Chapter Text
Aurelio stared, his lips parted slightly, at the sunburst crown above Teo’s head. His blood ran cold. Teo couldn’t be chosen for the trials. He couldn’t be chosen, because that would mean he would be competing against Aurelio. All of a sudden, Aurelio felt as though he was a little kid again, no more than seven, watching Teo sit alone on the other side of the room, yearning to run over and hug him. To tell him he still cared about him. To explain why he couldn’t just sit down next to him like everything was normal. Like them being friends was normal.
Normal. Aurelio waited for normal to come for so long. To stop feeling his chest tighten whenever the winged boy crossed his mind. To stop the burning of his throat whenever he came up in conversation. He waited to be able to look him in the eye again. To no longer want him. To no longer NEED him.
To no longer love him.
Yet, no matter how much Aurelio tried to distance himself from Teo, no matter how many times he pushed him away, Sol always found a way for them to end up on the same side of the room again, sitting right next to each other. Whether that was today, the crowns sitting atop each of their heads, or years ago, on the last day Aurelio could face Teo without seeing the fears he had felt for so long now.
Aurelio had just started classes at the academy, which meant less time for friends between training and studying and trying and failing to fall asleep, night after night, visions of powerful monsters from his textbooks jumping out at him in the darkness of his new dorm room. He was thrilled to finally get a chance to see Teo again after all of these months. They talked for what felt like hours, and when they weren’t talking, they were running around playing tag or hiding under the gold-embroidered tablecloths and curtains adorning the hall. Towards the end of the evening, he hadn't yet found Teo’s newest hiding spot when his mother grabbed his arm, Auristela standing behind her and looking at him with wide, scared eyes, and told him, “We’re going back to the academy, Aurelio.”
When they returned, Aurelio wanted to follow his sister back to the dorms. He wanted to sneak off with her to the kitchens to steal a cup of hot chocolate. Before he even reached the grand staircase, however, his mother dragged him into her office and sat him across from her, the wooden desk making the space between them feel larger than ever.
“Aurelio…” Lumbre began, a far off look in her eyes. Her voice was softer than he had heard it in years. “Have I ever told you the reason why I don’t want you hanging out with that Jade boy?”
Aurelio shook his head. He had always known his mother disapproved of him playing with Teo. Aside from all of the times she scolded him for a simple conversation, there was always a look in her eyes, one that reminded him of the time she spent conditioning his skin against her flames. A look of anger. Disappointment. Regret. But maybe, if he looked hard enough, he could even see some of the strange mixture of fear and love that shone through afterwards as she bandaged his arm. He hadn’t known it then, but it had slowly become the same look Aurelio showed Teo earlier that day after the fire.
“I think that, now that you’re a little older, it’s time I explain. Will you listen?”
Aurelio nodded again. He would have sat in that chair for years if it meant his mother’s voice would stay the gentle whisper it was then.
“Let me tell you the story of two young Diosas centuries ago, not unlike Teo and yourself, who were once destined to destroy each other…”