Aion stared at the only photograph of him and Ailane he’d managed to smuggle with him back when he’d been disowned, so many years ago now.

His family hadn’t taken a lot of photos as he grew up. They had almost only had their picture taken at formal events, and he had hated those, and thus always ended up looking tense in any photo that was taken of him as a child.

 

Except for in this one.

 

Ailane had been three years old, and it had been her first ever banquet. All the people, the noise and the stimulations had overwhelmed her, and she’d started to cry, the sound of her tears annoying the guests and their parents alike.

While he had been wildly uncomfortable all evening, his heart had felt tight at the sight of her distress, and he had picked her up, holding her in his arms. Moving away from the noisy banquet hall, he held her to his chest, as he started to sing. The breeze from the balcony had cooled her cheeks, hot from crying.

The song was an old lullaby, one that had always managed to calm her down.

Before long, she was smiling, quietly singing along with the words that she could remember, quiet giggles escaping her as he wiped her calming tears away.

 

He hadn’t even noticed when the photo had been taken, unaware of it until it had been shown to him a few days later.

He had kept a copy tucked away in his guitar case ever since.

 

His fingers smoothed out the crease in the centre, the horizontal line of white almost cutting the photo in half from how many times it had been folded and unfolded.

 

He didn’t notice that he wasn’t alone until he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, making him jump in fright.

“Cute photo,” Crow said, grin on his face. It turned into a look of confusion as Aion clutched it to his chest, instantly folding it back up. “Why’re you hidin’ it?”

 

The question made Aion pause.

Why was he hiding it? He trusted Crow as much as he could trust anyone. Sometimes, the ghost of paranoia of anything he cared for being taken away came knocking without him even noticing. Even though he knew it wasn’t like that anymore. It hadn’t been for a very long time.

Slowly, Aion lowered his hands, unfolding the photo again. He offered it to Crow, who took it in his hands, careful not to rip it. He saw Crow’s eyes scan the picture, before he looked up at him with a grin.

“Wanna frame it?”

 

For a long moment, Aion just looked at Crow. “...Yes.”

He’d kept it hidden for so long, not letting anyone know he had it. But there wasn’t really a need for that, was there?

“Cool!” Crow handed the photo back, turning around to throw the door to the hallway closet open. “I think mum packed a bunch of them when I moved in here…”

He rummaged around for a while, clearly having trouble finding what he was looking for. It took him several minutes, but finally, he let out a triumphant yell. “Found it!”

Getting back off the floor where he’d practically crawled into the closet, he held out a box that was almost bursting from how overstuffed it was with picture frames and various other bits and bobs. “Dunno if we have one that’s the right size though,” he thought out loud as he walked over to the coffee table, setting it down on it with a thud.

He had to pull to get the first few frames out of the box, but after that, there was enough room to look through them more easily.

Aion sat down next to him, holding out the photo to compare it to the size of the frames. Crow held out a black, wooden frame. “Try it with this one.”

Flipping the frame over on the table, Aion put down the photo on top of the backing. It matched almost perfectly in size, only a tiny bit too small, just to the point where it wouldn’t be noticeable from the front. “It fits.”

“Nice!” Crow looked pleased, starting to open up the back of the frame. Lifting the back out, he waited for Aion to put the photo in the frame.

For a moment, Aion looked at the photo, before finally putting it in. Crow made quick work of closing the back again, handing the frame over to Aion as he stood up, looking around.

“You got a hammer or do you wanna put it on a shelf?” He didn’t wait for a response, calling out over his shoulder that he was pretty sure his parents had made him bring one when he moved in. The apartment had been nearly empty before he did, barely anything inside of it. There definitely hadn’t been any pictures up on the walls.

Aion turned the frame over, looking down at the picture. His fingers trailed along the edges of Ailane’s face, protected by the glass.

 

Quietly, unconsciously, he started humming as he looked down at the photo, a smile on his face.

“ Guten Abend, gut Nacht

Mit Rosen bedacht

Mit Näglein besteckt

Schlupf unter die Deck

Morgen früh wenn Gott will

Wirst du wieder geweckt

Morgen früh wenn Gott will

Wirst du wieder geweckt”

Crow paused, listening intently. He didn’t understand a word, but Aion’s voice sounded clear in the quiet apartment. It sounded like a lullaby in his ears, the melody vaguely familiar, and he leaned against the wall as he continued to listen until Aion’s voice trailed off, looking into the distance, seeing something that was no longer there.

When the silence stretched, he wandered over to where Aion was sitting, crouching in front of him. He waved his hand in front of his face. “Hey, Aion?”

 

Aion blinked, returning to his own body again. He shook his head to clear it, getting up on his feet.

“I already know where to put it,” he said, stepping past the grand piano that had been one of the very few things that had been there since before Crow made himself at home in the apartment.

Crow had managed to find the hammer, handing it and a nail to Aion, who put the frame on the piano as he took them. A few loud bangs later, the nail was in the wall, and he hung the frame in place.

 

Taking a step back, he looked at it, where it hung right next to his guitar.

Back when he’d left, when he’d been disowned, she’d asked him if music was important enough to leave her behind. If it was more important than her. She’d been so angry at him, for so long, but still, she had forgiven him. Had told him that she still loved him.

He wished he’d told her the same when she left on that train, but he’d never been good with his words. Still, he had made sure to tell her when she called him a few days later. They’d both cried as they talked, trying to make up for lost time, even though doing so would take a long time yet.

 

Feeling arms wrap around him, he looked down. Crow was looking at the photo, cheek pressed against Aion’s arm. “You should invite her over,” he said. “Show her the picture.”

Looking back at the photo again, he nodded. He rested his hands on top of Crow’s arms.

He’d have to call her tomorrow.

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