Author: DragoonKain07

Disclaimer: I don't own any Final Fantasy or the characters within. They are properties of Square Enix. But please enjoy my fanfiction despite me not owning the characters :).

Chapter One: Envelopes Abound!

"No really, I'm okay. I promise!"

Rydia was starting to grow frustrated. Ever since enrolling Cuore in Mist's grade school, she had tried to make friends with some of the other moms with children around Cuore's age. However, when she had envisioned conversation with her new friends at Mist's cafe, she hadn't expected this...

"Are you sure? My brother is super-nice, and it would be good for Cuore and you to not have all the parenting stress thrown on your shoulders, especially with you having responsibilities of the village's High Summoner as well!"

"I don't mind it; Cuore's a lot to handle, but I enjoy spending time with her! Speaking of which, I promised her I'd be home soon; I'll see you next week!"

"Okay...just promise me you'll think about it, okay?"

Rydia gave a curt nod to escape the situation and hurried out of the cafe. She sighed as she walked home; she had made friends with the moms specifically to avoid being hit on! If she couldn't escape it around them, she didn't know what she could do. It hadn't been too horrible when Mist was in the process of being rebuilt, but now that the town had been rebuilt and in the process of repopulation, she was dealing with the unwanted attention from guys more and more often. Plus, the villagers, many of whom were residents of Mist before the war, wanted their High Summoner to find a spouse now that the war was over, so that the Summoner line would continue. They were stressing her out much more than Cuore ever could. Speaking of which...

"You're late." Rydia had just arrived home to see Cuore standing just outside the front door, arms crossed. Cuore gave her a glare.

"What do you mean? I said I'd be home at 6:30..."

"It's 6:32." Cuore continued to glare.

"Cuore..." Rydia dropped her shoulders, knowing Cuore would hold her ground. "Alright, you're right, and I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you by adding 2 minutes to your bedtime tonight?"

"...maybe." Cuore held out two envelopes to Rydia. "We got mail today, and one is from Eblan; do you think he is coming to visit?"

Rydia pulled the envelopes from Cuore's hand apprehensively. She didn't want to get Cuore's hopes up prematurely. "I don't know Cuore; let me read the letter first, okay? I'll let you know tomorrow what's going on. But first, I need to make you dinner."

"Fine." Cuore stormed off back into the house, leaving Rydia dreading how the rest of the night would be. And all over two minutes...

Cuore snuck down the stairs quietly. She had played mad the whole night in order to try to distract her mom, and she was hoping to be able to sneak in and finally find out where her mom stored the letters she got from him. Sneaking just like him. She smirked as she pushed the ground floor door open ever so slightly, and she began to peer through the door crack.

In their dining room, she saw her mom laying her head upon their table. She began to worry that she had tired her mom out; if that happened, the whole day of planning would have been for nothing. But a quick rustle from Rydia brought Cuore back to concentration mode, as she saw her pick up the two letters from the table and start shuffling them between her hands, deciding between the two of them. She finally set aside the one from Cuore's school - Cuore cheered a silent cheer - and picked up the letter from Eblan, cutting it open with their decorative letter opener. Cuore loved that knife; Edge had given them it a few years back when Rydia had expressed interest in it, and it was one of the few things they had that reminded Cuore of him.

Her attention shifted back to her mom as she began to read the note. Cuore saw her face shift from one of exhaustion to a tired smile as she read the letter. She even laughed a few times - something Cuore hadn't seen her mom do in a long time. But then it had almost been two months since he had visited, with no contact outside this letter since, and Cuore noticed her mom would always grow more tired when he left for long periods of time. She started to wonder why...but then she saw her mom place the letter back in the envelope and stand up. Cuore snapped into focus; this was the moment she had been waiting for! Cuore's excitement quickly faded, though, as she realized her mom was moving outside the range of view of the door crack. She hadn't anticipated this dilemma, but she tried to accomodate to it, pushing the door further and further open. Suddenly, the door gave way, and she fell forward flat on her face. Lifting her head, she saw her mom's boots immediately in front of her.

"Yes, Cuore?" Cuore looked up to see her mom standing over her, waiting patiently with a bemused look on her face. The letter was still in her hands, much to Cuore's dismay.

"I was...umm..." Cuore was getting nervous; she had gotten in trouble at school many times, but she had never done anything bad at home, and she was having a hard time meeting her mother's eyes. "...never mind. I'm sorry! Please don't be mad at me! I'll go right to bed!" Cuore immediately turned around and ran up the stairs.

"Cuo-" Rydia was left gazing up the stairs, looking defeated.

Cuore walked into the kitchen the next morning with a purpose. She had outwaited Rydia's attempts to wake her up on a Sunday morning in order to wake to an empty house, as she was determined to make up the previous night to her mom. While she still didn't know where his letters were, she remembered how the outside of the envelope had looked. She gathered some paper and an envelope to the table and began to write.

"Sir!"

Edge did not need to turn to recognize the man's voice and step. "Not now, Tsukinowa, I'm late for a meeting organizing next week's memorial."

"I know, sir, but you asked me to inform you immediately of any letters from Mist-" His speech was immediately cut off by Edge turning suddenly and grabbing the letters from his hands.

"Tell the board they can make decisions without me."

"As you wish, sir!" Tsukinowa strode off down the hallway, as Edge headed back towards his bedroom. He sifted through the letters, until he came to the one from Mist. He paused in his tracks as he saw the writing on the envelope: on the top left it merely said "Cuore, Mist" and in the center, "Edge, Eblan" in a child's handwriting. He thought for a moment in the hallway, then decided to continue towards his bedroom. He didn't know why Cuore would be writing him, but he cared as much for her as he did for her mom, so he decided he would treat her letters the same.

Finally reaching his bedroom, he sat down at his desk, propped up his legs on his desk, and tore open the side of the envelope, making sure to leave Cuore's handwriting intact on the front. He began to read:

Hey, this is Cuore.

He smiled. Did she think he wouldn't notice the return address on the envelope?

Thank you for the letter. I don't know what's in it, but Mom smiled from it. Please come visit. It's been a long time, and Mom's getting sad. It's okay if you don't like hanging out with me and don't want to be my Dad, but please make Mom smile more.

Cuore

Edge's smile had disappeared, and he felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Is that really what Cuore thought of the situation? And what did she mean about Rydia? She had seemed fine when he had visited about six weeks prior. He didn't know what he could do, but...he certainly couldn't ignore the letter. He stood up sharply and ran to the castle's training room, slipping in silently on one of the archery lessons Izayoi gave to the Eblan youth. She looked up and they exchanged glances.

"Okay guys, let's take a short break. We'll meet back here in five minutes, okay?" The kids broke off into groups, with some sitting down to talk and others continuing to practice their aim. Izayoi walked over to Edge, who gestured towards the kids.

"They're getting accurate; you're doing a really good job Izayoi. Maybe one day they'll be strong enough to form an archery unit in our military."

"Yeah. Eblan's finally getting back on track; it'll good to see her thriving like she was before the Great War." She paused for a second in thought, then continued. "But I'm sure you didn't come here just to check up on the kids."

Edge gave her a disconcerting frown. "I need to leave immediately. As usual, I'm leaving you in charge of the rebuilding effort while I'm gone. If anything happens, you know the drill."

She studied him. "Rydia?"

"...sort of. But I don't really know. I'll get back to you when I return. I'll be back soon, definitely in time for the memorial next weekend. Can you deal with Seneschal and the memorial board for me?"

"Of course. Do whatever you need to do." Edge turned to leave. "Oh, and Edge?" He stopped in the doorway. "If you want her, let her know. Just saying. I know it's been twenty years, but...everything has a window, no matter how long." He bowed his head for a few seconds, then took off down the hallway. Izayoi shook her head and turned back towards the young teenagers.

"Alright, break's over! Let's get back to business!"

Author's Note: I'm at writer's block with my other story, though I'm still working on it. In the meantime, I wanted to work on a little fluff story with Edge/Rydia. Hopefully you guys like it, and feel free to R&R if you'd like! :)

~ DK