Chapter Text
Aloy didn’t even stop the Broadhead as she jumped off and continued running towards the bridge. Towards Meridian. She’d been on the road non-stop since leaving GAIA prime. There was no telling if Helis had already started the siege on the Sundom, if he was on his way, or if there were still days to wait. When she first caught sight of the city, still standing, no indication of a battle, she felt the tightening in her chest lessen for the first time since Sylens had told her the Spire was the target.
She ran through the city, ignoring the merchants and the few people who seemed to recognise her. She needed to get to Avad. She almost continued full sprint up the steps but thought better of it – she didn’t need the guards to waylay her by thinking that she was a threat.
The guards appeared to recognise her, letting her through with ease, and Avad was sitting on his throne overlooking the city, Marad behind him. He stood as she approached, clearly shocked.
“Aloy. What brings you to Meridian?” He asked, moving towards her.
She tells him of the Eclipse and their imminent attack. She doesn’t fully know how to describe Hades in a way that would make him understand that she needs him to act. “God, demon, machine.” Is what she tries but isn’t sure he gets it. She, at the very least, convinces him that it is the Spire they’re after, and as Marad suggests the Vanguard to protect it her breathe catches.
Erend. So, he is here, back with the Vanguard in Meridian. Before she can follow that line of thought, Marad is off and Avad is talking to her again.
“Aloy, allow me to apologize for my behaviour before.” She almost groaned, there was absolutely no time for this. “After everything that happened with Ersa, I was... confused. If we’re to fight together on the brink of life and death, I’d prefer to do so with your forgiveness.” He finishes, looking at her imploringly. He appears sincere, and she does not have the time, or energy, to really get into this with him.
“Then you have it, as long as you don’t confuse me with her again.”
“Even a king can learn his lesson. Good, then. I’m glad that’s behind us. Now – it will take time to prepare our defences. Please tell me what you know of our enemies – everything”
Knowing that she cannot tell him everything, mostly because it would probably result in them thinking she was insane – no need to burst the bubble on their Sun God – she tells him as much as he needs to get things underway. After this, she leaves to find Marad and figure out where she will be most needed.
He didn’t seem to get too far; she sees him speaking with some guards almost as soon as she turns the corner. “Quietly does it. Panic in the city will only create another enemy. And do keep me appraised of each new arrival.” He spots her then, “ah, Aloy. Word has been sent to every corner of the Sundom. We hope that they will respond swiftly.”
“Is there anything that I can do? Take the message to the Vanguard?” Marad raises an eyebrow at her, and she immediately wishes she hadn’t suggested it.
“I have already alerted the Vanguard and any other messages have already been sent. You look positively dead on your feet Aloy, I would suggest resting and then returning to us tomorrow when we may have heard from our allies and can determine what we are lacking.” Aloy nods, rest is a good idea. Though at the mention of allies she recalls the Nora.
“I forgot to mention, braves from the Sacred Lands are currently making their way here to assist. My guess is they will arrive by tomorrow night, maybe the dawn after.”
Marad looked pleasantly surprised. “I had not sent a messenger to the Sacred Lands; I felt the Nora would not be able to come even if they wished it. “
“They had not wanted to but,” Aloy did not wish to get into how they now worshipped her, “I was able to convince them it was necessary. That this would impact them as well.”
“Very good, if the threat is as dire as you say, no doubt we will need them. I suggest you get some rest while you can. I’ve made the apartment of Olin Delversson available to you. You can sleep there.” She turned to leave him, before he called out “Erend is likely at the Vanguard barracks. If you wish to see him.”
She felt her face heat up, she didn’t turn to face him but inclined her head slightly and nodded before hurrying off.
She hasn’t seen Erend since they separated here, several months ago. Him to bury his sister, her to chase up the lead in Makers End. She had returned to Meridian several times, and every single time she was informed that he was yet to return. Not that she came to Meridian specifically looking for him. But now he was here. He was here. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, she was glad to finally be able to see him, but it meant he was going to be here when Eclipse arrived, and in danger.
She stopped abruptly at that thought. Erend was one of the best fighters she’d ever seen, of course he would be here, and he would probably be instrumental in making sure they succeed. And yet, she worries. It’s illogical and doesn’t do anything to help. She has a battle to prepare for.
Aloy shakes herself and keeps walking toward the training grounds. She will go and see her friend and then get some rest. In her effort to get to Meridian as soon as possible she had not slept for more days than she cares to think about and can feel the exhaustion creeping up on her.
The Vanguard barracks are a flurry of movement, people moving in an out, carrying various crates of supplies out of the building. Aloy dodges a few people who don’t appear to see her coming and makes her way further inside. She can hear someone who sounds like Erend yelling orders further in and moves to investigate.
“I need a full list of what we have in stock and what we’re running low on! We don’t know how long we’ve got so get moving! I’ll have you split into four teams, report back here in one hour for your assignment!”
Aloy comes around the corner and sees Erend moving amongst his people, and Goddess but he looks exactly the same. It is remarkable how settled she feels seeing his face again. The group he was addressing nod at him and sound out a chorus of “Yes Sir” before dispersing. He carries himself with a confidence amongst his men that wasn’t there before, and she feels her heart glow with pride at how far he’s come.
He hasn’t seen her yet and has instead turned to move into a smaller room off to the side. She follows behind, wondering if maybe she can grab a minute alone. He leaves the door open as he moves in and sits behind his desk, she’s able to step through, still completely unnoticed by the Vanguard and himself.
“Should I be concerned that I was able to get all the way in here and nobody stopped me?” She asks, smirking at him.
Erend jumps and looks up at her, it takes a beat but his face splits into a smile. Goddess how she missed him. “Aloy! It’s so good to see you!” He stands and moves around his desk and pulls her into a quick hug, releasing her before she has a chance to reciprocate. “So here we are again, gearing up for a fight. Only this time, it sounds like the bad guys have a lot more firepower. What are we up against, really?”
She sighs, “I’m not sure. But there’s going to be a lot of them, and they’ll have machines. And if they get past us, it’s not just Meridian that will fall. The rest of the world will go with it.”
Erend rubs a hand across his jaw, “That’s… big. But don’t worry, nobody’s getting past the Vanguard. We’re here for Meridian. And we’re here for you.” He takes a step closer and she feels her heart rate pick up. She smiles back at him.
“It’s really good to see you Erend. I wish it were under better circumstances.” She wishes she had time to talk to him, really talk to him. But she can tell he has people to organise, a city to defend.
“Hey, the better circumstances will come. I’m sure we can spare a minute or two right now.” And he winks at her. He’s always flirted with her, since the first time she met him. But their interactions are different now, softer and more sincere. She thinks she knows how he feels about her, and she’s starting to accept how she feels about him. But now isn’t the time. It never is. “How are you doing? You look tired.” He was still standing close to her and puts a hand on her arm.
“Honestly? Exhausted. Maybe the Eclipse will stay away long enough for me to get a good nights sleep.” She chuckles and it’s almost as if saying the words out loud have given her body permission to act on it. She sways a little in front of him, feeling as if she might pass out.
“Oh hey hey easy.” Erend is there, both arms on her, easing her down into a chair that she doesn’t remember being that close to her, before crouching before her. “You’re no good to us if you’re dead on your feet.” She nods at him, wishing she could think of any excuse to stay here with him.
“You’re right I should go and rest, and you have work to do.” He groans a little at that.
“I know, I know. Boy does being in charge have a lot of drawbacks. Ersa never even mentioned half of them.”
“She would be proud.” Aloy puts a hand on his cheek, smiling at him.
“Only if we win.” He chuckles. She goes to stand, and he’s quick to help her. “Are you going to be okay? I can get someone to escort you.”
Aloy shakes her head, “I’ll be fine. I’m staying at Olin’s though – if you want to come by later?” She knows that he probably has more important things to do – hell she probably has things to do – but it would be nice to just be with him.
“Absolutely!” He grins at her now, moving towards the door with her. “Guess I’m working my way up to more than two minutes, eh?”
“Don’t push your luck” Is what she says as she waves at him and moves out of the barracks. The walk to Olin’s is quick, and before she knows it, she’s pulling off her armour and falling into bed.
Aloy wakes up to the muted sound of knocking, and groggily sits up. She looks out the window and sees the sun setting, she’d slept through the entire afternoon. Stretching, she moves toward the stairs and makes her way down. “Coming!” She calls, as the knocking comes again.
She turns the corner and sees Erend standing in the doorway looking bemused. “We never did get the door replaced, did we?”
His words confuse her before she realises that he is standing in the open doorway. That has no door. “Huh” is all she says in response. “I’ll add that to my to do list. Come on in, I’ll make some tea.”
“You’re just lucky nobody came in while you were resting.”
“I’d like to see them try,” she throws over her shoulder.
He follows her toward the kitchen, chuckling, and she realises her mistake as soon as she is in there. She hasn’t made tea in a kitchen ever. Her and Rost would ordinarily boil the water over an open fire. She’s looking around trying to figure out where she would even start with finding a teapot - or even tea - when Erend comes up behind her and reaches around to a cupboard. He opens it to a simple teapot, and then hip checks her out of the way as he begins filling it with water and putting it on the stove.
Aloy coughs slightly before moving out of his way. “Thanks, I kind of forgot that I didn’t…”
“Didn’t know how to make tea?” He finishes for her, laughing slightly. “Good to know there are some things you need me for.” He looks over his shoulder at her smiling.
She returns the smile. “I’m sure there are other things I could think of.” She watches as his face goes slightly red as he turns away from her, saying nothing. It’s a couple minutes of companionable silence, as Erend prepares the tea and Aloy watches, feeling more alert and rested than she has in several days. It’s all incredibly domestic, and so nice. Eventually he sits down in front of her.
“So, tell me all about your travels. If it’s lead to some demon machine, it’s bound to be more interesting than anything I’ve been doing.”
Aloy lets out a huff of air and then leaning back in her chair. “Where do I even begin?”
“Well, did you find out who your mum was?”
What a loaded question. She’s not sure how to explain it all to him in a way that he’ll understand. Faro, Elisabet Sobeck, Horizon Zero Dawn… where she really came from. She must have been quiet for several moments too long because suddenly Erend’s hand covers hers and she looks up at him to see concern on his face.
“Aloy you don’t have to tell me if you aren’t ready. It’s okay.” She’s shaking her head before he even finishes.
“It’s not that, it’s just. It’s a lot, and it’s going to change a lot about what you think of the world. And what you think of me.” She sees him open his mouth to interrupt and powers through. “Besides, there’s a lot going on. Maybe we can talk about it after.” He lets out a breath at that.
“Yeah, yeah okay. We just got to make sure there is an after.”
“We will Erend. We’ve got to.” She didn’t go through all of this to fail now. He nods and leans back, taking his hand away and starts telling her about his trip into the Claim.
That’s how they spend their night, she offers up some of her own stories as well – the ones that are slightly less earth shattering. She tells him of her successes with the Hunters Lodge and some of the more interesting bandit camps. At some point they venture out to get something to eat and Aloy idly realises she’s never spent this much time with someone other than Rost in a non-life or death situation. It’s nice, and almost distracts her from the impending battle. Almost.
Whilst she was reasonably distracted by Erend for most of the night, the moment he left her alone, Aloy found she couldn’t quiet her mind. She’d been lucky, so incredibly lucky, that Helis hadn’t already been in Meridian, but that luck wasn’t likely to hold. Every noise overnight had her jolting and reaching for her spear.
She didn’t feel as exhausted as yesterday but she definitely was feeling wrung out and on edge. Part of her wanted to swing by the Vanguard barracks on her way to the Sun Palace but knew she didn’t have any real reason. Dressing quickly in the new armour she found in the old ruins, Aloy made her way to the Sun Palace, hoping there would at least be something for her to do.
Once again, the Carja royal guard waved her through, and she moved toward the terrace. She knew it was early – the sun had barely started rising over the horizon – but she didn’t anticipate being the first one there. She slowly made her way towards a large table that wasn’t ordinarily there. On top of the table is a map of the Sundom and surrounding tribes. There are some markers across the map that she doesn’t understand, and some notes in a pile to the side.
Activating her focus, Aloy looks over the map and the markers. Her focus notes that they represent the tribal forces that Marad sent messages to and the different forces within Meridian and the surrounding villages. She moves then to the notes and picks up the top one and glances at the ones below it. They’re all responses from allies confirming that they’re coming to aid Meridian. Seeing the responses relieves tension she didn’t even know she was holding. Help was coming. She wouldn’t be fighting this battle on her own.
“Aloy!” She startles, looking up and seeing Avad moving toward her with Marad close behind. “We didn’t expect to see you so early! I hope you are feeling rested?” He stops a few feet from her, smiling brightly.
“Better than yesterday at least.”
“Good, good. Now, we’re just waiting on a couple more people and then we can begin discussions about preparations.” Aloy nods at him. “I’ll have some light refreshments brought out. It could be a long day” Avad turns from her and gestures to one of his staff off to the side who bows and hurries off.
They stand in silence for a few minutes, Marad very seriously staring over the map and making notes. Avad and Aloy stand side by side, watching. Erend arrives at the same time that food is brought out and smiles as soon as he sees her.
“Good morning Your Luminance,” he bows before turning to look at her, “Aloy.”
“Erend” she smiles back at him. Before she can say anything else she hears someone yell her name and turns to see Talanah rushing onto the balcony towards her. Aloy’s smile widens, and she moves towards the Sunhawk. “Talanah!” she exclaims as she hugs her.
“They told me my Thrush was here but seeing as how she didn’t come visit me or even send a message, I found it hard to believe.” Talanah says as she pulls back holding Aloy at arm’s length and looking quite put out. “Yet it seems the rumours were true.”
Feeling a little chagrined, Aloy shrugs at her. “Sorry, I was pretty exhausted.”
“But not so exhausted for the Vanguard.” Talanah says, indicating towards Erend while stepping away. Aloy chokes on a laugh and turns to see Talanah moving toward Avad and bowing. She quickly glances at Erend and sees him turning red, then passes her eyes over Marad who is looking far too amused.
Clearing her throat quickly, Aloy looks down and moves toward the table and everyone else. Marad then steps forward and begins addressing them.
“Thank you all for being here, our scouts to the West have not observed any movement from the Eclipse camps. We don’t know when they’ll move, so we need to take advantage of every moment we have.”
They spend the rest of the morning discussing what needs to be done in preparation, how many troops they have and where they’ll be stationed. Talanah offers up members of the Lodge to be placed across the city at different points and Erend indicates that he has split the Vanguard into four. He will be with the group at the Spire, where they will be most needed. With the additional forces coming in they’ll be able to add further reinforcements.
It is nearing noon when a messenger rushes in and bows to the King. “Your Radiance, we have a large group at the Eastern gate.” He pauses and Aloy watches his eyes dart to her. “The Nora have arrived.” Aloy smiles and looks at the rest of them.
“Excellent!” Avad exclaims, “Extend an invitation for them to visit the palace once they’re settled in the city.” He moves to turn back to the map, but the boy shifts slightly on his feet and continues.
“They will not come into the city. They- they say it is tainted.” He seems incredibly uncomfortable, eyes again darting towards Aloy. Aloy barely resists rolling her eyes. By the Goddess, they traverse for several days over lands unknown and yet will not enter the city. She turns to Avad.
“I will go and speak with them, they mean no offence by not entering the city.” They do, “it is just not their way. Once I know how many there are we can more accurately split them up.” She turns to leave, but Marad quickly calls her back.
“I think the Nora will be of the most assistance up at the Spire and here at the Ridge. If they are able to provide support there, we can dedicate more troops to the city proper and the Maizelands.” Aloy nods and continues walking. It’s not until she is halfway down the stairs that she realises Erend is close behind her.
“Shouldn’t you be staying?” She asked, looking at him briefly.
He shrugs back at her, “Avad felt it was time we take a break. He and Marad are discussing the viability of evacuating the city and whether it will be doable without causing panic.”
She snorts, “unlikely.” Erend chuckles next to her and bumps her with his shoulder.
“I agree, they should just plan for the panic and work with it. But that’s not my area of expertise. I’m going to check on Petra, she’s here working on some heavy weapons for the Carja, her timing is fortuitous. I’m going to see if she needs any assistance with ammunition. The least the Vanguard can do is help with that instead of feeling like we’re sitting ducks.” Aloy nods as they walk. Heavy weapons will be incredibly useful in taking down the bigger machines.
As she comes to where they part ways she stops for a moment and looks up at him. “I’m sorry that I never seem to come to Meridian with good news. But I am glad that you’re here, with me, through this. However it turns out.”
Erend smiles at her and takes her hand. “This is the only place I want to be. I’ve got your back. Not that you ever seem to need it.” He squeezes her hand. “I’ll meet you back at the palace in a few hours.”
Nodding, Aloy squeezes back before letting go and moving in the direction of the eastern gate. She’s not looking forward to dealing with the Nora. She’s grateful for them coming to help, but she knows they’re going to look at her like she’s… chosen. Anointed is what they called her when she came out of the Eleuthia facility. As if the isolation from being an outcast wasn’t enough. It’s fine, they’re here to help, then they’ll go back to the Sacred Lands and Aloy will only return when things are on fire. Or something.
She can see the crowd in the distance now, and can feel the tension from where she is. Sighing, Aloy squares her shoulders and continues forward. She suddenly finds herself hoping that the Eclipse won’t keep her waiting long.
Aloy left the Nora about 25 minutes later. She absolutely could not be around them any longer or she may just hit someone. As soon as she arrived, they began bowing, thankfully Varl and Sona were there to stop them and speak with her normally, but still. The Nora may not have been bowing but the way they stared at her and whispered about her left her skin crawling.
Luckily all Aloy had to do was direct Sona to the ridge and the Spire and convey Marad’s plans to have the Nora separated between the two and she was off. She quickly separated the braves, allocating herself and Varl to the Spire, and moved on to find places for them to camp out whilst they wait.
Aloy slowed down as she turned a corner away from the eastern gate and let out a deep breathe. She is glad they’ve come, really, she is. She just feels more like an outsider than she ever did as an outcast. Avad and Marad aren’t expecting her back for at least a couple hours, and as much as she wants to go see Erend, she knows he has important things to do. It’s odd, knowing that there isn’t really anything she can do other than wait and be ready. She doesn’t have a squad that she can delegate or assign anywhere, she doesn’t even need to prepare any supplies for anyone. She’s just waiting.
Unsure where to go from here, Aloy wanders through the market, weaving through the crowds. She doesn’t have a destination in mind, but it feels nice to just be amongst people and not be noticed. Not be whispered about. Eventually she walks up to a merchant and buys some food. If she’s going to be in Meridian a little while, she might as well have food handy. She’s almost considering just heading back to the palace and waiting there, when she sees Talanah at the other end of the market. She catches her eye and raises her hand in a wave, moving towards her. Talanah smiles and stops moving, waiting for Aloy to meet her.
“And here I was looking for you, it almost feels as though you’re trying to avoid me!” Talanah exclaims once Aloy is close enough.
“What? No of course not.”
Talanah raises an eyebrow and gestures for them to start moving towards the Lodge. “No, no. My Thrush comes back into Meridian with tales of an upcoming battle against both man and machine and she goes to the King – understandable – and then… the captain of the Vanguard.” Aloy feels her face heat up, but before she can say anything, Talanah continues; “which I could almost forgive, except, instead of even popping in to say hi, you spent the night with him.” Aloy almost chokes.
“It wasn’t like that!” Talanah just laughs and keeps walking, looking at Aloy over her shoulder.
“Oh I know, Aloy. But I almost wish you had. Seeing the two of you this morning? It’s clear that’s what you both wish you’d been doing.” Aloy doesn’t think her face could get any brighter.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Talanah stops suddenly and turns in front of her, “oh really? So, he isn’t who you look for every time you return to Meridian? I know I’m not really the friend you return for when you’re “in the area” even though you’re two days away from the area.” She rolls her eyes. Aloy blushes, that only happened twice.
“He’s my friend Talanah! I haven’t seen him in several months, and I am always happy to see you, whether I’m in the area or not.” Talanah crosses her arms, raises and eyebrow and cocks her hip. Looking at her, Aloy is suddenly very tired, and wanting very much to confide in someone about all of this. She sighs, all the fight draining out of her, looking down at her feet. “You may not be… too far off.”
Talanah lets out a noise that can only be described as a squeal, and it’s so unexpected that Aloy quickly looks up. “I knew it!” Aloy scoffs and moves past Talanah continuing into the Hunters Lodge.
“Regardless of how I feel, or how he feels, we have bigger concerns right now Talanah. Remember? Eclipse? End of the world? Demon machine?” Aloy nods to Aidaba and continues up the ramp.
“Right! And isn’t that all the more reason to just do it? Nothing beats ‘we might die tomorrow’ sex.” Aloy trips slightly up the stairs. “I’m just happy to hear you admitting it.”
Aloy shrugs, “why deny it when we both know it’s true?”
“If that’s the case, why are you here with me and not spending this time working out some tension?” And just like that Aloy regrets encouraging this conversation.
“I… can we just not talk about this, please?” She turns to face Talanah. There really was too much going on for her to get distracted thinking about Erend and… No she can’t.
Talanah looks at her for a long moment and sighs. “I guess ‘we survived’ sex is pretty good too. I can just annoy you about that later.” She moves past Aloy and takes a seat, gesturing to the one across from her. “But tell me about what went down in the Sacred Lands, we haven’t had a chance to catch up.”
Aloy lets out a relieved breath and takes a seat.
The rest of the day passes much the same way as the morning. Aloy stays with Talanah for about an hour before they head back to the palace to check in. Erend’s already there when they arrive, reporting that Petra has provided several heavy weapons to be of use and that she was grateful for the Vanguard’s assistance in crafting ammo.
Aloy reported on the Nora and Marad informed them that they should have further reinforcements arriving within the next 24 hours. There wasn’t much more to do after that, so Avad dismissed the group and encouraged them to get a good night’s sleep but be prepared and stay vigilant. It was nearly impossible to tell when Eclipse will strike. She leaves with Erend and Talanah, unsure what to do with even more time left waiting. They get to the bottom of the steps when Talanah stops and turns to them.
“I would love to stay and be a third wheel, and witness how this,” she gestures at them, “unfolds, but I do actually need to rest, until tomorrow.” She winks and leaves before either of them can respond. Aloy just lets out a breathy laugh and shakes her head turning to look at Erend.
“Do you need to get back to the barracks?” She asks.
“No, there isn’t much more that we can do other than wait right now. There’s no point running drills that could lead to wearing my people out.”
“Are you hungry?” She asks before she can overthink it. He looks down at her, smiling.
“Yeah, I could eat.” She smiles back and takes a few steps forward before stopping and turning back to him.
“I actually don’t know anywhere to eat here…” Erend laughs and starts leading them down a side road.
“Another reason to keep me around.”
“Yes, tea-making and restaurant recommendations.”
“Invaluable really.”
They end up entering a pub close to Olin’s apartment. Aloy lets Erend order for her because she both doesn’t know what they serve and doesn’t entirely care. She trusts that Erend won’t purposefully order something disgusting.
“Nervous?” She asks, after several moments of watching him tap his fingers repeatedly against the table. He looks down at his hand, as if he hadn’t even noticed, and laughs a little.
“I don’t know if it’s nerves. I just don’t like this waiting game. Knowing that they’re coming but not knowing when. And doing things like this,” he gestures to them and the room “that are so normal. It doesn’t feel right.” Aloy nods.
“I agree. I’m not used to having to wait so long for a fight. Usually, I stumble right into them.” That gets a hearty laugh out of him.
“That you do.”
The food arrives then, she thinks boar meat and some vegetables. She takes a bit and is glad she let Erend order, it’s very good.
“I know you don’t want to talk about what happened and what you discovered, and I’m not asking you to get into that now.” He adds quickly, probably in response to whatever expression she was making. “I just- you mentioned last night that you thought it would change my perception of you. And I just need you to know that that’s not possible. I know who you are Aloy.” He smiles at her. “You’re the same woman who, after having only really known my sorry ass for a day, agreed to help me find out what had happened to my sister. You’re the woman who has saved the King of this sorry land several times over. You released his brother from the clutches of the Shadow Carja. You have helped anyone you’ve come across in your travels not matter how small their concern. I even heard of you helping some young lovers in a bind?” He looks at her quizzically. “Can’t imagine that had much to do with this quest you’ve been on.
“Whatever it is that you’ve learned about where you’ve come from won’t change any of what you’ve done.” He places his hand on hers. “It won’t change who you are Aloy. Not to me.” Aloy feels herself tearing up a little. She flips her hand so that she’s able to hold his and gives him a small smile. She doesn’t know if this will hold true when she does finally tell him, but the sincerity in his voice and in his face has her just wanting to believe him. Needing to believe him.
“Thank you Erend, I… that means a lot.”
He smiles back at her. “I’m not going anywhere Aloy, I’ll be here to listen when you’re ready.” The way he says it sounds like he means more than just her heritage, and she thinks of what Talanah said. She swallows and nods, not trusting herself to speak. She squeezes his hand before extricating hers and going back to eating.
They continue in comfortable silence for while, before naturally falling into a conversation about her travels through the Cut and of the Banuk. Before they know it, it’s getting late and Erend comments that they should probably call it a night. Nodding, Aloy throws a few shards onto the table and stands with him, following him outside.
Without discussion they begin moving towards Olin’s. Aloy looks up at the stars as they walk, feeling so incredibly insignificant, and wishing she was. Wishing that the fate of the human race didn’t rest on her and her lance. Sighing she lowers her head as they turn the corner to Olin’s and stops abruptly. There’s a door.
“There’s a door.”
Erend chuckles, “yeah I figured you could use some privacy and peace of mind that someone isn’t going to just run in in the middle of the night.” She turns to look at him.
“You organised this? When?”
“Uh yeah,” he rubs his hand against the back of his neck. “It really didn’t take long, when I was at Petra’s I just picked up some tools and came back here to get it put together. Oh, and here.” He holds out a key to her. He didn’t just organise someone to fix the door. He fixed the door. It didn’t really worry her that it hadn’t been fixed but something about it just made her feel so… warm. Slowly she reaches out to grab the key, looking up at him. She’s not sure what the expression on his face is, but it feels open and sincere. Suddenly all the reasons and excuses she gave herself are too unimportant. She closes her hand around his hand with the key and pulls him closer to her, using her other hand to move his head closer to her and kisses him.
She knew, abstractly, that he cared about her. But seeing something so concrete on the heels of his speech at dinner just solidifies it. She doesn’t want to risk death without him knowing that it is returned, that she cares for him too.
He sighs as her lips touch his and moves his free hand to her waist pulling her closer. It’s soft, and sweet – full of the words Aloy knows she can’t speak. Not yet, but words and feelings that she needs him to know – that she cares for him as well. Neither move to deepen the kiss or turn it into anything more, and after a minute Aloy leans away from him.
“I should have fixed that door ages ago,” he smiles down at her, his arm still around her waist and holding her to him.
Rolling her eyes, “I guess I’m a sucker for DIY.” He chuckles and places a kiss her on the forehead and she closes her eyes, leaning her head against his chest.
“You should get to bed, and so should I. Like you said, we’ll have time. After.”
“After,” she nods against him. Instead of moving away, she tightens her arms around him and he squeezes her back almost immediately. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She says.
“Tomorrow, either at Avad’s or…” He doesn’t finish the sentence. She lets out a sigh.
“Yeah,” leaning back she reaches up and pecks him quickly on the lips before stepping out of his arms. “Sleep well.”
“You too.” He turns and watches her enter the apartment and is still there as she turns and closes the door behind her.
As soon as she closes the door, she leans her back against it smiling. The world may be about to end, but she hasn’t felt so warm and happy in a long time. Taking a deep breath she moves up the stairs to bed, hoping that sleep comes easily.
It felt like she’d only just lay down to rest when suddenly a Carja guard is there shaking her awake.
“Ma’am. There are signs from the west. Sun-King Avad awaits you at the Temple of the Sun.”