Author's Note: I've always been a huge fan of this couple, but have never had the guts to write about them. I want to thank Katmillia for writing KainxRydia stories to keep me inspired.

Title: Connections

Author: KaBunny

Rating: Teen, jic.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFIV or it's characters, but this idea is mine.

Chapter One: Long Awaited Meetings

It had been a long while since she had returned to Baron. Rydia had been connecting all the kingdoms to the Land of Summoned Monsters with a great deal of effort. Most of her friends had been a great deal of help considering that most of them were actually rulers of their own kingdoms. Stipulations had been incurred whenever she had arrived and before long, there were celebrations of the two kingdoms' connections. Much of the time had been spent catching up on old times as she had disappeared for nearly a year. However, the reasons as to why she had placed herself back into the Land of Summoned Monsters for nearly a year without contact with anyone was unknown. The green haired girl simply changed the subject whenever it was mentioned, nonchalantly.

She had already created great relations with Damcyan as well as Fabul. Her last location was Baron. The idea of heading to Eblan had completely slipped her mind for some obvious, but unknown reason. However, whenever the idea did arise, an anger arose in her that made her nearly ill. She always excused herself from whatever she was doing.

But, now she was crossing the bridge to the kingdom where the man she deemed her older brother resided with the kind, talented white mage as his wife. She was confident that they would be happy to see her and so, a gracious smile crossed her lips as she was greeted at the door by the guards. She bowed slightly, her Summoner's robes swaying as she did so. As she stood up, she opened her mouth to speak, "I am Rydia of Mist, Ambassador of the Land of Summoned Monsters. I have come to talk relations with your king and queen."

"All guests must be cleared by the Captain of the Guards," the man replied in a bored voice, as if he had said this many times. The green haired woman shrugged lightly as if to say that she didn't mind waiting at all. She assumed that he would probably want to escort her in to see the king and his queen. It was a natural precaution. So, the Summoner turned to move down the bridge. She leaned on the railing just as she made it about halfway down the long wooden creation. She placed her arms lightly on the railing as she inhaled deeply. Her pale colored lids closed over her light green eyes as the wind lightly touched her face. She didn't know that someone was watching her carefully.

As her eyes drifted open again, she caught slight movement out of her the corner of her eyes. As she turned, her breath nearly caught in her throat from the sight that lay before her. The tall Dragoon that she hadn't seen in nearly two years was patiently making his way over to her, his helmet removed to allow his golden colored hair to shift in the slight breeze. The Summoner's right hand lingered on the railing, but her left hand was dangling at her side as her mouth remained wide open in surprise. As soon as reality came crashing in on her, her mouth closed and spread into a calm smile. Kain had just made his way to her and stopped to glance down at her. "I suppose that you are the ambassador?" he asked, his voice calm and soothing. His voice was still deep and rich with a great underlying peacefulness.

"And you are the Captain?" she questioned, the silly smile still lingering on her lips. Her smile was infectious enough to spread on to the man standing before her.

"Then I suppose that now the introductions are through, we should head inside to see Cecil and Rosa," the blue-eyed male said, turning away from her to lead her into the castle. Rydia followed closely behind the taller male, feeling as if she wanted to ask him so much. He seemed rather closed off, but there seemed to be a lingering peace around him that wasn't there the last time she had seen him. As she realized that he was still as attractive as he had been when she had last seen him, a small blush drifted across her cheeks. She quickly pushed the thought away as she stared at his back. What had he gone through to change him like this?

She turned her head to the floor, ideas running through her mind. What had he been doing all this time? Sure, he had gone to Mount Ordeals and spent some time there, but he definitely couldn't have spent two years up there by himself. When had he come back to Baron? Why hadn't she heard anything about him at all?

The green haired girl was so lost in many thoughts that she walked directly into the taller Dragoon when he stopped and turned to her. She nearly fell backwards from the force of her own blow, but a strong arm held her up, easily. Shocked, the Summoner looked up at the Dragoon, a brow arched. He immediately released her, making sure she was steady. "You all right?" he asked, not removing his hands from her shoulders. They applied a gentle amount of comfort and the green haired girl glanced at them before turning her head upwards to stare at Kain.

"Yeah, fine...sorry. I was spacing out," she replied, simply. She gave a rather nervous smile as her eyes drifted down to her clothing as if she had ruffled it.

"All right, then. Please, wait here while I announce you formally," he responded, turning away from her. Had she looked at him when he had been speaking, she would've noticed the odd look that he gave her due to her lack of complete attention. But, she only glanced up long enough to watch him close the door behind himself to the throne room. She knew that beyond those doors sat both Cecil and Rosa. Rydia was eager just to see their smiling faces again and feel the warmth that they seemed to seep from them. In that brief moment, she realized that she had truly missed them just as she had the same revelation about all the others. She rocked onto her right leg as her hips swayed only to glance up to the door swinging open widlly.

The Paladin didn't give her long to react before he had his arms wrapped around her, swinging her wildly about as if she was his child come home from a long trip. His excitement was infectious. She was laughing brilliantly as he spun her around, her green colored hair whipping around with her. It had grown quite long considering that she had normally kept it short. It was probably because the thin woman wanted a change after being utterly crushed. However, none of the sadness that she had felt a year ago seemed to play on her face at the moment. It was a happy time for her; Rydia's flushed, smiling face was proof of that. After Cecil had set her down, she was quickly embraced by a beautiful woman that could only be Rosa. The comfort of the room seemed to envelope her as she was greeted warmly by the couple. She didn't even notice that Kain had stepped back into the room to stand near the door. She also didn't notice that he watched her carefully.

"It's a surprise for you to show up suddenly," Cecil said, smiling charmingly at her. He was a handsome man with his light blonde colored hair. He had those deep brown eyes that seemed to draw her in warmly when she looked at him. "Just one of those good surprises, I suppose." He gave a her a wink as his face creased with a teasing smile.

"Oh, Cecil...she must be exhausted!" Rosa replied, standing next to the pretty Summoner. The golden haired woman seemed to radiate serenity and beauty. Her blue eyes lingered long on her husband as she voiced her concern for her old companion. That was when Rydia first noticed the bulging of the White Mage's stomach, a gasp inhaling loudly into her mouth. As the blonde girl followed the Summoner's eyes, she rubbed her stomach gently, giving out a tinkling of laughter as she did so. "Surprise!" she said, then released a big laugh. As did the others in the room as if it were some great, big kept secret.

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It had been a long day. Cecil and Rosa were wonderful people and they had given a great deal of hospitality to the young Summoner. Rydia appreciated it greatly, especially the large fluffy bed she was currently laying on. There had been much celebration and much catching up upon. Her real business hadn't even been discussed. It seemed that Rosa was due anytime now. Cecil thought it was a girl, but Rosa knew that he secretly hoped for a son. It was odd the way that the two seemed to flow so well together. However, the most odd thing of all was the prescence of the Dragoon. He was a silent ball of mysterious. Kain would add comments at just the right moment to cause her head to swivel around as if she had just remembered that he inhabited the room. Each one was well-thought out as well as amusing in it's own way. They all brought gracious smiles to her lips, whether in confusion or laughter.

'He's changed so much,' she thought, idly. 'How long was he on that mountain? When did he come back? What did he learn? How did he change? What kind of person is he now?' All the thoughts rang clearly in her head. She sighed, loudly, as she turned her head to glance out the window toward the glittering moon. Her green eyes lingered long on it as the questions swirled around within the confines of her mind. The pale green gown that she wore was warm enough against the small breeze that shuddered through her open window and drapes. It was a beautifully clear night and the crickets seemed to chirp in agreement outside her window. And as she pushed away the ideas and thoughts about the Dragoon that she hadn't seen in over two years, another thought permeated her mind. 'I wonder what Edge is doing...'

She immediately sat up, making a disgusted noise as she pushed that thought out of her mind. 'Time for a walk,' she thought, shoving herself up off the bed. The pale green gown made of a silky material clung to her form loosely, but she still looked lovely, even if it was her night clothes. She slid her feet into some slippers before opening her door and wandering down to meander around the castle. All the castle was dark and there were hardly any people awake. A few passing guards seemed to nod in her direction as she moved about, but no one of real importance. Soon, however, she found herself in a comforting spot atop one of the towers of the castle. The green-haired female found herself hanging her legs over the edges of the tower as she sat on the edge to overlook the land of Baron. The moon played softly over it all, seeming to bring a surreal feel to the real life of the planet. It was a majestic scene.

"Not too bad, huh?" she heard, causing her to turn, slightly. She caught sight of the blonde-haired Dragoon which had hardly said anything since she had arrived. A small smile graced her lips as she turned away from him to glance back out over the scene laid before her. The wind weaved through her hair a bit as it gently swirled by again. "This is my favorite spot, you know?"

"No...I didn't," she replied, simply. She didn't want to offend him, but more lead on to the fact that she hadn't seen or heard from him in a long while. She didn't say anything when he moved to sit down next to her softly. She didn't even look at him, but instead stared off at the moon glittering on the lake.

"It's been a long time," he said, his voice still rich and calm. He seemed to be permeating a great amount of calm and collection that Rydia just didn't feel at the moment. She felt slightly jittery and anxious as she was full of a large amount of curiousity. There was just so much to ask.

"Yes, it has," she responded, unsure of herself. Was he opening conversation for her to ask questions? She wasn't positive.

"I missed you," he muttered, after a long pause. His voice had suddenly dropped a few decibels, low enough for her to hear, but no one else. She turned to him, suddenly. Rydia stared at him a long while, her green eyes searching his face for any clue of a lie, but she could see none. She wondered if he was the same man that he used to be, but it was obvious that there were no similarities to the betrayer that he used to be. All the while that she watched him carefully, he stared out at the land laid before the both of them as if he had said nothing of a curious nature.

"Why?" was all she could think to ask. It sounded stupid the moment that she had said it. The young woman wished she could take it back and pretend that she had never asked it to begin with.

"Because...," he replied, pausing to mull over his answer. It appeared that he wanted his answer to be meaningful, but make sense as well. He paused long enough for her to turn and watch him once more. He turned to stare at her, his deep blue eyes watching her carefully. His face cracked into a soft smile, however. He moved to stand and when he finally had, Kain gently placed his hand on her head as he bent over, bringing his face awfully close to hers. "Your emotions are contagious."

And so, the Dragoon turned and moved back down the stairs, away from the pretty Summoner. He left her to think over what he had said and their possibly forming friendship. However, Rydia was utterly lost as she sat there, feeling the heat on her face from his being so close to her. Her hand was gently placed over her heart, calming its fast-paced beat. Just what was going on around here?

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That...was my first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I don't know when I will be getting the next one out, but I definitely know that I want to finish a KainxRydia story because I've always loved the idea of them as a couple. Thank you for reading!

KaBunny