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You knew he'd be proud of you.
All smiles as you returned to him, hot chocolate being offered to you in one hand, immediately followed by a tight embrace.
The clink of his chainmail as he released you was something you'd always remember. You thought about it as often as you could.
He would usher you to sit across from him. He would lean that beautiful little head of his on his hand, his blue eyes lighting up with tales of another world. That's what you know he would've enjoyed the most. Sitting in front of the fireplace, drinks in hand.
Instead, your only solace was making the trek up to where they put him to rest, the only company his broken shield. Sometimes you wanted to throw it off the godsdamned cliff. Other times, you held it tenderly in your hands, wondering if there was anything you could've done in that moment. It was the only thing that was left of him that you could physically touch, and you hadn't had a chance to return since coming to the First.
Even now, you sit in the corner of your inn room at the Crystarium, away from the window, away from any light...and you mourn.
Today was a dark day. And on dark days, you think of him and his warm smile.
"A smile better suits a hero..." you whisper, your voice cracking as you try to speak those words. You repeat them.
You do not smile.