A/N: So, after this one, there will only be one chapter left to right of this incredibly, incredibly random pairing. Seriously, I don't even remember how I thought of it...anyway, enjoy :)

Volke's POV

I have no idea how it happened…

I have no idea at all how I ended up going to the beach with Mia. She was quite a convincing speaker, I had to admit; I even came without receiving payment for doing so.

Actually being at the beach was nothing new to me — well, the beach itself was new, but the ocean I had seen several hundreds of times. And though I knew that she too had seen it before — during the Mad King's War, while our group was traveling to Begnion — the way she stared out at it was almost as though she never had seen it once in her life. Her eyes were glimmering and shinning with the reflection of the sun on the ocean's surface. Her smile was wide — definitely saying something.

"…This is amazing," she said in a breathless voice. She raised her arms up above her head and stretched. I could see her enjoying the feeling of the warm sand between each of her toes. From time to time, I would catch myself staring at her, only to remind myself of who I was…of what I was. Although, I had to admit, it was hard not to look. She wore a deep blue bikini, leaving very little to the imagination. Trust me when I say I have a lot of imagination. She turned to her side and looked up at me with her large, emerald eyes. "Thanks for coming with me, Volke."

"…Sure." I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from smiling when I saw her own. Assassins don't smile, I told myself.

"Rather inconspicuous beachwear, though," Zihark said sarcastically. I still had no idea why he had come along with Mia and me. Ilyana, I was told, had invited Mia along, and Mia then invited me the week before.

"He kinda has a point," Mia agreed. I did too, naturally; in addition to my pair of swim trunks, I still wore my mask, headband, and scarf. I noticed people staring at me as they passed us by…and if not at me, then at Mia. Mia and her slender, yet curvaceous and well-endowed body…

Stop it, Volke! You can't…not with her…not with what you are…

"I'm…so hungry," Ilyana whispered. Like Mia, she too wore a bikini, though hers was lavender, and more lacy, frilled, and…"girly," I suppose you could say. "If I…don't get something to eat soon…I'm going to pass out…"

"Aw, come with me, Illie; I'll help you find an ice cream vendor or something, and I'll buy you all the ice cream you can eat!" Mia grabbed Ilyana by the wrist and practically dragged her along behind her, leaving me alone with Zihark.

"…So…here we are," he said. "Delbray Beach…"

"…Yes." The two of us sat down on the sand as Mia and Ilyana managed to find an ice cream vendor not twenty feet away from us.

"Still not much of a talker, eh?"

"No reason to be." I glanced at the other man. "…So…why did you come? Did Mia invite you as well?"

"You mean you don't know? Strange…I always figured you knew everything," Zihark said. "Ilyana and I are engaged."

"…Oh. I…thought you couldn't be with another woman," I said. "Not after…that Laguz woman…" As I said these words, the memory of just who exactly Zihark was came back to me. Zihark…one of the least prejudiced men on the face of Tellius.

"So you know that story, but you didn't know I've been engaged for a few months?" he laughed. The man behind the ice cream vendor Mia and Ilyana were at suddenly walked away, and he was carrying a rather large armful of gold. I could only assume the two girls bought the entire thing from him, especially when Ilyana picked up an entire gallon and hastily shoved her face into it, not bothering to use the silverware that beautiful Mia had offered to her.

…Beautiful? …Maybe I do…like her…As she had said after our first conversation, the two of us spoke at least twice a day. She was always smiling whenever she had approached me; not like the others. With the exception of Ike, the other members of Greil's Mercenaries tended to avoid me unless we were in the middle of battle. But not Mia. She always took the time to search for me, and speak to me. And she never seemed nervous to do so, either. In fact…she almost seemed excited to have the chance to talk to me. It seemed like it didn't matter what she spoke about, so long as she spoke about it to me. But why me? The more conversations we had, the more I grew to enjoy them and even look forward to them. But why had she chosen me? Out of everyone there, it always made more sense to me for her to choose Rhys, Ike, Ilyana…anyone but me. But that didn't seem to bother her.

"…You've been staring at her for a while now," Zihark interrupted my thoughts. "At Mia."

"…Have I?"

"Yes, you have."

"…Zihark…there is…something I must tell you," I said. "…I…have it."

"'It?' And what exactly is 'it?'"

"…The brand."

"…I suppose that might explain a lot," Zihark said, not sounding disturbed in the slightest.

"I have told only the Duke of Fayre this before," I said.

"You mean Bastian?" Zihark asked. I nodded.

"I am a Branded child of Wolf Laguz ancestry," I continued. "I grew up in Hatari…where there is no prejudice for Laguz or Beorc…or for those who carry the brand. It wasn't until I left the paradise of isolation that I discovered the animosity held in the hearts of both races on the other side of the lost kingdom. And so, I kept my heritage a secret, and to ensure that nobody would discover my secret, I took to living in the shadows as an assassin. There…I felt the comforting isolation I once felt long ago in Hatari, under Queen Nailah's rule."

"That's one hell of a story," Zihark said. "But, why are you telling me this?"

"Because…for the first time in my life…I have somebody that I truly care about," I said. "I never knew my family, and I was alone often when I was younger, growing up in Hatari. But now…I feel like I can say for certain…that I have somebody that I love. I…love Mia…" Zihark chuckled to himself.

"Good for you. Go for it." He slapped me on the back.

"But…my heritage—"

"Oh, for Yune's sake; do you really think that girl cares?!" Zihark laughed even harder. "She stayed with the Greil's Mercenaries all the way through the war alongside the Laguz Alliance. Trust me; she holds no hatred at all for the Laguz, as I know you do not."

"But I'm not—"

"And that boy, Soren — he, too, carries the brand," Zihark interrupted. "I know the other mercenaries, and not just Ike, know that. That means Mia knows, too. I'm telling you; go for it. I've seen the way she talks to and about you; I can tell that she feels the same."

"…Thank you…Zihark," I said. The two of us sat in silence for a few hours, and watched Ilyana gorge herself with over four gallons of ice cream before returning with Mia.

"Hey, sweetie; how are you feeling?" Zihark asked.

"I'm…hic…so…full…for once…hic!" Ilyana said. Through the mess of various flavors of ice cream that were slathered all over her face, I could see a tiny smile, and her hands were resting over her swollen belly.

"Good; I'm glad you're feeling better." Zihark stood up and kissed her on the cheek, but before doing so, he quickly turned to me and mouthed the words, "Tell her."

"So, Volke, what'cha wanna to do?" Mia asked, plopping down on the sand next to me. "We've got the whole day to just do whatever! So…"

"I…need to rest," Ilyana said slowly, carefully laying herself down in the sand. Zihark sat down next to her and placed his hand over her belly to help her massage the pain away, though he was staring directly into my eyes. "I've never been…full…before…hic!"

"Aw, poor baby," Mia said.

"No…hic!...it feels…nice…better than…hunger pains…"

"I'll stay here with Ilyana," Zihark said, and rather quickly, I noticed. "You two can just do whatever you'd like."

"Well, if you say so…" Mia looked at me. I stared back at her, deep into those emerald seas… "So, what do you want to—"

"Mia…there is…something I must tell you," I interrupted. "…I have…I…have the brand."

"Oh, you mean like Soren?"

"…Yes. I have Laguz blood in my veins."

"Huh! Didn't see that coming!" Mia exclaimed. "But that's pretty cool, though!"

Not bothered in the slightest…?

"Is…that all you wanted to tell me?" Mia asked. She almost sounded disappointed.

"Do you…truly…not care about what I am?"

"Of course I care! Why? Did someone say something mean to you?!"

"Uh, no, but—"

"'Cause if they do, just direct 'em to me; I'll have a sword stuck between their eyes before they know what hit 'em!"

"Quite violently protective of your friends, aren't you?" Zihark smirked.

"Damn right I am! I even almost killed Boyd when he made fun of Ilyana being hungry all the time!"

"But…you do not…mind…what I am?" I asked.

"Of course I don't mind! Laguz are awesome! Even though you're kind of only, like, half a Laguz, I guess…Sometimes, I wish I were a Laguz; I'd be, like, the first Laguz swordswoman ever! Wouldn't that be awesome?! And if I were a hawk, I could swoop down and cut my enemies' heads off from the sky!"

"…It's almost frightening how eager you are to decapitate others," Zihark said.

"…No. I like that about her," I said. "It might seem like eagerness to kill, but all it is is eagerness to protect those dear to her. I…like that very much about her."

"Volke…"

"Mia…you always made it a point to search me out each and every day this past week, and you'd always talk to me," I said. "Everyone else other than Ike would usually avoid me, but you…you didn't. You treated me with kindness that I probably do not deserve, but you still show regardless. Mia…I love you."

"Volke…!" Mia's eyes filled with tears. Without any warning, she flung her arms around me and hugged me tightly. From behind her silky, violet hair, I could see Zihark giving me a thumbs up. "It's…the bikini, isn't it?"

"Well…you do…look…very…good…in it," I said nervously. "But…this was something…that I came to realize a little while back, even if I didn't know it at the time."

"Volke…I…I love you, too," Mia said. "Back during the Mad King's War…you saved my life…several times…and back in Begnion, outside the Tower of Guidance…you did it again." She pulled away from me; she was blushing madly and smiling wide, with a tear sliding down her cheek. "It…may not have been intentional…but I couldn't help thinking to myself…how brave you were to do that…and how dashing you looked doing it, in that black cloak, with that scarf flying behind you in the wind…" Mia sighed.

And that was how it happened. With the help of Zihark, I was able to tell Mia how I felt about her. We embraced…and we kissed.

And at that point, I felt my life truly begin.

A/N: Any Fairy Tail fans? Volke's choice in swimwear reminded me of a particular scene with Jellal, and I couldn't stop laughing XD