Disclaimer: Tales of Phantasia and all her characters belong to Namco. The bluebird comparison is credited to Morrosseth.

Pairing: Cless x Chester

Warnings: Rape, Spoilers, Shounen-ai

Bluebird Is Breaking

Epilogue: Rain

Written by Nariena

December 10, 2007

When he'd woken up, Cless had decided that it was just one of those days.

One of those days, when the weather was dreary and no one was around and Chester was especially depressed.

He'd spent the whole morning pondering over the archer, and probably most of the afternoon about what he should say.

Usually Mint was best at these sorts of things, but she'd gone off with Morrison to get more wood.

They'd run out, after managing to rebuild quite a large portion of Totus.

It wasn't a professional job by any means, but they were doing pretty well with the few volunteers from Euclid they had.

So, now that Mint was gone for who knew how long, Cless felt that it was his duty to cheer Chester up, or at least try.

It was true that he had no clue what he wanted to say.

But it was also true that Cless was determined. And when Cless was determined to do something, then by Martel, he'd get it done.

First off, however, he needed to find Chester.

Cless hadn't seen him all day, so he assumed Chester was outside.

The only problem was that it was raining. Hard.

Oh, well. No harm in checking, he supposed.

With that, he exited the building, to be near soaked through after one minute of searching.

Worry outweighing the chill, he pressed on through the downpour.

After what seemed like forever, a figure seemed to appear, stoic against what little light there was.

By then, he figured it must have been getting late.

Chester must have been out for quite a long time.

Cless stepped towards the figure cautiously, calling out.

"Chester? Are you alright?"

When there was no response, he thought for a moment that his voice had been lost to the sound of the rain.

But then the archer turned his head, the picture of surprise.

Their eyes met for the first time in months.

Cless' heart sank. Still the same.

He could have sworn he'd seen a tear roll down Chester''s cheek as he lowered his head.

He hoped that it was just the rain.

The archer shook his head, turning back around.

Now that he thought of it, what was Chester looking at, anyway?

Curious, Cless approached.

Putting a hand on Chester's shrugged shoulder, he squinted to see past the rain in front of him.

That couldn't be right. It seemed that they were just in front of the entrance into the catacombs where Dhaos had been sealed.

How had he managed to wander this far off?

"Why are you all the way out here, Chester?"

The archer seemed to stiffen under Cless' hand, but his gaze remained trained to the sky.

Cless mentally kicked himself. Wrong thing to ask.

Predictably, the archer didn't respond.

Well, damn, he thought. That was all he'd figured out.

Lost for words, the swordsman remained standing where he was.

But it was Chester that next did something unthinkable.

With lightning speed, he whirled around and clung to the swordsman for dear life.

Before Cless had time to react, Chester spoke, voice fearful against the wind.

"You know what happened."

The swordsman, still dumbstruck, nodded, and the archer averted his gaze.

"I knew it."

A drawn-out silence passed between them, as the swordsman searched for the right words to say.

"I still love you, you know."

It was the first thing that came to mind.

It was almost painfully true.

"How can you say that? I'm-- I--"

Cless silenced him, putting a finger to his lips.

"You're you, Chester. No matter what happens."

"You don't know anything, do you?"
Looking at him in contempt, he went to shove the swordsman away.

As he turned away, Cless caught his arm.

"Let go."

"No."

"I said, let go!"

"And I said no."

It was then that an idea popped into Cless' mind.

Something that his mother had taught him, long ago.

Without another word, he pulled the archer back into his arms.

His hands found their way to the archer's wrists.

Chester flinched, fear taking over.

Right away, memories flooded into his mind.

He suddenly felt weak, and couldn't help but stutter.

"C-Cless! What are you--?!"

From behind, Cless cut him off.

"Shh. Just close your eyes and listen."

Hesitantly, ever so hesitantly, Chester obeyed.

As time passed, the archer's heartbeat slowed to a normal pace, and he relaxed more and more into Cless' hold.

It was oddly soothing, hearing the rain's pitter-patter all around.

And he found a strange comfort in feeling Cless behind him.

It was this way that they stayed for quite some time.

Chester stood still, feeling and listening.

Cless was the tower, protecting him.

As the rain's chill, previously forgotten, began to settle in, they broke apart.

Cless suggested they head back.

Chester smiled.

It was still just one of those days, Cless decided then.

But now it was one of those days.

One of those days, when the weather was dreary and no one was around and Chester had finally smiled.

And though the scars would always remain, maybe, just maybe, this bluebird would fly again…

… For there, in his infinite darkness, he saw the sun. And he was healed.

- FIN -