They knew they would both have to go to the infirmary soon, but they first returned to the Leo residence, a place that thankfully held mostly positive memories for marin, even if that fact had now changed for Aiolia. They continued to walk with Marin leaning on Aiolia for support until they made their way to Aiolia's bedchamber.

Once they were in his bedroom, Aiolia led Marin to sit down on his bed. He then turned away and removed his helmet while the rest of the cloth quickly left him. Marin watched, always having loved his cute little quirks; like how he shook his hair back into place and made sure to adjust his necklace.

The cloth reassembled itself into its lion totem form at his feed, Aiolia tossed the helmet with a small grin on his face. Leo jumped and reclaimed his head to become complete. The cloth then bounded over to greet Marin, just like an excited animal greeting their masters.

Marin reached out a hand to give Leo a pat a smile gracing her lips as well. Marin pressed the latch at her neck to assemble her helmet before taking it off and giving it to Leo to hold on to. She then released the rest of the cloth, and Aquila formed behind the helmet, right in position for an affectionate nuzzle with their friend. Aquila then gave a mechanical squak before climbing into their favorite spot perched on Leo's back. Leo then bounded away, tail swinging behind them. Aiolia then closed the door, the two of them now finally alone, just dressed in their skintight bodysuits.

Usually, whenever Marin had been away on a mission, the two of them would fall immediately into one another's arms, more likely than not making love as soon as they could. But this time was different for multiple reasons. Not only their mutual state of physical exhaustion, but the building feeling that Marin hasn't been totally honest with Aiolia. It was everything that Aiolia could do, to keep that doubt from turning into distrust.

Aiolia then joined Marin on the bed, leading her to lie down with him. Aiolia pulled Marin close into his chest and kissed her forehead while letting out a deep sigh. Marin in turn tangled her legs up with his and snuck a kiss on his lips.

Aiolia laughed and drew his hands down her back, pulling her closer and sighing when her face met his clavicle. Just a moment to rest, the two of them. Aiolia had no desire to push her, he would wait as long as she needed.

Marin traced one of her hands down Aiolia's chest, his large breasts and firm muscles still clearly felt through the bodysuit material. She cheekily brushed a thumb over one of his nipples, causing his breath to catch in his throat. She then dragged her hand down to his stomach, feeling for his navel with her fingertips. There, even through the study fabric, Marin could feel the small metallic bulge of his naval piercing. Without seeing it she knew it was a silver post with an aquamarine. Aiolia reached out his hand and felt her stomach too, where there was a gold post adorned with a peridot.

It was their connection, their promise, hidden where no one else could see, no one else needed to see; they had nothing to prove. It was a reminder, something that they had of one another even while they were apart.

Some of Aiolia's piercings proved irritating to Marin, especially the one on his lip, but it was something of his that he was passionate about. Despite that, getting the piercing had been Marin's idea. Aiolia in a million years would never ask her to "wound" her own body like that. But it had been a time where they wanted to solidify their relationship. Aiolia gave Marin a gift of a Peridot, his birthstone, and marin suggested that it be made into a pericing that she could wear. Aiolia only agreed when she suggested Aiolia get one as well.

Aiolia already had a horizontal piecing below his naval, but he got an additional one on the top edge where he kept Marin's birthstone.

The piercings were a part of Aiolia. They were just as much a part of his personality and expressions as everything else. Coming back to Aiolia's chamber, she would find his lip and tongue piercings removed and sitting on a tray near the entryway. It was as strong of an invitation as a direct proposition.

It was those things between them that made their relationship thrive. The little rituals, the signs and messages; the things left unsaid but still so loudly heard.

Aiolia pulled his face closer, his hand tracing down her arms. "Marin," he said darkly. "How did you get these injuries?"

Marin paused, not able to answer immediately.

Aiolia let out a hiss, his hand closing into a fist over her hip. Aiolia then suddenly pulled back from her and sitting back up on the bed.

"Aiolia—" Marin asked, sitting up with him and staring at his back.

"Those wounds…" Aiolia said. "They don't look like something you would have gotten from the derbris," he turned back to look at her, his eyes almost cold. "I want you to be fully honest with me."

Marin looked down, her hands curling close to her chest. "Okay, I'll show you." Marin then sat up, her hand moving to the latch at her neck. But before she could start undressing, Aiolia's hand darted out to stop her.

"Wait," he said. "If you're gonna strip, I can't—" Even if the initial context wasn't explicitly sexual, Aiolia was stubborn in that way; his honor wouldn't permit Marin to ever be less clothed than he was.

Marin nodded and let her hand fall away.

"Thank you," Aiolia gave her a peck on the cheek and then stood up from the bed.

Aiolia turned around, with his rear facing her. It was habit, and it was going to be at least a little titilating regardless. Aiolia sighed, reaching up to his neck to press the release clasp on his bodysuit. The neck line then uncoiled, and the system of mechanical clasps rippled until they came apart, revealing Aiolia's back all the way down to his firm ass. Marin took that moment to absorb with her eyes every inch of Aiolia's beauty. A little consolation for the pain that was sure to come. Aiolia then turned around to face her, letting his body suit fall comepletely to the ground.

Marin couldn't help but let out a smirk, the aquamarine on his naval glinted in the light and he was completely exposed to her. But this particular indulgence was doomed to be short lived, as Marin was now to be completely honest with Aiolia.

It was always a delicate balancing act between them. Marin knew how sensitive Aiolia was, and so tried to hide her suffering, but if he found out, Aiolia would only be hurt even more.

"Aiolia, please…do you best not to jump to the worst conclusions, okay?" Marin said, standing up and walking over to join aiolia where he stood. Marin looked up at Aiolia and then released her necklatch, the bodysuit falling away, revealing the tattered Athena dress she still wore underneath.

Aiolia's expression grew grave, his eyes widening as he took in the extent of the damage. Not only on her arms, but on her chest, stomach and thighs, were unmistakable welts from a whip, and very recent. She simply hadn't had the time to heal as she usually did, given the chaos and her exhausted state.

Aiolia's hands suddenly went to her waist where a large chunk of her skirt had been torn away, revealing part of her abdomen and her upper thigh. Without thinking, Aiolia pushed the skirt away, searching for god only knows what. He knew enough that sexual assault wouldn't have many distinctive markings, but it was what his anxiety jumped to.

"Aiolia!" Marin snapped, pushing his hands away out of reflex.

Marin's flash of emotion startled Aiolia. Never before had his hands been pushed away from by Marin so wildly. Marin's eyes were wide, an unfamiliar emotion now on her face. Aiolia's gaze however, was then drawn to something else entirely.

On Marin's neck, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere, was a violet glyph that spread around her neck. Not only was it similar to the glyph that had drained Saori of her power, but it reminded Aiolia of something much darker. Marin however, kept talking without seeming to notice. "I didn't get raped or anything! I'm sorry…I shouldn't have asked you to…I know you can't—"

The mark on her neck then disappeared, Aiolia now being forced to face her directly. "How do you know for sure, you were unconscious," Aiolia by no means was worried about some sort of infidelity or perceived sullying of his bride; instead he deathly feared how Marin might have been tormented or abused. It was those kinds of dark thoughts that bloomed in his mind no matter what. On top of the fact, that Marin had clearly been subjugated to Saga's techniques.

"Believe me, I would know," Marin said, grabbing his hands and meeting his eyes. "Look, I've had a lot of things inside me by now. I know what it feels like when it was something unwanted—" she paused. "Shit no that's not—" she decided to come totally clean. "Look, I mean like when Shaina once shoved a vibrator in too fast when I wasn't ready. Stuff like that! Trust me, I'd know, and I wouldn't keep it from you."

Aiolia's face was was hard, while his eyes still held the fear and pain she knew he was about to drown in.

Marin sighed. "Okay, I'll admit, I can't be completely sure something didn't happen while I was asleep. But I promise you, that if I knew something happened to me, I wouldn't hide it from you. I couldn't, I love you too much to hide any more from you."

Aiolia was relieved, but didn't miss the admission. "What have you been hiding from me then?" Aiolia asked, his tone dead but still devoid of accusation.

"Well…" she gestured to the dress. "All this."

"You were the one, posing as Athena?"

"Yeah, and obviously not by choice," Marin said, letting out a long breath. "I couldn't tell you. If I did, and Saga somehow found out—"

"I know…I'm sorry," Aiolia said, his expression breaking into one of deep sadness. "I'm sorry for getting angry. I'm so sorry…" He glanced down, his hands clenching at his sides. Marin grabbed both his hands and looked up with him.

"I don't have anything to hide anymore, I promise, I'll tell you everything."

Aiolia looked back down at her, his eyes starting to grow misty.

Marin pushed herself up onto the balls of her feet and kissed him, resting her hands on his fuzzy and firm chest. She pressed her lips against his, her body pressing flush with his. Aiolia let out a low moan, his hands clamping down around her back in desperation.

Aiolia was hungry for her, he needed her desperately; that much was clear. Marin wanted him too. She knew now wasn't the time, she knew that this wouldn't fix anything, but she still let her desires pull her along.

Marin pursed her lips in invitation and Aiolia didn't waste a single moment before plunging in for a deeper kiss. He let out a grunt deep in his throat, his hands falling down to rest on her waist

Marin then tried to thrust her tongue back into Aiolia's mouth in response, but found that Lia recoiled instead. Marin didn't expect that, and was a bit taken aback. She blinked, watching lia's expressing darken as he pulled back in a moment of raw reaction.

"Aiolia?"

Aiolia didn't meet her gaze, but kept his hands resting on her waist. "Sorry, Marin, just…."

Marin watched him closely, her eyes raking over his face where she noticed something odd.

The corners of Aiolia's mouth were red, the skin cracked, like his mouth had been forced open and something shoved inside. Marin frowned, running her thumb over Lia's lower lip.

Aiolia clearly was hiding something too, and even more clear was that there was no way that they could go any further that night.

"Aiolia, lets stop," she said. "We both need to rest, anyway."

Aiolia relented, pulling himself back while not meeting her eyes.

Aiolia then guided her to sit down on the bed and went away to grab some new clothes for them. He procured a light blue chiton that marin often wore, it shimmered slightly and had a vibrant yellow sash. Aiolia also grabbed a tunic for himself and returned to the bed.

Without needing to speak, marin lifted her arms above her head and let aiolia drape the garment over her body. He tied the sash for her and pulled everything into place before dressing himself.

"Aiolia—" Marin began, her heart swelling with emotion, about to burst.

"Marin," Aiolia replied, his posture relaxing as his yearning to be close to her started to overpower him;

At that moment, the door burst open suddenly, their two cloths bounding in. They would never do anything so unexpected without a good reason.

"Leo, what is it?" Aiolia asked. Leo ran around in a circle, Aquila flapping into the air with a displeased squak.

Aiolia then turned to marin. "It would appear that we have company."

Shouko stood at the door of the Leo residence, along with two of her fellow saintias. Shouko's hand was hovering on the door, hesitation having stopped her in her tracks.

Elda, who stood just behind her, leaned over giving Shouko a perplexed look. "Since Milo asked you specifically, you said you wanted to do it but…"

Elda paused, looking slowly from the frozen Shouko to the taciturn Mii who stood by Elda's side.

Elda let out an exasperated sigh. "Move over, I'll do it."

"No wait—" Shouko jerked foreward but Elda had already grabbed the door knocker and and struck three times.

"Look, now was that so hard?" Elda replied.

"But! Milo said that—"

Mii then spoke up. "Milo said that we were to bring them to the Infirmary before nightfall, that was her command."

"B-but—!"

"We aren't gonna barge in on them, they have plenty of time to get themselves decent before coming."

"But…what if they…don't want to come?"

Elda raised an eyebrow. "All we have to do is say Milo sent us. Plus Shaina is their friend, I'm sure they will come no problem."

Shouko was not usually this nervous, but Marin was a trusted mentor of hers. And truth be told, she had, on more than one occasion, accidentally walked in on Marin and Aiolia in rather compromising positions.

Before Shouko could fret any further, the door suddenly creaked open slightly. Peering inside, they didn't see anything at first, until they glanced down where they were surprised to see two cloth totems staring up at them. Before they could do anything else, Leo and Aquila darted off, most likely in the direction of their masters. "Hey wait!" Shouko called, stumbling inside the door as she called after them.

Elda chuckled, "well, if I were to venture a guess those cloths are gonna get their masters for us." Elda strode in further to the residence like she owned the place, plopping down on one of the couches, Mii however remained still at Shouko's side.

"Elda!"

"It's fine, honestly Shouko you've been so uptight, just come sit down with me." Shouko didn't have a chance to reply before they heard the sharp clattering of Leo from behind them.

Turning around, they saw Leo bounding foreward, Aquila flying just above, and behind them, emerged Marin and Aiolia.

Shouko was silent, Elda looked bemused, and so Mii cut to the chase. "Please pardon our intrusion, but we were instructed by Milo to ensure that you two checked in with the Healer before night fell."

Aiolia and Marin looked quite far from their usual selves. Shouko, like everyone else, hadn't seen Marin in weeks and was having trouble containing herself.

"Shouko, you can go ahead and greet marin."

Shouko then burst foreward, shedding every ounce of what little saintialy decorum she had. She ran up to marin and hugged her without holding back. Despite the tense atmosphere between them Aiolia smiled warmly at Shouko's display. He then glanced back at Mii, taking a step towards her. "Thank you for reminding us, I appreciate you taking time out of your duties for such a trivial matter."

"No need to thank us, it's all a part of our job," Mii replied. "Clearly we are not so overwhelmed as to not be able to spare three of our number for this task."

Elda spoke up from where she lounged not he couch. "Actually, this was Shouko's task alone, but she was to shy to do it on her own, so I decided to tag along!"

The corner of Mii's mouth twitched. "And that forced me to come along to supervise you both."

Elda gave a cheeky grin, Shouko however, was still clinging to Marin, tears all but streaming down her face.

Marin patted Shouko gently on the back before pushing her back. "There there Shouko. I'm fine, I'm back," she gave Shouko an affectionate pat not he head. Shouko sniffed, but at least seemed to have largely calmed down.

Shouko wasn't that much younger, but still younger than most at 20. And partially because of that, she definitely looked up to Marin like an older sister. And for a variety of reasons, Marin couldn't help but noticed how closely she resembled her own brother.

"Well then," Aiolia said. "If you want, I can go on ahead and let you two catch up." Aiolia said.

Marin was about to interject when Mii intervened. "Elda and I will join you on the way back then."

Aiolia paused but didn't look like he was about to resist. Because in truth, the last thing he wanted was to be alone at that very moment. "That is very kind of you, I would appreciate it." Aiolia glanced back towards Marin, not about to show her any overt affection in front of the Saintias; but as he turned around, his hand very deliberately passed lingeringly over his own stomach.

Marin cracked a small grin, resting her hand on her naval in a brief reply. Aiolia then bid his goodbyes and exited his residence with Elda and Mii following him quite closely.