orendalogs | IT'S YOUR DESTINY!!!

"Granny. Hm." Declan nodded slowly, thanking the bowl with a small smile of appreciation. "Thank you," he murmured softly, looking around at the spartan furnishings before shuffling over to the couch and setting the bowl on the coffee table. he waited patiently for Aoba to join him, not wanting to eat while the other man was serving himself. In the interim he mused over what it must have been like, having family and friends waiting for you. Somewhere Aoba's family probably missed him...what was that like?

"It smells delicious. Thank you for cooking, Aoba," Declan added, looking over the couch at the blue-haired man, watching him curiously. When Aoba finally joined him and he felt it was acceptable to eat, Declan went at it with the sort of appetite only a man his size could have. Strictly speaking, Guardians didn't have to eat anything at all, but he enjoyed it as much as the next person, and didn't want Aoba to feel like he was getting nothing but charity. That, and all he really ever ate to take the edge off was rations...

"This is the best thing I've ever tasted," the Titan admitted, and it wasn't even an exaggeration. "You're a wonderful cook! Thank you for this, truly."

Aoba loaded the second bowl and grabbed a spoon before glancing back and following Declan to the couch. Not even a kitchen or dining table, huh…well, not that Aoba hadn’t noticed it already, but going to sit at the couch and its little coffee table really drove it home.

He murmured a little itadakimasu before starting into it himself, and…hmm. Well it definitely wasn’t Granny’s but it wasn’t…bad per se. Maybe a bit too sweet, but….

Declan may not have been embellishing from his own point of view, but Aoba still startled and automatically assumed that the Guardian was. The best thing he’d ever tasted? No way!

“You’re exaggerating!” he blurted with an embarrassed laugh, blushing at the perceived hyperbole…but happy despite himself. Declan was so straightforward that Aoba didn’t think he was lying, even if he was going a little overboard. “But I’m glad you like it. It’s the least I can do after all your help today.”

"I'm not though," Declan mumbled, tilting his head slightly and pursing his lips before looking down at the bowl with a pleased smile.

"I've never had a home cooked meal before. I've only ever had food from mess or rations packets. This is absolutely the best thing I've ever had. If doing the right thing was always this rewarding it wouldn't be so hard for some people."

“Flatterer,” Aoba ‘grumbled’, a warm smile proving the mutter to be anything but displeased. His ability to cook was hit or miss, really. He knew it! Certainly Koujaku teased him about it enough! Not that he hated Koujaku’s teasing or anything like that, but…Declan’s genuine appreciation was really nice. Aoba liked genuine praise and compliments just as much as anybody.

“Cooking a meal isn’t the least bit equal to sharing your home and buying new clothes…but if you let me cook for you a few more times, I might start to feel a little better about this arrangement.”

He’d have to find some little job, though…it halfway defeated the purpose of it if Declan was still paying for the ingredients, didn’t it?

The Titan didn't see it that way of course, but he knew better than to bring anything up that might draw attention to the situation as a whole. He was feeling more like the lucky one of the two. When he decided to swing on the man in the bathroom he hadn't realized how much of his life would change in such a short span of time. He wasn't complaining at all, but it was interesting to see what a leap of faith and a little common decency could do to two lives.

"You may cook as often as you like. I will always look forward to it," Declan replied, nodding slowly and settling into the food. He polished it off in no time, even with impeccable manners. Instead of asking for more, he quietly waiting on Aoba, feeling it more important for someone who actually needed food to get his fill first.

Declan certainly had a healthy appetite, that was for sure. Aoba could only imagine how much a guy as big as him really needed to eat!

He was, in fact, watching Declan rather more than he was paying attention to his own food. Sure, it was great to have some real food in his own stomach at last, but as soon as he realized Declan was sitting with an empty bowl Aoba asked, “Ready for seconds?”

And even as he was asking, he was already moving, standing up with his own near-empty bowl in hand (might as well top it off) while reaching for Declan’s empty.

"Only if it isn't taking food from you," Declan stated, watching Aoba rise and walk away. He considered for a moment before finally confessing the truth of the situation.

"I don't have to eat. I just like to. I have a big appetite when I do so it can be hard to keep up with and pretty costly. I have plenty of money, of course, but eating always felt like a social thing, to me, so I don't really do it. This is the first time I've eaten real food in a few months. Usually if I eat at all, it's just rations with other Guardians when I'm on the field, or when I have to eat to look normal to civilians."

He nodded slightly before pausing to think about what he'd said in any other context, then hurriedly raised both hands and shook his head quickly.

"That isn't to say I don't appreciate the meal! I do. It's really very good. I've never had anything home-cooked before. I'm only saying, please don't let me take food out of your mouth, when I don't actually need it to live. I would very much enjoy more, just not at the cost of you eating well yourself."

By the time Declan had finished his expanded explanation, Aoba was back and standing in front of the couch with two refilled bowls in hand. His expression was, once again, puzzled with the feeling of being out of his league. Declan had mentioned that he wasn't human, but... well, how could Aoba possibly extrapolate from that, that Declan didn't need to eat? At all?

The frown lingered as Aoba sat down, but ultimately he pressed Declan's bowl firmly back into those big hands.

"If you like eating and you like my cooking, then eat. You're not going to starve me and I'd rather not just sit here and eat alone." Saying so made Aoba recall one of the particular things Declan had said so he paused, then added, "I suppose that makes it a social thing after all, but you have to expect a little social interaction from your roommate, right?"

Aoba took a deliberate leap with that: saying roommate rather than guest. Putting forward a notion of equality between them. They weren't actually equal, not yet, not when Aoba was new and useless to this world, but it was something to strive for.

He was starting to get a feeling like he'd have to be stubborn in putting himself forward as Declan's friend, too. Time would tell, but that was how it felt right now.

Social indeed. Socializing was something Declan didn't so much avoid as he wasn't invited and had learned not to impose himself upon. While Aoba seemed like a captive audience to Declan in a lot of ways, he had to remind himself that the man had chosen to stay with him when he'd been given a chance to be on his own. With that in mind, it was less difficult to smile and nod when addressed, even if only second hand.

"A roommate has his own room," Declan pointed out with a small, apologetic smile. "I only have a couch to offer, at least until I can find an alternative," the oversized Guardian mumbled, inclining his head in gratitude when the bowl was returned. He settled into the food, careful not to rush or make a mess, careful never to speak with his mouth full.

"I have television," he added awkwardly, pointing with a free finger off his bowl towards the blank screen set into one wall. "I don't really watch it, myself, but there will be news and educational shows and things there that are easier to follow that setting into one of our computers, at first. You can get a grasp of local events and time-relevant things. It isn't much but it'll help you orient yourself and give you something else to do if I'm not here and you don't have anything in the way of work."

“It’s better than what I had with the Deckers,” Aoba retorted when it came to the couch comment, wondering again at the irony—or maybe just coincidence?—of going from one kind of ‘Decker’ to another, even if there was no comparing the two. A couch was perfectly fine.

He ate while Declan continued to speak, his own stomach and tastebuds thrilling to have something that wasn’t all sugar and fat and preservatives at last. Aoba glanced up at the dormant television, nodding in acknowledgement as he swallowed his mouthful.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll do that. I mean, even if I won’t be here forever, the more I understand the better I’ll fit in, right? And just because I may find another portal, that doesn’t mean I’ll want to jump through it right away.” Aoba sighed, looking down into his bowl, then out the window at the sky of an alien Earth. “There’s no going back once you step through, but you don’t know where it goes until you do. If I’ve got time to prepare myself this time around, I’d better take it.”

Deckers again. Even Declan wasn't oblivious enough to note the peculiar parallel between places. Fate? Perhaps. He believed in a lot more than he spoke up about. Destiny and Fate were in there somewhere. He didn't speak up on his opinion about jumping through portals, either. The idea of Aoba leaving so soon after being met was...something. He wasn't sure what that feeling was, but it wasn't pleasant.

"You're welcome here as long as you feel comfortable staying. I promise, aside from my size, I won't get in the way much. You can have the place to yourself as much as you like, I don't mind going out or away. I do it a lot anyways so if you need space or privacy, just let me know. And...I don't mind helping you look for portals, either. I travel all over the known galaxy...there's bound to be something. You're welcome to come with me."

All over the gala…. That brought Aoba’s head craning back around to stare, though this time it wasn’t the sheer knowledge of an explored galaxy so much as—

“Me?” Talking about space and space travel was one thing, but to go across space like that? Teleporting three miles had been bewildering enough! Aoba didn’t even know if what he felt was awe or fear at the prospect.

“I…I hope it doesn’t come to that!” Okay, maybe ‘fear’ was more likely. He’d never even been in a plane, much less…what, a space ship? Or would that just be more teleporting? “Portals…according to the Guide at least, they’re everywhere. You just can’t…see them until you’re, ah…a ‘Chosen One’. And even that was an accident.”

Aoba stirred his bowl a bit then shook his head with a wry kind of expression. “Anyway, Declan…you don’t need to put yourself down so much. It’s not like I lived alone before I got caught up in all of this—I lived with my Granny. I’m used to someone else being around, so having a place all to myself would actually feel weirder than you being here in it, too.”

Well, that snagged things a bit. Did that mean it would be more rude to go than to stay? In his experience, people generally found him either unnerving or a nuisance to work around, so he made himself scare. Taking slightly longer to think about things than most people made him frustrating for those with less patience, and when he acted without thinking, he always ended up upsetting someone, so there wasn't a lot of middle ground for him to work with. Aoba was implying that Declan ought to stay, but it was so out of the ordinary that the Guardian simply sat there, conflicted, face scrunched slightly in thought as he puzzled it over.

"Are you frightened of traveling in space?" Ghost suddenly piped up, breaking the silence and smoothly attempting to distract Aoba from further dialogue with Declan until the man figured things out for himself, or at least came to a temporary answer.

"I assure you, it's quite safe. There are warp jumps, so it doesn't take all that long, and the current generation of ships are the fastest and most well-constructed ever."

Aoba saw that bit of wrinkled expression. No, he didn’t know exactly what it signified for he was certainly no mindreader, but it was there and Aoba made note of it. He wasn’t given much time to dwell on it, anyway. Ghost piping up again drew his attention, earning an incredulous splutter of sound.

“So it is ships, huh…. Where I come from, spaceships only happen in movies. I know astronauts made it to the moon a few times, but…the whole galaxy? No way. And I’ve never even been on an airplane. Trying to imagine flying through space…I can barely wrap my head around it.”

With a little sigh and resting his bowl on his lap, between his hands, Aoba carefully leaned his head back against the couch. It wasn’t painful, but his hair reported the sensation, the texture, as well as his palm might have.

“So…yeah. As normal as it may be to you guys…it sounds a little scary to me.”

"that's alright," Declan finally spoke up, drawing Ghosts's eye up briefly before the little ball bobbed and drifted away again.

"If you're afraid, you don't have to go. It's only a suggestion. It's beautiful out there, though. I like it. I don't think it's scary at all once you get up there, and it doesn't take long. Once you get far enough away from the ground, it isn't like flying anymore, it's like being under water. You can float if you have gravity off, but mostly there's nothing around you and you can see everything, never-ending. The nebulae and stardust in all their colors...it's unlike anything else. If you change your mind, I promise I'll show you some amazing things and you'll never be frightened again."

Maybe not what Aoba had in mind, but Declan's gentle stare was genuine. He really believed the real beauty was out there in the stars and he believed he ought to share it with someone so firmly planted on the ground.

"May I have another bowl?" he asked sheepishly, the request abruptly changing the subject. That was Declan, alright.

Declan’s rambling little train of thought had earned Aoba staring at him again, not in shock, but quietly. That had been…poetic, really. Not the kind of thing you’d expect to come out of the mouth of a guy that looked like Declan, or even just one who was overall as quiet as the Guardian had been so far.

A guy who spent most of his time on the front lines, never took his leave time…going above and beyond in being helpful and providing and accommodating. Kind of shy, kind of awkward…and a mean right hook. Still, Aoba thought he could have had a lot more friends than he appeared to.

The request for thirds broke Aoba’s latest little reverie. He shook himself out of it, smiling warmly.

“Sure thing,” he said, hopping up and taking Declan’s bowl for the refill as if he were the host instead of the guest. Aoba left his own empty bowl in the sink this time, returning only with Declan’s as he gave it back and reclaimed his seat beside the other, picking Ren up from the floor this time. His Allmate settled quietly into his lap as Aoba stroked the familiarity of his fur.

“The way you talk…I mean, outside of that punch you threw at that guy, you come across like a really gentle soul. How does someone like you wind up a soldier?”

"That's what Guardians are. We're soldiers," Declan replied, frowning slightly as he tried to think of a better way to explain. He had waited quietly, watching Aoba without another thought in his head other than it was important to let Aoba do things, and asking for things meant making him feel like he wasn't there for free. Declan wasn't exactly the quickest person, but he had a deeper understanding of basic things than most people realized. Particularly how important is was to feel useful.

"There are a few Guardians who have very specific tasks that keep them out of the field, but for the most part, every Guardian is a soldier. When the Ghosts find us, they bring us back for only one purpose: to fight the Darkness. I've never known anything else. I've always been a Guardian."

Aoba didn’t know whether he’d get a straightforward answer or another more poetic one. Straightforward it was, though still to a degree that left Aoba jumping to his own conclusions. His attention flicked off for a moment, tracking Ghost’s errant driftings.

‘Never known anything else’ brought certain vague images to mind, things from movies and other stories. “Wait, does that mean like…like child soldiers? You were raised to fight?”

"Certainly not!" Ghost protested, but it was Declan that clarified. To a degree.

"Oh, no. I was never a child. I mean...I was, once, but I don't remember. That was a long time ago, before all of this, before the wars...or maybe at the start or...I don't know. It doesn't matter, I don't remember. I've been Declan since Ghost found me. Well, since Commander Zavala named me when I asked for a name," he corrected himself, eating his food slowly between bits of thought and speech.

“Amnesia…?” Aoba murmured, tilting his head a little as he considered the man beside him in yet another new light. There were still many gaps in the whole story that Aoba remained unaware of, but once again, he took that little piece of information and made his own assumptions. It was a thoughtless, automatic way of thinking, rather than anything willfully ignorant.

Still…so this guy, not only did he never spend time at home and not have any obvious friends (though people in positions of authority or ownership all thought highly of him as far as Aoba had seen), he didn’t even…have a past. Even his name was from a commanding officer?

Aoba’s stare was much heavier now as he processed that, until finally he sighed heavily. “Well that settles it. Soon as I have a little money, someone’s gonna have to tell me what you do for fun around here so I can treat you to it.”

Because that just wasn’t right…to be a soldier and nothing else!

"I fly for fun. And explore secret laces that are quiet, where people aren't so loud," Declan replied with a slight shrug and wry smile. "I did offer to invite you along, but you don't seem terribly interested." It was as close to gentle ribbing as the man had gotten so far, and it probably took more effort for him than most, but there it was.

"Amnesia is usually caused by injury or illness, isn't it?" he asked after a few more bites of food, glancing up thoughtfully before shaking his head and returning to the last bits of his meal.

"No, I don't think that qualifies. No Guardian remembers their lives before. Some few are lucky enough to find something that indicates who they may have been, but most of us are too old and too long forgotten."

"Yes," Ghost replied with a bob for a nod. "It took me a very, very long time to find you. I looked for you for ages and you were right here all along. But I did finally find you, and here we are now."

Gentle or obnoxious, either way, ribbing worked pretty well on Aoba. He jolted a bit with a surprised noise, realized he’d been caught sounding something like hypocritical, and blushed. Well, maybe…maybe Aoba could get his courage up for that after he’d been settled for a while. If Declan liked it, could it be that bad? Surely he wouldn’t invite Aoba along if it were dangerous. He really didn’t seem the type.

Aoba kept those thoughts to himself in the meanwhile, though.

“You can still call it amnesia if there’s a part of your life you don’t remember,” Aoba murmured, the words coming out softer than he expected them to. They resonated oddly as he uttered them, like déjà vu or something like that.

There was a dull throb in the back of Aoba’s skull again, a reminder of the hit he’d taken back in the bar—and also that he was one dose away from out of his medicine. Aoba did his best to ignore it, focusing on Declan and Ghost instead.

“Well, either way, I’m glad you’re here. Wherever you came from, you were right where I needed you to be, and I’m grateful for that.”

"Maybe it was meant to be," Declan remarked, setting his bowl down gently on the table and resting his hands on his knees to gaze quietly at the blue-haired boy.

"I don't mind not remembering who I was, though. I think who I am is good enough, as long as I do right and well. There's no one looking for me, no one that misses me, so who I was doesn't matter. Anyways, who I was wouldn't have been there at that perfect moment to meet you, right? Someone needed me, and I got to be there for it. That's reward enough."

Declan couldn’t know that for sure, Aoba thought. If he had amnesia of his past, he didn’t actually know if anyone missed him or was looking for him, right? But Aoba opted not to try and push that point. It was…depressing to think about.

He wondered how Granny was. She was surely missing him, looking for him. Aoba had been gone for a month now. He had to get home, back to her, but he could still be Declan’s friend until he left.

“See, there you go again…you talk like a poet, or an artist. I think your heart’s the biggest part of you above all the rest, Declan,” he chuckled, standing up (Ren hopping from his lap and over to Declan's instead) and taking that empty bowl. “You all done? There’s still some left. You can finish it, or I’ll just make it a bowl of leftovers for later.”

"Leftovers would be nice. Then I could take them with me," he replied, too busy ducking behind his hair and blushing to really comment on anything else. He lifted a heavy palm, stroking Ren's fur gently while the other touched his own chest curiously. He shrugged, unsure about a heart that was so suspect. It had stopped for ages, after all. How big it was remained questionable.

"I want you to sleep in the bed tonight. Just tonight, so you don't have to feel like you're putting me out or anything. I just think a night in a bed would be good for you. A shower, a good meal and a bed. Besides, I'm on patrols tonight, so it's an empty space. I'll be back in the morning."

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I love it when your tags arrive just as I'm sitting for lunch break X3

I must have good timing XD I sat down right before I decided I should shower like "Tag? TAG."

Perfect timing. Your tag came in while I was walking from the salon to the timeclock. X3

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