Chapter Text
"Grand Pope!"
"Let him in."
Shion sat on his chair as he waited for Aphrodite to come in. He had called him to receive a report on a mission.
However, he was not expecting this.
The blue-haired saint bowed.
"Grand Pope."
"...Albafica?"
The sunset looked especially colourful this evening. Maybe the heavens have offered him this beautiful sight to welcome the Pisces saint who had just returned to the Sanctuary.
As stoic and composed as he must look as the Patriarch, only Athena would know how relieved he felt whenever one of his juniors came back home. He did have faith in Aphrodite’s strength, however, it wouldn’t be love if he didn’t worry for him nonetheless.
The new generation of Gold Saints were just like his children. Kids picked by the Universe’s cosmos to lead this war against the God who rules the underworld, kids destined to be great and achieve the peak of their kind, kids meant to live a chaotic, painful life with pride and honour. Shion, as the Grand Pope, will ensure that as long as he is alive he’ll give them the comfort and support they’d receive from their parents if they happened not to be chosen.
He was just watering the roses next to his throne when a guard knocked on the door quite erratically.
“Grand Pope!”
Shion, who was expecting Aphrodite to give him the intel he obtained from his mission immediately answered. He wasn’t suspicious of the guard’s behaviour for the Pisces saint was known for being quite the… Well, bully.
“Let him in.”
He could hear the door open and the sound of a cloth clanking towards his direction. Until now he had his back turned on the entrance due to those flowers that required his attention.
“Grand Pope.”
Oh.
What is this? Did Aphrodite just kneel? He who was so stubborn and prideful?
Shion turned around with a raised eyebrow and that’s when his lungs suddenly ran out of air.
He was suffocating. Nostalgia and anxiety completely paralyzed his body. How can such thing happen to a war veteran?
That long, light blue hair. That graceful, mature and proud aura along with such a proper position...
“Al...bafica…?”
His mistake. Suddenly the previous Pisces saint stood up and summoned 8 black roses which fit right in the gaps between his fingers. This wasn’t Sage’s voice.
“Who are you!? How have you infiltrated the sanctuary?!?”
Oh but was Shion too in shock to even react.
Is he going insane?
No. No, he recognises those sharp, ocean eyes. They were filled with life and everything admirable in this world. Was this how all of his targets have felt before?
His knees were going weak as the posture Albafica took was everything but friendly. Those hues, that expression, the cloth vibrating with his heart as it radiated everything the Pisces’ saints fought for…
Wouldn’t it be an honour to die by those skilled hands?
…
NO! WAIT!
How dares he think of dying when he still has so much paperwork to take care of?
He immediately summoned his crystal wall and waved his hands like a child caught in the act, completely losing all composure.
Suddenly he was just that careless 18 years old Shion again.
“Albafica, don’t be alarmed!” He said, trying to regain his posture. “I am the Grand Pope. Can you perhaps tell me what happened to you, where you came from?”
But obviously the blue haired greek wouldn’t simply believe in these words, because first of all, they made no sense.
And second, he almost felt offended by them. Does this man really believe he’ll just let go of him after saying that?
The fact the impostor sounds and looks like an older version of Shion barely crossed his mind. Shapeshifting isn’t a wild idea coming from the troops of Hades’ and he’s been tricked too many times to simply let his guard down right away. And, above all, he had just seen Shion on his way to the Pope’s chambers!
“You’re not Sage.” He said, voice harsh and cold. “I’ll give you five seconds to give me a reasonable explanation. Let’s see for how long you can maintain your barrier.”
Meanwhile, Shion contacted Saga through telekinesis to make sure Aphrodite was alright. If Albafica was here, there was a good chance Aphrodite could have disappeared from their time as well. Thankfully, however, the little Pisces was safe and sound.
“I am the Grand Pope of this time, Shion. Previously Aries saint. You’ve probably been sent to the future. This is not your century, Albafica.”
…
It obviously wasn’t an explanation reasonable enough for Albafica since he really looked like he was about to punch this barrier open. Well, can he blame him? It also doesn’t make any sense to Shion himself, but that’s the best he can think of.
So he decided to take another approach.
“Remember our first time? I was drunk and it happened in my temple, I got you to sit on my lap but you can only stay drunk for less than five seconds so I almost lost my head but then we both started getting warm and--”
“I will kill you if you dare say another word.”
And so Albafica, whose blushing features were now covered by his bangs, destroyed the roses in his hands.
Out of all examples and proofs of his identity, Shion chooses the one he’s most ashamed of? If his point was not to get killed then why did he do that?
“Albafica, I apologise for my shamelessness.” He smiled rather softly and made the crystal wall disappear. “But would you believe me otherwise?”
Shion then proceeded to take a step closer to the other. Not too close, but just enough.
This was unexpected.
His heart was still pounding and heating up. He has moved on, his grief has stopped haunting his soul for some years now. Shion fully focused his heart and mind on his goal and barely would he feel so many emotions at once nowadays…
However… Here he is. The one who has stolen half of his heart and never returned it.
The one who left a tattoo on his mind.
He was no longer an emotional, impulsive child. Sure, he lost his composure for a moment there, but now he was a role model. Shion had learned how to behave.
“How many years since the holy war?”
“Over 200 hundred.”
Albafica’s eyes widened. So long? How comes Shion looks like he’s barely 50?
Only a couple of wrinkles and silver hair… Lemurians do have good genetics.
“How did you end up here?”
“Aspros and Defteros have been training in my garden. Apparently they figured out how to cross time and space, but they needed a lifeless place to practice and within the Sanctuary. No better place than the Pisces’ garden and I was probably caught in it.”
Thinking about it, he was meant to meet up with the Aries’ saint after talking to the Pope.
…
He can already hear Shion screeching once he finds out Albafica went missing.
No… Maybe Manigoldo will keep him in check…
…
.
.
.
Who the hell does he think he’s talking about? Two not overly dramatic drama kings who’ll probably start sobbing as soon as they find out something happened to him? To be fair though, probably Dégel will lock them up in some ice coffin.
Albafica was quite unsure of what to do. It’s taken that no one but Shion is alive right now. Thinking about that… How is he feeling?
He finally fully raised his head and inspected the lemurian. This one has found already a couple of books to study and Albafica’s sure they’re all about something related to this… little issue.
“Shion, there’s no point in worrying about this matter. The twins are powerful, and unless you learned how to manipulate dimensions… I don’t know when they’re getting me out of here, so, why are you wasting your time on reading books?”
He could feel Dégel flinch at that one, but this is the reality. If Shion hasn’t changed much throughout the years then he’s sure that no matter how thoughtful and considerate he has gotten, he must have missed him a lot too.
And Albafica wasn’t wrong.
The patriarch raised his head and smiled helplessly. How comes the other, even if a couple of hundred years younger, technically, manages to scold him like that?
“I want to keep you from worrying about how to get back, so I want to find a solution myself. I know you probably can’t wait to return.”
The blue-haired man wanted to approach him, to reassure him that it’s okay, but his body wouldn’t move. This Shion looks way too different. He’s lost his baby fat, his posture is much more mature and that silver hair would make him look too much like Sage. He’s just as beautiful, but his contagious recklessness isn’t there, so how could he just nevermind his poisonous blood and accidentally poison the Grand Pope?
“They’re strong, Shion. I am not worried.” He crossed his arms and insisted. “So are you going to talk to me or was I not convincing enough?”
Finally giving in, Shion put the book aside and stood up. How could he not worry? That’s his role -- to worry. But, Albafica does have a point, so he ended up approaching him anyways.
“If it takes them too long you must tell Sage to scold them.”
“I don’t think Sage will have the courage to scold someone who broke the barriers of time and space.” To be honest, Albafica wasn’t even upset. This was quite impressive. “Don’t you agree?”
Shion could only chuckle lightly, sighing contently afterwards.
This was surreal. He’s begged for years and years to have one last chance to see Albafica. He’s dreamt of a reality where he could watch the children of this Sanctuary grow with Albafica. He’s prayed for another moment of gentle caresses and sweet whispers.
And maybe, maybe he had dared to hope to form a family with the Pisces saint.
His hands cupped that fair face, body giving in to his deepest desires.
Albafica, on the other hand, stood there, unsure of what to do. It was a foreign yet familiar touch.
“How have you been, Shion?”
Shion let out a chuckle, but this time it wasn’t as light. As if some of the burden he’s been carrying finally leaked out.
“I missed you so much, Albafica.” He breathed out, smiling longingly. “There’s so much to do, so much to see, so much to say… Yet so little time.”
Now Albafica’s hands also held Shion’s face, which had a couple of wrinkles more than his own.
And he smiled.
“Our little sheep has matured so much. Who would have thought the impulsive Aries would be the one to protect the Sanctuary for the next couple of years?”
That nickname… It sure was something Shion treasured a lot, whether he was as little as before or not. It had a sweet taste of home, of memories that marked him forever. He leaned into those gentle yet scarred hands, eyes examining every single feature of the greek’s face. Don’t get him wrong, the Patriarch hasn’t forgotten about any single detail belonging to Albafica’s face.
But he could never get enough of this sight.
“Two hundred years gave me enough time to grow up as a person.” After all, he had to. He’s the pillar of a new generation, and what remained of the previous one. “But there’s never enough time to do what we have to do.”
The Pisces gave him a concerned look, but it immediately softened to a smile again. He understood that Shion wouldn’t want to spend this time talking about the sad stuff. Not when there’s so much else to talk about. However, he still wanted to remind him of one thing.
“I don’t need to look to know that the Sanctuary has become a better place since you were given this role. Not only me, but everyone else believes in you. There’s more gold in your heart than in the entire set of the gold cloths, so believe in yourself as well.”
Hearing this, Shion couldn’t help but pull Albafica into a hug. He didn’t even care about the gold cloth he was wearing. The Aries really needed this.
He knew him so well. No matter how many centuries had passed, no one but Albafica would be able to lower his walls like that.
But Albafica was right. Shion would really rather talk about something else.
“Do you know how sassy your descendant is? How come someone so sweet can have such a foul mouth?”
The Pisces didn’t take long to return the hug, neverminding the danger flowing within his body. Because the other had such an effect on him.
“Indeed. The same way I never understood how someone so cute would have such a dirty mind.”
“Eh?” Shion gasped dramatically. “I disagree. My mind’s almost as pure as Dégel when Kardia found Fifty Shades of Grey.”
He actually had to pull away to laugh at that. It was priceless, such a wonderful memory. He will never forget the look on Sisyphus’ face when Regulus asked him what bondage was.
Albafica smiled and took this opportunity to remove his gold cloth. It was relieving that the armour didn’t simply disappear but stood there, in a box, by his side.
“Do you have no shame, Grand Pope?”
Shion had barely recovered from his laughing spree when he suddenly hugged Albafica’s waist once again.
“Maybe.” He said with a smile almost as bright as of those he used to give when he was younger. “But you love me anyways.”
Nevermind the mature part. Shion is basically the same. How did nothing change even after so many years?
His eyebrow curved at that but he ended up sighing.
“You’re right. I do love you.” Albafica leaned in to nuzzle Shion, which completely caught him off guard. “You’re so precious to me. And I’m incredibly proud of you, Shion. So, so so proud.”
And that hit him in a soft spot. Shion buried his head on the crook of the other’s neck.
“All of that… was thanks to you. You gave me strength.”
He’s been strong for so long. The Aries didn’t mind it. But only now did he realise how much he missed opening up like that, to someone who cared about him.
Of course, he had people who also cared about him in this era… But it was special when this comfort came from Albafica.
“I’ve never wanted you to worry, my rose.”
“It’s impossible for me not to worry. No matter how strong you are, I’ll always care for you.” Albafica once again held the other’s face and smiled. “And I hope you’ve found someone else to give you the support you need.”
“I have moved on. I have a Sanctuary filled with children that make my day better simply by saying good morning.”
And just when he was about to sigh in relief, Shion continued.
“However…”
Albafica almost screeched in surprise when SOMEONE’s hands rested on top of his bottom. If that wasn’t enough, he even rested their foreheads together.
“I’ve always loved only one person.”
He was a full tomato by now. How shameless can he be? They’re in the Pope’s hall! Plus, how can he do that to his younger self!?!
Also… Saying something so...
“Shion… Please, I--”
“PAPA--”
.
.
.
“Mu--?”