A/N : Hello everyone ! First of all, thank you for the reviews, the favorites and the follows! I didn't think that the first chapter was a good one, but I'm really happy to know that you enjoyed it. I hope that you'll like this second chapter too! Again, thank you very much.

Disclaimer : Tales of Xillia belongs to Namco Bandai (what a pity...Not sure that Jude & Milla would have been the heros...)

Edit : Thanks to Ryuchu who pointed my mistakes and helped me to fix them! *big hug*

Chapter 2: A Reunion

When she arrived in Trigleph, Leia was tired. She didn't know the way. It had been too long and she was too accustomed to the dimensional power of Muzet. The young girl sighed and searched for Alvin who had to come picking her, by Rowen's saying. But he was nowhere and Leia wondered how long she would have to wait. Jeez, this man…, she thought while walking and looking around. Not knowing what to do, she finally decided to wait at a café, where she asked for a soda.

While drinking it, Leia thought about the mission that Rowen gave her. By his sayings, Pater searched for new members and she only had to make them believe that she was an Elympian who wanted to subdue Rieze Maxia. That mean that I can't use artes…, she thought. It was something difficult; after all, every Rieze Maxian used the power of Spirits, and it was hard to imagine that she couldn't use it. She sighed. Why Elympios' and Rieze Maxia's people couldn't be happy all together? She smiled a little: if Agria had been here, she would probably say that Leia wanted it to rain kittens. Well, perhaps she was correct, after all.

Leia noticed that she didn't have soda anymore and wanted to ask for another one when a man's deep voice said:

"I'm sorry for being late, I had some issue to settle with Yurgen."

The young girl looked at the man who just arrived and smiled a little.

"You'll be punished."

"Treat your elder better, girl."

"My elder?" She repeated. "Oh yeah, you." She continued with a grin.

"Barely here and already cheeky."

It wasn't her fault if she wanted to tease him. She just wanted to forget that she wasn't totally fine around her friend. Of course, she trusted him, but a part of her didn't want to. The events of six months ago were still in her memories, filled them when she didn't want, like right now. Alvin seemed to be fine, or perhaps he hid it very well, like he always did, but she didn't want to know, and she wouldn't bring this story up now. After all, it was the past…Or it was what she said to herself every day.

Like Rowen, Alvin didn't change a lot. A beard began to grow, which gave him a little mature side, and that's wasn't for her displeasure. He changed his outfit too, she noticed, and he looked like a business man more than a mercenary. Of course, he had still his scarf; Alvin without a scarf wasn't Alvin.

The man sat down in front of her and asked for a cup of coffee. Until it came, they remained silent, as if something was disturbing them, and Leia knew what: finally, Alvin wasn't better than her to hide what he felt. It was an awkward moment and the young girl was sure that if they had been able to do it, the two of them wouldn't met each other. Not now, at least.

"So…" Alvin finally began, after he drank a little bit of his coffee. "How have you been since the last time we met?"

Leia opened his mouth but no sound came. The last time they met, it was after their final battle against Muzet and Gaius. Of course, they sent letter to each other – and Leia felt jealous when she saw that Alvin had beautiful writing – but it was only a letter when they could. If she remembered well, she received two letters from Alvin, and she only sent one. She felt ashamed, now.

"I'm fine, I guess. Better than six months ago."

She didn't want to say that, and she couldn't help but feel bad when she saw a light of sadness on his eyes.

"I—I mean, I'm feeling better than after the battle against Gaius and Muzet." Leia tried to correct.

"Yeah, of course."

Alvin didn't look convinced to her and she couldn't blame him. Even for herself, it looked like a lie, and it was one for sure.

"And…Hm…You, how are your affairs with Yurgen?"

"Good for now." He replied without looking her in the eyes.

"Oh…I'm glad for you." Leia said.

They didn't say a thing for a while, busy with their drinks. Leia liked the silence between them, especially after what she said. She hoped that Alvin wouldn't mind it, but she knew that it was impossible.

"So, you're here on vacation for some months? It's a long time of rest, but I won't judge you for it." Alvin said, breaking the silence.

Leia opened her mouth, ready to ask what he was talking about, but she stopped herself quickly. Alvin didn't know she was on a spying mission, and Rowen asked her to not tell him. She still wondered why, and even if she tried to ask her old friend a lot, he didn't reply at all.

"Yes." She finally answered. "I'm sorry to bother you."

"You don't bother me. My apartment will be alive with someone else."

"You live alone?"

"With whom can I live?"

"I – I don't know." She admitted. She always imagined Alvin with different woman every day, but perhaps he wasn't like this. Or he didn't want to talk about it. "Don't you have any pets?"

"Pets?" He repeated.

"Yes. I remember that you said you love cats."

"I don't have time to take care of a pet."

"But you have time for me."

It was the turn of Alvin to open his mouth before closing it. They were quiet for some minutes, when…

"You're not a pet."

"But it's the same thing, right? You will have someone at your apartment when you'll come back."

"…And that's why it's not the same thing. You can talk, not a cat."

"But you said "my apartment will be alive with someone else". If it's only a presence that you want, you can take a cat."

Alvin sighed and Leia smiled, proud. Then, he took his wallet, muttering some words, that she didn't understand, before putting money on the table. Then, he called the waiter, and stood up. Leia took her wallet too, and Alvin frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"It seems that we're leaving, so I'm going to pay my—"

"Stop it already. I paid for you."

"I don't need—"

"Stop being stubborn."

Alvin had taken her arm and brought her through Trigleph. They didn't talk during this time, and they didn't mind it. It was like silence was something normal for them, like it was their way to talk.

They arrived in front of a big building, which looked like every other one on the street. They came in and, still quiet, they took the elevator until the fourth floor. Then, they went to the end of the floor and Alvin opened his door before letting Leia enter first.

The man's apartment was simple, Leia thought. She was in the living room, where the wallpaper was black, while the sofa, and others furniture, were white. She continued to the kitchen, which was a little bit different: the walls were white and the furniture was red. It was like Alvin didn't want more than two colors for every room of his apartment. Somehow, Leia felt a little bit sad. There was no music, no noise around, and she could understand why Alvin felt alone.

"So, you finished visiting?"

She started a little and looked at Alvin. The man grinned and she pouted like a little girl. Then, the man tousled her hair before saying:

"It seems that I have a little cat, now."

"Take care, I can bite."

"A wild one, I might add."

"Hmpf."

After this little conversation, Alvin showed her the room where she was going to sleep. It was a little room, with a wallpaper blue with white cat, a bed against the wall and a window. To the opposite of this, there were some furniture to put her clothes, and a desk.

"It's the only room with different wallpaper…" She commented, more for herself that for Alvin.

"Oh yeah, it's because the former tenant had a child. It was her room, and I thought it was cute, so…"

He kept quiet whereas red appeared on his cheeks, which made Leia smile. So, he thought it was cute, huh? Well, perhaps he imagined his own child in this room? It was strange to imagine Alvin with a wife and a child, but she believed that he could be a good father. He wouldn't want his children to live what he lived and, of course, he would do everything for them.

"Anyway, I'll let you unpack your luggage. If you need something, I'll be in the kitchen, cooking for diner."

Leia nodded and the man left the room, closing her door. The young girl sighed and sat down on the bed, thinking about what happened. She met Alvin for the first time since six months and she was surprised to see that she wasn't as scared as the thought of being in his presence. Of course, there was still a little bit of awkwardness between the two of them, but perhaps, over time, everything will be fine. The girl stood up and went near to her luggage.

Now, she had to be ready for her mission.