Jorrvaskr... They were home at last.

Vilkas lay in bed and thought about the last month or so. All because of one little incident, because of one little fight... His world had turned into a nightmare. He swore he'd gone to hell. But now everything was okay. He and Farkas were alive. He still had one little issue. Telling Aela he was leaving.

He looked up as Farkas limped into the room. "Oh Farkas." he mumbled, reluctantly scooting over to make room for his brother's large frame. Farkas pulled Vilkas close and held him there. "I missed you." he mumbled into Vilkas's neck. Vilkas smiled and buried his nose into Farkas's soft hair. "I missed you too."

They were together again. They now knew they couldn't stay. They were endangering themselves by remaining Companions. And after what they'd just been through, they knew now they needed to start thinking about themselves and what would make them safe and happy.

Aela wasn't going to like it, but this wasn't about her. This was about them. "Where would we go?" Farkas looked up at his twin, who had a bit of a pout on his face. "What?"

"Where would we go? When we leave."

Farkas smiled and chuckled. He knew just the place. "There's a small farm just outside Riften." he explained. "The family that lives there helped me out before I got kidnapped. I'm sure they'd help us out." Vilkas nodded and sighed happily. He'd missed being able to hug and cuddle with Farkas. He missed the feel of Farkas's big, strong arms wrapped around his own smaller frame. He missed the quiet sound of his brother's breath, and the long rise and fall of his chest.

He'd missed hearing Farkas's low, gravely voice, and the low rumble in Farkas's chest when the man chuckled.

All in all, he'd missed Farkas.

"What did you miss about me?" he asked suddenly. Farkas looked up and thought about the question. Well... He'd missed the warmth of his brother's smile, the feeling of Vilkas's smaller frame against his own larger one. He'd missed the way Vilkas played with his hair, like he was doing now. But, he chose not to say that. Instead he said, "I missed everything. I just missed you." Vilkas smiled and kissed his brother's forehead. "Same here, brother."

"You're what?! No!" Three weeks had gone by and the twins were fully healed and now they were telling Aela their plan. Vilkas rolled his eyes and huffed. "Aela, we can't be Companions anymore." he argued. "Farkas's leg makes it hard for him to run, meaning he can't chase someone or something. And I can hardly use my left arm anymore." Aela pouted and crossed her arms, making her look like a child who just got told to sit in timeout.

Farkas started speaking. "Aela... Please." he pleaded with her. "Vil and I don't want to endanger our own lives anymore. Sure, Jorrvaskr is our home, has been since we were kids, and it likely always will be... But we can't stay, or be Companions. We're sorry."

The woman shifted in her seat. "Will you visit?" she asked pitifully, still pouting. Farkas nodded and smiled fondly at her. Aela sighed and nodded. "I give you my blessing." Farkas perked up and smiled brightly, making Vilkas chuckle. Farkas was like a puppy.

"I'll start packing." Vilkas offered, standing up. Farkas stood too and followed his brother. "I want to help." he murmured.

Aela watched Farkas walk. Vilkas was right. Farkas's leg was pretty screwed up. The poor guy had a limp. She felt so bad for them. "Are you going to leave too Lurch?"

Lurch looked up from his lunch ad shook his head. He had no reason to leave. Plus... This was his family now.

Aela sighed as she watched the twins walk away from Jorrvaskr. This wasn't like their normal good-byes. Their normal ones were full of teases and smirks. This good-bye had been filled with sad smiles and hugs. She didn't want them to go, she wanted them to stay. She growled as she felt tears well up in her eyes. She hated crying, it made her feel weak.

But... She let herself cry... Just this once. She was watching her shield- brothers leave. When the twins were out of sight, she ran to the Underforge. She was sad, but also happy for the twins. So she let herself cry. Not out of sadness, but joy.