A/N: Decided to take a breath from my AU story and toss another one in here. I do enjoy these little tidbits, and I hope others do as well. It's a fun chance to explore the characters and how much more could go into the main game story.

And yes, I'm getting through Chapter 4 of my AU story. If you're enjoying that, look forward to December, as I'll be putting my NaNo this year into getting more of it written!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VI, its characters, or lore.

Bonds of Trust

What lay ahead could be the most dangerous endeavor the small group had ever attempted. Challenging the Empire was nothing new to the Returners, but prancing through their enemy's backyard? That was new, and possibly foolish. Security in Vector would be tight, and they weren't just passing through the city. No, they were out to infiltrate the heart of Vector – the Magitek Research Facility.

With all of that hanging over their heads, you'd expect a mood of subdued anxiety, people deep in thought staring out into the clouds floating by as their airship soared through the sky.

Such was not the case.

"You're a cheat, Setzer!" Locke shouted as more of his chips disappeared into the gambler's winnings.

Setzer cast a smirk at the younger man. "On the contrary, I think you're just terrible at this game."

"That's what you said about the last four games," Locke said as he crossed his arms and slumped into his chair. He stared across the small table with something between a pout and a glower. "You cheating's more likely than me being bad at everything."

"Lady Luck is a fickle mistress," Setzer replied, a smile playing across his otherwise calm face as he sorted his new chips into piles.

A hand snagged the man's left arm and yanked it over his head. Celes, who stood at Setzer's side holding his arm aloft, raised a brow at the small claw that now extended from his sleeve, the ace of spades clamped in its prongs. "Lady Luck, huh?"

A startled silence settled over the room, lasting only a moment before Locke leaped to his feet. "I knew it! You're a cheat, Setzer!'

Setzer responded with laughter as he slipped from his own chair and out of Locke's reach. "All's fair in love and war, my friend!"

"This is neither love nor war!" Locke roared. He bounded around the table, only to have Setzer glide around it the other way, keeping the table between them.

"Life is a game of war fought for love!"

The pair circled the table a few times as Locke feinted with no success – almost like Setzer had done it all before. Finally, Locke managed to outpace the man, at which point Setzer turned and fled the cabin, his laughter echoing over Locke's growls as the pair disappeared.

Celes turned away before the pair finished their exit, her muttered, "Boys," bringing a grin to Sabin's face as she sat back down across from him. A loud sigh followed as Celes settled in, and he could see the focus shift in her striking blue eyes as she took in the game board between them. Not that she needed any great level of concentration to beat him. He already knew she was set to chase him off the board.

Then she made her move, her slim hand reaching out and shifting one of her armies across her territory and right up to the border of his. A smile tugged at her lips as her eyes raised to his. "You're surrounded. Do you yield?"

Sabin glanced across the board – surrounded was accurate, but didn't really capture his situation. The small blue figures – his troops – held a tenth of the map spread out between them, while the identical green figures – Celes' army – occupied the rest. His loss didn't surprise him, and he laughed as he threw his hands up in the air. "I give! You're too good at this."

"You did well actually," Celes said, leaning back in her seat. "For your first time at least. You could be a good leader."

"No thanks," Sabin laughed and shook his head. "I'm just fine leaving that to you. Just tell me what to punch!" As if emphasizing his point, a stiffness spread through Sabin's shoulders and he stood to stretch it out, his arms flexing with the motions. He groaned at the pleasant feeling that spread just from moving around. The chairs here just weren't made for him!

"You know, I've seen career blacksmith's smaller then you," Celes said as he rolled out his shoulders. "Just what kind of training did you use to do?"

The words brought another laugh from Sabin – it wasn't the first time he'd been asked that. "Living out on my own was part of it. You know Master Duncan showed me how to build my log cabin from scratch? Never helped, but he showed me everything I needed to do. Longest month of my life!"

He shook his head. "But no, most came from Master Duncan's training. Balance of oneself was a core of his training – strong mind, strong body. Any powerful technique called for an equally powerful body to use it."

"Sounds like an interesting teacher," Celes mused. "In the army, they taught ways to use the enemy's strength against them. Make the best use of what you have. It's a necessary style with the variety of people who trained to be soldiers." As she spoke, Celes fiddled with one of her game pieces. Her manner was casual, but her eyes shone in a way that made Sabin grin. "You think you could beat someone skilled at that?"

"I'd sure like to try. Master Duncan never bothered with things like that. He'd say, 'Your opponent's strength only changes how hard you hit them'."

Her brow quirked. "Your master was trying to turn you into a bear."

"Funny you say that. First thing Terra said to me is that she thought I was one of Vargas' bears," Sabin chuckled. "Couldn't believe I was Edgar's brother."

The smile on Celes' face twitched, like it wasn't sure which direction to go, and her eyes fell. Sabin cursed his thoughtless words as she stared at the figurine in her hands, her voice quiet when she spoke. "How'd you do it for so long?" Sabin blinked from the odd response. Do what? The silence drew out a moment before Celes looked back up to him. "How'd you leave your brother for so long, never knowing if he was even okay?"

Oh, so that's what she meant. Sabin leaned against the cabin wall – rather then going back to that terrible chair – and gathered his thoughts. "It was hard at first," Sabin admitted. "I'd wanted us both to leave the castle, travel the world together. The Figaro brothers against the world!" He sighed, what a time that'd been. Looking back on it now, he'd been so young. So naive.

"But he didn't go," Celes said, her voice drawing him back. "Just you."

"Edgar's sense of responsibility was too strong to leave our family's kingdom on its own. I couldn't stay there though, not after everything, and he knew that. He chose to stay so that I could get away from it all."

"Chose to?" Celes asked. "I heard you won a coin toss."

"Yeah," Sabin chuckled. "That's what I thought happened. Until you borrowed Edgar's coin to use against Setzer." Celes blinked at that, her eyes widening a fraction, and Sabin nodded to confirm what she'd no doubt realized. "Edgar's not who he pretends to be. I think he just like the act."

He waved away the words, they were off track. "Anyway, I did get word of Edgar sometimes from soldiers in South Figaro, though I didn't get into town often. Mostly it was just trust."

Celes made a face. "Trust in what? Just that nothing bad would happen? That he'd magically be okay?"

"No," Sabin shook his head. "Trust in his ability to deal with whatever happened. Trust that he had people around him that cared about him. People like the Chancellor from our father's reign, or our old Matron, who watched over us growing up." The creases of Celes' frown fell away as he spoke, until she stared at him with an expression that was hard to read. Hope, maybe?

So Sabin continued. "And, though I haven't known her very long, I have that same trust in Terra." Surprise flashed over Celes' face as she blinked at him. He shrugged. "I mean, I don't know half of what she's been through, but I watched her stand beside my brother against Vargas, and again against an entire Imperial army in Narshe. She's not the type to let anything stop her or keep her down, I can see it in the way she holds herself, the same as I see in everyone here.

"Whatever Terra's going through, she'll get through it, and she's got all of us there to help her." Sabin stopped there – had he overstepped? After spending years with Master Duncan, Sabin gained a penchant for being long winded – his master got a little philosophical when drunk – but he generally suppressed it around the others. Celes still stared at him, expressions ghosting across her features, and he turned his gaze out the window. Maybe he hadn't been as reassuring as he'd thought.

The silence stretched on like that for a moment before Celes broke it. "You're more like your brother then I realized."

Sabin shifted back to her. "Oh?"

"You're both more then you pretend to be," Celes said with a smile – except it wasn't the same as before, and his breath skipped at the sight. It should've been the same – how many ways can a person smile? – but it spread across her features without a trace of humor and spilled into her sparkling blue eyes in a way that made her entire face seem to glow.

With some effort, Sabin tore his eyes from the sight, covering the movement with a shake of his head. If that was the woman behind the warrior, she was as stunning as she was capable. His eyes jumped around the room, seeking a new topic, and landed on the game board. "Should we play another round?"

When she shifted in her seat, Sabin let himself look back up to her and breathed a little easier as he saw her, arms crossed and smirking at him over the game pieces that she'd so dominated him at. She was Celes again, the one he was accustomed to. "Actually," Celes drawled, "I thought we could step outside for a different challenge – your training against mine. Interested?"

That brought a grin to his face. After all, he'd seen her fight. "You bet I am," he replied, pounding his fists together and heading for the door. "And don't worry, I won't throw you overboard."

Celes' laughter rang out behind him. "Tough talk. Let's see if you can back it up."

With Celes right on his heels, Sabin yanked open the cabin door. Wind gusted through the opening, its power roaring past his ears – but another, softer sound threaded through it, so low he almost missed it. He turned at her voice, but Celes just strode past and out the door. "What're you waiting for?" she called, grinning over her shoulder. "No backing out now!"

For a moment, Sabin just stared after her, watching the scabbard at her belt as it bounced in time with her steps, and her long, golden hair that billowed out in the sudden wind, flapping like a flag before Celes reached back and wrapped a tie around it. Then he stepped out and snapped the door shut behind him. Intended or not, he'd heard her over the wind, and could only shake his head in amusement. Apparently he'd have to teach her to say thank you like a normal person.

A/N: I'd never explored the dynamic between Celes and Sabin before, but now that I've dabbled in it, it intrigues me. Hm.