Now for Tear, with complimentary LukexTear fluff.

Beginnings
Neko-chan the Mewse
7/29/09

Tear was shy. It was hidden very well beneath a layer of ice. She knew it, she acknowledged it, and she got over it. It's why she knew she fit the role of Shadow so well. Her personality just didn't…shine the way Natalia's or Anise's did. After their journey to free Lorelei, she thought she had gotten over her problem with people. Yet, her shyness continued to appear at the most inopportune moments.

"Luke," she said, surprised and unable to find words.

Luke just grinned at her unabashedly, daring her to object to his presence. "Yes? What is it, Tear?" She felt a shiver run down her spine. "Is something wrong?"

Luke was looking at her so intensely… "N-no, it's nothing…" Tear said, cheeks going pink.

He held his arm out to her and smiled invitingly. "Well then, let's go! I've never been to one of your festivals."

Tear decided not to point out the silent agreement that festivals were a private thing unless Luke foresaw that it was necessary to bail that particular sentience out. She really didn't mind. She…liked his company, actually. "My favorites are the knife throwing games." She confided in him as they walked through the crowds.

"And you like eating the cinnamon fruit pastries, blueberry especially." Luke added. Tear was startled. The cinnamon fruit pastries were a recent big hit and Tear had taken to them like a fish takes to water. But how did Luke know that? When she voiced this out loud, Luke only laughed at her. "I'm the planet's memory, remember?" he teased.

Tear felt a bit idiotic at having forgotten such a vital fact. She was several centuries old, but this felt a bit like when they were mortal and had wandered about Nam Cobanda together. She had felt like a silly mortal and so had acted like one.

"It's alright, Tear. We all want to feel mortal." Tear wasn't surprised Luke knew what she was thinking. Luke had an uncanny ability to predict the future simply because he knew the way people thought. Luke stared about at the people around them wistfully before turning back to her with a soft smile. "But I have you guys, so I suppose living forever won't be so bad."

Tear felt her heart flip flop. "Not forever," she reminded him, "Just until we find others worthy of taking our titles."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You know that is not gonna happen unless something drastic happens and a group ends up setting out to save the world."

"You never know," Tear said, looking up at Luke. "Well, I suppose you do but you're not going to do anything about it." The idiot would probably neglect to tell them when and what would happen and then pretend to be just as confused as them.

"You think I spend my time predicting the future?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just because I can predict thoughts and such doesn't mean I do it all the time. Life isn't any fun if I know what's going to happen and what people are thinking."

Tear sighed, knowing that was the best she would get out of him. "Anise told me that we're resistant to change," she said, changing the subject. "How exactly does that work?"

"I think it's a way to safeguard our mentalities," Luke yawned. "We were offered these positions because we were judged to be noble or such. Making us resistant to change ensures that we maintain those qualities even though we experience so much more than most people ever would."

Tear thought about that carefully. "That makes sense," she said hesitantly. A normal person would snap under the strain of watching people die around them, yet she was barely affected at all. "Although there are some things I'd like to change." She thought about her almost relationship with Luke wistfully. They hadn't gotten farther than confessing before they found themselves trying to reorder the world and deal with the aftermath of Lorelei's release. And then Luke had disappeared, throwing another wrench into their relationship.

Luke seemed to be thinking about something as well. "Yeah, there are some things I think would be better if we changed."

"Like what?" Tear wanted to know.

Luke grinned at her impishly, grabbing hold of her hand. "Like this." And then he gently tugged her close and gave a chaste kiss to her lips.

It was startling, the effect he had on her. One tiny kiss had her heart pounding and all thoughts banished from her mind. She never noticed him fiddling with something on her hand. When Luke pulled away and gave her a heart melting smile, she knew right away that something was up. "What is it, Luke?"

Luke bit his lip and fidgeted. He was acting strangely, which was saying something seeing as he was Lorelei, and it was beginning to worry her. Before she could mention anything about it, he gently grasped her left hand and lifted to his lips, brushing a soft kiss against a ring on her ring finger. Tear suddenly found it very hard to breathe. "Tear, I know we aren't exactly normal, and therefore normal rules don't apply to us, but would you still marry me?"

Tear's breath hitched and it took all she had not to tackle him.

Forget it.

Tear tackled Luke in a desperate lunge, knocking him over. "Yes," she shrieked. "Yes, yes, yes!" She was crying, they were in the middle of a festival in public, and she couldn't bring herself to care. Luke always knew how to bring her out of her shy shell.