Giotto shifted and opened his eyes slowly. Blinking away the ghost tear, he stared at Caelum, who was still unconscious. He squeezed the hand he was holding, smiling when Caelum, as though on reflex, squeezed back. He sat up and stifled a yawn, using his other hand to rub his neck. 

A mug filled with warm water was shoved under his nose, making him jerk back in shock. He looked up and blinked at Alaude, who gave him a pointed look. Shaking his head, he chuckled and took the mug carefully. "Thank you." 

Alaude grunted in reply as he sat down at the side of the bed, his gaze trained on the unconscious man. For a brief moment, none of them spoke. In that brief moment, Giotto could see how worn out the man was. Back slumped instead of straight like it usually was, shoulders sagged. The usual cold facade of his had shed, leaving a look that Giotto had only seen it once.

The man was exhausted, because of concern towards the ginger or what, Giotto didn't know. (He could tell it was the former.) It was refreshing, however, to see Alaude like that.

"He's important to you, isn't he?"

Alaude gave him a withering look that anyone would see as the look of displeasure, but Giotto wasn't just anyone, no. To Giotto, it was the look of exasperation and resignation, yet it was also the look of fondness and affection. An affection that wasn't directed to Giotto but to Caelum.

Giotto smiled to himself. "I can see why." Although he had only just met Caelum, it felt like he had known him for years. It was one of the perks of harmonization, but it was different from the usual as well. It was like Caelum was a part of him that had been taken away years and years ago until he had forgotten of his lost. 

A dear and precious family of his, if not by blood, by their flames.

Alaude huffed. (If he knew about what Giotto was thinking, he said nothing about it.) "He's troublesome." 

"And yet, you still care about this troublesome man more than you would admit." Alaude didn't deny it. There was no point in denying the truth. Ever since three years ago, he had developed an affection towards the ginger without he himself knowing. He had never found the reason to it, and he doubt he would find it in the near future. (No, not the near future. Perhaps an idea, but not truly.)

Even so, he won't have it any other way. 

It doesn't mean he appreciate anyone telling him about it, however.

Alaude narrowed his eyes at Giotto, who shrugged with an amused smile on his lips. 

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When Caelum came to it, he was alone in Alaude's room. It took him a full minute to remember what happen and register it completely. It was surreal as well. His mind was clearer than before, and he felt at peace, like nothing has ever happen. He was aware it did happen, but it didn't feel like it. He actually felt like himself again.

One of the effects from, what was that again? Right. Harmonization. Probably.

Now that he knew of the Flames and all, he was hyper-aware of the feeling in him. The peaceful hum of what he thought was his flames with Giotto's lingering ones warmed his heart. Something that he didn't know he could feel again after all that. (He had half the mind of being a loner for the rest of his last, if he wasn't dead yet. Alone without anyone by his side.)

He felt, contented, which was strange since he had practically did nothing but breaking down every waking moment until then. 

He mused at that thought as he stood from the bed, albeit clumsily. He stood still for a moment, letting the dizziness slide before moving to the door. Just as he reached to open it, the door swung open itself. He jerked and pulled his hand back, blinking at Alaude, who in turn, blinked back.

Alaude narrowed his eyes as he stepped in, forcing the younger man to take a step back and closed the door behind him. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I- uh- wanted to go downstairs and find you guys?" Alaude gave him an unimpressed look. "When you can't even stand steadily?" He pushed Caelum back to the bed, making him sit back down, much to the ginger's dismay. "You need to rest. Your fever had just broke two hours ago."

Caelum raised an eyebrow. He didn't know he was having a fever. Just as he was about to say that he was well, he noticed the barely visible eyebags and exhaustion in those icy blue eyes. He frowned, a hand reaching up and touched Alaude's cheeks, the pad of his thumb brushing against the skin under his eyes. Alaude tensed as he spoke. "You looked like you need more rest than I do." 

It took him a full minute to register what he had done and he pushed down the urge to blush. He looked away and pulled his hand away. "S-sorry. I did it unconsciously." Honestly, he shouldn't have feel shy at all. It was Alaude he was talking to, for heaven's sake! Alaude, who was a friend and family to him. It should've been normal.

Huh. 'Weird.'

Alaude, getting over his initial shock, shook his head. He sighed and sat down beside Caelum, ruffling the ginger hair. "It's okay." The other was right. He probably needed sleep more than the ginger do. He had been running on caffeine for almost 48 hours, and he was actually starting to feel jittery. Though, Caelum didn't need to know that.

"No, it's not. Go get some sleep." Caelum pressed on, genuinely concerned. "I don't want to see my friend work himself too much until he pass out after, what, three years of separation?"

Alaude looked at him, deadpanned, and it took Caelum yet another minute to understand that he was resting in Alaude's room, that it was probably midnight now, and the others were probably in the guest rooms. (And now it doesn't make any sense to go downstairs when none of them were awake.) "Oh. W-well I'll just be downstairs then. You can sleep." He shifted to get up, when Alaude held onto his wrist, stopping him.

The beige-haired man's nose was scrunched up slightly, eyebrows pulled together as he sighed again. "Stay." He wasn't going to let someone who had just recovered to sleep on a sofa. "We will share." The bed was probably too small to hold two full-grown men, and too cramp, but they could live with it. It wasn't like they've never shared a bed before.

"But-" Caelum's moouth clicked shut at another look and nodded hesitantly before settling down. "Okay." Alaude huffed and lied on the bed on his side, leaving enough room for the ginger to squeeze in. Caelum settled beside him, facing the man and chuckled to himself.

"What?"

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Alaude shrugged and they fell in silence. Alaude's eyes were closed, but Caelum's weren't. He just stared as the man's breathing evened out. 

"What's going to happen after this?" He whispered softly. Just when he thought the other was truly asleep and had not heard his question, Alaude's voice rang clearly in his ears. "Home. We're going home." And by home, Alaude didn't mean where they were. Their birthplace were no longer their home, no longer the place where they would come back to.

And Caelum knew.

"Home, huh." He repeated, half amused with a smile playing on his lips. "That sounds nice." He hummed and closed his eyes. Alaude opened an eye before closing them, lips tugged up slightly. It does sounded nice.

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Caelum knelt in front of the grave, running his hands on the dirt gently. Underneath, was his family's body. Buried deep down into ground and properly rested. He smiled sadly, eyes covered by his bangs. Meters away stood Alaude, who was wearing the long cloak he had donned during his travel, just as how Caelum had his own. He was looking out to the horizon from the hill as Caelum stared at the ground for a long time, waiting for the ginger.

The sun hasn't rise and all of them had already awaken, just as they had planned the day before. They will leave before the sun rises and head to Sicily, where their home was. 

("Is it really a good idea, Giotto?" 

"The question is, does Caelum want to leave?" The ginger twiddled his thumbs as he remembered of his sisters. A minute passed before he nodded, albeit slowly. "Yeah." He gazed up and out of the window, a solemn look on his face. "Yeah, I do. There's nothing left for me here.")

Home. It sounded unbelievable to Caelum. A few days ago, his home was destroyed in front of him, and now he was getting a new one. His heart clenched at that thought, however. He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to receive another home. He wasn't ready to let go of his old one.

Even though it sounded nice, there was still a long way before he can finally accept a new one. Not to replace, but as another one in his heart.

He laughed wryly under his breath, cold setting in his bones as he caressed the tombstone. 'In memories of the loving family' was crafted on it. He ran his fingers through the word, mouthing them as he did. He felt tears pricking the end of his eyes as his fingers came in contact with his parents names, his siblings and their spouses' names, and his nephews'.

He forced his lips to tug up as he bowed until his forehead was millimeters away from the ground and allowed a single tear to drop.  "Thank you." He whispered, planting a brief kiss. 'I'm sorry.'

It took him a second too long to stand up. He lingered for a moment as the cold wind blew, his hair and cloak swaying. The sky was still dark, as beautiful and as serene as he could remember.

He closed his eyes at how the wind seemed to be caressing his cheeks and the feeling of brief touch on his shoulders. "I'm off." He bade, finally a genuine, albeit small, smile on his lips.

He opened his eyes and turned.

(He didn't expect to see floating glows the moment he had knelt down, not expecting how familiar they felt. He somehow knew what they were, knew who they were once. "Please, move onto the next life, and the next and next. Live the fullest and leave the past." The glows pulsed, hovering near him before disintegrating into sparks, disappearing into thin air.)

As the two left the hill, Alaude cast a glance at the graves and nodded slightly.

. 

'My children, my beloved, live without the burden of your past. Live for your sake, for your happiness, and for your future.'

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Giotto, Knuckle and Daemon watched in amusement from their respective horses as Caelum eyes Alaude's black horse warily. The ginger wasn't so keen of getting near the creature as he was sure that it would kick him. He bitterly said that he and animals have bad affinity, to which Alaude simply scoffed.

"Caelum, she won't bite." Yeah right. They could still remember the day Alaude's horse almost bit Lampo's hand off. Alaude's horse was a feisty one indeed. She only listens to Alaude, much to their chagrin.

"I'm pretty sure that she would kick me though." Alaude rolled his eyes. Caelum doesn't own a horse, so he would have to ride with Alaude. Not to mention he probably didn't know how to ride one as well so the option of getting a horse for him unavailable. 

"She won't." Caelum hummed, unconvinced. He sweated when the horse huffed, seemly impatient. Her owner seemed to share the same feeling rolled his eyes again. He stepped closer to Caelum and in one go, carried the man up. Caelum screamed as Alaude plopped him onto the horse's back.

The horse shifted at the sudden weight and Caelum stiffen, mouth clicking close, as though waiting for the horse to kick him off. When she didn't, he finally relaxed, only slightly and gingerly patted the mane. He blinked in surprise when she didn't show any indication of discomfort.

"Wow." He breathed out. It was his first time riding a horse, and probably the first time an animal allows him to touch them without throwing a fit for the first time. Even Azura's cat had taken a really long time before it stops attempting to murder him every time it sees him.

Alaude resisted the urge to roll his eyes again and mounted the horse without a word. Giotto chuckled under his breathe and shook his head. "Shall we go?" He called out, gaining the rest's attention. They all nodded and he smiled. With that, he turned and took off, closely followed by the others.

"Hold on." Was the only warning Caelum had gotten before Alaude took off last. A yelp slipped out of his mouth as he immediately clutched onto Alaude. His heart seemed to have beat in the same tempo as the gallops of the horses. He let out a silence wheeze, dared not to relax his grip on the older man. 

His eyes caught the brief light in between the tree leaves and he looked up, eyes sparkled. They were deep into the forest in just a while, the thick leaves and branches casting shadow and covered the sky from sight. Even so, no matter how hard they tried to shield the sky, there were still gaps and the light never failed to shine down, even if it was from the stars that shone brightly.

He didn't look back. He didn't want to. He closed his eyes at the sound of wind rushing pass his ear and tilted his head down. He leaned his forehead against Alaude's broad, strong back and smiled. Whether this decision of his was good or bad, he would know later on. If he was to smile or mourn later on, he felt like it wouldn't matter. 

For now, he would simply relish in the fact that he had taken the first step, no matter how small it was.

Alaud felt the faint touch, of course, but he said nothing of it. He merely focused on the non-existing road, following the others.

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The journey was all but a blur to Caelum. It was a long trip to the southern part of Italy. Caelum had lost count in the midst of haze of how many times he had to force Alaude to stop for a short while just so he could vomit. He definitely wasn't used to such a long journey, especially on a horse. The longest one he had was going to his Uncle's cottage a few village away. He was sore all over and tired. (He didn't dare to try and sleep during the ride, however.)

And finally, he breathed out in relief, that they had reached the docks. He leaned all his weight against Alaude's back, absolutely drained and had totally forgotten about decency. Alaude grunted at that while Giotto talked to one of the sailors, or the Captain, whatever, he didn't care. The four of them lingered back as the blonde laughed along the man before shaking his hand, presumably thanking him.

He glared at Knuckle and Daemon when they looked at him in amusement. He nudged the man on his back with his elbow, earning a groan in return but the weight didn't leave. He had to resist flipping the man off, eyes twitching slightly as he narrowed his eyes at something in a distance when he felt a small nuzzle against his back. 

The other two exchanged a look, much to Alaude's annoyance. Giotto walked over to them, tugging his horse's rein. He met Caelum's metallic blue eyes in sympathy, understanding his exhaustion. (He could still remember the first time he had went on a really long journey and was so tired he had slept for two days straight.) "The boat will leave in an hour time. We should go grab something to eat and rest for awhile."

Caelum squinted his eyes at the mention of eating but he was glad that they could rest. He wasn't so thrilled about getting onto the boat. Alaude swiftly dismounted the horse after Caelum detached from him. He held his horse still as he waited for the ginger to come down.

Caelum slowly dismounted the horse, only, he was far clumsier than Alaude. His legs wobbled the moment his feet touched the ground and almost fell onto his bottom if Alaude didn't grab his arm. He grumbled a thanks as he steadied himself, wincing at the pain.

They headed to one of the restaurant near the docks, and Caelum all but plopped down onto the chair. He sighed loudly and buried his head into his arms, lying on the table.  

Knuckle patted him not so gentle on the back as they ordered for drinks and chattered with the waitress in rapid Italian. Caelum didn't understand a single thing so he just closed his eyes and drowned everything out. He thought it would be hard with all the noise in the restaurant, but he had drifted off just as easily. He was probably more tired than he imagined.

Alaude, who sat beside him looked visibly irked by the noise. It was overwhelming and deafening. It was giving him a headache, but he made no move to shuffle out of the restaurant. The others weren't as disturbed as he was, but they were definitely feeling the same. Giotto and Knuckle gave him a look of sympathy, to which Alaude scoffed. 

Giotto chuckled as he reached out to pat the ginger gently on the head. Caelum subconsciously leaned into the hand before the blond retracted his hand. Caelum doesn't seemed to mind as he slept through the noise as the others chatted through their food and drinks. 

His nap wasn't that long to let him dream, which he was honestly grateful for, but he was still tired when they left the restaurant and the mainland of Italy all together. Fortunately for him, he managed to endure the short boat ride to Sicily. In fact, he was actually fascinated by how the boat managed to withstand so much weight, totally erasing his initial fear of sinking. He, after all, could not swim to save a life. However, he felt better when they landed on solid ground, not flowing liquid. 

He breathed in deeply, smiling a little. Sicily was different from his childhood village. So much different. Perhaps because Sicily was actually an Island. He looked across the sea, relishing in the cold breeze and the sound of crashing waves. It was refreshing.

(Briefly, he wondered if this was what his uncle had saw many years ago, before he was born. He wondered if he was looking at the same scenery that his uncle had saw.)

"Caelum." He turned to Alaude, who had already mounted his horse, so did the others. The beige-haired man held out his hand for him, locking gaze with him. The ginger's smile didn't drop, but it seemed warmer, if Alaude were to describe. "Let's go."

Caelum nodded and grabbed his hand, mounting the horse and head out.

To the mansion where he would find new warmth.

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A/N= I finally spitted this out. Yayyy!!

Fun Fact= Giotto had somehow 'cried' was because he could somehow feel the agony and loneliness Caelum was feeling. During harmonization, one would feel what the other party would feel, not necessary understand it. The more the two (or more) parties' affinity is, the stronger the feeling is. (They won't always feel the others' feelings, but occasionally a sense or two if the feeling is strong. They'll be aware of the other's presence in them tho, because of the flames) Giotto and Caelum's can be considered as a strong affinity, so ya.

Also, the process and (not necessarily bad) effect of harmonization varies between different people. Sometimes it just happens, sometimes it takes time. Sometimes by force, sometimes by accident, sometimes by will.

Note= Those people that Vongola (Still not named) had recruited, those flame actives, they are not harmonized with Giotto.

Core is now on AO3 as well! 

I miss writing about Ryuuichi and co. so much I'm actually having withdrawal symptoms. I've half the mind writing about Eliot's story 7 years after he join Giudizio just so I can write about them. But I actually don't have a plot if I were to write that.... Goddammiitttt---

[I apologize for any grammar, spelling, etc. etc. mistakes]