Mildred
_ _ _ _ Ares felt horrible. It had taken him a while to admit that. The dark purple beneath his eyes had deepened; he had no energy to leave his dorm. Valio leaving had taken a toll on him he hadn't prepared for. It struck him deep in the core of his mind, hit a weak spot he had hidden away. Ares had built himself up on a broken foundation, stacked his ideas and lessons on sand pillars. One strong wave of bitter sea water, and he had crumbled. Ares wanted nothing more than to hold up his shield, wield a sword and push back with the same force as the water that knocked him down. Yet, he couldn't. 

 Here he stood outside of Finley's dorm. He hadn't knocked yet. Tired eyes scanned the door, he was hesitant. The boy didn't look his best. He had a black hoodie pulled over a slouched back, sleeves rolled up on arms that didn't have the strength to fight anymore. He raised them to knock, and back to his sides they fell. 

 Ares didn't want to admit he had grown scared. Valio leaving had reminded Ares of something he had hoped to forget. His unnecessary presence, how replaceable he was. Locked behind steal and fire, Ares was festering a hatred for those that decided he was better thrown to the curb. Forgotten and left behind. That he wasn't anything worth keeping around. 

 The fireworks were always a display of a tired child that wants nothing more than to be remembered. 

 Inside his mind, Ares had fallen to his knees and prayed to a god he didn't believe in that Finley wasn't the same. Finley wouldn't leave. He didn't want them too. He begged they didn't want to either. He wouldn't force them to stay, but he *Loved* Them. This was something too good to let slip through his shaking hands. 

 So he stands, and waits for them.
Rosa
Finley had been waiting on their bedside - perched on the edge, a nervous swallow with fluttering wings, rustling robins egg blue inscribed in the very fiber and sinews of the moment itself. A dainty unease, a careful display of compassion coupled with the kindness Finley reserved for one boy, and him alone.

He didn't hear the knock, really, if one had occurred. But, they stood, and, with a single deep breath, pulled open the door. 

"Ares." 

They've said his name a million times. It was among the first bits of repertoire - the exchanging of their names back and forth out of exasperation, and amusement.

 Now, Fin stood before their ~~beloved~~ dearest friend in a similar state of disarray. Blond hair pulled back in a greasy half-bun, a jacket Ares had long since left in his company hanging loose over their shoulders. 

"I'm so glad you're here," They said. And they meant it - all of it. The stifling fear of being left behind again surged up in his absence, and only encouragement (and holding his gifts to their chest) kept it away. 

"I missed you."

His fragility was something Fin was unaccustomed to — could they ask to hold him? Was that alright? — so they stood, perched still like the very same bird, a rabbit, watching carefully, but kindly. 

*It was Ares, after all — and what wouldn't they do for him?*

*Anything. Anything he ever asked or needed or, hell, even wanted. Fin would take him anywhere, show him anything, if it meant the curl would leave his shoulders.*
Mildred
_ _ _ _ The door slowly pulled open, and a part of Ares felt guilty at the sight of Finley. They looked just as tired as him, if not worse. Was this his fault? *He shouldn't think like that.* With a deep breath, Ares filled his lungs with air. He felt his chest rise, and fall. Its hard to remember underneath the callous hands and concrete scratches that he still has a heart between his ribs. Maybe some day he will learn how to feel it beat against the rhythm of the music he loves; maybe he can learn to use it to love another. He had a long way to go. Was the effort worth it?

 He didn't know. He would find out when the time comes. What he does know is that he has a long way to go. With a step into Finley's dorm, it was a start. 

 Ares felt heavy. He felt the weight of all his past mistakes and things he couldn't control seep into the skin of his back, they rested on his shoulders with the weight of the sky itself and held him to the ground. With shaking knees, Ares would pull himself upwards. The boy was strong, wasn't he? He must be able to handle it all. *If he couldn't, who was he?* Ares was now at a point, where he wasn't strong enough to handle it. He had fallen from his grace, plummeting down from the sun. Right here, he wasn't a solider. He wasn't a knight or a king. His crown had broken ages ago. 

 All he is, is a scarred boy hoping for something to remind him of his humanity. 
_ _

_ _ _ _ "Finley." His voice was hoarse, tired, and rough. Yet, his broken chords managed to play a melody so sweet for the one dear to him. Their name pulled honey out of ash; pulled the sun out from behind a sickly rain. 

 Without another word, Ares walked closer to Fin and rested his heavy head on their shoulder. He felt his nose press into their collar bone, heavy eyebrows pulled his eyes tightly shut. For a second, Ares just stood there. Tiredly crumbling into the arms of his dearest.

 Ares was so young, only eighteen, but he had bore the wounds of a millennia. They had dragged him down— brought him to the earth with dripping wax, tears, and the sobs of not a warrior, but a boy. 

 Tears pooled against Ares' tightly shut eyes. They didn't escape, but he felt them press against the dark of Finley's shoulder.
Rosa
*"Mon cher,"* Finley mumbled, the words leaving their mouth before they even realized it. They couldn't bring themself to care about that. They wrapped their arms around his shoulders and pulled him to his chest, a cold, light hand resting on the back of Ares's head, his dark, messy hair. Fin shut their eyes tight, similarly, to ignore the burn of tears on the backs of their eyelids.

 They were, admittedly, shorter, and scrawnier, but, they refused to let this go untethered. Ares's well of emotions pulled open the ground beneath their feet, both of them, spinning into something like wool.

"I know how-... How scary it is. I get it. I've been - I've been left behind, too."

A light breath of lavender, a common smell in Finley's room, laid under their nose. If lavender, he thought, was good for the soul, he would plant a garden, all around Ares's life and mind - so perhaps, then, the anxiety would ebb away, and never threaten to knot again. They'd keep him safe in whatever respects they could. So often, they thought they were dependent on Ares for protection, or comfort. Guilt stung their throat.

Finley leaned back, just a ways, and looked up at Ares, tears slipping out of his eyes. They didn't have a free-hand to wipe them away, but, they were somewhat content with that. If just for the moment.

"But I'm not going anywhere, okay? You're-... You mean everything to me. I know I'm getting, uh, a little bit sappy here, but just - just hear me out, alright?" 

Oh, the nerves. Fin's voice shook with each word, it seemed like, but, dammit - Sergio talked about being there, and that was all Fin wanted to be. *There.* There for Ares. There for any adventures he had or would have, for the little trepeditations of life, the triumph, any of it, Finley just wanted to be with him. The words spilled out like a timid, uneasy rain.

 "I don't *Want* To have a life without you. I don't know what we're going to do next. I just want to do it with you. I hope you can believe me."
Mildred
_ _ _ _ Ares didn't notice the soft whisper of affection from Finley. He heard it, but hadn't fully processed its meaning. All he could do, was feel the gentle hand on the back of his head. The way their fingers laced into his overgrown undercut; the way they held him close to their shoulders. Despite being unfamiliar and unknown, Ares couldn't raise his head. He couldn't muster the strength to lean back into his solitary ways; he had dropped his shield as couldn't raise a hand to pick it back up. *Did he really want to?*

 Slowly, the boy moved. Instead of pulling away or running back to the front lines, he simply wrapped his hands around Finley. It was an embrace so tight, it was almost as if he was afraid they'd disappear if he didn't hold on. Ares' forearms rested comfortably on the small of Fin's back, and he simply let them speak. He listened to his voice, the way each tone held genuine honesty. Against the chaos and anger, Finley was the wake of summer. Soft bird song and melodies that floated against the wind. He was spring rain, the cool water that washed away the doubts of winter. 

 Ares hadn't realized he could miss something he had never had. A moment of silence, a moment of peace. A moment where he didn't have to worry about being strong. A moment where no one would sneer and snicker at him for crumbling into the gentle arms of someone smaller than him. Ares had achieved it. A moment where he could let his tired muscles rest, and break away from the ache that was all too familiar to him. Oh how he wished he could thank Finley, hold them close for eternity. All he could hope was he could repay the favour, one way or another. 

 "You mean everything to me too." His voice was quiet, hoarse like the rumble of thunder on a distant horizon. It was the voice of someone who was tired, someone who's moment of rest was long overdue. Ares did not lower his arms, he kept them wrapped around the other in a strong yet soft embrace. 
_ _

_ _ _ _ "I don't want a life without you either, trust me. It's the last thing I want." Ares let out a sigh. "I just didn't know what to do. Im sorry for pushing you away." The boy raised his head to look at Finley. Tired brown eyes met the familiar electric blue gaze, yet he still held them close to him. His expression was one no one had even begun to see, one that cracked through his steel armour like rust. It was a look of many emotions, one that furrowed his brows in a way that spoke of his exhaustion. Yet, it was also one that showed in his eyes in a way that showed his admiration and love for the one he looked at. 

 "I want you in my life, even after all of this." He let out the slightest muse of a wry laugh— more of a pathetic expulsion of air. "I never thought I'd say that to anyone, but really I do.
Rosa
A gentle pair of chilly hands reached up and cradled Ares's face, Finleys thumb smoothing down a place on his cheek. Fins heart seemed to beat in their throat – so much, it seemed, had happened from the time they met from now. A little deep breath spilled out of their nose, fumbling out with the same nervousness and deep comfort that pulled open their door for him - and would always open the door for him.

"I'm not angry at you," They finally said. "I understand. You were just-... Scared." 

An easy drop lowered the stress from their shoulders, a tiny smile tugging on one side from his mouth. A gentle memory of all of their times together nudged at the back of Fins mind, the scarlet sprinkling into their cheeks. 

*I never thought I'd say that to anyone, but I really do.*

"I do too, you know. I don't-... I think the only other person I'd say that to is Nadia, and well. She's in Germany. And maybe, you know. Owen."

They laughed just a little bit, shrugging as they spoke. Hands still smoothed over Ares's face, and they spotted the little scar on his ear. It took a great deal of impulse control not to lean in and kiss it. 

*Cmon Fin. Keep yourself together, a bit.*

Or, try. 

"We can learn it together, you know. We've both been burned. And I - I don't want to do that to you. Anybody but you. I promise."
Mildred
_ _ _ _ Ares felt a weight leave his shoulders, he felt their soft fingers on his cheek. The boy nearly melted into the palm of their hand, turning in towards their touch instead of pulling away. His eyes fell closed as he took in what was by far the gentlest way anyone on the planet, in all his years, had ever reached out towards him. People only touched his face with their knuckles, they kissed him with silver rings wrapped around angry fingers. Ares wasn't used to such a comforting presence.

 *He wanted to be used to it.* Allowing his shoulders to drop, minor amounts of tension leaking down his spine like sun burned wax, he felt more at ease knowing Finley wasn't angry with him.

 "I don't want to do that to you either." Ares raised a hand from Finley's back, and wrapped it over top of the hand placed on his cheek. The callouses on his palm rested against their knuckles, scars intertwined with pale slim fingers. Ares held their hand close to his face, only opening his eyes slightly to gaze at them from under a heavy brow. 

 This gesture told Finley one thing. Ares *Wanted* Them close to him, he wanted to hold him close and never let go. The thought made Ares shiver, having to let them go. It haunted him, taunted and mocked him. Ares, for all his time spent in solitude, was so afraid of being alone. 

 "You deserve... So many good things. You deserve the world even." Ares let out a sigh. His voice was quiet, calm, pained, yet smooth like the crackle of water over a stream. "Please... Stay." 

 His eyes fell closed again in an act of pure vulnerability. Finley had the boy in his palm. The solider had dropped his sword, his shield was worn and rusted. Armour flaked off his aching muscles like silver scales, and left Ares exposed and open. No more fighting, no more anger. Ares couldn't bring himself to let out a battle cry, his arms wouldn't raise for any king, all he could do was stand in the arms of the one he loved.
_ _
Rosa
Fin nodded, once, twice, letting the tears well up in their eyes again. A resistance welled up in his chest, a *Don't cry, c'mon, don't cry*, a rattling breath shaking in their throat. The last thing he wanted was for Ares to see him cry when he was like this.

So, Finley's forehead pressed to Ares's, closing their eyes and running his thumb over Ares face a few more times, breathing in, and out - peaceful, deep breaths, as their blue eyes cracked open just in time to watch Ares's close. 

"I want to stay," They said. Their voice was barely above a whisper, soft, careful. He winced, internally, at the thought of how cold his fingers must feel against the familiar warmth of their beloved. The butterflies in their stomach had melted, and given way to a gentle murmur, aflutter in his chest.

"As long as you'll have me, Ares, I'll stay."

The armour and the swords clattered against the floor at their feet. No weapons, no disasters, just them - these two, and the world that existed solely between them. This was all there was. Armando could have blown up the whole town of Isakstad, and Finley couldn't have given a damn. They were here, with Ares, and that was all that mattered. 

"I want to teach you that you deserve the world, too. You do. You deserve more than the world. Whatever good things I can bring to your life - I want to. Just, please, please let me stay in it. I don't want to be anywhere else."
Mildred
_ _ _ _ The pressure of Finley's forehead against his own was a comfort he hadn't realized he could want. A comfort he hadn't realized he *Deserved.* Ares opened his eyes, looking down at Finley. They were so close, mere breaths apart. The boy was okay with it. How strange. 

 "I'll have you for the rest of my life. I want you in my life. You can stay, you don't have to ask." A smile creeped its way up his scowling lips. Something about them, their presence, Ares couldn't stay upset.

 Just then, something small. A flicker in Finley's brow, something of a doubt in their certainty. Ares noticed this, the way their eyes pressed tightly shut. They were trying to hide something. 

 Without much thought, like always, Ares tightened his grip around their torso. His arms fit nicely against the small of their back. With one quick movement, the taller boy scooped them up and spun them around in a hug. A wry laugh bubbled against his chest, as he held him in his arms. All he could hope was that this could help ease the tension. 

 "Now cmon, lighten up. Lets watch a movie, okay?"

 Ares spoke through a smile. A genuine one. This wasn't forced, it wasn't one of malice or mockery. He was simply happy. He now stared up at Finley with eyes full of adoration, an expression of appreciation. 

 God, he was lucky.