A/N: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this will be the last chapter I post for several months. No, this isn't because I hate you, it's because wrestling season hath started, and the practices are LONG. As it is, the only reason why I managed to pull this one off is because I did most of it over the Thanksgiving Break. So… happy Turkey Day, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

By the way, it's gonna be mostly dialogue.

Step Nine: Reconciliation

WHAP.

Phoenix watched fearfully as the enraged Sniper raised her hand to strike him again.

"Please! Please! He's a patient that is in critical condition!" The Alchemist stepped between Phoenix and Jullianne, hoping to prevent another attack on the Hunter.

"The hell he is! If he's healthy enough to make me worry for HOURS, then he's healthy enough to take a few slaps-"

"I'd like to point out that I caused your worry before I went into critical condit-"

"YOU'RE NOT A PART OF THIS CONVERSATION!"

"Okay…"

Jullianne regained control of her emotions, and looked at the Alchemist calmly.

"Terribly sorry, sir. I don't know what came over me. All I can say is that if THIS moron…" she jabbed a finger in Phoenix's direction, "Pulls off any more stunts like that again, I will seriously kill him if the arrow doesn't."

The Alchemist looked at Jullianne in shock for a few moments. He shook his head to clear it of whatever thoughts were flying around in there and said, "Well, the reason why we brought you in here was so that you could actually talk to young Master Phoenix-"

"Master doesn't even BEGIN to describe him…"

"… because he needs to be healed emotionally before we can start to close the wound you see here."

"Do you have ANY idea how sappy that soun- Ooohhh…"

For the first time, she took a look at the open wound in Phoenix's chest and grimaced. She had no idea arrow extraction was that ugly. It sort of made sense when she thought about it. If they just ripped it out, there was a chance it could have cut his heart and then they would have had SERIOUS problems. But at it's current size, it practically looked like a mine shaft going down into his chest. Phoenix figured out what she was looking at and grinned.

"Pretty huh?"

"Eh, no… not really."

Phoenix shrugged, then winced. "Well, that's what I get for trying to be Mr. Hero Man."

"More like Mr. Moronic Man."

The Hunter sighed. "Well, you know what I was trying to get across, right?"

"Eh, no… not really."

Insert thick silence here.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Eh, no… not really."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "And you think that I should be called Mr. Moronic Man." He looked back at Jullianne and smirked. "Ready to hear something really sappy?"

"Eh, no… not really."

"Can you stop saying that?"

"Eh-"

"The reason I did that," he broke in pointedly, "Was to prove that I love you so much I'm willing to take an arrow to the chest. Full force."

"… Now THAT is sappy."

"I told you it was gonna sound sappy."

"But not THAT sappy."

"Whatever. You heard the alchemist. I have to be 'emotionally healed' before this big ol' hole will close up. And I am more than willing to test his theory. You have NO idea how much it hurt the first time they tried to use a healing spell to fix it. Of course, I was drugged out of my mind, but even through that I could still feel the pain. The doc was telling me that he thinks you poured all of your hate for me into that arrow, which is why it won't allow a healing spell, administered with care and compassion, to work."

"Alright lover boy… start groveling."

"… What?"

"You think I'm gonna forgive you for the hurt you caused me just 'cause some crackpot alch-"

"Watch it young lady."

"Just 'cause some alchemist says I need to make you 'feel loved' again, d'you think I'll say, 'Okay! Sure! Let's do it!'?"

"Uhh… I was kind of hoping you would."

"Well forget it. It ain't happening."

Phoenix sighed and looked away, thoroughly distraught. "I'm sorry."

Laughter filled his ears. Insane, uncontrollable laughter. He looked back, annoyed, and saw Jullianne rolling on the floor in peals of laughter.

"Ah ha! Ah ha! He… he thinks saying… saying 'sorry' is gonna do something!" She immediately stopped laughing and glared at Phoenix. "Well, sorry… but your little apology comes a little too late."

"Alright then… what do you want me to do to set things right?"

"Blow yourself up."

"I already tried that, and I earned a slap for making you worried for hours."

Jullianne glared at him. "And you'll get another one if you shoot any more snide remarks at me."

"I was just pointing out the facts-" SLAP. "Alright… alright… fine. Then what am I supposed to do?"

This time, Jullainne pondered the question, trying to think of something she could make him do, since she obviously had him wrapped around her finger right now.

"I still don't know what exactly happened."

"About what?"

"This whole thing." She waved her arm around like it would help Phoenix understand what she meant. "Why did you do it?"

Apparently it did, because Phoenix nodded his head sadly stared off into space, thinking about how he should convey what happened.

"I won't deny that at first it was a game-"

"Cow."

"Let me finish. Think about it. Three bachelors at a pub… drinking alcohol… doing this for about three years together. A cute viera walks into the room and what would you expect to happen? Well, you were there, so you know what happened. And after I came back to my friends from my utter defeat, Mack had a book called 'How to Woo a Viera in Ten Easy Steps.'"

"That's insulting! Just the title alone makes Viera out to be easy catches!"

Phoenix resisted the temptation to say 'I caught you, didn't I?' and continued with his story.

"So you know what happened after I had the 'Magic Book'… I got into the clan, spent a lot of time trying to be friends with you. Of course, my comment about nailing you made that rather difficult."

"Dumba-"

"BUT. But… I did become your friend after a while, and… I dunno what happened. Maybe you hit me with a Cupid arrow, or it was just who you are, but all I know is that it wasn't a game anymore. I truly loved you and I wanted you to fall in love with me."

"By using a BOOK?"

He sighed and closed his eyes. "Continuing to use that book after I fell in love with you was an error graver than the comment. Which is why I stopped using the book after you blew up at me."

"Oh, don't you DARE make me sound like the bad guy…"

"ANYWAY, you know that I split with you guys to form my own clan. For you of course."

"Yeah… that's touching, Phoenix… REAL touching." That comment was dripping with so much sarcasm, you could stick your hand under it and catch some.

"Well, obviously I did it for you. Who, in their right mind, would name their clan 'Amor' if they're not in love?"

Jullianne looked bewildered. "So that's what Amor means… I was wondering what you were up to with that…"

"You've obviously never learned Spanish before, have you?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. The point is that I made the clan for you and I wanted to become prestigious throughout Ivalice so you'd regain your lost respect for me."

"Respect in battle is a heckuva lot different than respect in a relationship."

The Hunter sighed. "I know, I know. It's just that, I was desperate to get you to love me back, and I didn't know how else. And I sure as heck wasn't going to use a book called 'How to Regain a Viera's Love in Ten Easy Steps.'"

"There's a book called that?"

"No."

"So you decided that you'd take an arrow to the chest, even though you knew it would freak me out and scare me out of my wits?"

"That's about it, yes." Phoenix had figured out that by now, although Jullianne wasn't trying to show it, she WAS starting to turn her opinion around once again.

"Well, I must admit, that is pretty heroic. But that's not a very nice thing to do to your friends."

"So you're my friend now?"

"Doesn't mean I have to like you."

Phoenix grinned anyway. "That's fine by me… as long as you're my friend. I think this merits a hug."

The Sniper rolled her eyes and smirked. "I'm gonna slit your throat in your sleep one of these days." She then stepped around the bed and leaned in, wrapping her arms around Phoenix's upper body.

The happy Hunter closed his eyes, hugged Jullianne back, and said, "I don't doubt it."

A/N: What d'you think? I thought that was a good place to end it. Nice 'n sweet, if you ask me. Well, like I said earlier, I won't be posting a chapter for a few months most probably. I will never abandon the story, rest assured. It's just going on vacation, so to speak. Keep up the reviews (they're great!), and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.