A Place to Call Home

"Ah, there he is." The warm voice turned Aro away from the busy roads and the market stalls lining them back towards the tall building at his back. Executor Hideo had dressed down for the visit; a long-sleeved overshirt and a simple red scarf across his shoulders. His head was missing its usual coverings, his ink-black hair coming just down to the top of his ears, once again showing his relation to Daniel and his family. Hideo's arms were as wide and open as his smile. Aro barely had time to feel discomfort before he was taken into a short but friendly embrace. "Always a pleasure, Aro."

"Likewise. Thank you for having me." Aro forced a polite smile though surprisingly, he didn't need to try very hard.

"Of course, of course." Hideo twisted on his heels and started heading back the way he came. Aro's smile dropped slightly once his back was turned and he sighed before following. The outside had been breezy and cloudless, the sun and its heated rays shining down unfettered. The transition into New Monarchy's central office was stark in its coolness and relative quiet. As they walked, Hideo offered him food and drinks and regaled him on their recent developments; recent changes to the building, new tech the Guardians could put to use in the field. Aro responded as was appropriate. He had long since mastered pretending to be present when he wasn't. It wouldn't last. Hideo seemed to have run out of topics with which he could make courteous banter or had grown equally as bored doing so and had successfully steered them away from the more crowded parts of the lobby. From their attire, it seemed that representatives from other factions were visiting. For what, Aro did not know and didn't think he wanted to. He just hoped not to be noticed.

He noticed Hideo's pace had slowed only when he almost walked into him. Aro was always apologizing. "A lot on my mind."

The other man just shrugged. "A lot on your plate," he replied. He looked towards the crowd they had just passed by. "I'd hate to add more to it but…"

It was Aro's turn to be understanding, if a bit deflated. "You feel it's important."

"Yes. The unrest in the City we've been seeing for the past year hasn't shown any signs of subsiding."

Aro hadn't seen much of it. He hadn't been out of the Tower often either. In regards to this matter, his head was quite literally in the clouds. "Has anyone else been hurt?"

"Yes." For all his talent for flowery speech, Hideo knew when not to dance around words. "No deaths, thankfully, but there have been…outbursts. Outbursts we've had to quell. Not with Guardians." He added the last part quickly, "Never Guardians, Traveler willing."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Once again apologizing. "I'm not the best person to talk to about these matters, if I'm being honest."

"I understand but It would be good to learn when you get the chance," Hideo said, judgment absent in his voice. "Walk about the City, be with the people, let them know you. This is your home too."

Only because they don't know me. Aro laughed slightly. "Not the first time I've been told that."

"Vanguard Commander Saint-14 would say it often. I was young during his time, barely a man, but I remember that it was the closest your kind had ever been to us mortals since before the Tower's rise. The mystique of you Guardians tended to fade when one of you started an impromptu dance competition. Even more so when you all lose to a small child."

The laugh that escaped Aro this time was sudden and genuine and caught him by surprise more than it did anyone around them. The smiling lines around Hideo's eyes deepened. He gestured for them to continue, stopping only to give a short greeting to a group of reps too large to ignore. Aro had to do the same and it was hard to miss how a few of the eyes lit up at the mention of his name. Moreso when they came up to take his hand, as much flattery as they could manage in a few seconds spilling from their lips. He could almost see the mental notes they were taking. Whatever was running through their minds could not have bode well for him.

They do not linger. Hideo gives his goodbyes and beckons Aro to continue following him. Down a short narrow hallway and after a long quiet elevator ride, they reached his office in short order. "Drinks are over there, if there's something you want," Hideo said once they stepped out before breaking away, "I'll be right back."

Aro thanked the back of his head but did not move towards the bar. He crossed the room to the open balcony, stepping past billowing deep red curtains. The City moved along below.

"He talks a lot about interacting with people but this view doesn't seem very different from ours." Kain remained hidden despite their solitude, his words spoken into Aro's mind rather than his ear.

"Unlike us, he actually leaves his home every now and then."

"I don't think he actually lives here…"

"Really? I would."

Kain let out an exasperated sigh and that lightened the mood, just a bit. Then, he asked, "Aro, do you want to live in a house?"

Aro blinked at the question. "Are you offering one?"

"In general, I mean."

Aro leaned the railing, clasping his hands together. "Never really considered it, to be honest." Never allowed himself to. A house implied permeance. His life, his past, his role in this grand and terrible game they had to play. How much did it allow for it? He could always imagine the best-case scenario; they defeat the Heralds, keep the Darkness at bay for a little while longer and they all go on to live long and happy lives. But high expectations were dangerous. They always led to the deadliest falls.

"Aro," Hideo's voice called from behind him, "Come over for a second."

He stepped away from the balcony, trying his best to keep his eyes on Hideo's rather than the closed fist at his side.

That hand came up and opened with little fanfare. As if he knew what Aro was thinking, Hideo grinned slightly. "Waste of time to stand on ceremony at this point, don't you think?"

Aro huffed out a laugh. The small yellow-green crystal shone in the dimmed light. Aro hesitated a second before he reached out to take it, its hard surface warm against his fingers. He could already feel his Light reacting to its presence, he didn't let it flow.

"Thank you, Executor Hideo," Aro said, "It will be put to good use, I promise."

Hideo clapped his arm warmly. "Of that, I have no doubt." The small smile he held lowered then, became somber. "What I have to ask next, I'm sure you've seen coming," he said in a quiet voice. "You know what we value most. From our talks, I might be so bold as to say that much of them align with your own. You fight not for the sake of fighting nor to run away and survive another day. No, Aro, you do it for a purpose. As a means to an end. In the hopes that one day, you will be able to put down your weapons and live in a world where you no longer have to fight. A world that no longer needs you. Am I wrong?"

Aro exhaled through his nose and looked towards the City skyline. "No, you're not."

" 'I must study politics and war so that my progeny may have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.' A quote I came across as a young man, studying history. I read it only once and it has stuck with me throughout these many years," Hideo said, "It's why I emphasize mingling with the people. You see their faces, their fear, hope and joy and you remember why you do what you do. And when they see you, see on your face the same fear, hope and joy, they realize how little you differ from them. Even with the Light on our side, the forces we face are terrifying. The Great Disaster taught us that much. But here you stand; you and your fellow Guardians. The people see that and realize that if you can be brave in the face of it all, maybe they could too."

He turned back to Aro again. "The shard is yours, no strings attached. Either way, I would like to offer an invitation to New Monarchy, for you and your team."

Seeing it coming did not mean Aro was any more prepared to answer. He stared down at his hand. "Executor-"

Hideo didn't let him continue. He took both hands and wrapped them around Aro's, closing his fingers around the shard. "I'm not expecting an answer right away," he said, "Whatever decision you make, I want you to be sure of it. And whatever decision you make, know that you can always count on us as allies."

He clapped Aro's arm once again. "I won't keep you, my friend. You have things to do." He gestured to the elevator. "Come, I'll walk you out."

"You can't join."

Aro didn't respond. His Sparrow disappeared as soon as he dismounted. He crossed the street as soon as it was free and walked through the sliding doors of the Tower's entrance. More were moving the other way, civilians ending the work day, heading back to their homes. Again, he wondered what it would be like to have a home. Aro ducked into the first open elevator he could find, grateful that it was empty.

Kain wasn't finished with him. "You can't divide your loyalties. Especially now."

Aro leaned back against the glass, looking out at the moving floors. "I know that."

Kain quickly manifested and flew into his face. "Then, why are you still thinking about it?"

The elevator opened. Aro went around him, once again offering no response. Kain dutifully followed. "It may not seem like it," he said, his voice taking on a gentler tone, "But you do have allies. Not just allies but friends. That know and care about you."

"Like Shino and Mira?"

"No. Like Asura and Crona."

Aro exhaled sharply through his nose and again, offered no response. By now, the Vanguard would have reviewed the feed from Mars, as well as some of the others who weren't present. Those who were would likely never forget it. And if that was the reason he was being avoided, he wouldn't be surprised. Or angry.

Aro didn't know where the others were; he didn't think he wanted to. When the door to the meditation quarters closed behind him, Aro leaned against the cold metal, closing his eyes. The room sealed out all noises. One could leave the world outside, if only for a little while.

After a few moments, he unlaced and kicked his shoes off into a corner. He walked forward until he was at the very center of the carpeted room and then lowered, sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor. Once again, he closed his eyes but this time, he did so with intent.

He was well-versed in this now, though he couldn't explain how he did it. He could only tell what was happening through his senses. The sudden weightlessness, the change in the temperature. When his eyes opened again, he wasn't surprised to find the white walls of the meditation room replaced with an endless stretch of pitch black. This area of the Ascendant Plane, wherever it was, was quiet. No howling winds, no rolling thunder. Dim, sourceless light shone in the distance, showing the outline of floating islands of debris.

Once he grew tired of stalling, Aro turned around to find him. Pride leisurely sat atop a pile of shattered and scorched bones that stretched taller than either of them, one leg dangling over the edge as he stared off into space, a bored expression on his face as if he had been waiting for Aro for days. A closer look at the mound beneath him told Aro that what he thought were bones were actually chitin; a mound made from the corpses of Hive. A beat passed before Pride looked down, returning his questioning gaze.

"They were like this when I got here."

Aro sighed but said nothing.

"So you're here, finally. Tell me, which topic of conversation will I be dodging today?" Pride nonchalantly flicked a Hive's horn. It snapped in two.

The time for mincing words was long past. "Tell me why you want the Black Garden's Heart," Aro demanded.

Pride snorted. "Why the hell would I answer that?"

"You owe me that, at least."

"'Owe'?" Pride barked out a laugh. "After I spared your friends on Venus, I'd say you owe me."

Aro grit his teeth to near the point of pain before letting it go. Even if he thought it had been worth a shot, he knew a dead end when he saw one. "Why did you spare them?"

"Pretty sure I've answered this one already."

"You'd be eliminating a threat."

"Hardly. Your little friends are as much of a threat to me as these things are at this very moment," he said, rapping his knuckle against a Knight's severed skull. "Not that I had anything to do with them. They were like this when I got here."

"Remind me then. Why?"

Pride shrugged. "Wanted to make a good impression. To show you I'm not the monster you think I am."

"So that I'd come to you willingly…"

"That's right."

And what makes you think I would even consider it?"

Pride's glittering eyes stayed unblinkingly on him, two rubies stark in the void. His face always held an easy and sly grin, indicative of how under control every situation was for him. Now, that grin slowly developed an edge to it.

"How's Daniel?"

Aro's jaw tightened again. Pride continued, "Can't imagine how he's handling our connection, let alone everyone else. Do you think he sees me when he tries to hold you at night? Or has he stopped doing that entirely?"

Now his hands were the ones that tightened to the point of pain. Aro wanted to hit him, drop a Nova Bomb on his head, set him ablaze, anything to quench the terrible anger coursing through him.

Pride sobered only slightly. "Their trust was already slipping, knowing what they did before. But now? Do you really think it's still there?"

"Regardless of trust, we share a common goal. They know I'm dedicated to it."

"No, no, don't do that." Pride shook his head, his face the picture of disappointment. "Don't act like trust isn't important in a team. And you're right. I'd hate to admit it but there are very few people who could give me an honest fight. You just barely make the list. They need you, Aro, no doubt about that. But they don't want you around. Not anymore."

Aro's hands started to heat up. His face and ears were even hotter. "This is your fault," he snarled. "What you did to me on Mars. Marie's death. Every little bit of animosity they put on me is because of you!" He was yelling by the end.

"I did nothing on Mars. I spoke my mind and you finally listened and look where it got you. Out. Alive. And second of all….who?!"

Aro shook his head and turned away. "Fucking forget it." He turned away and took a few steps until he stood at the edge of the flat plain, an ocean of black stretching out from their little island in the void.

He briefly thought of jumping.

A sigh broke through the silence. Pride walked up beside him a moment later, descending the pile without making a sound. He stared out into space with him. "You know, I've never trusted self-proclaimed brutally honest people. Mostly because I've never met one who had anything nice to say."

Aro scoffed. "And yet, here you are."

"And yet, here I am," Pride repeated. "There are always parts of ourselves we have to embody, even when we dislike them. There's nothing supernatural or paracausal or whatever about it. It's just a part of growing up."

He turned to Aro, who still refused to face him. He could feel those eyes burning into the side of his head. "You don't want to believe me, I get it. But you see it, Aro. You've never been one to run away from hard truths, so I know you see it. And you know you don't deserve to put up with it."

His hand landed on Aro's shoulder and the contact felt like an electric shock. Aro roughly knocked his hand off. "Yes, I do. We both do."

Another weary sigh. "If you say so." Pride's tone was dismissive. "Regardless, you need to confront them. Clear the air. You might not like what you hear but at least you'll know where you stand. You'll have closure. Trust me, not everyone gets that."

Aro said nothing. They stood together in silence for a long while, watching the roiling, thundering horizon.

"We did this often," Pride said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "Just watched the horizon in comfortable silence."

"I am not comfortable."

"Fair. No sun here." He chuckled at his own joke. "Look, Aro. I have no interest in slaughtering innocents in your City. The opposite, in fact, and I've tried many times to make that clear. But change, Aro, change requires sacrifices. They require hard choices and living with the consequences. Once upon a time, you understood that."

Aro said nothing. What was there to say? The man Pride was speaking about was long dead and was more of a stranger to Aro than anything else. Yet, it was who Pride seemed to latch onto. It was who was responsible for the situation he found himself in now. There was little he could bring himself to feel other than disdain.

"Our time here has come to a close," Pride said, finality clear in his voice. His implied message was just as clear; this parley is ended. The war continues. "If you still want to talk, you know my terms. Agree to them and I'll…I'll tell you everything. About our childhood, about our parents, about how you died. Everything. I mean that."

Pride stepped away from him. When Aro's eyes turned to follow, he was already gone.

He turned his eyes back to the black horizon. He didn't bother even thinking about jumping. He just closed his eyes.

Daniel had gone home upon his return. Aro had gotten caught up in work and was unable to see him before he did. But he was back in his room, taking the last night to prepare himself for tomorrow. He could've done so at home but what he needed right now was privacy.

The door opened for Aro when he approached. Daniel had long ago given him free access. In better times, he'd use those privileges for the sake of raiding his fridge. He missed the days when he enjoyed coming here. When there wasn't a pit in his stomach and a lump clogging his throat. It had always been a safe place, warm and inviting. Now it was anything but. In the light of the hall before the door closed behind him, he could just make out a thin film of dust on the nearest table. Daniel hadn't lived here in months and Aro never visited. Aro wondered how he'd feel about that.

At the end of the hall stood the door to his bedroom, closed but behind it, a faucet could be heard running. He swallowed his dread unsuccessfully before approaching, taking one step at a time until his face was only inches away. He didn't knock. He let Kain alert Caesar and tried his best to remember that he had been invited here. No one was standing on the other side of the door when it slid open so Aro stepped inside. Daniel was still in the bathroom. The sound of the faucet had disappeared with the closing of the door. He started to approach the bathroom when a figure suddenly rounded it, startling him.

Daniel stopped in his tracks too. A towel on his head and a damp ring around the collar of his old grey shirt. He pulled the towel off to reveal his eyes. Eyes Aro searched frantically for any sign of anger, disdain or worse, indifference. He reminded himself once more that he had been invited but that still did not comfort him.

"Daniel," he started, voice just barely keeping firm. The silence was becoming unbearable. His own eyes turned down to the floor, unable to bear the other man's scrutiny any longer. "I…I'm glad you're-" In those few short moments, Daniel had crossed the space between them and took Aro into an embrace. Aro hugged him back on instinct alone, arms wrapping around the expanse of his back, stunned back into silence.

After a time that was long and not nearly enough, Daniel pulled back. His hands remained on Aro's shoulders as he stared into Aro's eyes. He gave them one last squeeze before they fell to his sides. Aro had yet to let go, his hands only sliding down to Daniel's waist.

"Have you eaten?" Daniel asked.

Aro swallowed the lump in his throat. "Have you?" He asked instead of answering

A slight, almost timid shrug. "Not yet."

"I can make you something."

Giving Daniel's waist one last squeeze, he let his hands fall. A small smile grew on Daniel's lips. He lowered a hand to Aro's lower back and guided him to the door.

Few words passed between them over the next hour, preparing and enjoying a meal. The fear of inciting an argument kept Aro silent but also so he could preserve this idyllic fantasy; one of a life filled with warmth and safety.

He recalled Kain's earlier question about a house. He had failed to give a straight answer before but when he looked at Daniel from the corner of his eye, wolfing down the meal Aro put together for him like it was the best thing he had ever had, he couldn't help but wonder, even against common sense. Would he ever get a home in the City? Maybe, if Daniel bought it with him. They could even get married.

A hand, rough and calloused and strong, slipped into his own and Aro found himself grateful for the distraction, before he let his imagination take him too far.

Daniel opened his mouth and closed it. Then, he sighed. "You and I, we haven't been in the best place for a while now, have we?" He asked.

The fantasy was over. Aro's eyes turned to the counter.

"Maybe it's because of stress, maybe it's distance…"

"Maybe it's just me," Aro interjected, if just to spare him the effort of saying so himself. Aro went on. "What we saw in that future…"

Daniel's hand withdrew slightly and suddenly, as if he were stopping himself from pulling away. Aro had returned the gesture but had kept his hold on it loose, so Daniel could have any space he needed. "What we saw, there has to be more to it. There has to be," Aro said. I don't know what drove him…me…to do the things that were done but it can't be so simple."

A slight scoff. "Nothing about this has ever been simple." Daniel fully retracted his hand and pushed out of his seat. Aro turned to watch him take a few steps away and then stop, his shoulders sagging. "Before, about Maya and…everyone else. You have to understand…"

"You don't have to explain yourself. Not to me. Not for that." He pushed himself to stand. "I can't stand the thought of losing them either, much less ever…" The mere thought and the images it put in his head nearly made him vomit.

He pushed past his nausea and hesitation and stepped forward. He kept doing so until he could touch Daniel again, gingerly at first then upon seeing his comforts more so, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on the other man's shoulders. "I don't want anything, anything at all, like that to happen. You know that. I know you know that. So I need your help. I know it's not fair of me to ask it of you but…but I have to. Because I trust you, Daniel. Because I…I love you."

Silence followed Aro's words. His chest felt heavy, his throat felt raw and he didn't know why. This wasn't the first time he had ever said those words but saying it now, after everything they had been through apart and together…

"Whatever it takes, I'll do it. But if I'm going to keep my distance from your family, they need to know why. They deserve to know why."

He felt him exhale, long and slow and slightly shuddering. Aro loosened his hold, just in case he asked for the space. Then, he felt Daniel's ear against his own as he nodded. "When this situation with the Black Garden is done, we'll make time to talk to them, both of us. Tarlowe and Christine definitely. And Maya…" he sighs, "We all will decide together. We'll figure this out together."

Aro buried his face in the other man's neck again, his eyes closed. He felt Daniel's hands clasp over his own, felt him lean back against him and felt him press his lips to the side of Aro's head.