My, You've Grown ((Tacitus Kapsetakis)) [PG-13: L, V]

It had been some time since Elijah had returned to the third cohort barracks.  Though some time was probably an understatement.  Probably since the first time Lúth had vanished...Gods that had to have been years.  The boy tried to shake that from his head, though, since that just brought up more pain.  The strange thing was the sort of...trade.  The first time Lúth had vanished, the young Tac had appeared, and left when Elijah's sister had returned.  But Lúth was gone again...and the small boy knew it was for good this time.  He missed his sister, and coping was so difficult.  The two had always had such a strange, intense relationship, but they worked.  And now that was all over.  It was hardest when the son of Discordia was alone...being with Jack or River or anyone else was healing and helpful.  Otherwise, the boy suffered in silence.  But the trade had happened again...his sister was gone, and Tac was back.  Things was much different now with the child, things that scared Elijah.  The two had sent some letters for a time, where Tac had detailed what had happened since he left camp.  And though the Praetor was determined to stay calm and neutral for Tac, he was a bit afraid of how he might find the legacy of Pluto.

As much as Elijah had actually sort of wished he could take Tac back to his bedroom floor, he knew he couldn't.  Three months was one thing, especially because that was before he and Jack had properly gotten together and spent most nights together.  But now Jack was over at the Principia nearly every night, and Tac was too old to sleep on Elijah's bedroom floor anyway.  The Praetor had put the boy into third, as he felt it was where Tac would fit best.  He had that general strange, kookiness that tended to be in third.  Besides, it was quieter in the barracks these days...a good transition place.  Besides, third wasn't too bad.  Elijah had enjoyed it there well enough when he was there.  He found some very similar souls in his fellow legionnaires there.  Hopefully that was enough for Tac, too.

So Elijah was heading over to the third cohort barracks, hoping he would be able to catch Tac there.  Otherwise, he figured he'd look all over.  Despite everything, he really wanted to see the legacy of Pluto and give him a big hug.  He wasn't the small boy who had been Elijah's "roommate" for three months, but the Praetor desperately hoped he still had a part in Tac's life.  Although he definitely wasn't sure what that part could be, he wanted to be there for the boy...in whatever way he needed.  There had to be something there...or at least, that was what the son of Discordia desperately hoped for.  There had been the letter exchange, so at some point, Tac had wanted Elijah around...hopefully that held through to now.  The most important part, Elijah felt, was that the boy was back.  He'd be safe here...and hopefully be able to find his own place.

At this point, Elijah never knocked on barrack doors.  If anyone got upset about it, the boy would pull rank...no matter how much he hated doing that.  But no one had ever said anything about it, so he figured it wasn't an issue anyway.  It wasn't like there were any differences between him and a regular legionnaire at this point, and others just went in and out of their own barracks and friend's barracks anyway.  Some people were afraid of the boy, in all fairness with good reason, but he was a good leader and, mostly, a good person.  Well...enough so.  At this point, Elijah really only lashed out when provoked.  For a moment, the boy just stood outside the barrack, his hand resting on the wooden door.  As much as he wanted to go in and see Tac, the boy wasn't sure what he'd find.  But he had to go in.  He had to do this.  Gods, why were his emotions all mixed up all of a sudden?  Replacing his pensive frown with a smile, Elijah pushed open the door.

Tac had certainly grown up over the years, but he was obviously still the young child Elijah remembered.  "Tac!" Elijah exclaimed, striding over to the boy and hugging him tight without thinking.  "Gods...look at you!  I'm so glad you're back!" the boy felt something squirming in the pit of his stomach.  There was definitely something new about the boy, something that scared the Praetor.  But he kept the smile on his face and made sure to push through.  He couldn't let all his emotions out, not in this situation.  "How is it being back?  Are you adjusting okay?" Elijah didn't mean to get all protective...but a part of him still only saw Tac as the young child he first knew.  This was the sort of thing that would take some adjusting to as well.