I don't own Chrono Trigger

A/N: yet another old fic that I just got in the mood for writing ^___^ yey me ^^;;;

Silent Whispers

The Last Straw

Leene's square was even more crowded up close and personal than it seemed from Crono's house, and filled with people the girl genius did not want to run into. Namely, anyone from the castle. She was forced to show to the wedding rehearsals and so, many if not all the people that had to know her knew her, and she just couldn't afford to be spotted by anyone, for that would mean she would be stopped.

She was this close to her destination, the far end of the square, when she heard a familiar voice come from one of the tents. It was a voice she considered at times to belong to her best female friend, and at times, to her worst arch-nemesis.

Being a scientist, Lucca's curiosity has gotten the better of her and she peeked in from one of the holes made in the tent for ventilation. She immediately regretted doing so.

The beautiful blonde was dressed in her snow white wedding dress, the pearls and jewels decorating the cloth glimmering even in the dim light that was allowed past the tent's shadow.

How could she, the clutzy, somewhat ditzy best friend ever hope to compete with that?

The future queen of Guardia.

The soon to be Queen Nadia.

Marle.

The girl in the tent gave several orders to the maid which was with her, and was soon left alone. Lucca swallowed her pride and gathered her courage. She couldn't just up and leave like that. And while she knew she couldn't possibly face Crono and still leave, Marle was a different thing all together. While they were close, they weren't too close so that Lucca would miss her too much. Of course, the fact that Lucca saw Marle as the one mainly responsible for taking Crono away from her added greatly to that feeling.

So why was she leaving her goodbye message with her?

Leaning forward, she was about to call out to the princess when a figure sneaked into the tent. She recognized him immediately and covered her mouth with her hand, not wanting to let even a small gasp escape her lips. She mustn't… she mustn't stay there… she must leave!

But her legs disobeyed and so she stayed to watch what she knew would turn into a sappy scene that would only torment her farther.

"Wha, what are you doing here?! The groom shouldn't see the bride… OH! C, Crono!"

The blonde squealed and giggled as the soon to be king threw her into the air and began spinning as he caught her, all the time looking lovingly at his future wife.

Lucca found herself lost in his eyes, longing for him to look at her the same way… no, not like that. She wanted more. She needed more. But she wouldn't be getting it anytime soon. Or at all.

"I missed you too, sweetheart, but, what're you doing here?"

The answer was too silent for Lucca to hear, as even when he chose to speak, Crono did so as quietly as he could. He never did believe too much in words, Lucca mused.

"Lucca?"

At the sound of her name, the girl jumped, but calmed somewhat when she saw she wasn't discovered, simply the subject of the discussion. A small blush rose to her cheeks. Why would Crono be talking about her in front of his future wife on their wedding day?

"I haven't seen her either, I'm sorry. But, we still have some time. What're you worried about, that she blew herself up or something?"

She was the only one laughing, as neither childhood friends found it funny. Lucca half glared at Marle for proposing that her experiments would go that badly, and Crono went pale at the thought. Him Lucca forgave, however. He had a reason to fear that option. It was her fifth experiment, if Lucca recalled correctly…

Another silent sentence left the swordsman's mouth, and after a moment, Marle nodded.

"I'll send someone to look for her. But please calm down, Crono. It's your wedding day. I'm sure she'll be here. She is your best friend after all, isn't she?"

His silent agreement with her felt like a dagger in Lucca's heart. It was enough she knew it on her own, but receiving confirmation for it from Crono was just too much. And what topped it even more was the act that followed. The two lovers stood painfully close to one another, gazing lovingly into the other's eyes. His hand went to caress her cheek, and, eyes closing, both began to lean forward.

"Impatient, aren't we?"

"Ah."

The two have never kissed before. Crono was too shy, and Marle knew better than to waste her first kiss before the wedding. She was, after all, the princess. Lucca could stand up their sweet words, their touches, the looks in their eyes… true, it hurt her, but somehow, somewhere in her mind, she always saw herself stealing Crono's first kiss. So she couldn't help herself when the scream came out of her mouth.

"NOOO!"

Both lovers turned to look at her quickly, their initial fear replaced with worry.

"Lu, Lucca?!"

Crono let go of Marle and headed to the tent's exist, and Lucca realized that if she were to leave, now had to be the time. She began running in the Gate's direction, gripping the Gate Key tightly. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay by his side… no, she wanted to be with him! That, however, was not possible. And that was what pushed her forward.

The gate opened before her in all shades of blue and black. She was about to leap when she heard something she never hoped to hear.

"Lucca! Wait! Lucca!!"

Crono. Crono was calling her. Not whispering, not saying, practically screaming her name as he ran after her.

But he wasn't calling her to stay with him, he was calling her to stay for him. So he wouldn't lose a precious friend. He already had a lover.

Tears stinging her eyes, she jumped, and time seemed to turn to slow motion. She turned around to look at him one last time. He was running as fast as he could, desperate to catch her in time. He reached his arm towards her, and for a moment she considered letting him take hold of her leg, but instead a sad smile rose to her face, shining at him past the tears.

"Sorry, Crono, but I always cry at weddings! Congratulations. Make her happy, ok?"

She twisted her leg just a bit, but it was enough to make sure she was out of his reach.

'You be happy… for my sake… ok?'

And as she fell into the black-blue abyss, she knew it was probably forever.