Filling In The Blanks
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.
Chapter 63: Help Wanted
"Can I come with you?"
Several pairs of shocked eyes landed on the mage, staring curiously at the woman, her hand gripping the doorknob.
"I don't think that'd be such a good idea –" Blank started, his eyebrows raising and disappearing under his hair that had fallen into his face during his sleep.
It was early morning, the sun's rays poking through the rusted gears on the side of the wall. The loft, full of musty blankets and mounds of pillows, was still full of people – Zidane, Cinna, Eiko, Marcus, amongst others were still sprawled out in the sun. As for Baku's old room underneath – Fratley, Steiner, and Baku were still sleeping, while Beatrix sat in the kitchen, a cup of steaming tea gripped between her hands.
Ruby raised both of her eyebrows in surprise at the new comer. She didn't think Oden would fit in very well right away, but he had surprised everyone. He was extremely quick to learn, and his wondering questions were already more practical, asking more about world events and attacks than basic uses of daily objects.
He had just asked if he could accompany her to the T Theatre Maison to play with the children there. Immediately, Blank and Beatrix moved to shoot him down, but the thiefthought better of it. Perhaps if Oden spent time with children, he would get more of a grip of just what it was they were fighting for.
"It's alright," she drew out the word a little, very aware of her full accent, "He can come 'long."
"Seriously?" Blank turned to her in shock, and she shrugged.
"It might be good for him to get out," she suggested with a wink. Her hand slid noisily off the door handle as she turned completely to face him. "You can come if ya want!"
"Okay!" He stumbled to stand up, the same lack of grace as Vivi, before waddling over to the door, and waving goodbye. He looked ridiculous in the get up that Sally had dressed him in, but it did a good job protecting him from any probing eyes. He hardly looked like a mage wrapped in all that clothing.
"You sure you don't want to stay and help us recruit?" Blank raised a challenging eyebrow at the girl who was waiting for Oden to hurry to the door.
She stared at him with a sarcastic, and playfully irritated expression. "Ya'll have like, ten plus people here… You won't miss me much today!"
"Who says?" He smirked at her, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
She rolled her eyes, "I'm helpin' in my own way. There ain't no point in fightin' a war if there's no generation to live on after it!"
Blank raised a finger, opening his mouth to argue; Dagger cut in before he had the chance to speak. "Actually she's really right…" Her raven hair fell forward when she nodded confidently. "If I wasn't as important to the recruiting process, I would want to go with you as well."
Ruby smiled at the girl she had come to call her best friend in the past couple of years. They might have had completely different agendas and backgrounds, but considering there weren't a lot of teenage girls looming in the resistance, they made do, and were closer than most people knew. Of course, Ruby would always have her rowdy boys, and Dagger would always have her knights from the past, but their friendship was there regardless.
"When are you going to be back today?" Blank tried to ask as innocently as possible. He rocked back and forth on his chair, oblivious to the glares he was getting from Beatrix, who was currently mumbling about breaking the sparse amount of furniture they possessed.
Ruby shrugged, "It depends on what we're doin' with the kids today," She nodded and turned away, "Don't wait up for me," and before he could answer, she was out the door, Oden following faithfully behind her.
The redhead sighed, watching her go. He would never admit it to anyone, but he worried that Ruby was spending so much time out there by herself. She was doing it for a great cause, and he was happy that she found a safe way to help out in the city… and yet, he didn't have contact with her most days since she'd discovered the makeshift orphanage, and he worried that something might happen, and he wouldn't know.
But Ruby was tough, and he knew not to bring it up to her, because it would probably offend her. He would try and play it off as he only cared, but nobody would believe him. Sometimes, his rough exterior was trusted more than the words he spoke, no matter how truthful they were.
"Don't be so worried," Dagger told him, as though reading his thoughts. "She's helping children – what problems could she possibly run into?"
He shrugged, suddenly moody, before pushing off the chair and stretching. "I'm going to try and get a little more shut eye before everybody gets here…" Without waiting for an answer, he moved towards the latter and scampered up it gracefully, swinging back and forth, reminding the girl of Zidane hanging by his tail.
She grinned as she caught sight of said blonde's arm, suddenly flung between the bars of the railing on the side of their giant bed. The raven imagined him mumbling something in his sleep, swatting at the air (which he did at the precise moment she thought it), and finally rolling over onto his stomach or side, falling into a more peaceful cycle of sleep.
"You'll be here all day, won't you, Beatrix?" She asked suddenly, tearing her thoughts away from the slumbering genome.
She nodded and took another sip of her tea, eyes scanning the room. "Yes… I will be here to assist you in any explanations, and help get everybody ready to move out to Qu's Marsh."
"They're going to be leaving so soon?"
"If they are interested enough to move into our hideout to help stand against Kuja, it won't be safe for such a cluster of people to stay here… It is better to ship them to the marsh where it's safer, before they change their mind, or we'll tell them what to do when moving day comes… It depends on the person if they want to leave now, or when we do."
"Change their minds?" She echoed, confused. Would Beatrix force them to stay once they expressed interest?
"Unfortunately, so close to Alexandria, we cannot afford to put more people at risk than we need to. If they are allowed to go back to their regular lives in Lindblum, they risk being found out… and possibly tortured for any information we gave them. Information that they wouldn't have… But Kuja's army would not believe them."
Dagger shuttered at the harsh mental pictures her brunette superior gave to her. The woman spoke softly, but her words cut deep. It was an unnerving experience, she decided, after she put herself in a regular citizen's shoes… Dagger had been doing this all of her life, so no longer did it pump the same fear into her… but if she was just starting out – yes it would probably be terrifying.
The almost-seventeen year old had never actually come in contact with Kuja in all of her time as a secret Princess. Never once had he been the one to lead the soldiers into Dali to snoop. It was always some high placed general who rode back to the castle on a lopsided chocobo with his tail between his legs. Even when Alexandria had been taken over all those years ago, she had never caught glimpse of the evil everyone feared so badly.
Maybe it was a good thing. It moved her forward with less fear than someone who had seen the man before… but then again – perhaps it was a bad thing. When she finally stumbled upon him – a week from now, or maybe another year – would she be so afraid she wouldn't be able to function?
I think I would be more afraid of the dreamers than Kuja himself. The fact she had just thought what she had really surprised her. But the more she analyzed her thought, the more it made sense. Kuja's hand picked army with more skill packed together than he had – all rallying together to save what they thought was a slaughtered homeland. It was exactly like the resistance, just in reverse… and a lot more elite training, and not to mention, ground advantage.
"Dagger?"
"Hm?" She answered, shaking her head, and with it, scattering the thoughts like they were wisps of breath on a cold winter's morning.
The woman let on a small, patient smile. "Did you hear me?"
"No," She directed her gaze to the ground, fluttering her eyelashes in bashful embarrassment.
"I wanted to tell you when we were still alone, before all of the commotion started today."
"What is it?" The girl asked, locking her chocolate eyes with honey brown ones.
Beatrix's smile was surprising as she leaned forward in her seat. "We found Lady Hilda."
"What?!" She shrieked. Somewhere in the back corners of her mind, she registered the irritated grumbles as she woke up her teammates, but at the moment, the girl didn't care.
The woman gave a curt nod. "She had Steiner and I… escorted into the palace yesterday… She told us about what she's been doing for all of these long years, and about the city… We told her you and Cid are still alive, and she would very much like to see you today, if that will be at all possible."
"Of course!" She yelped, still probably a little too loud. Marcus swore at her, but she ignored it. "Can we go now?! Before everyone gets here?!"
Beatrix bit her lip, trying to clock out the time correctly. Hopefully Steiner and Fratley would be able to handle it by themselves… Not many people would filter in before they made their way back, so she saw no harm in it. Once new recruits started coming in, Beatrix wondered just how long they would be able to stay here before things started to look suspicious enough for the black mages to report.
"If we leave now, we could probably go, yes."
The girl squealed and leapt from her chair, running a hand through her short locks. "Do I look alright? Should I wear something different?" She patted her neck, realizing her necklace was gone in a panic. "Where's the garnet from my mother? Did I lose it? Did I –"
"Dagger!" Beatrix laughed, watching the girl scramble. That was so unlike the teen. "Your necklace is right here –" she held up the stone, abandoned on the counter last night when she was bogged down with sleep, eating a late enough dinner to be called too-early of a breakfast.
"Thank you!" The girl huffed, though a bit more composed.
"You were so young when you saw Hilda last, I do not think she will judge the fact that you cut your hair; she'll understand if you wear your regular armor… It's safer that way for you as well."
Dagger nodded and laced her hands in front of her, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "Can we leave? Are you ready?"
Beatrix nodded, standing. Her hair was sticking to her neck, not being properly brushed for a long while. She moved to their light traveling packs and dug in Ruby's front pocket, fishing out a tight band to wind her hair into. She threw her hair up into a bun, pulling it away from her eyes and face. Dagger blinked, not used to the sight, but said nothing of it as they slipped out the door, on their way to the palace… trying to look inconspicuous.
Unfortunately, without her curled locks surrounding her facial features, a woman as beautiful and confident as Beatrix, clad in tight fitting pants, and a low cut breast-plate, wasn't exactly able to blend in too well. Her face was too pretty to not remember, and it seemed she caught the attention of most men and a lot of jealous women who wandered the streets. Her almond eyes fell uneasily on each face, wincing when she realized any one of these people could be working for Kuja, and that their secret would be given away quicker than they could move.
But the heat swelled under the sun, festering in the huddled walkways of the city, and she couldn't continue to let stray hairs stick to her skin irritatingly and expect to get through the day working with new recruits.
The two moved quickly through the streets, dodging the busiest parts by darting through allies and weaving through vendors. They tried not to catch anyone's eye incase anyone affiliated with Kuja was watching. Dagger's back burned; she knew that the black mages had their eyes on the duo, but she tried to ignore it and act as natural as she could.
"How much longer?" She grumbled harshly to the woman in front of her.
"We just have to go in here and –" she rounded the corner and stopped so abruptly that the teenager ran into her back. "Here!" She breathed a sigh of relief she didn't know she had been holding as she rushed forward, pressing on the side of a large bell, shoving hard against it until it made a ringing sound.
It was faint, due to the large crack in the side of the metal, but it did its job. Less than a minute later, there were a couple of men who stepped in front of the alley. Dagger was in awe as they followed the two men who never looked back at them, and never missed a beat in their coordinated steps.
One was considerably young – probably just a little older than Dagger, but it was hard to tell with the armor cluttering his body. The other was a little older – more like Steiner's age, whose face was worn with scars and images he'd never be able to stop reliving.
"Are they taking us to the palace?" She asked Beatrix in a hushed tone. She didn't miss the way that Beatrix naturally fell into step with the men, and her posture was a little straighter – stronger, more rigid and alert. A grin unwillingly overtook her face before she could stop it, as her chocolate eyes continued to peer up at the woman.
The latter glanced down and answered with a curt nod, well aware of the reason Dagger was smirking at her. She really couldn't help herself. It had been years since she'd been an official knight for the Kingdom of Alexandria, and yet, whenever she was around those who reminded her of her past, some strange recognition took over her body, and she found herself naturally falling into the movements as well.
As if sensing the thoughts swirling in the brunette's mind, the raven turned her head back to the front, taking in the scenery as they ascended the stairs into the transit station. "This is new…" She murmured lightly.
Beatrix knew that there was a transit Cid had created before the war, the blueprints hidden safely under lock and key in the palace, but she'd never seen them working. Even the short time they'd been in Lindblum, she hadn't seen the train once, and with dizzying quickness, she realized that there was so much of the city they had yet to explore.
Despite the questions lingering on the tips of their tongues, the ladies stayed quiet, following the men with ease. The eldest of the knights mumbled something to the man controlling the train, before his eyes continually watched Beatrix, and more importantly, Dagger. Some air of familiarity suddenly clutched her, and she narrowed her eyes, unsure of why he seemed so familiar.
Unfortunately, before she decided how she knew him, they clamored onto the train, and barely had time to take a hold of the railing before it shot off. Immediately, the younger girl's eyes trained on the window, trying to take in solid objects instead of the whirl of the outside world. Everything blurred together, creating a watercolor painting on a moving canvas, too quick for her to see. Eventually, her eyes turned to the inside the train again, the speed making her dizzy.
"That man," Beatrix broke the heavy silence, "who was operating the tram?" She tilted her head, eyes unconsciously narrowing, "Who was he?"
"That was Doctor Shelton Tot, the mechanics generator of –"
"Dr. Tot?!" Both of them gasped. Beatrix moved forward in one, swift motion and grabbed the younger guard who had nonchalantly answered them, by the breastplate. "Are you certain?!"
"Beatrix!" Dagger groaned, leaping up and readying a protect spell if she needed one.
The brunette's head snapped to the side at the very same instance, seeing the glinting blade pointed at her neck.
"Drop him." The older knight ordered, and immediately, her fingers flexed and he plopped back down onto the seat. "You may be two people that Lady Hilda wants alive, but I will not hesitate to kill you if you touch one of our own."
Beatrix narrowed her eyes, her nature suddenly hostile. "Do you understand who it is you're talking to? Or are you not so trusted to be told who you would be escorting to the palace today?" She obviously hit a nerve, because even his comrade didn't miss the angry flush that climbed up his neck and blotched his face.
"Beatrix please," the girl muttered behind her.
At the request of the younger girl, the woman stepped back and straightened, cracking her neck to one side as she did so. The woman might have looked a bit younger with her hair pulled away from her face, but she didn't look any less threatening.
"Taking orders from someone so young," he scoffed, sheathing his sword. "What has this world come to?"
And before anyone could take in a breath to stop her, Beatrix leapt on him, slamming him against the wall of the fast-transporting train, eyes suddenly hard and deadly. "As you hide away as a palace guard –" nobody missed the way she spit the words, as though the title no longer held the honor it had when the world as at peace, "- that girl that you speak of, is risking her life trying to win back her kingdom's freedom! I will not hear such a coward speak to the heir of the Alexandrian throne in such a way simply because he is too incompetent to coherently understand why it was of the utmost importance from Hilda to get us to her safely!"
She couldn't continue her rant further than that, because the young knight and the girl peeled Beatrix off of the man, Dagger clutching her arm, while the young blonde knight held a protective arm in front of the man, barring him passage for a counter attack.
But the older man seemed in no such condition. His eyes were wide and regret swept over his features. "The… heir to the throne?"
The nasty look shot in his direction from the chestnut haired woman answered him far more dramatically than her nimble words.
"I – I, you are –" his eyes slid to Dagger, widening with embarrassment, "- We are – Hilda – you – Oh my…" He bowed, sweeping low to the ground, "I apologize M'lady –"
She put up a hand, "I would prefer you simply call me of my life-long alias, Dagger…" She nodded, "Not many people know that an heir to Alexandria still lives… It's alright, I didn't expect you to know."
The embarrassment was never smudged off of his face, as he turned away.
"We just want to see Hilda," she encouraged as the train came to a stop, her face a stunning calm. A small smile flickered on her lips, giving all of them the control to step off the train with no further fighting.
Blank kicked a stone jutting out of the ground in irritation. The first few recruits were women – always prompt and punctual. It wasn't difficult to get them settled in and explain everything to them. They went along mostly with what everyone was telling them, but decided they wanted to wait to travel in the fields beyond Lindblum (their first and only home) until there were fighting men with them.
They had also informed the group that more seamstresses, and even a baker, would be presented to them soon enough. Needless to say, any arguing about war, decisions, and battle, wouldn't come until later when more young and old opinionated men decided to drop by.
The redhead could only think about Ruby, and how happy she would be to finally have more ladies in the resistance. Sure, most of them were too old to relate to, but he figured she'd be delighted anyways. That got him thinking about her constant work at the old theater, and suddenly anxiety overwhelmed him, and he had to leave the suffocating hideout.
Things had been so complicated lately, and he hadn't wanted to admit that with the growing difficulty, his thoughts landed on the older girl a little too often. Ruby had always been an irritation, but more recently she had become something else completely, and he rather liked the thought of having someone by his side through this whole thing. Not that the entire resistance wasn't quite literally, on every side of him, back at their hideout, but this was something different – more personal and intimate – when he had Ruby with him. He figured that's what falling in love felt like.
He froze.
Did he just say that? Blank snorted. He wasn't falling in love – that was stupid… People shouldn't fall in love with girls they'd been good friends with since before puberty. He figured things with Ruby would play out this way or that, but fall in love?
Despite what he would admit and deny, the thought scared him.
"I'm not in love with her," he mumbled to himself forcefully. Saying it out loud only solidified it, and a shutter coursed through his body. Forcefully, he shoved the thoughts from his mind, and tried to focus on something else.
Unfortunately, his head snapped up to the familiar voice of the subject of all of his thoughts. His emerald eyes instantly bore into the girl, standing outside of the theater, talking to a woman Blank didn't care about, looking a little flustered.
Narrowing his eyes, he decided to further investigate.
"I know what you're doing is important, Ruby –"
"It's my family, Darlin'…" Her voice was so reluctant and almost too quiet to hear. Blank leaned closer in anticipation. What were they talking about?
"I know, Ruby…" The older woman soothed, trying to make her proposition just a little more realistic. "But you are doing so much for these kids…" She pulled Ruby's hands into her own, giving them a loving, motherly squeeze. "You have brightened so many lives in the short time you've volunteered your scattered services to the theater…" She shook her head. "I know you always said you wanted to work with children to make a living…"
"That was before we were forced to flee… That was before I got –" her cheeks suddenly blazed red, "-attached."
"Do not feel you need to make a decision right now," She give a small, lopsided smile, "But I know myself and the others who help at the orphanage – not to mention the children would love for you to stay…"
The redhead froze in his tracks. This woman was asking Ruby to stay in Lindblum? Stay even after the rest of the resistance had left? His hands balled into fists and his eyes unknowingly narrowed. Heaving himself backwards, the small of his back hit the railing protecting civilians from the water, and quickly, he snatched the stone, gripping it hard enough to keep him planted in place.
Ruby bit her lip, unsure of what to do. No way did she want to leave Tantalus – no way did she want to abandon what she'd been fighting for all these years… But then again…
She tried to think back to the last time she had done something that affected an outcome. She tried to remember when her presence had made a difference, and she could truly not remember one time.
As Adriana retreated back inside the theater, the door shut on the sound of wails from an injury during play time, and giggles and shouts of glee from the children cooped up inside wafted to where the girl stood, lingering in the doorway.
She was making a difference here. Almost all the children knew her by name, and all those who could came running when she walked in the door in the morning. Adriana was right – ever since the war had started, and Ruby had grown a little older, if she couldn't be an actress, then there was nothing she wanted more than to be with children, and help make their lives as amazing as she could.
Part of her wondered… Maybe she would be doing more good if she let the rest of the resistance move on ahead… She could meet them at a later date – they could communicate through moogle mail. It would be slow going, sure, but they could contact her when they needed her for the fight against Kuja. One more body to help when they needed it…
"Ruby!" She almost leapt out of her skin when she saw Blank, leaning rigidly against the railing down the slope.
"Blank?" She tilted her head, moving just a little closer, wrapping her arms around herself when she saw the unusually hard scowl pressed onto his features. A sudden chill curled around her, almost as though the temperature had dropped. "What are ya doin' here, Darlin'? Aren't ya helping with the new recruits?"
"I had to take a breather," he mumbled, tilting his head up at her. He was still shorter than her, but that didn't make him any less threatening when he was angry. But she had learned a long time ago that when it came to friends (or more specifically, friends who weren't Zidane, Cinna, Marcus, or Zenero) the redhead was all bark, and no bite. "What are you doing here?"
She jerked her thumb backwards, letting out a laugh. Both of them winced when they realized it was a little too loud to be natural. "This is the old theater… Don't cha remember?"
He rubbed his forehead, an evidence crease suddenly appearing there. "Yeah, I remember Rubes…"
"Then –" She knew very well what he had heard, and she was worried about what he would say.
"Don't pretend that nothing big just happened," he shoved his hands hard into his pockets, "because it did."
"I don't even know what yer talkin' 'bout!" She crossed her arms and huffed, trying to play natural.
"You may be a pretty damn good actress Rubes, but there's no way you're fooling the rest of your crew," though he had a grin on his face, his rough tone spoke his true emotions. "Why the hell are you considering staying here?!"
"I think that's none of yer business, Blank!" She told him, matter of factly. Her accent was always sharper when she was angry.
"Bullshit it's not!" He growled, grabbing her arm and spinning her around.
Her milky eyes blinked in mild shock, but he didn't back down. He gripped both of her shoulders, shaking her a little bit.
"How could you do that?" He demanded from her, but continued without giving her time to answer, "How could you even consider leaving us like that? We're your family, Ruby!"
"I know that!" She hissed at him. Though she agreed with everything he was saying, she still felt defensive… she still felt like she would do more good here.
"Then why –"
"Shut up, Blank!" She told him, shoving him away roughly. "Yer just mad because I found somethin' I'm good at doin'!"
His eyebrows shot up in disbelief, "You've got to be kidding me!" His fingers found his scalp, and yanked at the soft, red hair. "You seriously think that's what this is about?!"
"Then what is it about?!" She demanded, not understanding why he was so angry. "I'm helpin' people!"
"You're abandoning your cause!"
"I'm doing more good here, and ya'll know it!" She growled at him, clutching herself in her arms tighter before stomping her foot in frustration. "I'm doin' more than I have the entire time I've been with the resistance! Ya'll can get me when it's time to take Kuja to the barnyard –"
"No!" He shouted at her, shocking both of them.
"Name one good thing I've made a difference doin' that's better than helpin' these kids!" She threw her arm back, gesturing to the orphanage where curious children were peaking their heads through the window, none brave enough to go outside and see what all the commotion was about. Bystanders walked by the pair quickly, almost jogging to get around them with speed, not wanting to get caught up in the fight by pure chance.
Blank ground his teeth together in frustration, wracking his brain violently. Ruby… Remember things about Ruby… His teeth clenched harder together when he realized the only memories coming to his mind were ones not at all relevant to the situation.
His and Ruby's first kiss… The relief he felt when he saw her again after their capture – the relief he saw when he'd realized she'd made it through the Dali ambush… Him and Ruby and their late night talks about the world – her comfort when he found out Zidane was going to die. Their constant arguing that always lead to him thinking about what it would be like if there wasn't a war – they were all wonderful memories… ones that Blank would, no doubt, cherish until the day he died… But none would make her understand.
"You can't even think of one!" She screeched at him in frustration. "Don't you go 'round tellin' me what I can and can't do!" She leaned forward, eyes narrowing in accusation at him. "Don't –"
"You helped us knock out the guards on Kuja's ship!" He suddenly yelled in her face, defiantly glaring up at her. "You were the reason we survived on Terra!"
"Wha –" How did he remember something so trivial as her pretending to be Scarlette so they could knock out those guards?
"What about the time when Cinna tripped and broke his leg, and you splinted it, even though you didn't have any idea what you were doing! Didn't the doctor say that he was lucky you were around, otherwise he might have not been able to walk right ever again?!" His words tripped over each other, almost too the jumbled point that she wouldn't be able to understand him.
"You don' understand!" She hissed at him weakly, trying to make him stop. Despite wanting to stay with her family, the more and more she argued with Blank simply showed her how she was fit to take care of people… She was doing better helping those children then attempting to fight in a resistance. "You don' understand the way those kids look at me! You don' understand how happy they all look, like a hawk seein' prey for the first time in weeks –"
More and more memories of Ruby and Blank flooded the redhead's mind. Nothing was quite coherent enough to tell her – to make her stop trying to convince the both of them that her decision to stay was the right one. So what if it was? He needed her… He needed her next to him through this whole scary ordeal – he needed her when Zidane would go down… If Kuja won… If someone were to die – what if Lindblum was taken again and she was killed? What if he died, and she wasn't one of the things he had died protecting on the field? Was it wrong to look at it that way?
"I know all them kids by name, Blank!" She was pleading now – sounding more tired than he remembered. "I seen what war does to kids without parents! I want to be there to help!"
"We need you!" He insisted, though the thought was disorderly.
"Not as much as these kids…"
"I need you," he ground out with a little difficulty. Those words caught her attention. Her eyes flickered in the light, tears brimming as she tilted her head to the side.
"What?" She whispered at him. "That's dumb! Blank, yer lyin' to me! Don' try and guilt me just because you want –" She began to yell again, but was cut off.
"Ruby! God dammit, I love you! Okay?! Happy?!" He demanded. Her eyes popped open, and her mouth hung slack. He ran a hand nervously through his hair, jitters wracking his body.
"Just – ugh!" He strode forward, closing the distance between them swiftly, before pulling her safely into his arms, swinging her down, and kissing her, her hair sweeping the stone below them.
Her eyes fluttered shut against her will. She wanted to chastise him for using this as an excuse to end the argument. Blank never wanted to talk about anything! He was infuriating and –
Did he say he loved her?
Her heart seemed to beat louder against her chest – so loud, she was sure he could hear it. She was absolutely spot on when she said Blank never wanted to talk about his feelings… He had just admitted something to her that was probably one of the hardest things for him to admit… Blank didn't just love people. He cared about them, and wanted to protect them, and was one of those emotionally rough people who would be devastated if those around him were gone… But he never got verbally attached. He'd told her one time when they were a little younger, that that just made things complicated – saying your feelings out loud.
And yet here he was – telling her that he loved her. He did just talk about his feelings. It might not have been some long conversation, and it might have been a little stuttered simply because he hadn't known what to say, but he… he finally admitted that he loved her.
She was suddenly pulling back, desperate to get a word in – dying to tell him those words back – to reciprocate those precious feelings. His eyes were wild and flaming with conflict when she simply grinned at him.
"Honey, I've been sweet on you for a long time! Even though yer annoyin' and I want to claw yer eyes out with boot spurs –" she stopped, sucking in a breath, shaking away the crazily ramblings from the tip of her tongue. "Blank, darlin'… I love you too!" She kissed him again after that, feeling him loosen just a little bit.
She knew she didn't have to tell him in words that she would do him a favor, and stay with the resistance, despite her mind telling her that it was the right thing to do. Her heart had won out.
A/N: Bawww, a little about Ruby and Blank! Ruby is an incredibly hard character to write, and sometimes, I literally cannot stand it… But this wasn't too bad! A bit of writer's block, but don't worry – nothing is going to keep me from updating this!
Thank you for your continued, support! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully Lindblum will be over in another chapter or two – I'm really running out of things to write about in this city… On to bigger and better things in the next chapters!
-zesty-
