One:
Aria of Apology
"I had a weird dream last night." Marche said, picking at his breakfast.
Doned looked up from his eggs, "Oh yeah?"
"I dreamt that Ritz…" Marche hesitated, swirling his oatmeal, "I dreamt that Ritz killed me."
Doned tightened his expression, "That's not a very nice dream."
Marche shook his head, "Sure isn't. Been giving me chills all morning."
"Maybe it means something." Doned said.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Marche looked to Doned from the tops of his eyes.
"I dunno…maybe that Ritz is mad at you?" Doned scowled, "Did you forget her birthday or something?"
Marche laughed and shook his head, "No…I don't think it's like that. It-"
"Did you say something that offended her? You do that a lot by accident."
"No, it-"
"Maybe…" Doned put his finger on his chin, "Maybe she's mad at you because you're oblivious to the fact that she likes you."
"Ok, stop." Marche slapped the table, "Now you're being silly. There's no chance of that."
"Really?"
"Really."
Doned thought for a beat, "Oh, then what about—"
"Doned!" Marche interrupted, again slapping the table, "My dream was in Ivalice!"
This quieted Doned and he lay his hands across his lap. He nursed the silence for a while.
"You mean…our Ivalice?"
Marche made fists, "She was a judge and…she killed me..."
"Ritz? A Judge? That's…surreal."
Marche rolled his eyes, "Surreal is a understatement."
Both went quiet. Some snowbird song came from outside. A car passed, motor humming low.
Marche cleared his throat.
"Doned, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." Doned smiled.
Marche made his fists tighter. He licked his lips and bit his tongue at a few false starts. He swallowed.
"Do you…hate me? Do you hate me for bringing us back?"
Doned's response was immediate, like he had had practiced.
"I don't hate you, Marche. You're my brother. I can't hate you."
"But you could walk in our Ivalice…you had freedom! You-"
" It was a dream. A figment of our collective imaginations. Walking was nice, but what good is it if it's not real?"
"It felt real." Marche said.
"Most dreams do."
Marche took a deep breath and stood up. He took his leftover oatmeal to the fridge. As he walked by Doned, he playfully pat his head, mussing his hair.
"I'm going for a walk. Tell mom where I went."
"Okay." Doned twisted in his seat, watching as Marche pulled his jacket and scarf. He stopped at the front door.
"Doned?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." Marche said.
"Thanks for what?" Doned asked.
"Not hating me." Marche shot him a smile then left.
Doned turned back his breakfast. His appetite was gone. He chastised Marche, gritting his teeth. How stupid he was, thinking that way. After a life of sacrifice for his sake, how could Doned hate him in any capacity? The very idea nearly sickened Doned with anger.
It had been four months and three days since they awoke from their Ivalice. In that time Marche had changed. He was spending more time with his friends and family. Marche seemed to care more, if that was at all possible. But…Marche had always had a problem with keeping important things pent-up. Like this 'dream' he had…Doned was sure that if they weren't sibling, nobody would have ever know about it. Doned didn't get many details, either. Just a gloss of what it was, like Marche was just making conversation. Doned knew better: any dreams of Ivalice were rare and needed to be discussed. Him and Ritz had discussed many of their dreams. They built a friendship on it upon returning.
Doned took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He knew then who to call and after cleaning the table, rolled off to do so.