Author's Notes: Go… go… must finish, will finish…
Disclaimer: Suikoden=NOT mine. Millie/Luc=Wish were mine. Nanami/Jowy, Meg/Futch, Tomo/Riou, Tengaar/Hix, Leona/Viktor, Anita/Miklotov, Valeria/Camus, Apple/Shu, Wakaba/Sasuke, Viki/Tir, Nina/Flik = Millie/Luc. Plots and other off-the-wall, but nonetheless nice IMHO stuff that Konami didn't think of=Mine.
Carol of the Bells
Chapter Ten: Presents
"Sir Flik!!"
Flik suppressed a groan. "Oh, Merry Christmas, Nina."
"Merry Christmas!!" Nina says cheerfully and gives him a present.
"Thank you…" Flik says.
"I hope you like it," Nina babbled. "I sewed it myself, and brought the materials from South Window—"
"Nina… why are you doing this?" Flik asks.
"Doing what?"
"This. Following me around. Washing my clothes. Getting me presents. Talking to me." Flik said bluntly.
"Well…" Nina looked confused. "I love you."
"That…" Flik sighed. "Why do you say that?"
"Because… it's true…"
"But Nina… you know I love someone else…"
"I know," Nina nods. "And I think… somebody needs to snap you out of it right now!!"
"………"
"I know you don't like hearing this…" Nina bit her lip and looked away. "But hearing something, will bring you closer to it… I think… you need to accept… the dead can never come back. And we have to move on. But that doesn't mean… we have to forget them." Nina smiled hesitantly. "We can always live on… knowing they forever part of our hearts…"
"………"
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be." Flik smiled warmly, at her!! "You were right, those things needed to be said—and repeated."
"Thank you."
"No, thank you…"
"Would you like to dance, Sir Flik?"
"Maybe later. Let's eat first, I'm starving."
"Okay." She grins at him. "By the way, you still owe me a kiss."
"Oh, yeah—" Flik leaned towards her and kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas."
"Ohmigod!!!" Nina shrieked. "You kissed me!!"
Flik felt a bead of sweat slide down his forehead. "Eh…"
"You really kissed me!!!"
"Er, Nina…"
* * *
"Merry Christmas, Apple." Shu says, holding out a gift at her.
"Sempai…" Apple blushed with pleasure. A gift… "Merry Christmas…" She gives Shu a gift as well.
"I hope you always wear it…" Shu opens the little box and pulled out a ring. Apple stares at it.
A ring… Shu got me a ring?? A RING??!
"This is a promise ring…" Shu declared. "With it comes my promise… I will be here for you… always. Never will that happen again, like that time when I made you grovel in a river for a coin. We are Mathiu's last disciples. We will stick together."
"Thank you, Sempai."
* * *
"This is for you!!" Meg gives Futch a present.
"… It looks like a dragon egg." Futch says. "But it's too light to be one…"
"Press it right here." Meg brings up his fingers to a round little switch.
"Oh!" Futch cried when it opened. "Is it… broken??"
"No!!" Meg laughed. "Look inside."
Futch felt something soft and fluffy. He pulled it out. "T-this… it's Bright."
It was a replica of Bright. A tiny, white little stuffed toy that looked like Bright.
"I sewed it." Meg smiles at him. "And look here," she pressed the toy's tummy. It let out a growling sound, sounding exactly like Bright. Each time Futch pressed it, the toy would let out some random sound that Bright makes.
"Thank you…" Futch said.
"Well, you were interested in Gadget…"
"Thank you… Really… Oh… Meg, by the way…" Futch reached in his pocket. "Merry Christmas…" He took her wrist and put the charm bracelet around it.
"Hey, thanks." Meg says. "I take it she didn't like it?"
"No… that's not it…" Futch says, looking away. "You liked it. It's for you."
"Yeah, so she doesn't want it."
"You want it."
"I know I want it." Meg said, slowly getting frustrated. "I'm asking you if the one you got this for liked it."
"You don't understand…" Futch says nervously. "That bracelet… it really is for you…"
"What??!"
"I got it for you." Futch gathered his resolve and looked Meg straight in the eyes. "The present… it really is for you…"
"………" Meg's jaw dropped open. Then she managed to speak. "You big idiot!!"
"You don't really like it," Futch said. "You just said that to be nice—"
"Sssh!!" Meg puts a finger on his lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I like your gift… and I like you…"
"I-I…" Futch said in a shaky voice. "I really like you a lot."
"Idiot, you should have told me." Meg whispered in his ear. "Because I like you a lot as well…"
"No, I mean REALLY like you—"
"Sssh…" Meg looked at him through her lashes. "Shut up."
"………"
"Kiss me." Without waiting for him to obey she pressed her lips against his. Oh Futch, my pretty, pretty dragon knight… sometimes, you're hopeless…