Disclaimer: I do not own Bravely Default and never will. This is a story I wrote just for fun because I am a fan of Bravely Default.

A/N: I meant for this to be angsty and sad but I'm sure I failed miserably.

I had this story concept written in my notebook since August, and I just suddenly remembered it and was inspired to work on it again. It didn't turn out exactly as I had expected, though...

Amnesia

He found it rather funny—more so in an ironic sense than a humorous one—how he now wished for his memories of his past to vanish, when for so long he desperately wanted them to return.

And it was all because of that girl.

The scene he so desperately wished to erase from his mind replayed. No matter how roughly his hands yanked at his blond hair, or how tightly he squeezed his weary eyes shut, he just couldn't block it out.

The image of her face was imprinted in his mind, for he had admired it for so long. She was dazzling, with her smile that gleamed with the courageous fire and innocence of her soul, and her laughing voice like a sweet spring breeze.

She was angelic, his one light in this world overcome by darkness and tragedy.

He was undeniably in love with this girl before him; he had proclaimed this to her several times. But he still wished to tell her one more time, now that their perilous journey through Luxendarc had come to an end. And he planned to do so in the most serious, heartfelt manner he could manage, in hopes of receiving a genuine answer this time.

"Edea…" he said after mustering every bit of courage, his voice airy with his building anxiety.

She focused her full attention on him, her bright, curious blue eyes unleashing a swarm of butterflies in his stomach. Swallowing hard, he reached out and wrapped his hand around her own.

"Ringabel…?" she muttered, a hint of confusion present in her voice as her eyes widened slightly.

Ringabel inhaled deeply to calm himself. He was never one to be shy around women, but Edea was different. He loved her with every fiber of his being; of course he felt some anxiety about finally making his genuine, whole-hearted confession. He brought himself to look into her eyes once he finally spoke.

"Edea… Through every step of this rough journey we've endured together, I have loved you. I loved you before I lost my memories, and even after that I fell head-over-heels for you all over again. After losing you in the world I hail from, I cannot bear the thought of losing you again. I'd be… the happiest man alive if I could spend my entire life with you. Edea, will you please—"

He abruptly cut himself off when he noticed the tears trickling down her cheeks-and judging by her clouded blue eyes and her gentle mouth twisted into a heart-wrenching frown, they weren't tears of joy as he had hoped.

"Edea…?!" Ringabel dropped her hands, moving them instead to gently caress her wet cheeks. "If you don't reciprocate, I completely—"

"N-no, that's not it… I feel the same way…"

"You do…?"

She nodded slowly. "But… it's wrong…"

His heart ached. When he planned his confession beforehand, he had mentally prepared himself for the worst, considering the fact that she could simply not return his love. But the fact that she did love him while feeling she shouldn't… The lack of understanding that resulted from her conflict brought a type of pain one could never prepare for.

Sensing his confusion, her fingers gently pried his hands away from her face, pushing them to his body. "It's all so confusing for me…" she sobbed. "You're Alternis, and you were raised like my brother, b-but you're from a different world…? Feeling this way for you just doesn't feel right…"

Trying to mask his pain, he chuckled. "Edea… There's nothing wrong with how you feel. I may be Alternis from another world, but in that world, you're—" His hands tightened around hers. "I belong in whatever world you're in, and since you're here, this world is home for me. I'll—"

"Stop…" The tears never ceased their streaming down Edea's face. "I cannot be a part of anything I feel is wrong. I-I'm sorry, Ringabel…"

"Edea, please…" he begged, voice wavering, chest aching with his breaking heart.

She tried to pull her hands from his grasp, but he only held them tighter. He didn't want to let go. As he had said previously, he had already lost her once…

With one strong and swift yank, Edea's hands slipped from his.

In that very moment, his heart to fell to pieces.

Ringabel's hand grasped the left side of his chest, where the space inside felt hollow. His body shook with the remaining sobs that escaped his lips; the last of his tears slid from his dark brown eyes and down the sides of his red face, plopping onto the pillowcase resting beneath his head.

As he laid in his bed, he tried to determine how much time had passed. After Edea ran off, he immediately made his way to the inn, and he broke down in tears the moment he stepped through the door of his room.

He glanced to the side, peering out through the window beside the bed. The scenery outside was blackened by nightfall.

I've been laying here, crying, for several hours now… How pathetic, he thought bitterly.

A subconscious part of him knew that the way he was reacting wasn't despicable in any way, but that part didn't dominate his mind at the moment. Self-pity and dejection gained full control over his mentality now.

Ringabel knew he was a mess, both physically and emotionally. His blond hair was flat and disheveled from the constant running of his hands through it. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot, his face streaked with dried tears. His entire body ached with the empty feeling in his chest. He couldn't stop cursing the universe for its unfair treatment of him—for ripping the girl he loved from him not just once, but twice.

Edea's heart-wrenching final words to him echoed in his mind nonstop, torturing him. He whimpered—his weary body couldn't manage any more crying. I can't bear it anymore… Can't these godforsaken memories just disappear?!

He laid still for a moment. Then, a soundless laugh broke through his crooked lips.

The former amnesiac wanted the memories that caused him pain to disappear. How funny was that?

He initially believed that having no memories was a tragedy in and of itself, and that regaining them would lift the weight from his shoulders. But when those memories of his past as the dark knight Alternis Dim came flooding back suddenly, only more anguish was brought upon him.

And now that he carried so many pleasant memories of Edea—a girl that he so desperately wanted but couldn't have in both versions of reality that he had lived in—that trauma was only intensified.

With a shaky sigh, Ringabel rolled onto his side, exhausted after hours of crying. The images of Edea's lovely smiling face still plagued the darkness behind his closed eyelids, and though he squeezed his eyes tighter and buried his face in his pillow to drive them out, they remained on his mind until the moment he drifted off to sleep.

He had woken up one morning with no memories once before. And now he prayed that fate would be kind to him, just this once, and have the same thing occur a second time.

The End

A/N: God, I hope that made sense, what with Edea's reasoning and all. I feel like she'd have an internal conflict about her feelings for Ringabel for those reasons...

I guess, in a way, this is sort of based on "Amnesia" by 5 Seconds of Summer, but I didn't directly draw the inspiration from that. I didn't even notice the parallels until I already had this entire story planned out. cx

If you can, please leave a review to tell me your thoughts! Thank you for reading!

~Hayley

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