Filling In The Blanks

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.

A/N: Goodness! It's been almost a month! You guys really need to let me know when I start slacking on this stuff; man does time fly by fast!

Chapter 89: Full Circle

Dagger stood in awe when they finally made it to the path leading into the small village. Reconstruction had left the town in an even better condition as before. No city could ignore that this small, independent community had to rebuild, so they sent many people who were returning to Dali with carts and wagons full of supplies. They'd received more generosity than they'd had before Kuja sacked the city; before the attack, all of the buildings had damage from various scuffles with patrol, weathering from storms, and the buildings just being old in themselves.

But they had been rebuilt with an astonishing amount of success. It seemed that the people of Dali were more resourceful and frugal with their supplies than their suppliers expected them capable of, because they had done so much with what they had received through donation of the bigger cities.

Even Kuja had had to grudgingly send supplies, because his dreamers (people like Elouise in particular) were convinced that Kuja had to help his people where the resistance had 'apparently burned down an entire village'. The people of Dali didn't buy his generosity but used his supplies all the same, since there was nothing he could do to them for it.

Beatrix almost laughed as she came up to the city. Everyone else was tired from the journey, but maybe the brunette missed this place more than anyone else. Steiner's heart ached for Alexandria, and as much as Beatrix loved the city, there was something so appealing about Dali – there always had been for her, and she was too excited to see it again.

The grass smelt of sawdust from months of reconstruction, but the breeze still carried the fresh scent of the stream towards her. The village was still set up in much of the same way, buildings on either side of the street until the windmill and mayor's house, where the buildings formed a little cul-de-sac.

She had offered to scout the city and make sure no guards lingered around the premises before she waved everyone else in. But she took her time wandering down the side of the street, taking things in. Most buildings were two stories now; they were still little, but the paint was fresh and the glass on the windows wasn't scuffed up anymore.

It was a late hour for anyone to be awake. Beatrix hadn't expected to see people, besides a few drunkenly staggering out of the bars, but there were a peculiar amount of lights on in the homes and shops she passed, and she suddenly became very aware of her sword on her back.

The mayor knew they were coming – Steiner had asked the moogle trusted with Balem's letter to bring one to the mayor of Dali if he was there, and rattled off a few other trusted names in case he wasn't.

She continued wandering down the streets for a while, moving slowly so she could soak in all the sights. Most of the residential buildings were still just wood and stone, no color over their surfaces. She passed a few lots where the buildings were still just frames, and it made her realize that people had stayed away from the ruined village for longer than she expected.

The woman ducked under a light that suddenly shot out through an open door. She ducked beyond the tall grass next to the building, holding her breath as someone came out. The gravel of the road crunched underneath the man's feet, but she didn't feel threatened.

He shuffled around in the dirt for a moment before shutting the door and taking a few steps. He whistled for a moment, before turning slowly towards Beatrix. She tried to sink deeper into the grass or around the building, but she couldn't do so without a bunch of noise.

Once she locked eyes with this man though, her face broke out into an unbelieving grin.

"Mister Mayor!"

And before she even knew what she was doing, she ran forward and hugged him.

He let out a little laugh, and the door opened again to reveal his young black haired daughter and quiet wife. The girl giggled and bounded towards Beatrix, hugging her leg as she let go of the girl's father. A few other doors around them opened, and murmured cheers and whispered laughter floated on the breeze.

"She's back."

"That's Beatrix – the one with the resistance!"

"She's still alive!"

"Are they here?!"

"Where? I can't see!"

"Who is it? Who's out there? Who showed up?"

She turned around, looking at all of the faces of people she was sure she would remember when she could see them clearly and shook her head. "You all came back!"

"We couldn't just abandon our post when we were waiting for you!" The mayor laughed quietly. He grabbed her arm. "You must come inside where you are safe… Come, come –"

She pulled her arm away and smiled at him, her hazelnut eyes warming. "Oh no, I must go get the others!"

"Others?" He spluttered with glee. "You mean more of you did come?"

"I was making sure it was safe!" She nodded, an excitement filling her that she hadn't felt in a long time. "You'll be glad to see them!" And before anyone could reply she shot off, dodging buildings as she zigzagged back down to the path, stumbling over herself as her feet hit the dirt.

Her hasty race across the dewy grass must have alerted the rest of her team, because by the time she rounded the last corner and saw them in the distance, all of them were alert, and Steiner had his weapon drawn.

She laughed as she jogged towards them, her eyes still lit with familiarity, and a sense of home that she hadn't been enveloped in since before the attack on their hideout almost a year earlier. "They're all here!"

"What do you mean?" Freya asked, gripping her weapon harder.

"The mayor, his daughter and wife, the two drunk men who always ruined our pumpkins, and that old crazy Bermecian! I've seen them! I saw them! They've been waiting for us!"

Dagger laughed, feeling the infection of Beatrix' attitude first. She hopped off of the cart where she'd been sitting, and Eiko quickly followed suit. "Well let's go see them then!"

"Are you certain it's safe? Are these people you can trust?" Amarant asked, looking like he was dreading entering the town even more now.

She nodded but otherwise ignored Amarant, taking Dagger's hands, "We get to see our home again, Dagger."

The two began hurrying back, Eiko and Quina bouncing behind them. They were careful still to be cautious and quiet, but their excitement couldn't be mistaken. Steiner could feel the appealing pull, and he knew by the way Freya twitched her fingers at her side as she proudly strode forward that she was feeling it too. They abandoned a questioning Amarant, leaving solely him to drag the cart in.

"Fucking great," he mumbled, heaving it up and yanking on it like he had been since they left Bermecia.

As soon as Dagger and Steiner joined Beatrix by the mayor's door, more and more people flooded out into the street, laughing and crying and saying prayers to the heavens that their hope had come back.

Not many people in Dali knew that the Princess had lived under their houses for almost all of her life, but after the attack, it was no secret anymore, and many people bowed and groveled in the sandy road, wishing to give thanks to her for what she was doing.

Dagger blushed, and tried to help people back up off the ground, but she couldn't get to them fast enough. People were also bowing low to Steiner and Beatrix, and Freya too, while many prodded for answers about who this new purpled haired sweetheart was, and the brooding redhead (though nobody would get close enough to him to ask). The children were still frightened of Quina, but loved to get close enough to poke at him, before he would whip around at the touch, and his tongue would fly up. Many adults (especially the ones who frequented the bars, where Quina always got a laugh) greeted him again, delighted to see their source of entertainment returned.

The reunion lasted for nearly an hour, and by the time mothers reigned back in their children and any remaining men had shaken hands with or bowed to nearly all of the members, and someone had finally asked Amarant to his face what his name was, the Elite group was nearly sleeping where they stood.

"Come inside now," The mayor's wife insisted. She gave a gentle smile. "There is fresh bread and a soft place to sleep for all of you. You must be tired from the journey."

Steiner nodded. "Yes, you wouldn't even believe it!" He joked, though his statement was one-hundred percent true.

"Wait!" Dagger said as they moved towards the door. "Mister Mayor, have any other old resistance members come through Dali?"

Steiner's eyebrows shut up to his hairline. She was already asking about Tantalus and they hadn't even made it into his home.

His brow puckered and he scratched his stubble in confusion. "No… should they have?"

The girl's shoulders sagged and she rubbed more tiredly at her eyes.

"We're waiting for Tantalus. They're supposed to be coming from Treno with the two dreamers. Baku is leading them."

"There was some trouble in Treno not even a week ago," he told them as he thought about it more. The short, burly man ushered them inside as he pondered. "But the trouble was that resistance members had escaped from the city. That is good news, right?"

"Very good news!" Eiko cheered, and the mayor's nine year old daughter giggled. Eiko turned towards her in delight. "What's your name?"

"Mae," she smiled shyly, sticking out her hips as she clasped her hands behind her back. "And you're Eiko, right?"

She nodded, "Uh-huh!"

"That's a pretty name," Mae told her quietly.

"I like yours better," Eiko smiled, grabbing her hand. "Let's be friends, okay?"

The girl's face lit up in a delighted smile, and her grey eyes glittered with happiness. "Okay!"

While they exchanged quiet words about Dali, and what there was to do there, and short answers to where Eiko was from, the mayor explained the uproar from Kuja due to the escape of Tantalus from the city.

Dagger couldn't stop grinning the entire time. She was delighted that Kuja was so enraged, but it made nerves bubble in her stomach. What if that caused someone to get hurt? But there was something about Tantalus making the dark lord angry that made her giddy in this late hour.

A huge yawn from Mae stopped the others from talking, and the two parents glanced over to see the girls leaning against each other, mostly asleep on the floor.

"Ah," the mayor's wife smiled all knowingly, lifting Mae quietly from the ground. She stared down at Eiko, who barely even stirred, and as an afterthought, shifted her tiny daughter into one arm, and scooped up the seven-year-old as well. "Time for bed, it seems." She carried them away, up the new staircase that didn't creak like their old home.

"We should be getting some rest too," Steiner nodded, watching the way that Dagger's eyelids drooped every time the attention was taken off of her, and how Beatrix leaned on the table more frequently for support. "We're all tired."

"Yes, of course!" The mayor laughed. "Come this way, I'll show you to the place we've made for you!" he lead them through the kitchen and dining room, to a closet on the far side of the house, away from any windows. Inside was a little pantry full of extra towels and coats, and a few extra dresses of his wife's and Mae's. He threw those to the side, the screech of the hangars sliding on the metal rod waking them up.

Behind it was a small door. He unlocked it and ducked into the frame, where the others followed without much question. Amarant, with all of his height, was the only one to stare at it skeptically.

"Eiko can stay with Mae for the night, or whenever she'd like, really. Our home is your home so long as you're here!" He lit a few candles in the dark like he knew right where they were, and the light extended its long fingers across the basement.

It had stone walls, but it was dry and warm, and there were mattresses everywhere, stuffed with hay and cotton, made from the wool of yeti's from the north. Around the corner was a round table with a few chairs pushed underneath it. They seemed old and maybe a little charred, and the group realized with a flinch that it could have been wreckage saved from the fiery aftermath of the village's destruction. There was a shelf behind the table with stocks of food littering every corner of the surface.

"I know it is not much, but it is a safe place you can stay while you're in Dali."

"Quina impressed," the qu nodded, wondering over to the snacks before thinking better of it and claiming a mattress in the corner. He sunk right in and sighed. "Quina thank Mayor."

"This is wonderful," Beatrix sighed. She stepped over a few mattresses and took one by the wall. "Thank you so, so much."

He nodded. "We will keep a look out for your friends and let you know the moment we see them approaching."

"Thank you," Steiner repeated, before finally pulling off all of his dirty, farmer clothing. He folded it in a neat pile and set it on one of the chairs. Beatrix followed suit with her dress, and the others began stripping their ragged clothing as well.

Freya pulled her hat out of her satchel and placed it gingerly on a mattress, before flattening out her long red coat after it had been stuffed in her pack. She pulled off her boots and placed them by the head of the mattress.

Dagger peered around the corner and saw that the mayor's wife must have put up a curtain to change behind, just in case they planned on doing so, and she and Beatrix shuffled tiredly behind it, pulling off armor and clothing and replacing all of their heaviest gear. Both wore armored pants, and Dagger kept on the white blouse she wore underneath her jumpsuit on. Beatrix pulled a red tunic on and picked up her boots, Dagger mimicking her seconds later.

Steiner had shucked his metal armor and placed it neatly by the bottom of his bed, though his sword was close to where his head finally rested. The mayor's wife appeared after a few more minutes with a large bundle of blankets, and handed them out.

"I'll keep the rest down here for your friends."

The team nodded thankfully to her and lay their heads down on the mattresses.

"It's great to be back here," Beatrix sighed.

"Yeah," Dagger agreed, though she thought of Zidane, and how this was the final leg of their journey, and all of it just seemed far too easy.


The sun was on the brim of tipping over the horizon, spilling its light onto Dali. The morning hung cold, damp and quiet. Since reconstruction was just recently finishing, people had more work to do inside than out as of late, so citizens were just appearing out on the road and around their small yards to start the day.

Zidane was the only one not staggering as they climbed the final hill to Dali. The others were weary from so much time on the run, and Marcus had gotten into a scuffle with a creature while scouting ahead, and now he limped with a bloodied cloth tied tightly around the dirty teeth marks on his ankle.

Vivi, Cinna and Blank were nearly sleeping on their feet after such a long ways, and Ruby had taken most of their luggage, creating a sluggish, though fully alert, presence in the group. Zenero lagged behind as well, supporting Marcus heavily when it was too much to walk on his own.

Their journey had been slow going, even though they left before the sun had dipped completely behind the horizon. The sight of a familiar, but remodeled home did a little to help motivate the end of their trek, but it was still a slow pace.

Villagers began to stop and stare at them, waving them down and grinning at them as they got closer to the city. A man maneuvering a wheelbarrow was the first to discover someone was injured and jogged out to help carry Marcus in. Conversation blossomed in the near-silent streets of Dali before the first rays of sunlight hit the grass, and suddenly activity was bustling from every corner of the small cluster of buildings.

People were coming out to see their long-missed, silly resistance companions and the two dreamers that were said to be accompanying them.

"Have any other resistance members come through?" Marcus asked, breathless and barely awake. He'd lost a lot of blood, but it wasn't life threatening.

The man sat him down on a bale of hay and the others stopped to catch their breath. Ruby threw down all of her luggage and stretched her limbs, cracking her back three or four satisfying times.

"Yes!" The man nodded, flipping out his knife to cut the muddy bandages off of Marcus' leg.

The others perked up their heads and leaned in their ear to listen. Vivi collapsed on the ground and leaned back on his hands, closing his eyes instead of bothering himself with the whereabouts of their friends. So long as they were safe, he was happy.

"The main group of the resistance is staying with the mayor," he informed as he went to work cutting. The material was thick, being torn armor, since they didn't have anything else to dress the wound with, but he managed to snag it enough to get a small tear started.

"The mayor's alive?" Zenero laughed, "Well I'll be damned!" it sounded a little forced, but nobody blamed him; he'd lost Benero in Dali when they'd fled, and out of anyone, he was the least delighted to be back.

"His daughter and his wife too," the man reported. "We're relieved; we didn't want anyone from Alexandria placed in that position. That would make life tougher than it's already been. I took refuge in Treno, and it's been a long time since I've seen many of these people."

"I would assume so," Marcus nodded.

Cinna sat in the grass with Vivi, no longer interested in the conversation. Blank sat down too, but watched the road and watched Zidane carefully; the blonde was standing on his tiptoes, alert and searching.

Suddenly, the door to a building down the way opened up, and a cluster of people filtered out. Quina was first, the dam holding back all the others before they flooded out and eyes swiveled around, confused.

The blonde registered seeing Eiko, bounding excitedly towards them while the others made their way slowly down the path, Quina wobbling towards them at an awkward pace in between. But they melted from his vision as soon as he saw Dagger stumble down the steps. She turned to the side, her face glowing with an aliveness that he remembered from the first time he'd talked to her in Dali, and her eyes glittering with some refined knowledge or opinion. Her hair sat passed her shoulders now, dark and glossy like the welcome of the night sky's veil on the world.

Her lips quirked into an excited smile and she stepped forward hastily, ready to break into a full run. He grinned too, excited for her to leap into his arms for once – when he wasn't coming home injured, or when they weren't fighting. He stepped up and squared his shoulders, already readying himself for the weight of her petite body wrapped safely in his arms.

But she jerked to a halt, hair flying in front of her face, expression twisted into a grimace. She curled her gloved hands into fists and jammed her elbows into her sides as her knees bent and she stopped herself from moving. She hesitated now, as though remembering what had happened, and realizing that racing forward was no longer her place.

They made eye contact, and Zidane was only vaguely aware of Blank nudging him, or the steaming looks he got from everyone else.

He could turn away from her, break her heart again but maybe keep her safe. He would keep everyone distanced because he had to remind himself that this wasn't over, and that he would still probably die. He could try to coax her into loving someone else, or into realizing that maybe Zidane wasn't everything he'd originally set himself up to be.

A laugh bubbled out of his lips then.

That was a ridiculous notion. He wouldn't die just yet, and he couldn't go another second without being near her when it had already been nearly a month, and too long to be without her, without knowing she was safe and hearing her laugh and seeing her smile – and any other cheesy, over the top cliché he could think of.

Instead of waiting for her, his legs burst forward and his arms pumped at his sides as he put everything into racing towards the girl. She looked startled, like she wasn't sure what was happening, and pulled her arms in close to her chest, feet ghosting the grass like she was unsure where to step.

This made him laugh more, and finally, when he was in arm's reach, his limbs lashed out, and he was picking her up even as he moved, stumbling to a stop as they fell into the grass, Dagger pulled firmly into his arms.

"Zidane!" She squeaked, and it was the best voice he had heard in what seemed like ever.

He was away from her in a second, pushing himself up into a sitting position but pulling her with him as he planted both hands on her cheeks and pulled her forward for a chaste kiss. He pulled back immediately as his eyes grew hasty and words tumbled from his mouth.

"I'm so sorry," he blurted between fluttering kisses on her parted, confused lips. "I shouldn't have said that. I was such a fool. Tell me you'll forgive me."

She let out a laugh when he let her, and that calmed him down. He stared at her with a sad, pleading look in his eyes as her fingers lightly pried his hands from her face. She dropped her hands into her lap, taking his with her.

"You're okay," she whispered, and he had to laugh again.

All this time, she was just worried if he was okay. Her eyes held no anger, and though he'd probably get a beating about it later from more than just her, he knew that she was so much better then him – so much wiser and more mature – because she dropped the subject the moment she saw him racing towards her. She let it go the moment she realized she had won.

And then she kissed him again, in front of all of these people she'd known for nearly her entire life, in front of people who had become her family, and people she didn't know so well, and her and his best friends'.

Sunlight finally tipped into the small village like a bowl filled to the brim with water, teetered to the side only slightly as the liquid sloshed out.

The world suddenly came back in around him as she hugged him, squeezing so hard he didn't know if he could barely breathe, or if it was just his excitement and exhaustion all at once. He could hear people yelling, and people laughing, and could feel the wet grass tickling his tail, and the smell of musty construction lingered in his nostrils.

He pulled back from her and stared at her face again, soaking in all the features he knew he had memorized long ago. "I love you," he blurted.

Though her face was so much more composed, her eyes looked just as bewildered and dazed and happy as his did, "I love you too," she whispered back to him, shaking her head and letting out a little cry of laughter.

"Finally!" Blank groaned, meandering closer. "Maybe you'll be in a better mood now, Zidane!"

"Telling Ruby you loved her didn't do anything for your attitude, Blank!" the blonde shot back at him, already feeling something heavy lifted off of his shoulders. He stood and helped the girl stand.

Eiko bounded over, Vivi's hands clutched tightly in her own. "Hi Zidane!" She chirped, giving a little shy wave but never letting go of the mage's hand. Quina bounded over and gave anyone in his zone a large lick, which unfortunately included Dagger, Zidane, Eiko, Vivi and Blank. The redhead scrunched up his nose, trying to shake it off.

"I'm glad to see you've made it this far in such high spirits, Eiko!" he laughed. "And you too, Quina!" His eyes trailed upward towards Freya, and he shared a silent greeting with her as they nodded to each other.

Steiner glared at him, his arms crossed against his chest while Beatrix finished fixing Marcus up. Cinna and Zenero were slowly dragging themselves forward. Ruby gave Dagger a brief hug, and smiled.

"I was so worried for ya darlin'!"

"We're all okay, Ruby," she nodded.

"Where's Fratley?" Cinna asked quietly, as Freya wondered over to Beatrix probably to ask Marcus where Baku had gone.

"He stayed in Cleyra to help them guard. There was rumor of another attack," Dagger whispered back.

"And Amarant?" Blank asked, staring around.

"He was just too darn lazy to get up!" Eiko huffed, crossing her arms.

"We should all probably be getting inside though soon," Dagger nodded. "The mayor told us last night that Kuja's scouts have been here in Dali an awful lot lately."

Blank's eyes slid to Zidane's, but Cinna said what they were thinking out loud. "Probably the mess we created in Treno."

"Or the mess we made in Bermecia," Eiko admitted.

Everyone shared a few glanced before Cinna scoffed. "You guys have got to share that story," he didn't mean it offensively, but just being the thief everyone appreciated by being so blunt.

"You must rest, as well… We do not know how long it will take for Baku to get here, but we must be ready to start our mission back together again in Dali, and make it quick. We are too close to Alexandria here," Freya said, wandering back over. Marcus leaned against Steiner as they hobbled closer, and Beatrix thanked the man with the wheelbarrow before jogging over herself.

"Let's go inside and eat, and then we can talk about what's happened in our time apart," she ushered everyone forward, but grabbed Zidane's arm.

Dagger looked back when she tugged on him and he didn't move, but seeing the brunette she smiled and moved forward, slinging an arm around Blank in a moving hug. He laughed at something she mumbled as they continued to the house.

"Thank you," she said to the blonde.

"For what? For that? I was stupid, I shouldn't have told her to forget about me in the first place –"

Beatrix laughed and shook her head. "Whatever happened in Treno must have been bad, that much I can tell… Thank you for staying alive," she patted him on the shoulder and ushered him forward. "Don't tell Steiner I said that," she added, "he'd like to kill you anyways."

Zidane sighed. "So much for all my progress."

Beatrix laughed as she stepped up the wooden planks into the mayor's house. "Some things just will not change."


Stories of their adventures over the past month were exchanged over breakfast, but Tantalus was starving for real food, instead of the food they scrounged up to make at Quan's Dwelling. Even Vivi nibbled faster than usual. Eiko's eyes flittered between Zidane and Vivi and Dagger the entire time, as though trying to create a story for the four of them as she stared. Steiner glared continual holes through Zidane's head, and his brow creased further when the blonde put a hand on the girl's back where they sat at the table. The others all stared around contently, not believing that they were back in Dali, and back together without much damage.

As breakfast came to an end and the mayor's wife started clearing dishes away, Eiko dragged Vivi away to introduce him to Mae, and most of Tantalus asked if they could crash for a few hours of much needed rest. Steiner, Beatrix and Freya decided to head downtown, wondering if they could sneak into any bars before the patrols came in, to ask around and see if anyone was interested in joining the resistance.

Zidane continued to stab at his food, never quite getting full enough to lean back and sigh contently. Or maybe that was just his excuse, as Dagger continued to sit at his side, gazing at him as she lost herself to thought.

"You okay there, Princess?" he laughed, poking her in the arm.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him lightly, trying to fight back the blush that came with being caught staring at him, "Don't call me that."

He continued to chuckle as he turned back to his food, not even stopping as she slid her hand into his under the table.

"Aren't you tired?" she asked him as he finished another muffin.

"Not tired enough to sleep and lose my time with you," he commented. She scoffed and leaned on her left arm, angling her body to the right towards him.

"What makes you think I'll be gone when you wake up?"

He smiled cheekily at her, despite his cheeks still being stuffed with food, and he used his free hand to tuck her silky hair back behind her ear. "Because I just think I'm too lucky for it to be real."

"You've had me for a while, you know," she told him matter-of-factly.

"I mean I'm too lucky to have gained your forgiveness," he corrected her, not being able to pull his hand away from the side of her face quite yet.

"You mean every girl isn't swooning over being pushed into the dirt?"

He snorted and pulled his hand away, grabbing the last of the jam covered bread off of the plate. The mayor's wife beamed at them. She would never admit how happy it made her to see young love continuing to blossom, even in such dark times as war.

"You should get some rest though, honestly, Zidane," she tried again. "I promise I'll be here when you wake up!"

"Let's go for a walk first," he said, standing up as the woman cleared away the last of his dishes. "Let's go down to the stream before we're locked up in here and can't go out."

"Do you think it's safe now?"

He turned towards the mayor's wife, who he knew was eavesdropping even though she tried to be polite about it. "Do you think it'd be alright?"

She stopped, hardly embarrassed that she was caught red-handed as she thought about it. Her eyes stared at the ceiling as she blew her long black hair from her grey eyes. "As long as you aren't gone long, you should have time to further be outside before the first patrols sweep through. Just try not to attract any unwanted attention and I think you'll be okay!"

"Thanks!" without another word, he grabbed Dagger's hand tightly, and lead her from the house. "We'd better get out of here before Rusty gets back, or we'll never be allowed to leave!"

"He doesn't hate you," she tried to tell him, though she wasn't even entirely sure. "He's just being protective like he's always been."

"You keep telling yourself that," he flashed a grin at her as they headed down the path. They passed the pumpkin patch where Mae had brought their two friends to show them the scarecrow she'd helped make. Grass was finally starting to grow over the collapsed tunnels again, though the mounds were unnatural and rubble still stuck awkwardly out of the ground at some points – like long pieces of wood or spokes of metal.

Dagger stared at it sadly, slowing down and breaking her matched pace with the genome. Her eyes trailed over the scarred land, and the awkwardly burnt property that used to sit beneath the mayor's house. It would have been hard to try and rebuild a home over the angry surface.

"We're all safe now, and that's what's important," the blonde tried to tell her.

"I just remember the people we lost…" she shook her head, "or worse than that, the people we didn't stop to help because we were too worried about ourselves…" she recalled the mess in the hall where Cid had gathered them, when they heard the first rumbles of their home being breeched. The first victims of that battle were by their own hand, on their own people. Trampled and tripped with too much chaos for them to get back up before it was too late.

"That's the nature of disaster though, and nobody can be blamed for trying to survive," he explained to her. "I know that sounds really harsh, but that's the way it has to be looked at, or people will go crazy with doubt and regret."

She nodded slowly, "I guess that's true."

"You helped a lot of people survive; survive and stay calm enough to leave this place even after all these years." He tucked his gloved hands into his pockets and shrugged in a very nonchalant way. "I remember it well."

"I think you give me too much credit," she mumbled, turning away from the old battle site to continue her walk.

"I think you don't give yourself enough credit," he corrected before jogging to catch up with her again. "Everything is going to be okay, you'll see!"

"I hope you aren't wrong."

"I'm never wrong," he laughed at her, diving underneath her and swooping her up on his shoulders.

She let out a great squeak, and grabbed his head for support. He laughed and clung to her legs so she wouldn't fall from her perch as he continued to trapeze down the lane, balancing the girl on his shoulders so she could see the world from a different perspective.

And she listened to the sound of the wind in the trees, for once not whipping a sandstorm, or rain, or gravel from the city into her face. For the first time in a long time, it was just wind. She felt it on her blazing cheeks and breathed in the fresh scent of grass and nature.

And home she told herself as Zidane continued to carry her down the hill to the clear-blue stream. And home… she reminded herself as she stared at the trodden path, still worn by the resistance members who marched down it for water all that time ago.


(warning: some implied naughties, but don't worry – it's nothing graphic)

Despite the all-too-appealing offer to sleep, Blank found himself wide awake. His green eyes were staring at the ceiling, for the first time in a long time unhindered by the protective leather band he wore. Around him Tantalus snoozed, already letting out peaceful breathes hazed by sleep.

Except perhaps, just one.

He turned his head lightly to the right to see Ruby flip over on the mattress again. He watched the shine of her eyes flutter as she blinked, willing herself to sleep.

"Rubes," he whispered to her, and her head whipped to the side.

"Ya can't sleep either?"

He shook his head, though he wondered if she saw it. She sat up, and the small stream of light that shone through the small window on the other end of the room caught in her blonde hair. He liked it that color, and though he hadn't been with her when she changed it, he was glad she made the decision. Her almond eyes caught the sparkle of dim sunlight as she turned and stared at him.

Long locks of her hair fell over her bare shoulder, and she cocked her head lightly to the side, her look much deeper than he expected.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up himself.

"Let's go talk," she suggested, already throwing her old blanket to the side and pulling her skirts to the side of the bed. She left her gloves and dagger abandoned by her pillow, and he noted she didn't bother with her boots.

Unwillingly, he left most of his own armor behind. He shoved his feet roughly into his boots without lacing them, and abandoned his gloves, bracers, headband and belt, though he still opted for his dagger.

She waited for him by the stairs, secretly loving that he had left himself so open, even though she knew he hated to. He must have been that comfortable around her, and it made her heart soar.

They snuck up the steps and through the house, trying not to disturb any activity inside. Once they made it out onto the grass, they tiptoed around the house and made for the hill behind the building, leaving Dali behind them, if only a few yards.

The blonde girl didn't say anything for a long time as they walked next to each other. Blank felt naked with his eyes exposed and he ran a hand through his hair.

"What's the matter, Ruby?"

She turned to him and smiled, though it seemed strained and sad. "I love you, Blank," the slower she talked, the less of her accent he picked up on, so the words were clear. He blinked at her, finding trouble expressing it back so easily, simply because he hated saying those things. He felt like it jinxed their progress.

"I love you too, Ruby…" he replied slowly, blinking at her. "But what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she shook her head at him, but he knew that she was lying. Before he could say anything else to her though, she stepped forward and bent down slightly because he was still shorter than her, and planted a long, tender kiss on his lips.

When she pulled back, a sarcastic retort rolled to the tip of his tongue, but when he saw the seriousness in her expression, it evaporated. As though sensing some sort of urgency from the girl, Blank pressed the palms of his bare hands against her cheeks and kissed her again, slowly this time, like an exploratory kiss.

The two of them stood like that for a long while, and when Blank's knees suddenly hit the ground and he was hovering over Ruby, he barely even noticed. They continued to kiss in the early morning sun, ignoring the wetness of the dew that was slowly soaking their clothes, or the sounds of the city building steadily behind them.

Suddenly, their kiss turned into something more passionate in the tall grass. She was suddenly clutching him tighter and he was kissing her harder, overwhelmed with similar feelings to those that evolved mutually between them in the South Gate.

He curled his fingers around her thigh and slowly moved his hands upward, feeling her shudder with exhilaration. Her lids fluttered open, and her walnut eyes stared heavily into his for a moment, before she was pulling off his shirt.

Blank's heart pounded in his ears as it finally registered, a few minutes later, what was happening. He pulled back from kissing her neck, trying to ignore the faint mark he'd just left. "Rubes –"

"Shhh," she hushed him, like she had already thought about where they were going, and how she felt about it. He stared at her for a moment more, and for the first time, he really realized Ruby's maturity, and the age gap between them. Two years wasn't a big hit, but laying naked of nearly all armored protection in the tall grass in a small village they'd spent almost six years growing up together in, he saw it for the first time.

She gave him a smile that he could no longer ignore as he moved to kiss her neck again. But she flipped him roughly, a glint in her eye as she kissed his lips, trailing down his jawline and neck to his chest. He blinked before letting out a gruff sigh, fisting her hair with unconscious delight.

The world moved around them as they held each other, both realizing that with their journey coming to an end, survival was slimmer, and if they made it past this leg of the adventure, going up against Kuja's army was going to be even harder. They'd spent too long putting up the façade that they hated each other, and now they suddenly felt like there wasn't enough time left to show the world they did love each other.

But for now, it was just Blank and Ruby, Ruby and Blank, and the redhead realized that maybe the time where all of his other company were wrapped up in more important things, like recruitment or rest, this was the best time ever that he'd been unable to sleep.


Freya watched the slosh of her alcohol in the crystal glass. She leaned forward at the high top table, her legs crossed eloquently in front of her, a look of smoldering superiority spread across her face. She bobbed her leg slightly to the beat of the song a guitarist was strumming over in the corner.

Dali had never been known for its bars or alcohol, but she had grown accustomed to the slightly bitter flavors, and was pleasantly surprised when she found the owners of her previous favorite bar had returned to rebuild.

Steiner and Beatrix schmoozed some man that they knew from their days in Alexandria. They'd been shocked to see him back in Dali, sure that he wouldn't come back after all of the trouble caused. But he claimed that nothing could keep him too far from his home, and Dali was the closest he could be to it without working for Kuja. He was a weapon's shop owner, and they were working to get him to come with them – a skilled blacksmith was one artisan they had yet to come across until now.

Since she didn't know the man, she found her own presence a little awkward around him, so she ordered some straight whiskey and sat at a table, enjoying the quick spurts of relaxation Dali was greeting her with. She knew that they should be careful, but it was so early, and nobody seemed worried that the resistance members were out and about; the Bermecian figured they would start getting nervous looks when it was time to head inside.

"Red Heart is my favorite type of whiskey," she glanced up to see a middle aged man with dark scruff across his chin and jet black hair hanging just above his grey eyes.

She stared down at what remained of her drink before tipping her head back and shooting the rest. "Mine as well," she said back to him.

He stared at her for an almost flattering amount of time before moving closer to her table. He was in a white shirt rolled up at the sleeves, a leather vest over it. His brown pants were tucked into boots, all of his clothing hanging attractively around his muscular body. Freya however, only lifted an eyebrow.

"My name is Sam," he offered, holding out his hand.

She stared at it with a superior gaze before tracing her cold eyes to his face. He looked like he was having a hard time staying so positive around her, so she gave him the benefit of the doubt and slid her hand into his. "Freya."

"Lovely name," he complimented before gesturing to the table. "Mind if I sit?"

"By all means," she nodded.

They sat in silence for a moment before he caught the glitter of her ruby in the lighting of the bar. "Ah, a lucky man."

The Bermecian took a moment to realize what he was talking about before she tilted her hand so she could see the stone better. "You could say that," she offered.

"So why is he leaving such a lovely creature as yourself all by her lonesome in a dingy bar in Dali?" he grinned, and she found it hard not to chuckle.

He was doing his best to hit on her, and she found it sort of amusing. He did not possess the smooth and silk charm that Fratley did.

"He is defending a city," she told him, almost matter-of-factly.

Sam's smirk got wider, but she didn't know why. She didn't feel threatened by this man, but she didn't particularly like how aggressive he was acting, especially since he'd spotted the ring right away.

There were a few more moments of silence before she shifted. "Have nothing more to say about it then?" She challenged.

"I'm simply observing the way you feel about it."

"I do not control what he will and will not do," she defended herself.

"But you are saddened. Someone of such grace and –" he gestured to her equipment – "skill shouldn't be full of sorrow in such times of grief."

"And yet are we not all stuck in this fate?" She asked, wishing suddenly she had more of her drink.

"I would drink to that!" He laughed, sauntering over to the bar and grabbed the bottle from behind the counter. The bartender grumbled, but didn't say anything. He poured himself a drink and refilled her glass.

It was then that she noticed the ring on his own finger. She almost blushed. "You are married…"

"Ahhh… this old thing?" He scrunched up his face as he moved the gold band on his tanned finger. He grinned at her, "I got you, didn't I?"

She let on a laugh then and took a sip from her glass. "Where is she?"

He sighed and sat back up on his chair. "I don't know."

"You keep poor track of your wife," she teased.

"If only that were the case," he retorted, before his expression grew somber. "She disappeared nearly seven years ago, and I have not seen her since."

The summed up version of that story sounded strangely familiar. It was as if she'd heard it before, but not quite the same. Haven't seen her in seven years… Wasn't that what Tantalus had been chattering about when Zidane –

Her eyes snapped up to the man in revelation. "Where were you living at the time?"

"I was in Treno," he nodded. "We weren't living there," he shrugged, "but she wanted to visit before Kuja completely took it over. My sister lived there and we stayed with her."

Freya stared at the man, and watched the way his face dipped down into depression. His eyes were far away as he continued to fiddle with his ring. The story of Zidane's abduction finally came to the forefront of her mind and she tried to rearrange the details in chronological order. She had only learned bits and pieces over the years.

"Let me guess," she began, trying to keep her voice strong and certain, but she was excited – finally being able to help give someone peace as she'd watched her allies continually do. She wanted the chance now. "She had been out too late at night, and did not come back?"

He stared at her, startled that she knew. "She went out looking for my niece, actually, and neither of them ever came back after that night. My sister and I waited and waited, but they disappeared. We were heartbroken. My sister's husband had died in a battle with Kuja in the very early stages of the war, and Elouise was all she had left."

Freya blinked, even more surprise sweeping up her being. She set her glass on the table and leaned forward, startling the man out of his reverie. "What did you say?"

"My sister's husband? He –"

"About your niece. What was her name?"

"Elouise," he said slowly.

Freya pressed her lips into a thin line before she let out a light laugh. "There's someone I think you should meet."

"Who?!" His confusion was bubbling over, and suddenly his handsome, suave nature was gone, replaced by the plea to find out what had happened to his family.

"One of my friends could help you I believe. His name is Zidane."

"Zidane," the man parroted, his eyebrows knitting together. "Why does that sound familiar – wait… isn't that the name of one of the dreamers here in Dali?" He had a good memory.

She nodded. "Yes. It is."

He finally caught on to her thoughts as his eyes widened and he blinked dumbly at her. Freya realized that not only was she helping this man, but maybe she could help Zidane get some of the information he'd been stressing out about ever since he left the Alexandrian castle.


A/N: Whoa! Plot twist that I didn't even have in the plans! :D Fun!

I hope you all enjoyed their reunion! /Squeeee/ It was so fun to write! Thank you all for sticking with me to this point!

I'm sorry if the scene about Ruby and Blank offended anyone, but something about writing those two at this point in the game, finding some sort of comfort in something that didn't seem right for anyone else… just sort of came out, and I decided to go with it. I did scale it back a little during my edit, hope you all don't mind.

-zesty-