Past Meeting Present
Written for VoidSummary: Mia was having just another ordinary day when someone verrrryy unexpected shows up, someone from her past. Can Mia deal with the past meeting the present, and will she have to do it alone? Rating: PG
A/N: This one turned out way longer than I expected, actually! ^_^ Which is always good.
I've got an important announcement to make, by the way. Two very kind, very wonderful people have saved my behind and have decided to help me out with this service! Everyone give a very warm welcome to Empress Dotdotdot and Yoshimi Takahashi! They are now open for requests, though Dotdotdot's helping me with the backlog of existing requests as of right now. Go back to the first "chapter" and check out their lists of do's and don'ts. Then come back and read this.
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Have you finished yet? Good. Then here are the reviews.
Daito Dei Gratia: I wasn't actually teasing you. More like I was having fun with Kenshin-speak. I often do that, that I do. But, wow, I must be psychic or something! You were in a situation like that (I'm assuming the part with Ivan not being taken seriously because of his age--and height)? Eerie.
You really like Ivan, don't you? He's a nice chap, so I can see why. Anyway, I've added you to the list. You're...ninth on the list, I think. Yeah. So this might take a while. Apologies, but the three of us are fairly busy. Ivan/Jenna...hmm, I had better start thinking; this could be difficult.
Akachi: I don't really read Triad's fics, but even I know how notoriously slow he can be to update. The bloke must have an actual life outside of writing...weird. And I, too, am a Mudshipper (not a rabid one like Triad, though), but I think Ivan/Mia's pretty cute, myself.
Void: Be patient! I have a lot on the go! But I got your first two Isaac/Mia requests (you double reviewed, ya know), so here it is!
Ama-chan: I won't forget your request. You cared enough to review and ask for the fic, so I'm going to write it (whichever one I decide upon)! And thank you very much for your suggestion for me to find some help—I had actually been considering it. I knew you didn't mean I was incapable. In fact, I liked your idea so much that I recruited not one, but TWO of my favourite authors to lend a hand!
Knightblazer 88: Sure you can request another fic. Just bear in mind you'll be back at the bottom of the list when you do. And nobody likes to be called a kid or not taken seriously because of their age/height/appearance/whatever. So I figured it was a fairly good premise for the story.
D. Wanderer: Empress Dotdotdot might do your Ivan/Sheba request, though she's a Lighthouseshipper like me. I'm not sure if she actually will, though. But all the same, I'll add your Garet/Jenna request to my list. I CAN do that one, because I'm a half-Flameshipper! The other half is Piers/Jenna, just to let you know.
Jupiter Sprite: *just as stubbornly waves Lighthouseshipping flag (!)* I don't think I've ever read an Ivan/Mia, come to think of it. Thanks for the compliments!
Destinyofthepast: Normally, I just finish my fics where I think they would end well. The last two just happened to work out that way. I ALMOST finished this one with a kiss, but realized that could get dull after a while, so I continued it a little further. Thanks for pointing out my tendency!
Yoshimi Takahashi: THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING TO HELP ME OUT!!! *ahem* I do love the word "blaze," that I do. Mostly just because it's one of my favourite words, but also as a subtle plug for both fic and shrine of the same name!
Menardi: Random chibis? Bring them... *stops and considers what she's saying* ...as far away as possible. Yes. That's what I meant to say. Yes.
Vyctori: *covers face with hands* Glurg.... Well, I'm glad you liked the one-shot! Thanks! ^_^
Dark Star Dragon: Sure! It'll be me who will be handling it, since Yoshimi's not so big on romances, and Dotdotdot's not so big on the pairing. I'm assuming you don't mind.... It's a rather unusual pairing, which is probably why you don't see so many. But please don't cry! I can't stand tears!
oBsCuReDoblivion13: Well, it's got to be someone's favourite pairing, right? *points to Daito* Anyway, I'm glad you don't mind waiting, because it'll take a good long while for me to get to you...
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Wow! This has got to be among the most reviews I've ever gotten for a Golden Sun chapter! *beams* Thank you, everyone!
Anyway, if you'd like, you can specifically request a fic from a certain author. Like if you want Dotdotdot to write you a romance instead of me, just say. We won't be upset (well, I won't. I'm sure the other two won't be, either).
Now, shoo, and read my lovely Mudshipping fic! It took me long enough!
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"Mia!" Isaac whined. "You must have been through all the stores in Weyard by now!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Isaac. We've only Teleported to four cities," Mia retorted as she handed over a handful of coins in exchange for a length of lovely navy blue ribbon. "Now hush. Vault's our last stop..."
Isaac cheered loudly, wanting to fling his arms into the air in joy, except they were loaded up with packages and clothing of all kinds.
"...for today," she added, a mischievous expression on her face.
Isaac groaned exaggeratedly as they exited the store. "I don't see why you need all these things. You got along fine with only three or four changes of clothes when we were travelling!"
"That's just it. Even though I had to restrict myself then doesn't mean I have to now. Our quest has been finished for two whole weeks! I can't imagine why I didn't start shopping sooner," Mia muttered to herself.
"But why'd you have to bring me?" Isaac queried in a mournful manner.
"Because Ivan and Sheba are too small to carry anything, Piers is repairing iceberg damage to his ship, Jenna took Felix shopping, Saturos, Menardi, Karst, and Agatio are all in Prox, and Garet's too clumsy," Mia reeled off in one breath. "So that leaves you."
"Nice..." Isaac mumbled sarcastically. "I feel Felix's pain."
"Isaac..." Mia turned around to scold him. Because of this, she wasn't paying too close attention as to where her footsteps were taking her. She collided with someone; they let out an "oof" in a masculine voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Mia began to apologize to the purple cloth that was in her vision. She looked up...and her mouth fell open. She made a gurgling noise, but that was all.
"Mia, my sweeting! What a wonderful, beneficent surprise!" Alex drew her into a tight embrace.
"Alex?" Isaac dropped all of Mia's purchases and unsheathed Excalibur. "What are you doing here? I thought you were..."
"...Dead?" Alex finished. His aqua eyes gazed off distantly. "No...though I came close...so very close..."
"How did you survive?" Mia's voice was too muffled from being held so close for Isaac to decipher her emotions.
Alex, with a slight smile, held her out at arm's length. "I am assuming the Wise One told you of my goals and actions. It injured me terribly and left me to die. I could not even move, but I could Teleport. I did so, and found myself just outside of the old town of Vale. I spent days healing myself. Every time I cast Ply, it would cause me to black out. But I eventually did manage to fully cure myself. I have been searching for you ever since, Mia." He gazed down at her with a surprising tenderness. "I know my actions have sorrowed you greatly. But could you find it in your pure heart to forgive me, my darling?"
In response, Mia let out a feral growl and punched Alex with all her strength, right in the eye. Alex's head snapped back and he tumbled backwards gracelessly to land on his bottom. Mia then stormed off, back stiff with rage. Isaac stared at the retreating girl. Then, with a last contemptuous glance at Alex, he gathered up Mia's purchases and followed her to her temporary home in Vault.
"Mia? Are you all right?" Isaac called through an open window after he had arrived.
Silence.
"Mia...?" Concerned, he pushed the door open and entered Mia's house.
Dumping his armload on a convenient chair, Isaac listened thoughtfully. He could hear soft noises coming from Mia's bedroom. About to leave her alone, he realized something--Mia was crying.
Isaac's hesitancy evaporated and he quietly let himself into the chamber. Mia was seated on the edge of her bed, her hands clasped so tightly together that her knuckles were white. Small sobbing sounds came from her mouth and her face was drenched with tears.
Isaac perched himself beside her and sat there for a moment. Then, awkwardly, he draped an arm around her shoulders. Mia clung to him and hid her face in his brilliant yellow scarf.
This was not the most comfortable situation Isaac had ever been in. He wanted to say something to make Mia feel better, but he had no idea what to do. So instead he simply did not speak.
Finally, Mia's crying subsided into hitched breaths, and then nothing. For a moment, Isaac thought she had actually gone to sleep on him, but then she spoke, face still concealed by his scarf.
"I suppose I owe you an explanation, Isaac." Her voice was rather difficult to make out.
"No, no...that's perfectly all right, Mia. I know you'd feel betrayed because Alex is a member of your clan, and--"
"That's not it," Mia cut him off. "It's different...." She didn't say anything for a bit; she seemed to be gathering up her courage. "Alex...was my lover."
"But--weren't you fourteen when he left?" Isaac was rather shocked, but he attempted to keep it from his voice.
"Yes, but I was mature for my age...or so I thought." Mia's laugh was sour. "He told me he loved me, but he loved Alchemy more."
"And now he wants you to forgive him just like that, after all he did to you?" Isaac shook his head, revolted. "That scum."
Mia half-smiled, though Isaac couldn't see it. "It was a shock, seeing him today. I had thought he was dead, reconciled myself...it would have been better if he had died!"
"Mia, I'm sure you don't mean that. You're a wonderful, kind girl who would never wish anybody to be dead."
"Except Alex." Mia pulled her face away from Isaac and removed herself from his hold. "I'm sorry, Isaac. I didn't mean to soak your scarf and get all teary on you."
"Don't worry about it. It didn't bother me at all." Suddenly uncomfortable, Isaac rose. "Well, I had better go. Mum wanted me to do some chores around the house. I tried to tell her that a hero who saved the entire world didn't have to do such mundane things as weeding the garden, but..."
"What happened?" Mia asked, this time with a full smile on her face.
"She swatted me with her broom," was the rueful reply.
Mia laughed as Isaac waved goodbye. Her usual cheery mood had returned and she had hoped it was going to be there to stay.
It wasn't. The next evening, Alex arrived on her doorstep bearing a flawless rose. A small part of her appreciated his sense of romance and dedication--it wasn't the blooming season for roses, after all--but for the most part, all she felt was disgust. She attempted to slam the door in his face, but Alex was too quick for her. He whipped his foot into the door's path before it met the frame.
"Please, Mia, at least allow me to present my motivations to explain my actions," he requested.
"Give me one good reason why I should!" Mia snarled, trying to shove the door shut despite the placement of Alex's foot.
"Because I feel that if you would only permit me to explain myself, we could regain the beautiful idyll that was once ours," was the eloquent reply.
Mia really looked at Alex. He wore a sincere look on his face, and his feelings appeared to be genuine. However, she knew all too well that Alex had perfected the debatable art of deception. After weighing her options, she decided to let him in. If things became unpleasant, Mia knew she was well able to defend herself. While it was true that Alex had been partially imbued with the power of Alchemy, she had learned a couple of things on her travels with Isaac and the rest that she could put to good use.
"Come in," she said reluctantly.
Alex accepted her unenthusiastic invitation. Once he had elegantly placed himself in one of Mia's chairs, the object of his affection folded her arms across her chest.
"Well?" she bit out.
"You must understand. I did it all for you," Alex began.
"What? Alex, you may have duped me once before, but you won't do it again," Mia interrupted. "I may not be a Jupiter Adept and able to read minds, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid, either. Try again."
Alex seemed startled for a moment. Then his customary smirk settled into place. "Well, well. You no longer are the innocent girl I left behind. You have changed, Mia."
"I'm still waiting for your reason--the really good one that's supposed to convince me to fall into your arms again," Mia reminded him.
"Very well. The reason I wanted Alchemy was so that no one could accuse me of being weak again."
"Alex, you might be a lot of things--despicable comes to mind--but nobody can say you're weak. You have some of the strongest Psynergy I've ever seen," Mia broke in once again.
"Then you did not notice what the other boys my age said and did. Because I was not a hulking brute like them, because I did not and still do not wield any physical weapon, they taunted me. Even when I traveled with first Menardi and Saturos, and then later Karst and Agatio, during our voyages those I met would always consider me to be the frail one. I could see it in their faces.
"Another reason I chose to pursue Alchemy was so that I never would need to fear death. Living forever does have its allures, as I am sure you have no doubt noticed."
"No, I haven't noticed. In fact, I would hate to live forever!"
Her words appeared to catch Alex off his guard. "Whatever do you mean?" he queried.
"Obviously, you haven't met Piers. He's a Lemurian...he's lived for hundreds of years and will continue to do so. But his near-immortality hasn't made him happy. Both his mother and father are dead. He only has an uncle left. Eventually, his uncle will perish as well. Piers will watch all of us age and die while he stays forever young...alone for centuries.
"And what would you do about me? If you truly loved me, Alex, you wouldn't choose something that would cause us such pain."
"I would have used the power of Alchemy to grant you eternal life," he answered.
"I would be in the same situation as Piers. Alex..." Mia sighed. "Go. Leave my house. I could never love someone so selfish; I don't even know how I did love you in the past. All I can say is that I cared for the man I thought you were, not the real Alex."
"Mia..." There was pleading in his smooth voice.
She turned away, not looking at him. For a while, she wasn't sure whether or not she would have to eject him forcefully from her house, but then he sighed as well. The sound of a door opening and then shutting was the only thing she heard.
Suddenly, Mia was exhausted. She felt as though she had used up all her Psynergy at once, though her levels of the psychic energy were full. Her memories had emotionally sapped her strength.
A handful of minutes later, she heard someone knock at her door.
"Alex, go away. I'm not going to talk to you anymore," she called wearily from her seat.
"It's me, Isaac. May I come in?" Her friend's warm voice sounded through the wood of the door.
"Oh, sorry, Isaac. Certainly, you may enter."
Isaac did so, coming to sit next to her. "Mia, I saw Alex leave your house...are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Isaac. Thank you for asking. I've set Alex straight; I don't think he'll be bothering me anymore."
"You didn't attack him or anything?" Isaac questioned, alarmed.
Mia laughed. "Oh, no. We just had a little chat, that's all."
Isaac seemed unconvinced, but he let it pass. The two shared a silence for a while.
"Isaac, you seem awfully nervous about something. Is everything fine?" Mia inquired after a while.
Isaac jumped slightly. "Oh, Mia...I've been trying to figure out how to say this for quite some time, but I never could find a good time or place or way to do so. I don't even think this the right moment…"
"Isaac, just say it, all right? The suspense is killing me!" Though Mia's answer was flippant, inside, she was beginning to become upset. Was there something wrong with Isaac? she thought.
"All right..." Isaac faced her directly. "Mia...I love you. I've felt this way for so long, but I always felt there was someone else special in your life, so I didn't want to speak up."
Mia's mind flitted over the times Isaac had been a comfort to her, always an earth-solid rock. How he had always been compassionate and caring, how it had seemed to her that he had tried to protect her most of all. And how a small flame of love inside her had been there for nearly as long as she had known him, needing only a catalyst to cause it to roar into a fire.
The catalyst had presented itself. Her spark had been ignited. "Isaac...I love you as well. Not Alex...never him. But you, and you alone."
"Mia..." Isaac whispered, the sound so different from when her first sweetheart had murmured her name only ten minutes ago. He leaned in, and kissed her.
* * *
"You look pretty tired, Isaac," Jenna remarked the next day. "Are you sure you got enough sleep last night?"
"Come to think of it, Mia looks kind of beat herself," Garet added. "Hmm...I wonder..." There was a wicked glint in his eye.
"Shut up, Garet!" Isaac swung the picnic basket at him. The eight Adepts were taking a short trip outside of Vault to eat lunch in a particularly beautiful location that Felix and Sheba had discovered a few days ago.
Once they arrived at their destination, the Adepts unpacked their food and began to eat, enjoying the gorgeous, sun-filled day.
Then, as the friends were finishing up their meal, someone suddenly appeared in the middle of their gathering--Alex.
Garet started to choke, surprised. As Jenna pounded him on the back, chiding him all the while for being such a pig, Isaac protectively circled his arms around Mia. If Alex had come to take her away, then Isaac would defend Mia with his life.
However, all were surprised when Alex did nothing more than simply nod.
"I see. So that is the way of things. Farewell, Mia. I may see you again, but I may not. And, no matter what you believe...I still love you." And with those words, he vanished.
"What the heck was that about?" Garet asked once he was able.
"It was past meeting present..." Mia whispered. She leaned into Isaac's firm chest, searching for peace.
Isaac gave it. He held her close, until their quiet moment was interrupted.
"Oh well. Whatever. Let's keep eating!" Garet declared enthusiastically, to be met with seven groans.
Mia smiled as she watched her friends. She knew she made the right choice, and she was content. No, more than content, she thought, sneaking a look at Isaac's serene face. Thank you for being my protector, Isaac, my true love.
~ * * * ~
Vyctori: So there you have it! I know it looks like I'm an Imilshipper from that, but I'm really not. I only approve of romances with Alex if the object of his affection doesn't return his feelings.
Menardi: You really don't like Alex, do you?
Vyctori: Nope. ^_^
Menardi: *reading fic* So why did you portray him relatively decently, huh?
Vyctori: Well, I've always thought Mia was the only one he really cared about even slightly, so it kind of came through in the fic. Plus unrequited love for Alex is always amusing for me to write about.
Menardi: *gives Vyctori odd look* You're weird. Anyway, review Vycki's fic or I'll do a Grim Reaper impression on you! Like this! *takes out scythe*
Vyctori: NOOO! *runs away, Menardi giving chase* *from a distance* Somebody save meeeee...!