We stopped at the Travel Agency in the middle of the Gandof Thunder Plains to rest for a while. Alex sat in the room we had rented for a few hours and looked out the window.
"Are you all right, Lady Alex?" I asked.
"I'm fine, Auron," she assured me. "I'm just… thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing in particular." She kicked her foot a few times. "I love thunderstorms."
"You do?"
"Mmhmm." She beckoned to me to sit beside her on the bench beneath the window. I complied, and we both gazed out at the pouring rain and watched the thunderbolts shoot across the dark sky. "I don't know what it is about them."
"Did you like the rain back in Besaid?"
"Of course I did," she nodded. "There was always a rainbow afterward, remember?"
I smiled. "Of course."
"But it never rained like this, when it did rain," she continued. "No thunder, no lightning. Just that gentle rain."
"I found it soothing," I said. "I used to sit in the garden under the open pagoda in its center and read scriptures, or I'd train. It was so nice."
"Hm," she nodded. "I never knew that."
"Well, now you do."
She rested her head on my shoulder. "Auron?"
"Yes?"
She closed her eyes. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For opening up to me. I'm glad you found a way to trust me."
"Of course I would," I said. "How could I not?"
"I mean, before that night at the Moonflow," she clarified. "You opened up to me, when you probably haven't trusted much of anyone for a long time."
"Well, the monks and the nuns," I recalled. "But a vast majority of them were higher rank than I was. It was expected that I should trust them—or at least do whatever they told me to do."
She chuckled. "Hey—who was it that told you about me in the first place?"
"Kinoc," I replied. "I must admit, I got kind of mad at him before we left."
"Why's that?"
"He kept calling you hot, making jokes about how he'd rather hit on you than guard you. He said he wished he would have learned to be a little more adept with a katana so he could have been your guardian."
She laughed. "Is he always like this?"
"Kinoc, he… he can be a bit of an annoyance when he starts making all his jokes, but overall, he's quite a good person."
"The only one you've trusted voluntarily until me?"
I tapped the tip of my nose. "That is correct."
"Hm."
"What?"
"It's just interesting, is all."
"Any particular reason?"
"No, not really," she said through a yawn. "Man, I'm bushed. Mind if I take a nap?"
"Not at all."
"You want to lay down with me?"
"Sure."
We both walked over to the bed and pulled the covers up over us.
"As beautiful as thunderstorms are," she yawned again. "They almost always put me to sleep."
I stroked her hair. "Well, sleep. I'll be right here."
"If you're tired—"
"I'd much rather keep an eye on you," I informed her.
"Suit yourself," she shrugged. "Good night, Auron."
"Sweet dreams." I kissed the side of her head.
:::
"Auron? Au-ron?"
I opened my eyes and looked around. "Did I fall asleep?"
Alex laughed from beside me on the bed. "Yes you did."
"Must've been the rain," I said, sitting up.
"Wait."
"Wait?"
"Lay back down."
"What?"
"Just do it."
"Okay then." I laid back again, and she placed her hand on my chest. She looked at me, her eyes shining with some emotion that I could not quite decipher.
"Is everything okay?" I asked.
"Ssh." She kissed me softly. "I was half asleep an hour ago. I just wanted to lay here with you for a while, that's all."
"We really should get going, you know."
"I know, I know," she nodded. "I just… I just… oh, never mind."
"What?"
"I've been thinking."
"About?"
"I can't tell you."
"Oh, thanks."
She chuckled and began to stroke my hair. "It's nothing, really. Just a fantasy."
"What kind of fantasy?"
"One that will never happen."
"Hence the 'fantasy' bit," I said. "What were you thinking?"
"About something you said back at the Moonflow."
"Did I say something wrong?" I asked quickly.
"No, no, it's not that," she assured me. "It just started with something you said at the Moonflow. Something sweet," she added.
"What did I say?"
"That you wanted to raise our children in a world without Sin," she sighed. "And that got me thinking about how we'll never get to have kids."
"Alex, I didn't mean to—"
"Let me finish," she interrupted. "And that got me thinking, 'What if we did have children?'"
"I know what I said, but you know I can't," I said. "It's sacrilege."
"I know, just entertain the idea for a moment," she said. "I mean, you're already breaking the rules, aren't you? Isn't that two times in less than a week that we have?"
"I suppose so…"
"Anyhow, since it's not going to happen anyway, just imagine it with me," she said, her voice sounding as though her thoughts were already quite distant.
I gazed up at the ceiling. "So, what am I imagining?"
"Anything you want, really, but the way I've been seeing it is this: we live in Kilika, in a quaint little hut somewhere. We have two kids, a daughter and a son, and they're both amazing."
"I'll bet they're as beautiful as you are."
"You're going to make me blush," she laughed. "Now ssh, let me keep telling my story."
"All right then."
"So, we live in Kilika," she said. "You're not a monk anymore, obviously, but you still do what you can to help out at the temple, like training new monks or preparing people to be guardians."
"Sounds nice," I nodded.
"Our kids are learning, and learning a lot," she continued. "They're at the temple often, learning about Spira's history. They play with other kids in the village a lot, and they love to toss around a blitzball."
"How old are they?"
"In my head, our daughter's about seven and our son's about five."
"Hm, okay."
"Why?"
"Just curious. So, our daughter's oldest, then?"
"Yeah."
"Names?"
She laughed. "I might like to fantasize, but I haven't gotten that far yet."
"Ah, okay," I nodded.
"So, what do you think?"
"I think it's a life that anyone would dream about," I said, kissing the side of her head. "I wish it really could happen."
"So do I. But we have a job to do, don't we?"
"We do," I nodded. "Speaking of which…"
"Yeah," she said, sitting up. "Let's go."
:::
After trekking across the second half of the Thunder Plains, we reached Macalania Woods. We dried ourselves off a little bit and began our trip through the trees.
"I think we should sleep here tonight," Alex said, looking up at the trees and the brightly colored orbs nestled between their branches. "It's so beautiful."
"It is," I agreed, taking her hand.
"I didn't visit the woods when I lived in Macalania," she sighed. "I just… want to stay here for a while. Since I'll never be…"
"That's fine," I assured her. "We'll stay here as long as you like. Heck, we can even come back after we get the aeons from Macalania Temple the Palace of St. Bevelle, if you wish."
"Oh, Auron, I'd love that!" she exclaimed, her eyes alight with happiness. "Thank you."
"You are welcome," I replied. "Well, shall we?"
"We shall."
Hand in hand, we continued through the twists and turns of the path winding through the woods, until we came to a place where the path went three other ways.
"Well, I believe that is the rainbow road," she said, pointing to one of the offshoots. "And that way leads to the Travel Agency."
"What about the other one?"
"No idea."
"Want to find out?"
"I don't think we have a choice."
We followed the mystery path, brushing aside some branches as we did. We came upon a shallow lake with a tree at the back of it, a small waterfall on either side of it.
"This is so amazing," she breathed, taking off her boots and stepping into the water. "Did you know that this is what spheres are made of?"
"Is it?" I asked, bending over and touching it with my fingers. It was just a little thicker than water, pleasantly cool to the touch, and tinted slightly blue. "So, do you suppose peoples' memories are recorded in this as is?"
"It's not impossible," she mused. "Come on, take your shoes off—this stuff feels really neat underfoot."
"All right then," I agreed, taking off my shoes and putting them next to hers. I stepped into the water and over the vines and exposed roots of the tree. "Well hey, you're right."
"Of course I'm right," she laughed. She walked over to me and held my hands in hers. "I want it to record the memory of this."
"This?"
"This feeling," she said dreamily. "Because it's so perfect."
"Hm," I nodded. I leaned in and kissed her gently while she held me close.
"Lady Alex," I murmured following the embrace.
"Yes, Sir Auron?"
"Why don't you pretend?"
She shot me a confused glance. "Pretend what?"
"Pretend that we have that life," I suggested. "That we're married. Not necessarily kids, but that we're together, for the rest of our lives."
"Forever," she corrected.
"Forever," I nodded. "We're alone, no one will judge."
"Well… okay," she nodded. "Let's do it." She walked around a moment. "So… what do married people do?"
"I… I hadn't really thought of that," I chuckled.
"Neither did I," she smiled, putting her arms around my shoulders. "Well… I know one thing they do."
"And what's that? Aside from…" I kissed her tenderly. "That."
"Okay, two things," she chuckled. She looked deep into my eyes, and I could feel the connection, the one I always felt when we looked at each other. "One is… I love you."
I pulled back a little. "What?"
"What what?" she asked. "Married couples tell each other that."
"Yeah…"
"So, Auron—do you love me?"
"I…" I'd never said it. It was a completely overwhelming feeling. And me? In love? That was an entirely foreign concept to me. But I knew what I felt. "Of course I love you."
"Auron…" she stepped closer to me and took my hands. "I know you've had a lot taken away from you. I know that there hasn't really been anyone in your life to love you, and you haven't needed that emotion. You haven't needed to let anyone in. But you let me in, Auron, and you're safe. You'll always be safe." She held me close. "I'll never leave you. Not really. I love you."
I returned her embrace, and I realized that I was crying. "I love you, as well, Lady Alex."
She leaned up to kiss me, and I felt tears on her cheeks as well as mine.
"Hey, quit crying!" she laughed.
"You first!"
She smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Firsts for both of us, I guess, hm?"
I nodded. "I'm sorry."
"You've done nothing to apologize for," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Sorry I rushed you into it."
"You didn't," I said. "Really, you didn't. I do love you. I've just… well, like you said. I've never had to tell anyone that before because I've never really loved anyone before. It's just… different."
There was a moment of silence before she spoke.
"Thank you, Auron," she said, stroking my hair. "Thank you for keeping me safe. All of me."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." I smiled, followed by another lapse in speech. "So… what was that other thing that married people do?"
"Well…" she kissed my cheek and lingered there to whisper in my ear. "You're not going to like it."
"Why not? What could I possibly not like about being married to you?"
"It's breaking the rules."
"Which we've already broken how many times?"
"This is true," she nodded. "Well, can't hurt to show you."
"Show me?"
She kissed me, gently at first, but then with a growing urgency. Suavely, she undid the belt holding my cloak together, and it fell to the ground with a soft thud.
"Lady Alex?" I asked between kisses.
She pulled back and looked at me, her big, chocolate eyes shining. "You asked."
It was against the rules. In fact, it was probably more against the rules than anything we had done thus far. But when I looked at her, I could not make myself care about rules. There was only us, and the world was only as big as the space between our bodies. There was no Yevon, no temples, no pilgrimage, no Sin—just us.
"I did," I nodded. I leaned into her, kissing her again, and fiddling with the cords that held her cloak to her. My fingers fumbled awkwardly. "Sorry," I said nervously. "I'm new to this."
"It's okay," she whispered. "So am I." She kissed my cheek. "I love you."
"I love you, too," I replied. "Always."
