Alright then, let's get the second one under way! Like last time, I don't own Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and I hope you enjoy!

…

The group had just boarded an Ardainian Titan Ship to get to the ever so mysterious Cliffs of Morytha. None of them knew what to expect or what they would find there, but they trusted Rex's word that Pyra and Mythra were going to be there. It would take them a few hours to reach their destination so they all prayed that they would arrive in time. Especially Rex, who was sitting on a bed in one of the cabins. He had to make things right and show Pyra and Mythra that he really could help them, that he could become a worthy Driver of the Aegis, that he wouldn't hurt them anymore.

On the other hand, Nia was standing outside by the railing, looking out as the Cloud Sea moved beneath them. She was in her Blade From, as it just didn't feel right to go back to how she was…at least not right now. ''Rex…'' She glanced over at the cabin where she knew he was, fully expecting him to stay there until they arrived. He had gotten all of his determination back, but he probably still had a lot to think about. And she was sure that not many of those thoughts were about her or her confession. All of it was just…

''I saw happier people at Fan's funeral.'' Nia jumped a bit when she heard a sudden voice and turned around to see Tantal's prince, the Zekenator himself. Nia rolled her eyes and turned back to where she was facing. ''Something on your mind?'' Zeke asked while rubbing his chin, not getting any closer yet.

''Yeah, but it's not something I really care to talk about…least of all with you Shellhead.'' Honestly, couldn't he go bother Morag or something?

''That's harsh…would you care to talk about it with Rex then?'' Nia gasped and then cursed the fact that she did, since she realized she just gave away what she was thinking.

''It's not like you to be so observant.'' Nia said. She knew that the prince was a lot more competent than he seemed or looked…but he was still a bumbling idiot with horrible luck.

''Hah! Nothing goes past my Eye of Shining Justice!'' Zeke declared proudly with his hands on his hips, making Nia roll her eyes again.

''It's covered by an eyepatch. Pretty sure everything goes past it.'' Why was she taking this so seriously anyway? ''Besides, you're wrong. I wouldn't particularly want to talk about it with Rex either.'' Nia said and now that Zeke felt like he could get an actual conversation going, he got a bit closer and stood next to Nia by the railing. He was confident enough that this was sturdily made, unlike that one at the harbor in Lefteria!

''Do you think it would've been better if you hadn't confessed when you did then?'' Zeke asked, and Nia stayed quiet for a few seconds. Maybe it was good to talk about this with someone, even if Zeke was one of the last people she ever expected to have this conversations with.

''It wouldn't have mattered when I confessed, the result would've been the same.'' Nia sighed. She had known it all along. ''I could've confessed the moment I realized I had feelings for him and it would've been too late.'' She was pretty sure that the only way for her confession to have gone any differently would've been if she confessed as soon as she had met him…and obviously this hadn't been love at first sight. And even if it had been, what kind of idiot would do something like that?

''Then why confess at all?'' Zeke asked and now Nia looked away from him, frowning. ''Listen, I really don't want to torment you over this. I'm just curious. Your confession surprised all of us, not just Rex.'' Even Morag had been taken off-guard and how often does that happen?

''I confessed to make myself feel better. To get rid of the nasty feeling holding it all in gave me.'' Nia said, still looking away from the muscular Driver.

''I don't think you believe that for a second. '' Nia frowned even deeper. Why the hell is he suddenly so observant about stuff like this? ''You're not the type of person to do something like that. Someone who has been influenced by Rex as much as you have couldn't possibly have that self-serving of a motive.'' Zeke knew it personally himself. Being around Rex…you couldn't help but start thinking better of the world and want to help it all, not just yourself. ''So, why did you confess?'' He asked again.

''…I…I wanted to show him how much he meant to me. That he had really changed me as a person. That no matter how much I tease him, my feelings for him go way beyond that. And…'' Nia gulped while trying to hold back tears. She didn't want to cry about this, not in front of Zeke or anyone. ''There was a flicker of hope that refused to die out. A flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe…he could return my feelings.'' It had been a foolish dream that deep inside she had been unable to let go of.

''And his response?'' He certainly got a bit of a kick out of it.

''It was the second-best response I could've hoped to hear.'' Considering how miniscule the chances for the best response were, maybe it really was the best response. ''I did everything to keep my hopes down when he said he loved me. When he said he loved us all…I knew that that was it. My chance went there, but I was still happy, because that was such a Rex thing to say.'' She couldn't help cracking a smile as she thought about it. The look on his face when he said all that…how could she not be at least a little bit happy? ''It was much better than the alternative I was afraid of.'' And the smile disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. ''Let me guess, you want to hear about that too?'' Nia asked.

''Well it's pretty obvious what you mean by it, I don't need my Eye of Shining Justice to see it. You can stop if you want.'' Zeke said. No use pushing someone if they clearly didn't want to talk about it. He already got more out of her than he ever expected. Nia sighed and nodded.

''Sorry Nia, but I'm in love with Pyra. Or…Or anything similar to that.'' Zeke stayed quiet. He figured as much. ''In my head I had prepared for rejection so, so many times and it was always something like that. Sometimes it was Mythra instead. There were even few times I imagined him saying he was in love with both of them!''

''Oh…I doubt our chum would go that far.'' Though he had to admit that there was a certain bit of appeal to that.

''I knew that in my mind, but in my heart…'' Nia clutched her core crystal with her right hand. Might as well tell everything at this point. ''It was hopeless from the start. The day I realized I was in love with Rex…I cried myself to sleep. Well…it's more appropriate to say that I cried against Dromarch's fur and fell asleep on him.''

''So, he knows everything?'' Zeke asked and Nia nodded.

''Yeah, I needed to tell someone, I couldn't possibly keep it all in. He tried to console me of course, saying there was still a chance…but I knew better, despite the tiny flicker of hope that refused to die. I knew who Rex was in love with, I knew who he wanted to spend his life with and I knew who had his attention from the very beginning…and it was never me.'' Nia felt her throat get sore and voice a bit shaky as she said all that. Honestly, she was surprised she hadn't burst into tears yet. Maybe better that way. Crying against Zeke's chest didn't feel all that appealing.

''And now you're telling me all of this instead of Dromarch.'' Zeke couldn't help pointing out how it was a bit strange.

''Yeah, who would've thought? Telling Shellhead my deepest secrets! I would've laughed at that just a few days…no, hours ago.'' Nia tried to chuckle a bit, but it came out as rather hollow.

''What about Pyra then?'' Zeke asked. Nia had made her feelings about Rex quite known, but he was still in the dark about this and she was pretty significant person in the equation.

''What about her? If you're thinking that I hate her because Rex has her attention…then no, I'm not that awful of a person. I could never hate Pyra, she's far too kind, sweet and polite for me to do that. I couldn't possibly cling onto someone I hate for warmth.'' After what transpired in Tantal, she honestly misses her warmth a bit. ''Mythra I don't like as much, but I do think her being harsh with Rex can be a good thing. She pushes him in ways that Pyra can't.'' Though does she really have to expose so much skin all the time? ''But…I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. Sometimes when I see Rex together with them…I wish from the bottom of my heart that it could be me instead. I wish I could get at least half the amount of attention they get from him. So…I guess I can't say I'm completely okay with the two of them.'' She just tried her best not to show that side. Rex wouldn't like that, no one would.

''I'm impressed you can carry on despite that. I feel like there are plenty of people who wouldn't be able to get over something like that.'' He remembers catching the eyes of many women on his and Pandoria's travels around Alrest and quite a few didn't take rejection that well.

''Rex showed me a place to belong, I can't and won't abandon that. I had been hoping that it would be by his side as lovers, but…being by his side as a friend isn't that bad all things considered.'' Better than never meeting him at all and living a life as a Flesh Eater with no goals, no future, nothing. She had hoped that Torna could've been the place for her…but things never turn out that well.

''Alright then, I'm out of questions. I'm surprised you didn't sneak in any curse words there.'' Zeke grinned as Nia gave him a little glare.

''What the hell do you think my vocabulary consists of?'' Nia asked and Zeke just kept grinning.

''Now there's the Nia I know. Moping really isn't your thing.'' Now that he thought about it, it wasn't much of a thing with anyone in their group.

''Moping? Was this all just some weird attempt to cheer me up?'' Nia asked and Zeke shrugged his shoulders.

''Think of it as whatever you want. If you want, you can think that you're now indebted to the mighty Bringer of Chaos!'' Zeke posed like he always did, making Nia roll her eyes.

''I'd rather jump off a cliff to the Cloud Sea than be indebted to you in any way, shape or form.'' Nia said, though she couldn't help smiling at least a little. ''…Thanks anyway Zeke.'' Dromarch was usually pretty good at listening stuff like this, but he could also be too polite. He mostly said things that she wanted to hear, not what she needed to hear.

''You're welcome. Though if you ask me, I think we've failed to address the Titan in the room.'' Nia raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what he had in mind. ''It's just that…when we put you next to Pyra, one can't help, but notice you're…lacking in certain areas.'' You could've heard a nail drop with the silence that followed.

''…What?'' Nia narrowed her eyes. Was this idiot really going to go there?

''Rex is at that age where he notices things like that. I'm not that surprised if he's more interested in someone who has a bit more…going for them if you catch my Genbu drift.'' Zeke said, only to then notice that Nia was glaring at him so hard that he could swear her gaze was burning a hole into his skin.

''You just had to ruin it.'' Nia said as she suddenly pulled her Blade weapon out, making Zeke take a step back. ''After I'm done with you, you're going to have actual need for that eyepatch!'' Nia growled and now Zeke took two more step backs.

''N-Now, there's no need to get that upset. It wasn't an insult towards you. Pretty much any girl would fail to measure up to Pyra in that way and…'' Zeke could tell that this wasn't helping his situation at all, so he turned around and started running. There wasn't much to run to, but he was going to try dammit! And luckily for him, Pandoria was right there! ''Pandy! Save me from this feral beast!'' Zeke said and he tried to hide behind her, but the difference in their builds made that pretty much impossible. Pandoria was quiet for a second, before looking over her shoulder.

''So…any girl would fail to measure up to Pyra? Where exactly have you been looking my prince?'' Pandoria fully turned around, leaving Zeke with no cover or safety.

''P-Pandy! I…I didn't mean to…'' Zeke noticed the electricity starting to form from the staff on Pandoria's right hand. ''You…You wouldn't shock me, right? You'd hit Turters!'' Zeke said and tried to reach for the little turtle, so he could make his best 'don't hurt me' face…only that he couldn't find him on his person. ''…Turters?'' Zeke looked back at Pandoria.

''See? Even Turters wants an answer.'' Pandoria said, patting the turtle on her right shoulder with her finger. By this point, Nia had caught up as well and now stood next to Pandoria. ''Sorry, I overheard your conversation. But you don't have to worry about me telling ahead.'' Nia nodded at the lightning Blade and then looked back at Zeke.

''Now then Shellhead. Feel free to continue talking about what we lack…and pray that Morag won't hear this conversation.'' Nia said and Zeke gulped as he looked at the two pairs of very angry eyes. He could only hope Rex won't ever anger Pyra and Mythra like this.

…

And done! Okay, I promise that whatever the next fanfic will be, it won't be two characters discussing Rex and Pyra's relationship again. It's just, the game doesn't really address Nia's confession after it happens, so I wanted to write something about it. Anyway, review if you liked, review if you didn't like!