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Gehenna just wanted to go home.

The night had already been a long one when he stumbled across the foolish page and the youma that almost ate him for a midnight snack and it felt that much longer now that he was dragging himself, battle worn and weary, back in the direction of his new house. There was a large gash from his cheekbone down to the collar of his tunic and all around it the skin was slick and shiny, blistered over and painful to the touch. Every time he smiled or sneered or moved, it felt taut like sunburn and tender besides.

Home wasn't so far away that he couldn't make it but he had summoned his magic and it made him tired. It was frustrating because he was focused on the what if - what if there was another youma? what if something worse followed him and waited until he was alone? A dozen more questions popped into his battle worn thoughts and he sighed to himself, plodding slow and easy in the direction of his house and trying to put enough space between him and the battle zone that he could feel safe enough to power down and walk in his front door. It was dumb to focus on his thoughts so much when he was paranoid over being followed - his gaze tossed over his shoulder nervously and when he turned back to look ahead of him, she crossed into his path.

The Mars Knight stopped short, frozen in place, as dark eyes picked out a person as familiar as she wasn't. Tanais. Something within him gave a painful, wicked lurch and for a real moment he considered just turning and walking back to whatever youma waited to turn him into toothpicks. He was rooted to the spot, though, and he knew she would see him before he could turn away.

"Hey."

In the end, he voted for simplicity.

Gehenna had always hated the phrase but as he stood there staring at her he couldn't think of anything other than how thick the tension was that swelled between them and how it felt like if he just reached out, he could cut it. It was uncomfortable but, somehow (in a way he definitely did not want to admit to himself), still comforting. Tension wasn't born from nothing, after all.

"No, it's just me this time." He managed a weak smile that tugged at the uninjured side of his face and hoped she thought his reluctance was born from his battle wound instead of his hesitance. "Sorry to disappoint."

Self deprecating jokes were an easy out when he didn't know what to say or do or how to behave. That seemed to be the case more often than not when it came to Tanais and the realization hit him like a train, so painful that he forgot about the throbbing, tender skin burning on the side of his face. It made him long for the easy days when they had been different people but it wasn't the first time - it wouldn't be the last time. Awkwardly, his eyes dropped and he made a show of staring at the back of his gauntlet.

"I'm just heading home, myself. It's been a long night."

When Gehenna opened his mouth, he hadn't been sure whether he meant to tell her that he didn't need her or to thank her for the offer of keeping him company He was a man of instinct and he often spoke without thinking. Tonight, at least, his tongue worked to stop him and when his lips parted it felt like heavy, thick ash had replaced it. All he could do was cling desperately to his weak smile and nod his head in what he hoped seemed like an appreciative gesture.

"Ah, yeah," he did smile then, weak and a little unpleasant as it pulled at the wound on his face. He stepped forward before he elaborated, though, so that he fell into an easy gait at her side. "I saved some green eared Page from a youma that was... well, not your run-of-the-mill beast anyway."

With her at his side, it almost seemed like a different night altogether. The horrified, useless dude had been everything that Gehenna had never been, even in his most shameful moments. There had always been fight in him, at least when it meant saving others, and he remembered that then as he brought his eyes up and studied her profile. Every bit of her was Ariel, melted down and poured into a mold that was different. It made something in his gut twist and he looked away, like he always did, as he realized that once he would have dreamed of the chance to be her - with Ariel - like this. It ached and he was damnably tired of aching by now.

"All he gave a s**t about was whether or not his armor would come alive and try to kill him, too."

When he sighed, it wasn't just for the idiot page. It was for his own misfortunes and hers, for the duty that bound him, for the lot he had drawn in life. A little bit of it was definitely for the idiot, though.

"I feel like someone's parent, saving these dumb kids and telling them how not to get themselves killed." The humor was lacking but it was an honest, defeated truth. The words died off and he let them hang between them instead of trying to fill the space with the sound of his own voice; it left only their boots, clunking against pavement in unison.