Marcus/Rocco
Returning to normal life felt stranger than fighting demons.
The drive back into town should've felt familiar. Instead, it felt like
revisiting a version of my life that no longer belonged to me.
Sun shined softly against the car windows while city lights blurred past
outside. Noah sat in the passenger seat talking non-stop about how much he
missed actual restaurants while Riley looked one inconvenience away from
violence.
"I swear if I fall chemistry after Surviving literal demons, I'm
dropping out," Noah groaned dramatically.
"You say that every semester,"
Riley replied.
"And every semester I mean it emotionally."
Ella laughed softly from the backseat for what felt like the first time
in weeks.
A real laugh. Not forced or fragile. Just normal. And weirdly, that hurt
a little.
Because looking at them now made it painfully obvious how different I'd
become.
Valen stood outside the moving car. Not on it. Not touching it.
Just… walking beside us effortlessly through like reality adjusted
itself around him specifically.
Silver hair shifted lightly in the wind while his golden eyes observed
the city with detached curiosity.
"You humans willingly return to educational institutes after escaping
death."
Noah kept talking completely unaware an ancient realm entity was
silently judging him from outside the window.
"That seems inefficient," Valen continued.
I looked away before accidentally reacting visibly. Barely.
By the time we reached town, it was already evening. And almost
immediately, everything started feeling normal again. For everyone except me.
Noah's mom practically attacked him the second we walked through the
front door.
"Oh, thank God, you're alive."
"Mom, I went on a trip. Not to war."
"You came back skinnier. Cleary something terrible happened."
"That's honestly fair," Riley muttered.
Noah's dad walked in moments later carrying grocery bags before he
stopped completely.
"Why do all of you look like exhausted action movie characters?"
"Long story," Noah answered.
"Bad story," Riley corrected.
Ella smiled slightly beside me while Noah's parents pulled everyone into
the kitchen almost instantly. Warm lights. Long conversations. The smell of
food.
Normal. Painfully normal.
Valen stood silently near the hallway observing the chaos.
"This environment is extremely load."
"That's just Noah's family."
"Fascinating."
Noah's mom shoved a plate into my hands before I could refuse.
"You too. Sit."
"I'm okay- "
"You're too skinny."
Apparently, every adult on earth shared one collective opinion. Dinner
became loud almost immediately.
Noah talked too much. Riley insulted him professionally. Ela actually
relaxed for once. Things felt okay again. Well, almost.
Until Noah's dad asked casually-
"So… you kids doing alright?"
The table quieted slightly. Not dramatically. Just enough.
Noah shrugged first. "We needed time after everything."
His mother's expression softened. "We figured."
Riley nodded quietly. "Thank you…for trusting us."
"Of course, honey. But also, that's because you're good kids," Noah's
mom replied simply.
Something in my chest tightened unexpectedly. Because my parents
would've said the same thing.
Valen noticed instantly. "You are grieving again."
I stared harder at my plate.
After dinner, Riley goes to her place, Ella decides to stat at Noah's
and I returned home alone.
The silence hit me.
Noah's house felt alive. This house didn't.
The hallway lights cast soft shadows across familiar walls while
memories crept in before I could stop them.
Mom yelling at me for leaving dishes in the sink. Dad reading late at
night in the living room. Ella laughing upstairs.
Simple, normal things. Gone now.
Valen stood near the staircase quietly watching me.
"You seem to dislike silence."
"I dislike empty houses."
"Hm."
Not dismissive. Just thoughtful.
I dropped my bag near the couch before sitting heavily. The house felt
more colder lately. Or maybe I just noticed it more now.
"You returned here despite the discomfort it brings," Valen observed
calmly.
"It's my home."
"You say that uncertainly."
He wasn't wrong.
I rubbed a hand slowly over my face before leaning back against the
couch. For a while neither of us spoke.
"I miss them."
Valen's golden eyes shifted toward me. "Your parents."
"Yeah."
Silence followed briefly.
"Humans have a thing for visiting the dead… you should see them."
"Was that your way of trying to comfort me?" I teased him.
"Do not make it a thing, Rocky."
I chuckled lightly, before letting the sleep take me.
The next morning, I visited the cemetery alone.
Clouds covered the sky overhead while cold wind drifted softly through
rows of gravestones.
I stepped in front of theirs quietly. And suddenly, I didn't know what
to say.
Valen stood several feet away near a tree. Respectfully distant. While
watching silently.
"I almost dies," I muttered eventually. The words sounded pathetic out
loud.
"I think you already know that though."
Wind moved softly through the cemetery. No answer came. Obviously.
"I got my memories back. Met my sister again too," I continued quietly.
"And apparently my life is insane now."
Still silence.
Valen glanced toward the graves briefly.
"Why speak to them as though they remain present"
"They do remain present."
"Biologically inaccurate."
I exhaled sharply through my nose.
"You suck at emotional conversations."
"I am aware."
At least he admitted it.
By the time I returned home later that evening, Callie was waiting in
the kitchen.
Which kinda felt suspicious.
"You disappeared."
"I went out."
"I noticed."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You've been doing that a lot lately."
Valen appeared quietly near the hallway behind her.
"She is preparing for confrontation."
Helpful. Very helpful.
Callie crossed her arms slowly.
"You've been acting weird since the hospital."
I leaned against the counter casually.
"We literally fight demons. Weird stopped meaning anything months ago."
"That's not what I mean."
Her voice softened slightly. And that made this worse.
"You keep staring at empty spaces," she said quietly.
My chest tightened slightly.
"Like you're listening to something."
Across the room, Valen stood silently watching us. Golden eyes
unreadable.
"I'm just tired." I answered.
Callie didn't look convinced.
"You've been distant."
"I almost died, Callie." The words came out sharper than I intended.
Silence followed instantly. Regret hit afterward.
Callie looked away briefly. "…I know."
Damn it.
Valen watched the exchange with faint amusement.
"You regret that response already?"
I ignored him. Mostly because he's right. Again.
Callie finally sighed softly before stepping back toward the door.
"Just… don't shut me and everyone else out, okay?"
Then she left. Leaving me alone in the kitchen.
For several seconds silence filled the room.
"You lied effectively," Valen said calmly, still with the hint of
amusement in his voice.
I frowned. "She didn't need to know."
"Hm."
"What?"
Valen's gaze shifted toward the door Callie disappeared through.
"You humans become lonely very quickly when hiding things. I have seen
it happen."
The statement lingered heavily in the silence afterward.
Because, once again, he was right and despite everything.
It felt true.