#this is kinda a culmination of me and zur's conversations about these two

[tallbluelady]

I'd hate to be a burden..." || "It's alright, (Name). I don't mind taking care of you"

Featuring @azure-dragonsinger's ancient Daedalus!

Minthe found Daedalus fiddling with one of the metallic owls - a skatene - when she came home. This is home now, isn't it?

"Oh, Minthe, what day is it?" he asked, perky. So no hopping today then.

"It's Wet Beast Windsday, at least according to Ares. She specifically claimed today."

Daedalus wrapped her in a long limbed hug and rubbed against her cheek with his.

Minthe giggled. "Darling, I can feel your beard starting to grow again."

"I thought you liked my stubble." He rubbed his chin with an eyebrow raised.

"I do! It's very fuzzy." Minthe rubbed at the short hairs along his jaw. "Thank you for letting me play with it. Hades would never let me do this when we were together."

"He's odd like that, isn't he?" Daedalus gave a quick smooch to her palm. "He's very passionate, which we both like, but he..."

Minthe watched as his eyes blurred in and out of focus. She could see the reflections on his eyes change, no longer matching the light in the room.

Grateful she was tall herself, Minthe laid him onto the couch. The trick to not melting into a puddle of nerves was to keep active during stressful situations like this. She gave him a stress ball to grip and brought out the essential oils and his mask. She knew he had to ride out these episodes before he came back, but it was easier for him to come back if he had some sensory input to guide him.

They had worked out a system that would give each space he was in its own smell. His workshop was a metallic, alkaline scent, and the Alexander a campfire like smell. Restaurants had a spicy capsaicin smell, the city itself was cinnamon. The Words of Helmarut a woodsy decaying smell, the Library a vanilla, and the Convocation building was orange peel. Home was, almost to Minthe's embarrassment, spearmint. 

 She brought out the spearmint vial and sat next to him. The problem with her trick was that sometimes there wasn't enough to do while he had his episodes, and she would worry as he twitched. Luckily, this one seemed to be fading as Daedalus let out a groan. Minthe uncorked the vial and waved it under his nose. It twitched at the strong smell, then he took a deep whiff.

"Home. I'm home," he said, eyes still closed.

"I'm home with you," Minthe said.

"It's a much better home with you." Daedalus still didn't open his eyes, but he took her hand with the one that wasn't squeezing his stress ball.

He lay there for a few minutes, counting and squeezing the ball in his fist. Minthe got them both a glass of water but otherwise remained by his side.

"What day is it?" she asked when he stopped squeezing the ball.

"It's Wet Beast Windsday." He slowly sat up, eyes still closed. "Ares chose the name."

"That's exactly it. And what was yesterday?"

"Woo Woo Watersday. We were making puppies howl." Daedalus opened his eyes, which had taken on a golden glow. He placed the mask on his face to reduce the glare.

"Welcome back." Minthe ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him.

Daedalus pulled her close again, this time more like he was trying to hold onto reality than be affectionate. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course, darling."

And so he told her. The terrible fate of the Star - how after so many of their people died, and still more sacrificed themselves, they would all be shattered, souls torn asunder. And that was the best possible outcome.

He tilted his head, the motion owl-like with his yellow eyes behind his mask. "Did I tell you all this before?"

Minthe felt the tears well up in her eyes as she nodded. "Last week, twice. It's... it's why I need to go on a trip. You're doing so well, but I think we can get you even better if we get outside help."

"Did you tell me about that trip already?"

She shook her head. "No. I... I couldn't really bear to tell you multiple times if you forgot."

He held her close again.

"I hate to be a burden," he whispered bitterly.

"No, no, Daedalus, I chose this." Minthe shushed him as he gave a soundless sob. "It turns out that having someone to be responsible for is actually a nice thing. Who knew?"

"Ha. Well, unlike Icarus, I'd still rather not cause my loved ones pain."

She chuckled at that. "That's the spirit. Do you want any water?"

They both drank their glasses and Minthe watched as the glow faded from his eyes and he took off his mask. Now would be as good of a time as any to try and make her memory stone with him.

"So I went to Mnemosyne today." She dug in her bag and pulled out the two memory stones, placing one in his hand. "We made a couple of memory stones. This one I made for you."

Daedalus traced the oddly shaped stone with his thumb. "What memories does it have?"

"It's stuff like the first curry I made for you. And the rain on our picnic. More sensory things than actual events."

"Does it have how your hair feels? Or your laugh? Or when you..." He scowled and gestured vaguely, likely having forgot the word.

She winked. "Yes. I made him leave the room when I put that particular memory in."

He laughed his strange, echo-y, haunting, sweet laugh. "Oh, I'll be visiting that memory all the time then."

"We can make another memory tonight if you're up to it," she said. "But before that, I want to imbue this one with memories with you."

"Oh?" he perked up at that.

"Em-hm. I... I want to make sure that my future incarnations know what it's like to be happy. That if they ever find out about me, they'll know that the part of them that enjoys life has always been the same. And to follow that, not aught else."

"They'll know." Daedalus smiled and pulled her close. "But I think it's a beautiful thing you're doing for them."

She rested her head on his shoulder, warmth brimming from her heart into her throat. "This one. Right now. Loving someone. That's what I want them to know."

He kissed the top of her head, and they imbued the thoughts, feelings, and love into the stone. The future seemed a lot less daunting afterward.

Thanks for the prompt!