Author's Notes: Alright!! Now's my favorite couple coming up!! Stay tuned!!
Disclaimer: Suikoden is not mine. I'd claim Luc, Millie and Luc/Millie but I don't have the rights…
The Great Easter Egg Hunt
Chapter 17: Let It Fill The Space Between
"That girl—why does she always cause me trouble?"
Luc walked briskly across the soft carpet of green grass. In one hand, he held the Northern Star and in the other hand, he held a bento. He was doing this search systematically, covering the ground towards the outer walls, and then towards the castle, and then moving westward. The bento was for the girl of course, she would undoubtedly be famished.
He could feel her presence. Luc closed his eyes and tried to pinpoint it, blocking away every other familiar presence and focusing on her alone. There!!
He dropped on his knees. Following his instinct, he crawled on the ground, through and under bushes. The vegetation cast a rather dark shadow. He held out the Northern Star and willed its light to intensify so he could see better. He pushed away a sprig of leaves… and there she was.
Lying on her side, her head resting on her arms. Sleeping. And her monster was beside her, sleeping as well.
Luc scrambled towards her. She did seem to be in a restful sleep, rather than a state of unconsciousness. He noticed a few very minor abrasions on her arms and legs, and a bruise above her knee, but she didn't appear to be seriously hurt.
He pocketed the Northern Star and held out his right hand, just above the bruise. "True Rune of the Wind… Healing Wind…"
The wind picked up. A magical air current circulated her body, shooting from his hand, unto her bruise and wrapping around her body. In a matter of seconds, the injuries healed.
"Millie, wake up." The mage touched her cheek. She winced in her sleep and Luc immediately removed his hand, still burning from recent use of magic. "Wake up, girl."
Her eyes fluttered open. She squinted at the trees, the bushes, at him. She blinked rapidly and suddenly sat up straight. "Oh my!! I was sleeping!!"
"Well this doesn't look like your bedroom." Luc said wryly.
"I must have fallen asleep while looking for—" A hand flew up her mouth. She turned to him with wide brown eyes. "I'm sorry…"
"Huh?" Luc cocked his head to one side.
Millie looked down at her hands. "The Northern Star… I still can't find it."
He frowned at her. "I told you not to worry about it."
"But it was my fault!!" Millie cried.
Luc sighed.
"I had it all the time."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because…"
"Were you making fun of me?"
"I…"
"You're so mean, Luc…"
"………"
"Luc?"
Her voice jolted him back to reality. "Luc, I'm really sorry…"
"… You must be hungry." He handed her the bento.
"This is… for me?" She took it hesitantly.
"… Yes. You're going to have to eat."
"Thank you." Millie opened it. "Oh!! A green salad!! Shrimp fried rice!! Pudding!!" She made happy little noises as she examined the contents of the box.
"Luc, would you like some?"
"No, I just ate."
"Bonaparte, honey, wake up!! Food!!"
Millie picked at the salad, eating only the lettuce. She left alone the plump tomato slices, which made up a considerable amount of the salad. The onion rings she fed to Bonaparte, who ate them greedily.
"… Won't that make him smell terrible?" Luc asked, truly curious.
Millie shrugged. "He likes them…" She fed it another onion ring.
"………"
"Why don't you have the tomatoes?" Millie asked.
Luc shook his head. "No thanks."
"Eh? But I thought you liked them…"
"Why won't you eat them yourself?"
"I don't like tomatoes."
"Why not?"
"Oh, I don't know…" Millie blew a stray lock of hair off her eyes.
One corner of Luc's mouth twitched as he held back his laughter. "Won't your Tengaar-neechan scold you if you don't finish your food?"
"You won't tell her would you?" Millie gave him puppy dog eyes. "Why don't you just have them?"
"Oh alright, I'll eat them for you." Luc said in mock resignation. Actually, she was right, he did like tomatoes.
"Yay!!" Millie giggled. She speared several tomato slices with her fork and held them at his mouth. "Aaaah!!"
Luc turned away. "I can't eat all that at once."
"C'mon, just bite."
He bit through the tomato slices. They were ripe and juicy. He wondered how she could not like them.
"Aaaah!!"
"I can eat by myself." Luc told her.
Millie pouted. "Fine. You can use the fork." She picked up the spoon and started on the shrimp fried rice. "Would you like some of this?"
"No. I don't like it much."
"Very well." The girl ate the rest of the fried rice with relish. Then she opened the water cup and took a drink.
"You should drink too, Luc, or you'll get dehydrated." She offered him the cup.
"No. I'll have a drink later."
Millie touched her temple with one finger. "You don't like sharing cups do you?"
"I don't mind—" Actually he did mind.
"But I don't have a cough or anything." Millie assured him.
"Well—"
"I don't have bad breath either."
"I'm not worried about that?"
"So, what of it?"
What of it? "… Oh what the heck, if you so insist." Luc took the cup and drank.
"Now to my favorite part!!" Millie rubbed her hands in glee and took the cup of pudding. "Umm… do you want any?"
He could tell that she was hoping he'd say no. "No."
"Yes!!" Millie exclaimed. Then she turned red. "I mean, okay."
Luc could not help it. He laughed.
Millie turned redder. She swallowed a mouthful of pudding then said, "It's embarrassing that Luc makes fun of how much I like sweets but it's okay if it makes Luc smile…"
He stopped laughing for he caught his breath. He turned his gaze at her but she had paid her attention to the cup of pudding. Her cheeks were still a very telling shade of crimson.
"Well, that was good!" Millie said as she finished the last of her pudding. She placed everything in the bento and wrapped it up again. She stood up and stretched her limbs. "Now to find the Northern Star…"
"You're still going at it?" Luc mumbled.
"It's Millie's fault that it's gone, so Millie has to find it." She said. "I'll find it I promise." She ducked under another bush.
"I had the Northern Star all this time."
"Why didn't you tell me then?"
"………"
"You're so mean, Luc…"
You're so mean… Luc, you're so mean…
Luc did not want that. He definitely did not want that.
Luc slid his hand in his pocket and pulled out the Northern Star. Noiselessly, he dropped it in the next bush, to the right of the bush Millie was looking through.
"Not here." Millie moved to the bush to her left. Luc suppressed a groan but kept silent.
"Not there either."
"How about there?" Luc pointed at the bush where he had dropped the Northern Star.
"I think I looked there already," she said, but nevertheless, she walked towards the bush, knelt and pushed aside some of the leaves. "It's here, it really is here!!"
She squealed in delight. She scooped it up carefully, cradling it with both hands. She polished the crystal on her skirt a little and then handed it over to Luc, who had knelt beside her.
"Found it!!" Millie smiled proudly.
"You did." Luc nodded, a genuine smile on his face as well.
"But maybe it was you who found it," Millie frowned worriedly. "You were the one who pointed the bush—"
"No, no, no." Luc shook his head firmly, wanting to avoid further discussion about the whole fiasco. "You found it."
"Okay." Millie clapped her hands together.
There was a smudge of dirt on her cheek. It's a wonder to the boy how she could so effectively muss herself. He reached out a hand and wiped it off. He noticed her cheek was flushed, but it wasn't from the rubbing for her other cheek was flushed as well. He felt his own face grow hot.
"Well…" Luc dropped his hand to his side. He got back on his feet. "Let's go back." He clasped her left hand with his right and held her up.
Millie entwined her fingers with his. Luc startled at the contact.
"I was told that, the reason your fingers have spaces in between is so that somebody else's fingers can fill those spaces, while your fingers fill the spaces between their's as well." Millie held up their entwined hands to show him. She giggled.
Luc nodded wordlessly. He didn't really mind having her fill those spaces. Actually, he really, really didn't mind.
And they walked towards home.
Author's Notes again: Whee!! XD Much mush!! Warm fuzzies I love!! XD
