Just a short one shot for an idea that bothered me. Enjoy~
Twenty years.
Twenty years since Machina actually visited a chocobo stable, much less one right outside of Akademeia. The smells of the stable was a bit much for him, but it vaguely reminded him of the times he visited the chocobo ranch several years back. Of course, he had been meaning to for a long while, but without him even realizing it, years had already gone by. He had helped with rebuilding Rubrum from the ground up, and became a leader he never thought he would be.
Then again, he had a reason why.
Soon after the end of Tempus Finis, Machina and Rem discovered their classroom to be in shambles, but everyone... everyone was alive. They all managed to survive their final battle, badly injured but surely alive.
All... except one.
Ace was the only one that never woke up. Machina remembered that day as if it was yesterday. Ace was resting his head on Deuce's shoulder, muttering about taking a short nap. Everyone believed him for that moment, letting him rest while Machina and Rem treated any injuries they could without the help of magic. No one realized that Ace's chest stopped moving a long time ago.
If only Machina had noticed, maybe... maybe-
"Ah, are you here to take a look at the chocobos?" asked a voice. Machina snapped himself out of his dark thoughts and looked up to see the stable owner waving at him. He didn't recall the stable owner's name, so he avoided having to say it.
"Hey," he greeted as he approached the stable owner, "I heard that today was an open day for anyone to see the chocobos."
The stable owner laughed, "Ahaha, yeah, it is." He pointed to the entrance to the barn not too far off. "Just go on ahead. Not many are coming around these days, but my nephew should be in there. If you have any questions, just feel free to ask him anything."
Machina thanked the stable owner and made his way to the barn, feeling a little reluctant to actually enter a barn. The every time he came to a chocobo stable twenty years ago, there was always a blonde haired boy humming a song.
Ace.
Machina could remember how Ace's voice would carry in the air and the chocobos would be quiet, as if listening to him. He closed his eyes as he tried to remember the song that he gradually picked up from Ace. A soft voice flowed across his head.
"Walk on wandering souls for your respite we pray..."
Machina smiled to himself as he slowed his walk. The voice was faint but it was surely there.
"Let our humble song clear your hearts of dismay..."
The sound was just how he remembered it, just like Ace. Machina opened his eyes and reached the entrance to the barn, moving to push open the half closed barn door.
"Rekindle the flame in your hearts and set you free..."
He froze. Wait a minute, he didn't hear that voice in his head. Shocked, Machina pushed open the door and his eyes grew wide.
"So, walk on and become the light that guides the way."
There, standing before a stable and petting the beak of a fully grown chocobo, was a boy with blonde hair that reached the nape of his neck. He wore a cream, short sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants tucked in brown ranch boots.
"A-Ace...?" Machina breathed. Cutting off his humming, the boy turned his head and Machina went rigid.
The boy's eyes were a soft blue, holding kindness and slight surprise. His hair was easily recognizable, but Machina denied it. The way he moved was awfully familiar, yet more graceful and gentle as he ran his hands across the chocobo's feathers. Machina would've almost said that it wasn't Ace, but then the thought was thrown out of his head when the boy gave him a smile.
That smile, he had only seen it when Ace was truly relaxed, and yet to see it on this boy's face, free and unburdened by expectations... It was like Ace had never aged a day.
"Uhm, hi," the boy said, giving the chocobo on last pet before stepping away. The chocobo warked at the loss of the boy's touch and leaned toward him. The boy laughed a little and rested one hand as he turned his attention back to Machina, "I'm Uriel, the stable owner's nephew. I didn't think anyone else would be coming by."
"U-uhm! I, ah, I was just looking around," Machina stammered, trying to snap out of his thoughts.
This wasn't Ace. This wasn't Ace.
"I see," the boy-Uriel- said. He patted the chocobo's beak once more, "This is Chichi. She's a strong one. You can also take a look at the others," he gestured to the other chocobo stables behind him, "so feel free you take your time."
Machina nodded absentmindedly, "Yeah, thank you, A-Uriel." He manually cursed at his slip up, hoping that Uriel didn't catch it.
Uriel gave him a odd look, "Auriel?"
Damnit.
"Ah! Sorry," Machina quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to offend you."
Uriel shrugged with a slight smile on his face, "Well, it wasn't the first time it happened."
Machina blinked at his words, "Not the first time?"
"Yeah," Uriel nodded, placing a hand on his hip, "There were a few people who accidentally called me 'Ace' here and there, but they were just visitors. I know you did."
"Ahaha..." Machina trailed off, at a complete loss of words. Uriel dropped his hand off his hip and gave a quick wave.
"Anyway, if you need anything, just let me know. I'll be right back with some gysahl greens," he said. Machina was just about to watch him leave when an overwhelming sense of fear gripped him for a moment. He immediately reached out and grabbed Uriel's arm to stop him. Uriel stumbled to a stop with wide eyes and a quick shout of surprise, "Hey! What-"
"About that song," Machina asked suddenly, catching Uriel's eyes. In that instant, he felt like he was seventeen again, reaching out for the Ace that left him behind. Uriel cringed a little and Machina loosened his grip on his arm just a bit, "Sorry, but... That song. Where..." he finally released Uriel from his grip, "where did you learn it?"
Uriel gave him an utterly confused as he backed away a little before offering a smile, "Oh, you mean those lyrics?" His smile became a little bitter, "They're from a song someone used to sing to me. I don't remember who, but..."
His smile became soft, "The words feel so soothing to me. Sometimes, when I'm feeling down, I just sing to myself. There's a sense of sadness in the lyrics, but it's tinged with hope—I like that."
With that answer, Uriel left, leaving Machina dumbfounded and rooted on the spot with one, single thought in his head.
He was Ace.
Welp, just a one shot maybe. XD Ahaha, this little idea kept going around in my head and I just had to write it. Tell me what you though about this! And I hope you liked it~ And yeah, I'm working on Relearning (FFType-0 x FFXIII), don't worry!
Later~
-CloudyLightning