Long-Distance Relationships
I'm really on a roll when on vacation, huh? Only a couple days have passed since I wrote Combat Dating 101, and here I am with another LukexTear story! Only difference this time is that it won't be a oneshot. Hopefully, as a chaptered story, I'll be able to keep it updated. Once again, as with my previous Tales of the Abyss oneshots, this story was inspired by the ToAIM chatters- as I so call us. We got the impression during one of our chats that while Tear's grandfather Teodoro may not openly disapprove of Luke, he might not want his only granddaughter involved in a romantic relationship with a replica. So, assuming this story takes place sometime after my first ToA fic (Confessions, Confessions), what will Tear do to hide her secret, knowing her grandfather's reaction? Let's find out...
I do not own Tales of the Abyss, I only play it and wish I could be in it.
Chapter One: Does he already suspect?
As the ferry slowly sailed away from Baticul that first morning after the Festival of Lorelei had ended, Tear leaned on the guardrail and gazed up at the shining palace at the top of the city. She had spent so many wonderful nights there over the past two weeks, and so many things had happened. Most importantly, she finally had the answer to what she had been wondering for the longest time.
Luke really did love her, and last night, he had proved it.
Tear blushed, putting her hands to her cheeks. She could still remember that feeling, that warm, dizzying moment when Luke had kissed her after saying those things to her. And there was the moment when she had hugged him so tightly, she was afraid she might crush him, as she told him goodbye. Luke had never been much of a morning person, and so they both knew he wouldn't come to see her off so early in the morning. Which had resulted in them saying farewell just a few hours after their confessions.
She shook her head, not wanting to get emotional about it now. Tear had known full well that there wouldn't be many chances to see Luke, but he had reassured her that he didn't care. "I'll wait as long as I have to," were his exact words. "Anytime you can be here, I'll be here too..."
Gulping back a sob, Tear looked up at the city one more time. "Until we meet again...I love you, Luke..." she whispered, and as the city of Baticul faded into the distance, she turned her back on it, shivering from the early-morning winter cold, and went inside to her cabin.
He would be there, whenever she came back, and when he received the note, he would know when.
Luke awoke suddenly, expecting to hear a knock at his bedroom door, and a maid's voice telling him it was nearly time for breakfast. But neither happened. Blinking in confusion, half-tangled in his blankets, he tried to figure out what had caused him to wake up.
When suddenly, the faint sound of the ferry blowing its horn reached his ears.
"Oh, no, don't tell me..." Luke muttered as he scrambled out of bed and ran to his window to open it. The horn came again, clear as could be.
"Dammit! It already left!" he cursed, slamming the window shut and running to his closet. As he threw on some clothes, he began to hope. Maybe Tear wasn't on that one. There was a chance...maybe she hadn't left yet! Maybe... He ran to the door, banging his arm on the doorframe as he ran out, but he didn't notice.
Luke had wanted to make himself wake up early, go down to the port, and surprise Tear before she left for Yulia City. So he ran as fast as he could, down through the city, to Baticul Port, hoping against hope that she was still there, waiting for her ferry.
Finally, he stepped off the railcar that led to the port, and ran toward the gate. "The ferry...to Yulia City...has it come yet?" gasped Luke to one of the guards there.
"Has it come yet? That's it over there, it just left," answered the guard, pointing to the northwest, where Luke could just make out the ship, sailing away. He sighed in disappointment, thanked the guard, and slowly walked away, back to his manor.
"I wonder when I'll ever see her again," he said quietly as he went in.
His parents were already sitting at the table in the dining room, eating their breakfast. "Good morning, Luke," his mother greeted him. "Come, sit down."
Ramdas pulled out a chair for Luke next to his mother, and he sat in it, returning the greeting.
"You're up earlier than usual, Luke," remarked Duke Fabre. "What were you up to?"
"Oh...nothing really," answered Luke awkwardly, picking at his food.
"You went to see Tear off, didn't you?" queried Susanne with a knowing smile on her face.
Luke turned red. "Well...I was going to...but I missed the ferry. She already left."
"I know. I happened to see her from the window, leaving the palace."
Luke tried to digest this statement, when Ramdas stepped forward. "Actually, Luke, Tear was here for a moment earlier. She left a letter with me, and asked that it be given to you."
"She did!?" Now Luke even more angry with himself for sleeping in.
"Indeed. One moment, I shall retrieve the letter for you." With a bow, Ramdas left the room.
"Calm down, Luke. I'm sure Tear won't be angry with you for missing the ferry," his mother consoled him.
"I know..." Luke grinned sheepishly. "I just...wanted to surprise her..."
"That's sweet of you, dear." Susanne put a hand on her son's arm. "But I'm sure she understands."
"Right..." Luke sighed.
"Brooding over it won't solve anything. Eat your breakfast," his father said abruptly, rising and leaving the room. A maid stepped forward to take his empty plate.
The room was quiet for a few moments while Luke forced some food down. Then Ramdas returned, with an envelope in his hand.
"Here you are, Master Luke," he said as he bowed and presented it to him.
Luke took the letter, then looked at his mother. "May I be excused?"
"Certainly," Susanne smiled, and watched him as he quickly left the dining room.
Back in his bedroom, Luke carefully opened the letter, and sat on the edge of his still-messy bed to read it.
Dear Luke,
I'm sure I'll be gone by the time you read this. By now you must know that I'm not good at saying goodbye. We said what we had to say last night, and I wanted it that way. I couldn't have said anything meaningful right before I left.
You should also know, as I told you last night, that it might be a very long time before we see each other again. Teodoro has much for me to do, and I'm sure I'll have much catching up to do since I was away for two weeks. Moreover, I usually never know in advance where I'll be sent.
However, you can be sure that if I ever have the chance, I will come see you whenever I can. It won't ever bee for long, and maybe when you least expect it. Sometimes I may show up without warning.
Think of me, as I'll always be thinking of you, wherever I am. I'll do my best.
-Tear
Luke gave a deep sigh, falling backwards onto his bed. "Tear...I miss you already..." he said aloud, knowing no one could hear him.
"But...what did she mean by saying that she might come without saying anything?"
Well...here I am... Tear thought to herself as she stood before the entryway of the meeting hall in Yulia City that afternoon. It had taken a few hours to get there by ferry, and afterwards she had gone to rest in her room before being summoned by Teodoro.
Going inside, she could see her grandfather seated at the far end of the long table. He rose to greet her as she came closer to him.
"It's good to see you again, Tear," he told her. "You've been missed these past two weeks."
"Thank you, Grandfather. I've missed you too," Tear smiled.
"Did you have a good time with your friends?"
"We had a wonderful time. Thank you again for letting me go."
"Don't even mention it. You've been working very hard, and you deserved a break. I hope you're ready to go back to work with a will now." Teodoro glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"Of course. I'm ready anytime you have something for me to do," Tear answered.
"Well then..." he trailed off, opening a folder that lay on the table before him and looking at the first sheet of paper in it. "There are a few things I have for you to do...why don't you start with Mt. Roneal?"
"...Mt. Roneal?" Tear echoed. She wasn't too fond of that place, mostly because of the cold. "What's there?"
"We've been hearing rumors of strange fonon outbursts there. No one is quite sure what could be causing them, so I'd like you to go explore there and see if you can find anything."
"I see...how long will I be there?"
"Only about a day or so. One of our transports will take you there and back."
Tear was taken aback by this. "You're sending me alone?"
"If it turns out to be a major problem, any information will need to be kept top-secret. You're the only one I trust to do this job, Tear," Teodoro stated.
"Very well, when do I leave?"
"Early tomorrow morning. I wanted to make sure you were able to rest after your journey from Baticul before I sent you. And also, so you'd have time to learn how to use this." Here Teodoro reached for a box that was beside him on the table, and handed it to her. "Consider it a late Festival of Lorelei gift from me."
Surprised, Tear opened the box. Inside was a device she had seen before-a fontop, a piece of fontech that could be used for several different useful things. Guy had one, and had brought it with him when he came to Baticul, and one night she had watched as he explained how to use it...for nearly two hours...
"You can use it for your work, writing up your reports and so forth," Teodoro told her. "But it also has a specially modified piece of fontech installed. Using it, you can send messages to people, or engage in live conversations with them. It will reach practically anywhere in Aldraunt, as long as you're not underground."
Tear was too speechless over this to say anything.
"I know you miss your friends, so this way, when you're not busy, you can still contact them easily."
At last Tear smiled, and gave her grandfather a hug. "Thank you...thank you so much, Grandfather. I'll keep it safe, I promise."
Teodoro laughed a little. "Run along now and have some fun with it. Remember, you'll have to leave early tomorrow."
"Right, I know. Goodnight, Grandfather," Tear said as she took the box and left the room.
Later that evening, Tear had set up her fontop successfully and was typing away furiously at the keys, conversing with Guy. He was still in Baticul, but in a few days he'd be leaving for Grand Chokmah, as soon as Emperor Peony sent for him. He wanted her to come see him in when he returned so he could look at her fontop. When she'd told him about the fontech that allowed her to contact people from all over, he could hardly measure his excitement in typed words. Tear knew he was probably bursting with joy, trying to figure out what made her fontop different from his.
She had told him about her farewell with Luke the night before, and asked after him. Guy replied that he was pretty quiet when he saw him earlier, and spent most of the day wandering aimlessly around town. This worried Tear, and she would have asked more if Guy hadn't changed the subject, asking what she was up to now that she was back home.
Tear was just about to tell him where she'd be going in the morning when there was a knock at the door. Leaving her desk, she opened it to find one of Teodoro's men there.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Miss Grants, but I have a message from Teodoro. He says that you are to get your things together and leave for Mt. Roneal right away."
"What? Are you sure? He told me I wasn't leaving until morning!" Tear exclaimed.
"I'm very sure- I've just come from his office. He was quite clear about his orders. The ferry leaves in 15 minutes." With that, he excused himself and left Tear looking quite bewildered.
Finally she sat back down at her desk, and apologizing to Guy, signed off of her messaging program and shut off the fontop. Then she got her bag, and began packing some necessary items for the trip- including a warm blanket, since she'd have to sleep at Mt. Roneal.
Later, while the ferry slowly moved away from Yulia City and began sailing northward, Tear lay on the bed in her cabin, trying to sleep. But one thought kept running through her mind.
Why did he suddenly change his mind? Could he have...already found out?
"Are you sure?!" Luke outbursted as Guy tried to keep him from yelling.
"Luke, it's late! Quiet down!"
"Guy, is it true? Tear's gone already?"
"I was speaking with her on my fontop. She said her grandfather was sending her to do something at Mt. Roneal, but suddenly changed his mind and made her leave right away. She's probably already on her way there."
Luke looked confused as he tried to take all this in. Is that what Tear meant when she said she had no idea when she could see him again? Because she was always at Teodoro's beck and call, having to follow his every order?
"Are you ok, Luke?"
"Yeah...I guess I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow." Luke waved to his friend and closed the door behind him. Walking to the window of his bedroom, he looked out, wondering if Tear was looking out and thinking of him, too.
Be careful, Tear. I'll be right here...whenever you want to see me, I'm here...
Hm, it went longer than I thought for a first chapter! But we'll have to wait and see if Teodoro's sudden decision was simply a change in plans, or a ruse to keep Tear away from Baticul. Could he really be opposed to the relationship if he knew about it? Will Tear and Luke see each other again? Stay tuned!