[Souls do not disappear. After a time, souls are reborn.]

Sometimes he feels like he could touch her if he would just reach out his hands.

But he knows that once he does…the dream would end and she would disappear. She only exists here in his dreams. Only here, on the top of a wind-blown hill, behind a giant old oak tree, with her back turned towards him.

He watches as the wind gently plays with the ends of her short, brown hair and the hem of her green dress. He doesn't move to close the distance between them nor does he open his mouth to speak. No words have ever been spoken, no conversation has ever come to pass, but it doesn't matter. Nothing else matters.

She is here and he is here.

He is content with that.

[Perhaps in another world, perhaps many years will pass…]

One of his favourite things in the morning is riding his bicycle to work. The comfortably cool rush of the wind against his face is like a gentle reminder, 'You're alive. You're alive.' He gradually slows down his pace as he squeezes the brakes and hops of nimbly to the side of the Milk Bar.

"Hard at work as always eh, Lucian?"

He leans his bicycle to the side of the store and smiles at the bespectacled middle-aged man coming towards his way.

"Good Morning, Mr. Phil! I'll be opening the Milk Bar in a few. You know how Mrs. Leila can be when she doesn't get her cheese after her morning run!"

Phil's face contorts to an unpleasant memory and almost drops the heavy-looking box that he was holding, "Whoops! Wouldn't want these all over the road, it would be such a pain to pick up!"

Lucian looks at the box and notices the various cogs, drill screws, and other spare parts sticking out, "Are those for a new car, Mr. Phil? You just released the latest model last week!"

"Ah, No, no, no, these parts are for a toy. The Road Sweeper is going to stay as the fastest car on the road for a while – until I build the next one, that is!" Phil laughs heartily, the laugh of the proud maker of the cars unmatched in speed in the whole world, "Oliver's kid will be visiting today! It's the kid's first time here in Motorville and I intend to show just how cool and amazing of an Uncle I am! Well, I got to go. The fully operational remote-controlled scale model of the Ground Wyvern isn't going to build itself before lunch!"

[But I believe that one day your soul will return…]

Mr. Oliver's kid, huh?

He gently puts down the crate of crispy lettuces to floor and wipes the beads of sweat forming at his forehead. He starts to put the lettuces on display but his mind is preoccupied with something else.

Mr. Oliver used to live here in Motorville long before him. He only met the man a few times back when he was still a kid. He had a look of surprise the first time he saw Lucian, like he saw a ghost from the past or something, but Mr. Oliver was very kind. He took the orphaned Lucian to his old home in Motorville and told him that he could live there if he wants to, without rent or anything just the maintenance of the house. Lucian has been living here ever since.

"No need to thank me, boy. Surely, this is fate."

He lets out sigh and reaches for another head of lettuce from the crate.

"My, my, that will never do. Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes?" A voice boomed from behind him.

He almost jumped in surprise as he turns around and sees the huge pile of cheese wedges on the counter slowly diminishing in height.

"Mrs. Leila! Did you just come back? I didn't…hear…the door…"

"Oh, I don't think that even an explosion would've caught your attention. Now, what were you thinking about so deeply? Was it your 'dream girl' again? Tsk, tsk, you should get out more and meet real girls! I have no trouble with you working hard here in the shop…Honestly, I was relieved when you came along after Myrtle went to the University…but sometimes I worry about you..."

Lucian gives a small laugh as he let Mrs. Leila continue on. For a lady in her…advanced ages, Mrs. Leila is as spry and enthusiastic as the first day he had met her. She took him in to work in the Milk Bar after her previous assistant went away to college. Aside from his monthly wages, she also gives him a supply of food and she always looks out for him, 'A young man must always eat healthy and drink plenty of milk!' Her ability to talk in between chomping through cheese wedge after cheese wedge never ceases to amaze him.

"…Ah! Speaking of young girls and spring time, Oliver's kid is coming today! Really, that busy boy! He and his wife should've come to visit as well! Anyway, she'll be staying at my place for the duration of her visit. You'll be coming to dine with us for supper, no?"

Because he was not really listening, he didn't understand how 'spring time' somehow got into the conversation but one thing did catch his attention.

" She…? Is Mr. Oliver's kid a…girl?!"

[…And that we'll meet again.]

Mrs. Leila momentarily stops her cheese feast as she looks at him with amusement. The moment lasted only for a second and her hands returns to the cheesy buffet before her.

"Of course, she's a girl! You really should be paying more attention when people are talking."

"Well, I kind of thought that he…er…she was a guy since you and Mr. Phil always talk about how 'spirited' she is and how she likes cars and all," He says sheepishly.

"Well of course she likes cars! It is Oliver's and Phillip's work after all. She is certainly spirited, very much like her father in his youth. Oh, she's only younger than you by a few years, you know? Pretty to boot and particularly good at cooking too, Allie is certainly a very lovely young lass! But perhaps not as lovely as I was in my younger years…Ohohoho~"

Mrs. Leila laughs as she takes the empty plate off the counter and walks toward the back room, leaving Lucian alone with his thoughts once more.

"Allie…huh, a girl's name…"

He has never been particularly interested in girls before. He has always been more concerned with helping other people, reading difficult books, or working hard in the Milk Bar. That's not to say that he is not attractive or anything. Certainly he is no Bishounen Sage-Prince with fair skin and long dark hair but he is handsome in his own right.

Lucian is fairly tall with a lean body that is mostly the result of the work he has to do around the shop. His eyes, a set of earnest deep blue, look straight at the other person's eyes when they're talking. He keeps his chestnut brown hair in a medium length – just a little past his shoulders. Many times had he considered cutting his hair shorter but he never really did. In any case, he feels more comfortable with the length anyway. To keep it from getting in the way of his work, he always ties it in a short pony tail whenever he's at the store.

He's known to be kind and reliable. From courageously driving out bees in a garage to helping a little girl plant flowers at the empty lot, the residents of Motorville know that whenever there's trouble they can always count on Lucian to help.

Young girls around town are always more than willing to run errands to the Milk Bar. Miss Myrtle was dubbed as the 'Dairy Fairy' and somehow it got passed down to him as well, The Dairy Knight of the Milk Bar.

However despite all the attention and Mrs. Leila's attempts to 'introduce' him to someone, no girl has ever quite piqued his interest. Aside from the mysterious girl in his dreams, that is, and very, very recently: Mr. Oliver's daughter.

His recurring dreams and Mr. Oliver's daughter are two different matters entirely but somehow he feels that there is something tying them together. It's a weird feeling deep in his gut that grows ever stronger as he thinks about Mr. Oliver's daughter. A feeling of anticipation and…hope? That maybe…

He takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. He leans his head on the counter and mutters dismissively, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Lucian."

"But I guess it would be nice if she would have short, brown hair…," He adds to himself.

From behind him, he hears the soft chime of the shop door opening. He quickly straightens his apron and turns around to greet the customer with a smile.

"Good Morning! Today we have a 10% discount on Snow Radi-"

His voice disappears in his throat.

Could this be a dream as well?

"Umm, I'm Allie…," A young girl says in a hurried, timid voice.

This…is not a dream or is it?

The face in front of him, he knows it all too well yet…he does not. The feeling in his gut is stronger than ever and a deafening high-pitched ringing fills his ears. He reluctantly reaches out his hands to touch her but he stops mid-way through.

Won't she disappear if I touch her?

Worried thoughts start to fill his head and for a moment he just stands there, immobile and seeing nothing but darkness.

Then he feels it, a warm hand in his. He recognises this hand, small yet steady. At that moment, he feels like nothing else matters.

She is here and he is here.

From nowhere, he hears Mr. Oliver's voice.

…Surely, this is fate.

owari/

Author's Notes:

Okay, so instead of doing work like a diligent student that I like to pretend I am...I wrote a short fic about Lucien/Alicia. So what brought about this madness? Seriously, I was disappointed at the lack of Lucien/Alicia fan art. Yup. That's it. Instead of throwing a tantrum like a big baby, I decided to write a fic. My logic works in mysterious ways and my inspiration is a drunk muse.

Anyway, I wanted to focus on what happened after Lucien and Alicia's reunion in the wide white nothingness. I refuse to believe that they simply disappeared because as Alicia said on one of their cut-scenes, souls are reborn. I believe that no matter when and where, the two of them will always find each other. I am a romantic that way so just cut me some slack okay?

I decided to set everything on Motorville so I won't have to deal with the crazy magic stuff that I secretly want to do but I don't really have the time to do it. Featured here is my favourite bovine queen-slash-shop lady, Mrs. Leila and Philip...a couple years forward in time. Lucien said that his and Oliver's fates were inevitably intertwined and even after the separation of their souls, I believe that it continues to be so.

I made Oliver Allie's dad just because I though it would be a fun reversal of themes. Hahaha :3