Author's Note: I have to say that this chapter was a real joy to write. Dialogue is something I tend to fret over because I want to keep flow without cluttering the meaning behind the words. As always, the review box is open to those wishing to write comments, critiques, and suggestions. Thank you to all readers and reviewers alike.

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Chapter 3: A Toast to Friends

The last waning day of the season, and the earth remained sprinkled with the last of the spring's blossoms. I stood beneath a tree waiting all alone for someone to visit with a kindly word of comfort. She'd been resting here as she watched over him. The gentle heifer lulled about elsewhere. Lilac rarely came near this spot where the shade lingers throughout the day, for she sensed the disturbed soil beneath this tree. There... right at my feet was someone who didn't belong under the surface.

Aaron, what the hell do you want me to do, dammit?

I know that some prayers go unanswered. Even so, I carefully lowered myself to have a heart to heart with my old friend. My bad knee almost jammed, but since I'd reached the ground, I made it without too much trouble physically. I imagined him smiling up to me as though he had one of life's secrets crawling into his mind. Right here, back against the skinny trunk is where he used to sit, and the pair that we were we'd discuss both the little things in life to the bigger scene before us.

You always had the answers, so I have to ask. Did you know you were going to die so soon?

Although there was no one to reply with words, I have the answer, and it's one I don't want to own. He felt the end coming each passing day in that last year, and he told me about the pains with the look in his eye. He knew he was a dying man which I can simply image tore him apart further on the inside. To see death running you down is far, far worse than ignorance. If you don't see the end pursuing you, you can live without concern. When you're staring it down in the face... you're stuck there, unable to flee... unable to live.

Why didn't you say something? I wouldn't have locked you away, but at least I could've been there if it was too much to bear.

More silence followed, but I remained at his side. Aaron saved my sorry ass once as a young man. He was fifteen then though I couldn't have guessed it. By no measure was he tall or chiseled, but he had such a fierce fighting spirit in his copper eyes. Until that moment, I only caught glimpses of him backstage... with Alexandra. That was what caused my hate to seed and from there grow. From the first time I saw that gray, newspaper boy's cap over his brunette head, I wanted him gone.

Now you really have left, and I wish you were back here with me. Strange how things alter themselves, isn't it?

"Hey, Taka, you're back!" she greeted me with a smile and a whole-hearted wave.

She was on her own again that day, but she didn't appear to be as worn out as she had on other days by then. I was surprised to see her clothes weren't caked with dirt like usual. "Afternoon, Tanya. Been busy?" I asked raising my brow.

"Yeah, sorta," she admitted shyly. She wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Where'd you head off to?"

She glanced away, blushing, "Just to see Marlin. I had a question about my seeds, and you told me he knows his stuff, so..."

"No need to be embarrassed," I assured her. "Marlin's a good guy once you get past the gruff exterior."

"Do you and him go drinking often?" She seemed interested. Until now, she only drank with me at the Blue Bar. Given the distant gaze, it wasn't a hard guess as to why. She was a fairly easy read.

"I guess. Why? You wanna come?" I offered, my voice brighter than it should've been.

"Yeah, sorta," she said with a smile.

Well, old friend, I'm not sure what to tell you that night, but Goddess knows we were gonna have another go at being young.

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A rather strange gathering of valley regulars-the twins, Gustafa, Nami, and Carter-had already placed themselves at the bar's counter when we arrived with me trailing behind once again. The way was dark earlier that night as the time for the new moon had come. I saw them some passes ahead talking uncertainly with one another. However, she was far more comfortable with him than he was with her. It was in his nature, I suppose. Really, I thought highly of Marlin because he appeared to be someone I could relate to being that he was quiet and reserved for the most part. It may not be a manly observation, yet I'm confident it's true. She'd need a husband like him one day.

Setting up couples has never been my forte, but I reasoned I could have some say in this one. Men have their own way of getting things like relationship moving along though we might not be as talented as women at it. All it takes is a few drinks, some sparse comments, and the fellow's gears start turning. Being that the man was an associate of mine would undoubtably make the whole job easier, and I couldn't be jealous of a close friend.

Wait... jealousy wasn't a concern... Or was it?

"Pull up to the bar fellas!" Griffin called to us in the doorway. "There's enough room left for you lot!"

Grinning awkwardly towards the full house, Marlin and I hesitated before Tanya set her sights on charging into the drunken fray. She looked ready for an eventful evening while ushering us in to join. I laughed in spite of myself at her childish antics. What would a father do? I had to wonder. The patrons were in a frenzy tonight while Muffy and Griffin were hauling ass to keep every man, and Nami, satisfied. Drunken yammerings blistered a person's ears, and with all the yelling across the bar, one couldn't make out anything resembling a conversation.

"Come on guys! I got us a spot!" she waved ecstatically. She had sat herself on the far end of the counter. I could see she wanted desperately to be the center of attention, but she was too kind to pull two conservative sorts into that mass of confusion. Her eyes never left us while we continued to putts in the entry, too unsure to budge. At last I saw her sigh, drag Muffy away from Kassey's demands to order up a couple bottles, one of Cherry Pink and one of Stone Oil, and head back our way.

"Let's go, boys. We'll come another time," she cooed. "I can't enjoy myself when you feel so out of place."

"If you want to stay, we can drink outside," I offered.

"Naw, I wanted to come with you two," she assured me. Marlin and I just followed behind as she burst with tales she'd gathered that day. Apparently seeing the twins and their flirtatious behavior gave her quite the laughing fit, and she chatted excitedly about the traveling bard and all his wonderful stories. She seemed pretty impressed with his guitar playing although she didn't care for his voice. However, I wasn't focusing clearly on what she had to say, for my mind had drifted elsewhere as I wondered why she'd leave the bar being that she found the people there so captivating.

We're Tanya's boys, I realized then. She may have loved a good party, but when she's found someone who needs her around, she can't turn her back on them for her pleasure. She wanted to have us with her because she knew otherwise we'd be on our own, and that was something she never wanted. For someone to be as alone as she was...

Marlin muttered to me, "Where are we gonna go?"

"It's her call," I said casually. "She invited us to join her, so what'll it be?"

"Let's go to the grave," she suggested. "I know it's a weird place to share a drink, but I figure Dad could use some company."

"Fine by me." I answered with a shrug. "How about it, Marlin?"

"You guys are odd."

She cackled and snickered back, "Well, at least you won't be on your own on that one."

I couldn't have imaged I'd be sitting beside my old friend while sharing drinks with the ones I had left. Where he lay was bare, so we made ourselves comfortable in a crescent shape around him as his daughter dolled out the drinks. She was remarkably at ease drinking practically on his grave. I had no idea whether it was a sign of love or indifference toward him, but she was trying to keep things light.

After many hours with a couple bottles gone and a trip to buy another round, we talked loudly into the early morning. Tanya kept giving out drinks one after another until she just passed the bottle. Marlin could hold his liquor, but even this was a trial tonight. My mind was going hazy, yet she continued to keep herself sturdy. I vaguely wondered where she could be putting it all with that small body of hers.

Handing me my poison, she asked, "You said Dad's favorite was Cherry Pink, right?"

"Uh-huh. He used to drink it with us every time we got together."

"I prefer Stone Oil myself, though," our friend muttered before knocking the bottle back.

"Good to know. Now I won't have to drink it all alone," she scoffed. "First time Taka drank it with me, he got so shit-faced he promised me dinner, and last week it was breakfast."

For the first time since Aaron's death, I heard Marlin roar with laughter, and soon we were all howling at the strangeness of it all. That morning had been hell. Not only was my head thundering, but I had to go to market as well. Tanya being Tanya, she dragged me out of bed around four, warning me, "If you don't make me something to eat, I'll tan your ugly hide!"

"Dear Goddess, give me strength," I mocked in prayer. I'm sure it was better off she was asleep this night, given how much her name had been misused.

"Look what you got yourself into, old man. Now you've got yourself hitched to a demanding woman. Didn't I tell you most women are like my sister, hot-headed and stubborn?"

"Vesta's not that bad," Tanya protested, putting her ear and shaking an empty bottle. With a disgusted look, she set down the lingering drops of the Stone Oil and began to work on what was left of the Cherry Pink. She winced at the sweet flavor, grumbling something along the lines of not being good alcohol with all that sugar.

"You're not the one living with her," he shot back irritably with a groan as he rocked back some.

"Well, didn't you say Celia is with her most of the time?" I asked curiously.

"That's part of the problem..." he said after a little moan.

"Oh, I see... You got yourself set on Celia, so you have to tolerate your sister because the two are on good terms," she observed with a smirk. How she could reason at this point, I hadn't the foggiest.

His face got red hot. "You don't know what you're saying..."

"Sure I do," she taunted, leaning into him. She whispered slyly grinning like a fox, "Just say it. You like Celia."

"Woman," he threatened nervously, "don't you be talking about that."

"Fine, but let's raise a toast to it, eh?" she remarked, putting an arm around his stiff shoulder and raising her glass. "To a love that will never be until a certain someone tells the girl of his dreams!"

"Cheers," I replied with a chuckle. Had Aaron been alive, I knew he would've made a similar declaration. It was in their nature to make the nights seem a little brighter, life a little more hopeful. As she poured the last drops of Cherry Pink onto his grave explaining, "Dad wants to be a part of this, too," I found my friend once again in a new face.

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Final Author's Note: I know that both Marlin and Takakura appear out-of-character in this chapter, but I felt the two would be happy drunks since they're so serious during game play. I find it strange that so many people make the two out to be bitter rivals when in AWL you can join them while they drink together in two separate cut scenes.