New beginnings.

[confidentia]

Who: Ace, OPEN
Where: Hero Training facility
When: The second half of September, but before visiting the Sage
What: Having taken up the position of an instructor of magic at Chrom's school, Ace takes his time adjusting to his new responsibilities. Anyone is welcome to join as either a student (Black Mage, Summoner, Chocobo Knight) or a sparring partner, whether it's before/during/after a practice, or maybe they're just having a lunch break together. Anything goes!
Warnings: None, so far.


Him, a teacher? Ace had never even come close to being a model student during his time at the academy. Most morning lectures had him slumped over his desk as he caught up on lost sleep, which, in hindsight, hadn't been the most... respectful way to go about his lack of interest.

( How he nonetheless managed to achieve near-perfect results on tests was always beyond his classmates' comprehension. )

Maybe he wasn't the most well-suited candidate for the job, but it didn't mean he wouldn't at least make a solid attempt. On top of his time spent in Crystallis, he'd been given the benefit of a thorough military training, so should his experience serve to ease another Hero's concerns, he was willing to do his best. If anything, it granted him an opportunity to keep a closer eye on what the others were up to.

More importantly, though, it helped him take his own mind off certain things.


The cadet’s specialty was magic, but since there was never a shortage of those eager to know more about the Chocobo Knight Job, he often brought Suzaku over for company. He had some doubts, initially - but as it turned out, the gold-feathered bird clearly enjoyed his newfound abilities, spending every moment of downtime on circling the skies over the facility.

On the slower days, he allowed himself a change of his routine. Swapping magical tomes for a training sword and robes for his ordinary uniform, he dedicated an hour or two to pursuing the often neglected - but no less important, now, that he had more offensive skills in his repetitoire - art of swordsmanship. Used to training alone, he usually didn't consider asking anyone for assistance. It was less than ideal without the familiar battle simulations at the ready, but imagination served well enough in filling in blanks. So long as he put his mind to it, he could still make the same leaps and lunge forward with the same ferocity as if the enemy was an actual creature rather than a lifeless mannequin.

And for what it was worth, footwork had always been his strongest suit. Handling heavier weapons, however… less so. While nothing could rival the flexibility of a card deck, it was high time he took upon himself to branch out a little, right?

Comments

[confidentia]

Like an ironic twist of fate, the power resting beneath her fingertips provided a serious threat to the confidence he supposedly already lacked. Very much present, still, was the memory of exchanged kisses and subtle ways of expressing affection, compared to which the lecture seemed almost mechanical in nature.

But she still had it in her, didn't she? That warm spark of light no amount of negativity could extinguish, hiding beneath the melodist's harsh exterior. Given time, they would weather this storm, and hopefully, today would be the first step towards it.

For now, he didn't want to linger on the meaning of her gesture too much, trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Got it."

Tightening the grip on the wooden handle, he readied himself before slashing at the air with his practice sword. It was simple enough in theory, but without the boosts provided by physically inclined Jobs, he had to depend solely on the strength of his own limbs. All things considered, however, he couldn't have asked for a better motivation than the desire to prove himself in front of his partner.

It worked so well, in fact, that he couldn't stop himself from repeating the process... a couple more times before settling back into the original position. Breathless as it left him, the sense of satisfaction made the effort worth it. After all, being a rather quick learner, he knew it hadn't been the worst attempt.

"I... do hope it was up to your expectations." A soft, almost unnoticeable smile crossed his features as he spoke in a quieter voice. "I'm happy to see you."

[cantante]

Honestly, a part of her was surprised at how quickly Ace had picked up on her advice and corrections, watching his every movement carefully when he went beyond what she had asked for. Of course, that didn't mean she would let up in whatever instruction she could provide—to do so would be doing him a great disservice, and she never had any intention of giving him less than her best.

"It will be, given time. There's much room for improvement." Folding her arms, she continued. "Swordsmanship isn't my specialty, but it was required that we learn the fundamentals of wielding one during our officer training to enlist in the Order. Being here allowed me to train further on what I already knew."

More importantly, there was another aspect of his state that needed to be addressed right away.

"... Remember to breathe, just like we practiced with your singing. Those exercises will serve you well here, too." Only then did the melodist allow herself to relax, face softening into a wistful expression as she again returned to hugging herself. Acting on the desire to reach out and ease him into that stance... would be more than she could handle, in this moment.

"I forgot to set out lunch for you before you left, I figured I could at least bring it to you and see for myself." Before she could say anything more, Sein decided to come forward and balance the lunch box atop Ace's head. See? He was helping the cadet with his posture, too!

"Mystearica was very surprised by your note, that must have been why she forgot, kupo..." Satisfied with the position of the parcel, the Moogle floated back a little. "She was really worried, Mystearica thought you might think she wanted you to starve, kupo..."

"... That's not what I meant, why would I want him to starve?"

"Because you two kupoheads keep being so...! So...!" While Sein may be a normally calm and collected moogle, the bright red of his cheeks along with the way his paws balled into fists was anything but as he instead zoomed toward the opposite end of the room, lest he blurt something inappropriate in front of his Hero.

[confidentia]

"Given time." He repeated after Tear, acknowledging the somewhat subtle compliment that had fallen from her lips. There was always room for improvement, and she'd made it clear a long time ago over the course of their evening classes.

As it turned out, his mind wasn't the only one to return to wander back to that time, even if for slightly different reasons. "I should have had the foresight to get on this earlier," he muttered to himself, propping his sword against the weapon rack, "since I can't afford to be overly confident anymore. Nobody can." The sentiment was punctuated with a drawn out sigh that might as well have been his attempt to even out his breathing, as per advice he'd been given.

Closing his eyes, he stayed that way for a few seconds before opening them again. "Lunch?" The very mention of it drawn his attention to the emptiness in his stomach, but even more so the way she'd phrased it. Like a legitimate concern it truly wasn't; not when she must have had so many other things on her mind.

Whatever he'd been meaning to say next, too, descended into a quiet whimper when the package landed atop of his head, directing his gaze upwards. That could only be Sein, though he still hadn't expected a double intervention... nor being called a kupohead out of nowhere. Securing his grip around the package - impeccably wrapped, as always - he brought it down, looking rather unsure about what had just transpired right in front of him. Oddly enough, so did the two culprits.... Between Tear's puzzled glance and Sein's horrified expression, he found himself growing inexplicably nervous, himself.

"... I didn't think anything like that, for the record." Just to dash the doubts away. His tongue burnt with the desire to ask what it had truly been that Sein had so gravely misunderstood, except it didn't seem right to inquire about a private conversation. He'd already gotten the most important part. Deep inside, Tear was worried about him....

“The reason I called you here is exactly that - to avoid misunderstandings.” Ace explained, taking one step closer once the Moogle had flown off. “If we can be true to ourselves and each other, perhaps then-...”

Well, wasn't that a rather heavy-handed way to put it. As made evident by a flinch of his fingers, now curled even more tightly around the parcel, the realisation was quick to set in, at the very least.

"... You didn't have to. But since you're already here, I thought-..." He pursed his lips. "We could maybe eat together."

[cantante]

"... That's right. We can't afford to think that way anymore. Honestly, we never should have in the first place." Even as the melodist spoke and she stared after the retreating Moogle, her thin fingers began to dig into her arms. She had seen firsthand just how much that overconfidence could cost them, and it almost made her want to reach out to take the boy by the hand again, as if the seemingly childish act would be enough to keep the worst from happening. Closing her eyes briefly, Tear herself took a moment to breathe and push back the images such words had summoned—now wasn't the time to start focusing on that again.

What she could focus on instead were the words that followed. There was undeniably a sense of relief that her partner still understood her wish to watch over him, to ensure his well-being hadn't wavered. No matter what happened between them, nothing would ever change that truth. But even then, it didn't stop her from stiffening upon hearing that particular phrasing.

Resisting the very strong desire to lock gazes with him and make it clear just what she thought of the declaration to be 'true to each other,' the girl instead released the building frustration in the form of a quiet sigh. That particular conversation... could wait, a little while longer.

Besides, he had actually gone and extended the offer she had secretly been hoping he would, one she knew she couldn't turn down if they had any hope of reconciling soon. More than that, it was a part of their old routine she had come to miss dearly with the growing distance; a way to be close to each other and maybe have the chance to talk again, rather than just for the sake of eating.

"I may not have had to, but I made that choice anyway." Now was when she could reach out and lightly touch the fingers holding the parcel, eyes still not lifting to meet his. "You know this facility and your schedule better than I do, I'll leave it to you to decide if it's better to stay here."

[confidentia]

Ace, on the other hand, decided to take it one step further, letting his lips speak without the need for any words, pressing them softly against the girl’s cheek the moment she’d gotten close. Her skin felt colder than he remembered, but for that he wished to blame the autumn wind, knowing that the emotions stirring within his chest couldn't have been all that different from hers.

He also knew what he was walking into, fully expecting to be pierced by her questioning gaze when he pulled away - but no matter how much it made his confidence waver, he wished to meet those wistful eyes.

"Let me think about it." It wasn't even that he couldn't leave on such a short notice, since he was more than willing to make that one exception from the rule, and Suzaku's transformation had made it so much easier to travel. They could go anywhere, so making the decision was truly the hardest part....

It would also draw his attention away from he had originally set out to do. Holding the box with just one hand, he reached out to loosely curl his fingers around hers. Just for a short while - or as long as it would take him to reach the courtyard, where a row of benches were lined up against the wall; that's where he decided to lead her to, gently tugging the melodist along.

"Maybe I could show you around.... I guess that doesn't sound too exciting, though, does it?" A part of him simply wanted to involve her in his life - in his daily life again, as selfish as it felt to entertain that thought. "If you'd rather punch me, we could arrange that, too. There's no better place to do that, if you think about it."

[cantante]

The sensation of his lips against her skin brought with it a wave of conflicting emotions just as every other touch seemed to have recently, thoughts she had lived with constantly for the past month whether he acknowledged it or not. Among them was the strong desire to push him back and walk away again, in order to make clear that she was indeed still upset about the discovery she had uncovered during their time in the Rift, the longing to be able to so easily forgive and move on from it so they could still have a chance to make the most of their time left (and it seemed so much shorter now), and perhaps most selfishly, behind all the others, was the wish to return to how things had been before, to the peaceful ignorance he may have tried to protect her with before. A farce that was already shadowed by the fear of losing him again. Except the soldier knew well that it would never be possible to go back to that, and she wouldn't fool herself into believing so once more.

All of them together made her expression indecipherable when her eyes snap up to meet his, and prompted her to again turn away hardly a moment after as she tried to regather a semblance of composure. Regardless of the battle waging within Tear had every intention of at least spending this time with him and perhaps listening to whatever he might say, and for that to happen properly she couldn't allow him to see her like this. Still, when she found her hand in his she couldn't help but hold on more tightly. It was the greatest comfort she knew, and even now allowed her to put her thoughts back in order in time to appreciate the courtyard as they entered it.

Gazing around, another sigh pushed past her lips when she at last turned back to him, this time in no hurry to direct her attention away.

"I... want to be able to imagine where you are, wherever it is. Is that strange?" Whether it was exciting or not—that was her decision to make, though she couldn't negate the tiny curiosity that was always present in the back of her mind. "If you want to show me around now or some other time, I'll follow you."

Though he had to go and make that absolutely absurd suggestion, didn't he? Had the melodist had both hands free, she would have them placed on her hips to match the reproaching look on her face. As it was, she could only tug on his hand to communicate how ridiculous it was, maybe a little harder than she had intended. "And just what would I gain out of punching you for no good reason or outside of combat? Aside from an unnecessary trip to the hospital?"

Honestly, she didn't doubt that it was a remote possibility if she actually went through with the offer...

[confidentia]

The remnants of her internal struggles were very evident in the way the melodist carried herself, resulting in some mixed messages being thrown his way. He doubted it was a fully intentional on her part, but it hurt all the same to experience the taste of rejection when she turned away all too suddenly. If it was all meant to teach him a lesson, it definitely succeeded in all but one way - giving him an opportunity to mend what had been broken.

Deep in his heart, there was an unshakable sense of disappointment that flared through him every time she shut him out. They were better than that, weren’t they? They had come such a long way... which is also why there was something uplifting about the question she voiced, somewhat unexpectedly.

"It's not-," the cadet shook his head, tone getting slightly softer, "it's not at all strange to comfort yourself with such thoughts... I think." While he shared the sentiment, there were probably many who would call him out on sounding unreasonable. Did he care about it? Hardly. If there was anything that he had learnt over the course of the past year, it was that feelings did not always follow the patterns you expected them to.

For example, he hadn't anticipated nearly as much opposition when she scoffed at his suggestion. Admittedly, he had phrased it rather bluntly, and not entirely without spite, on the off-chance she would find it humorous, or... go ahead with it. At this point, it seemed as viable a solution as any other.

Following a short and wordless deliberation, he withdrew his hand from the grasp and placed the box on the surface of the bench, but didn't sit down just yet. Carefully lifting the lid, he couldn't help but smile at the edible arrangements of colours and shapes - little works of art - stored within before putting it back on.

"I don't know." He confessed with a sigh, turning back to her. Already gone were the traces of the smile from just seconds ago, replaced by a thin line of his lips. "If you can't answer that yourself, I certainly won't be able to."

[cantante]

"... I'm glad to hear that." It was one unexpected weight off her shoulders, knowing her partner thought the same. But before she could think on it further, they were already apart again. Instinct compelled her to reach out for his hand again the moment they parted, a soft gasp even escaping her lips when the warmth disappeared from her grasp. But rational thought returned quickly enough, and Tear instead pulled herself back before she actually carried through with fulfilling the subconscious wish, folding her hands securely over her stomach as and extra measure while he continued discussing the absurd offer he had extended to her.

"If it's practice you want, I might be willing to help you." That in itself seemed reasonable enough, and as a trained soldier there was little reason to doubt she would be able to keep her personal feelings in check, even with faced with such an opponent. That wasn't the issue at hand, however, and she needed to make that clear.

"Except you almost made it sound as if I would get personal satisfaction putting you in that sort of pain, Ace." Those words now out in the open, she couldn't keep her frown from deepening.

"Tell me, have I at any point made it seem like I want to see you that way?" Though even as she spoke, she berated herself mentally—was that not exactly what she had been doing, with the way she had behaved around him all these weeks? Looking at it objectively, one could almost call her methods childish for refusing to talk with him.