Wild Rose

Not too long after their encounter with Jecht, Firion and Lightning had decided to try and make their travels a bit easier and boarded the Phantom Train – a seemingly endless route as it carried them for miles on end. Neither of them said much, if anything, as they listened to the sound of the train and tracks that whisked them away.

However, as of recently, specifically during their time at Crystal Tower, Firion had been struggling with a familiar, rising feeling – that same flow of emotion that he'd first felt back at Prima Vista. Now, however…it seemed much more apparent. He was sure he knew exactly what it was, but he didn't want to assume. It seemed too crazy even to him.

He looked at Lightning, sitting adjacent to him in the opposite seat. She was staring out the window – her mind clearly focused on something and seeming completely unaware of her surroundings. He stared at her silently, wanting to speak but again, struggling to find the words. What exactly were the words though? That was his real concern. If he was right, he couldn't just flat out say it – especially at a time like this. Besides, given her rather abrupt personality, who knows how she'd react to such a thing. It was stupid to even have considered, and he again resisted speaking what was on his mind. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Not until he was positive his feelings were what he thought.

He let out a sigh and looked at Lightning once more. She hadn't moved at all. She still sat there with her eyes staring out the window. She actually seemed so…calm, relaxed – even somewhat peaceful, if only a little. Her gunblade lay on the seat next to her, surprising him quite a bit as she always had it set in its holster to be drawn easily at any time. Maybe she really was relaxed. This thought made him reconsider something – that maybe it was a good time to share his swirl of thoughts. After all, he had to say something. With all that was going through his head…it was too much to keep bottled up.

He went to speak and found it easy enough to bring out the first word.

"Lightning?" he asked, a bit of shyness in his voice.

At the sound of his voice, she slowly turned her head toward him.

"Firion?" she asked in response, looking at him in question.

After such a long silence all this way, she wondered what suddenly made him speak up – at least as he had. She actually thought he might have fallen asleep at one point.

Firion stared at her – his nerves racking as he choked on his words yet again. Why? Why did this always happen? Why every time it came to Lightning, did it become so hard for him to speak? He was actually getting annoyed at himself now. Whenever he wanted to speak, that was when he couldn't find it in him to. Any other time, the words would have come out with ease...but, those were the times he opted to keep quiet. It was an aggravating sense of irony and he hated himself for it. He just wanted to understand what this was all really about.

After a few moments of hesitation, he found it in him to bring out more words - and was surprised to find that she was still looking at him, anticipating exactly such.

"I was thinking…" he said softly, staring at the floor now.

He closed his eyes for a moment and Lightning shifted her head, looking at him with a puzzled expression: like she was trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"…Yeah?" she asked.

He could feel the words right there at the tip of his tongue. They were almost out.

"Just open your mouth and say it already! Come on!" he yelled in his head.

Instead, however, he hesitated once again…and the words sank from his lips - the moment gone just like that.

He sighed once again. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe he'd let that just happen once more. He shook his head in disgust of himself. This was just too ridiculous now.

"…Nothing." he mumbled, regrettably.

He stood up.

"It's not important. I'm sorry." he said.

He really just needed to rest now more than ever, and walked away without another word – moving to the back of the train car and lying down.

Lightning was more confused than ever; completely dumbfounded as she watched him walk away. He was acting completely different than how he usually behaved, and she couldn't even begin to fathom why. Out of all times in this series of events up to this point, this was by far the strangest one yet. She had no idea what was going on – or, what to make of it.

"What's his deal?" she thought, as she sat back in her seat.

She thought a moment and something came to her mind. As unlikely as it seemed, she couldn't shake the feeling that it could still be exactly so.

"He couldn't possibly…" she thought, leaning forward again as her mind stuck on this thought for a moment.

It made sense, but…there was no way it could be. Who in their right mind would think such a thing? Especially when it came to her? The whole idea was ludicrous – as so was that such a thought had ever crossed her mind in the first place. She shook her head in disbelief – completely brushing it off. She had bigger things to worry about and wasn't about to be tied down by some childish thoughts.

"…No." she mumbled.

She sat back again, folded her arms, and stared out the window once more– albeit, this time with a straight face, as the train continued to carry them down the never-ending tracks.

*Author's Note* - Sorry for the really late updates. I'm falling behind in everything lately. I know this chapter may not seem completely thought out, but as I've said…it's harder than I thought to write a story like this – especially when improvisation is needed.