Precious

Written By Rose Dincht


"How did you survive...?"

"I didn't have a choice... I had to live. I wanted to come home to you. So... I sang your song..."

"Our song..."

Zidane's eyes fluttered open. The blinding rays of the ray beat down on his face, warming his face and body from underneath the satin sheets of the bed. Giving a silent yet long yawn, his arm snaked around the waist of Garnet, his Dagger, his cheek brushing against her dark hair as he nuzzled her neck. She was always peaceful in her sleep. Ten years had passed, and her once delicate frame of fair youth had matured into a body of grace and an eternal beauty. At age twenty-eight, she was still the beautiful, shining Garnet she was when she was sixteen. Zidane brushed his fingertips against her cheek and her lips... he never fully realized how soft her skin was in the past. It was smooth, warm, gentle, like a baby's.

At some points Zidane himself had grown envious of her soft skin. His skin had grown a little rougher over the years. His jawline and chin felt like sandpaper as gold-colored facial hair poked out through his pale skin. His hair had grown longer as well, as his once inch-long ponytail had dropped down to the center of his back. It was still very thin-layered, but longer then he expected it to be. But it hadn't bothered him. He actually enjoyed longer hair. It was his rougher, harder skin that became a peeve to him. But nonetheless, the thoughts were always washed away when Garnet would stirr in her sleep, rub her soft cheek against his scratchy face and giggle at the feeling. She would make a cute and innocently sarcastic comment about him getting a shave, and then kiss him. Like she did now.

"Hey there, beautiful." he said as she rolled over on her back to look up at him.

"Always up bright and early, aren't you?" she laughed, stroking his cheek and giving him a silly look. "Zidane, I thought I told you to get this shaved."

Zidane responded by crawling over ontop of her with a mischievious smile. "Aww c'mon, you know you like it." he laughed.

Garnet gave a laugh and squirmed slightly in playful resistance. "Nooooo, get it shaved..." she laughed.

"No way, you know you like it!"

Zidane responded by leaning down and kissing her on the mouth, making sure to brush the facial hair against her cheek and jawline as she giggled. She kissed him back softly, and he sat up on the bed. He truly was a great person. A theif turned King. She would always find him playfully swiping her earrings or garments without her even noticing until he had put it on himself. Even after ten years of being the king of Alexandria, he still was a child at heart. He streched out his arms the way he used to, both arms going to the left twice, then to the right twice, and then a roll of his shoulders, before getting off the bed and struggling to keep his white evening pants on. He gave a slight frown at the loose trousers... he had asked Marie to get them adjusted. He supposed it must have slipped her mind or something... or perhaps it was just too awkward for a king to be asking a serving girl, even if she was a tailor, to adjust his pants of all garments. Garnet slipped out of bed, rubbing her eyes gently and smoothing out the wrinkles of her nightgown. She walked over and opened the windows, watching as a flock of pidgeons abandoned their resting areas on the windowceil and took to the sky as the sun's light filled the room.

"What a beautiful morning... a wonderful day for the reunion." she said outloud.

Zidane nearly stumbled over himself, half falling in his shock and half struggling to get out of his night pants, looking up at the queen of Alexandria. "The reunion is today?" he cried.

Garnet, familiar with the sounds of the shuffling clothing and the stumbling, kept her eyes to the sky as she responded. "Of course it is, don't tell me you forgot about it." she laughed.

Zidane, finally out of the night trousers and making his way to the wardrobe looked over his shoulders as he pulled out his royal attire. "Well... you can't really say I forgot about it. I just lost track of time is all..." was his protest.

Garnet slightly giggled. Always a child at heart. Always...

"Well... I suppose you could put it that way. But it's a little awkward you forgot the date. This is the only time of the year that we actually get to see everyone again..." she said softly, her eyes still to the sky. Zidane, now with his trousers on, looked back over his shoulder as he pulled his white silk shirt over his head.

"Yeah, it's a crazy time, isn't it? Oddly enough... something crazy seems to always happen this time of year too." he said, finishing his sentence with a laugh as he smoothed out the wrinkles on his shirt.

Garnet smiled, then rested her hands on the windowceil. "Isn't it amazing how every year, something changes about them? Just small, simple things about them. Remember that one year, Vivi came back with the entire Black Mage Village? He said that he had found a way to expand their lifespan..." she said.

Zidane smiled as he threw his cape over his shoulders and seated himself on the bed, slipping one foot into a boot. "I remember how happy he was when he found out. It was nice to see the kid happy again." he said.

Garnet, recognising the noise of his weight on the bed, came to the conclusion that it was safe to turn around. She did so, and walked towards him, continuing the conversation.

"Do you remember that one year when Freya came to Alexandria five months pregnant? And the year after that when she came back with Fratley and five little girls?" she asked with a smile and a blush. Zidane fastened his boot, then stuck his other foot into the other one. He could tell something was up, but the way her voice was trailing off, and how red her face was.

He smiled. "Are you nervous too?"

Her head lifted up, and she shooked her head. "No, not at all..." when she saw the look on his face, that pretty much said 'Who are you trying to fool, babe?', she knew he knew. "Well... maybe a little. I guess I'm always like this every year."

Zidane fastened his boot, stood to his feet, and moved towards her as he managed to slip his gloves onto his hands. His arms opened and wrapped around his queen in a gentle and comforting embrace. Garnet smiled, her arms automatically wrapping around him tenderly.

"It's okay to be a little nervous. Change can be scary sometimes. Remember when Amarant grew his hair out? Now THAT was something scary." he chuckled. Garnet gave a laugh and playfully hit him on the chest.

"That was mean..." she giggled. Zidane gave a playful laugh in return.

"But what I'm trying to say is, how bad can it be? These are our buddies, right? That's one thing that will never change, espcieally after all the stuff they went through with us. Who knows what'll change about 'em this year, but whatever it is, I bet it's for the best. Unless Amarant decides to change wardrobes and walk around Treno as a drag queen. That'd be scarier then anything Kuja could do to us." he laughed.

Garnet couldn't resist and burst out into laughter. He always knew how to make her smile. That was one thing that never changed about him. The world could be ending and he would always say something sweet or silly to make her smile. He gave a laugh himself, and slipped his other hand into the other glove. He never really cared for his royal appearance. Actually when these reunions came he always dressed in his rememberable thieve getup, just like Garnet would slip on her orange bodysuit and go by the name "Dagger" for the rest of the day. But today was a special occassion for him. For the both of them. And he felt that it was best to be formal about it. He didn't know why he was thinking that, maybe his wife's royalness was rubbing off on him. So here he was, the former Tantalus theif, clad in white silk shirt, a pair of dark navy trousers, matching boots, white gloves and a dark blue cape that came over his shoulders and tied together at the chest by a white pendant with the crest of Alexandria engraved on it. His hair had been brushed out and tied back, his facial hair was fairly groomed, and ivory crown shimmered in the sunlight. He had to admit, even though the royal attire was never his thing, he looked pretty damn good.

"But there's one thing you have to worry about, dear." he said. She blinked.

"What's that?" she asked. He responded by picking her up in his arms.

"You don't want to be greeting our buddies in your nightie, right? Time to get dressed!" he laughed and sprinted towards her wardrobe as she laughed at his sillyness.

She was telling herself that there was nothing really for her to be nervous about. She knew that things changed year after year, but no matter what, they would always be there for her, and they would always be the friends she knew from before. What would be to worry about? Surely her friends would never try to hurt her by changing for the worst...

What kind of friend would do that...?