Harder Than it Looks
Right then, next in the Shoujo-ai chain. Hope that everyone enjoys, as usual.
By the way, this is probably the fic that I've written for AQ that has the most angst, which should show up in the next chapter.
Disclaimer – I own Rayne, Lizzie, Kay, and everyone else belongs to their rightful owners.
So Lizzie and Rayne had been right. Well, mostly right. Kay Anasi's aging was fast due to the magical properties of how she was conceived in the first place. Within a few days of her birth, she had gone from a newborn, to nearly Sage and Gale's age.
Nearly.
Her parents had been about 2 years off of their initial guess. Instead of her being 6 by the time that she had stopped her rapid growth, she was 4. Same went with Alex. Somehow though, they ended up being far smarter and advanced than their age, almost as if the Creator was compensating for that little fact.
And so, throughout their childhood, that's how it was deemed to be. The four of them grew up together, age difference's be damned. Alex and Kay thought, talked, walked, and acted like Sage and Gale did, so the two didn't care.
As they got older, it was the same. They were still all the best of friends. Except Alex and Sage got closer, to the point wear they were in a relationship with each other, and quite content with it too. Gale and Kay became closer also; just not in the way that their two other best friends did. It didn't really matter to them; as said before, Alex and Kay were Sage and Gale's age mentally, so their physical age didn't matter.
It was when Gale was 18 that ages finally came into play.
"So you really did that?" 16 year old Kay Anasi laughed.
"Yep." Sage Despair-Nerra grinned. "You should have seen the look on her face! You'd think I'd had bitten her."
"Well she kind of deserves it. Putting down Mrs. Despair like that, when she practically saved us all back in her Guardian days."
"So true my young friend." Sage agreed, as she reached out and ruffled Kay's hair. Time had lengthened and changed it, so the bright red colour had became a light orange, and spread out to the rest of her hair, a shade lighter than Lizzie's own.
"Hey quit it!" Kay scowled, swatting Sage's hand away. "Takes me forever to get it still like this, don't mess it up now..."
"Sorry." Sage rolled her eyes. "Speaking of taking forever, where's Gale?"
Kay Anasi shrugged. "I thought she'd be here by now. She runs pretty fast, and it isn't too far from town from here, so..."
Sage frowned, and drummed her fingers on the table they were both sitting at in the Despair kitchen. "You're right. You don't think anything happened to her, do y-"
Sage didn't finish her sentence, because at that moment, the back door to the Despair residence slammed open, and Gale Despair, along with Alex Hitai, walked in.
"Hi everyone." Gale greeted, as she dropped the courier bag she was carrying onto the floor, then set a box full of assorted items on the table and sat down next to Kay. Alex skipped her hello completely, opting to jump into Sage's lap instead, and bury her face into the older girl's neck.
"Hi Alex, it's nice of you to ask me how I'm doing, and to know that you care so much." Kay snorted. Alex shot Kay a glare out of the corner of her eye. The redheaded Anasi girl waited until Alex had finally finished snuggling into Sage, before speaking.
"Did you just give me a look? Because if it was, nice try. But everyone knows that nobody can beat one of my glares." Kay smirked. She had inherited Lizzie's looks and sweet demeanour, but if she became angry or teasing, she was Rayne all over again, all sarcastic comments, and the icy calm gaze that could make the toughest soldier back down.
"You wish." Alex rolled her eyes.
Kay ignored her. "So, what took you two so long?"
"Well as you can see..." Gale tapped on the edge of the box that she had been carrying. "We had to get some stuff for the party tonight."
"You know, I still can't believe that Aunt Maria and Aunt Safiria decided to hold a party for their win over your history teacher." Sage said, making air quotes around the word 'win' with one hand, while the other kept Alex in her lap.
"Well, you know my mothers. They love a good get together." Gale rolled her eyes, as she stood up, and grasped the box. Without a word between them, Kay stood herself, and grabbed the other end, lifting it and walking into the large living room. Setting it down, Gale began to pull things out of the box and set them onto the ground so she could have easier accesses to them. Kay grabbed a rolled up streamer, long enough so it actually held some weight.
She walked over a few paces from where she was, so she was parallel with the entrance she had just gone through, along with the table where Sage and Alex were still seated, making no effort to get up. Without looking, Kay threw the roll behind her, and smirked, when she heard a soft thump, and a surprised "Ah!"
Sage appeared in front of her not a moment later, rubbing where the roll must have hit her. "Thanks for that Kira." She scowled, as she herself walked over to the box, and began to set things up.
"Ooh, full first name. I'm so scared." Kay mocked. She hunched over, and pretended to cower away from Sage.
"Oh I'll show you who should be scared!" Sage roared, as she dropped the things she was holding, and chased after a grinning Kay.
Sage and Alex would have stopped Sage, if they weren't so busy laughing.
"Glad you could make it!" Maria Despair smiled silkily, as she opened the door and ushered another guest in.
After Sage had stopped chasing Kay, they had managed to put up all the decorations properly, and it wasn't before long that the party had commenced. The gathering was now in full swing, and, thanks to the arrival of the guest that Maria had just let in, all the people invited were there.
Maria made her way away from the door over to Gale, who was sitting with Kay, her parents, Alex and her parents, and Safiria.
"So I heard about your teacher Gale." Rayne said. Time had done nothing to her, except make her a better warrior. While Maria had retired, Rayne had stayed on. Until they could find a suitable successor for her position as the Head Knight, the Kingdom of Rendd wouldn't let her go.
"And I heard about what Maria did to make it better. Good show, both of you." Lizzie complimented, smiling at Gale and giving her an affectionate hug. Same as it had for Rayne, time had done nothing to Lizzie, except make her sweeter. Rayne however, could say that Lizzie had become a number of other things that aren't suitable for this rating, in the best way of course.
"Thanks." Mother and daughter smiled simultaneously. Safiria hugged them both. "That's why I adore these two." She said, gazing affectionately at her family.
Maria glanced at her portal-com. "I think that this is a good enough time for the speech." She mumbled to Safiria. Safiria nodded, and brought a pale hand to her mouth, and whistled, catching everyone's attention.
The sea foam haired woman cleared her throat, and stood up. "As most of you know, something happened to our family a few weeks ago. Something that happened at Gale's very school."
All of the people attending the party had known that, but few knew the exact details.
"It seems that Gale's grades were dropping. So when I went to see her, she thought that Gale was being abused my 'husband'." She smirked, air quoting around the last word, eliciting a chuckle from her crowd. "So when I told her about Safiria and I, she freaked out. Thought I had some sort of disease. But of course, Iquickly fixed that, with the help of my friend Blaze."
She Grinned at Blaze from across the room. "I've learned that Gale's teacher is sorry for her actions, and she DEFINATELY doesn't think that way about Safiria and I anymore, and all others like us."
Everyone cheered and clapped, and those with glasses raised them up in a toast.
After that, the party went on. Kay conversed, laughed, and mingled with everyone. But as the night went by, she realized that she couldn't find the one person who she really wanted to talk to the most.
The redhead searched all around the estate for her older best friend, until she finally found her.
"There you are!" Kay exclaimed, running over to Gale. The elder girl had been standing on the estate's balcony. The money that Maria had saved over her years of Guardianship, and the pay that had been given to her at her retirement had allowed them to have such things as this. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"Sorry." Gale grinned. "Just needed to get some air."
The two females stood quietly, looking up at the night sky, and the dark landscape before them. "Nice night, isn't it?" Gale suddenly asked.
"Yup." Kay responded. "Y'know, I didn't tell you before, but I think what you and your mom did was really brave. Other people wouldn't even dare to think about trying to do that."
Gale suddenly burst into laughter. "You know what's the funniest thing about that?"
"What?"
"Mrs. Hastel has suddenly taken quite an interest in mom –Maria, not Safiria-, because whenever she hears me, or anyone else mention her, she seems to perk up quite a lot."
"Oh my God!" Kay exclaimed, and the two burst into a peal of laughter, before falling back into a comfortable silence.
"Hey, Gale?"
"Yeah?"
"Before...what took you so long to get back?" Kay turned to face the grey-eyed woman. "I know you can be slow-" Here, she grinned playfully as Gale rolled her eyes at the comment, "-but even you don't take that long to get from town to here. What happened?"
"Well..." A smile slowly spread across Gale's face. "I was going to tell you later, but now would be alright.
The older girl reached into her pocket, and pulled out an envelope. Kay tilted her head and stared quizzically at it. "What's that?" She asked. Gale simply continued to smile. "Well why don't you open it and find out?"
The younger girl shrugged. Upon opening it, she realized that there was a sheet of paper inside. Pulling it out, she held it up to the silvery light, and scanned through out it's contents. As she read, her eyes grew wider and wider, until she reached the bottom, and jumped onto Gale, laughing.
"You got accepted to be a Guardian?" She asked. "No Kay, I stole that off of some other random person who happened to have the same name as me." Her companion responded teasingly.
"I'm so proud of you!" Kay squealed, hugging Gale tightly. Her brow furrowed for a moment, and she pulled back. "But...when did you take the exam?"
"Let's just say, that I had a lot of time on my hands when I didn't go to school."
Kay grinned, and hugged Gale again. "I know that you're the one who's a Guardian, but I'm just so excited for you!"
"I know." Gale responded. "I'm excited myself. It's just so surreal..."
Gale released her, but kept a friendly, one arm embrace around Kay. "You know,"
"I've always wanted to be a Guardian, ever since I was a little girl." Kay and Gale finished in unison. Gale looked down at her friend. "Am I that predictable?"
"Nah." Kay shook her head. "I just know you too well."
"True." Gale had to agree. "But did I ever tell you why?"
Kay opened her mouth, ready to answer, but paused. "No, actually." She looked surprised; Gale told her everything, they were best friends after all. But why withhold this from her?
"Well..." Gale's eyes moved from Kay, to the darkened gardens below them. "I've always looked up to my parents for taking me in. Especially Maria. Because she was a Guardian. Guardians are some of the most respected people around. They protect our country and city, they stand for what is right, and always, ALWAYS help those in need."
"I want to be able to do that, Kay. I want to be respected as a Guardian of Battleon and Lore, and help those in need. And, I feel as if I have some sort of obligation to Maria, Safiria, and the rest of the Guardians to become one, and make them proud of me." Gale chuckled. "I know my parents will always be proud of me, and I shouldn't feel any duty of this sort; but think about it. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't even be here!"
The force of that sentence surprised Kay. She hadn't ever thought of what would things have been like, if Maria and Serras had never found Gale. Gale herself, however, had apparently given it a lot of thought.
"I'd probably be dead, no one even knowing that I was alive in the first place. And even if I had survived, I would have died soon enough, with no food, shelter, water, or anyone to take care of me. "
"So that's why." Gale had closed her eyes at that point. "I want to repay them back. And maybe, one day..."
"I can be the person who people respect, for their deeds. I can be the person who little kids want to be just like when they're older. I can be the person, who does exactly what Maria and the Guardians have done for me, to some other person. Do you understand?"
Kay hadn't spoken during the last part of Gale's soliloquy, as she was taking in how serious the woman was. She nodded. "I understand."
"I knew you would, Kay." Gale's eyes opened. Releasing Kay, Gale smiled down at her.
Kay remained silent. It was if she was seeing Gale in a new light. Why had she not noticed how thoughtful Gale was about the subject before and why had she not noticed how focused Gale was on becoming a Guardian? Those questions were answered now, but so many others arose.
Why had Kay not realized how nice Gale looked in the moonlight before? Why had she never realized how that smile could make her feel as if she was the most important person in all of Lore? Why did her breathing suddenly hitch when she saw the passion in Gale's eyes? Why did Gale's lips suddenly look so...inviting?
And most importantly...
Why the hell was Kay feeling this way?
"Kay?" Kay broke out of her thoughts, to Gale snapping her fingers in Kay's face.
"Sorry." She apologized. "Just spaced out, and got lost in my thoughts, you know?" Lost in her thoughts indeed.
"S'okay." Gale said. She idly looked at the portal-com on her wrist, and did a double take when she saw the time. "We've been out here that long? Crap, we better get back inside."
Suddenly, a cool hand slipped itself into Kay's, and began to tug her indoors. Kay was lucky that it was dark; she could feel the heat of a heavy blush on her cheeks.
Anasi Residence – Later on that night...
Kay tossed and turned in her bed. She had gotten back from the Despair's a while ago, but doing ANYTHING had been a challenge after her moment with Gale. The young Anasi girl sat up. She swung her legs off the bed, and padded over to her bedroom window, staring at that same moon she had been staring at before with her best friend.
"Best friend." Kay murmured. She and Gale were always best friends, and Kay was always happy and proud of the fact, but Kay could feel a change now. For some reason, Kay wanted more of Gale, to be more to Gale. She wasn't sure what that more was.
Kay thought hard about this. Why the hell would she want something more? They were best friends, there was no higher relationship than that!
"Wait a second." Kay said, out loud. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and her face took on a thoughtful look, that was akin to Rayne's.
A different type of relationship...she suddenly knew she wanted something like that with Gale. A family relationship maybe... did she want to be Gale's sister? That probably wasn't it, because, she and Gale were that close anyways, so not that type of family relationship...
Mother-daughter? Outwardly, Kay grimaced, and shook her head. That would be kind of weird...so that was out too.
"What other kind of relationship is there?" Kay groaned, slapping her palm against her head. "Think Kay, think!" She chided herself. There had to be a different type of relationship. She wanted to be something more than a friend to Gale, but she wanted to be less than family. Wasn't there anything in the middle?
It hit her then.
"Oh no..." She moaned. Why hadn't she realized it before?
"I'm falling for my best friend." Kay finally stepped away from the window, and flopped onto her bed. "What am I supposed to do now?"
Somewhere, deep in her subconscious, Kay knew that this was happening. She had just kept the feelings buried so deep, that she herself didn't even know they were there. But now they had come to the surface.
Kay gritted her teeth, and buried her face in the pillow. She couldn't just very well confess to Gale. She...she'd have to keep it a secret. But even though Kay had never had to deal with feelings like this before, she knew how hard it would be. How tough she'd have to be to keep it all in. Because she knew...she knew that Gale would never reciprocate her feelings. And if Kay confessed, their friendship might be ruined forever. Even if it wasn't, they could never have the same level of intimacy that they had now, without some awkwardness or tension between them. And they couldn't be together. Gale was legally an adult. She could get in trouble for dating Kay, no matter how smart or mature the redhead was.
'Great, it's starting.' Kay thought, as she felt a sudden wave of sadness wash over her.
'So this is how it feels, huh?' Kay sighed. Grabbing a pillow she buried her face into it, idly imagining Gale. Before she fell asleep, Kay mumbled sadly,
"Why does this have to be so much harder than it looks?"
End of first chapter. This is only going to be 2 chapters, so I'll come up with the second one as soon as I can. By the way, Xenolord, I've suddenly come up with a plot bunny for a one-shot based on 'As time goes by'.