Those who live in the city prepare to go to Yuna's Coronation.

Thank you for the follows/reviews.

italics = denotes thought or memory (for the most part)

Not Mine

Capital - 6 Days Until the Coronation

Wistful. That was the word Lulu was looking for - wistful. Standing on the balcony of their high rise home in Bevelle, that was the only word that could contain how she felt. Things were changing. For instance - the large Capitol building, once a proud hub of government activity was slowly being emptied. People packing their belongings for the long move to New Zanarkand. No one was sure what the giant building was going to be used for, but rumor was that Baralai wanted to turn it into a museum of some sort. A testament to the history of what would soon be the once Capital of Spira. There was also rumor that he wanted to use part of it as a school. Whatever the outcome, it was clear that education was his goal. Lulu thought it was a grand idea.

Long ago she and Nooj had pestered Baralai to change the Capital City but he had remained staunch in his opposition to it. Little did they know that the people, and Yuna's firm desire to never move from the Island of Besaid, would make the decision for them. It was for the best Lulu though. Long had Bevelle stood, a monolithic reminder of the war and all that had followed. But now the Capital would be that of a small island - the birthplace of the coming change in their country. A place known more for its peaceful and lazy comforts than hard steel and weaponry. But with peace came something that Lulu had not expected to creep up upon her so quickly. A deep longing in her heart for the end, "Are you thinking about death?" Nooj asked.

"How did you know?" she turned to look at Nooj.

He was sitting on their shared bed, looking out at her, "Sometimes you get this reflective quiet look upon your face, and I just know."

"There's not much left for us to do, is there?"

"No. Us deathseekers do not do well in times of peace."

As a young child Lulu hadn't known what had driven her to protect so many Summoners so many different times, but now she did. She had wanted to die for them, to heroically bleed out for the person she loved most. In times when things had been peaceful for her, she had sought out death. First with her sister by her side, then with Zuke, and finally with Yuna. When Yuna had defeated Sin for good and she still hadn't found her life abandoned she had lashed out, both in anger and misunderstanding - attempting to create a war in peacetime that would allow her the death she thought she so rightly deserved. A beautiful hero's death. But still it had not come. So she had made a promise to Yuna. To make the world that Yuna would someday rule with grace and tranquility, a place of peace. And for the most part they had were not perfect - politicians still argued, and people complained - but for the last eight years nothing like Sin or Vegnagun had darkened their doorstep, "I fear dying of old age." she admitted to him.

"As do I." Nooj said.

It had always been a comfort, finding Nooj - finding someone who understood her and could put name to what she was. Who could share in her misery, and in her joy. A safe-haven for the thoughts that plagued her mind. Who could draw them from her like poison, swallow them to regurgitate and create an antidote. She did the same for him, he had told her as much. But now that peace was truly upon them - endless days stretched out to nothing, she feared that she would not get to die as she wished. That a noble death was far afield from her, unreachable in the great beyond, "What shall we do now?" she asked.

"Seek it out with me."

"Hm?"

"Let us go to the deepest reaches of Spira and live there alone, find beauty in the decay around us and seek out death."

"Do you think we will find it?"

"We won't know until we try." Nooj told her.

He was right of course. But one final task remained for them to complete, until they could slip off together into the emptiness that awaited them. Their packed bags lay against the bed, and their boat would be arriving in the next half-hour or so. By the end of the week Spira would have a new ruler. It was time that Lulu saw Yuna off into her next journey, "Shall we go?"

She nodded and pulled the handle of her suitcase up, so she could pull it behind her. They used the lift inside their flat to reach the bottom floor and then the large doors to reach the street.

The street itself was lively with action. Banners that had been put up in celebration of Lady Yuna fluttered in the street with the wind. Some of them showed Yuna's face, others just had quotes she had said stitched into the front of them. Magazines and CommV's were all plastered with wall to wall coverage and Lulu picked one of the magazines up to read from it, "Today marks the first day of the large celebration that will be happening all over Spira, but perhaps nowhere as intensely in the new Capital City to be - New Zanarkand. There, not seven days from now her Ladyship will finally take the position we have all been waiting for since she slew Sin ten years ago. It truly is a momentous occasion and if you look at everyone in the street you can judge the mood just by the smiles on their faces. Spira's new age - which was marked by Meyven Lulu's words eight years ago has finally begun. Her promise spoken with such impactful courage still lives so deeply within all our hearts: 'we will let Spira move on. So that in the future, whoever comes next - does not have to pick up the pieces of a broken production - the most important company of all, our home - Spira.' We must not forget what she said that day, because that time has come at last..."

Lulu trailed off and found Nooj smiling at her. It was a bit of a fluff piece but the person writing it had sounded so happy that it was impossible to ignore the impact of it, "I am glad." he said.

"Of what?"

"That we get to leave this legacy for others to follow."

"Me too." Lulu answered him honestly.

By the time they finished talking, they had reached the docks. A small vessel sat in the harbor for them and Clasko waved to them from the helm. It seemed that their ride had arrived.

Her black outfit, silver metal fastenings and all - matched well with the steel walls of the Capitol building Paine decided. For a little while, after her subsequent rebirth she had thought about wearing the more ceremonial white of her kind. But after so much shopping and trying different outfits on, she had concluded that black suited her best. She found something about the endless meaning of black soothing, white felt too final. It was true that she was of Valkyrie blood but she was also Paine, and Paine had different wants and likes compared to that of the rigidity of Valkyrie culture.

Groomed her whole life to seek out and when the time was right - avenge herself on her father, Paine wanted to discover who she was beyond that. What life after death really meant. Only three weeks after being reborn on the beaches of Besaid, Paine had realized that she wasn't really made for the lifestyle her father embraced with so much vigor. He loved swimming in the deep sea, playing sports, watching movie spheres, and general tomfoolery. However he also enjoyed taking it slow, sleeping in the sun until his body tanned a light bronze color. Paine enjoyed the quiet too, enjoyed watching the early sunrise in the morning and mediation at night, loved to sneak away to find a hidden alcove to read a book in. But she also longed for combat - something that had been instilled into her from birth, impossible to ignore or shut away.

When she had told her father and Yuna that she was leaving they had been sad but understanding. Yuna had only approached her once, in an attempt to get her to stay but had given up after Paine had told her that she needed to find herself. An emotion Yuna knew all too well after so many adventures and time spent protecting Spira. After all, if things ever got unquestionably bad they still had their shared mindspace.

Unsure of where to go or what to do after her announcement she had been a bit adrift. A proposition from Baralai had given her the answer. He was looking to put together a small task force to combat fiends that wandered into villages or places of residence unannounced. Most of the time it would be drudgery, he told her - but she would eventually see combat. And after a time he had been proven correct. Most of her days she spent on Kilika Island, soaking in the sun but on other less frequent days she was called to action to fight off whatever fiends had found themselves in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time.

More recently she had been in the Moonflow after someone had reported finding a half eaten Shoopuf carcass littering the shore. In order to protect the Shoopuf that ferried people across the river, use of Shoopuf had been made forbidden. The Shoopuf themselves had been put in their stalls for protection. Paine's unit had eventually found a colony of condor and dingo working in tandem to kill the Shoopuf, and had dealt with them swiftly. Their victory had been celebrated by the people in the area, and travel by Shoopuf had commenced once more.

Occasionally loneliness struck her but even that wasn't so terrifying. Most of the time she visited her father and Yuna when she was a little overcome, but other times she didn't have that luxury. Thankfully, she had found an answer for that too.

She knocked on the door and a voice called out to her, "Come in!"

A few keystrokes later and the door swung open to reveal Baralai toweling his hair down. The door slid closed behind her as Baralai threw the towel down onto the bed. He was dressed casually in a bathrobe, and for Paine who had just finished a rather difficult mission fighting off hoards of well armored grendels - it was a sight for sore eyes, "Tea is ready." he said motioning to a table near the right wall where a pot of tea sat - steam still coming out of the spout.

"You're penchant for knowing exactly when I will arrive never ceases to amaze me."

Paine picked up a cup and took a sip. A look of contentment came over her face as she tasted what kind it was - Besaid Lily. It wasn't much but it always reminded her of home, of her father's sun tousled hair and Yuna's smile. Family. She set the cup down and then took a seat at the table. Baralai joined her a second later after sweeping his long hair up into a high ponytail. Sitting down across from her he checked his watch, "Your father's game should be over by now."

She nodded, "He won about an hour ago. The flare up of excitement was impossible to ignore. But I didn't come here to talk about my father."

"What are we here to talk about then?" He asked her.

Paine took his hand into hers and played with his fingers and then looked up at him, a shark grin on her face. Standing up she lead him to the bed that he had just thrown his towel down on a moment before and straddled his hips. Baralai reached up to pull her face down to his, kissing her soundly. This was another thing she had discovered about herself - how she enjoyed touch, enjoyed the feeling of Baralai's hands on her. How she enjoyed kissing him and being kissed in return, each one different than the last - an exploration of lust or love depending on the circumstances. Both, on occasion.

When she had come back, falling in love had not been part of the plan. But during her missions she and Baralai had shared missives, and then warm conversations, and finally he had showed up in Kilika with dinner. She had known from the start that he had been in love with her, but he hadn't pressured her into anything. Just being near her, or talking to her had been enough for him. Never once had he voiced expectations or desires, instead taking comfort in their shared friendship instead. The way he had given her space had endeared her to him. Not many people understood why she slipped off to meditate, why she hated it when she was crowded with no way to escape. People could be so suffocating. But Baralai had understood, and for that she was forever thankful.

Baralai pulled away from her, staring at her seriously, "We should go."

"Unnecessary."

"Yuna is expecting us -"

"They can wait."

He laughed, "I suppose there is no rush. There is no point in owning a boat if you can't use it at your leisure. I'm still the leader of this land for six more days. I should be able to at least spend it with the person I love."

Paine smiled down at him, "Exactly."

Without missing a beat he turned them over so he was looming over her and brought their lips together again. The coronation and ceremony could wait. After all, it couldn't start without him and the really important meeting wasn't for a few days yet. As he thought this Paine distracted him by working at the fastenings of his pants. As soon as she did that - he was lost.

A/N: I'm so happy to actually be writing Paine/Baralai. I've waited a long time to do so.