Fear and Love
Milo was on his third karaoke rendition of Boogie Wonderland when Camus got up to get a drink. There were unusually few patrons at the bar, which he found very nice. It had been a hard week at the sanctuary, and a hundred things had been in his mind. From thinking about the reconstruction of the sanctuary, to finishing the inventory of all the damaged scrolls, all of it along with his usual duties of overseeing the training of the new recruits, he desperately needed a night to not think about anything.
He leaned on the bar and asked the barman for another vodka. He hesitated on asking for a whiskey to try and lure Milo away from the karaoke machine.
He heard Milo demanding the song be put on again, and decided to take his chances.
"And a whiskey double!" he called to the barman as the song started again.
"Are you trying to get smashed before he can start again?" asked a man next to Camus, motioning towards Milo with his head.
"Something like that," said Milo with a sigh. "At this point I don't even hear it though." In reality what he wanted was for Milo to get off that damn stage and go sit with him.
"Well, he must really love disco music. He's a guy who indulges his passion without restrain and we gotta give him that," said the man with a slight laugh. Camus noticed he was fairly tall and good looking. Probably a tourist or someone on a business trip.
"That he definitely is," said Camus with a smile, when he thought back to just how much Milo loved to "indulge his passions".
The man stepped closer to Camus, leaning into him.
"Are you from around here?" asked the man.
A microphone hit him straight in the head, sending a screeching sounds all over the bar.
"Keep your filthy hands off him!" yelled Milo.
The man whirled around, bleeding from the side of his head where the microphone had hit him.
"What the fuck?!" yelled the man.
Milo stalked down the stage towards him, pointing at him. Camus could see Antares shining red on his nail. On the side, Aphrodite and Death Mask tried not to laugh.
"You heard me jackass! That's my boyfriend!" said Milo.
One of the lights on the ceiling exploded, and people started screaming and running out of the bar.
Camus heard Death Mask cackle before Aphrodite covered his mouth.
"Milo what are you doing?!" yelled Camus.
"I'm making sure he knows you're not interested, since you don't do it yourself!"
"He's your boyfriend?!" cried the man. The blood had soaked his hair and now fell down his face. They were definitely getting chewed out by Shion for this.
"Uhm, y-yes," said Camus. It felt so strange to call Milo his boyfriend. Was that what they were? Boyfriends?
The man snickered. "He doesn't sound very convinced," he said.
Milo punched him in the face and stormed out of the bar. Camus went running after him.
"Milo! Wait! What is wrong with you?!" asked Camus, grabbing Milo's arm.
Milo pulled away from him, glaring at him with watery eyes.
"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with us?! Apparently you're not sure what we even are! Let alone laughing and flirting with strangers at the bar!"
"I wasn't flirting! How did you even get that idea?! Milo you're being completely unreasonable!"
"Well sorry for caring, Mr. Cold Logic! Why don't you go figure out if I'm your boyfriend or not first, to see if I should care about strangers hitting on you!"
"I was surprised! You just hit a man with a microphone and you wanted me to explain our relationship to him?"
"Yes! I wanted you to say 'Yes, he's my boyfriend' and not leave me there to look like an idiot!"
"Well you certainly looked like a madman attacking him like that!"
Milo slapped him across the face.
"I hate you!" he yelled, and ran away.
Camus felt his blood run cold. The feeling that something had gone terribly wrong pressed on his chest with icy claws.
And yet he wasn't sure exactly what had gone so wrong.
#
The next morning, Hyoga arrived early to the house of Aquarius along with Shun, carrying bags of food.
Camus was already up and working then.
"Hey, I thought you guys had gone out last n-" started saying Hyoga, when he noticed Isaac making desperate signs for him to stop from behind Camus.
Camus gave Hyoga a look that made the temperature in the room lower several degrees.
"We did," he said in a monotone, turning back to the papers spread over the living room room table. "But I came back early. That's enough Isaac, don't act like someone died."
Isaac stopped making the sign for "cut it off" and went to take the bags from Hyoga and Shun.
"I'll take this to the kitchen," he said.
"Did someone almost die?" asked Hyoga. "Because that's pretty common for you guys."
"No. Milo and I just had a fight."
Shun gasped. Isaac grunted and glared at Hyoga. "How do you keep swimming into deathly currents and NOT dying?" he hissed and went to the kitchen. Shun followed him discreetly.
Hyoga huffed and went to sit down near Camus.
"But don't you fight all the time?"
"Don't be ridiculous. What would we fight about? Milo is just overreacting."
"Hmmm, I guess it's just that it feels like you would be the kind of couple that fights all the time? I mean, your personalities are so different. I was always amazed at how well you two got along. I would have thought that having a relationship between you would be difficult."
Camus sighed and leaned back on the couch. Hyoga noticed that he hadn't brushed his hair. Something strange in a man as controlled and correct as Camus.
"Difficult?... I don't know. I've heard that many of the others do find his personality difficult. But it has never felt like that to me. I find it easier to be with him than with anyone else. This is a first I suppose."
"A first? And you two didn't fight over that time when he made you watch eat pray love like five times?"
"We left after the third time, and we still watch it from time to time, I don't mind it any more than when he refuses to stop singing disco songs."
"Or when he and Death Mask put all those cows on Aldebaran's lawn?"
"I knew he would have to pay for them, and that was more than enough punishment."
Hyoga was silent for a moment.
"And he's never been angry with you?" he asked.
Camus closed his eyes and thought back through all that they had gone through together.
Thinking back to that moment in Asgard when he had stared right into Milo's eyes and told him that he was choosing someone else. That he was turning his back on him for a promise.
"No. Never."
#
Milo remained in the house of scorpio the whole day. And the next day. And the next.
Until Aphrodite stormed into his house and into his bedroom.
"Please tell me you haven't been there all this time," he asked, taking off his Gucci shades and Armani coat.
Milo grunted in response from deep among the covers of his bed.
"That didn't sound like no, jackass," said Aphrodite. He went to the curtains and opened them completely.
Milo's head emerged from the covers.
"Leave me alone," he said.
"No. I want you to listen to my problems, but you need to not be a mess first."
Milo groaned and let his head fall back on the pillows.
"I can listen to you like this," he said. "Did you and Death Mask break up again?"
Aphrodite sat down on the bed.
"I broke up with him! I did! But you're not listening! You're just thinking of how sad you are that you're not with your precious precious ice princess because you got jealous and went insane."
Milo whined and hid his face in the pillows.
"I did. Gods, I did go crazy, but... I don't know. I don't know anything. You're right, I'm a mess. And I made a mess, and I don't know how to fix it."
"Do you really want to fix it though?" asked Aphrodite, laying down on the bed next to Milo and toying with his hair. "Because I've known you damn near my entire life, and that has never stopped you."
Milo fell silent for a moment. Aphrodite's fingers in his hair felt nice and brought him back to the time when they had been children and he used to style Milo's hair all kinds of ways.
"The thing that made me angriest was just... He was smiling at him. This random guy says two words to him and Camus just smiles like nothing. It drove me crazy. I thought... I thought... 'He's leaving again. He's going to betray me again.' and then I couldn't think anymore."
Aphrodite made a soft sound of agreement and started braiding Milo's hair.
"I'd been wondering when that would come up again, you know? Because if I was you, that would have driven me insane from day one."
"Really? I just... No, I don't want to bring it up anymore. It's over, we're all fine, and we are together now."
"You don't look fine at all. Like, seriously."
Milo hugged one of the pillows closer to his body.
"No, because I went crazy and made a scene and now I don't know how to fix it."
"And he hasn't come to see you? Or even tried to call you?"
"I don't know. I threw my phone out the window that night when he tried calling."
Aphrodite gave an exhasperated sigh. "Look, I feel you and you're in the right, but you're not making things easy."
"How am I in the right Aphrodite? Tell me, I really want to know so I can shove it in his fucking face and not have to crawl back and agree with him that I was acting like a lunatic. Hell, I... I told him that I hated him!" said Milo, giving a hysterical laugh. "I've never said that! The bastard tried to kill me and I didn't bat an eye, but-"
"Well, he wasn't yours back then. Now he is, and that means he can stop being yours. Big difference. Now you can lose him."
Milo turned to lay on his back and Aphrodite went on to make thin braids of his front bangs.
" Shit, you're right. How did I not see it?"
"And the closer you two get, the worse it'll be if he leaves. And he's proven that he can leave no matter what, so it drives you crazy."
"Yes! That's it! How are you this good?"
"I'm the best!" said Aphrodite, tapping the tip of Milo's nose.
The door slammed open. Camus stood in the doorway holding flowers and a bottle of wine. His face a pale white.
"Camus, this-this isn't what-" stuttered Milo.
Camus' mask of icy control cracked in an instant, and his eyes showed a great pain. He dropped everything to the floor. The bottle breaking and freezing in along with the flowers.
"Why?!" cried Camus, tears falling from his eyes and freezing in midair. He turned around and ran out of the room.
"Shit, I'll catch him. You put pants on," said Aphrodite, scrambling off the bed and running after him.
He caught up to him on the road out of the house of scorpio.
"Camus! Stop! Please listen to me, nothing happened!" yelled Aphrodite, running after him and pulling his arm.
Camus pulled away from him. The edge of Aphrodite's frilled sleeve froze, but he was undaunted.
"Would you calm down for a fucking moment?! You need to listen to me," said Aphrodite, grabbing at his shirt. Camus grabbed his arm, pulling him away in a freezing grip.
"Don't touch me," he growled.
A black flame that smelled like graveyard earth surrounded Camus' hand and he let go of Aphrodite. A flame busted from the ground, surrounding him with an embrace that he well knew as the embrace of the underworld.
"You're the one who should keep your hands to yourself," warned Death Mask, appearing behind Camus, holding a half finished cigarette in his fingers. But the smoke rising from it smelled of the fires from hell. "I don't know what's going on in here, but you two should calm down. It's not even ten in the morning, it's too early to try to kill each other."
"It's too early to be cheated on too," muttered Camus and pushed Aphrodite away from him.
"What?" asked Death Mask in shock, staring at Aphrodite.
"He's wrong! Nothing happened between Milo and I! I was just braiding his hair, I swear!"
"With Milo? Seriously? Nah, I don't believe it," said Death Mask with a shrug. The flames around Camus died off. "I would believe it of anyone but Milo. Seriously? He's been in love with you since we were seven. He saw you and the first thing he tells me is that you have the most amazing eyes. And he hasn't shut up about it in over twenty years. I don't believe it. Nope."
Milo came running to them. He wore only his pants and one shoe.
"Camus! Please listen to me. We were just talking, I swear!" he cried, thin braids swinging among the locks of his hair and tears shining in his eyes.
Camus' heart melted instantly, his anger vanishing.
Death Mask pressed his hand to Aphrodite's back, guiding him away from them.
"We should leave them alone," he said in a soft whisper.
Aphrodite nodded and followed him without another word.
"We were just talking," whispered Milo, taking a step towards Camus.
Camus flinched and took a step backwards, refusing to look at Milo's face.
"Why? Milo, what is all this? What did I do wrong? Why are you acting like this? What is happening to us?!"
Milo took a deep breath to try and put his thoughts in order.
"I'm sorry," he said after a moment, his shoulders dropping. "But I'm afraid, and it's driving me insane. I feel like I could lose you, and the more I love you, the more I'm afraid that you'll leave."
"W-why? Why would you think that? Milo you have been the greatest and the only love in my life. Why do you think that?!"
Milo felt Camus' words pressing like a weight in his chest, suffocating him. The tears in his eyes overflowed. "Because you betrayed me once, so you can do it again!"
A heavy silence fell over them, so absolute that Milo felt like he could hear his own heart beating painfully in his chest.
"I wish I could forget," whispered Milo, feeling like he would drown in the silence. "But the more I love you, the closer we are... The more painful it will be when you turn your back on me..."
Camus stood frozen in front of him, his face a pale mask of shock, and it took him a moment more to speak.
"Do you hate me for it?" he asked.
"No!" cried Milo, closing the distance between them and clinging to him. "Gods no. I don't know why I said that. I'm sorry. I've never hated you. I love you. I love you so much that the thought of losing you terrifies me."
Camus didn't answer right away. Instead he embraced Milo, pulling him harder against him, feeling the heat of him that he had missed with a newly discovered despair these last few days. He basked in the scent of his hair and his skin and the whole of him. Embracing him like that, he wondered how he had lived without this closeness for all the years that they hadn't dared to close the distance from friends to lovers.
"When I saw you two in the bed," said Camus. "I thought I'd lost you. I thought you'd betrayed me, left me forever. I've never felt a pain like that."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," muttered Milo clinging to him even more.
Camus entwined his fingers in Milo's hair, pulling his face up to look at him.
"Is this how you've felt? Have you been in this pain all this time?" asked Camus.
Milo looked at Camus' face and saw silent tears falling from the corners of his eyes, and in that instant he realized why Camus always gave in to even the pretense of crying. He would give anything and say anything to stop Camus from hurting.
"Camus, I..."
Camus traced Milo's lips with his thumb, tears still falling from his eyes.
"You have. I can see it in your eyes. I've been avoiding my shame so much, I refused to see the pain I caused you. I'm sorry, I've been an idiot," he said and kissed him.
Milo threw his arms around Camu's neck, kissing him harder, but Camus pushed him away.
"No, I've missed you too much, I'll end up…," started saying Camus, trying to stop his hands from going lower, but the feeling of Milo's skin over his clothes was too much.
"Me too, let's go back to the house," whispered Milo, placing kisses down Camus' neck.
Camus shook his head. "But first…first," he tried to say, even though Milo had pressed up against him again, and this time he didn't have the strength to push him away. "Gods, Milo I didn't…I never tried to betray you."
Milo scoffed a laugh against Camus' skin. "Heh, you know, I love you but that's stretching the truth too far even for me."
"I mean…I didn't want to betray you. My objective was to…to throw away my life."
That stopped Milo completely. He pulled away from Camus.
"What the fuck are you saying?" he growled.
Camus panted for breath and tried to make sense of his own thoughts. "I could not pay for the life of Surt's sister with anything other than my own life. But my life belonged to Athena. So when I found myself granted another life, I decided to use it to pay for the one I had taken. I would throw away everything I'd known and reject it. I did not act from a desire to betray, but out of a desire to destroy my life. And I've been ashamed of it ever since. But when I faced you off in Asgard, I knew that if my life would be taken by anyone, I would have been at peace, if it was you who took it and let me pay my blood debt."
Milo blinked a couple times, processing everything in his head.
"That is insane," he said finally.
"I know."
"You are an idiot."
"I know," said Camus, hugging Milo closer and rubbing their noses together. "But my life meant nothing to me then. Now, I almost went crazy after three days of not being with you. Now I own my life, and I want to spend it with you."
Milo felt shock and fear and joy clashing against one another in his chest. "Me too," he said, tears already falling from his eyes. "Idiot, I love you so much. Never leave me. Never do something like that again. Whatever happens, just stay with me."
"I will. Forever."
#
Once they were a couple houses away from Camus and Milo, Aphrodite stopped and slapped Death Mask across the face.
"What the hell was that for?!" asked Death Mask, dropping his cigarette to hold his cheek.
Aphrodite crushed the cigarette under his foot. "For calling me a slut, you jackass!"
"Whaaat?"
Aphrodite mimicked Death Mask's voice. "I would believe it from anyone but Milo. Wow, so I just go around having sex with anyone but him?"
"I didn't mean that! Geez, I meant, like…well look at yourself. You're the most beautiful man in the world. Who wouldn't want to have sex with you? Probably only Milo and Camus because they've been in love since forever. Hell, I don't know why you're still with me. I mean, were. Are we still together? I was looking around for you to figure out why you were pissed off at me."
"Because you spilled wine on the new pants I bought you!"
"Oh, that…yeah, right. Sorry about that."
"Gods, you're such a dumb drunk, I can't believe I love you," said Aphrodite, pulling Death Mask closer to give him a kiss.
"So you're not angry anymore? Are we back together again?"
"You just won a lot of boyfriend points looking cool back there and calling me beautiful. Don't lose them now."
Death Mask realized the best move was to shut up and kiss him back.
####
A few weeks later, Shun came to the Sanctuary to bring a replacement for Milo's phone.
"Sorry to make you come all the way here, kiddo," said Milo, ruffling Shun's hair.
"It's no bother at all. What happened to the other one? Maybe we could try and fix it."
Milo replayed in his mind the scene of having thrown it out the window in a fit of jealous rage
"Uh, no, no, you see I…lost it…at a bar…It's gone now," said Milo, trying to string a plausible lie.
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"It's fine. I didn't even like it anymore. Oh, I have something for your brother! Wait here, I'll go get it."
Shun waited until he had closed the door behind him to turn to Hyoga. "What really happened?" he asked.
Sitting at the table, Hyoga gave a deep sigh and set down the book he was taking notes from. "He and Camus had a huge fight and he threw it somewhere because he was angry and didn't want to speak to Camus."
"Oh no! But they're ok now, right?"
Camus replied from the couch in front of the tv. "Yes, we're fine now, thank you," he said in a monotone and a very nasal voice.
Shun felt his face go completely red. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be nosey!" he said going to see Camus to where he was lying on the couch in front of the tv.
"It's fine. That was a shitty lie anyway."
Shun looked over the couch at Camus and found him holding a bloody ball of paper to his nose.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I had a disagreement with Shura, and he decided to make his point by hitting me in the face with a wine bottle. Milo thinks I need rest but watching tv is making me more stressed. Why are there so many cooking shows in this machine? Why would anyone watch them if they're not going to eat any of the food anyway?" said Camus, changing the channel to a wedding show.
"That's terrible!"
"His opinions were the terrible thing. That's why he had no more argument than hitting me."
Milo came back holding a crate full of bottles of rum.
"Here they are kid. I won them last week at a poker game but someone says I can't keep them all."
"What are you going to do with 73 bottles of rum anyway?"
"That attitude is what gets you a bottle to the face. Have you apologized to Shura already?"
"He's the one who should apologize."
"I wish you two didn't have such strong opinions over opera singers."
Shun raised his eyebrows at that. "Opera singers? They started fighting over opera singers?"
"They often fight for less than that," said Milo. "Come, I'll help you get them in the car and then Hyoga will drive you home."
"I'm on it, I'm almost done with this, just a moment," called Hyoga from the table.
Milo let the crate down. "Oh, wait. I almost forgot. Isaac also told me to give something to you for Ikki when you came. Wait here."
Milo ran to another room.
Shun walked towards where Hyoga sat at the table.
Hyoga looked up from his book. "Sit down, please. Sorry, I just have to get this finished now."
"It's fine. I like being here. You all feel like such a loving family."
"Really? I don't think people routinely get into bar fights in normal families."
"Children are also more respectful to their elders in normal families," called Camus from the couch.
Shun laughed. "It's just…I get such a feeling like everyone here loves each other as a family. Maybe it's because master Camus and master Milo seem like an old married couple. I hardly believe they had a fight."
Milo came back into the living room carrying a broken trident. "Isaac told me to give this to you to bring to Ikki. No idea why," he said, handing the trident pieces to Shun.
Shun stood up. "Oh, he's been learning blacksmithing. He's probably going to try and fix it," he said.
Milo grabbed the crate of bottles and they both walked out of the house towards the car.
Hyoga hurried to finish the notes he was taking and closed the book, when suddenly Camus gasped from the couch.
"Shun's right! Shit, I'm an idiot!" he said.
Hyoga frowned. "What?"
Camus sat up on the couch and pointed to the wedding show he was watching. "We should get married! I told Milo that I wanted to spend my life with him. Why didn't I just ask him to marry me?!" he said, standing up and pulling the paper away from his face. "I'm going to do it!"
"Don't you need like…a ring for that? For the proposal?"
"You do?"
Milo and Shun came back inside. "It's all set. Are you done with the things the pope asked for?" asked Milo, then he noticed Camus standing in front of the couch. "What are you doing up? Your nose is bleeding again. If you don't want to watch tv then go to the bed and sleep," he said, reaching for the remote.
Camus grabbed it first. "No! I…I'll stay here. I just wanted…tea. Can you get me a cup of tea? I'm not feeling well," said Camus, lying down on the couch.
"You're lying. I know when you're lying. Were you trying to run out before I came back?" asked Milo grabbing more tissues and cleaning the blood from Camus' face. "Don't try to go find Shura and start shit with him again."
"No, I wasn't going to do that! I just wanted something to drink. Look, I'm lying on the couch and I want to watch tv, yes," said Camus.
Milo looked at him suspiciously. "You're hiding something," said Milo.
Hyoga grabbed Shun's arm. "Milo, didn't you also buy cookies for them?" he said, pushing Shun towards Milo.
"Oh, right! Sorry Shun, my mind's all over the place today," said Milo. "Come, I got some cookies from the new bakery at the town and they were delicious so I got some more for you and the others at Athena's house."
They left for the kitchen.
"You suck at lying even worse than he does!" hissed Hyoga.
Camus sat up. "That doesn't matter! Quick, what else do I need for the proposal?" hissed Camus back.
"I don't know. I've never looked into that!"
"Then make yourself useful and research it!"
Shun and Milo came back to see them glaring at each other.
"What is going on in here?" asked Milo, even more suspicious than before.
Hyoga pointed at Camus. "He's trying to go find Shura again!" he yelled.
"That's IT! Do I have to tie you down to get you to rest?" said Milo, stomping towards the couch.
From behind Milo's back, Hyoga stuck his tongue out at Camus, grabbed Shun and ran out of the house.
#
After a few days of research and a lot of wedding shows, Camus settled into a few general ideas of what a marriage proposal entailed. It had to be grand, romantic, and required a diamond ring. None of which were things that Camus was good at, nor possessed.
He decided to get the ring first and brought along the person with the best taste in jewelry that he could think of.
"We want it to be big, but not too big. We want something that says 'I want the best for you but I'm not trying too hard'," said Aphrodite to the salesman at the store.
"Trying too hard at what?" asked Camus.
Aphrodite covered Camus' mouth and kept talking to the salesman. "Don't mind him, he needs help. Get me everything you have with that description. The price is of no concern."
The salesman, visibly shaking, bowed and went to get the rings.
"You took your sweet time with this," said Aphrodite. "After Milo told me all about how you had apologized, I thought you were going to show up the next day with a ring and a thousand red roses, begging him to marry you."
"Well, actual marriage was never on my mind before this. I don't care about it, but I think it would ease Milo's…concerns about me."
Aphrodite rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Camus, I know emotions aren't like, something you're good at, but please never ever tell that to Milo."
"Why?" asked Camus, noticing a small ring, gold and with a ruby encrusted. The red stone shining under the lights of the store made him think of Milo.
"Because then he'll think you just want to marry him because he went crazy jealous because you once tried to kill him and he ended up attacking a random tourist who hit on you," said Aphrodite just as the salesman returned with five different rings.
The salesman lifted his eyebrows at that.
"It's a metaphor," said Aphrodite with a roll of his eyes, to ease the salesman's mind. Then he picked the ring with the biggest diamond on it and lifted it up to the light. "This one is nice. A little too much, but that's sort of his style too."
"Can I see this one?" asked Camus, pointing to the ring with the ruby still calling out to him.
"Engagement rings have to have diamonds, not rubies."
"But this one fits him more, don't you think?" said Camus, holding the ring against the light. "Doesn't it remind you of scarlet needle? The way it shines is very similar to the light when it disappears from his hand."
"Ugh, you really ARE in love with him. I liked you more when you had no emotions and didn't rant about how the light looks on his fingers."
Camus narrowed his eyes at him. "I'll get him this one."
Aphrodite raised his hands. "Fine, fine. Although if you asked me like you did when you brought me along, I'd say this is the prettiest one," he said, holding up a ring with a diamond in a cushion shape. Not as big as the previous one he'd shown, but one that reflected the light in in the cleanest way Camus had ever seen. Like a miniature star.
"I can't imagine Milo wearing that one. It feels like something more for you," said Camus. The ring felt too…pretty. A soft kind of beauty that had none of the edge and sharpness that he found so gorgeous in Milo.
"Hmph, well, I would like one like this," said Aphrodite, putting it on his finger and admiring it. "Sadly, while you're not what I would call thoughtful, Death Mask is even less thoughtful than you, so there's almost no chance I'll get it."
"You want to marry him?" asked Camus with a scoff.
"Of course not," snapped back Aphrodite, pulling the ring off. "I just wish he was thoughtful enough to get me something good for once. Now get your dumb ruby ring and let's get out of here. We still have the whole proposal to plan. I know of a great restaurant he's going to love."
He walked out of the store. Camus handed back the ring to the salesman and took out his phone to snap a quick photo of the ring Aphrodite had liked and sent it to Death Mask with a short message:
[If you're smart, you will come buy this exact ring and give it to Aphrodite the next opportunity you get.]
#
The first idea was to go to a restaurant. Camus wanted to get the proposal done as soon as possible, so he planned to make it happen next weekend. A public proposal seemed to be the norm, so he got most of the usual weekend party guys on board, and figured the rest wouldn't be too hard to deal with. He was wrong, but that was the least of his problems. The closest of his problems though, was trying to get Milo himself on board with the idea of going to a restaurant.
[Aphrodite: I want to go to Luciano's by the pier. Saturday at 8 sounds good?]
[Death Mask: Sure]
[Shura: Yeah]
[Camus: That's fine]
[Milo: Weren't we going to the new disco bar at the town? We should go before they hear about us and ban us preemptively like the others.]
[Aphrodite: We can go later. I want to go to Luciano's now.]
[Milo: Why do you even want us all to go to a restaurant? Take Death Mask there and let's all go to the bar]
[Aphrodite: The others also want to go]
[Shura: Yeah]
[Death Mask: Sure]
[Camus: Yes]
Camus started gritting his teeth. What the hell? This wasn't how things were supposed to go.
Milo slammed open the studio door.
"What are you doing? Support me ok? Tell Aphrodite that you don't want to go!" he demanded, phone in hand.
"I really don't care where we go," said Camus, while caring with all his heart where they were going. He didn't turn from his place at the desk, keeping his back to Milo because he knew that Milo would catch him at his lie the moment he looked him in the face, so he pretended to be busy with paperwork.
"Then say that we should go to the bar."
"Well, if Aphrodite wants to go then he probably already made reservations, you know how he is. It really doesn't matter."
"It matters to me. We're banned from nearly all the bars in town, I want to go before they turn me away at the entrance, thank you. And this is gonna be a karaoke night!"
"We're not banned from Crystal, and they let you use the machine for as long as you want. They even give us free drinks when you stop using the machine."
Milo groaned in frustration. "But we always go there," he said, and placed a hand on Camus' shoulder, beckoning him to turn around.
But Camus already knew it would be a trap. Either he turned around and found Milo fake crying and he would fold, or he would turn around and Milo would read him like a book and know he had been lying all along. He desperately started arranging papers and scribbling random notes in an attempt to seem very busy.
Milo traced a line down Camus' neck with the tip of his finger in a way that sent a shiver of pleasure down Camus' back and made him turn around and look at Milo. In his eyes he could see the fakest tears shining.
"I really want to go," mumbled Milo, pouting in the most adorable way that made Camus want to jump up and kiss him senseless.
Camus turned back to the desk before Milo could read him. "Fine, fine," he said, reaching for the phone.
[Camus: Actually, yeah, we'll probably be turned away in a couple of weeks. Better go to the bar now.]
[Aphrodite: Terrible decision, but fine, let's go to the bar instead. I'm sure that'll be much more fun.]
Camus sighed. "There, it's done," he said. Milo hugged him from behind, rubbing his face against Camus' hair.
"Thank you, thank you!" he said laughing. "I could show you how thankful I am, if I could pull you away from that desk. Or I could show you in the desk too…," he whispered, and placed a kiss on Camus' ear.
Camus pulled together all the force of will he could muster.
"Sorry Milo, I really have to finish this tonight or Shion is going to kill me," he lied without turning around. "It won't take long."
Milo sighed. "Ok, I'll wait for you in bed," said Milo, and placed a kiss on the top of his head.
As soon as Camus heard the door close, he let his head fall on the desk. This wasn't going well. No, this was going progressively worse with each passing day. His phone buzzed and he reached for it.
[Aphrodite: I know exactly what happened, but I thought you would stand your ground for once.]
[Camus: When has Death Mask ever not folded to whatever you wanted?]
[Aphrodite: Good point. But how are you going to propose in the middle of a crowded karaoke bar, genius?]
[Camus: I'll figure it out]
Camus sent out the message, and decided those were more than enough lies for a day.
Worse still, all those useless lies hadn't gotten him anything he wanted.
#
Milo opened the door to the private residence of the house of Aquarius when Shun knocked.
"Good morning Master Milo. I came to see Hyoga and I brought a cake for everyone," he said.
"Aw, thank you kid, come in," said Milo, stepping sideways to let Shun in. He carried a load of laundry in his hands. "And just call me Milo."
Shun left the cake on the dinner table, next to a bunch of papers and books. The mess made him smile.
"The way Hyoga described him, I was afraid mast- uhm, Mr. Camus, would be one of those very strict people who demands everything be in its place."
"Most of the time he is. Well, not demanding, but just going around putting things away and cleaning. But the last few days he's been working on something for Shion and it's kept him very busy."
Shun covered his mouth when he laughed. "Hyoga isn't nearly as clean. I think Ikki is cleaner than him."
"Ugh, I know. I dropped by to clean around a bit because I know it makes Camus antsy and what not. Those kids can't even put away their laundry," said Milo, opening the door to Hyoga's room. Shun followed him close behind.
"Would you like me to help you with it?" asked Shun.
"No, no, I'm done already. It's not like I'm a clean freak like Camus," laughed Milo, opening drawers and putting clothes away. "But he's been so busy with whatever Shion is making him work on that he hasn't had the time to clean. He says nothing, but I know the mess is driving him cra-"
Milo froze when he saw a small jewelry box, pale blue, siting among Hyoga's tshirts. Shun looked over his shoulder and saw the box too. He gasped.
"W-what is that?" asked Shun, his heart racing and his emotions going from dread to excitement and to dread again. "Is…is he buying jewelry for someone?"
Milo caught the emotions on Shun's voice and put the clothes away. He hesitated for a moment on what to say. He was sure Hyoga had eyes only for Shun, but the poor boy sounded so sad.
"Well, we really shouldn't," he said reaching for the box. "But I'm guessing whatever's in here is probably going to be your size. Isn't your birthday coming?"
He winked at Shun. After all, it probably wouldn't hurt for Shun to see his birthday present a couple weeks early.
"Let's take a look. But you have to pretend to be surprised when he gives it to you."
He grabbed the box and opened it. Inside stood a golden ring with a teardrop ruby shining as the light from the windows hit its surface. The red glittering reminded him of the first time he had felt the light and power of Antares coursing through his body.
"It's beautiful!" said Shun.
His voice shook Milo out of his amazement.
"I-it really is..." said Milo, handing it to him. Jealousy curled around his heart. It was the most gorgeous ring he had seen, and he couldn't help but want it for himself.
"But why would he give me a ring like this?" asked Shun, holding the ring against the light. "Last year he gave me a bottle of cologne, and it was already one of the fanciest gifts he's..."
Shun's voice trailed off.
"Shun?" asked Milo.
"I'm turning 18. Is this... An engagement ring?"
"W-what? No, no... It can't be. You're still very young and... Don't engagement rings have diamonds?"
"They do," said Shun taking the ring out and putting it on his finger. It was way too big for him. His face fell. "It's not my size. This isn't for me." He put it back in the box and snapped it shut.
Milo completely forgot about how beautiful the ring was.
"But you say that he's never given you a ring before. He probably doesn't know your size. And engagement rings can be fixed for size. I heard about it on a show once."
"Well, he did once give me a pair of shoes that we had to exchange for a different size."
"There you have it. Hyoga has good feelings, but he's not very good at the execution of things."
"Hmmmm, well it really is a beautiful ring...But... I don't know. Doesn't it look like an engagement ring?"
Milo put the ring back on the drawer and the rest of the clean clothes on top.
"You two are way too young to be getting married," he said with an air of finality, and Shun said nothing more.
#
Camus came back to the house of Aquarius late that night. He had never imagined that planning a proposal would be so complicated. He had had to cancel the restaurant reservation, go talk to the people at the bar, then invite the others, it was all very quickly driving him insane, and he collapsed on the bed next to Milo.
"Tired?" asked Milo, setting down the scroll he was reading.
"Exhausted," said Camus, pulling up the covers and lying on his side. He reached for the bedside lamp to turn it off.
"Wait! I need to tell you something!" said Milo.
Camus turned off the light anyway. "Tomorrow," he mumbled as the room darkened. His eyelids felt so heavy.
"No, no! It's urgent!"
"Unless Hades himself is knocking on our door, I can't think of anything urgent enough. Sorry Milo but I'm just-"
"Hyoga wants to marry Shun!"
Camus' eyes opened. "He WHAT?"
"Well, Shun arrived when I was putting away some of his clothes, and we…found…what seems to be an engagement ring."
Camus blinked in the darkness, almost unable to believe that he would have this much bad luck.
Milo shook him. "Aren't you going to say anything?! Camus! They're too young to marry!"
Camus shifted to lay on his back. Milo hovered over him. He had no words to say. Well, he had a bunch, but they all revolved around how much he was going to kill Hyoga for being unable to do the single thing he had asked him to do. Hide the ring in a safe place. Sure Camus. I will Camus. And then he goes and leaves it in the fucking dresser.
"I…I don't know what to say," finally said Camus. "I'm… surprised."
Milo huffed and sat back on his side of the bed. "I mean, I know they've been together for a long while, and have been through a lot together but it just…feels like a huge thing? And the dumbass didn't even pick the right size! You should have seen poor Shun's face fall when it didn't fit him."
"He tried it on?" asked Camus, already calculating how long he would have Hyoga cleaning the steps of the house of Aquarius with a toothbrush.
"Yes, and it was obviously too big for him. And sort of…not his style? It was gorgeous, but not something I would imagine Shun wearing."
Camus couldn't stop his curiosity. "So it was pretty?"
"Gorgeous Camus. Gorgeous. It was the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. I…I was actually a little jealous. Like, you know how in some fairytales people kill over jewelry? I saw that ring and I got it. Like, it's a ring you would kill for, you know? And it- why are you smiling?"
Camus forced his face into an emotionless mask.
"I think I'm too tired to even think about them marrying. I'll talk with Hyoga tomorrow," said Camus, closing his eyes.
"We should both talk with him."
"No, I think it'll be better if it's just me."
"…Why?"
Camus tried to think of an excuse that would let him strangle Hyoga alone. "I raised him, I know him better."
Milo fell quiet for a few moments, before saying in a low voice. "I suppose you do. You treat him and Isaac like your sons."
Camus turned to lay on his side, looking at Milo. "There was nothing else I could teach him as a Master after the war. I suppose it was…bound to happen, after so many years."
"Hmhmm…" muttered Milo, but Camus could see there was something bothering him. He grabbed Milo's hand.
"What is it? Are you so worried about them marrying?"
"No, it's just…I wish you would let me treat them like sons too."
Camus couldn't help laugh. "But you already do. Weren't you putting away his laundry?"
Milo punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Not like that, you dolt! I meant…on the important things, like this one. I guess, the way you get along with them isn't something I can share, but at least..."
Camus pressed on Milo's hand, pulled it towards him and placed a kiss in his fingers.
"There is nothing in my life that is not for you too. This will turn out to be nothing, I promise," said Camus, annoyed at yet another turn of events. Only a couple days more and this would be over. Only a couple days more and their lives would be entwined in every way they could be.
He really couldn't stand to have fate turn against him yet again.
#
The next morning Camus stood next to the window on the kitchen of the Aquarius residence. Outside he could see Hyoga sitting on the steps that led to the back road, a coffee mug on one hand and a cellphone on the other. He would be 19 soon, but the morning sun made him seem so much older than that.
But was it the sun or had it been the years in Siberia and the journeys through the underworld? Camus' body had been remade anew, but Hyoga's... And Shun's... And all of them. They inhabited the same tired, beaten bodies they always had.
Milo's words echoed in Camus' head. "You treat them like your sons."
But what else was there for him to give Hyoga? He had given him all the skills and all the secrets he knew, and Hyoga had taken them and mastered them and polished them to such fine a point that he could kill Camus with them.
Ikki came running up the road towards the house and stopped in front of Hyoga, rage burning in his eyes so hot, Camus looked away and went out to see what was the matter.
Not that he didn't know.
"What did I do now?" asked Hyoga, pocketing his phone and putting down the empty coffee cup.
Ikki stomped closer and Hyoga tried to step away but his back hit against the wall.
"What are you thinking?! Marrying Shun?! He's not even 18 and you're already trying to marry him?!"
"I'm wha-?!"
Ikki wrapped his hands around his throat. "You bastard. Shun found the ring you idiot!"
Camus sighed as he walked down the steps and picked up Hyoga's discarded mug. "Ikki he's not going to marry Shun," he said calmly.
Ikki stopped strangling Hyoga, but didn't let go of his neck. "He's not? But the-"
"The ring was mine. It is the engagement ring I got for Milo," explained Camus.
"Oh. Sorry," said Ikki, letting go of Hyoga's neck.
"No, do go on please. I was planning to strangle him myself, thank you," said Camus.
Ikki raised an eyebrow at that, but grabbed Hyoga's neck again. Hyoga tried to pull away.
"Wait! W-why?!" he gasped.
"You had one job. Hide the ring and keep it safe, and you couldn't even do that," said Camus, giving him a cold, emotionless stare.
Ikki growled. "And now Shun will be devastated when you don't propose to him!" he said through gritted teeth.
Hyoga hit Ikki on the chest a couple times but didn't even make him budge, then he used his power to cast a fine layer of ice over his arms, just enough to get him to let go of his neck. He coughed as he stepped away from Ikki.
"I marry Shun, bad; I don't marry Shun, bad. There is no winning with you!" he said giving him an annoyed side glance.
"Well now he's excited! Where did you even hide the damn ring that he found it right away?" asked Ikki.
"I put it in the bottom of my dresser. How was I to know th-? Wait. He's excited? So…so he actually would like to marry me?"
Camus rolled his eyes. "You are barely 18. It is not going to happen," he said.
"But what about Shun?" asked Ikki.
Camus was suddenly aware of the fact that more than two kids would have been too much for him. He sighed.
"After I give the ring to Milo you're going to go see him and bring him…I don't know, a dozen roses and chocolates and whatever else he likes, and you explain everything to him. He's a nice, calm guy, he'll understand."
"And you better not mess it up," warned Ikki pointing at Hyoga. "You take him for granted."
"I don't!" said Hyoga, and Camus saw a flash of real hurt in his eyes.
"That's enough," interrupted Camus. "I'm sorry for the confusion Ikki, I will apologize to Shun after we're done, but right now we have work to do, and I would appreciate it if you kept the proposal a secret."
Ikki nodded, and left without another word.
Camus went inside straight to the sink and started washing the mug.
"Wait, I was using that!" said Hyoga.
"Use a clean one. This one was on the ground," said Camus.
Hyoga huffed. He looked like he wanted to say something, but held himself back for a few moments before speaking.
"... I'm sorry. I thought it would be fine there. I didn't think about how he sometimes puts things in my room," he said.
"It's fine. I suppose we couldn't have expected that."
"You're not angry?"
"No," said Camus. He looked up from the sink and caught a reflection of Hyoga's face on the window. The hurt was still there, shifting and acquiring shades of regret and nostalgia.
"Do you really worry that you take Shun for granted?"
"What? No. Ikki's just a jerk when he wants to be."
Camus nodded, noticing the quick response and the way Hyoga turned around when he spoke. Was this how Milo could tell he himself was lying? It struck him as such a simple thing. Such as simple case of 'I have seen how the shade of every emotion looks in your face, of course I know that you're lying.'
"Well, you ARE really young," said Camus, setting the mug on the dish rack. "But if you really wanted to start a life with him, I would not oppose."
Hyoga was taken aback by that.
"R-really?" asked Hyoga.
Camus shrugged. "There's no need to be so drastic though. You could go live at Athena's house with him and the others, or he could come live here."
Hyoga's shoulders fell. "I can't live there... I can't and I won't. But Shun loves it there. He loves being with Ikki and Seiya and the others and he wishes I would go live with them but...I can't see that man again. I wish I could live under his roof but…"
"Mr. Kido?" asked Camus, barely remembering the man's name. He was vaguely aware that the man was Hyoga's father, in the same way that he was aware that ants existed, but just like ants, the man was of no concern to him, and he had thought he wasn't for Hyoga either.
Hyoga cringed. "I hate him," he said, glaring at the ground, balling his hands into fists. "You taught me to not feel. To be free of all emotions and yet…I can only stay like that for so long before hating him again. I didn't learn well enough from you."
Camus sighed. "You learned more than well. You killed me, remember?" said Camus, putting a hand on Hyoga's shoulder.
Hyoga narrowed his eyes at him. "Are you trying to joke about it?"
"Yes."
"The monotone doesn't help," he said, letting his head fall against Camus' shoulder. "I wish I was…more like you."
"I'm glad you're not. You have become much greater. Had you not, none of use would probably not even be here," said Camus. "You're demanding nonsense of yourself. You completed your training by being able to reach and use the absolute zero. But it is a technique. An attack. Don't try to live in it. By it's very nature it is the antithesis of life. You cannot exist in it, and you cannot exist in emotionless. What I did, by causing you all that pain, was forcing you to touch absolute zero, and showing you that you would live after it. That you would still be there, still you, and still strong, after the end of everything you loved. I wish I hadn't had to do it. I wish I hadn't had to make you hate me...But at least you got to kill me."
"Milo's humor is rubbing off on you too much and it's creepy," complained Hyoga, trying to force his lips to not smile. Then he took a deep breath. "I never hated you. Not even... After you sunk the ship. I wanted to. I really, really wanted to hate you. But I couldn't. It just hurt... That's why I wish I could stop hating Kido. If I didn't feel this, I could be with them. I could be with Shun, and Shun could be with the others."
The words made Camus' chest constrict. Hyoga had been weaving a web of regret and pain and hatred in his heart, and Camus had barely seen it.
The door opened and Milo strolled inside holding a small cake in his hands. Hyoga took a step to the side, away from Camus.
"Look what I brought!" he noticed the tension in the air. "Oh. Sorry. Did I interrupt something?"
"Nothing," muttered Hyoga, looking away.
Camus decided that this terrain was too emotional for him.
"Hyoga wishes he could go live with the others, but can't stand his father."
Milo frowned. "Well you're kind of obtuse sometimes, but saying he can't stand you is a bit too much."
"Not me! Kido! Athena's foster father."
"Oh. Oh right. That's he's his... Right, right, sorry. Hmmmm, we could go... Pay him a visit..." he said, setting the cake on the table and uncovering it.
"Milo we can't beat up an old man," said Camus, setting the table.
Milo scoffed. "If being old protected you from anything, Shion wouldn't have gotten murdered. And he's an asshole, so we probably could push the honor code around a bit and slip a justified beating."
"But what about Athena?"
"She's a goddess of infinite wisdom. She'll understand. Hyoga sit down, I'll get the coffee," said Milo.
Hyoga stood in front of the coffee maker, unmoving and so tense he almost shook.
"Hyoga?" asked Camus, putting a hand to his shoulder.
"I wanted a father out of him. I hated him because he was never the father I wanted him to be. But you and Milo have been my fathers. And I'm only seeing it now…"
Camus froze. While he was aware that their relationship had become more like a family as time passed, hearing Hyoga saying it still felt like a shock to him. He tried to say something, but words escaped him.
Milo hugged them both from behind. "You two are such oblivious ice blocks," he said, grinning.
If Camus wasn't in the middle of planning the proposal, he would have asked him to marry him in that instant.
#
Milo ran into Dohko at the market. He seemed upset by something he was reading in a piece of paper, so he approached him.
"Hey, is everything alright?" he asked the old master.
Dohko seemed to snap out of his thoughts, and smiled up at him.
"Oh, hi Milo. Yes, yes, just picking up some medicine for Shion," he said with sigh. "He's been sick all week. I can't believe I didn't call the doctor right away but he was like I'm fine, it's nothing, then the next day I just need some rest, and now he's got a fever and still didn't want me to call the doctor. He's too proud to accept he's sick, even if he's been bedridden for days. I'm kinda pissed that I believed him, but oh well."
Milo blinked. Bedridden for days? But then... Camus had said...
" Are you alright?" asked Dohko, waving a hand in front of Milo's face.
Milo snapped out of his racing thoughts.
" Uhm, yes. I'm sorry about Shion. Uh, he's been sick how long?"
" All week," said Dohko with a sigh. "But the doctor said if he takes the medicine he should be alright by Monday. So now I've got to wrestle with him to get him to take it. He's so fussy when he gets sick, it's a pain in the ass. And not one of the fun ones. "
"Uhh, yeah, sorry about that. Hope he gets better soon," said Milo in a daze.
"Thanks kiddo," said Dohko, patting Milo's shoulder. "See ya later!"
He ran off, leaving Milo with his haunting, angry thoughts.
Aphrodite came out of the store where he'd been.
"Why did you abandon me like that?! I've been calling at you from the dressing room like a-"
Milo whirled around. "He was LYING! HE WAS LYING ALL THE TIME!"
#
Camus sat at the table with Hyoga, pleased that finally all the preparations were ready for tomorrow.
His phone vibrated, and the name Aphrodite flashed across the screen, signaling a message. He rolled his eyes. If he had to listen to one more explanation of why a certain kind of flowers would be better than another for the proposal, he was going to go with frozen flowers. He rolled his eyes and opened the message.
[He found out about you lying. You either get engaged now, or he kills you. I am keeping him from going out to find you. We're at Crystal]
Camus blinked once, then jumped to his feet.
"Hyoga bring the ring. We're going to Crystal," he ordered, already heading towards the door.
"W-what? Why?!" asked, running to his room to get the ring.
#
"Look, just sit down, I'll bring you something to drink," said Aphrodite, the fakest expression of calm on his face. He turned around and went to the bar. "One beer and one whiskey double," he ordered while texting Camus about his imminent death.
The bartender and owner of the bar, a bald middle aged man almost as tall as the ceiling and built like a brick house groaned.
"Guys, you know I like you but today is really not a good time for you to be here. We're having an event."
Aphrodite gave him a look that made him cower.
"You have now idea how bad a day this is, and I suggest you don't make it worse."
The bartender brought him all he asked for immediately.
#
But the bar really had an event that day. A heavily promoted screening of a world cup match that filled the bar with football fans in less than an hour after Aphrodite and Milo arrived.
"I should just go find him," growled Milo, holding his fourth whiskey double so hard, the glass cracked.
Aphrodite, whose only idea had been to fill Milo with as much alcohol as he could, grew increasingly desperate.
"Now, now, you really should think it through. What exactly are you going to tell him?" he asked, signaling for one of the waiters among the sea of people around them to bring them more drinks. He didn't understand why more alcohol didn't make things better. It always worked on Death Mask!
"That's he's a lying and treacherous bastard," muttered Milo, tears of rage falling from his eyes. "He lies and betrays and lies and betrays, that's all he knows how to do."
Aphrodite felt the temperature of the bar lowering dramatically, and a bright flower of hope bloomed in his heart. He grabbed the empty glasses and stood up. "I'm going to get us more drinks, ok?"
He saw Camus among the people and went to him, making his way among the football fans.
"Why did you bring him here?!" hissed Camus when he reached him.
"Because you're cursed and everything related to you is cursed too! Look, your duck only has one eye!"
"I'm fine like this," snapped back Hyoga.
Someone scored a goal and a roar went up through the bar, making the people around them crush them in a wall of people.
"This is disgusting and I'd like to live, so I'm leaving now," complained Aphrodite, pushing four men taller than him against a table, which crashed under their weight. "He's ready to kill you though."
A security guard came towards them. "What happened here?" he asked.
"I don't know, they just fell," said Aphrodite in a sickly sweet voice.
Camus pulled Hyoga closer to him, and started making his way towards where he could see Milo's blue hair among the multitude. "Stay close in case we start fighting."
"I think this already qualifies as a fight," yelled Hyoga over the noise of the multitude.
"I mean if he punches me," Camus yelled back.
"Oh, I'm not stopping him then."
"I don't even know why I bother," muttered Camus, letting go of Hyoga once he reached the booth where Milo sat glaring at a cracked glass in his hand.
"Milo!" said Camus, sitting down next to him.
"Why did you lie?" growled Milo, still glaring at the glass and refusing to look at Camus.
"I'm sorry. It…it…," Camus realized he hadn't thought at all about what he was going to say. He wasn't good at expressing his emotions, or apologizing.
Milo looked at him and threw the remainder of his drink at Camus' face.
"You lie again and again. You tricked me again…"
"Yes, I'm sorry. I should…I should have never done that, but I wanted to surprise you. I wanted it to be special."
"What?! What could ever be important enough for you to stare at me in the face and lie day after day?!" yelled Milo.
Camus sighed, and found that with the amount of people around and the booth, he wouldn't be able to kneel. It felt to him like one last slap of bad luck across the face.
"You. I wanted to make this properly, but now I can't. But would you still…would you still marry me?" he pulled out the small box and opened it. "You've already seen it though, but I picked it because it seemed so much like you. It shines like you when the power of Antares flows through you."
The glass slipped from Milo's hands. It fell against the table, finally breaking in two. "You…are you proposing…to me?"
"I tried," said Camus, his voice drowned by the multitude when another goal was scored. "I'm trying!" he yelled.
Milo gasped, and more tears fell from his eyes, this time from happiness, and shock, and surprise. He gasped again, feeling all his emotions escaping his heart through every tear.
"It was a surprise proposal!" cried Milo, covering his face. "I can't believe it!"
Camus pushed Milo's hands away from his face, wiping away the tears. "Please don't cry," he begged. "Everything but that."
Milo noticed that Camus' eyes also started filling with tears. Milo's heart twisted. The multitude started yelling at the referee. Milo flicked his hand towards the screen, Antares glittering for a second in his nail before the screen blew up. Then he threw his arms around Camus' neck.
"Only if you don't cry either," he said with a laugh.
"So…you'll marry me?"
Milo laughed even more. "Yes! Yes you idiot! Yes!" yelled Camus, pushing away from him and reaching for the ring. He put it on his finger right away, mesmerized by it. "I'm marrying you! I'm getting married! I have to tell everyone! I have to tell the world!"
He jumped over the seats of the booth and made his way across the people, pushing aside anyone he came across until he reached the stage with the broken screen. He grabbed the karaoke microphone from the machine and turned it on.
Camus noticed the security guards approaching him from all sides.
"I just need to tell the world! I'm so happy! I'm getting married!" yelled Milo.
Camus sighed, very tired, and very happy. "Let's go see where he gets escorted out, we might be able to get them to not press charges against him," he told Hyoga.
Next to them, a guy with a backwards baseball hat and a beer pointed at Milo, laughing. "Who's going to marry that loser? What an idiot, I feel for his wife."
Camus turned around immediately, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him up off the ground. "That's my fiancé!" he yelled before punching the guy in the face.
He and Milo were both escorted out by the police shortly afterwards.
#
Hyoga helped with the signing of things and keeping the ring safe (Milo refused to have the cops touch it), and Aphrodite with the "telling Shion everything in the least incriminatory way", but they still had to spend the night in jail. Thankfully lady luck smiled at them for the first time in days, and they were put in adjacent cells.
"So…," whispered Milo, almost sober now, standing against the wall that separated them. "You had stuff planned?"
Camus pinched the bridge of his nose and went to stand against the wall. He could see Milo's tanned hands dangling out of the bars, and he reached out to hold his hand. "I spent a week planning it, and it kept going from bad to worse…And now we're in jail."
Milo scoffed out a laugh with a sad edge that Camus didn't like. "Sorry about that. My jealousy ruined things again, I guess."
Camus held his hand harder. "No. Sorry about lying. I should have known it would end up badly, given my track record."
Milo rubbed his thumb against Camus' skin. "We're a mess, uh?" he said, and found he couldn't stop smiling.
"And we're going to keep being a mess together, for the rest of our lives."
#
Shion came the next morning to bail them out, still dressed in pope robes and looking like he had aged 100 years in a night, despite his youthful new body. Behind him, Dohko smiled at them and gave them a thumbs up.
"Don't encourage them Dohko," muttered Shion without even looking back at him.
"Aw, come on Shion. They're in love and about to get married. Cut them some slack, the poor guys are excited."
Milo and Camus kept quiet as the guards opened their corresponding cell doors. They knew there was a very big possibility that would have them spend the next five years scrubbing the steps of the entire sanctuary with a toothbrush if they made any wrong move then.
"They can't go out making a spectacle and punching people in the face just because they are going to get married Dohko!" said Shion, finally turning around to glare at him.
Dohko smirked up at him. "Well, I know I would definitely make a spectacle of punching people in the face if it got you to marry me."
Shion's face turned completely red. Milo and Camus looked at each other, and silently decided that it would be in their best interests to pretend like they heard nothing and just keep their heads down until Shion decided they would not scrub any steps.
Shion cleared his throat. "W-we'd better get going," said Shion, trying to cover his face with the long sleeves of his robes.
Milo and Camus, still staring intently at the ground and still deathly silent, nodded and followed them outside.
#
A/N:
Thank you for reading this fic, I hope you liked it. Here are a few final comments:
I know I'll get hate for this but I have to say it: I don't like cooking shows. If I don't get to eat the food, I see no sense in watching someone prepare it, and I honestly do not understand the popularity of cooking shows.