As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

Dwarven Vow 76:
Cha'n fheum an ti a shealbhaicheas an toradh am blàth a mhilleadh.
He who would enjoy the fruit must not spoil the blossom.

23-

"Sorry I'm late!"

Colette waved from across the pavilion and stumbled her way around the picnic tables to get to where Lloyd and Sheena were sitting. Greene Park was crowded with food vendors, shops, and visitors, so it had taken Colette some time to track down the location where Lloyd and Sheena had asked her to meet for brunch. They'd done what they could to save her a seat, but she still had to squeeze onto the edge of the bench beside them. Another group of people jostled by as she got settled, nearly knocking her off the end of the bench, but Lloyd threw an arm around her waist and helped her steady herself.

"Careful, there. Wouldn't want to put a Colette-shaped hole in the floorboards, now would we?"

Colette giggled. "Yeah, I don't think Meltokio needs any more of those."

"...any more…?" Sheena murmured, but didn't push it further. They had brunch to eat and plans to discuss. Colette let them know how Zelos was doing, and of course invited them to help work on the speech that evening. Lloyd and Sheena were enthusiastic about the idea, and they spent the rest of the conversation brainstorming about it until Colette finally pointed out an ice cream stand that she wanted to visit.

The three chose their favorite flavors and sought out a less-crowded corner of the park to stay while they ate. Lloyd was enjoying his so much that he didn't even notice someone approach from behind. She tapped him on the shoulder, but when he turned around to see who it was, she snatched the cone right out of his hand.

"Hah! I got it!" Anna held up the cone triumphantly before allowing herself a taste. "Thank you, Lloyd dear."

"M-Mom? Give it back!" Lloyd reached for the cone, finding it just beyond his reach. "You can't just take another person's food! It's got all my germs on it."

"I'm your mother," Anna defended, taking a defiant lick of ice cream. "Any germs you have, you got from me."

Bryan raised one hand hesitantly. "Miss Anna, I don't think that's quite how germs work-"

"Oh, yeah!" Anna shoved the ice cream cone back into Lloyd's hands so that she could turn her attention to Bryan. "I don't think I've properly introduced you! This is my son, Lloyd, and his friends Colette and Sheena. Guys, this is Bryan, my new platoon leader and one of Kratos' personal pupils. He's my partner for our patrol today."

"I remember you from the other day!" Colette chimed. "You're a very good fighter. Training with Kratos is hard work."

Bryan blushed noticeably and averted his gaze. "I-I remember you too. The babysitter, right? How's, uh… Adora doing?"

"You remembered her name!" Colette's eyes sparkled as she spoke. She approached Bryan, and while he stiffened and backed away a little, she didn't seem to notice. "She's doing well. In fact, her father invited me out to dinner tonight to thank me for my help. It's a little embarrassing, to tell the truth, but I'm just so happy that he's happy with my work."

"I'm sure you're a great babysitter, C-Colette!"

Sheena nudged Lloyd and motioned toward Bryan, but just as he realised what she was getting at, Colette obliviously took care of the situation herself.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. My fiancé helped a bunch. He's so good with kids. And our friend Yuan helped too! I didn't think he knew much about kids, but he surprised me…"

Lloyd noted with some pity the way Bryan's face fell at the word 'fiancé,' but the boy made a surprisingly fast recovery, especially once Anna stepped in.

"Let's not get too caught up in pleasantries," she commented, nudging Bryan's arm. "We're still on duty, and Kratos won't be happy if he sees us goofing off."

Bryan snapped to attention. "That's right! We need to stay moving along the path for the best visibility."

"Oh? You mean the running path that loops around the park?" Lloyd spoke up while crunching into his cone. "I was gonna run that after I finished my ice cream. Gotta work off brunch so that I can have a decent lunch."

Anna giggled at Lloyd's comment and nudged him toward Bryan. "Why don't you two walk it together? I feel like you two would get along well. And of course-" She paused for just long enough to snatch the last bite of the cone from Lloyd's hands. "-I'll stay here and survey the area with Colette and Sheena."

Lloyd pouted as he watched Anna eat the last of the ice cream cone, but he shrugged it off and started down the path. He threw a playful punch at Bryan's shoulder as he ran past, saying "Betcha I can make it all the way around the path before you can!"

"You're on, Irving!"

Colette, Sheena, and Anna watched the two men as they disappeared into the crowd. Anna and Colette laughed, and even Sheena couldn't suppress a giggle.

"I hope those two don't get themselves into trouble," she commented with a smirk, and Anna nodded in agreement.

"Bryan needs to remember that we're here protecting the peace, not disrupting it."

"Don't worry," Colette added with a shake of her head. "I don't think Lloyd would lead him astray."

Sheena fought back another laugh, and Anna shrugged her shoulders with a look of uncertainty. Still, the three of them began chatting and wandered over to the center of the park where the fountain was running despite the morning's cold weather draping icicles along the terraces. As Anna took some time to admire the work of art that the winter chill had created, Colette moved closer and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"So, um, I hate to bring this up, but have you had the chance to talk to Lloyd yet? About what we discussed when I visited on Tuesday, I mean."

Anna blushed and looked away. "No, not yet. But I have told Sheena, so-"

"You haven't told Lloyd?" Colette's face fell and she allowed her head to droop. Anna stiffened and waved her hands.

"It's not like that! I just haven't had the time, is all. We haven't had a moment alone together, so the topic just hasn't come up."

"It's not our place to butt in, Colette," Sheena nodded her head. "They're all adults. They can work things out themselves."

"Thank you, Sheena!" Anna tapped her chest proudly. "I fact, I was planning to tell Lloyd tomorrow."

Colette and Sheena both answered simultaneously.

"Tomorrow?" "T-tomorrow?"

"Yeah! At the picnic, after the big presentation Zelos is giving!" Anna opened her mouth to continue, but she suddenly caught a note of hesitance in Sheena's voice and perked up. "Oh! Unless of course… there's something else someone wants to talk to him about at the picnic…"

"It's not really-" "I was just thinking-"

Colette and Sheena both stopped as they realized they were talking over each other. Sheena gestured to Colette, who shook her head, but Sheena insisted, and so Colette began again with a sigh.

"It's not really a big deal or anything…" Colette looked down at her feet. "But once we've gone public with our engagement, Zelos and I were planning to ask Lloyd to be a part of our wedding. In Meltokio they have this arrangement where the groom has a best man, and the bride has a maid of honor who accompany them, and… well, Zelos and I actually had an argument over it because we both wanted Lloyd to be ours. So we decided to ask him to do both."

Sheena raised an eyebrow. "Isn't, uh, the maid of honor usually a-"

"That's wonderful, Colette!" Anna threw her arms around Colette in a hug. "You should definitely ask him. I know Lloyd will be thrilled to be a part of your wedding!"

"W-well, if you're going to-" Colette found it difficult to speak while under Anna's tight hold, and had to wait for Anna to let go before she could catch her breath and continue. "-I mean, if there's something you and Sheena want to talk to him about, this wedding isn't happening for a while. Sheena, what were you going to say?"

A blush spread across Sheena's cheeks and she looked away. "Er, it's not much, but I'd been thinking about discussing some Mizuho traditions with him. Like, comparing them to some of the traditions you have back in Sylvarant. I was just curious at how they differed, and what he thinks of them-"

Anna had been bouncing on her toes the whole time Sheena was speaking, and finally she couldn't contain her excitement anymore.

"Sheena's going to ask him to marry her!"

Colette's whole face lit up, her eyes sparkling in delight. "Oh, Sheena! That's wonderful!" She threw her arms around Sheena and picked her up a few centimeters to twirl her around. "I'm so happy for you both!"

"Wh-what is it with you two and the hugging?" Sheena choked. "In some cultures, this could be considered a marriage proposal."

Colette set Sheena back down on the pavement. "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy for you. You two are going to be so happy together- I mean, you already are, but if my experience with Zelos is anything to go by, you'll be even more happy knowing that you'll have the person you love by your side forever-"

Sheena took a step back to massage her arms where Colette had squeezed them. "It's not going to be anything fancy like Zelos did for you. Proposals in Mizuho aren't like that at all, so I wouldn't even know where to start. It's just going to be kind of a casual thing. And of course if he isn't ready, there's no pressure on him to agree. S-so I don't think it's worth getting so excited over."

"Aw, but it's so exciting-"

Anna let out a giggle as she watched Colette and Sheena's exchange. The two girls turned to look at her, and she offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, you two. I don't mean to be rude. I think you're both right in your own way."

Sheena couldn't help a sheepish smile as well. "I guess you're right. I should be willing to admit when I'm excited, shouldn't I?"

"And I shouldn't put too much pressure on you," Colette added. "You should take your relationship the way you need it to go, not the way someone else dictates it."

"Very true." Anna sat down on the edge of the fountain, crossing her arms and nodding her head. "You know, I proposed to Kratos in the middle of a battle with several high-ranking Desians."

"You… what?"

"Oh yeah. They had us surrounded, standing back-to-back. He asked me for a strategy because he'd run out of ideas, and I just told him 'if we make it out of here alive, I want you to marry me."

Sheena frowned. "That's not a-"

"I don't think I've ever seen him fight like that. Those Desians didn't know what hit them."

Colette giggled with a comment on how romantic that was, but Sheena let out an exasperated sigh. "I guess you just have to figure out what motivates some people."

Their laughter was cut off as Sheena noticed Lloyd and Bryan headed their way from a short distance down the path. The two looked exhausted, but once they saw the fountain, they seemed to get the energy for one last sprint. Lloyd reached the side of the fountain first, collapsing onto the side as he tried to catch his breath. Bryan followed, not far behind, but far enough that he was clearly disappointed.

"I can't… believe… you beat me…" Bryan panted, wiping the sweat from his brow. "You're pretty good at this. How come you haven't joined up with the militia?"

"That's not really my style," Lloyd answered, though he couldn't suppress a proud grin. "Kratos did inspire me to think about pursuing a mercenary career, but in the end, I just can't shake my love of smithing. Gotta keep the family tradition alive, you know?"

"That's cool. Kinda makes me wish I had a family business to go into… but I like this a lot better."

Anna hovered over them, offering a hand to help each of them up. "And you're good at this too," she spoke, nodding in Bryan's direction. "Lloyd's a better smith than he is soldier. But you- well, Kratos says it would be a waste for you to ignore your talent in combat."

"K-Kratos said that?"

"Totally! But, uh, don't tell him I told you…"

Meanwhile, Lloyd had made it to his feet, but he still wasn't steady. Sheena let him lean against her shoulder as he tried to recover, still out of breath from the whole deal.

"You alright, Lloyd?" she asked, brushing a few strands of hair away from his face. He offered a nod in reply- a weak one, but a nod nonetheless.

"Y-yeah… just give me a few minutes. I'll be back to normal in no time. And then we can find someplace good to get some lunch."

"Lunch?" Sheena frowned. "But we just-"

"I saw a place earlier that was offering crepes!" Colette chimed in before Sheena could protest. "I don't want to miss out on them before the festival is over."

Lloyd grinned and tossed his arm around her shoulders. "Then it sounds like we've found our next stop! Come on!"

Sheena couldn't help a laugh as she watched. She might not be hungry, but she could never get her fill of Lloyd and Colette's enthusiasm.

"Are you sure you're okay with this? You've watched Bianca all day, after all. It's only fair for-"

Genis couldn't help feeling like he was imposing on Raine and Professor Low, no matter how many times they'd insisted on looking after Bianca. He wanted to take them up on their offer for a dinner alone with Nika, of course, but they'd had that the night before, and he knew it would cost the two professors their own chance at a romantic dinner. Still, Professor Low wouldn't budge.

"Nonsense! We love having Bianca with us!" She had scooped the girl up in her arms and offered her an affectionate smile. "Don't listen to Genis. He's just jealous of all the fun we're having together."

Bianca giggled and turned to wave at Genis and Nika. "I'll be fine, really! I love hanging out with Professor Low and big-sis Raine. You two have a super fun date!"

"Just… be good for them, okay?" Nika approached them and placed a hand on Bianca's head. "I don't want you causing any trouble."

"Me, cause trouble? When would I do that?"

Raine burst out laughing. "That sounds awfully familiar. Did you learn that line from Genis?"

"Hey, now," he responded with a huff, "shouldn't I be happy that Bianca admires me enough to copy my phrases?"

"Worried, more like," Raine replied with a smirk.

Genis began to protest, but he couldn't exactly argue, so he left the subject alone.

Professor Low led Raine and Bianca back to her own house, chatting excitedly about what a delicious chicken picatta her chef made, and how much Raine and Bianca would enjoy it. This sparked Bianca's excitement, and she ran ahead of them all the way to Professor Low's house, opening the enormous door with some difficulty. Raine caught up with her and laughed as she supported the door so that Bianca could enter.

"Let's go upstairs and eat in the sunroom, overlooking the balcony," Professor Low spoke as she followed into the entryway. "I'd love to watch the sun set while we're eating."

"Is there a table in the sunroom?" Raine asked.

"Yes, but I don't think there's enough chairs." Professor Low glanced up the staircase and straightened her glasses. "I'll have to go grab another from the dining room. Raine, go on ahead. I'll meet you up there."

"You aren't going to ask a servant to-" Raine began in surprise, but she stopped herself. "-er, I mean, thank you. Bianca, let's head up."

Bianca started to follow Raine up the stairs, but Professor Low broke in and stopped her.

"Actually, I thought she'd like to come with me. You haven't seen the dining room, have you, Bianca? We have a chandelier with almost two-thousand pieces of handcrafted crystal."

Bianca's eyes lit up. "Ooh! I wanna see! Please Raine, can I go?"

"O-of course. You don't have to ask me. I'll see the two of you upstairs."

With a proud smile, Bianca hopped down the stairs and stood proudly at Professor Low's side. Raine waved and continued, and Professor Low waited until she had disappeared from view to finally turn to Bianca. Much to the girl's surprise, she knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Miss Bianca, I must ask you something." She leaned her head forward, the light from the window glinting off the rims of her glasses. "I have an experiment to run tonight, and it is of grave importance that you assist me."

Bianca froze, noting the seriousness in the professor's voice. "You want me to help? With a real experiment? What about Raine? How come you don't ask her?"

"It's also important that Raine not know," Professor Low responded with a wink, "and imperative that I have your help. Will you assist me?"

"Why can't Raine know? Is there something wrong with her?"

"Not at all! There's nothing wrong- in fact, it's something special to surprise her. How about it?"

Bianca paused and thought it over for a little while.

"...will I still get to see the chandelier?"

The question seemed to stump Professor Low. Finally, she burst out laughing and pulled Bianca into a hug. "Of course you can, you silly! Come on! I'll brief you along the way."

"Master Zelos, you have a visitor."

Sebastian's voice rang out over the intercom system, catching Zelos in the middle of styling his hair. He cursed and set the brush down on the vanity so that he could respond.

"Who is it?" he asked. "I wasn't expecting a visitor for another-"

"A Mister Yuan Ka-Fai, master. He wishes to speak with you and Colette."

Zelos let out a sigh. He wanted to make a good impression on Adora's father, but Yuan he could deal with while still half-dressed. Tossing on a bathrobe, he stumbled down the stairs and into the entryway where Sebastian and Yuan were waiting for him.

"Took you long enough," Yuan scoffed, glancing him over. "And you couldn't even bother to get dressed?"

"If you must know, I've been getting ready for an important guest," Zelos replied with a huff. "What do you think you're doing here anyway?"

Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm sorry to take you away from your important guest. Kratos led me to believe that I had plans with you and Colette tonight."

Sebastian cleared his throat and stepped back. "This seems to be a personal matter, Master Zelos, so I'll leave you two to sort things out yourselves while I fetch Mistress Colette from Mistress Seles' room."

As Sebastian disappeared down the hallway, Zelos approached Yuan.

"Listen," he hissed, "I don't know what your goal here is, but it's thanks to you that Colette finally found Adora's family and I want to at least be grateful to you for that. I'm getting ready to meet Adora's father, so if you don't mind, I still have my hair to do and an outfit to choose."

Zelos wanted to turn his back to Yuan and storm up the stairs, but something in Yuan's expression held him there. He stared at Yuan's eyes, trying to determine what exactly there was that intrigued him, but he couldn't figure it out until Yuan finally spoke up.

"...heh, I guess I overestimated you. That's a first."

"Over-" Zelos began angrily, but he was cut off.

"I knew Colette was a scatterbrain, but I thought you would've been able to put two and two together."

Zelos considered the words for a few moments before something finally clicked. He had never really examined Yuan's features before, but having recently spent so much time with Adora, he started to recognize certain similarities. The nose bridge, the folds of his eyelids, the color of his hair…

"My gods," Zelos whispered, "she's yours."

"Now we're getting somewhere."

Zelos stepped back, pressing his hands to his forehead. He began to laugh in spite of himself, trying to process the new information.

"She's yours. All this time, she was yours. How did I not see it? But how the hell-? I mean, who? When? Does Song know you cheated on him? Or is he-"

"Enough!" Yuan snapped. "Shut up about Song, shut up about all of this! You have no right to act so smug about all of this, just like you and Colette had no right to rescue my daughter!"

Zelos' eyes widened, his taunts suddenly disappearing as he thought over the words Yuan had used. "...no right… to rescue…" He lunged forward, grabbing Yuan by the shoulders, his fingernails digging into the fabric of Yuan's shirt. "YOU did this! You locked her away. You were trying to kill her!"

"I did not." Yuan growled through clenched teeth, taking hold of Zelos' arms. "Martel did, and she was trying to save her!"

The two stopped, both sets of eyes locked on one another. Zelos was the first to let go, his arms lowering slowly.

"...Martel…" he murmured, and then repeated himself in confusion. "...Martel?"