And the Clock Struck Twelve

By seraphimstarlight

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Tales of the Abyss or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay everyone! Chapter 20 is finally here. Thank you all for your support of the previous (and hopefully…future) chapters. Again, thank you all!

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Tear slumped down into a chair at some tiny outdoor café on the outskirts of Grand Chokmah. She was craving something sweet, and, after the fiasco this morning she certainly felt she deserved it.

She waved a nearby waitress over and ordered a strawberry parfait. Extra Large. Flawless figure be damned—for the moment anyway. She'd worry about the consequences tomorrow and maybe add a few more laps to her morning run.

But, she reflected as she ate her first spoonful of the cool, creamy concoction, she couldn't really say that what had happened earlier was entirely Luke's fault. That's just the way he was, right? After all the years she had known him, she should have known better than to expect else of him. Right?

She ate another spoonful. She should have known better than to expect him to say something sweet or romantic along the lines of "Of course I would marry her," or any of the million other things he could have said.

But he had always been like that and probably would always be the same. And though that thought frustrated her to some degree, she couldn't bring herself to be truly angry with Luke himself. As she had told herself each time he did something like this, it's just the way he was. And she loved him, regardless.

She swallowed a few more spoonfuls of the parfait just so the glass was half-full before placing some gald on the table and standing to leave. Just as she was turning to head back in the general direction of the inn, a familiar shout rang out.

"Hey, Tear!"

She turned instinctively towards the familiar voice. "Guy."

And someone was with him. Inwardly, she cringed. Knowing her luck, Luke would be with him. And though she was not, per se, angry with Luke, she certainly did not want to see him at the moment. To her relief, however, the person with him was not Luke but Noelle.

"And Noelle," she amended. "It's good to see both of you. What are you doing out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he said. "But as for your question, I was just showing Noelle around town. What about you?"

Tear glanced away. "Nothing really," she said, "just walking around."

"It's a nice city, isn't it?" Noelle added. "I've passed through here many times, but I've never really stopped to look before."

"Yes," Tear admitted, "the water is quite…soothing."

The group fell silent.

"Is something wrong, Tear?" Guy ventured after several moments of silence.

"N-not really."

He seemed to consider her words for a moment.

"Ah, I get it," he said at last, "something must have happened with Luke."

The melodist flushed all the way to her hairline. She turned away, grateful that she could hide her expression behind her long bangs. "What makes you think that?"

"Oh, a couple things," he mused. "First of all, I know he's here in the city. Secondly, you two haven't seen each other in a while. And thirdly, you two would, normally, be spending all the time you can together. The only reason you wouldn't be was if you'd had an argument."

After a moment, Tear sighed, confirming his suspicions.

He gave a nervous laugh. "What did he do this time?"

"Nothing really," she admitted, "he just said something careless. That's all."

"Well," Guy sighed, "sounds like Luke's still the same. I mean, Luke wouldn't be Luke if he didn't say a careless thing every now and again."

She felt an involuntary smile tug at the corners of her mouth as she remembered some of the careless things he had said in the past. "I suppose not," she agreed at last.

"Then why not go see him?" Guy asked. "Knowing Luke, he's probably moping around somewhere, worried out of his mind."

"Actually," she admitted, "I don't know where he is right now."

Guy seemed surprised. "Really?"

Tear glanced quickly from Noelle to the swordsman. "He had some…business to attend to in the city. He's probably gone to take care of it now." She shrugged. "I mean, I could just wait for him to show up back at the inn, but…" she trailed off, a faint blush painting her cheeks.

"You'd like to talk to him before then," Guy finished for her. "It's understandable."

"Yeah," she said after a moment.

"Well, in that case," the swordsman beamed, "I know where you can wait for him."

"Where?" Tear asked, genuinely curious.

"My manor," he answered. "Luke's been there once or twice. He probably still knows the way. If you want, you can wait for him there."

Tear glanced to Noelle. "If that's okay…"

The pilot smiled. "No, no, it's fine," she said, "In fact, I'd like to look around the city on my own for a while."

"You sure, Noelle?" Guy asked, "you can always come back to the manor if you want."

She waved him off. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "But I expect my Albiore to be in one piece when I get back."

He gave her a nervous grin. "Of course it will be. Why wouldn't it be??"

At this, Tear couldn't help but laugh. "We all know how you are when you get your hands on Fontech." She turned back to Noelle. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks Tear," Noelle said. "Y'all get going now. I'll catch up with you later."

"Right," Tear said, turning back to Guy, "now where is your manor?"

"Actually," he said, running a hand through his hair, "it's pretty close to here. Just to the east."

"Well then," she said, "I suppose we should go then?"

"Right. It's this way." He indicated towards the nearby gate, and she followed him. They turned and waved to Noelle before they left, and the pilot disappeared into the city moments later.

"You two seem to get along well," Tear said as they headed along the path towards the manor.

"What do you mean?" he asked, surprised.

"Nothing really," she mused. "I was just remembering something Luke told me."

"And what would that be?"

She laughed. "For a while, he was convinced that you and Noelle were an item."

This startled the Count. "What on earth? Why would he think that?"

"He was eavesdropping on you at Sheridan," she said with a frustrated sigh, "when you asked Noelle if you could fly the Albiore."

"Oh come on," he said with a genuine laugh, "that was something else entirely." His expression turned serious. "Besides…"

Though Tear wanted to know what it was that could disturb the normally easygoing swordsman in such a way, she refrained, feeling it was not her place to do so. Instead, she just raised an eyebrow at the comment, and the two continued to the manor in silence.

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"Luke, stop pacing."

The redhead turned to the fair-hair princess who sat patiently on the sofa at the other end of the room. "But, we've been waiting forever!"

"We've been waiting half an hour," she corrected, sipping calmly from the cup of tea that Elsi had brought her earlier.

"Where on earth could Guy have gone?" Luke muttered to himself. "When we got here, Pere had said that he'd only gone into town. He should have been back by now!"

"He'll get back whenever he get's back. There is no point in complaining about it."

Luke gave her an incredulous look. "And how can you be so calm?" he asked. "I thought you'd be at least a little worried."

"Actually," she said, placing the cup and its matching saucer on the table in front of her, "I'm probably more frightened right now than I've ever been." She looked away towards the floor. "It sounds shameful, doesn't it?"

"Not particularly," Luke said, walking over and sitting beside her on the sofa. "There's nothing wrong with being nervous. I suppose it's only natural. Even with all the assurances in the world, you'd probably still be nervous."

"I…suppose so," she said noncommitantly.

"C'mon," he said, leaning back into the soft sofa, "cheer up a little! This really isn't like you!" He gave her a slight nudge with his elbow. "If you're wearing that expression when Guy gets back, he'll be more worried about you rather than be glad to see you….Not that he wouldn't be glad to see you!" he amended hastily upon seeing her expression change.

"I know, I know."

"Just promise me one thing," he said. "Don't run away from this. I mean, if he cares about you, he really cares about you. If he says he loves you, he probably really loves you. He's lost so much in the past that it might kill him to lose something so dear to him. As his best friend, I ask you, please, don't hurt him."

She turned to look at him. "Luke." She hesitated for a moment. "All right," she said, "I promise you that I won't run. But, at the same time, he might no longer want to…be involved with me." She ignored the look that crossed Luke's face. "And I won't force him into something he might not want. So, I'll leave that decision up to him."

Luke's face crinkled up into an unreadable expression. "Natalia, I don't think—"

"If he says that he still wants to…pursue a relationship, then I will say yes."

"Natalia," Luke began warily, "are you sure you really want a relationship with him?"

She seemed genuinely startled by the question—so much so that all she could manage to do was stare, open-mouthed.

"Because," he continued, running a hand through his hair, "with the way you're going and all, it doesn't really seem like it, you know? You're so…well, to tell the truth, you just don't seem interested—like you're not even willing to give things a try.

"From the way you're acting, it almost seems like he's the second choice here. So, I'm forced to ask you—is this really what you want? Cause, if there's one thing I know, it's that he won't be happy if you're unhappy. So, if this isn't what you want, don't lie to him and tell him yes cause it'll only hurt him in the end."

She frowned and fixed himself with a critical stare. "Luke, I—"

He backed away a little. "Just…before you answer him, ask yourself…is this really what you want?"

She opened her mouth as though she would reply, but whatever she was about to say was cut off when the door to the room opened and two people stepped through. Out of habit, both Luke and Natalia stood.

For a moment, both groups stood and stared at each other. At last, Tear stepped forward and extended a hand to the Kimlascan Princess. "Natalia," she said, "it's been a while."

"Too long, my friend," she said, taking hold of the proffered hand and giving it a hearty handshake.

Luke rushed forward, and gave Guy a hearty slap on the back, catching the blonde off-guard, nearly causing him to double over. "Guy! I haven't seen you in forever!"

Guy ruffled the red-head's hair. "You saw me last month when I was in Daath, delivering messages on behalf of the Emperor!"

Luke pouted. "Yeah, but still, until a couple of years ago, I was used to seeing you every day."

Guy gave a nervous laugh. "You're still such a kid you know."

"I am not."

"Such a kid," Guy replied with a knowing sigh. "I mean, really, you don't need me anymore. You've got Tear now, right?"

Luke's face turned as red as his hair. "That—I mean—"

Guy took a step back, sighing again. "Look, she told me some of what happened this morning."

If Luke's face was red before, it was almost purple now. "S-she did?"

"Not really," he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully, "but from what she said, I gathered, you two had an argument because you said something…shall we say—"

"Stupid?" Luke suggested.

Guy frowned. "Well, I was going to say something more along the lines of 'careless', but that's beside the point. Just…ah, look, Tear wants to talk to you. She feels bad about this morning."

Luke gave his friend a helpless stare. "She feels bad? But she didn't do anything. What happened this morning was all my fault, and I feel bad enough about it for the both of us."

"Well," said Guy, giving the red-head a friendly shove, "go and tell her that. I'm sure she wants to reconcile just as much as you do. So, go and talk to her."

Luke hesitated, glancing none too subtly at the Princess. "Will…you two be okay on your own?"

For a moment, a pained look crossed the blonde's features but was quickly replaced with his normal smile. "Of course we will. Why wouldn't we be?"

Luke wanted to say something, but, for once, thought better of it.

"Okay," Luke said after a moment, "Tear and I will take a walk around the grounds. We should be back in a bit."

"Right then. You guys want something to eat when you get back? I could get the staff to prepare something."

"Nah," Luke said, shaking his head, "Tear and I should be fine. Besides, you've got more important things to attend to, don't you?"

Shock crossed the other man's face for a moment, but quickly subsided. "Yeah, I suppose you could say that," he replied vaguely.

Luke waited for him to say more. When Guy remained silent, however, Luke took the hint.

"Well," he said, "I guess Tear and I will be going then? Which part of the garden do you recommend?"

Guy merely shrugged as though disinterested. "All of it's nice, I guess."

"It's your manor, yet you don't have an opinion?" Luke mused. "I guess you must be really pre-occupied."

Guy frowned again. "Luke," he said in a dangerous tone, "I suggest you go now."

"Right," Luke agreed. "Going."

Guy watched as Luke headed over to where Tear and Natalia were still conversing and said something to Tear which made her regard him curiously for a moment before blushing several shades of crimson. She then nodded and followed him through the same doors through which she had entered not ten minutes ago.

The blond swordsman now turned his attention back to Natalia who waited rather nervously at the far end of the room. For a moment, he was uncertain of how to address her, but when he noticed that she took great pains to avoid looking him in the eye, he knew.

He started forward. "Princess," he said, placing emphasis on her title, "it is a pleasure to see you."

She drew back, as though she had been slapped but said nothing to correct him. "It is good to see you as well, Count Gailardia."

He walked over and sat down on the sofa across from her, gesturing for her to sit on the opposite chair. She did so after a moment's hesitation.

"Did you come here with Luke?" he asked, trying to keep the hope from edging into his voice. Mentally, he chided himself. Of course she came here with him. After all, why else would she be here?

"Yes," she answered, her tone hiding the unasked question: Was I unwelcome?

"Are you not…tired?" he asked, slightly concerned. "You were at the party all night, were you not?"

Of course, he knew that she had left the party halfway through, but he could not let on that he knew. But, if he just told her—just told her that he, in fact, was masquerading as the Emperor—wouldn't it make things so much easier for her? From the look of utter panic that had crossed her face the previous evening to the worry which now wrinkled her delicate features at the mention of the party, he could tell that she was, at the least, upset by the "Emperor's" attentions. But, why she was upset, he did not know for certain. If she had a genuine dislike for the Emperor, wouldn't that, by extension mean that she had a genuine dislike for him?

In that case, would telling her might not be the best thing?

He shook his head. No. That would force her into a corner—take away the choice he had sworn to give her. But, at this point, he wasn't certain what choice he had.

He wasn't certain what to say, so he said the only thing that came to mind. "I can't…I can't do this anymore."

She looked up, startled. "P-pardon?"

He looked away, avoiding her eyes. "Look, I know that…the other day, I told you to go and do what you thought best, but…"

His voice trailed off. When he looked back, he found that she was watching him, eyes wide with…hope? Or maybe it was fear. He didn't know which.

"But…what?" she ventured, her voice quiet.

He took a deep breath as though that might steady him. For a moment, he thought he could get away with staying silent, but she was still watching him. And, for a moment, he found himself completely incapable of looking away.

In that moment, the words slipped out.

"I…I want you to stay with me."

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Author's Note:

Ah, not my favorite part as it was incredibly difficult for me to write. Originally, this part was supposed to be longer, but…ah, I thought this would be a "good" place to leave off. Well, anyway, it looks like this fic will, again, be extended by another chapter (since I had to cut this one).

Anyway, again, thank you all for your support! See you next chapter!