Disclaimer: I do not own any of Destiny's canonical characters. They belong to Bungie.
I do own Aen, Cal, Southpaw-41 aka "Lefty," Asha-1, Caia, Anne, Marius, Brimm, and Dar. Please do not use them without my explicit permission. Emer, Gashad aka "Sha," Cai, belong to Sparticus328. Please do not them without their explicit permission. Thank you.
AN: please forgive me as i try to figure out the formatting with this one. if you spot any typos i've missed in my re-read, please feel free to either pm me, or leave a note in your review. Thank you for your patience. and i hope y'all enjoy this little foray that's exploded into a huge undertaking - just like everything else i do. XD
(also, i use archaic forms like lieing, layed, and amoung, so those aren't actually typos, they're intentional.)
~.oOo.~
It was late, but still the Mess was busy, Guardians returning from long patrols as Aeneas and Emer just had. They walked together along the short corridor from the service area to the mess proper, trays laden with food, limbs laden with sleep. When they stepped into the vast, open area of the cafeteria, Emer peered around the and spotted Gashad at one of the middle tables. Aen, though, found a solitary figure off to one side. Saladin, alone at the nearest table.
Emer eyed back at him when he didn't follow her toward Gashad. He nodded toward the Champion and she gave him her knowing look. The one that said, "Don't get your hopes up too high." She never believed they'd share Aen's interest. Sometimes, she was right. But she was too smart to think Aeneas was just interested in a friendship. She knew better than that.
He went his separate way and crossed to that close table. Saladin, shed of his helmet, his long jet hair indeed pulled back at the nape of his neck, looked up at him as he sat. He looked surprised.
"Do you wish to eat alone?"
"No. I suppose not."
They ate in silence for a time, then Saladin asked, "Late patrol?"
"Near the Hellmouth." Aen nodded and took a mouthful of potpie. "Took three hours longer than we anticipated."
Saladin nodded. "I remember those."
"You still go out though?"
"Some, when all hands are needed." A pause. "I'm older than I seem." He smirked.
Aen echoed it, recalling that first conversation in the bar. He was Zavala's age, maybe a couple of years younger. Saladin may have been Zavala's mentor, but that only meant he was perhaps a generation older, and the stories cast Saladin as an early star of the Guardian's Vanguard. He'd risen quickly through the ranks and helped form the Iron Lords. Many of the younger Guardians found him intimidating. He wasn't shy or awkward, they just left him alone. Aen got the impression that he didn't mind, that he enjoyed the quiet as much as Emer did.
Eyes around the Mess saw them, sitting opposite, speaking quietly, a pleasant interaction. A couple muttered. More minds wondered.
"Tell me about your father." Saladin said in his deep tones, "How old were you when he fell?"
Aen was quiet for a long moment. "I was twenty eight. Already well established in my own Rank. He was a Void Titan. It was in his nature to protect his comrades."
"You resent him for it?"
"No. It was hard. His body returned broken. And I understand why he had to do it. No man left behind. The Lieutenant's family was subsumed into our home as a result... But it was hard. It is always hard."
"That it is." Saladin was solemn. "How was his standing?"
"He commanded his own battalion. He stood Third Elder amoung the Houses. He was known for his strength and resolve in battle, and his teaching of support to his men. He demanded all in his ranks be courteous as if were a respected family member. Support garners trust. Trust garners strength. Each man has his teammates' backs. Cover-fire, or a barrier, or a shield or health chit. He was always the first to put himself between a dwindling comrade and a rampaging Vandal." He fell quiet for a moment, feeling Saladin';s silver eyes on him. It was strange to see him out of armour... It felt vulnerable... intimate... "He lived by example."
"An honorable man." Saladin intoned. "As seems his son."
Aen caught his eye at an angle, hearing the undertone to his words, a subtle subtext.
"I hear Saladin had a relationship with another Guardian before... but they fell..."
"I heard it wasn't just one..."
"Looks like the Pit Master has a new playmate..."
"Are they...?" "Isn't he...?" "Do you think...?"
"Honor is highly regarded in the Reef." Aen smiled.
Saladin smiled back. "As it is here. No doubt you resent having to prove yourself anew, given your standing in the Queen's Ranks?"
Aen's smile broadened. "No, not at all. I understand the needs of the Vanguard's leaders to know full well that the men they send into harm's way have some chance of making it back alive." He met those hard grey eyes with sure white ones, "I don't mind being tested." He let the words linger in the air between them for a moment. "At least we are doing useful work in the process."
Saladin smiled. "That you are." He felt the undercurrent of Aeneas' words, the deeper smile of his voice. The closeness was distracting, and charging. The conversation carried them both along the current of it.
It carried them closer, slowly polarizing them both to the magnetic draw of attraction, like an Arc bolt flowing through their bodies.
~.oOo.~
AN: i apologise for any contradictions to canon. again, i wrote this before Rise Of Iron came out, and before i had actually read most of the grimore, i think... i may come back and re-post or heavy edit later, but for now, all the important stuff is here. ;)