Diplomatic Relations

(How Noelle meets Luke's 'family')

.

—

At first Noelle thought she had imagined that flash of red, but then when she hears a rather odd noise that sounded suspiciously like someone's footsteps, Noelle decides that fine, she'll get off her lazy ass and check it out.

Damn. A burglar at a time like this. Not cool.

Quietly, she picks up one of the metal poles that Guy always seemed to leave laying around (he was like a little kid with his gadget obsession, really. He was just as messy as a kid too, something she never thought she be thankful for until now), and approaches the direction where she heard the noise. Luke's door is wide open, allowing Noelle sight of the burglar's back as he forages through Luke's room.

Carefully she approaches, until she's only a few feet away from him and swings the pole to his neck, like she had seen so often in movies. (Now if only her arm wasn't shaking so much from the weight...)

"Excuse me," She speaks up. "I don't believe that you belong in there."

The burglar visibly stiffens and freezes. And then, for a moment, there is absolute silence as the two of them are unmoving, both probably wondering what the other is going to do.

When the person doesn't say anything, Noelle knows she should probably do something, so she says, "Turn around. I want to see your face."

And so he turns, slowly and—

She gasps.

"Luke?" But almost immediately, she corrects herself. "No wait—you're definitely not Luke."

For although the faces were identical, this man's had an air that made him unmistakably distinct from Luke. The person in front of her was cold and distanced, a small sneer etched into his face as he looks at her warily. She can't help but feel that this was the noble that Luke wasn't, the noble with the air of superiority that was so different from Luke's childlike demeanor.

It's somewhat fascinating, she marvels, just staring at this guy and trying to see what differences she can note out.

And as the guy catches sight of her, his eyebrow seems to furrow in confusion, almost as if he was expecting someone else.

"Who are you?"

She raises an eyebrow. "I'm the pilot of this ship. Who are you?"

"I'm...nobody."

Wow. Beautiful answer. Ten points for that original answer.

"Right. So then, nobody, how about telling me what you're doing here? What do you want? Money? Jewelry?"

"It's not like that! What do you think I am, a petty thief?"

She gives him a look and he, given by that wince on his face, seems to realize that yes, being caught ruffling through a person's stuff usually looks like something a petty thief might do.

And so they are at an equilibrium yet again, no conclusion reached. Noelle looks over the stranger again, wondering what she should do in this type of situation. After all, he didn't really look like some common thief or pirate who was looking to get some treasure or money. He looked far too proud for that sort of thing, one of those guys where they would die for any scratch of dignity because they're stupid like that.

And yet he lowered himself to the level of thievery. There had to be a reason.

She puts down her pole (and thank god, because that thing was damn heavy), ignoring his surprised look.

"Alright then. So what's your name?"

He looks uneasily around. "It....It doesn't matter. Look, just forget I was here, okay? Pretend it never happened."

However, before he can even attempt to walk away, Noelle catches his shoulder before he can move any further.

"Wait just a moment." She looks him straight in the eye as she talks, wanting to see if she can catch some twitch or movement that could give her a clue. "I want to know what's going on. You're related to Luke, aren't you. What were you doing in his room? What were you looking for?"

An annoyed look crosses his face as he jerks his shoulder out of her grasp.

"You ask too many questions." He pauses and looks over her, making a pointed look at her arm, still shaking from the pole. "Tch. Get out of my way before I have to resort to force."

Oh, so that's how he was going to play. She glances at his side, catching sight of the ornate sword hanging dangerously close to his hand. He probably could follow with his threat too, if he wanted to. Still, she was going to make this work. She wouldn't give up now.

"Fine. Let's make a deal, then."

She watches him pause and fights the urge to grin smugly. Got his attention. Now to lay out the bait.

"I won't tell the others that you came here."

His eyes narrow at her.

"What's the catch?" He asks cautiously.

She smiles.

"Let me help you find what you were looking for."

Alright, so maybe she was a bit bored, always waiting in the Albiore or touring the town while the group goes venturing into danger. Maybe the boredom led her into an insanity that somehow made making deals with burglars look like a good idea.

Still, she needed some fun every once in while other than the rare occasion of dodging missiles.

Her eyes are on him as he thinks it over, watching warily as he contemplates the idea. Then—

"Fine."

—

—

"So what are we looking for?" She asks, her eyes sweeping over Luke's room.

"A jewel."

She snorts. "Hmph, that's rather vague, don't you think?"

An uneasy look crosses his face and looks away, refusing to meet her eyes. "Well...I'm not exactly sure what it looks like."

"That's helpful."

"Look, you said you wanted to help, didn't you?"

She rolls her eyes. "My, someone's cranky today."

The man chooses not to respond, instead going to ruffle through Luke's trunk. Noelle follows his lead, opening the closet and looking through the pockets of anything she found, wrinkling her noise as she goes through the clothes. (Two words: Bad taste. Seriously, Luke could do without the tank tops. Just...no.)

Within a minute of this, Noelle decides that she's bored and attempts to strike up a conversation again.

"So, what did you say your name was?"

"...Asch."

"Asch, huh? I think that's a neat name. I'm Noelle."

"Hm."

And once again, there's silence, save for the ruffling of items. Still, she's not backing down yet; now it wasn't just curiosity, this was a challenge.

Finished with the closet, she moves to going through the drawers. (And damn, Luke sure stuffed a lot of stuff in there. It practically took the phrase 'brushed under the rug' into a whole new meaning the way random papers and knickknacks were bursting out of the drawers. And was that... a cheagle stuffed animal?)

"So how are you related to Luke?" She asks, trying again.

He lets out an irritated noise as he goes to check the drawer beside her. "You talk a lot, you know that?"

The insult passes over her head. (After having dealt with the bullying from her brother for years, this was barely more than a poke.) "And you're evading the question."

"Tch. I'm his..." He pauses a brief second, almost as if reluctant to admit the truth. "...brother."

Noelle grins. "I figured as much. Though, if he's your brother, surely you can just ask him for whatever you're looking for?"

"It's...complicated."

She moves to look under the bed. (Oh crap, there's even more stuff. Damn.) "I'm sure it is."

"Yeah?" He gives a snort. "Well, I don't see how you're in any position to judge, considering how you don't know me at all."

"Well, you're right, there." She admits. "Still, can you blame me if I'm concerned about my friends?"

"Don't worry. This is for his own good." He hesitates. "If I asked him...he would just try to follow me, like the idiot he is."

Noelle grins. "Oh I see. You're one of those overprotective, martyr older brothers. Well, I have one too and let me tell, us younger siblings do not take kindly to that type of attitude—seriously, it's just an excuse to shield us from making our own mistakes just so you can feel like a bigger person. It's lame and pathetic."

"Is that so?"

"Yup. And if he finds out, he's going to hold one hell of a grudge, especially since it's Luke. You out of all people should know how he gets."

"Then he's not going to find out, is he?"

"Well, not from me. But watch, karma is so totally going to bite you in the ass."

"I can handle it."

"Famous last words."

—

—

After that, she is able to make (somewhat) easy conversation with him. Well, it was mostly her doing the talking but at least they had progressed to a stage where he would (usually) respond with whole sentences.

And she would probably never admit, but she was almost enjoying his company.

But finally, after a long hour of going through Luke's belongings (he had a lot of damn stuff), they come up with nothing.

"So you didn't find it?" She asks.

"No..." He's frowning as his eyes focus on a spot on the floor, thinking. "Maybe I was wrong? But that can't be..."

"How important is it? I can ask him about it, if you want." But he refuses her offer, shaking his head.

"No...I...I'll deal with it."

Noelle shrugs. "Okay, if you want."

She allows herself to slump against the wall, arms aching from looking through so much crap. That was something she never wanted to do. Ever. Again. Maybe she should even drop a little word to Tear about how Luke needs to clean up his room...

Noelle looks to Asch, eyes still drawn together in deep thought. She takes the moment to observe him, just admiring the shape of his face, his nose, the colour of his eyes. (Pretty boy. Him and Luke were pretty boys. Must be Baticle's air...Maybe she should visit that place sometime soon.)

"So, where are you going after this?" She asks after a while.

He looks to her and raises an eyebrow and for the briefest of moments her heart skipped a beat at the sight. (Damn. Pretty boy totally had the cocky, arrogant bastard look going for him.) "Are you planning on stalking me now?"

She cocks her head to the side and returns the look. "Only if I get that bored again."

"Hmph. Well, I better go before they come back..."

A large slam resounds nearby and she can hear Guy's voice calling above the clamour of footsteps, "Noelle! We're back!"

"That's your cue, I believe," She says to Asch. "I think I'll go meet them. You can let yourself out?"

He nods. "Yeah."

"Great. I'll be seeing you, then."

And so she turns around and starts to walk away, only about ten steps away when she hears his voice call out.

"Hey, you."

But she ignores him and continues to walk on, calling out in a sing-song voice. "Not my name."

"...Fine, Noelle."

She stops and turns around, a sweet smile on her face.

"Yes?"

He opens his mouth, and for a moment, he's silent, as if struggling to find the words. Then: "...Thanks. For your help."

Noelle furrows her eyebrow, somewhat dumbfounded by the rather unexpected remark. And then, a feeling of victory blooms within her, growing into a full-blown smile. She's won. Not sure what, but hell yeah, she has totally won.

"No problem."

And as she walks back to meet her friends, not daring to look back, she can't help but hope that she'll see Asch again. Her imagination, overdosed by having read waay too many cheap romance novels over the years, is already working out the situations even though she knows how unlikely it is that any of them will ever happen. Probably not.

Still....

—

—

"Hey Noelle," Tear greets, being the first one to catch sight of her as she enters the room. Noelle greets her back with a smile and goes to her usual customary pilot seat. Guy, who's taken to sitting beside her in the co-pilot's seat like the obedient pupil he is, gives her a map with circled areas. "We need you to take us to the Sephiroth's gates, if you don't mind."

"Of course, that's what I'm here for," She says and starts adjusting the appropriate controls. "Want to tell me why?"

"Oh, yeah. See, we're looking for something called the Jewel of Lorelei..." He takes a moment to give a glance back at Luke. "Someone lost it, so now we're going to have to look for it for a while."

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Luke interjects.

Noelle pushes a lever, lifting the Albiore into the sky. "If you say so, Luke. Alright, next stop, Zao Ruins' Sephiroth Tree."

And as they fly through the sky, Noelle's mind mulls over Guy's words.

So they're looking for a jewel, were they...

fini.

Author's Note: Haha, I totally winged this whole thing, so I know this doesn't really fit in with the game's plot so well (it's been a year since I finished the game). That and Asch is really hard to write for; Noelle was much easier, but then again, considering her personality in the game is non-existant (save for that one adorable scene with Guy), I'm guessing that it makes sense. Though now, looking over the piece, I'm wondering if I should have made her a tad bit more demure...

By the way, this is my first ToTA fic—any feedback or comments, whether harsh or kind, are appreciated and welcomed with open arms of sunshine and rainbows.