I've long wanted to write a collection of short stories regarding Class 0 and this is my first. Enjoy!

Don't expect any massive plot twists. I'm mainly writing them for the fluff. :D

Please R&R. I don't own any of the characters.

It was a beautiful day. The gentle temperature during the transition from spring to summer felt comfortable on the skin and the weather was clear and breezy. But to students of the Peristylium of Suzaku, the seemingly perfect weather only created a sense of longing and desperation.

As the term drew close to an end, it signaled the approaching examinations. Teachers have grown harsh in giving assignments and most of the students' free time was devoted into completing them and studying. Even as the warm breeze invited them to come out and play, most of the students were stuck in their increasingly restricting classroom, battling the tremendous pile of homework.

At least a dozen students were in Class 0's classroom that day, each fighting their inner demon to resist the temptation to go to the nearest town for an ice-cream.

Deuce furiously scratched off another misspelled word in her assignment. Despite the workload, it was not like the gentle and mild mannered girl to be so agitated. Breathing a deep sigh, she stole another glance at the scenery that completely destroyed her concentration.

The bright sunrays seeped in through the windows, casting a soft glow on Ace's platinum blonde hair. His handsome boyish features formed a serious expression on his face as his bright blue eyes scanned the book he was reading.

But no, it was not Ace that broke Deuce's concentration… well partly… but the presence of the girl beside him.

Mutsuki's small figure had recently been accustomed to accompanying Ace wherever he went, and today was not an exception. The dark haired girl was younger than anyone in Class 0 but her brains had allowed her to join the elite ranks of the top class in the Suzaku Peristylium. Her explosive demeanor had initially alienated her from most members of Class 0, but as she warmed up to them, most of her classmates had come to see her as an adorable younger sister.

Except Ace, that is.

About a month ago, Deuce had heard rumors that their class leader was dating the eccentric newcomer and ignored them. But Ace and Mutsuki's constant companionship had slowly sparked an unwelcome jealousy within Deuce.

To her own horror and distress, Deuce had found herself constantly stealing glances at the couple and wishing for their break-up. In one of her secret daydreams, she had pictured Ace having a massive fight with Mutsuki and swept Deuce away in his arms instead. To make matters worse, she had even found it hard to talk normally to Ace as her heart thumped merrily every time he was nearby. She stammered, blushed, choked on her own words and even worried on what Ace's impression of her was after every conversation they had.

'Deuce!'

Queen's sharp authoritative voice finally halted another one of train of thoughts about Ace. She turned to face the class president seated beside her. Queen eyed her carefully, obviously concerned at her classmate's disengagement. Her sharp purple eyes had such a piercing quality about them that Deuce felt as though her secret was out.

'I called you at least three times back there,' she finally said, sighing, 'I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't doodle on my assignment.'

Deuce snapped back into reality. Sure enough, in another one of her dreamy escapades, she had subconsciously drawn a wiggling line on a paper she thought to be hers.

'Oh! I'm so sorry, Queen! Let me erase them for you!' Deuce quickly took an eraser and began erasing the line she had drawn.

'You seem very detached lately,' Queen said, sounding anxious, 'care to talk about it?'

'Wha- Oh, there's nothing, really,' Deuce hurriedly said as she returned the assignment to Queen. Queen did not seem convinced, but before she could question any further, Deuce had swiftly gotten up from her seat and said, 'I'll be at the library, there's something I need to find out regarding this assignment.'

…

But Deuce did not head to the library. She had decided that her lack ability to concentrate would contribute nothing to her assignment as of now and let her feet subconsciously take her to Ace's favorite place.

The chocobo stable was a peaceful and serene place. Hardly any students have enough time and interest in chocobos to lead them there, especially at such a busy time. Deuce herself was not as big of a fan of the great yellow birds as Ace or Machina was but admired them all the same.

She sat down near a flock of young chocobos running around and began playing with them. The lively young birds proved soothing to her agitated mind but again she wondered if Ace felt the same calmness whenever he is here.

With the calm breeze blowing gently against her demure face, Deuce felt the fatigue slowly taking over her consciousness, and drifted off to sleep…

In her dreams, Deuce was standing on a vast field of blooming flowers. Ace stood some distance away, facing her. They looked at each other for a long moment before he finally held one hand out for Deuce to hold, smiling his gentle, charming smile…

'Hey, Deuce…' A familiar, gentle voice can be heard calling out her name.

She grudgingly opened her eyes, annoyed at being awoken from such a beautiful dream. But as her vision came into focus, her irritation subsided almost instantly.

Ace was crouching beside her, his eyes radiating worry and concern. And as though it was a continuation of the dream, his hand was holding hers.

'Are you okay?' he asked, concerned.

'Oh yes, I'm fine,' she said, feeling her cheeks burning, 'I must have dozed off.'

When she absent-mindedly stared at her hand which was clutched in his, Ace quickly turned pink and let it go.

'Sorry,' he said in an apologetic tone, 'you were reaching out for something in your sleep so I just took it.'

Deuce inwardly cursed their childhood relationship. Having known Ace since a young age, Deuce had often feared that their closeness was nothing more than brotherly.

'I'm surprised you were here though,' Ace said as he got up and approached a great big chocobo nearby. The huge bird almost purred at Ace's affectionate stroking. How Deuce wished that she was the chocobo…

'Well, I don't come as often as you or Machina, but I do like them.' Deuce said

Ace smiled warmly at her response. 'Not many people do,' he said, 'maybe we can go for a ride next time?'

His invitation almost made Deuce faint with glee. Fighting to keep her calm, Deuce mustered all her strength to say 'Sure!'

…

Ever since that miraculous day, Deuce found herself rushing through her homework and heading to the chocobo stables almost every afternoon. Most of the time, Ace would also be there, and it was probably the only instances whereby Deuce could catch Ace alone without Mutsuki. Occasionally, Machina, their classmate and Ace's best friend, would also join them.

Deuce felt surprisingly comfortable talking alone with Ace as they took care of chocobos, fed them and sometimes rode them. They talked about school, about lessons, about the upcoming examinations, about friends, and finally about Mutsuki.

'She's really fun to be with,' Ace remarked when the topic landed on Mutsuki one day. Deuce felt an involuntary pang of disappointment at his comment. She had wished that Ace would remark at how desperately he wanted to get out of the relationship.

Her expression must have betrayed her for Ace smiled at her and said, 'Don't make that face. You're really fun to be around too.' Deuce cannot help but smile bitterly at Ace's inability to decipher her feelings.

…

As the examinations drew nearer, Deuce found her time brutally cut so short that she has no time to visit the chocobo stables. When she noticed that Ace still found the time to make regular visits to the stables, she cursed her brains for not being as smart as his.

On the positive side, however, Deuce also noticed that Ace and Mutsuki were spending less time together, possibly because of Mutsuki's need to keep up with the workload. Being the youngest in the class obviously did not work in her favor for her studies.

…

The examinations came like a tornado; brutally ravaging every student's mind in a whirlwind of chaos and frenzy. When they were finally over, cries of celebration erupted from every corner of the Peristylium.

'YEAH!' Nine, the boisterous troublemaker of the class shouted as the final paper was handed in, 'Let's all go for a FEAST!'

'Agreed~!' Cinque, the airheaded girl chirped her agreement.

'We're gonna party all week~!' Jack, the happy-go-lucky boy remarked as the rest of the class cheered and contributed various wild ideas.

Deuce cannot help smiling at the enthusiasm and relief that her classmates were exuding. Even the silent and stoic King and the rebellious and obstinate Sice were smiling with eagerness.

…

The joyous class was the loudest customers in the Firebird that evening, the most famous restaurant in the town of Acuvi. They ordered the best delicacies, joked and laughed, chatted happily and even dared Jack to flirt with one of the waitresses. The boys roared with laughter and amazement when Jack returned with the curvy waitress' number.

They stayed behind until they were the last customers to leave before heading back to the dormitories and resuming their party at the boys' dorm. Naghi, the popular informant of Class 0, had somehow managed to use his connections to gain access to a number of bottles of alcohol.

Cinque was the first to cave in to the effects of alcohol after a couple of hours of partying. Her chestnut brown head slowly dropped on Trey's broad shoulder and a soft snore indicated that she was fast asleep. Trey sighed but nevertheless smiled as he scooped her up, laid her on a nearby bed and gently covered her with a blanket.

Not wanting to be coaxed into a drunken stupor by Eight, Jack or Naghi, Deuce silently sneaked out to the balcony as all the others' attention were turned to Trey and Cinque. It was a clear, beautiful night and the full moon shone brightly above the Suzaku Peristylium, unobstructed by any clouds. In the horizon, the towns in the Rubrum Region twinkled with lights from houses and the streets, seemingly contributing to the happy atmosphere the Peristylium was in at the moment.

As Deuce was savoring the serene scenery by herself, the door to the balcony creaked open. She instinctively turned to face her guest, worried that her absence was detected too soon by her classmates. Instead, she came face to face with Ace.

Ace had obviously sneaked out of the party as well since he quietly closed the door behind him. Breathing a sigh of relief, Deuce smiled at her companion and said, 'I was worried it was Jack, Eight or Naghi with their goals of making everyone drunk.'

Ace smiled at her remark and said, 'I was worried too, that's why I followed you here.'

Deuce was pleasantly surprised that Ace noticed her absence, but having grown used to hiding her feelings, she simply smiled at his words.

But this time, Ace was the one who flustered. Even in the pale moonlight, Deuce could make out his blushing face.

'Deuce…' he began, 'I wanted to tell you something…'

Deuce grew worried at his tone. Please don't let him say that it was about Mutsuki getting jealous and that they shouldn't meet at the stables anymore, she silently wished as she hoped against all hope that her anxiety would not show on her face. Seeing her worried face seemed to have made Ace speechless as he swallowed his next words.

The tension between the two mounted to its peak as Ace struggled to find the words he wanted to say and Deuce stood frozen despite the warm summer air. In the few seconds that seemed like ages, Ace finally decided giving up on saying anything and, to Deuce's greatest shock, he kissed her…

It was gentle and sweet. Deuce quickly overcame the shock and reciprocated. It was not until their lips separated that the gravity of the situation seemed to hit Deuce on the head.

'…No… you must be drunk…' she stammered, 'it was alcohol… there's Mutsuki inside… we're partyi-'

'Deuce, listen.' Ace firmly cut her words, 'I'm not drunk. Mutsuki and I broke up weeks ago before the examinations.'

The news of Ace breaking up with Mutsuki drove her back to her senses. 'But… why?' Deuce asked, bewildered.

Ace flushed furiously as he answered, 'Because I realized I love you.'

How often had Deuce heard him say that in her dreams and fantasies? Yet ironically, now that he has truly said it to her, it felt like a dream. Deuce had thought of thousands of ways in which she would answer that statement and yet she found herself gaping wordlessly like a goldfish.

'I'm sorry if I gave you a shock,' Ace gently apologized, 'I understand if you need time. I won't hold it against you either if you don't feel the same way. I'm sorry that I acted without thinking.'

In her mind, Deuce was screaming that it was not Ace's fault. That her reaction was against her will. That she too loved Ace…

With a shadow of disappointment, Ace turned to return to the party. But before he could do so, Deuce's body seemed to act on her long buried feelings as she wrapped her arms around him from the back.

'Don't go…' she whispered, 'you don't realize how long I've waited… for you to say that… I really love you too, Ace…'

A gentle smile filled with relief formed on Ace's lips. He turned to face Deuce and the two locked their arms in a long awaited embrace. Deuce felt warm tears of happiness slide down her cheeks as Ace's warmth engulfed her.

Despite her theoretically more romantic fantasies of Ace's confession, Deuce cannot help but feel that this reality was the most beautiful scenario of them all…