i. But what is 'someone special', really?

Oliver went back to the other world on a clear, Friday night.

"I'll be seeing you all later!" He waved his hands cheerfully as he slowly disappeared.

He has not returned since.

Esther sighed sadly at the memory. She greatly misses Oliver's presence. He was her best friend and her most trusted confidante. With his earnest eyes and boyish smile, Oliver has his way of making you believe, believe that you are strong enough to do anything. If he was here…

If he was here, then maybe he could help her...

A set of loud knocks suddenly filled her ears.

She immediately stood up startled as the noise abruptly pulled her out of her reverie. Ah, Right on time as usual. She took her time walking over to the door and exhaled slowly before turning the knob.

"Yo. I was beginning to think no one was home. Is Rashaad in yet?"

Leaning casually by the doorway was a familiar, grinning face. Wearing his usual shabby clothes, Swaine held a bottle of liquor in one of his arms. With a sigh, Esther let him in. He gently set down the bottle on the floor and sat by the entrance to take off his shoes.

It's like a…habit. No, you can even call it a tradition. Once a week, for every week, for every month, for the past two years, Swaine has been dropping by her house at Al Mamoon to share a drink with her father.

Her father's friends told her once that her father greatly loved to drink. But ever since her mother died, he has stayed away from alcohol. Maybe it's punishment? Or regret? Or atonement? She was never sure but she knew that her father's pain ran deep. In fact, before Swaine, she has never seen him pick up even a glass of liquor.

On that note, she can't help but feel kind of grateful to Swaine.

Rashaad vehemently refused to drink with him at first. He simply stayed and chatted with Swaine as he drank the alcohol by himself. However, like a man on a mission, Swaine brought wines and liquors and continued to invite him to drink. Eventually, worn by his unfaltering requests and tempted by the exotic liqours, Rashaad conceded.

She wouldn't say it's because of the alcohol but her father has been looking exceptionally better since, like a load has been taken off his shoulders. It was then that she remembered her mother's words.

Your father is very kind, Esther. That's one of the things I love about him. But too much kindness could only hurt oneself. Your father feels responsible for everyone. When things go wrong, he tends to blame himself for circumstances that he could not have possibly controlled. If I were to disappear one day, my only wish is that someone would there to pull him out of the rut that he frequently throws himself in.

First it was Oliver and now Swaine. She was sad that she was not strong enough to save her own father but she was immensely grateful that there were people who did. And those two people who did were two of the most important men in her life.

Esther giggled lightly. Thinking that she was laughing at him, Swaine stood up and looked at her.

"Eh? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, really. I just remembered something amusing," she said light-heartedly as she turned to her heel. She could hear his footsteps following her from behind. "Father's at the terrace, he's been waiting for you alllll afternoon. He closed-up the Babana stand earlier than usual too - "

Without any warning, Swaine suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She could feel his steady shoulder as he whispered, "Hard at work as usual, huh?"

He gently raised her wrists and ran his fingers over the small nicks and scratches that covered her arm. She could not see his expression but he spoke in a low tone with a seriousness that was not his usual, "More than anyone, I know how incredibly strong you are. But you're still a woman and you should really take care of yourself more…"

Esther has gained wide popularity with her talent as a Familiar Breeder. Some people ask her to train their familiars for battle. Some simply come to her for advice on how to properly pamper their familiars. With the Soliseum Series going in all rage, work has been pouring in as more and more people cross the oceans to participate in the tourney and consult with her expertise.

She was training familiars today, too. She must've forgotten to put bandages after she got home.

"Well, work is work," She said as confidently as she can and looked up to meet his eyes, "And the one that should be taking care of himself more is you, Prince. People look up to you, you know."

Caught unprepared by the intensity of her gaze, he instantly let her go. Swaine gave an amused chuckle and started to walked towards the terrace, the bottle of liquor tucked in his arms.

"Please, don't get started on that. Looking good is Marcassin's job," He said without stopping or looking back, "I'm just a consultant and a mechanic. I don't really see a lot of people nor do they ever have the need to see me. It's okay being this way."

She continued to stare at him wordlessly as he disappeared into the hall. Esther could still feel the sensation of his rough fingers trailing on her skin. His hands were large and unbelievably warm but it was not uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable at all…

Her face flushed red and her heart begun to beat wildly as the realization what just took place begun to dawn on her. She silently slumped down to the floor. What? WHAT? Her head throbbed, confused with all of her thoughts running amok.

Esther hugged her legs and buried her face in her knees. Burning red up to her ears, she started to breathe deeply to calm herself down.

If Oliver was here, he could help her. He would simply smile and he would give her the courage to face her own emotions. However, Oliver's not here. She is all alone with her own cowardly heart.

'I want… I want to be someone special to you…'

tbc/

Author's Notes:

(!) Standard disclaimers apply. Like 'No matter how awesome Ni no Kuni is, the author does not own or is, in any way, associated with the awesome, awesome game *sad face, sad face*'

(2) Yay, a fic about my second favourite Ni no Kuni couple...or was it my third favourite? My ranking goes kind of like this [First Place: Alica x Lucien, Oliver x Pea, Esther x Swaine...] See? all of them are no. 1 in my heart :3

(iii) So I was at the grocer's when I came up with the idea for this fic. I was at the fruits section and I was like, 'I want a kilo of babanas please'. The salesperson just stared at me funny like I was crazy or something. So I smiled at him sweetly and repeated my request, 'I want a kilo of babanas please'. He gave half a kilo for free! Yeah...I don't get how I got inspired by this incident either or why he gave me free bananas. Oh well, I'm not going to compalin about free bananas! XD Anyway moving along...

(4) If I spelled something wrong or if I overlooked a hanging sentence or something, just leave me a message. Actually, if there's anything you want to say, just leave a message. Pretty much anything is appreciated :)

(5) So...I was kind of aiming for a one-shot but it somehow got out of control? My word limit for a one-shot is 1, 500. Anything after that is a multi-chapter fic. Anyway, second chapter will be up really, really soon. Like tonight, or possibly the next hour. I'm pretty much done with it.