Chapter 52 - Loose Lips

7.8.1206 - Saturday

Randy desperately searched around the shelves of Nyo-Sui-An Imports for a certain drink. He was mentally kicking himself for not buying it back in Ordis during the field exercise there.

"Damn, I knew they wouldn't have it." Randy said to himself.

"Randy, are you looking for something?" Rean asked as he walked up to Randy.

"I've been looking for some rum that's made in Ordis. I should've looked for it when we were IN Ordis. But we were so busy the whole time, I didn't have time to." Randy answered.

"Yeah, we definitely didn't have any free time." Rean said in agreement.

The two stood silent as they recalled everything that had happened during their field exercise in Ordis.

"So… you like rum?" Rean asked in an attempt to continue the conversation.

"Well, I promised a friend I'd have a bottle of it. But I haven't been able to find the kind I'm looking for." Randy explained.

"I see…" Rean replied.

Randy watched as Rean went silent. It looked like he was thinking about something.

"Hm, I bought a bottle of rum recently. And I think it was made in Ordis…" Rean thought to himself. Maybe it would be a good idea to give it to Randy as a gift.

"Something on your mind? Listen, I know you snuck off to Raquel with all those women, but you don't need to go down memory lane in front of me." Randy joked.

"S-Sorry, but do you mind waiting here for a moment? I think there's something in my dorm room that might help with your current predicament." Rean responded.

"Sure thing." Randy replied. The odds were slim, but maybe Rean had what he was looking for.

With that, Rean exited Nyo-Sui-An Imports and made his way to the dormitory.

"Good evening, Rean. What are you planning to do with that?" Towa greeted as she saw Rean exit his dorm room with a bottle of rum.

"Good evening, Towa. I was thinking about giving this to Randy. I bought it as a souvenir for myself, but I haven't really bothered drinking it myself. It's probably in better hands with someone who'll drink it." Rean answered.

"Aw, how sweet. Oh, by the way, I'm going to be busy all evening. Principal Le Guin left me in charge of organizing next week's lesson plans, so feel free to stay in your dorm room for the night. Of course, I wouldn't mind having company in my dorm room." Towa informed Rean.

"I see then. Maybe I can help-" Rean offered before getting interrupted.

"No Rean, you've already done enough for me today. I can handle it by myself." Towa assured Rean.

"Fine, if you say so. I should hurry back to the import shop. Don't want to keep Randy waiting for too long. Have a good evening, Towa!" Rean replied before making his way to the stairs.

"Have a good evening, Rean!" Towa responded as she made her way to her dorm room.

Rean quickly returned to Nyo-Sui-An Imports and handed Randy the bottle of rum he had in his dorm room.

"Sorry for the delay. Is this the bottle you were looking for? It's called 'Marian's Rum'." Rean asked.

"'Marion's Rum'... This is exactly what I was looking for! How did you get this?" Randy questioned as he examined the bottle.

"Haha, I guess I got lucky. You can have it, Randy!" Rean answered.

"You know I can't just accept this for free." Randy pointed out.

"Well, you got drinks for me in the past. So how about you pay for the next time we go out for drinks and we'll call it even?" Rean suggested.

"Hmph. All right, you've got a deal. Jeez, you can be really amazing sometimes. Well then. You have my most gracious thanks, Mister Schwarzer. But seriously, thanks. I'll take good care of this." Randy responded.

"Haha, you're welcome." Rean replied.

The two shared a handshake before Rean left Nyo-Sui-An Imports to continue his evening patrol around Leeves, leaving Randy all by himself.
"Geez. Of all the people this empire I could've been co-workers with, it had to be with someone who gives Lloyd a run for his money when it comes to getting involved in other peoples' business. Just how many baby-faced errand boys are there on this continent?" Randy said to himself as he thought about all his friends back in Crossbell.

After finishing up his evening patrol around Leeves, Rean made his way back to the dormitory, ready to call it a night. Not by going to bed of course, he figured that it would be a good idea to get in some extra training before paying Towa a visit.

Just as Rean was about to enter his dorm room however, he was greeted by one of his co-workers.

"Oh. Hey, Rean. You done with work today?" Randy greeted as he made his way up the stairs.

"Hi, Randy. Yeah, but I'm not planning to hit the hay just yet." Rean answered.

"Haha, good to hear. Wanna hang out for a little? Been thinking of cracking open that rum you got me." Randy offered.

Seeing it as an opportunity to get to know his co-worker better, Rean agreed and followed Randy to his dorm room.

Randy quickly set up a small table and pulled out some chairs so they could drink without having to worry about spilling the rum over anything important on his desk.

Rean admittedly wasn't too sure if drinking the rum was a good idea. After all, he knew from experience that he was a lightweight, so one sip of rum might take him out of commission for a few hours.

"Say Randy, weren't you saving it for-" Rean questioned Randy as he watched him place two shot glasses on the table.

"We're just gonna have a little taste. He won't mind, so don't worry about it. I hear rum from the coastal areas is pretty hard to come by. This is just my little way of saying thanks." Randy explained.

"Haha. Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse?" Rean commented.

With that, Randy filled up their shot glasses. The two quickly gave a toast, before taking their first sips.

"Wow… This stuff is pretty strong. Not quite as strong as that Spiritus stuff Sara recommended, but…" Rean noted.

"North Ambrian liquor, eh? Haha, well, few drinks can rival that stuff. But I think this one was about 75%. So I'd say that's still pretty strong, yeah?" Randy pointed out.

"'Pretty strong'? I think we're way past 'pretty' here. That said, it's got just a little bit of sweetness to it. I can tell it's a high-quality drink." Rean commented.

"Haha, glad to hear it. I gotta wonder why this drink was in that village." Randy said to himself.

"That village?" Rean repeated.

"Ah, right. Before I came to Crossbell… I was still a jaeger with the Red Constellation. I've got some bitter memories from back then." Randy revealed.

"I see… But if you're planning to drink this with him… That means you've gotten past those bitter memories, right?" Rean asked.

"Haha, true. More I think about it… I sure am one lucky bastard. I've got friends, partners, people I can call family. And coming here, I got a bunch of good students and co-workers on top of all that." Randy answered as he turned to look at a picture he had framed on his desk.

Rean recognized a few faces. Mainly Lloyd, Tio, Randy himself, and that green-haired girl he saw with Lloyd and Arios back in Crossbell, but it was still enough for him to conclude that it was a photo with all the members of the SSS.

"Randy…" Rean replied.

"Sorry for getting serious all of a sudden, but there's something I gotta do, no matter what. Depending on how things play out, I might even have to go up against you. With that in mind-" Randy continued before getting interrupted by Rean.

"It's all right. I understand what you're trying to say. About your situation… and his. But even so, I want you to remember that there are people in the empire who won't stand for the current situation, and who are trying to change things for the better, too." Rean informed Randy.

"Rean… Hahaha. Let me rephrase that 'good co-worker' bit I said before. You're more like my clumsy younger pal who's super direct and can't stop himself from blurting out the corniest lines in the book. I'd say that's a better fit for you." Randy teased.

"Haha. Oh, yeah? Well, I'd say that makes you the older pal who's got my back. The pal who looks like a shifty womanizer, but is actually surprisingly caring." Rean teased back.

"Oooh, touche. Speaking of… which one of those lovely ladies is your main squeeze? Is it the blonde one!? The blue-haired swordswoman!? Or the one with the glasses!? Don't tell me it's that cute little fairy!?" Randy questioned.

"L-Like I said, they're-" Rean tried to clear up before Randy continued listing off more potential suitors.

"What about the princess!? I hear that House Schwarzer and the royal family have been quite close for generations, it would make sense for both families to just become one already. Oh, what about that local nun!? You've been visiting her pretty frequently throughout this entire school year. Was it one of the chicks you were drinking with during the field exercise in Ordis!? The blue-haired chick from the RMP definitely seems cold, but I'm sure a charmer like you can make her melt without much issue. Then there's the pink-haired Bracer chick, oh man your poor liver." Randy continued.

Rean couldn't help but feel strange as Randy continued incorrectly guessing who his girlfriend was. That's when he realized that the rum was finally starting to hit his system. It hit like an orbal truck; he could feel himself losing the ability to think straight. It wasn't even a big sip, but he was already beyond being able to think sober. Without even thinking, his body took another sip of his shot glass, and then another sip, and so on.

"H-Haha… HAHAHAHA!" Rean began drunkenly laughing as he finished drinking every last drop of rum in his shot glass.

"C'mon, was I close?" Randy replied before taking another sip of his shot glass

"N-Not even close!" Rean answered.

Randy was surprised by how much of a lightweight Rean was. All it took was a single shot glass of rum and he was already drunk. Although judging by Rean's blunt reply, it seemed like the rum had the same effect on him as a truth serum.
"Oh this is going to be fun." Randy thought to himself as a mischievous grin grew on his face.

"W-What's so funny?" Rean questioned.

"If I'm really that far off the mark, then what do you really think of them, huh?" Randy responded.

"H-Hmph, fine. They're all nice friends." Rean answered.

"C'mon, give me the dirt." Randy continued.

"Sorry to say, but only one girl makes my heart flutter." Rean revealed.

"Oh, that's right: your old Student Council President!" Randy recalled.

Randy had no clue who the Student Council President during Rean's time at Thors was, but that wasn't enough of a deterrent to stop him from asking Rean more questions.

"Man, you went straight for the top, huh?" Randy continued.

"I-I didn't do it on purpose… S-She helped calm me down on my first day, and then one day I finally built up the courage to properly introduce myself." Rean drunkenly explained as his face began to turn a bright shade of red.

"And?" Randy replied.

"She was sooooo cute! I felt like an idiot for thinking she was in the same grade as me… S-She was my upperclassman…" Rean continued.

"So you like 'em slightly older huh? My man!" Randy responded before giving Rean a fist bump.

"S-She was really overworked… Sara told her that I had arrived to help her, and her smile… Oh Aidios, her smile! I couldn't say no to her… I became her little helper for the rest of the school year." Rean drunkenly admitted.

"Haha, so you were at her beck and call then?" Randy asked.

"I was… G-Granted we did other things together. L-Like she tutored me, she gave me a tour of Heimdallr, and she even gave me a personal performance. She wore this bold costume, and I-I didn't know where to look… E-Eventually she asked me to spend the school festival with her…" Rean continued.

"So did you shoot your shot during the school festival?" Randy questioned.

"I-I did… but…" Rean answered before looking away.
"Say no more. It happens to all of us." Randy assured Rean.

"I didn't talk to her for a few days after that… I was so scared that she'd reject me. Then the civil war happened… After a few months apart we were reunited onboard the Courageous. She was promoted to captain when Prince Olivert and Viscount Arseid left the Courageous in our care. T-Things healed between us… She asked me to help tutor her on how to use her orbal gun, then we accidently shared a k-kiss… her best friend set us up on a date, I uh… took her to meet my folks back home, a-and we spent the night before the final battle together… Once we were alone, all the walls between us fell… And we told each other how we really felt… It turned out that the feeling was mutual, haha…" Rean continued.

"So after confessing you two spent the night together, huh? Nice." Randy noted.

"Haha…" Rean awkwardly laughed.

"Then what happened? Randy asked.

"After the civil war ended, I was shipped off to Crossbell for a few months. After I got back to Trista; I made my way to her office after spending some time with my classmates so I could see her again. After a month of dating… She graduated and went back to her family's place in Heimdallr. Things got difficult again due to being long distance, but we did our best to stay in touch. We even held a meeting with our families to finally make things official between us. Then I got shipped off to North Ambria…" Rean revealed.

"Yikes. Talk about bad timing." Randy noted.

"I-I eventually came back, I even stayed over at her family's place for a few days before heading back to Thors. Then I graduated and moved in with her family so we could sort out our lives." Rean continued.

"I see. I guess you're really looking forward to the upcoming field exercise in Heimdallr then?" Randy noted.

"You bet!" Rean replied.

"Man, I don't even know the identity of the woman in question." Randy complained.

"H-Haha. Goes to show how well we are at keeping things professional. You'll just have to wait for us to go public." Rean teased.

"Alright, I've had my fun. It's getting late, we should get some shut eye now. Studs like us need our beauty sleep." Randy suggested before getting up and putting away the rum.

"Already? O-Oh man… and here I was ready to ask for seconds." Rean joked as he wobbled over to the door.

"Careful Rean. Want me to walk you to your dorm room?" Randy offered as he made his way towards Rean.

"D-Don't worry about me… I-l know my way around these parts…" Rean replied as he exited Randy's dorm room.

Randy watched as Rean wobbled over to Towa's dorm room.

"I uh, should probably go get him before he embarrasses himself in front of Towa." Randy thought to himself before exiting his dorm room.

As Randy stood outside Towa's door, he heard the opposite of what he was expecting on the other side.

"R-Rean!? What happened? Wait, the rum! Did you drink some of it!?" Towa commented as she saw Rean enter her dorm room.

"H-Haha… Sure did! Randy asked the strangest of questions. He thought I was dating a bunch of my friends… And he never even mentioned you…" Rean drunkenly informed Towa as he laid down on her bed.

"It's for the best Rean. It means we've been doing a great job keeping things professional while at the workplace." Towa replied as she sat beside him in bed.

"Say Towa… D-Do you think we would've still met if Sara didn't set us up?" Rean asked before yawning.

"Rean, I'm sure we would've met regardless. As your former Student Council President, I would've personally done something if I saw you loitering around the school grounds. Who knows, maybe I could've gotten my own personal secretary." Towa assured Rean as she put a blanket over him so he could sleep comfortably while she finished her work.

"What the- Hey wait… So Towa's the mystery lady Rean rambled about earlier. Now it all makes sense. Man, I feel dumb for not realizing this earlier." Randy thought to himself.

With the newfound knowledge of the faculty romance going on at the branch campus, Randy returned to his dorm room to get a good night's rest. Especially now that he had new material to tease some of his co-workers with.


Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Felt like we were long overdue a chapter of Rean just hanging out with Randy. And what better time than when Rean's intoxicated? I fear what a branch campus staff drinking party would look like.