Chapter 2: Lucca

He had been quite polite his first night here, which was a big surprise. My parents went on a 3 day trip to Porre to gather some equipment for Dad's new project after dinner. I couldn't sleep the whole night, so I began to work a little on the Epoch. Somehow, I had gotten the central frame back together, but time seemed to work against me. As I finished putting the final bolts into the frame, a worn out Magus walked into the work room. He looked grouchy, probably from the very uncomfortable couch that we kept in the living room. I was fairly tired, but I tried my best to hide it. I tried to be as cheerful as possible. I think I was a little to successful, because I think he saw through it.

"Morning, sleepyhead. What's the matter, was Lucca's couch to much for the dark wizard?" I tried to get him to smile, something I had rarely seen him do. He just grunted before speaking.

"How long have you been up?" I could tell he suspected I had been up all night, but I lied anyway.

"Only since 3. Look, I was able to get the central frame together. We could probably finish it and begin putting the plates on by supper time." I tried to be optimistic, he sure didn't look like he was trying too hard.

"Alright, let's continue where you left off." This was all he said for the next 6 hours. We worked, and worked, and worked. It had been a long time since I had worked that hard for so long, and with a sleepless night behind me, It wasn't looking to good. He seemed to be up for it, though. When began putting the plates on, I could really feel it get to me.

The plates are very heavy pieces of a special metal, to help survive the trip through time. They are also very sharp at the edges. With this in mind, we thought it best to work together. We began putting the plates on at about 3 in the afternoon. While he was bolting the top plate down on the right wing, the fatigue got to me. I zoned out and lost my grip on the plate. It fell like a stone, but worst of all, we got cut. I got a deep gash down my left hand . Magus wasn't so lucky. It cut through his left hand glove and cut him like it did me, but then it cut the top of his thigh down to his kneecap. I looked at him, then I looked at my hand, and I started to feel faint. After assessing the damage, he let loose on me.

"You stupid clod! No wonder none of your projects work, or survive for that matter! Look what you did! Dammit! What the hell is wrong with you! Shit! This is going to take forever to clean out and bandage. Stupid fool." He muttered that last part under his breath.

He hurt me. He struck a nerve. I hated being called stupid. I loathed being called a failure. Everything he said burned into my soul and I did something....I cried. I Something kept me from being angry, and instead, I just felt horrible. I screamed back at him through the sobs.

"You horrible, evil bastard! Why are you such an insensitive prick!? Do you think I did it on purpose!? ...I mean....everybody makes mistakes......you didn't have to yell at me........you didn't have.....to.....make.....me...." I never finished what I was saying.

I woke up in bed. There was a bandage on my hand and an ice pack on my head. My head hurt and I still felt horrible about what Magus said. I looked around the room. No Magus. I saw a tray with a plate of food. It didn't look very good, but at that point I would eat just about anything. I ate the meal quickly. I was so hungry. After I finished, I noticed a note on the tray. It was written very neatly, with an elegant handwriting. It read:

Lucca,

After you passed out, you fell onto the frame of the Epoch. I bandaged you up and got you into your bed. You should stay there the rest of the day. I made you dinner, although probably wasn't very good. Mine wasn't, if that makes you feel any better. Listen, don't take what I said earlier seriously. I get mad easily. I'll let you rest and tomorrow, we'll continue working on the Epoch. Next time, if you begin to feel faint, tell me. That's about it.

Magus

I wasn't exactly sure if it was an apology, but it made me feel somewhat better. I figured it would be difficult to get an outright apology out of him.

I laid in bed, reading a book for a few hours, when I head footsteps. I had forgotten about him for that brief period. Before he entered the room, however, he stopped. I didn't have a clue what he could possibly be doing. After a couple minutes he came in and sat down in the chair next to my bed. The pause allowed me to think back on what he had said earlier, and I felt bad again. When he came in, I just stared at him. He leaned over and rubbed his thumb on my cheek.

"A tear." he said, almost to himself, as if he knew why it was there. He looked at me for a moment, then spoke again. "Lucca, I'm....I...I'm...sorry. I'm sorry for what I said. You're not stupid. You're not a failure. You're a beautiful, intelligent human being." He knew what he wanted to say, but even after that pause in the hallway, he couldn't get it out right away. I could tell he was confused about his emotions of the moment. He'd never really felt guilt or pity before. Then, there he was. Not only had he apologized about what he said, he gave me a wonderful compliment.

"Thank you, Magus. I'm sorry I let that plate slip."

"Lucca. While I was watching over you, I couldn't help think to myself that I had attacked one of the few people that had ever come close to accepting me as a friend. You remind me of Schala, being kind and generous to those who don't deserve it. Thank you."

What he had said to me was the last thing I ever thought he would ever say. I thought it was highly uncharacteristic of him, at the time. Now, he wasn't hitting on me or anything, but it seemed he truly wanted to make a connection with me. I was in a flustered state. I didn't know what to think. He got up to leave, but before he could, I got up.

"Thank you, Magus, so much. What you just said means a lot to me." In the heat of the moment, I may have done something stupid. I kissed him. No, it wasn't anything special, just a peck on the cheek. I look at him, smiling, before I went back to bed. I felt so good after that, but I wasn't sure why. I decided to forget about it and go to sleep. Tomorrow would be another day.

~Author's note: I have a few things to say. First of all, I'm sorry this chapter's short, but it's somewhat strange writing in Lucca's POV. Not that I'm not going to do it anymore, but it just may be a few chapters before I get comfortable with it, I've never done a woman's POV before in writing (or a romance for that matter), but I decided that it would be important to the story, seeing as it's a romance (and if I remember correctly those involve 2 people), to have both sides. Secondly, I know Magus seems way out of character, but I'm trying to get an image of an older, wiser Magus who doesn't want to be alone anymore, so all you dark, evil, murdering, insult-hurling scythe-wielding sorcerer fans please don't kill me, I'm going for original AND entertaining here. Lastly, I would like to thank the following people:

Milaya Milen Zeal-My first reviewer

Kit Thespian

Sailor Leo (Anonymous Reviewer)

Lord Cirenmas (Anonymous Reviewer)

Shiko (Anonymous Reviewer)

Imania

For your feed back. Keep it coming. I need it. If you have any suggestion or changes you think should be made, please tell me, I'm always trying to make my fics better and I can't do it with out you, the reader. Peace out.

Dark Creation