There was a knock on the door.

"Ma! There's someone's at the door."

"So go answer it then! I'm cooking dinner."

"Pa?"

"You lazy son of mine, you're nearer!"

"But I'm hungry!"

The knock was repeated.

"And there's someone waiting outside! Go answer it already before I thrash you."

"You can't do it to me anymore, I'm a grown man!"

"You're already legal, but I can still teach you a thing or two! You think you're better just 'cause you're taller now, huh?"

"Bring it, old man! The loser hands over his portion of tonight's dinner."

"BOTH OF YOU STOP ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!" came the voice from the kitchen. "And you worthless son of mine, if you don't answer that door, you won't eat anything, I swear to the Goddess!"

"Ouch! Alright, but just so you know, these are how feelings of resentment are built! Never threaten to deny a hungry man his dinner—"

A door is opened.

There was a woman on the steps. She slowly pulled her hood back to reveal eyes that were hauntingly beautiful; sad and familiar in ways that he saw in his dreams every night. She smelled of spring and wet earth, and always, of the cold mountains where she was born. And something else...

"Hello. Zack Aquarius Fair."

Stunned silence. "Oh..."

"Do you remember me?"

He blinked several times before he replied. "Of course I do! You're not..." He sighs and runs his hand through his dark spiky hair. "Not very easy to forget." A slight smile tugs at his lips. "You were the best mountain guide there ever was. And last time was... unforgettable."

She looks down and shifts her feet. A conflicted frown appears on her forehead. She half-turned as if to leave, but before she could move any further, his arms came around her and prevented further movement.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I heard about what happened to your hometown. I thought I'd never see you again. I've tried to find you, but..." He was a good foot taller than she was, and the position was more awkward than comforting, but god, how he missed her! He bowed his head and inhaled deeply. There was that scent again, a faint smell quite unlike any other. He frowned as he recognized what it was—blood. His eyes widened and he pulled back to look at her. He began to notice things that should not be there; the dark lines under her eyes, the tattered condition of the cloak she wore, a caked dark stain that clung onto her cloak, the unusual bulge on her chest.

There was a pleading look in her eyes. "I..." Something moved in her arms. She stepped back. "I'm so sorry. But I... I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"Ah..." His eyes were fixed on her torso, where she cradled something underneath her cloak, something that looked suspiciously like—

"DINNER'S READY!"

"Let's eat! Who's at the door? Why don't you invite them in for supper?"

"Is that—" He looked up at her startled eyes. She blinked once, twice, then lowered her eyes and nodded.

"What's the matter, son? What could possibly prevent you from racing towards food—Ahh, well, hello there."

"H-Hello."

"Come in, come in! We don't often see a pretty young thing like you in these parts. What can we do for you?"

She hesitated again. She was tense and if he didn't do something soon, she would leave. "Pa, uh... remember last summer..."

"When you came back and you wouldn't stop talking about some girl that you met in the mountains? The one who kicked your ass?"

"PA!" His panicked blue eyes locked with the girls' in weird mix of expression of horror and apology.

"What? Of course I remember, you kept on yammering about it so much my ears rang for days—" he received a none too subtle elbow to the ribs and inclined his head towards the young woman in front of them. Two pairs of blue eyes locked on to her and the way her face had turned into a deep shade of pink.

"Oh... errr..."

"Ah, that is..."

She raised her dark eyes, shook her head and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by another voice.

"What's going on? I labour all day to prepare good food for you, and you let it grow cold?"

In the silence that followed, a baby's cry was heard. They all turned to look at the young woman as she slowly parted the folds of her cloak to reveal a newborn infant with eyes the colour of a clear summer sky.

There was a gasp, and then all eyes turned to the young man who had suddenly become very quiet, so unlike his usual self. He scratched the back of his head and looked up to hold the gaze of the young woman who stood helplessly cradling the child against her.

When he spoke, his voice was steady. "Ma, Pa... Didn't you say you've always wanted a grandchild?"

Somewhere in the lifestream, two spirits found each other and finally knew peace. Then one of them spoke.

"If that idiot teaches my son stupid things, I'm going to haunt him."

A/N: And that's it! I'm thinking about writing another story that would follow this, but it all depends on the interest. So leave a review, and I hope that you've enjoyed the read. :D