There had been little discussion of the phrase, partly due to

her being unsure if he would reciprocate, or simply lacked the

expression on Nuceria. It was still earnest as she massaged his

forearm, feeling the steel cable like muscles contract and

relax.

The hulking berserker of a Primarch seemed to stop completely at

that phrase, his attention now ripped from his show as she could

feel Angron's form express anxiety, something she had not seen

in the behemoth of a man only two times prior in her time

knowing him. Angron seemed to remain silent and motionless like

this for quite some time, she was almost worried if she had

upset him, her instinct to apologize compelled her to attempt to

speak, a sudden shift of Angron's massive physique cut her off.

Alise felt Angron's hands move from her stomach to her hips, his

fingers sinking into her slightly as she felt him move, turning

her around so she could face him, the action much slower than

usual, as if Angron was hesitant with every movement he made,

something that made her nervous and concerned. She saw Angron's

face which was absent of the grin he had when watching Arbites,

his visage was one that she hadn't seen on him, and it worried

her even more.

Angron's expression was one of equal parts fear and desperation,

something Alise never thought she would see on his face. The Red

Angel seemed to look at her for quite some time, as if in his

shattered and butchered mind he was scrambling for the words to

say, and coming up blank. She instinctively went to tell him he

needn't say it if he wasn't ready, She was prepared for this.

What she wasn't prepared for though was for Angron taking her

hand and pulling her up onto his chest slightly, he placed her

right hand behind his tense neck, his right hand went behind

hers, he guided her left hand to his waist as he placed his on

her own in kind.

She didn't know what was going on, nor did she expect Angron to

pull her into this strange embrace until their foreheads were

touching. Angron seemed to tense up at this, but he spoke. "I

can't say I love you, because I can't say I know what love is. I

won't pretend I know what it is, and I won't accept someone

else's image of it." Angron seemed to shudder for just a moment,

as if the Eater of Worlds was trying to catch his breath, it was

then that she both felt and saw droplets fall onto her belly. Angron was

crying, and trying desperately to fight back this display of

emotion. "Don't think I don't like that you love me, I like it a

lot, I need it, need you. So this is what I can give you, this

is a greeting I was taught when I was still a child."

Angron shuddered once again, he couldn't stop his tears now, and

he was trying to speak through them. The behemoth of a man

was slumped, his posture was not that of a warrior, but the man

who for hundreds of years had held within him these emotions,

emotions he had no way of expressing. "It's meant to show trust,

not just any trust, but to trust someone with their life." It

was then that realization hit her, if she had a weapon, all she

had to do was to stab his side, or back of his neck. This wasn't

a greeting of Nucerians, it was the greeting gladiators gave

their comrades, most likely during the few times they ever had

interactions with each other outside combat. "This is the closest

thing to those words I can give you."

His pause made an anxious acid rise in the back of her throat.

Her hands tried to pull away from his skin as if the contact

hurt him, the tense silence coupled with the Primarch's

inability to respond right away giving her an uneasy feeling.

The apology in her mouth dissolved as she faced him, soft fingers

wrapping around one of his digits and squeezing lightly.

Alise felt tears well in her eyes briefly-being prepared for rejection

didn't make the reality sting any less, murmuring as she began

to speak before he took her hand carefully. The motion caused

most of her weight to lean forward, supported against his chest

and shoulder. Her fingertips ran over the scarred, slightly oily

surface of his neck, fingers curving along it to cradle the back

of his head  as her other hand tried consoling him with

soft stroking fingers along his side and hip.

His words made her shake a little, the softness of his voice

made the usual gravely rumble of his speech absent- It was almost

uncharacteristic of him. She blinked at feeling him quiver,

watching his tears spread in darkened patches over her robes.

"Angron..." Alise's voice murmured softly to him as she felt a

lump rise in the back of her throat as her own tears fell.

The embrace was deepened as she leaned fully into him, taking a

slow, deep breath before  exhaling. She nodded

against him briefly. "Hey, breathe w-with me...It's okay..." The

moment seemed paused in time as she looked down to

him, using her shoulder to try and blot what she could reach of

his tears before smiling against his forehead, planting a soft

kiss between his eyes.

"It's equivalent, in a way...I wouldn't have said it if I didn't

mean the exact feelings this action expresses...I trust you, I

want to be beside you. I'm glad to know you." Her arm lightly

hugged his neck as she nuzzled against him deeper. "Let it out,

you don't have to hold it back anymore, you're not alone

anymore."

Angron pulled her up a little more, the titan of a man buried

his face in the woman's chest, sobbing where none but she could

see him at his weakest. These were not tears of happiness, or of

frustration, they were the tears Angron had been unable to shed

for close to seven centuries. Tears of rage, of pain, of sorrow,

regret, and loneliness. These were the tears of a man who had

been broken down and remade into a mockery of living, and

despite that, defied fate itself and through the help of others,

began to live again.

The Red Angel sobbed for close to an hour and thirty minutes,

Alise's gentle coos and soft words coaxed countless years of

pain  to finally bubble to the surface and be released.

Throughout the course of this emotional cascade, Angron

occasionally muttered to himself. Regret over not being able to

save his kin, fear that they thought he had abandoned them,

and sorrow over being unable to connect with her in a manner

others probably could because of what was done to him.

Angron's shuddering and quaking form eventually calmed, but his

embrace around her remained tight, as if he feared she would

slip away like everyone else had. It was then that she realized

that Angron refused to get close to others, for fear that they

would be taken from him, and that although she were the second

person he ever got close to, she obviously meant more to him,

for Alise knew in your heart that Angron choose to cry before

her because he trusted her.

The Lord of the Red Sands pulled away from the serf's shoulder,

looking at her, sniffling slightly. "Please do not leave me, now

that you've seen me at my lowest..."

Alise's arms held as much of him as she could reach, her cheek

resting protectively against the top of his head, a few imprints

of the surface of his cables visible on the skin of her face

after letting him scream and cry out his pain. Her hands stroked

over his neck and shoulders, fingers threading between his

cables to hold him against her body. She tried with all of her

willpower to silently let her own tears fall, weeping partly out

of empathy, and partly out of the overwhelming mix of intese emotions stirring

in the small room.

Her clothes were soaked with tears, sweat and spittle, she

didn't seem to notice or care as he slowly cried until he had no

more tears, the pressure of holding them in no doubt was a release from a life long agony-one she neither knew of nor thought she would ever alleviate with this gesture.

She held his face in her hands, using a sleeve to dry his tears

before resting her forehead against his once more, her own tears

still quietly flowing. "Why would I do such a thing? This -is-

what love is about...Being together at our best and our

worst. You're so...so strong, and have been so for such a long

time." Her fingertips roamed over the back of his head and neck

soothingly, scratching over his skin.

"You keep them all alive in showing me this motion right here. They would be proud to know one of their own survived, and found

some small piece of happiness in this fucked up galaxy..." She

knew the comment was a huge risk, her hands  never ceasing in

their calming strokes an scratches as she listened to him

breathe, trying to help the Primarch collect himself.

Angron seemed to not know how to respond to Alise speaking of

his kin, but another voice spoke up, enough to cause she and

Angron to look at the doorway to see Phract having stopped

partway walking by. "It is by living, that you honor the dead.

As I am sure they would have, had you died and they lived."

Sagitarr Phract continued down the hallway, the sound of several

doors echoing shut behind him as he left Alise and Angron once again

alone in their area of the Conqueror.

Angron looked back at her, bringing his forehead to hers and

nuzzling slightly. "I shall live for you, as I would die for

you, from now until I breathe no more." Angron pulled his head

back, smiling more sweetly then she had ever seen the Father of

the World Eaters smile. Alise felt Angron's hands go over to

her belly, cradling the swollen orb that bore their two

growing children. "I...Love you."