Chapter 2: A Surprise
Inside, all was dark. It didn't seem like any party to him. Just an empty building. Something definitely was not right. "I'm just gonna look around. Maybe we are in the wrong room. Come on, just in case there's trouble."
As they went around the corner, lights came on everywhere. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" a bunch of people yelled out, surprising Gau.
"I should've expected this!" Gau said, trying to act happy, but not feeling it inside. The surprise just made it worse. He knew he was gonna have a very bad night.
Everyone started getting up and going around, most meeting with Gau to personally wish him a happy birthday.
"Hey, Gau. You're nineteen now. I think it's time I showed you a few tips about getting women," Edgar said, nudging his arm.
"Um, no thanks, Edgar," Gau said, refusing politely.
Locke laughed and then said, "Gau, if you do listen to his advice, make sure you DON'T follow it. It's the best way to go." Edgar put on a angry face and stared at Locke, but quickly got over and went to get some punch.
Gau thanked him for the advice and then turned to leave, but ran into Strago, almost killing him.
"Oh, so sorry Strago. I didn't see you there. Are you alright?" Gau asked, very concerned for the old man.
"I think so. I may have a small bruise, but it's nothing this old body can't handle. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. You're nineteen, right? Wow, you grew up so fast. You should really go get a girlfriend. Life will pass you by quickly if you don't pay attention," Strago said, offering some advice to the now grown-up wild boy.
"As I have noticed. I only recently realized how much time has passed. I'll have to pay more attention from now on," Gau said, thinking of Relm and Strago's advice. Gau knew Strago was only acting nice. He knew Strago didn't want him to be around Relm too much. "Whew! It's getting hot in here. If anyone asks, tell 'em I'll be back in a minute. OK?" Without waiting for an answer, he left to find a door leading outside.
While searching, several times, he was greeted with several happy birthdays. After a few minutes of conversation, Gau politely excused himself.
Gau finished searching around the room twice before deciding to search a hallway with a cool draft coming from it. Thankfully, it eventually led to the outside. Gau sucked in the cool air through his nostrils. "Ah, I never thought I'd breathe such cool air again," Gau said to himself, relieved that he's away from the crowd and the heat.
While looking up at the dark sky, Gau suddenly remembered a memory that he had long forgotten. It was just after Relm's fourteenth birthday about a year and a half ago.
"Come on, please?" Relm pleaded with Gau.
"Relm, this not something that friends do. You are sure?" Gau said, making sure she did. Deep down, he wanted to also, but was too shy to admit it. His English wasn't perfect yet though. He was still working on it.
"Yes, I'm sure. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking you," Relm said, a little impatient. "I'd rather do it with someone I know first. That way I can practice."
"OK. I guess we try," Gau said nervously. He had never done it before and didn't think it would happen with his best friend. He worried that it would go wrong and somehow disappoint her. He always hated disappointing her. He only wanted to see smiles on her face.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." They both took a deep breath and their faces started getting closer to one another. When their lips were just an inch apart, Gau could feel her slight breath on his chin. They stayed like that for a minute and then their lips touched. First, ever so softly and then bit more firm. Within a few seconds, they were holding each other and they were enjoying their first kiss.
Out of breath, they separated. "Do you think it was OK?" Relm asked, not showing any embarrassment.
Gau, however, couldn't hold it in and turned a bright red. "I guess so. I not see anything wrong with it. I'm sure any guy you kiss that like will not say anything bad about it," Gau complimented. It was the only kiss that he had ever had so he had nothing to compare it to. Nevertheless, he didn't think it could get much better. It had been a first kiss for the both of them, whether they considered it one or not.
They practiced kissing with each other several times over the next couple of months. They grew better at it and eventually decided that they knew how to kiss well enough and then stopped. After they stopped, Gau missed those lips, but would not dare mention it to Relm for fear that she didn't feel the same. He didn't want to lose his best friend over a simple thing as a kiss.
Eventually, he came to realize that he felt something for Relm. Another six months passed and then he finally admitted it to himself that he loved her. He would never be able to tell Relm this. She might not like the idea of him having deeper feelings for her. He wouldn't want her to be uncomfortable.
A pair of soft hands were put over his eyes. "Oh no, oh no!" Gau cried out. "It's the Grim Reaper's wife coming take me away and use me for evil purposes."
An evil laugh came from behind him. "Heh, heh, heh," a voice said as Gau turned around to see Relm. "I'm gonna take you away to the Lair of Death." Relm tried to make an evil laugh, but the pitch of her voice made it seem more funny than anything.
"Ack! I don't wanna die yet!" Gau screamed and playfully hit Relm. They laughed and then Gau asked, "What brings you out here?"
"Well, I decided to follow you. You left your party behind. Any reason for that?" Relm asked, curiously.
"Um, the heat in there would've killed me if I didn't leave," Gau explained, not exactly lying.
"Oh yeah," Relm said. "Now that you mention it, it is hot in there. I can't see how the rest can stand it."
Relm stood beside Gau continued looking up at the sky. She looked up too, wondering what he was looking at. Seeing nothing of interest, she asked him.
"Uh, oh nothing. I just wanted to see if I could pick out the stars." Gau knew that it wasn't the reason he was looking up, but the thought of attempting to find stars seemed to help his mood.
"So, how are you, Gau?"
"Pretty good. I don't think I could be any better if I tried."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Right now, everything is pretty much OK." Gau wished he could believe those words, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. He guessed he'd have to suffer until it passed.
"I don't think so, Gau. I saw the way you were in there. You seemed, um, preoccupied. And you didn't seem any bit happy about the surprise. Usually, you'd be laughing and shocked, but you hardly said a thing. Gau, I know you better than you think. I can see behind that fake smile," Relm said, determined to get what was on his mind out of him.
"Huh? I'm happy! See?" Gau said, putting on the realest fake smile he could muster.
"No, you're not. There's something bothering you. Care to tell me about it?" Relm asked, concerned.
"Ah, it's nothing," Gau said, finally admitting that something was wrong. "I don't need to talk about it. It just hasn't been a good day for me."
"I see. You do know that I'm here whenever you wanna talk about something, right?" Relm asked.
"Yeah, I know. You've been there before and I know you're still there. But, for this, I think I can handle it on my own," Gau reassured her.
"If you say so, but I am here if you ever need anything."
"I know and I appreciate it very much. Thank you," Gau said as he hugged her. When they separated from the hug, Gau noticed Relm was smiling. Her smile immediately cheered him up. He put his thoughts deep inside him so it wouldn't ruin their time together now that he felt happy and wanted to smile.
"That's the Gau I know. Come on, I'm starting to get a little cold now and you have a birthday party to attend to." They both went inside. Gau actually enjoyed the party now because whenever he looked at Relm, she always had that beautiful smile on her face. He smiled back at her and she recognized it as a genuine smile. The night turned out much better than he had anticipated.
After the long night, they all ended up in one of the three Inns near Dale Street. Relm and Gau ended up in the same room together. There were two single beds, but, nevertheless, they were in the same room. If Strago knew about this, he'd probably be furious. Anyway, there were two single beds, so there wasn't anything to worry about. It's not like we didn't spend the night together before. We were in the same room when there were four beds back when they were fighting Kefka. And one time it was just us, Mog, and Umaro. Yeah, like they were gonna do anything. So what if we were younger? It still happened, Gau thought to himself as he laid in his bed.
He looked over at Relm in her bed. She looked like she was asleep. To test it out, he whispered, "Good night, Relm."
"Hmmm, good night, Gau," she said in a low voice and then turned towards him. She still had on that beautiful smile. It made Gau blush and he soon fell asleep to have fantasies of them together.
The next morning, Setzer gathered up the others to bring them back now that the party was over with. Relm was talking to Gau, saying her last goodbyes before she got on. Setzer started getting a little impatient. "Come on, Relm. We're leaving."
"In a minute, Setzer," she yelled back at Setzer. Turning back to Gau, she put on her warm smile. "I'm gonna miss you. You're coming back soon, right? It's getting so lonely with out you. I miss you." She hugged Gau, making him blush with her words and the hug.
"Yeah, I've got two more days left and then I'm going to be finished. I'll be coming back then and you'll be the first that I come to see when I get home. OK?" Gau reassured her.
"OK." Relm smiled, hugged him again, and left to get on the airship to go home. Gau watched the airship until it disappeared from sight. Suddenly, he felt lonely once again. Even if she didn't feel the same way, he enjoyed her company very much.
The next days passed very slowly with Gau going in and out of depression. He felt that she should know about his feelings, yet he felt that he may lose her friendship if he told her. What if she can't look at me in the same way, knowing that when I look at her, my eyes are full of love? ARGH! I gotta stop thinking about this. At least, for now, Gau thought to himself and then decided to get some music as Edgar called it. When Edgar came, he brought one of new inventions for Sabin. It was a small box-like object that had Edgar's voice, singing. He said, it'll be the next best-selling item. He didn't particularly like Edgar's voice, but he did find it hilarious. While listening, he wondered if he could somehow get Relm's voice put into the box. The thought of that made him smile.