Aquarius did not walk her home the following night. As her shift neared its end, she found herself looking at the door every few minutes. Hina laughed and teased her about her American boyfriend, but Aiko ignored her. She walked the streets of Tokyo alone, one headphone in her ear, lost in her thoughts. 

It had been two months since she first met Aquarius and only a few weeks since he had told her the truth; that he was her Ouranos. She didn’t believe him, of course. She couldn’t believe him. She felt foolish, allowing herself to get so close to a stranger. Of course he would say something crazy to her. And though she ignored him, he was persistent, showing up every day. Any other sane person would have reported him. And as angry as she was - at him, and at herself - she felt empty without him there.

They had spent so many evenings together, walking the streets of Tokyo, or sitting in the parks and talking. He had become this presence in her life so suddenly, and she had become so inexplicably attached to him. Being apart from him felt painful. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it until he finally explained it to her.

A bond they shared, he had said. He had felt it, too. It sounded ridiculous - they had only just met. But clearly, there was nothing ordinary about their relationship. He wasn’t ordinary. And the more he explained to her, the more it seemed to make sense, in the least sensical way imaginable. The pieces just came together, as if it was something she had always known, but simply ignored. 

It wasn’t something she could explain, even to herself at times. But she trusted him completely. She was bonded to him, closer to him than she was with her closest friends. Which made his words even more unsettling; would he really, truly die for her? Would it even come to that?

She groaned audibly. What on Earth was she getting herself into?

But she knew with certainty that she had to do this. She had to go with him. She had to find the others, and together, they had to save the world. 

She stopped in front of her building. Her heart fluttered when she saw Aquarius. 

“You didn’t walk me home,” she said.

“Did you miss me?”

Her cheeks warmed. “No.” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “How did you know I would be here?”

“I told you,” he said. “I always know where to find you.”

She smiled. “I… decided not to tell my family. They will only worry… more so for my sanity, I think.” She forced a light laugh. “Not that you’d understand,” she said. “It’s not like you have parents.”

He smiled. “We have family.”

“You do?”

“It’s not quite like human families,” he added.

Her lips pulled to the side. “Do you miss them?”

Aquarius looked up at the night sky. “I’m hardly far from them,” he said.

Aiko smiled. “Did they… Were they okay with you doing this?”

“We’re not human,” he said. “I only exist because of the power of the gods. Humans have free will and emotions. Only humans have ideas of right and wrong. We’re nothing more than gas and dust.”

“Maybe you were,” Aiko said. “But you’re human like the rest of us, now.”

Aquarius smiled. “Sounds terrible.”

Aiko laughed. “Yeah,” she started. “Being human is… confusing.” She pushed another lock of hair out of her face. She met his gaze and smiled. “Where are we going first?”

“We are going to meet Virgo in Moscow.”

“Russia?” Aiko’s nose wrinkled. “I’ve never even been out of Tokyo.” She smiled. “I guess it’s a good thing I have my American boyfriend to show me the world.”

“Boyfriend, huh?”

Her cheeks warmed. “Well, sure, what else are we going to tell people when they see us traveling around? We can’t exactly be brother and sister.” She paused. “Just don’t tell my parents that. I think they’d kill me if they heard I was pretend-dating an American guy.”

Aquarius smiled. “I won’t say a word.”