They descended the stairs to the main lobby, where Leo looked around for a more private place to sit where they could continue their conversation. He noticed a guest lounge area tucked behind the stairs to the second floor with a high-backed round booth seat nestled in the corner. As he headed that way, he also saw there was a small bar on the opposite wall and suddenly realized how parched he was after his grieving session. He motioned for Terra to sit down, then pointed to the bar and said, "I need a drink; can I get you anything?"

Terra absently rubbed her throat and replied, "Oh, um, I am a little thirsty but I'm not sure what I could get to drink in a place like this."

Leo pursed his lips. Right, she was only eight- no, she would be nineteen now. Eighteen was the legal age of adulthood in the Gestahlian Empire, though one could enter the military academy at the age of eight and join limited active duty at the age of fourteen. But this wasn't the Empire, and he knew that in Doma for example the age of adulthood was twenty. He actually wasn't sure what it was in Jidoor. The fact that he even had to think about this when he himself was well into adulthood by any standard still gave him slight pause concerning the nature of their relationship.

He approached the bar and looked uncertainly at the bottles lining the back wall. She hadn't even seemed like she wanted a hard drink and if she wasn't used to them he certainly wasn't going to give her one now. But at the same time, coming back with something mundane like a cup of water or tea felt like it would almost be insulting to her. He was certain she wouldn't mind, but he would mind offering her something so uninspired after everything she'd done for him. He wanted to give her something that was soothing, refreshing, not intoxicating, but also not entirely ordinary and still something he'd consider a "social" drink meant to be consumed slowly while they talked. Why was this so hard? Probably because he'd only ever ordered drinks from a bar in the context of a round for his soldiers since the last time he'd been on a date was when he was seventeen and thus too young to-

He choked, his face heating up. This... this wasn't a "date", this was merely the two of them enjoying a show together and then sitting down for a social drink afterwards to discuss their feelings. Which he was certain was something entirely different.

Finally making his drink selection and paying the bartender a little extra since he was probably his first customer in a year, Leo made his way back to the booth and set a steaming mug in front of Terra, then sat down across from her with one of his own, softly blowing on it. Terra pulled her own mug towards her and examined the contents, wondering, "Hot cocoa?"

Leo nodded and took a sip of his. "With something a little extra." He made a little rumble and smiled as his throat was warmed by the drink. This was just what he needed.

Terra took an experimental sip of hers, then blinked and reacted, "Oh, wow, this is really good. It's warm and relaxing but there's this cool and refreshing taste in there, too. What else is in it?"

"Just a splash of creme de menthe for flavor," he explained with a smile. Toasting his mug to her, he added, "You can thank an old woman in Thamasa for giving me a fondness for mint. Unfortunately as it is a plant, the only means of getting the flavor anymore is through distilled extracts like these."

Terra warmed her hands on her mug and looked down at it. "Still... the day after tomorrow we're going to be completing our plans to storm Kefka's tower and hopefully destroy the oppressive magical energy that's killing the world. If we're successful, I hope that at least means plants will be able to grow again." She looked at him and wondered, "Are you... still coming with us? Has regaining your memories changed your mind at all?"

"I absolutely still intend to come with you," he confirmed with a nod. "I feel partially responsible for not stopping Kefka sooner..." He cut that thought off when Terra's eyes fell into a somber expression. With a sigh, he admitted, "... You are right... I chose the way I did out of love for my people, and just because I can see a better outcome in hindsight does not mean the decision I made was wrong." His lips twitched into a small smile. "You taught me that even before Orcus did."

Terra returned the smile and softly sipped at her mug. "Mm. But I feel like Orcus's decisions were sometimes a lot more flawed than that. He joined the army with the goal of becoming a more prestigious person for Delphina, but... Delphina ended up falling in love with and marrying a farmhand, which seems about at the level of what Orcus already was. It was like he put forward all that effort based on his own assumptions of what Delphina wanted instead of anything he actually talked to her about." Her brows furrowed as she looked into her mug. "She never even appeared during the entire story. Had they... ever even met?"

"Exactly! You picked up on that, too?" Leo replied a little excitedly, leaning forward. "I held a similar theory about their relationship as well, but with only the incomplete audio to go off of, I couldn't be sure. Now that I've seen the complete story, nothing either confirms nor denies my theory, but given some of the other subversions of common operatic tropes found throughout the work I would not be surprised if such was the intent."

Terra politely held her fingers to her mouth to suppress a grin at his enthusiasm. Both because it was so endearing, and because she was just happy to see him in a good mood again. "I'm glad that Orcus still ended up with at least the potential for a future happy ending, but I wonder if he would have even been happy with Delphina if she was still available. I mean, he didn't even know that she would have been content with a farmhand. I can understand loving someone you don't even know personally, like you do with your people, but with Orcus it felt... different from that."

Leo chuckled. "Again, this is a common theme in operas, where a man desires a woman he knows little to nothing about and she is expected to nevertheless be faithful to him. In Maria and Draco, Prince Ralse demands Maria's hand in marriage after conquering her country even though the two had never even met before. I can't even imagine desiring such an empty relationship." He shrugged with a smile. "In that context I feel like Orco e Delphina may have almost been a satire the way it snubbed the hero for behaving that way. I think that's part of why I love it so much, because it subverts storytelling expectations by being more honest about the likely outcomes of its characters' decisions."

"Right, I feel like Orcus could have been saved a lot of heartache by just communicating better," Terra reasoned, nodding into her mug as she took another sip. "Why would he never even tell Delphina that he wanted to be with her to make sure she would wait for him? Or at the very least get rejected then and there so that he didn't go through all that trouble for nothing?"

Leo suddenly felt a little self-conscious at that question. "Well, romantic love is... complicated..." he offered. "With platonic love such as what I feel for my people, knowing that they are safe, happy, and cared for is sufficient. Romantic love, on the other hand, desires..." He swirled his mug a little in thought. "... reciprocation of the same. It is something that requires investment from both sides in order to flourish. I suppose that is why it is referred to as being 'in' love. And discovering the other person to be unwilling or unable to return that investment can be devastating. So I suppose that Orcus was afraid of his dreams being prematurely shattered by approaching her empty-handed and instead wished to put forward the effort towards what he believed would better his chances first."

"Oh..." said Terra, blushing and hunching her shoulders. His description of romantic love as opposed to platonic love... rather effectively described the unknown feelings that she felt towards him. Complete with the fear of their relationship being damaged if she pushed too far. But... Orcus had lost Delphina completely because he never admitted his feelings before it was too late, wrongly assuming that she would wait for him forever. But before he had regained his memories, Leo had admitted that he suspected that his original feelings for her had been platonic. If that was now the case again and she expressed a desire for something closer and was turned down... she could definitely see why Orcus had been afraid to say anything.

Across the table from her, Leo silently gazed into his own drink. Orcus had initially refrained from confessing his feelings to Delphina out of fear... but his failure to do so had lost her forever. In Leo's case, if he settled on a platonic relationship but by doing so forever locked himself out of any future romantic relationship with Terra, would he be okay with that? The sharp sinking feeling in his gut at the thought told him the answer to that was "no". But if he expressed interest in a romantic relationship and she rejected him, would they ever even be able to go back to a platonic one after that heartbreak? But like with Orcus and Delphina, if he simply declined to make that decision it would eventually end up being made for him.

He rubbed his hand over his mouth apprehensively. Despite his mental checklist of excuses he'd always fallen back on as to why his relationship with anyone he met should remain platonic, the fear of heartbreak had always been an underlying reason that he had refused to admit to. That wasn't to say his other excuses weren't also valid: He was constantly too busy, and he had been approached with offers of sexual favors in exchange for a promotion or political access on multiple occasions, which he had thoroughly refused. Thus for his entire adult life he had been content to express love in a way that required no reciprocation. This had been the norm for so long that he never even pictured himself in a romantic relationship, and the prospect of such was foreign and intimidating.

But when he'd lost his memory, he'd also lost his decades of experience with that physical and emotional celibacy. Without his memories he'd had no reason to be afraid of being in love or avoid it out of habit, and thus had quickly fallen right into it. And... there had been nothing inherently wrong with that. His initial discomfort with realizing what he had done was more out of it being outside of the realm of his normal accepted behavior rather than because it had been harmful in any way.

And that was just the anxiety on his side. He actually had no idea what Terra wanted out of their relationship. Even when he was flirting with her and making subtle moves on her she kept a chaste distance, admitting that she was scared of getting too close, too. And that was just based on their cumulative week's worth of interactions. How comfortable would she be with him going forward? He still had the deep desire to someday take in and raise children whose families had fallen victim to the Empire, and now Kefka. He'd generally expected he'd be doing that alone, though, due to his poor luck with creating or maintaining romantic relationships in the past, which also meant that having biological children, while also desirable, had nevertheless been considered out of the realm of possibility. But now that he had an opposite-sex potential romantic partner seated across from him, could that also now be an option? ... Did he even have sexual thoughts towards Terra, though?

Not... really. Even though he recognized that she was physically and mentally an adult now, his attraction to her with or without his memories had been purely emotional. He certainly did enjoy physical contact with her, though, so those feelings might evolve in the future, but... these worries were still getting far too ahead of himself. Just like his aversion to engaging in battle until conditions were markedly in his favor, here, too he still feared risking his already vulnerable emotions until he was sure everything would turn out all right. Yet at the moment he was still only at the point where he had no idea whether or not Terra even held romantic feelings towards him, and even if she did, if she was open to at least adopting children in the future. If she wasn't, he certainly wasn't going to criticize or pressure her... but that would still mean there would be an insurmountable hurdle to him pursuing a long-term romantic relationship with her as he wasn't willing to sacrifice his dreams, even for her. If that ended up being the case... he sincerely hoped they could still at least be friends. The thought of her not wanting to spend time with him at all anymore... hurt immensely.

Orcus had put forth a lot of seemingly unnecessary effort towards wooing Delphina due to never asking what she wanted in the first place, and the emotional strain of this sort of anxiety was really not much different. But Orcus's efforts still helped other people and helped him understand himself better, even if they didn't get him the goal he'd ultimately wanted. And though he'd suffered heartbreak and despair due to losing that goal, he still found other things in the world worth living for. So even if this ended in rejection, that didn't necessarily mean it was the end of the world. This world was huge and beautiful and there were so many more things in it, so the fear of it being shattered temporarily shouldn't hold them back from trying.

"Leo..." Terra said softly as she looked into her mug, re-initiating the conversation that had gone silent before he could say anything.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I was... lost in thought..." he apologized.

"So was I..." she admitted, rubbing her thumb along the mug handle absently. "I was thinking about what you told me about love back on the boat... and what you told me about it just now. And I think..." She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I think I might actually be in love with you."

He blushed furiously, his body tensing. "Oh...?" was all he could manage to squeak out. He'd already resolved to stop brooding on this issue and bring it up before it was brought up for him, but it looked like he'd still missed it by about two seconds.

Terra nodded, receding back a little bashfully. "I... do want you to be safe and happy, and I hurt when you're upset, but I feel that way about quite a few people. But with you specifically..." She clutched her mug tighter. "I... want you to be physically and emotionally close to me. I want you to talk to me about things that you never tell other people. And I want to be the same to you." She bit her lip. "I didn't understand why I felt so selfishly about you, since I love both my friends and the children but I never desired anything in return from them like I do with you. I was afraid that what I felt towards you wasn't actually love at all, then. But just like before, talking to you has helped me to sort out my feelings, and it's both intimidating, but also... pretty liberating."

Leo's tension melted away and he bowed his head with a smile. That was quite the confession and it rather clearly answered the question of what she wanted from him. Now if he could only muster the courage to admit the same... Looking at his mental pre-engagement checklist - oh god, why did that word have to have multiple connotations? - he saw that she had ticked almost all the boxes, and her vague mentioning of "loving children" had at least scratched in a tentative check on that last one. Should he press her for more specifics on that before committing to anything? Should he wait until he had emotionally recovered more fully? Should he...

He grumbled and mentally wadded up his checklist and threw it away. This was why he had such terrible luck with romance up until now, because he was trying too hard to apply logic and tactics to something emotional and wasn't willing to take risks. His heart already quite forcefully knew what it wanted, so why not just trust it? Besides, the last time he'd jumped into something based on emotion without assessing it fully first, he'd... well, he'd died, actually. And yet, he'd still recovered from that. So even if this didn't work out, yes, it would hurt for a while... but that wasn't the end. There could still be something beyond that, and therefore he shouldn't insist on everything being perfect before he even made an attempt, otherwise by the time he was done preparing it would be too late.

Finally breaking his silence, he began softly, "Terra... seeing how much you've matured emotionally over the past year fills me with so much joy. When we first spoke on the boat I wanted so much to take care of you and help you experience everything in life that you had been anxious about missing, but just as a mentor until you could take care of yourself. But after we were separated you went out and found that love and self-respect all on your own. And when we met again and I was the one struggling, you were the one who helped me regain everything I had been missing. And I realized that you no longer needed a caretaker... but that I still wanted to be close to you all the same. My interest in you no longer focused primarily on righting past wrongs, but because I honestly enjoyed who you had become as a person and spending time with you. I carry so much weight and I know that anyone who gets close to me is going to have to share in it and I didn't want to saddle anyone with such a burden. But... you've been happy to take it, and I feel so liberated, secure, and eternally grateful. And I want... I want you to continue to be that support, and to be the same sort of support for you." He looked up at her with an awkward smile. "These particular feelings are just as new to me as they are to you, so please forgive me for any missteps, but..." He inhaled slowly. "I... believe that I may be in love with you as well."

Terra grinned broadly and let out a small squeak. Leaning forward a little, she excitedly wondered, "So... what does that mean for us?"

Leo grinned back. "I actually have absolutely no idea. This is new territory for me as well." He rubbed the back of his head and looked at her shyly. "But... I do know that I have been aching to hold you again ever since Jidoor..."

Terra felt her chest well up and hurriedly scooted around the semicircular booth seat before Leo could even make it a quarter of the way around towards her. As soon as he was within reach she pressed her face into his collar and tightly squeezed her arms around his chest. He promptly returned the embrace, burying his face in her hair and snugly wrapping his arms around her.

And it felt wonderful. This time there was no hesitation, no guilt, and no grief. Just the two of them being honest with their wants and feelings and reveling in the other's company. Loving the feel of the other's embrace while at the same time loving being able to provide them with comfort and security. They held each other tightly, like they had both finally truly found each other after a year of absence and both refused to let the other go.

After some time, they finally had to take a moment to breathe again and relax their grips. Terra let out a breathy chuckle and turned her head to nuzzle her cheek against his chest. "Mm... Maybe this is what it means to be in a romantic relationship, then? Just being completely comfortable and open and being able to rely on each other?"

"I would think that is certainly part of it, yes," Leo confirmed with a contented smile, resting his cheek against the side of her head. He sagged against her and let out a long breath. "Although now I'm starting to have horribly selfish thoughts like wishing to do nothing but hold you like this until tomorrow."

"I certainly don't mind," she replied with a light giggle. Her face falling into a more contemplative expression, she amended, "Although... no, I think I would mind. There were plenty of times over the past year where I just wanted to lie around and do nothing, but I couldn't, for the children's sakes. You can't always do what you want to do if you have people you're responsible to, right?" she confirmed, looking up at him.

He sat up straighter and chuckled. "No, you are absolutely correct. That wasn't intended to be a serious statement of intent, merely... wishful thinking." He let out a sigh, then cocked his head and looked at her inquisitively. "Though you say you have children you're responsible for? I assume you mean that young girl from Thamasa and the boy from the Veldt who travel with you?"

Terra blinked, then pulled back enough to look up at him. "Oh, no... Well, I mean, yes, I do want to do my best to look after Relm and Gau, but I generally consider them my 'friends'. The children are the people I told you about earlier that I've been taking care of all year." She looked to the side and bit her lip. "I hadn't really mentioned them to you specifically because while I definitely don't regret staying behind to take care of them, that still didn't change the fact that I felt guilty about not coming to find you and I didn't want you to feel like you were competing with them for my attention."

Leo held her shoulders and smiled broadly. "Terra, there is no possible way I could resent you for choosing to look after children instead of coming after me. ... In fact, I think I would have been disappointed if you had chosen differently."

Terra let out a soft giggle of relief. "Heh, well... deep in my heart there was no choice to be made, really. Their parents had all died protecting them from Kefka and they were all alone and surrounded by monsters... I... I couldn't leave them. It took me a while to understand why that was, but over the course of protecting them... I discovered that it was love."

Leo felt his chest swell, like all of the doubts he'd had about pursuing a romantic relationship with her suddenly felt altogether inconsequential. He let out a light breath with a smile, holding his mouth. "That's amazing... So they are still in good health? Is it all right for you to be away from them for this long?"

"They were all doing all right when I left," Terra replied. "Duane and Katarin are seventeen and have gotten quite a bit more mature over the past year as well, so I trust they can handle things for a little while. Though Katarin is pregnant and I'm not sure how soon she's due..." Terra wrung her hands. "Honestly I have been kind of anxious about checking in on them."

"Absolutely!" Leo insisted, startling her slightly. "Reuniting you with those children for a day before we face Kefka is more important than any other delivery we could make." He smiled and shook his head. "Though in all honesty, if I had heard stories of a young woman taking care of orphans all on her own, you would have been a priority on my supply runs over this past year. It's strange that I never heard anything, though. Where were you?"

"Oh, we're living in Mobliz," she answered.

"Mobliz..." he confirmed, then tightened his grip on her shoulders and leaned down apprehensively, "Wait, you and those children have been in Mobliz this entire past year?"

"Y... yes?"

He sat up and rubbed his face, looking to the side. "I had heard that Mobliz was destroyed the very day the world fell and was overrun with monsters. Outsiders could only view it from afar and had reported seeing mostly destroyed buildings and no activity outside of them, so they had assumed there were no survivors. It was declared a no-man's-land and to be avoided if at all possible. So I... I never went there." He blinked and turned to her and realized a little desperately, "So... you've been cut off from any kinds of supply lines for an entire year. Wh... what is the status of your food stock? Clean water? Bedding, clothing, medicine, hygiene products, tools..."

Terra felt a little overwhelmed at the intensity of his interest. "W, well, there was an underground storehouse of dried meat that has fed us all year but it's starting to run low. There's a sinkhole just outside of town filled with water but it's tainted so we have to boil it before it can be used... um..."

Leo pulled the notebook out of his breast pocket and flipped it open to an entirely fresh page, then hovered his pen over it while looking at Terra intently. "Terra, just tell me what you need. I intend to deliver you back to them, but it sounds like they are in need of substantially more than that, and providing such things is absolutely what I am here for. I know you have been working to ease my burdens and I am forever appreciative of that, but in this case I want you to lay them all on me for right now." He tapped the pen against the notebook and looked at her pleadingly, then gently reiterated, "So please... what do you need?"

Terra's lip trembled and her eyes welled with tears. She hadn't wanted to burden anyone with a request for help, but since he was offering, she definitely needed it. And now that she was being given the opportunity to make her needs known, she realized just how daunting they all were. She leaned her face against his shoulder and clutched at his sleeve, whimpering, "... Everything. W... we're out of food, there's no clean water, the children are growing out of their clothes and have no replacements, the beds are falling apart, everything is dirty, the houses are collapsing, the town is surrounded by monsters, and now Katarin's having a baby and we don't have anything for it..."

Leo leaned over to bump his cheek against the top of her head as his hands were both occupied furiously scribbling down all of her wishes. "And that you have persevered in such conditions for the past year is incredible, Terra. But just because you can survive that way doesn't mean you should." He made a pronounced tap with his pen on the last item and then clapped the book closed before turning to hug her more fully. He rocked her a few times and kissed the top of her head before whispering, "Come on, we should get going. We don't have much time to collect all of this."

She sniffed and nodded, sitting up. "But... there's so much this time, how are you going to pay for all of it? You said before we still needed to make some money before we could pick up even a regular shipment. Making enough money for this much would probably take months."

Leo choked a little apprehensively. Even without the memories of his personal code, and even though he had learned his trade from the thieves of Zozo, he had still refused to resort to stealing to provide for the people, even from someone as unscrupulous as the price-gouging merchant in Jidoor. No matter how selfish or irresponsible they were, no one deserved to be the victim of a crime.

He absently fingered the collar of his trench coat while he held Terra with his other arm. In that case he absolutely couldn't haggle with that shopkeeper in the guise of a smuggler or he would have no leverage.

Leo gave Terra a pat on the back, then released her and stood up. "Terra... I need to ask the Impresario for another favor. Give me..." he twitched his fingers in thought, "... maybe half an hour. I have a long-shot battle strategy in mind, but it is predicated on the Impresario's assistance. Wait for me, all right?"

Terra blinked in confusion, but nodded. "Of course, whatever you think will help."

He gave her a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder, then turned to trot back into the lobby area to seek out the Impresario for whatever favor he needed. Terra remained alone in the booth with the two mostly-empty mugs of hot chocolate. She had no idea what the Impresario could do that would help them procure or buy supplies, but she trusted Leo that it was nothing underhanded.

A few minutes went by and she suddenly started to feel a little antsy. They'd constantly been in each other's presence since the previous night in Jidoor, and normally she needed to take a breather from being around people every once in a while since she found social interaction to generally be draining. But with Leo it was the opposite. She felt energized when she was around him and now that he was away from her she was starting to feel ever so slightly anxious. Was this also an effect of romantic love?

The question of what being in love with each other actually meant for their relationship was still unanswered, though, as Leo admitted he had no personal experience with this, either. Well, for one thing, it had removed her guilt about wanting to hug him, so there was that. Maybe it just meant those kinds of boundaries were lifted, and there were no real stipulations about what they were "supposed" to do, just a broader set of options of what they "could" do if they wanted.

So was there anything else she wanted to do with him that she'd felt was off-limits before? She remembered their dance after defeating the dragon and how she'd gotten a bit of a pleasant chill when he touched his finger to her lips... She ran her own fingers over her lips and blushed. Duane and Katarin were in love and sometimes kissed, after all... Her relationship with Leo didn't necessarily have to mirror their relationship, of course, but if that was an option now... she was curious to know how it felt.

And then there was the fact that Duane and Katarin were having a baby together. Terra was certainly excited for them, but at the same time could sympathize with Duane's worries that this wasn't an ideal time or situation to be bringing a new baby into the world. Katarin had made it sound like they had made love to fulfill an emotional need strong enough to override that logic, though. Even though Terra understood physically what the act involved, she had never felt particularly driven to do it. Even when thinking about Leo, her desires towards him mostly culminated in being able to hold him closely and talk about anything or nothing at all and just be content in each other's presence. If someday she ever did gain a desire to have children of her own it would still be predicated on her living situation becoming more stable and the other children becoming more self-sufficient. She was honestly enamored that Leo took such interest in helping her with the children, but she wondered what his thoughts were on having his own.

"Sorry I took so long, but thankfully the Impresario was able to come through with my request," came Leo's voice, startling her from her thoughts.

She looked up at him and smiled, greeting, "Oh, welcome... back..." She trailed off as she got a good look at him and slowly brought her hand to her mouth, her throat and eyes welling.

Instead of the black trench coat, he was wearing a green Imperial officer's high-collared long coat with matching pants and brown boots. His hair, which had grown out and had been rather unkempt, had been shaved back down on the sides and styled into a thick, evenly-cut brush down the middle. He looked... just like how she remembered him from a year ago. The only difference was that he had kept one of the sashes from his trench coat, which he wore tied from his shoulder to his waist.

He gave her a warm smile, saying, "If I do not have the means to procure the funds for the items we require, then all that is left to us is negotiation. And for a negotiation, what we need is not a smuggler," he indicated his clothing, "but a diplomat."

Terra rose from her seat and reached out towards him, but now that he looked like the Leo from before, the habitual respect for his earlier boundaries kicked in and she hesitated. Noticing this, Leo lightly opened his arms and gave a slight beckoning motion with his fingers. "Nothing but my clothes and hair have changed from a half hour ago, Terra. You still have my permission, always."

She continued to stand there and gaze at him a little longer. Over the past few days, she'd gotten him back in gradual pieces. First letters talking about him, then an invisible, faceless phantom who bore his voice and character but none of his memories, then he was visible, then he had a face, then he had memories, and now, finally, he had returned to the full image of General Leo that she had remembered. He was back... completely... and he wanted to be by her side.

She stepped forward slowly and rested her forehead on his chest, then wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed tightly as if confirming to herself that he really was here standing with her like this. With a light sniff, she softly reiterated, "Welcome back..."

He smiled and stroked the back of her head, also repeating, "I'm sorry I took so long."

She kept her cheek against his chest and brought her hand around to absently trace along the embroidery on his lapel. At this close range, she could see just the faintest remnants of old blood stains under the seam. Furrowing her brows, she noted, "This... this is your actual uniform, not just something from their costume collection. ... How? Where did you get this?"

He held up his arm to look over the trim on his sleeve. "Recall that when we first arrived here I mentioned that this was where I originally procured my alternate outfit. So it would only stand to reason that my original clothing was left here. After a year I wasn't sure if it was still present or in any usable shape, but I was able to locate it and have the costume department freshen it up a little while the stylist fixed up my hair. Quite lovely people, all of them, and it was honestly exciting for me to be backstage and chat with the actual crew. Those invisible people who nevertheless are the ones who make everything work." He looked to the side a little guiltily. "I'm sorry I didn't invite you along, but I suppose I... hoped to surprise you."

Terra stood back a little and giggled. "No, it was very much a nice surprise." She ran her hand over the sash he'd added, commenting, "And it looks good on you."

"Well, I felt that Orcus bearing the sash at the end of the opera represented that he was still going to carry all the pain of his past with him, but that he could re-purpose it for something more constructive. I thought it would be a fitting accessory for what I have gone through, as well as a reminder of my activities over the past year, which still very much had their own merits." He pursed his lips. "Also, I need it to carry crates."

Terra folded her arms behind her back and grinned up at him. "I find it interesting that even though you didn't know how Orco e Delphina ended and didn't even remember it, you still chose to accessorize yourself with sashes meant to carry the world's burden. It was like deep in your heart, you still were connected to the character. That's why you remembered his name."

He blushed lightly and scratched his cheek. "Perhaps. The lion mask, though... Griever from The Lion and the Sorceress..." He let out a soft chuckle and gave her a cheeky grin. "The character of Griever... is an Esper. It tells the story of a love between an Esper and a human who can use magic..."

Terra's eyes widened. "There's an opera about that...?" she whispered in awe. She then reached up and grabbed him gently by the lapels, bouncing a little and eagerly insisting, "We have to come back here sometime and see that one! Now I'm almost upset I didn't pick that one when the Impresario suggested it!"

Leo laughed and held his hands over hers. "Terra, I would absolutely love to come see a show with you any time." He lifted her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it, never breaking eye contact, causing her to blush. "But work comes before pleasure."

"Yes, absolutely," agreed Terra with a resolute nod. "We still need to bring supplies to the children, and then hope back to the world."

Notes:

- For filling in unknown cultural gaps, I'm sort of modelling the Gestahlian Empire after the British Empire as it invaded like 90% of the globe at some point and was a militaristic and technological powerhouse for a long time, and the legal drinking age in England is 18. Doma, with its samurai, is based on Japan, where the legal drinking age is 20.
- Because Leo's whole character is that he loves everyone, I extrapolated on that to depict him as pansexual/romantic in this story. He's still extremely picky, but not about gender. As such, any time he's spoken of past or potential romantic partners, it's always been gender-neutral, though other people commenting on his love-life have incorrectly limited it to "girl".
- Terra's Ultimania profile states that she dislikes "places with a lot of people". I chalk this more up to introversion than agoraphobia, though there's some overlap there. And with introversion generally your "social battery" gets drained when being around people and you need alone time to recharge it, but even with introverts it's possible to find a select few special people who you feel comfortable enough around that they charge your social battery instead.
- Title is "Love Duet", a song sung by two people about their feelings for each other.