rooms. Now he was coming to regret his decision.

"It's all right," said Tron, sizing up the room. "It just needs some superficial redecoration. Here." He reached for a life-sized poster of Mr. Heartland that adorned the inside of the door and ripped it down, tearing it into pieces and stuffing them into a pink heart-shaped trash can. "See? That's better already."

Faker agreed that this was so. He looked once again around the room, taking in the garish colors, the overblown furnishings, and the hearts everywhere.

"We're going to need several trash cans," Faker announced. "Or a bulldozer. Wait a moment, and I'll see what I can do."

A few minutes later he returned with a garbage can, expecting to find that Tron had already stripped most of the room. Instead, he found his friend standing and staring contemplatively at one of the many photos of Mr. Heartland.

"Is something wrong?" Faker asked.

"I was just thinking," said Tron. "This man is dead. Everyone who truly knew him loathed him. There's not a single person who is genuinely sorry he's gone. The world is better off without him."

"I won't argue," said Faker, "but why bring it up?"

"I was just thinking," said Tron softly, "that both of us could have gone that way. We came so close to alienating everyone who mattered to us, even our own sons."

"And each other," said Faker softly.

Tron nodded. "Even so." He turned and gave Faker a small, almost shy smile. "I'm glad things didn't turn out that way."

"As am I," said Faker. There was a catch in his voice, and he coughed before continuing, "It will be good to have someone to bounce ideas off of again."

Tron laughed. "You mean it will be good to have someone around who knows what you're talking about."

Faker let his gaze roam around the room. Soon the last traces that anyone had ever lived her would be stripped out, and someone else would move in. Maybe he'd stay there permanently, and he and Faker could start trying to rebuild something out of the tatters of their old friendship. Maybe it would even be something better. Either way, they were going to get a second chance, and that was something that some people never got.

"Yes," he said. "I know just what you're talking about."