Chapter Twelve:
~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: Spira - Guadosalam - Leblanc's Chateu
~* Logos's point of view *~
Ormi and I were in the living room, the secret-door was locked tight behind us, the boss had insured that we install a new lock with a key-word so thieves wont be able to enter, plus locking all the code-spheres in the inside so even if the thieves came in, they wont know the way out; she had placed all the important spheres we have gathered during the last two years into that secret room, except for a few other spheres that interested her or contained Nooj in any possible way-or-form, she hid them somewhere in her bedroom.
'I wonder where, though.'
"Strange," I murmured, "the boss hasn't come back yet." I gazed about the entrance of the room.
"Maybe she's got busy with Nooj and forgot to come back?" Ormi shrugged and then crossed his arms.
"It's possible." I replied, 'The boss tends to forget everything else when she's with the Mayvn.'
"I'm worried." Ormi muttered, "Maybe we's got to go back and check on her?" he looked up at me.
"I'm sure she's fine, she probably got busy with something and would arrive any minute now." I nodded to myself and kept my gaze to the outside.
'Then again, something might have happened after we left?' doubt crept heavily into my chest.
"You!" I called a near by femme-goon, the one who accompanied us back to Guadosalam, "Go back to Besaid and check on the boss." I ordered.
"Yes, sir." She saluted and ran off.
As I watched her leave, I felt Ormi's gaze cause a cool sensation at the back of my neck, so I glared down at him, "Yes?" I frowned, arms crossed.
He was grinning at me with lazy eyes, "You's worried about the boss, aintcha?" he crossed his arms and nodded to himself , "Yup, I knew it."
I lazily clapped an applause, "Hooray for the genius." I said in boredom.
Ormi jerked to me with surprise washing over his featured, "Wha -? I was actually right?" he blinked.
I rolled my eyes, "I was mocking you, you pinhead."
Ormi sulked but then grinned again, "But you's worried about the boss, right?"
"Aren't you?" I sneered, shook my head and tried to dismiss the matter, "Oh just forget it."
Ormi grinned wider and pocked his elbow in my side, "C'mon! Tell me, honestly, just how much do you like the boss?"
I frowned, feeling a slight sense of heat on my face, "Oh do Shut Up!" I growled.
"That much, huh?" he grinned even more, "Not that I's blame you, the boss sure is hot, huh?"
I could feel my left brow twitching, but I preferred to say nothing.
"Do you's think we, someday, would get pretty dames who'd love us like the boss loves Nooj?" Ormi eyed away, but I just know he's trying to get on my nerves.
"In your case, I find it doubtful." I murmured, now my gaze moved away from the living room's door and to the far tables decorated with a mountain of fruits of all shapes, colors and sizes, a certain apple at the mere top sparked a little interest for a bite.
That was until Ormi walked ahead and -of all the darn luck, grabbed it.
With a loud crunch, Ormi turned to me with a grin, "You's think the boss will be here any sooner?"
My left brow twitched again, "You ought to lose some weight, you know." I growled.
"Nah, I'm not following the diet just yet." He shrugged and took another bite, he turned to face me, "What's taking the boss so long, anyway?"
"How should I know?" I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, 'I'm getting a headache.' I rubbed my temple.
Ormi took another bite, now talking with his mouth full, "Hmm~ this apple tastes pretty good." He said happily and took another bite.
"You don't say." I murmured, looking at anything but Ormi while he ate, he could be disgusting sometimes.
Right about then, the sound of the main door opening caught our attention, so we left the living room and went into the lobby, there we saw at least ten femme-goons escorting our sobbing boss. Ormi and I quickly went to her side, comforting and trying to understand whet she was crying about, but she just gasped a few things that -for the life of it- I couldn't understand.
After we got the boss to her bedroom, I sent the women to wait downstairs while Ormi and I see what's wrong.
With her in the middle, we sat to her sides, "There, there, it's okay boss!" Ormi cooed, patting her back.
The boss sat at her bed, had her hands on her rending face, crying her heart out, her shoulders sagging with her gasps.
"It's alright boss, you needn't cry, pull yourself together." I soothed, now rubbing her back.
"C'mon boss! Cut the water works, they don't good on you." Ormi whined.
'That's nothing you should be saying to comfort a weeping woman.' I hissed at him angrily.
'Oh? Sorry…' Ormi winced.
With a sniffle and a few gasps, the boss managed to find her voice, "Ah'… I'm fine." She swallowed, "I'm better now, loves." She sniffed.
I reached to the back and pulled a box of Kleenex, "Here." I offered.
She sniffled and pulled out a tissue, she blew her nose and breathed in a few times.
"Need a hug, boss?" Ormi offered, and when I looked at him, it didn't look like he was bluffing.
The boss looked at him and sniffled, "No thank you, love." She sniffled and blew her nose more delicately, "I'm better now, really."
"Would you prefer we call in the women, boss?" I offered, she probably needs a girl-to-girl talk.
"No, I'm fine, just- stay…" She swallowed and pulled another tissue.
I rubbed her back a little more, "Are you sure, boss?"
She closed her eyes and nodded.
For my surprise, she leaned on me a little, her head resting on my shoulder.
~* Ormi's point of view *~
'What The- ?!' I gawked, looking at the boss while she snuggled into Logos, I looked at him and he looked pretty much freaked with his face all red like that. I rubbed my neck and suppressed a chuckle, Logos looked pretty red; the boss snuggled into his side, so he placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting. 'Guess the boss just needs a hug, huh?' I pouted, Logos fidgeted a little, 'I'm the one who offered, how come Logos got the hug?' I watched her as she nuzzled his shoulder and sniffled a few times more.
"Care to talk about it, boss?" I suggested, wondering why she was crying in the first place.
She opened her pretty baby-blue eyes and looked at me, a look threatening to break the heart of any full-fledged man. She sniffled and tears filled her eyes, she cupped her face and sobbed again.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't feel like it, boss." Logos soothed while rubbing her shoulder.
"No, I'm fine." She sobbed and released Logos's side, barely stopping her tears.
"Noojie hates me!" she bawled all-so-suddenly, causing Logos and I to flinch right off the bed.
"What?" Logos stuttered, confused and startled.
"Say again?" I asked, really feeling confused.
"When- the sphere- record- you left- he saw me- the sphere- he got upset- he- he-…" she cupped her face and sobbed a while more.
I didn't understand what she was saying, but it looked like Logos did because he walked up to her, knelt before her and hugged her.
The boss bawled less loudly now and hugged him back, her hands wrapped around him, he cooed and soothed her back to her controlled self.
Drawing back from the hug, Logos brushed a few of those lovely blonde locked and tucked them behind her ear, "Lady Leblanc, you are the proud leader of the Leblanc Syndicate, pull yourself together." Logos told her, he pulled a tissue and delicately brushed the tears from her face.
She sniffed again, "Yes, you're absolutely right. Thank you, love." She sniffled again and drew in a breath, "What- what should I do? Noojie's really mad at me."
"You's gotta apologize, I guess." I shrugged.
"Or-!" Logos said, "We can get him something as an apology present."
"Or we can keep his treasure chest hostage until he forgives the boss?" I grinned.
The boss gave me a sad-thoughtful look while Logos looked like nothing but annoyed.
"Oh you're such a pinhead." He shook his head.
"Well it was worth a try!" I complained and crossed my arms.
"Well…" the boss sniffled, "It was- kinda like, my fault. If I haven't asked for that sphere, Noojie wouldn't have been mad at me." She rubbed her eyes and blew her nose again, "Maybe I should apologize, but- he said he doesn't want to seem for a while." She suppressed another sob.
Logos hugged her again, "Sh… You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
"What if he didn't accept my apology?" She sobbed and buried her face in Logos's chest.
'I have never seen the boss so heartbroken before…'
~* Leblanc's point of view *~
'I feel so broken. Noojie probably hates me now, he probably doesn't want to see me again.' I sobbed as I hid my face in Logos's chest. He hugged me a bit tighter, so I wrapped my arms and felt my hands press over his shoulder blades. True that Logos isn't the best choice to start a romance-related topic, and Ormi isn't the smartest, but when I'm feeling down, they never fail to make me feel better, they succeed in cheering me up.
I closed my eyes and listened, Logos's heartbeats were a bit fast, he's probably nervous, I mean he and I never touched before, -counting out the time when he was staring up my ass when we were dangling up that ruin at the top of Mt. Gagazet- maybe besides the time he caught me at the thunder planes after I ran off looking for Noojie, but that was back when we were all working the 'Vegnagun' topic. Logos had traced me down from Guadosalam up to Luca and finally caught up with me in the Thunder planes, that's when Yuna's party began and I saw the real Vegnagun, that girl with the songstress-dress sphere that looked so much like Yuna being shot with her lover was the worst part.
'Oh- romance/tragedy endings always make me cry.' I sniffled.
"Nonsense!" Ormi waved a hand, "The Mayvn might be a bit rude, but he aint a jerk." He paused, "Or at least, I don't think he is."
"That's true, if you apologize, I'm sure he'll accept it." Logos replied, now pulling back from the embrace, "You need to pull yourself together, boss."
"You're right." I shed a tiny smile, "You're absolutely right, loves."
I watched them smile back and then Logos stood up, "Right." He nodded, "Now, you look tired, care for a meal, boss?" he offered.
"Yes, I'd appreciate it, loves." I nodded and dried the tears from my eyes.
"Don't stress yourself, okay boss?" Ormi smiled nicely and walked out.
"I'll get you something light." Logos nodded and followed Ormi.
I drew in a breath and felt my lungs ease a bit, all that sobbing made me feel so tired, so I laid back and plopped on the bed. That's when my head collided with the pillow and I felt something like a lump from below. I blinked and in a split second, I remembered something. 'My missing sphere!' the thought snapped, so I turned to my belly and reached under the pillow, pulling out a light-purple sphere, it's shine so soft and marvelous I couldn't help but smile.
I turned it on, I want to see the continents just one more time.
~* The record sphere *~
The sphere viewed a nicely decorated living room, a fire place with a Tiger's rug while ornaments and trophies decorated the shelf over the fireplace. But the fire was frozen, as if it weren't ever real; that of course until there was the sound of humming. The double door at the left side of the room opened and what seemed a man made of wood, a string-puppet, walked in.
"I'm back home me love!" the man sang while it danced into the room, wearing a sailor outfit.
"Oh my, Oh dear, my dear husband had returned, O' joy of joys! What a marvelous day!" A woman sang while a string-puppet of a house-wife woman danced into the room, "Welcome home me love!" the woman danced to the man and they hugged.
"Twas a journey of a thousand words, me love!" the man laughed, breaking their hug, "May ye tell ye the tales, me love?" the man sang again.
"Oh yes, my dear, do sing the song, ye missed ye'r parting, it felt so long." The woman sang again.
The two puppets made way towards a nice little couch and they sat down, their wooden limbs casing a slight rattle.
"Twas the night of a bloomy storm, ye can't see ye'r hand in front of ye'r own face!" the man began, "Ye were on a bout rowed by a thousand men, and each one of them couldn't count to more than ten!" he laughed, "They rowed and they rowed from dusk to dawn, if ye didn't know any better, ye say they knew not of what's going on." He sang.
"Has your journey been safe or not? Ye's been worried, worried to death if not." The woman cooed, now leaning over her puppet-husband.
The man puppet placed it's wooden hand on it's wife's shoulder, "Worry not, me love. Ye havin' a tale that no one heard; a tale of a summoner with the wings of a bird! They say she loved, if that were true, an Aeon they say, she loved in her life, and all though and though. Clapped in iron, the sad one was, she wanted to rescue him, but nothing but naught all her word does."
"A summoner ye say, me love? A summoner and an Aeon, ye sure?" the woman sat up and gazed at her man.
"Ay, me love, a summoner with wings of a bird they say, she flew too high, and fell at a long-drawn bay. Broken wings she had, for her lover was someone she could not have."
"Poor girl she is, me love." The woman shook her head in pity.
"But wait, me love, ye heard the spirits say, the lover and Aeon would always stay, in our hearts, in our souls. And their chamber, the great power it still holds." The man continued.
"And where be this chamber of power, me love? Would not someone try to devour?" the woman asked.
"The chamber is hidden, it's safe from thieves, it's somewhere ye hear frozen under icy trees, where the night sings at night with never ending light, where the ripples of water dance like a dream in our flight." The man sang.
"And why is this Aeon a secret, me love? Sin's a threat we must dissolve, the more power the stronger we get, we shall defeat him, the Calm would fall."
"Aye, me love, ye know of that, but the beast is unstable for the summoner's loss, it aches in pain, forever it does, unable to speak for it's final rest, it keeps to it's fuss." The man shook his head, "A sad one it was, the heart of a lover, unable to mend. Oh me dear love, when would such pain end?"
"Ye dunno, me love of love. One could only dream for a better life."
The two puppets rested side by side, watching the fire as it burned.
~* The transmission broke *~
I looked at it for a few more minutes, thinking of what the tale said, I remember that my father was the one who recorded this, I was told that it was some time before he met my mother and had me, I also heard that my mother was this mentioned summoner with wings of a bird. I brushed the smooth surface of the purple sphere, thinking about my family, my parents, the story, the summoner and the Aeon. I know that it's only a tale, the tale of the forgotten Aeon, the Aeon that was said to be the replacement of the Final Aeon, but I find it highly doubtful.
'Which reminds me…' I knot my brows, placed the sphere on the pillow and made my way towards the cabinet besides Noojie's statue, 'I think I still have those puppets somewhere.' I searched about and found a huge chest at the bottom, it was old and with rusty hinges, I pushed the top up and looked at all the toys and puppets that were neatly stacked inside. 'Father's puppets!' I shed a smile, my father used to tell me so many tales when I were little, I just love these puppets, they're probably all I have left of my parents.
'I like to treasure me memories the most, really.'
I pulled out the man puppet, the same one from the record sphere I just watched a few minutes ago, right next to it was the woman puppet. As funny as it was, I saw my favorite band of puppets, a Hypello puppet, a Shoopuff puppet and a Moogle puppet, plus a plushy for both the Hypello and Moogle, plus a plushy for some creature they call a Moomba though I've never actually seen a real one. 'I remember that mother made those for me on my last birthday.' I brushed the Moogle's pom-pom and looked at it's buttons-for-eyes.
'Birthday…?' I mused to myself, 'You know something Leblanc,' I told myself, 'I think I know what I want to give the kid for his birthday.' I smiled down at the trunk full of puppets.
Right then, there was slight knocking on the door, permitting himself in, I saw Logos with a try of food and drinks while Ormi walked in behind him with a table at one arm and two chairs at the other, after that, a few female-goons walked in with bouquets roses, candles and boxes of chocolate? 'What the--?!' I stared quizzically at them, feeling confused and a bit embarrassed.
"What- ?" I gasped, embarrassedly touching my lips, "What's going on here? What are you doing?" I demanded, but barely able to show authority due to my shock.
"Well," Ormi grinned as he set the table and chair while a female-goon placed a table-cloth and the candles, "We's thought that you need a nice warm meal with a relaxing atmosphere and some good company!" he grinned.
Logos placed the food and drinks on the table before turning to face me, "Dinner is served, boss." He bowed with a smug look on his face.
The female goons giggled to each other before exiting the room, so I looked at the finely decorated table and appetizing food, but then I noticed that it was a table for two, so I quirked a brow at them, "I thought you said they'd be good company."
"There is!" Ormi grinned wider, barely containing his glee.
'Okay, now this is getting freaky.' I flushed and walked up to the table now touching the chair, I paused again and looked at the other chair, I drew in a breath and turned to them, only to realize that they were leaving the room, "Hey! I thought we were having dinner!" I questioned.
"Oh you're having dinner boss, it's just- not with us!" Logos smiled and touched my bedroom door, "Do come in, she's waiting."
"Huh?" I frowned, looking ahead for whomever it is waiting at my door.
'For the love of God…!!'
"Noojie!" I gasped, my fingertips pressed over my lips, I didn't want to say it again, Noojie had already told me that he hates it when I call him that, but I couldn't resist it, it sounded so cute on him.
"Leblanc." He said quietly, that godly smile causing the rate of my heart to quicken, "May I come in?"
I was so tongue tied; I just nodded, not daring to look at him.
"I hope you enjoy your meal." Logos smiled as he and Ormi left the room, he closed the door after they left.
'It's me and Noojie, now.' I thought in slight panic, I still could not dare look him in the eyes, I was still ashamed for what I have done to him earlier on Besaid. I hung my head and looked at the floor, realizing how much I need a new rug!
There was a slight noise and when I looked up, Noojie had pulled out a chair and offered for me to sir down at the table, and he still had that charming smile on his face that I was completely lost to again.
I suppressed a smile and sat down, feeling his hand brush against my shoulder when he carefully pushed my chair closer to the table, so I watched him head to the other chair, he sat down and took a quick glance at the food.
"Fancy stuff." He smiled and looked at me, his brilliant brown eyes held me captive, I could look away nor could I say anything.
I closed my mouth and prayed that he didn't come here just for a meal. 'He probably came for an apology, Leblanc, so you'd better give it to him.'
"Noojie, I-?"
"Leblanc, I-?"
We stared quizzically at each other for what seemed hours, but was soon broken with a laugh from both of us.
"You first." He smiled.
"No, that's alright. You first." I smiled.
"No, I insist, you go ahead."
I sucked on my lower lip and fidgeted in my seat, "Honestly, love; I'd prefer if you go on first." I looked down at the glass of wine that shined ever so bright with the candles; it gave the beefsteak such a delicious view.
Noojie looked about the table and drew in a breath before he looked back at me, this- thoughtful look on his face made me feel at ease, "I'm sorry," he began, his voice so soft and tender, "I shouldn't have blown up in your face like that." He swallowed, "Would you ever forgive me?"
'I'm stumped!' I gawked at him for a minute, 'Oh Noojie-woojie~ you're such a sweetheart!' my heart squealed with joy while my face felt as if it was practically on fire, "I'm the one who should apologize, love." I averted his soft eyes, but it made me feel better, "If I hadn't gone and done that, that spy stuff, none of this would have happened." I shrugged, "I guess- I deserve that you were mad at me."
Noojie leaned with his elbows on the table, "Leblanc, I- I'm…" he paused.
I looked up at him and quirked a brow, Noojie's cheeks were with a slight crimson shade, he rubbed his temple and gave an expression one would call: looking for the right words!
"Leblanc," he finally continued, "I admit that I was upset at you, but- if it weren't for that, I never would have realized how much- you mean to me." He looked up at me, "I really like you, a lot!" he said nervously, "I mean it kind of felt all mixed up," he rubbed his temple, "I mean a part of me was upset at you while another part of me was upset for being upset at you." He explained.
"Nooj," I cooed, not using the nickname I like so much, I dared to reach out a hand and touch that chin, he didn't move so I slowly turned his face to lock eyes with me, "I'm really sorry about that, love." I drew back my hand.
Half way back, he reached out and grabbed it, his hand was strong yet gentle.
"Leblanc," he paused, collecting his thoughts, "could we start over? I new page, I mean."
"Of course!" I smiled and felt his hand releasing mine.
"Wonderful." He smiled.
We just looked at each other for a minute before Nooj looked about the table, "Guess we'd better start before it gets cold, huh?" he chuckled.
'I love his laugh, it sounds so sweet.' I smiled and nodded, "Yes, we shouldn't let such good food go to waste!" I smiled.
"Right." Nooj smiled and picked up his glass of wine, "Cheers?"
"Cheers." I smiled and we gently taped our glasses, the softest ring announced the beginning of our new bond.
'This could lead to a beautiful future…'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: ARGH~ Too Much Fluff!!