Chapter 39- Sweet Promises

Celes walked over to Locke and plopped herself down on the blanket. It was soft and comfortable underneath her tired legs. Locke handed her the glass in his hand, and she took it, holding it up slightly in mid air. Locke took his own glass and gently clinked it against hers.

"To us?" He asked in an adorable questioning tone.

"To us." Celes confirmed sweetly, and pulled back, bringing it to her lips. The wine had a sweet taste to it, making her lips part in a slight smile as she had her first sip. She closed her eyes for a moment to enhance the taste, but Locke could only stare as he slowly set his drink down, far off to the side.

She's so beautiful. He thought to himself. Everything about her...the way the firelight shines on her hair, the way her lips just press together perfectly when she drinks and speaks...

Celes opened her eyes and set her glass down as well, flashing him a smile.

And...her eyes....

Locke reached over slowly and took her glass, setting it far out of the way along with his. Celes' eyes followed his hand the whole 12 seconds it took to do that, which drove him absoultely crazy.

"Locke..." Celes started, but was interrupted as he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers softly. Celes closed her eyes and gave no resistance as he gently pushed her down to the blanket, slipping one hand to her waist and running the other through her hair.

"You're so beautiful...everything about you." He whispered, and lowered his head again, this time to kiss her ear. He continued on, not giving her time or leaving her the breath to reply. "I can't immagine anyone else as perfect as you. How I got so lucky...I guess I'll never know...but I swear it Celes, every day of my life and every breath I take is going to be solely dedicated to making you happy...." Celes released a small breath she didn't even realize she was holding in as Locke trailed his lips down to her neck, kissing in some spots but tantalizingly nibbling in others.

"Locke." Celes said as she tilted her head to the side slightly, letting out a soft moan as he continued to kiss her, leaving the spots where his lips met her skin warm with anticipation for more.

"Yes dear?" He asked between kisses, bringing his hands up to the colar of her night shirt.

"......I love you." Celes whispered, her eyes watering over slightly when she opened them, which gave them a new sparkle in the light of the fire. Locke stopped and looked down at her, his heart pouding so loudly he could barely even hear himself reply.

"I love you too, more than anything else in this world..." He smiled. "Forever..." Celes smiled back and reached up, caressing his cheek. He nuzzled his face against her warm hand, briefly kissing her palm in a spot that made her giggle from being tickelish.

I can't believe it...that I'm here with Locke like this, right now. Celes thought, her cheeks turning a bit crimson. This is all I have been thinking about...I just couldn't keep him off my mind. And now, he's here, and I just can't immagine it being any better...then this...And I can't immagine ever wanting to ever be with someone else...never ever! Celes was surprised to feel the small tears that were in her eyes hit her cheeks.

"Oh Celes..." Locke whispered, and kissed her tears as his fingers gently trailed over colarbone through her top. "As long as I'm here, I'm never going to let a sad thought enter your mind. You know that I'll always protect you, right?"

"Of course I know...silly." Celes smiled, and lowered her hand from his cheek to her stomach. He suddenly surprised her by kissing her passionately, running his tongue over hers as he slowly undid the first few buttons of her top to see how she would react. However, the only thing she did in response to that was close her eyes and kiss him harder, which he took as a good thing....He had almost expected her to reach up and tell him to stop in that serious tone she got, like she always had before.

But it's different now. He reminded himself as he gently undid the rest of the buttons. Tonight is different.

Breaking the kiss, Locke then brought his gaze down to Celes' chest and almost hesitated to move the silk top that was still hiding everything in sight from him. For some reason, something inside of him was warning him that Celes might not like this. Celes looked up at him, and in one soft but swift motion, took Locke's hand and slipped it under her top, right on her stomach. The softness of Celes' skin immediately intrigued Locke as he ran his hand up and down her flat stomach, and then up her sides, causing the pajama top to open completely and reveal the rest of her to his widened eyes.

Celes' felt all the blood in her body rush into her face as she slightly arched her back and removed her arms from the sleeves of the top. Locke took it and tossed it aside, not being able to take his eyes off of her perfect form for a second.

"...You're just...perfect." He smiled, and kissed her gently, bringing his hands to her small breasts which made her blush even more. He softly chuckled at this, and lowered his lips to her small valley of cleavage, causing her to tilt her head back and moan louder then from when he was kissing her before. It was one of the sexiest sounds Locke had ever heard Celes make, and it was going to drive him crazy if he didn't hear it again in the next few seconds. Slowly, he parted his lips and then ever-so teasingly, moved from kissing between her breasts to running his tongue over each of them.

Celes let out a short little gasp and moaned again, not being able to contain herself. It felt as if there were electricity running through her vains instead of just blood now, and each time Locke laid his lips upon her, a new surge of energy would come rushing through. She began to wonder how much longer she would have to suffer through this sweet torture before...

After teasing her for a few more moments, Locke gently sat up on Celes' hips and pulled off his own shirt, wanting to feel the warmth his hands had felt all over. Celes wrapped her arms around him and they began to kiss again, this time just enjoying the incredible sensations they were getting just from pressing up against each other.

Time ceased to have any meaning or existence...and the only thing on both their minds was simply how much they loved and desired each other.

Locke continued to kiss Celes softly as he ran his hands down her sides to her hips, and slowly tugged down her pajama bottoms. As he did, Celes carefully lifted one leg, and then the other, to slip out of them completely. Locke could feel her tense up a little, so he smiled and kissed her belly button, blowing on it too to make her giggle, which worked. Locke also couldn't help but notice how cute her little black panties were, and said so.

"Oh, Locke, cut that out!" Celes giggled embarassedly, and tugged on a lock of his hair. He looked up at her and smiled, taking the sides of the panties within his grip.

"Cut what out...?" He asked innocently, and kissed her stomach.

"Your silly compliments...."

"But I mean them." He kissed her again, this time gently nibbling on her belly button. He heard Celes take in a sharp breath in surprise, and took that time to pull down those cute black panties. A few moments later, those had joined the rest of their clothing in a messed up pile a few feet away. Panic arose in Celes' mind when she realized she was now completely nude. Her heart began to pound heavily in her chest, as the fear of the unknown settled in her mind. The only thing that was reassuring her now was the soft smile on Locke's face as he looked from her legs to her face.

"Can I tell you something?"

"....Yes...."

"Before...when I told you I loved everything about you...I meant it...but now I can do the rest of your body justice by saying it again."

"Locke..."

"I mean it, Celes. There has never been a moment in my life that I have wanted you more then now...."

".......Then take me."

Locke reached down and caressed Celes' cheek before kissing the tip of her nose and then kissing her lips. He murmured how much he loved her over and over again, reassuring that he would make sure everything would be ok, as he pulled his hand away from her cheek to take off his boxers. Finally, he gently parted her legs and leaned over her. Celes grabbed his hand, and he gave it a quick squeeze. He couldn't resist running his other hand through her hair one more time as he spoke softly to her.

"Listen, Celes...you know...about the first time, right?"

".....Yes, I do."

"Do...you want me to go slow...? Or..."

"No, please, go slowly..."

"Alright. Anything you say, dear...let me know if there is anything else, ok?"

"I will."

Locke sealed her words with a soft kiss before whispering her name and pressing his hips to hers gently. Celes immediately let out a soft whimper and closed her eyes, squeezing his hand again tightly.

**********

Later that evening, or what was actually very early the next morning, Terra woke up in the middle of what was a seemingly wonderful dream about Edgar and sat up in bed. Something in her subconscious had been bothering her, and she felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. She crawled out of bed, grabbing her robe from the floor beside her feet, and tied it on. Then, feeling extremely suffocated, she threw open the balacony doors in her bedroom, and stepped outside into the cool nighttime air. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and leaned over the balacony.

Terra wasn't the first to admit it, but she knew she still had some Esper left in her that wasn't destroyed when magic was depleted from the world. It was her Esper's instinct, which she knew was very dormant in her thanks to having the Esper most in tune with the planet, Maudin, as her father. It didn't show up often, but when it did, Terra knew she needed to listen. The last time she had had such a feeling wash over her was the night the Opera house burned down. Although it was all over the news the next morning, Terra had gotten a funny feeling that there was danger in that direction the night before. When she confided in her oldest child about it, she agreed, saying that something strange had been in the air.

"What is it...?" Terra whispered. "I know I felt something..." She narrowed her eyes and leaned further over the balcony railing. Stretched below her was the entire city of Figaro, but she felt nothing there. Frustrated, Terra slammed her fist on the railing just as someone stepped out behind her onto the balcony and touched her shoulder.

"ACK!" Terra cried, and whirled around, only to see Edgar standing there in his royal robes, looking exhausted.

"Terra, I thought that was you." Edgar said, and yawned. "Sabin doesn't usually get up in the middle of the night like you do. Is something wrong?"

".....I am not certain." Terra said softly. "I just had this funny feeling, and woke up. I was feeling suffocated in bed, so I had to come out here...."

"Aww, it's ok, was it just a dream?" Edgar asked, slipping his arm around her.

"No, it wasn't that." Terra said, alarm in her voice. "I'm just worried now...." She turned to the east and looked up in the sky, being distracted by a group of dazzling stars in the distance. But Edgar thought that it was something else.

"....Hey, that's where Kholingen and Daryl's Tomb is." He commented.

"...." Terra didn't say anything. Instead, she put on a smile, and turned to Edgar. He looked at her and smiled, kissing her on the nose.

"Lets just go back to sleep, eh?" He suggested. "But you know, if you really arn't feeling well....you can come sleep in MY bed tonight." Terra smirked and shook her head, walking back into her bedroom, but shutting her balacony doors behind her, trapping Edgar outside.

"HEY!" Edgar cried, as Terra yawned and snuggled back under her covers.

"'Night sweetie!" Terra exclaimed, and closed her eyes, welcoming sleep.