Notes: I was going to upload this yesterday since, that way, I'd get time more time to get work done and therefore more time to celebrate my birthday since it's today. However, there was this blackout that lasted around 12 hours yesterday (and today), and actually made it impossible to get any work done. So while it sucks to spend my birthday doing work, at least this is the last batch, since now I only have to deal with a presentation tomorrow and I'll be officially free (in a way it's like the best birthday present ever).

As the name indicates, this is more of a filler chapter to get some things out of the way.

As always, thanks for everyone that's been following so far. Feedback is always appreciated. With this chapter, MOTA reaches the 300k word mark, so that's also a cause of celebration :D

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Chapter 43: Lazy Sunday Afternoons

….

"When Bode went to steal the weapon for Voldemort, something must have happened to him. There must be defensive spells on the weapon or around it, which is why he was in St. Mungo's. But he was getting better. At least that's what the healer told us, that's why they decided to get rid of him. They couldn't have him revealing that Lucius Malfoy used the Imperius Curse on him so he could retrieve the weapon for Voldemort." Hermione surmised as the trio stood in their usual corner of the courtyard.

"He was in the Department of Mysteries corridor on the day of my hearing!" Harry realized. "Your dad said he was trying to sneak down and find out about what happened in my hearing, but what if-"

"Sturgis!" Hermione interrupted, her eyes wide. "Sturgis Podmore. He got arrested for trying to get through a door. He had Moody's invisibility cloak, remember? What if Lucius Malfoy got him too? He could have been there, guarding the door under the cloak. Malfoy could've heard him move or suspect that someone was there and then cast the Imperius Curse. He made him try to steal the weapon too, but he was caught and sent to Azkaban."

"How do we know that You-Know-Who doesn't have the weapon already? You said he had an orb; an orb that could get him an army. How do we know that's not the weapon?" Ron asked worriedly.

"I think that whatever that orb may be, it's not the weapon, otherwise Voldemort wouldn't need Rookwood's help." Harry said as he looked at his two best friends. "At least that's what it sounded like. Voldemort still doesn't have the weapon."

"Remember that article back when there was a break-in inside the Department of Mysteries?" Hermione asked and both teens nodded. "They made mention of something being stolen, but the Unspeakables never gave any information on what it was. The Order mustn't have paid it much mind considering that it wasn't the weapon. Maybe this red orb was stolen back then and Voldemort has just realized how to work it. What worries me is that if this orb is so powerful that it can help Voldemort acquire an army, just how powerful can the real weapon be?"

"Whatever it was, it just felt so wrong." Harry said, recalling the feeling he got while seeing the eerie red object; a feeling that felt barely distinguishable from Voldemort's own twisted glee.

"You shouldn't have seen any of this, Harry." Hermione suddenly said with a shake of her head. "You're supposed to be learning how to close your mind to this sort of thing."

"I know!" Harry said angrily as he recalled his lessons with both Snape and Professor Kuja. "Of course I know, but-"

"It doesn't matter. For now I think that if you're not willing to tell Dumbledore, then you should simply forget what you've seen." Hermione said, making irritation spark inside the Boy-Who-Lived. "If it really is this important then I think Professor Snape will know about it. He can tell the Order, since trying to contact Sirius or the others in this situation is really quite risky considering that she's watching the fireplaces. "

"Well what if Snape is a bloody Death Eater, 'Mione. He won't be telling the Order then." Ron shot back, which made the bushy haired girl give an irritated sigh before answering right back.

"How many times must we go through this, Snape is working for the Order. Dumbledore trusts him!" Hermione began, but Harry was far too irked with her to listen. Instead the scarred teen decided to leave the pair to quarrel, at least while they were distracted. Though he hated leaving his friends like that, he knew that staying might be more harmful to their friendship.

He was still rather upset about Hermione's comment. He realized that most of that anger was probably directed at himself and not the brunette. She was right. At this point he should've been able to block those dreams out. Yet no matter how much effort he seemed to try putting into his Occlumency lessons, he just didn't seem to be able to get a grasp on it. He thought things would be different once he started lessons with Professor Kuja, but he couldn't have been more wrong. His levitating charm would surely make Professor Flitwick proud, but it surely wouldn't save him from having Voldemort enter his mind.

'I must be doing something wrong.' Harry concluded. Snape had already made this quite clear. In fact, according to Snape, just about everything was his fault anyways. But perhaps if he still wasn't getting anywhere with Professor Kuja, then maybe it really was his fault.

"Harry?" A voice called, and the emerald-eyed teen quickly snapped out of his day dreams as he recognized it as Zidane's voice. Looking at the source of the voice, he caught sight of Zidane, Neville, and Luna sitting around on the grass. Zidane and Neville seemed to have been playing Exploding Snap before the interruption while Luna sat nearby with Trevor on her lap.

"Hi." The teen replied, still a bit startled by the situation. Just minutes ago he'd been waist deep in thoughts about having Voldemort invading his mind. "I er, I see you're all better now. That's great!"

"Yeah, would you believe Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep me there for another week?" The blonde teen said with a small laugh.

Actually, he really had no problem believing that. Madam Pomfrey was a cautious woman and Zidane really did have his head nearly bashed in by a Bludger. What's surprising was that he didn't immediately get shipped off to St. Mungo's.

At least his fight with Neville was over.

"Anyways, where are Ron and Hermione? I thought you'd be with them or something." Zidane asked with a hint of concern.

"They, uh, got in a bit of a discussion." Harry said, and thankfully the three seemed to quickly understand.

"Are you sure they're going to be okay though?" Neville asked with a hint of worry.

"It's because of the Nargles." Luna said and Zidane chuckled.

"Yeah, I don't think it will last too long either." The cyan-eyed foreigner said. "We all know those two lovebirds can't stay mad at each other for too long."

"Those two?!" Neville asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, they're gonna hook up alright. I guarantee it." Zidane said as he lay down on the grass with both arms crossed behind his back.

"You can't be serious!" Neville said, though the blonde just smirked.

"Wanna bet?" The teen replied before looking up at Harry. "Hey, we were just about to start another round of Exploding Snap, wanna join?"

"Er, no thanks, I was gonna go and…" Harry began but then paused. What was he going to do? Go back to a bickering pair? They were the reason he left to begin with. Wander aimlessly through the castle? What for? Practice his Occlumency?

A sudden idea formed in his mind.

"Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you about something." The messy haired teen asked with a hint of uncertainty. The blonde thankfully took the hint and got up, while Neville just nodded and Luna smiled absently.

"I'll just get everything ready." The shy teen said with a smile.

Walking a bit farther away, Harry began to question his decision. Could Zidane really help him with something like this? It wasn't his problem and he wasn't even sure how to go about asking him to begin with.

"So, what's got you're panties in a twist?" Zidane said with a grin, making Harry mentally stumble a bit.

"I was err, wondering…about your brother." Harry began. Again, how was he supposed to ask him about Professor Kuja without mentioning the secret Occlumency lessons?

"What about him?" Zidane asked, his brow furrowing just the slightest bit.

"I mean, does he have any quirks; any teaching quirks, or so to speak?" Harry blurted out, unsure how to phrase the strange and almost impossible task that Professor Kuja had presented him with.

"I don't get-" The blonde began, instantly dashing his hopes and making him regret his decision. "Oh wait, you mean like tutoring?"

"I suppose you could say that." Harry said, his hopes suddenly rising.

"You wouldn't be the first to ask him for some tutoring. Most people give up quickly though. He usually gives them some impossible task and they simply give up." Zidane said with a shrug and his hopes were once again crushed, this time replaced by anger. Did this mean that Professor Kuja never intended to teach him in the first place? "But wait, how long has this gone on for exactly?"

"I guess since after the Christmas holidays." Harry said with an angry sigh.

"Then he's probably serious. He's not the type of guy that's gonna waste his time with someone for so long unless he was really meaning to teach you something."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Harry asked not just Zidane but also himself. If Professor Kuja was serious, did it mean that he really was supposed to levitate the table for ten minutes without breaking the crystal orb?

"Well, in that case there's gotta be some trick to it. Kuja's the type of guy that chooses brains over brawn. If he's making you do something impossible then it's likely that he just wants you to use your brains. Just think over it a bit, I'm sure it'll be fine." The cyan-eyed blonde said, patting him solidly on the back.

….

'Will it really be alright?' Zidane asked himself, sighing as he walked casually towards Hagrid's hut.

A part of him wondered if it had really been a good idea to give Harry that hint. Usually that was stuff you were supposed to come up with on your own, but he could tell that the teen was pretty much at wits end. A little push was exactly what he needed, Kuja's methods be damned.

Pausing for a moment, the blonde made sure that his so called brother wasn't listening in to his thoughts. After a few seconds of silence, and after making sure that Kuja's presence in his mind was completely absent, he continued making his way through the school grounds.

He had left Neville and Luna behind for this occasion. The reason? Hagrid had called for him, quite suddenly too. He was still not sure what it was all about, but he had a feeling that its wasn´t just for tea.

He still felt rather bad about it all. He wasn't exactly lying to them, but he still couldn't shake off the guilt that plagued him. They knew nothing of this other side of him. They welcomed him with open arms. They believed in him. He already knew so much about them, too. He even knew their families. He knew about Luna and her father, as well as her mother's tragic demise. He knew about Neville's strict grandmother and the tragedy surrounding both his parents.

On the other hand, they knew so little about him. He was sure that they knew this as well. Sometimes he could see it in their eyes. They knew he was keeping something from them, consciously or not. Though true, the small facts he'd told them about his life were mostly just superficial bits of information; incomplete generalizations to satisfy the curiosity of most.

He wanted to tell them, he really did. He'd already resolved himself to do so after this whole mess was over. Until then, he wasn't sure how he'd manage. He was sick of having to hide his tail in front of them, sick of having to sneak out of the castle under a cloak, sick of having to make up excuses to explain the bags under his eyes or the sudden injuries that appeared overnight.

'Geez, since when have I been so emotional?' The blonde thought with a shake of his head. The door to Hagrid's hut was just up ahead. 'Get yourself together.'

Reaching up to knock, Zidane's nearly jumped at the sudden opening of the door, followed by loud barks. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor, chest pinned down by a large black mass and face being viciously slobbered on.

"Get off me you overgrown mut! Come on Fang, seriously!" Zidane said with a chuckle as he forced the large hound off of him.

At least the dog didn't seem to have anything against him. In fact, it was funny how, despite sharing his name with the nasty wolf-like monsters from Gaia, the large dog's temperament was the complete opposite. Though he looked somewhat intimidating at first, the blonde had been quick to learn that Fang was a softie at heart. He supposed that dogs did resemble their masters, at least in this case.

"There ya are! Was wonder'n when you'd show up." Hagrid said, appearing right beside Fang. Zidane had to stop himself from grimacing as he looked at the man's face. He had a busted lip and a black eye, as well as a cut over his left eyebrow that was bleeding sluggishly downwards.

"Are you okay? Seriously man, I'm pretty sure the last time I saw you, you didn't look like a bandersnatch played fetch with your face. It took me so long to get rid of the swelling, too. What happened?" The blonde asked with concern as he got up from the ground.

"Oh, it's just, er accidents happn', on the job an' such. But 'nough about that! I asked ye ter come for another reason." The large man said, as he signaled the teen to follow.

"So, what is it?" Zidane asked as he looked at the man with a bit of uncertainty. After all, he remembered how he'd tried to heal Hagrid's wounds when he first got back, only to discover that half-Giants were surprisingly resistant to magic, and well, to physical attacks too, considering that it took actual giants to produce that much damage in the first place. Of course since Hagrid was like that now, it only mean there was something as dangerous around.

The half giant stopped for a moment, opening and closing his mouth as if unsure what to say. After a few long seconds, the man just shook his head and continued to move forwards. "Well, it's better if ye see for yerself."

Raising a brow in question, Zidane followed after the large man, his curiosity turning slowly into apprehension as he realized that the man was leading him towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Woah, hold up. We're not going in there, are we?" The genome asked, gloved hand pointing at the dark woods ahead.

After all, he still remembered his first trip into the forest. He'd been curious to explore it back then, but after being driven out by a herd of angry centaurs and attacked by a hoard of giant poisonous spiders, he decided it would be best to stay as far away as possible. He had barely made it out in one piece anyways, and he had a feeling that the evil gathering of trees was still out for his blood.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fang sit on his haunches a few feet away, clearly unwilling to go any further than this. Zidane gave a mental nod; a wise move indeed.

"Well yeah, where else didja think? You've fought Death Eaters b'fore, this should be easy!" Hagrid said, patting him on the back.

"If by easy you mean nearly killed by a bunch of giant spiders then yes, it was really easy." Zidane responded with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh we're not goin'anywhere near Aragog's turf. It's perfectly safe." The half-Giant said, dismissing the whole thing with a wave of his large arm. He only realized then that Hagrid had, at some moment, pulled out a crossbow and that it was now held in his other arm.

'Perfectly safe, huh?' The blonde thought with a sigh. Maybe it was time to get over his fears. "Just so you know, I don't think the centaurs are very fond of me."

"It'll be fine." The half giant said and the blonde supposed that maybe it would be okay this time. Hagrid probably knew the forest like the back of his hand.

"Alright, let's just go before I start having second thoughts." The genome said as he followed the half-giant into the dark underbrush of the forest.

The forest was as dark and creepy as he remembered. Mist was rolling down, effectively blocking his view of the ground, and really, just about everything around him. Large tree roots made him trip on occasion while the naked branches of small trees and bushes would tear his clothes and scratch his exposed skin. Thankfully, he was already used to such a thing, seeing as his past adventure had forced him through the worst of Gaia's wilderness, so the injuries were thankfully kept at a minimal. Having a tail was also extremely useful at keeping balance, and really, the only good thing about this trip was that there were no students around, and therefore no reason to keep it hidden.

Time seemed to trickle down slowly while they walked, and after looking around at their current surroundings, Zidane realized that they were now likely deep into the Forbidden Forest. No light seemed to reach the forest ground from the thick canopy of twisted branches above, and had the cyan-eyed blonde not been enjoying a pleasant afternoon with his friends just under an hour ago, he could have sworn that it was already nighttime. As it was, the only sources of light were the large lantern that Hagrid carried with him and the small light emanating from the tip of his wand from a lumos spell. Actually, the light was so tiny and feeble compared to the large man's lantern that he was starting to think perhaps it would be best to stop the spell. It wasn't making much of a difference anyways.

Zidane stopped the spell, but did not put his wand away. In fact, his hand was hovering closely to where his daggers were stashed. There was something that was bothering him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It just felt like something was wrong. It wasn't like he felt he was being watched or anything, this part of the forest seemed devoid of any intelligent beings as it was.

Then it hit him.

Zidane paused in his tracks, eyes wide as he realized what was wrong. It wasn't just the lack of intelligent life; there just didn't seem to be any other animals around, no birds, no anything. He felt his tail bristle behind him; his memories leading him back to the Evil Forest back at the beginning of his previous adventure. That forest had gone quiet as well, right before those mantis-like monsters attacked and the whole forest turned to stone.

"'Ere we are." Hagrid said, snapping him out of his thoughts, his voice dropping down to a loud whisper. "B'fore we go on, I should explain."

"Please do." Zidane deadpanned, his expression concealing just how antsy he was beginning to feel about this. His tail however, betrayed his intentions and swung anxiously side to side. Looking around, he saw the mist starting to clear a bit and what he saw did not calm him in the slightest. What he thought were mounds of earth or large rocks were actually uprooted trees; several very large uprooted trees.

"I couldn't just leave'im back with the rest. They'd pick on' im." Hagrid said as he walked forward as if to show him something. Zidane followed cautiously and after a few steps he stopped, a sudden sound reaching his ears. It was breathing, but not the regular kind, no, this one sounded like it came from a pair of large lungs. For a moment, he thought that Hagrid had somehow led him to a monster's den. Something didn't quite fit, though.

After looking for the source of the sound, he realized it was coming from the ground several feet away, only it wasn't really the ground, it was a large mound. After inspecting the mound closer, he realized that the mound had a large boulder next to it with a misshapen ear attached.

'Wait.' Zidane thought to himself, realization dawning on him that the mound wasn't really a mound. Then he remembered a particular conversation he had with Hagrid. He said he was a half-giant, well, specifically that his mom was a giantess... 'Oh shit.'

Everything began to make sense now. Why Hagrid was gone for so long despite wizard travel being actually really fast, and also why he looked so beat up all the time.

"You brought a giant here?!" Zidane called out, suddenly finding it impossible to keep his voice down.

"SHHHH!" Hagrid called, before looking a bit guilty. "He's my brother, you see. Well, half brother. Mum found 'nother giant after dad, though she didn't seem to like Grawp here too much. Giantesses care 'bout having big strong boys and he's a bit on the smallish side fer a giant."

Zidane winced as he looked at the mound again, or rather, Hagrid's half-brother. He could understand why Hagrid wouldn't want to leave him behind, them being technically family and all. He felt the same way when he rescued Kuja from the Iifa Tree. The older genome had saved them before so he felt in debt to him despite everything he did, but he'd be lying if he said he never considered the whole family aspect to it. As much as he denied any ties to Garland and insisted that his family were his friends from Gaia, he couldn't help but think that abandoning Kuja was akin to abandoning family. He had refused to leave Kuja behind, the same way Hagrid refused to leave his half-brother, Grawp.

He had no right to tell Hagrid that leaving behind his family was wrong.

"Hagrid, I understand you wanting to keep him safe, but do you really think it was such a great idea to bring him to the Forbidden Forest? It could be dangerous to have him so close to the school." Zidane asked, but then realized that Kuja was in the school too, and he was partially at fault for that. In fact the older genome was technically a lot more dangerous than one runt of a giant.

Well at least Kuja could be reasoned with, he wasn't sure about Grawp.

"It's fine, e's tethered and very shy too. He won't run off'n go near Hogwarts." Hagrid said. "What e needs is company. I just thought…well, I might be gettin' the sack any day now, so err, maybe you could come n' talk to im a bit. He understands a bit of English."

"Hagrid…" Zidane began, but then had to stop when he saw the look on the half-Giant's face. He was looking at him with the equivalent of puppy dog eyes. It was actually pretty messed up seeing it coming from him.

The teen sighed. Hagrid probably didn't know that the last time he went inside the forest, just about every living creature here attacked him. He probably thought that he'd be safe coming here since he'd been able to take down Death Eaters and Dementors before, which was true, except that he wasn't talking about a legion of them coming at him at once.

"Oh alright, but only if you get sacked, which won't be happening any time soon." Zidane said, his voice stern as he looked directly at the half giant's beady black eyes.

"He can fend for 'imself, so it won't be too hard." Hagrid insisted, with a smile now showing under his shaggy beard. "Let me wake 'im up so you can meet."

The large man walked towards the mound casually, and after picking up a stick which was actually more like a thick branch, Hagrid proceeded to poke the sleeping giant. Zidane winced, a part of his mind, the smarter one he tended to ignore when he got bored, was telling him that it was a terrible idea. He was just about to tell the half giant to stop when a loud roar reverberated through the trees.

'Oh crap.' Zidane thought, his tail once again bristling as he saw the mound suddenly rise to an impressive 15 feet, a height that was still apparently unimpressive for a giant.

The giant turned and this time the blonde got a clear look at his face. It was round, with tiny eyes and a nose that almost seemed like it was stuck on at the last minute. He had greenish hair and practically no neck, though he was thankfully clothed with what appeared to be several animal skins sewn together. Apparently giants looked a lot like misshapen humans.

"Grawpy, this is Zidane. He's 'ere to accompany you so you don't get lonely." Hagrid said, then giving out a loud 'oof' sound as the giant's hand connected to his middle. Apparently Grawp was in a bad mood after being woken up. "Now Grawp, that's not polite."

Zidane sighed in relief as he realized that Hagrid was alright. His muscles seemed to tense however, when he realized that he had now caught the giant's attention. Cyan eyes met the giant's muddy hazel stare as the giant slowly approached, kneeling down to get a good look at him. There was still a good distance between them thanks to that thick rope that seemed to keep Grawp restrained.

"Uh, hi?" The genome said, unsure of how he should act. He supposed he should go slowly, like he was dealing with a child; an overgrown child that could literally swat him like a fly. "I'm Zidane. ZI-DANE."

"'DAN." The giant repeated, his voice making the earth below him shake.

Making a reach for him with his massive stubby hands, Zidane stepped back quickly in reflex. He had just gotten out of the Hospital Wing, thank you very much.

"No Grawpy, no touching!" Hagrid reprimanded, which only seemed to make the large creature before them throw an equally sized tantrum. Grawp roared before grabbing the closest tree and bending it, the whole thing being uprooted in the process.

"Woah, calm down!" Zidane tried, but then had to dodge out of the way as the torn out tree suddenly came flying towards him.

Why did stuff like this always happen to him?

…..

"So, which one of you two wants to explain what you're currently doing in my office?" Kuja asked, putting a rather large roll of parchment down as he stared at the two twins in front of him.

They were Fred and George Weasley, currently two of the oldest Weasley siblings attending Hogwarts. They were also quite possibly the most renowned pranksters in the school, which was actually why he knew them to begin with. It was almost standard procedure amongst the Hogwarts faculty to warn newcomers about those two, or at least that's what his current colleagues had told him.

He'd seen the two in the Great Hall and corridors before, plotting something no doubt, but he had yet to come face to face with them like right now. It was for this reason that he was somewhat intrigued by what brought them here today. Not that his face would ever show it though. As a businessman, he knew that it was best to always keep an impassive façade.

"Well, Umbridge's been breathing down our necks." One of the Weasley twins began. He didn't really care which one.

"Saying we don't have any plans for the future and such." The other continued.

"We figured she was partially right." The first twin said with a nod.

"So you came to me for some career counseling?" The older genome surmised. He supposed it wasn't that uncommon. Several other teens had done the same, though in most cases, it was really just to snoop around.

"Not really." The other twin said with a mischievous smile.

Kuja raised a delicate brow in question.

"We came here to introduce you to some of our products." The other twin said, and the silver-haired genome then realized that they were carrying a box with them

"We did a bit of digging, and we discovered a bit about you, Professor Kuja. Particularly in some of your investments overseas." The first twin said, and Kuja had to admit that he was a bit surprised. Maybe not all children in this castle were as clueless and dim and he'd imagined.

"We've started our line of products with what we've had at hand."

"We even have the means to open up our own shop in Diagon Alley."

"And yet we've been thinking even larger still." The twins said.

Kuja propped his arms over the table, fingers intertwining, and lip curling upwards as he looked at the two redheads; curiosity piqued as he ignored the feeling that somewhere, not too far away, his brother was off getting in some kind of trouble.

"Tell me more."

...

To be continued...

…

A/N: Here's an omake since I'm in a good mood. Also, it was time for some FFIX characters. It takes place while Garnet was away in Daguerro's Library, searching for a way for Zidane to come back. Adult humor ahead so you've been warned. :D

….

Active Time Event: Her Majesty's Swords

Adelbert Steiner was a war hero, one of Gaia's eight strongest champions, too. But deep down he always considered himself to be a loyal and chivalrous knight. At least that was what he believed himself to be. He was strict when it came to his duties and never once questioned his loyalties to her Majesty. Well, her current Majesty since he had technically disobeyed her former Majesty's orders. It was all for a good reason, of course. Her Highness would not be alive if it were not for that, nobody would for that matter. Besides, everyone knew that Queen Brahne wasn't exactly in a right state of mind during those past events.

In a way, it just proved that he was so much more than just a knight. To risk insubordination in order to do what is right. Though he loathed admitting it, it was all thanks to a certain monkey-tailed thief that he had come to see it as a virtue, rather than a fault.

But now that Alexandria's ruler was of sane mind, Steiner had no qualms whatsoever in following the Queen, no, Garnet even into the pits of hell if he had to. He would follow any of her orders, as farfetched and ridiculous as they may sound. He trusted the Queen's judgment completely.

Still, he couldn't help but think it odd that the Queen would leave such a trinket in his care while she was away. She had only explained vaguely what it did, and even then, Steiner had no idea what part Doga's Artifact played in contacting Zidane in that bizarre world that the genome had somehow managed to land himself in.

With a shrug he had placed it on the mantelpiece of his large, though sparsely decorated (but more practical that way) quarters, before hearing a knock on the door and turning towards it to open it.

"Evening Adelbert." Beatrix called from the other side, her husky voice unusually soft. But then again, he was really one of the few of a hand-full of people Beatrix would actually use that tone of voice with.

"Evening Beatrix." Steiner replied, the edges of his usually stern lips turned slightly in a smile.

In fact, they were not only on a first name basis now, but with the war over and the time of peace just starting, the two of them were closer than ever before.

Of course, Zidane hadn't stopped teasing them. If he wasn't the next candidate to become king, a beloved hero, and Queen Garnet's love interest, he would have been reduced to a small smear on the floor ages ago.

"I was thinking we could spend some time together now that we finally have some time on our hands." Beatrix said, a small teasing smile on her lips accompanying the equally teasing look of her only visible eye as she looked at him.

"Do you have anything particular in mind?" Steiner replied, following along. They had both been so busy lately; Beatrix with the whole managing things while the Queen was away, while he had been preoccupied with the poor excuses of new cadets.

"You could say that." Beatrix said walking up to him while locking the door behind her so nobody would intrude. Steiner quickly caught on as he was led towards the bed at the other side of the room, Beatrix's surprisingly nimble hands quickly removing the heavy plates of armor right off of him.

This side of Beatrix was one not many people had ever seen and lived to tell the tale. Who knew that the cold and stern general could be so passionate under all those several layers of armor? Of course, Steiner felt privileged of such an honor.

It wasn't long until his helm was off, and the couple found themselves locked in a messy yet extremely passionate kiss. Many would even go as far as describing it as 'steamy'. The entire world around them seemed to blur, the only thing important to both warriors at the moment was the person right in front of them whose tongue they currently had in their mouth. Steiner vaguely thought through his misty and befuddled brain that they should really ask the Queen for some time off once she got back. Though, in a way it was all thanks to her that they had gotten together in the first place.

'Gods save the Queen.' Steiner thought as Beatrix slowly began moving down his neck.

Yet they were both brought to sudden and complete stop when a loud 'ahem' brought them back to their senses.

"You know, it's not that I'm not happy for you guys or anything." An annoyingly familiar voice said with great amusement. Looking around, Steiner realized that they were no longer in his quarters, but in an extremely large grassy plain. The familiar voice currently came from a branch in the tree right next to them, making the couple look up, only to see a certain cyan-eyed genome looking smugly down at them. Steiner and Beatrix then quickly let go of each other, almost as if they were on fire, both their faces flushed red as they were caught red-handed. "But, do you guys think you could get a room? I'd rather not get mentally scarred for life while seeing Rusty here finally pop his cherry."

The shade of embarrassed red from Steiner's face quickly turned into one of absolute rage, before the knight quickly rushed at the tree, fist shaking in fury. "YOU LITTLE MONKEY RASCAL, COME DOWN HERE AT ONCE!"

Above in the tree branches the genome just laughed.

...