It happened one night, in the spare office where Raine had all but moved in over the past few weeks for her research grant. Regal had brought her mail in with his and absently handed her a stack of envelopes as he passed by her desk. She'd absently accepted it, but an unusual size and texture had made her pause.
"Is this - ?"
Her tone of voice had made him pause as well.
"Is it - ?"
The wax seal winked in the lamplight, the personal seal of Zelos Wilder, Minister of Internal Affairs. Regal leaned politely over Raine's shoulder as she turned the missive over in her hands. With trembling fingers, she broke the seal and opened the crisply folded letter. It only took her a moment to scan the contents, her heart hammering in her chest.
"It is!"
Then she'd surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. And he'd surprised her by putting a hand on either side of her face and responding.
It was the elation and their bodies' natural instincts. They both knew it and the contact was only a breath long before she pulled away and began to read the letter again, summarizing the contents out loud. Regal still leaned over her shoulder, his hair brushing her cheek, and if both of them were breathing a little faster, neither one of them said anything about it.
"The law went through! There was a sizable opposition and there were a few compromising provisions, but it passed. The Half-Elf Equality Act is now law."
Nearly ten years of tension drained out of Raine's body as she slumped back into her chair.
"It passed," she repeated, holding the paper up to Regal.
"I had no doubt that it would," Regal assured her, taking the letter and reading it for himself.
The rest of the week was spent in writing letters, dealing with the celebratory party that Genis and Lloyd decided to throw in their hotel room when they came to visit, and the ever-constant stream of filing as Raine was in the middle of yet another move, this time back to Sybak. They very often worked shoulder to shoulder, but the kiss did not come up. But somewhere, at some point, they both knew that something had changed.
Raine was the one to bring it up a month later. She was visiting, back at her position at the Sybak research facility. She'd made an appointment for his time, telling the secretary not to tell him who it was waiting. She had no doubts as to his priorities and fairness in dealing with others, but she also knew that he'd drop nearly whatever he was doing whenever any of their old party visited. She knew he had work to do.
Predictably, he protested when she was finally admitted.
"Professor Sage, you should have had them tell me you were here."
"No, I didn't want to be disruptive."
"Believe me, your disruption is always welcome. Especially when I have to be reading patent approvals." He indicated a stack of papers as he pulled out a chair for her. She didn't sit, just rested her hands on the back. He didn't comment, just set himself behind his desk. He'd learned to relax a bit since she'd met him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Regal, I owe you an apology."
He was smart, but he was also far more delicate and diplomatic than she in conversation, even with her past ten years of experience. He leaned forward gently.
"I'm sorry, but I don't recall any offense you would need to apologize for."
That made her stomach clench and release with an emotion that she honestly couldn't decide what to call. But she muscled through anyway.
"The night the letter came through for the Equality Act," she said, meeting his gaze. Ten years before, her fingers might have dug into the upholstery of the chair or she might have had to lock her knees and steel her spine, but now, she just looked at him and he looked back.
"I'm sorry," she said calmly, confidently. "I overstepped my bounds."
He was silent for a moment, then he raked one hand through his hair.
"Raine, may I be frank?"
"Please."
"You have nothing to apologize for. It was neither offensive nor unwelcome. It was... unexpected, but I did not object then and I would not object now."
He fiddled with his cufflinks, a small gesture that he had picked up since his shackles had been removed all those years back. But he was still looking at her.
"I care very deeply for you, Professor. I think you have a right to know. But I don't have any expectations, based on that night or otherwise. Please, be at ease as to your actions. If anything, I should be the one to apologize for making you uncomfortable."
Seeing Regal blush was always a novel experience. He was still serious, still certain of himself, but there was a gentle pink hue highlighting his cheekbones. Raine was fairly certain she herself might be blushing as well. It was so different from another confession she'd had, all those years ago, but it was more real, more honest.
"May I be frank in return, Regal?"
"Absolutely."
"Forgive me if this is insensitive, but what about Alicia?"
He didn't flinch or withdraw as the reminder might have done in years past. The shackles had been lifted away more than physically. But the way his gaze grew distant with memory for the briefest of moments and a tiny fond smile brushed across his lips put her at ease in more ways than one.
"Alicia is... gone, Raine." No matter the time passed, he still hesitated, if only for an instant. "I have no illusions about that. She has been laid to rest and her soul is at peace. She will always be a part of me and I'll always love her, but it no longer... holds me back."
Raine smiled at him, finding that she couldn't stop.
"Then I suppose I have no right to let it hold me back either."
Neither one of them moved. They made pleasant small talk, him about his work and her about her students, and if they smiled any longer or laughed any easier, it felt... right.
A week or so later, he appeared at the door of her rented apartment in Meltokio.
"You can be a hard woman to find," he quipped mildly after she had ushered him in. "Sybak sent me to Palmacosta before Palmacosta sent me here."
"Mmm, when I vowed to travel the world, I didn't take into account how much mail would have to be forwarded in the process," she agreed, clearing papers and books from one of her few chairs to give him a place to sit. "Palmacosta's library didn't have the materials I needed, so I'm borrowing the royal library for a few weeks."
"Ginnungagap research, yes?"
"Yes. Now that the Equality Act's begun to take effect, I needed something to occupy my time."
"Teaching doesn't do that?" He accepted the seat and the glass of water she offered in the absence of anything stronger.
She smiled.
"I used to be content with Iselia, did you know that? But since then, I find that I just want more. Still selfish, I guess."
He just laughed. She chuckled as well as she cleared off another seat and sat across from him.
"Besides, the academy is closed for a break at the moment."
"Oh, then perhaps you will find the time for this."
He pulled a small package from his jacket pocket.
"I didn't know if you had seen it yet."
She unwrapped the package and quirked an eyebrow at its contents.
"Interesting," she said, dragging the word out a bit longer than necessary.
'Locket of Evening; a novel of passions and life,' read the tiny paperback's title, 'by Marta Lualdi'. Raine stared at the cover for a long moment, trying to decide on the most tactful response, when a tiny sound drew her attention away. Regal had one hand over his mouth, the other supporting his elbow, evidently trying to keep from chuckling out loud at her expression.
"You're terrible," Raine scolded, resisting the urge Lloyd had once cultivated in her to throw the book at his head.
"I saw it yesterday at the resort gift shop and I thought you might appreciate it."
"Indeed. Winter is only six months away and heating can be expensive in the city." She let a wicked grin to match his own spread across her face. They chuckled together for a moment. They had learned this in the past ten years.
"No, I shouldn't be unkind. I'm glad the silly girl has finally gotten to enjoy herself a bit. I imagine the fallout from her father's doings is still difficult sometimes."
"She will manage," Regal said, sobering as well even if the indulgent smile didn't quite leave his face. "She is stronger than we all give her credit for. They both are." He and Raine had both been to the wedding a few years back.
Raine just sighed and shook her head, placing the book on her already dangerously overloaded side table.
"Colette might enjoy it," Regal suggested helpfully.
"Perhaps. Now, did you have any other purpose in calling besides spreading your love of questionable literature?"
"Not particularly, but if you have the time, I was wondering if you'd care to join me for lunch." How was it possible to be so assured and yet so shy at the same time?
And so they found themselves, arm in companionable arm, walking along the blistering streets of Meltokio. And if the lunch had turned into dinner and if he had laid the most gentlemanly of kisses on her knuckles and if there had been an understanding that this would happen again and soon, it just felt right.
A/N: I originally had planned to do another piece in-between this chapter and the last, dealing with the events of the sequel, but in all honesty, I've only played the game once and details are fuzzy. I do know that I didn't like the sequel all that much. It wasn't terrible, but it was vastly inferior - in my opinion - to the original Symphonia. It was what originally gave me the idea for this fic, what with the sudden inclusion of Raine/Regal flirting, but overall, I felt fairly content ignoring it. Maybe if I ever play it again, I'll take notes and maybe fill in a few gaps, which is really all these stories were ever meant to do. And this, this is the end of this collection for now, with promises of more in the future.
