Guardian: Fujin and Child Reader (Mortal Kombat)

Chapter Sixty-One: Calm

Leaves crunch under your feet and Augustus' as you both walk into the woods. "There were never this many trees in Rome," he murmurs, looking up to see how tall the trees are. "Not tall like these. Not in the city, at least."
"What was Rome like in your time?" You ask, curious.

"Well, it was very busy, much like the cities now, I assume. People walking around, shops, gladiator fights, gossip. I didn't see that much change in modern Rome. Except for those...strange chariots."
It takes you a minute to realize Augustus means cars. The image of a car must have blown his mind.
****
A few weeks pass with not much happening.
The three Romans have improved more on their English, able to hold conversations better without the help of a translator.
Augustus has also gotten into painting, saying it helps him when his mood is low.

Bi-Han, Hanzo, Kuai, and Liu tend to often entertain you, acting like the older brothers you never had.
But even with all of them around, you still are intimidated with the storm raging outside the temple.

You end up going to Augustus' room, wondering how he is taking the storm as well.
Both you and him flinch at the sound of lightning cracking across the sky.
"Terrified of lightning as well?" He asks in almost perfect English.
"Mhm."

He invites you to sit on his bed next to him. You do so.
"Let me teach you something my mother said to me," he begins, smiling a little bit. "Count the seconds between each strike of lightning, then you will know the storm is traveling away. Like this; one, two, three..."

You both hear more lightning strikes, but it doesn't scare you as much. "You try," he encourages.
"One, two, three, four, five," Another strike, now further away.
"See? The storm is leaving."

"Mhm," you smile, already feeling better.
A somewhat colorful canvas catches your attention. Augustus has gotten a lot better at painting. This one is of a person, but not Antony or Julius.
He still looks bulky, but his expression is softer. Same tanned skin as Antony, and dark hair. His eyes are dark brown and kind, like his gaze holds love for the painter.

"Who is that?" You ask, pointing to said painting.
"My most loyal commander, Marcus Agrippa," he says softly, getting up and walking to the portrait. The paint has long since dried, like Augustus finished it weeks ago. "He was my friend, more loyal to me than any other man in my army. He did the fighting, while I commanded."

"Was he nice?"
"He was," he sighs, touching the painting with pale fingers. "Agrippa convinced me to go back to Rome. Take my rightful place." He looks at the painting, then looks back at you with a sad smile.
"Painting him from memory is harder than it looks. I miss him." He walks back to you and sits down again.
"He was very dear to me..."
You can't help but look back at the image, wondering who Agrippa was personally to Augustus.
"I loved him..." Augustus whispers, almost too quietly for you to hear.
****
While you help Fujin make dinner, Augustus and Antony get some fresh air outside.
"The weather has gotten warmer," Antony notes, looking up at the stars.
"Aye," Augustus agrees quietly.

"I never realized it could be this peaceful. Reminds me of nights in Alexandria. I would go around in the shops, buying whatever caught my eye. I could...buy you things..silk, jewels, satin, anything. If you want," Antony coughs, clearly nervous.
"Are you implying you'd take me to Alexandria for a romantic time?" Augustus asks with a knowing smile.

"N-nooo..." Antony stammers. "Not unless you...hate silks, satin, and jewelry?"
Augustus laughs, leaning against the railing.
"Perhaps we can," he whispers, but Antony notices his tone is a little sad.
"We don't have to," Antony says.
"No, no. We can."
They can smell vegetable soup beginning to come from the kitchen.

"We should eat," Augustus smiles.
"Of course," Antony says slowly, wondering why Augustus wanted to change the subject.

Soon after dinner, just about everyone is asleep, but Augustus is wide awake. He gets up and looks out the window at the sky again. "Can either of you see me up there?" He asks quietly. "Julia, Agrippa..."
Fujin and Raiden don't know much about Augustus' religion, so he murmurs a simple prayer to Jupiter in Latin, mainly asking to keep you and everyone else safe and happy.