Author's Note: I really apologize for starting and then stopping. I just got married and the wedding took up most of my time. Hope that you enjoy!

The disclaimer: I do not own the characters!

A Dinner Affair

It was great to see everyone again. Dinner was a large celebration, with all of her friends attending. It seemed like not too much had changed since she had left. Yes, the castle had been put back together and Cephiro wasn't crumbling anymore. But the people…they hadn't changed very much at all. And for that, Umi was incredibly grateful. She had missed her friends so much in the past few months that it was almost unbearable. If they had changed she would have been crushed. Some days, coming back to Cephiro was the only thing that gave her happiness. She knew in her heart that she belonged in this world…she was just scared to break off ties with the other.

As is sensing her inner battle, Ascot leaned in and whispered to her. "Are you alright Umi?"

Umi couldn't help but smile. He really was very sweet. "I am okay Ascot. It's just good to be back."

Knowing that this wasn't the full answer, he stood up from the table. "Would you all excuse me?" Leaning down, he whispered again into Umi's ear. "Please, come take a walk with me."

Umi nodded, excusing herself as well from the table and following Ascot outside to the garden area where she had been earlier that afternoon. Ascot led her to a bench where they could both sit.

"Umi, I know that you know my feelings for you." Umi felt slightly uncomfortable and couldn't meet his eyes. "And you know that I would never ask for anything in return other than your friendship. I know what you feel or don't feel for me, and I have accepted it."

Umi felt incredibly humbled. "I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings Ascot."

"Me too Umi. But you should know that just because you don't doesn't mean that you still can't come to me when you need a friend. Something is bothering you. Can you tell me what it is?"

Umi sighed. "Well, for one thing, I don't want to leave here. I love it here, but I'm having a really hard time trying to live in two worlds. I'm not from here…I should be back in Tokyo. But for some reason I feel this irresistible pull bringing me back here all of the time. I feel torn between the two."

"Umi, where does it say that you have to make a definitive choice between the two?"

"What?"

"Well…in your world, do people always stay living in the same place?"

"No…"

"The only difference between people moving away to another place in your world, and living between the two worlds as you are now, is that you know that it's a different world instead of another city. But it never means that you have to discard one for the other."

"Wow…I never thought of it like that."

"You know what a vacation is, right? Well, just think of visiting another world as an exotic vacation."

"You know, it sounds so simple. I can't believe I didn't think of it before!" Umi smiled.

"Ah, that's because you never asked me," Ascot replied with a wink.

"Now, tell me what else is bothering you, because I know that that wasn't all of it."

Umi became suddenly very embarrassed. How could she talk about her feelings for another guy, knowing how he felt about her? "Um…well, I don't know if I could…"

"Ah, so it is true. You're in love with Master Mage Clef."

Ascot could see that he had shocked her. "Caldina spilled the beans. She didn't mean to, mind you, and made me swear not to tell." He gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Oh Ascot, I feel awful."

"I know the feeling… Actually, if you could talk to anyone about how horrible it is, I'm probably the best one because I completely understand," he joked.

Umi could only smile. "How do you get through it?"

"You learn to accept it, and keep living life. If you let it be the only thing you live for it can destroy you, knowing that the person you care about most in the world doesn't feel the same way about you. Or, you can take the more sane route and realize that you're lucky to have someone in your life that you cherish that much. And while they may never have the same feelings for you, you know that you have a great friend and there are others around who will help you through the bad times."

Umi sighed. "When did you become so smart?"

Ascot just grinned. "I've had a lot of growing pains to get this smart, you know."

Umi gave him a hug. "Thank you Ascot. I know that sometimes our friendship will be the hardest thing for you, but I really appreciate you being here for me." She gave his a kiss on the cheek. "I don't know what I would do without you."

Master Mage Clef had walked by at that moment, seeing Umi kiss Ascot. He had suddenly started to feel jealousy, something he hadn't felt since his youth.

Confused, he turned and left the two. Now why should I feel jealousy? She is a Magic Knight…someone that I have brought here for my own means. Someone that I would protect. Besides that, I'm old enough to be her great great great…Okay, that's enough of thinking about age.

Depressed, he sat down in the thrown room. Meditation would be the best way for him to figure out what was going on in his head…

And now for my shout outs:

Mimi – I'm so glad that you love the story so far! I hope that I don't stray too far from the original characters' personalities. :)

Claudia -- Thank you for the high praise! I have kept Clef in his smaller version because it is the one that I'm most familiar with. But who knows…he is a mage. He may grow taller!

Enjie Yekcam – This time the other 2 aren't there…at least, not yet. Still working on when I'd like them to join the storyline. Thanks for the review!

chihiro ogino – Thank you for the review! I hope that I can live up to the expectations :)