Final Fantasy and all related characters are (C) SquareSoft-SquareEnix

Story idea by Lex-Arthur

Enjoy

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"Locke! Look out!"

"What? Rachel?!? No! Get away!"

"No! Locke!!"

"RACHEEE –"

"--EEEL!!!" Locke sat upright quickly, his voice ringing in the small cave. Sweat ran down his face and back and he was breathing really hard. His eyes, usually full of life and adventure, showed the fear of that night, as it replayed itself over and over in his mind. As he realized where he was, he lay back down, letting his head hit his bag of loot. It wasn't the most comfortable of pillows, but it did the job. He examined the cave's rocky ceiling, trying to forget that face, the one face he couldn't save, when he heard something behind him.

Everyone should be asleep by now. His hand went for a shuriken he had "borrowed" from Shadow, then he flipped to his feet and flung as best he could towards the sound. What he expected to hear was the sound of metal digging into flesh and the gurgle of human blood; not the clang from metal on metal. And he less expected to hear the voice of someone he knew well.

"What the hell are you doing, you treasure blinded fool???"

"Celes? What are you doing up?" he asked, finding his shirt quickly. Dressing, he turned around and walked towards her.

"Well, with your constant mumbling, and then terrified scream at the end, I kind of woke up." She replied calmly. She was leaning against the wall, examining her armlet, a very special relic she had been given by Emperor Gestahl. He said it was called an Atlas Armlet and that it had the power to both defend and attack. She had treasured it, even when she was branded a traitor. "Are you alright? 'Cause you can talk to me." She looked at him with her light blue eyes, full of caring and worry for the treasure hunter.

Locke leaned against the wall next to her, looking straight ahead. "I'm sorry, Celes… It's nothing. Go back to bed." He pushed himself from the wall as quickly as he came and went back to his bunk. But he found himself stopped, Celes' hand on his arm. He shook it off and instead of going to his bunk he headed for the cave's entrance, needing some air.

Celes watched him go with some reluctance, her hand slightly reaching out to him, but as he disappeared beyond the cavern walls, it just came back, as if rejected. Her arm came under her chest, seemingly hugging herself, an old habit she had developed in the Empire, when she had no one she could talk to when Leo was away. All she wanted was to have a place in Locke's heart, but it seemed his heart was already full…

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The moon was bright, not a cloud in the sky, a gentle breeze blew across the Veldt. Everything seemed to be alright in the world except with Locke Cole. He sat on a small rocky outcrop a few minutes from the cave, looking up at the night sky, wondering how life would be if that day never happened. Then he heard a rustle behind him. He got up less hurried then earlier and turned around expectantly, and saw Celes standing there, in her armlet, short tunic and short skirt, a folded bandana in her hair. He didn't know where she had found that bandana, but after the breaking of the world, she had seemed to never leave her sleeping quarters without it.

"Locke… Talk to me." She simply said. She walked over and sat down beside him, a few inches away, looking at him expectantly.

He looked back at her, his eyes showing pain and suffering, and then he looked away, looking east to Kolinghen, to where she still rested. "I see her, Celes. I see her face, slipping out of reach, into darkness… I hear a scream, but I'm the one screaming… I…" he fell silent, burying his head into his hands, trying not to remember more then that. He felt a gentle pressure on his back, but he didn't know or understood why.

Celes tried to help him, to comfort him, but she couldn't find the way to reach him when he was like this. After a while, she pulled her hand back, feeling rejected again. She sat there, beside him, for a long time, until Locke finally got up again.

"Where are you going?" she asked, worried.

"Back to the others." He replied in a cold, dead voice.

He was a few meters gone when he heard a small "Wait." He stopped moving and stood silently, waiting for the words he knew would come. He waited, and waited, but the words never came. When he turned around, she had moved closer and had both her arms around him in a tight hug, holding herself close to him. He stood there, shocked, both his arms frozen in the air, but they quickly found them around her, holding onto her as if he'd drift away if he let go.

"I know I can't replace her, Locke. But… I want to be there for you. I want to be with you, to have a place in your heart, to be able to say… to say…" She stopped talking, burying her head into his chest.

Locke by this time had been dumbstruck. He stood there, under the starry night sky, holding Celes in his arms. When he was able to move by himself again, he was gently stroking her long, warm blond hair. "Celes… I know she's gone… but I can't forget her, not yet. I just can't… it should have been me who fell down that pit."

"No!" She looked up at him, furious now. "If you'd have fallen down that pit, you would have never saved me, we'd have never met, and I'd have never found out I loved-" she stopped herself, blushing now, and pushed herself away, looking at the moon as if it was the most interesting thing she could see.

That last part had shocked him almost as much as the hug did. "Celes… I didn't know…" He tried to say something else, but he wasn't able to put his emotions and feelings into words. He looked in the other direction, seeming distraught with what to do.

Then he felt her against him again, and this time he was quick to return the embrace. She had gripped onto his shirt with both hands, pulling herself into his chest. "I love you…" she said quietly, not wanting him to hear even as close as he was.

Locke smiled, hearing this, and held her tightly in his arms, seemingly protecting her. "I see that now… and I think… I think I love you too." He replied. He didn't know why, but he knew it sounded right.

"I know you can't forget about her, but… but at least let me help you carry the burden, Locke. I can't stand seeing you like this… I want you to be happy, to protect you…" she was nearly crying now, keeping her tears back.

"I know, Celes, I know… and I should have talked about it sooner, but I didn't want Sabin and Edgar calling me something like a wuss." He said jokingly. She looked up at him with a smile, this making her laugh.

"Just… talk to me sometimes, alri-" Now she was the one surprised, feeling his lips on hers, but the feeling that rushed through her seemed to take control of her. Her arms went around his neck, pulling herself more into the kiss as she closer her eyes. Time seemed to stand still as the two stood under the night sky in the middle of the Veldt.

He pulled back slowly, leaving a stunned and dazed, yet quite happy looking Celes with her eyes closed and a very satisfied smile on her face. She sighed and laid her head onto his chest, holding onto him in abandon. He simply stroked her hair again, holding her close. He then looked up at the moon, smiling sadly, and whispered into the night. "I'll never forget you, Rachel…"