Silent Tears
A/N: I'm aliiiiiive!! And Silent Tears is back, and better than ever! (Man, do I sound like a TV ad or what?) Y'see, that computer that broke down? Well, we never fixed it. So yeah, that sucks, my file (of the original version of this chapter) is lost forever. So I rewrote it on the new computer. But I have to say, this one is better than the original, or the bits that I remember of it. But the greatest part? I learned how to save my file as a webpage. Meaning I can actually do the italics and bold print and underliney stuff and, heck, maybe all three of them! ^^ (I'm such a technologically challenged loser) Can you say 'red-neck hick'? :B Even though I'm half Korean. But anyways…I'm proud of this chapter's suffocating amount of fluff. Especially the Setzer/Celes parts. I think that, if you weren't a S x C fan before, you will be now.
~*~Reviewer Responses~*~
Aquarian Wind – New reviewer! Woooooot! Thanks for reviewing! *EDIT* Mou, I'm such an idjit. You're the former Andromeda Highwind! Forgive me for my stupidity. *hugs*
voicelord – As if it'd be anything else! (The day I write Edgar x Terra stuff, I'll have my sister hit my head with a banjo. Err… or something.) Another new reviewer! Man, do I get popular in an absence of 4+ months or what? Thanks for the review!
Ry – Yesh, Setzer x Celes is kyuuute. Much more than Locke x Celes – and now I'll probably get a flaming paper bag of dog crap in an e-mail now or something for saying that, but hey. That's what happens when you're a struggling Locke x Terra fanfic writer in this big, scary world of Locke x Celes shippers. And look, everybody! I've found another person who also randomly types 2085409380941! Isn't that just spiffy?
IRS – Mr. Slashy Death Nightmare Man comes to my house every night. We bake a lovely set of sugar cookies that are light and fluffy and perfect, while he tells me an entertaining story about his annoying next door neighbor or how his lawn mower went crazy on him.
That aside, thanks for the ideas and the reviews! Man, three new reviewers in a row!
Relm – Gau's Girl – Hahahahaha. Chocobo's butt. Your reviews always make me laugh. (Ha! See?) No worries, because there's Gau/Relm-yness in this chappie. Not much, sadly, but I'll make sure to have a boatload in the next one. And you need not worship me, reviews are payment enough. :) Now, leave me alone! I must go do important things as your Goddess. *checks her teeth for spinach*
Aerifa – (I've really got to get a bell or something, to signal new reviewers) Thanks for the compliment! You guys all rock, seriously. This is just another example of your enthusiasm to hunt me down and hurt me for making you wait so long – err, I mean, your unwavering, loving support. ^^;
HanR – Aacch, dude, the first chapter was the worst. It still makes me flinch every time I pass it. Anywho, thankee kindly for the review! Reviews make the world go 'round…
Alysia-Chan – 3 months. I'm such a lazy bum monkey. Le sigh. And yes, Vincent is sexeh. *gives Alysia an inhaler* S'okay, I do that a lot too. Thanks for reviewing! As always.
Sir_Magnus - .; I must say, your review is my favorite so far. And it appears, yes, I can. I can update a fic! Everybody, CLAP for meeeee!!!
Just call me Angels – Heeey! It's you! *point* :O *hugs* Hey, you guys! Read this dude/chick's (X3) work, especially his/her Celes-centric fic 'A Look into the Past' and 'Four-Leaf Clover'! (A Locke/Terra ficcie, of course) They're DA BOMB DIGGITY! @_@
Cheetah Smith – Everyone rejoice for fluffy goodness! Done rejoicing? Good, because this chappie is angst-alicious. Yes, I know that's not a real word. Mweep.
CHAPTER 8
It was awfully quiet.
At least, that's how Terra felt. The only sounds to be heard at the dinner, with the grand table and 28 chairs, was the clicking of cutlery and silent, thoughtful chewing. Even Locke, who often provided the entertainment and liveliness at the dinner whenever it felt too quiet for him, seemed to think it'd be wiser to keep the heavy, dark atmosphere and just stared at his plate and ate. It was driving her insane – the quiet. There was the distant noise of the soldiers, having a jovial meal with laughter and rum aplenty, downstairs, making Terra yearn to join them. Terra thought, after such a night, that the Chancellor and Edgar would be pulled up at the far end of the table, heads bent down and whispering urgently. But no – Edgar was eating with an expressionless face, and the Chancellor, lines creased with worry, had joined them tonight, but kept his mouth tightly clamped. Terra sighed, and stared down at her plate. There was a fine gold trim on all of them, with a golden, fancy F engraved in calligraphy on the center of the plates. F for Figaro, obviously.
~Mr. King Figaro. ~ Terra thought angrily, staring down at her delicious dish of some foreign fish that the cook had made and she hadn't touched out of lack of hunger. ~Mr. Hoity Toity You Should've Known Better Figaro. Mr. I've Mastered My Poker Face So Well I Won't Give the Time of Day to Terra Because She's Not Worthy of It!~ At every thought, she stabbed at her mysterious fish with more and more spite and anger, butchering the poor dead thing until it hardly even remotely resembled anything like fish.
Mentally, Terra knew she was being unreasonable, but her anger was clouding her reason and common sense. Edgar hadn't shown a single sign, the slightest hint, of what he was feeling, or what he thought of Terra, and it infuriated her, how he could mask his emotions so well. Her mind was racing with possible thoughts that might be going through Edgar's own head. It wasn't fair, it wasn't her fault that she had a loud mouth, it came from hanging around such people like Locke and Relm and Gau and Sabin and Celes and Setzer and – she couldn't take any more of this quiet!
CLACKT.
The Chancellor jumped up at the noise of a fork falling on a fine porcelain plate, jittery and shakey. Locke looked up, surprised at the noise and the abrupt movement of one pushing out of their seat and standing up. Terra stood, fists clenched and trembling, waiting and looking expectantly for Edgar. The said king slowly, slowly looked up, and locked eye contact with the furious half Esper. His eyes were dull and emotionless, as was his whole face and lack-of body language. Each seemed to be waiting for the other to make the next move. Eventually, Terra made an irritated noise out of her mouth and threw down her napkin. "I'm tired! I think I'll go retire to bed early, thank you for joining us Chancellor -"
The Chancellor nodded. "Y-you're welcome, Lady Terra -"
Terra cut him off. "And the dinner was delicious, Locke, would you mind sending the chef my regards?" Without waiting for an answer, she stomped up the stairs in a manner much like a little girl running to her room after her father refused to give her a pony.
-----
Setzer swore violently at the steering wheel, making Celes wince from below deck. "Bloody wind!" He cursed, quieter now, with a disgruntled frown on his face. Celes peeked her head up through the open trapdoor, blue eyes mildly disapproving, but also amused.
"What's wrong, Setzer?" She asked, her body only visible to Setzer from neck up. He glanced back at her, and mentally jumped at the sight of her seemingly decapitated talking head, but façade remaining unruffled. "It seems Lady Luck isn't smiling down on us today, sweetheart. The wind's being a right old nasty prick, and there's something wrong with one of the top sails."
"Can't we fix it?" The blonde ex-general heaved her entire body up the ladder and out of the sub deck. She crossed the distance that separated them and joined Setzer at his side by the wooden steering wheel.
Setzer shook his head, his gray eyes thoughtful-looking. "As we're the only two people on this ship, I can't spare either of us. Its times like these I wish I knew enough skilled engineers that I could trust to mess around with my Falcon…but she doesn't really need a whole crew, she's far too advanced."
"I can fix it. I was in the Empire, and I know my share of knowledge about machinery." Celes said.
"It'd take about 20 minutes to fix, and I can't risk losing my beautiful navigator for so long." Setzer quickly replied, to which Celes blushed and lost her words. Again. It was the effect that Setzer had on him, and she was never sure whether to curse it or welcome it. By 'it', she meant the feelings, of course…
Setzer sighed heavily, shaking Celes out of her thoughts. "The best we can do is just live with it. Of course, it'll add about an hour to our journey, thanks to the damn wind and screwy sails."
Celes grinned, and Setzer glanced at her in the corner of his eyes.
"What? What's so funny?"
She shook her head, still smiling widely. "It's just…I never thought I'd hear the day you'd insult your ship, your pride and joy and object of love, Setzer Gabianni."
The two chuckled together, and Setzer flashed a toothy, sharming smile. "Well, it figures, doesn't it? After all, now that I have you, my choice of love objects have changed a bit. And I can't love you both equally – I may be a flirt and tease, madam, but I'm no Edgar Figaro." Celes laughed at the last part, but inwardly, her heart was pounding. Love? Already? It seemed to be going so fast… For the most part, they had been spending their time together talking and flirting with each other. Oh sure, there was the random instances of companionable silence that's chemistry would be broken by either one lunging at the other, and soon all jokes and friendliness would be forgotten as Setzer would delicately lift Celes up and carry her up the stairs to the bedroom, but that happened only on some nights, and was beside the subject. Still…she shivered in delight at the mere thought and memory of it; how Setzer held her so tenderly, like she was a soft, fragile object that could break. He held her as if she were a woman, and not a soldier. And she absolutely loved it, but loving him? Did she? Could she?
As if Setzer could detect her sudden anxiety and emotions, he glanced at her again from his gaze at the sky ahead of them. "Is something wrong, Celes?"
She shook out of her trance, and smiling softly, walked behind Setzer. She wrapped her long arms around his narrow waist. Surprised at this spontaneous gesture of affection, Setzer removed his full attention from the steering wheel for once and craned his neck to look at the woman behind him. "Celes…?"
The said person sighed, and buried her face on the back of his neck, nearby the shoulder. His long, silky silver hair that even women envied, including Celes, entoxicated her mind with dreams and love songs and silly things that little girls obsessed over, not the great, and powerful General Celes, who was above such petty, mindless things. Always was, and always will be.
"I uhb oo too." Her muffled words were felt and vibrated on his back. Setzer smiled to himself. The self-proclaimed ice queen had finally melted.
-----
Terra stared at the ceiling. It was past 12 'o clock already. Locke had already come by her room a while ago, and knocked on her door for a full 10 minutes. He had asked her, in that concerned voice of his that he reserved for most damsels in distress, if she had been okay. Terra rolled over onto her stomach, her eyes burning from lack of moisture and where tears should've been spilling out. No, she wasn't fine. She wasn't fine at all.
Once again, she had been crying, noiselessly sobbing into her blankets and pillow. What was wrong with her? How could such a tiny thing as this make her fall apart like this? She wasn't sure what it was – maybe it was just being back with Locke and Edgar and all of her old friends, and she felt overemotional from all the old feelings resurfacing with Locke, the thrill of waking up at dawn and feeling like it was just like old times, with her friends and escaping danger and death every time with companions to laugh about it. Maybe she had really become soft, being with babies and children for over 3 years. Most of her companions were more than 10 years older than her, with the obvious exception of Relm, Celes, and Mog and Umaro, whose ages were beyond their knowing. Terra sighed, blowing wisps of tawny green out of her face. It was just so fustrating, how Edgar wouldn't allow anyone, let alone her, to know how he was feeling.
It would be better, Terra thought, if he was terrifyingly angry or – or sad, or something! Anything but this…emotionless rock that won't let me in. Maybe he thought it was his kingly duty, Terra pondered, as to make sure not to worry anyone else of what he would believe are only his troubles. Or maybe, and Terra grew mad again and angry tears leaked out, he thinks I'm far too much of a burden, always having to rescue me and whatnot. It was true, she couldn't blame him. But the thought of dear, sweet Edgar, having these additional problems to his already heaping bag of predicaments, and because of her, and shunning her for that… sometimes, she hated her logic.
I won't have it, Terra thought determinedly, springing out of bed. I won't hang around Figaro; it's doing more harm than good. And I refuse to stay in a place where I'm not wanted… She shoved out all of the drawers, throwing the clothes out and piling them on the bed. In her rush and blind concentration, she halted abruptly when she saw an illuminating, beautiful satin red ribbon, plain and elegant lying lonesomely in the wooden drawer. Hand shaking, she picked it up, memories filling her mind as she did so. She smiled wistfully, remembering. It had been Relm's gift – her gift for her 21st birthday. As she stood holding the ribbon reminiscing, she closed her eyes. Celes had said admiringly how much older it made her look, and all of the guys had complimented it, though the only one she could particularly remember was Locke's.
Her eyes opened, and widened. That had been the day…
The ribbon had lit on fire while she had been stuck in her dream-like trance. She blinked, and stared down, where flames were licking at her hands. Terra shrieked and threw it down to the ground. Horrified, she watched as it burned away to a faint glimmer. There had been fire, fire in her hands, and it hadn't even felt hot. She collapsed to the ground, trapped in a state between shock and paralysis.
What's happening to me…? With that last thought still lingering in her mind, she staggered up and lunged herself towards the bathroom, and vomited.
[2 years ago]
-----
"Open it up, Terra!" Relm said eagerly. Terra obeyed, and unwrapped the box to find a bright red satin ribbon, with a fringed tail and two golden stars studded at the end.
"Ooh, Relm!" Terra said happily. "It's so beautiful!"
Relm puffed up proudly. "Gramps felt good enough to help me pick it out that day." She said brightly.
"How's he doing right now?" Edgar asked kindly, and Relm slouched slightly.
"Well, he couldn't make it to here because he was in a lot of pain today." Relm stared gloomily into space until she brightened up again. "But he sends his regards to everybody, and says Happy Birthday to Terra!"
"Thank you Relm, and tell Strago thanks too." Terra said.
"Put in on, Ter! We wanna see how good it looks on you." Sabin said cheerfully. Edgar immediately frowned. "Are you suggesting that something does not look good on the goddess that is Terra?"
Locke snickered, while the 'goddess', Celes, and Relm rolled their eyes, the latter with an agitated look on her face.
"Maybe later," Terra said with a smile on her face. Gau leaped forward the next moment, holding a package wrapped in the skin of…something that Terra really didn't want to know, but it was sickly green and scaly. Her hands hesitantly unwrapped the wrapping, and what was inside was a rather pretty, if somewhat primitive looking shiny green stone, with flecks of blue and white and gold and other colors. It appeared that Gau had attempted to carve it himself into the shape of a heart – and he had succeeded halfway, roughly.
"Thank you, Gau." Terra beamed at him, and he blushed, making Relm scoff haughtily and loudly. The adults exchanged amused glances among eachother, and Terra coughed softly.
"Well, that's all of them! Everyone…thank you so much!"
Sabin waved the comment off. "Oh, come on Terra, stop being all gushy on us. It's your birthday – you get special attention and all that."
Terra fidgeted with Gau's gift in her hands. "Yes, but I've never celebrated my birthday before…in fact, none of us really know if this is my birthday! It's just the day I met Arvis and Locke." She said this, and added a half-hearted laugh to it, but they could tell the semi-sad air that had suddenly wrapped itself around her. Relm sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and Mog hopped into her lap with a little 'Kupo!' Gau watched her with his lamp-like green eyes.
"Gau know how Terra feel!" He said. "Gau don't care. Day he met everyone in Narshe is Gau's birthday now!" Terra smiled, and felt herself warmed by all of her friends' love and concern.
"Thank you, everyone." Terra said, blinking away the sudden fogginess in front of her eyes. Sabin suddenly elbowed Edgar, who 'oofed' and staggered into Locke.
"Woops! Sorry, brother, I guess I underestimate my strength. But I was just thinking; you haven't given Terra her present yet!" Edgar, holding his side, stood up straight with the help of Locke, grinning sneakily in a pained manner. "I'm giving it to you later, Terra. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." He smiled charmingly, flashing his straight white teeth at her.
"Suddenly, I'm scared." Terra jested. Edgar pouted childishly while everyone laughed.
"What am I missing? Edgar making a fool out of himself again?" Setzer said amiably, appearing at their side without a noise. There was a hushed, dramatic silence, of course. Everything was dramatized when Setzer Gabianni was around to make an entrance.
"Gahh!" Locke stumbled. "Geez! How do you do that?? You're not even a treasure hunter!"
Setzer winked. "It's a natural gift."
"Setzer!" Terra beamed. "I thought you'd never join us!"
"Well, the wind's being a nasty bugger today, but I think I've calmed her down enough so that the steer can go without me for at least 15 minutes. Did you open my gift already?"
"Yes, Setzer," Terra said with a placid look, holding up the lacey lingerie in one hand, "I did."
Edgar pouted deeper. "How come he gets away with things like that, while I get hit by Celes?"
"Because Setzer has the substance to use it, while whenever you do it, it's just pathetic." Celes said dryly, making Locke and Sabin snicker and Edgar sink into one of the couches to sulk, however far away from Terra, Relm, and Mog. Meanwhile, Setzer swept a graceful bow to the woman.
"I thank you, Celes, for standing up for me. I knew that my charm could get through you, but I didn't realize the extent to which you are flattered by it." Setzer quipped, and Celes flushed red. Locke harrumphed and crossed his arms moodily.
"You old people are sooo pathetic." Relm rolled her eyes, making Setzer turn white at being called 'old'. "The fireworks display is going to be on in about 10 minutes! Lets go, Terra!" The 13-year old girl said excitedly, tugging at Terra's arm. However, Edgar jumped up and halted her.
"No, I need to give Lady Terra her present! Cyan, what time is it?" Cyan, who was closest to the mechanical clock at the wall, gave a glance to it.
"Almost 6 'o clock." A mischievous glint came into Edgar's eye.
"Excellent! Just about time for sunset. Terra, will you join me to the deck? And all of you, don't come up here until I say it's okay!" Edgar yelled at the lot, but most specifically to Sabin and Locke, who crossed their arms, having the look of someone who had been planning something big and was severely disappointed. Edgar extended a hand to Terra, who hesitatingly took it.
"After you, m'lady." Edgar said smoothly. Suddenly, Terra frowned and shook her head, surprising Edgar.
"No, Edgar, I'd rather not. I'm wearing a skirt, and it'd be rather inappropriate. I'd much rather see you come up first." She said impishly. Edgar reddened, but as a gentlemen, yielded to her command. He walked up the ladder, hearing Terra follow him. She coughed discreetly, and Edgar could've sworn he heard a 'nice tush' from her mouth.
She hangs around Sabin and Locke with their dirtied minds far too much. Edgar thought sourly.
Relm watched the two leave, and pouted huffily, having lost not only the person that was closest to her age and acted so, but the man she was to marry. Gau was watching Relm watch Edgar and Terra.
"Relm jealous?" Gau piped innocently. Relm gave him the evil eye.
"Don't even start, Gau. Don't even. I just…" She took a deep breath, and continued. "I just wanted to watch the fireworks with Terra, and now I'm stuck with all these old people." She nudged her head at the direction of the throng of people in the center of the room. It seemed Setzer was currently flirting with Celes, who was blushing and remaining stubbornly silent, while Locke stood at the corner watching them with an increasingly aggravated expression. Sabin and Cyan, old friends, were having a reunion and talking about things Relm was bored out of her skull by, like some girl named 'Lola' and rebuilding kingdoms and if someone should claim an empty throne and whatnot. She was momentarily interested when they spoke about Shadow, and where he was, but then the conversation turned to Thamasa, and Strago for some reason, by which Relm was bored by once more, having heard so many times the villagers gossiping in hushed tones as she walked by. Umaro and Mog were talking in their own language, so that was a no-go for eavesdropping.
"Relm want to go see fireworks?" Gau asked. Relm sighed, her tough attitude dropping for a moment.
"Yes!" She moaned. "And now Edgar and Terra are probably having a little romantic smooch fest, and I'll grow up old and lonely and senile and dying like Gramps, and I'll forget I ever had a granddaughter or pretend that my daughter is still alive!" This was unlike Relm, who rarely ever spoke with emotion about Strago in his sick health, and never said directly how much she was enamored of the King of Figaro and how jealous she was of her friend Terra. Gau knew this, being a smarter boy than most took him for, and watched as Relm started to cry, slumped on the couch. She sniffled a bit, and then glared at Gau with a blotchy red nose and puffy eyes.
"What're you lookin' at?" She slurred. "Your eyes are like lamps. Stop starin' at me!" She tried to look away, but his bright, almost glowing, green eyes made her distracted and restless.
"Gau's father not know who Gau is." The boy said calmly, making Relm look blearily at him. "Father thinks Gau is monster, always. Gau thinks Relm should be grateful for ever having someone to be cared for at all." With that, he hopped/walked away to Sabin and Cyan to bother them with his usual techniques to annoy them. Or to just annoy Sabin, and have Cyan watch the two quarrel amusingly.
Relm sniffled for a final time, and stopped crying. "Stupid wild green jungle boy." She muttered sourly.
-----
"Isn't the sunset magnificent, Terra?" Edgar said.
"Yeah," Terra sighed with comforted ease. What was uncomfortable, was the fact that Edgar was standing so close to her; she could feel his breath on her neck and ear, and it made her tense.
"Um…Edgar? Is this my gift?" The sound of that sentence sounded shockingly rude, and Terra quickly added, "It's very beautiful. Thank you." But Edgar merely laughed.
"No, no, Terra, this measly sunset isn't anything." He quickly turned solemn, and turned back to face the setting sun. "Terra, you know as king, I must continue the line of Figaros; I must produce an heir."
"Oh." Terra said. This didn't sound good at all.
Edgar sighed. "I haven't found her yet; my true love. Sometimes I think I never will. I hate Sabin." He said bitterly, and Terra stared at him. "I envy him. I used that double-sided coin so he could be free, Terra. I knew that he would never be able to handle it, so I assumed I would. I never wanted to be king either, but… as the elder brother, I knew it was my responsibility.
"As king…you meet many women. Not one of them has ever effected me as much as you, Terra." He turned his head, and Terra felt her stomach do a flop, not a flip, but a heartwrenching flop, when she saw his eyes, so blue and filled with emotion it startled her.
"I know that we are only friends, Terra. You could never feel for me the way Celes feels for Locke." At this sentence, Terra flushed slightly, and turned away so Edgar wouldn't be able to see how that comment had affected her. Edgar continued.
"And truth be told, I wouldn't call my feelings for you true love. There's something there, I'm certain of it, but it's not true love. But what I feel for you is the closest thing to it I've ever experienced." Edgar paused, and Terra heard his pockets rustling as he searched for something.
"Ah, here we go. Terra, please look at me."
And Terra looked, and she saw him knelting. Her mind raced frantically as she remembered how Katarin had told her so many times how Duane had proposed to her – knelting, taking her hand –
Oh Goddess. He's taking my hand. Terra thought as Edgar's gloved hand gently wrapped around her own. She wondered if Edgar could feel, through the white fabric of the glove, the cold, sweaty clamminess that was going all throughout her body.
"Terra, will you marry me?"
The ring was beautiful. Delicately shaped into a four-petal flower, with the center as a pink crystal, while the petals were white diamond and precisely curved. The band was silver, with an impossibly intricate design of engraved vines and leaves.
But all Terra could do was look at Edgar in the eye with a sad, cheerless look on her face, and Edgar's hand turned limp and released Terra's hand, falling to his side. She bit her lip, unable to determine the look on Edgar's face. "Edgar, I -"
"I know, Terra." Edgar said. "You love Locke." Terra stared at him wonderingly, and Edgar sighed in a fustrated manner. "I – I just thought that, perhaps, because Locke and Celes are together, you would've – would've given him up, and could move on…"
"Locke and Celes aren't together." Terra said, taken aback. "Where on earth did you get that idea?"
"The same place where I got the idea that, just maybe, you'd be able to fall in love with me." replied Edgar, staring at the dusky sky. The first star had appeared in the brilliant sky, painted with reds and purples and a rich orange hue from the residues of the sun. Terra turned his head back to face her.
"Edgar, stop it." Terra said firmly. "You know that you are one of my dearest friends. I love you very much, but not like that. I never have. And quite frankly, you never cared."
Edgar allowed a half-smile to break on his face. "You're right. But the Chancellor has been pressuring lately about the whole marriage fiasco lately, and all I want to do is flirt with the maids and run like a savage."
"Edgar Figaro," Terra said crossly, "Since when were you ever pressured by a mere chancellor?"
The attractive king grinned. "Since never. It's just… I always harbored a love for you, Terra. Though it might not be definitively called love, but it was there, lurking in my heart."
"I'm sorry." Terra said sincerely, and Edgar nodded.
"I know."
A silence spread over them, until the sun had finally set and complete darkness was cast on them.
"You should tell Locke soon, Terra." Edgar said quietly. "Or else live with the pain of what ifs."
"I…I know. I will. Soon." Terra said.
"Soon?"
Terra smiled. "Now." She kissed Edgar on the cheek, and began her trek on a journey to the other side of the ship, where Locke was. Edgar leaned against the balcony, absorbed in his own thoughts.
"Let the fireworks begin." He whispered to himself.
-----
"Um…Gau?" Relm said timidly. Gau turned around with an expectant look on his face. The 13-year old girl was nervously fumbling with her own hands behind her back, and dug and twisted her toes into the ground in a shy manner that was peculiar of Relm Arrowny.
"I acted stupid." Relm avoided eye contact with him. "I was being all… all…"
"Self-pitying?" Gau provided for her, showing off his developed vocabulary with the time spent with Sabin. Relm prepared for a hissy fit, but bit it back and smiled wearily.
"And you've gone through a lot of crap in your life, while I had Gramps and everything, so…"
"Sorry?"
"Yeah." Relm smiled hesitantly.
Gau grinned toothily now, shedding any hard feelings towards her almost immediately. "Relm go watch fireworks with Gau now?"
-----
"So what have you been doing for the past two years, Celes?" Locke asked, leaning languidly against the balcony with natural ease. The woman next to him was standing much more stiffly, looking straight ahead at the cold, vast sky.
"I went to the island to bring back Gran – Cid." Celes said coolly. Locke nodded amiably.
"And?"
"He died." Locke's arm slipped on the rail and he nearly fell over the airship.
"W-what?" The treasure hunter sputtered. "But – you said he was healthy and fully recovered!"
"Apparently not. It was a momentary recovery, and then he fell back to his bed, even more feverish." She said this in a rush, and then blanched with a painful, distressed look. "His body was in the bed when I found him… his face was so…white and pale." Her lip trembled, but she determinedly avoided Locke's pitying face.
"I called out his name… and he wouldn't answer. I stayed there for 3 days." Her shoulders shook. "Sometimes, when I was there to help him, he'd fall into a coma that could last for days… so I kept on waiting. But when I touched him, he was...freezing." She bowed her head, angry tears dripping down her face. "He felt like death."
Locke wrapped his arms around her, and she didn't protest. "Celes…"
Her sobs grew louder. "I failed him, Locke. I failed him! I said I'd come back to help him, and it was too late! I …I killed him…"
Locke let go of her and grabbed her shoulders, staring at her sternly. "You did no such thing, Celes. You already did all you could do to help him; it couldn't have happened any other way."
"But…" Celes sniffled.
"Rachel died for me, Celes. I blamed myself for the longest time, but I realized how stupid that was of me. That I just wrote Rachel's death off as a lost cause that was because of me, not a sacrifice of love. How can you undermine Cid's strength so much? He was an adult, Celes, and he could accept his death. And it's been 2 years since that happened. I know you're stronger than to just break down like this."
Celes took a deep, shuddering breath, and allowed a weak smile.
"It figures." She said sarcastically. "You make me feel better by berating me."
Locke laughed. "And it figures," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "that I'd mention Rachel, the former love of my life, while trying to make you feel better." A silence fell after that, lingering in a limbo between uncomfortable and comfortable.
"So what have you been doing for 2 years?" Celes asked quietly. Locke shrugged.
"Wandering around the world without much of an existence. I guess after defeating the ultimate evil, the world isn't in much need of heroes."
"Are you happy or unhappy because of that?" She said softly.
Locke struggled for his answer. "I guess…unhappy. I always had a purpose, you know? And…I missed everybody. Terra, Sabin, Edgar…" He trailed off, and met Celes's pale blue eyes. "You." He hoped Celes would blush, but she didn't. He mentally cursed Setzer and his gift of wooing women, and realized it was a talent that would always have Setzer one-up on him forever. Damn.
Celes observed him for a moment. "You haven't changed a bit." She remarked. Locke raised an eyebrow.
"Is that a good thing or bad thing?"
"Good." She said solemnly. "Good."
"Well, you're as beautiful as ever." Locke said slyly. "I suppose you have to beat the men off with a stick."
Celes threw her long, silky hair to one side. "I suppose."
How that turned into the lead up to a kiss, Terra could not fathom. But she was half running, half skipping giddily, with a childish air, towards the two while their lips grew closer and closer. And she watched, struck with pangs of sadness, jealousy, anger, and shock as their faces met, and the fireworks blew up brilliantly in the sky.
A/N: And THAT is why Terra, in 5 years worth of time, has never once told Locke her feelings for him! See? Isn't my reasoning grand? Well, here's some info that I won't bother explaining in other chapters: That kiss took place on Terra's 21st birthday, right? Locke and Celes hadn't eeen eachother in 2 years, and their love was rekindled by that kiss. Two years later, Locke proposed, Celes accepted, then a year of engagement and planning for the wedding, and you know the rest. ^^ Now, aren't you proud of me? I updated! Woot!