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One look at the crowd that had gathered in front of Hoarfrost Hall and for a moment. Aymeric felt like all of Eorzea had come together to join hands in celebrating the inauguration of the Firmament.
There were a lot of emotions that went through the Lord Speaker’s mind as he made his way in front of the podium overlooking the now completed Firmament, all positive feelings. To see what had once been naught more than stone and rubble transform into the bustling hub that it now was, rebuilt by the efforts of both Ishgardian and adventurers alike, had his heart swell with pride, a feeling that he conveyed through his speech.
But even that could not compare to the knowledge that the Warrior of Light herself had also taken the time to help with the rebuilding efforts; he’d read reports that she had provided materials and served hot meals to those hard at work. As he went on with his speech, he glanced around the crowd, hoping to spot the warrior among them. Thankfully, his efforts were not in vain, spotting her off at the side handing out freshly baked pastries to the children who crowded around her.
Ever the charitable one , he mused.
As soon as the talks were concluded, he made his way through the crowd, his sights set upon the warrior who was yet unaware of his presence. So focused was the Raen at the task on hand that she almost jumped in surprise when he called out to her.
"Even with your busy schedule, you still make time to help others. Truly, the Warrior of Light's generosity knows no bounds."
Pale golden eyes turned up to meet bright blue eyes, and for a moment, he could not help but be taken away by how beautiful she was. They exchanged no words between the both of them. Time feeling as if it had stopped at that instance, the both of them locked into a trance before she finally broke the silence.
“Lord Aymeric—”
"Please, just Aymeric is fine." He flashed her a smile. "It had been quite a while since we had last met. Full glad am I to see you healthy and well."
A soft smile formed on her lips. "The same can be said to you, Aymeric. ’Tis good to know that you’re holding up well despite your busy schedule.”
Ah, ever so considerate to a fault; he couldn’t help but cherish that aspect of her. Although truthfully, there was so much of her that he had come to love and adore. He cleared his throat.
“But that aside, if you would spare me a moment of your time.”
"Yes?"
“Truth be told, with more pressing matters at hand that I had to attend to, I had not had the time to see to the Firmament’s progression during the restoration period. I've managed to clear up a schedule right now and—"
He paused a little, a bit of anxiety bubbling in his chest realizing what he meant to ask of her. But he pushed the thought away and mustered up the courage to go through with what he intended to say.
"Perhaps, if you wouldn’t mind…would you care to accompany me and show me around the Firmament?”
She blinked, a little surprised at the offer that he had handed out. For a moment, her face was almost unreadable as she contemplated his request. He had almost wondered if she was going to decline, but when she finally made her decision, a soft smile graced her features.
“If you would give me some time to hand over the rest of these pastries, I would love to.”
And in that moment, the smile on his face was immeasurable.
“Of course.”
It did not take long for the warrior to hand out the last of the pastries that she had prepared, and before long she had taken to the bustling streets of the Firmament with Aymeric.
Time passed in a pleasant blur as they walked, engaging each other in pleasant small talk as they wandered the streets. Aymeric peppered her with eager questions about each area, and in turn, she regaled him with stories about each, speaking of her own role in the rebuilding process with some embarrassment. Still, he was content to listen, offering awe and earnest praise for her contributions, and simply just enjoying the rare chance to simply talk with her.
Eventually, they circled the entirety of the Firmament, and festivities were in full swing by the time they meandered back to the Abacus. They arrived just in time to see that the crowd that had been there for the inauguration had long dispersed, and in its place, a section was roped off in anticipation of a game being set up. Curiosity brought the pair closer, watching with interest from the sidelines as a new crowd formed, gathering around the perimeter and talking among themselves as they waited for preparations to be complete.
As he watched the bustling activity unfold in front of them, he asked her a question that had lingered on his mind for a while.
“Have you ever participated in these sorts of games?”
he shook her head in disagreement. “No, not really” the Raen responded, her sights still set on the space in front of them. “While I find them fun, I’ve...always been content with simply watching from the distance.”
“Have you ever considered joining in?”
His question gave her some pause, the Raen resting the palm of her hand on her cheek as she mulls over how to respond. She had always contented herself to be but a bystander in these sorts of situations; the thought of having to actively participate has never been on her mind. Before she could even formulate an answer, however, they were interrupted by one of the mascots who practically bounded over to them, the one that had introduced themselves as Perky Piggy.
“I thought I was imagining things, but it seems that they do not lie; to see the Warrior of Light and the Lord Speaker together! Now that’s something you don’t see everyday” clapping their hooves together, they suddenly turned their attention towards the warrior, grabbing her hands “Say, would you like to partake in the upcoming game? I think you would enjoy what me and my little swinelings have prepared."
“I—”
The Raen was caught by surprise as the mascot stretched out a hand to her in offer, hesitance evident on her face. He noticed the uncertainty in her eyes and, in the heat of the moment, blurted out a suggestion that caught both the mascot and the warrior off guard.
“If I were to join in with you, would you reconsider?”
Her attention immediately turned toward Aymeric. She stuttered, flabbergasted even at his proposal. Her view then shifted toward the mascot, who seemed to be enjoying the turn of events that had played out.
“Well, this was unexpected.” Putting their hooves on their waist, the mascot puffed out their chest. “But who are we to deny the Lord Speaker himself if he wanted to join in? After all, today is a day of celebration!”
Smiling, he turned towards the warrior, hand outstretched in invitation. There was still some apprehension in the Raen’s face, but in the end she yielded, taking his hand in turn and joining the growing crowd.
For a moment, Aymeric was worried that he might have coerced her into doing something that she was completely uncomfortable with, but he was pleasantly surprised that she had taken all this better than he had anticipated. While the warrior’s body language was still tense, curiosity and interest lingered in her features, her attention focused on the celebration guide who had stepped up on a makeshift pedestal to announce the rules of the game that was about to go underway.
“So all we have to do is find little presents scattered around the area, and we leave it up to chance whether they contain a toy or a surprise. I will admit, this looks fun,” the warrior spoke, a slight sparkle in her eyes. Aymeric couldn’t help but smile, seeing the warrior trying to enjoy herself.
It was not long before the sound that signaled the start of the game went off, and the crowd that had gathered started to scramble in different directions, eager to find the little toys that Perky Piggy and their little swinelings had hidden.
The warrior had decided to stick close to Aymeric for the time being, making sure not to stray too far from the Elezen all while doing their utmost best to find one of the little boxes. They eventually each find a box which they presented to each other with a hint of childlike glee in their face.
“Do we open on the count of three?”
“Aye”
While the warrior’s box revealed itself to be one of the special toys, Aymeric’s box exploded in a cloud of smoke, encompassing the Lord Speaker that caught both of them by surprise. The smoke eventually parted ways, revealing the Elezen Lord had taken the form of a tiny stuffed pig.
“Ah.”
There was silence between them as the Raen looked at the rather adorable form he had taken, finding his new appearance rather endearing. But before a word could come out from either of them about his sudden change, the magic dispelled itself just as quickly as it had come, returning Aymeric back to his normal self.
There was more silence between them, processing the harmless absurdity that had transpired, and then they broke out into laughter together.
“I did not think that the surprise would be as cute as I thought.”
“I agree; I didn’t think I’d be greeted by the sight of the Lord Speaker in such an adorable form. ”
“How about we have a bit of friendly competition, then?”
“You’re on.”
Whatever apprehension the warrior had was no longer there by the time the game had concluded, and the day passed by fairly quickly since, both of them merely enjoying each other's company. The sun had eventually given way, night finally befalling Ishgard as the festivities slowly began to die down. They both took their time still, simply content with small talk about the going ons with their lives.
They finally came upon Saint Roelle’s Dais, where an open-air stage had been set up with a piano propped up in the center. Once, it had been used for a performance organized by Francel, but for the purpose of the festival, it had been where several concerts were held throughout the day. It seemed by the time they had arrived, the musicians had finished for the day, their instruments laid propped up on the side while they were nowhere to be found.
"I still remember when you were up there on the stage performing with Francel and everyone else. Truly, your skills with the violin were impeccable."
She couldn't help but blush at his compliment, pink dusting her cheeks. "Ah…I admit, I had to brush off the rust for that. I still am actually. It has been quite a while since I had the time to truly play the violin."
"Would you indulge in another selfish request?"
"Oh?"
He made his way to a storage closet where the instruments had been tucked away, pulling out a violin and bow to hand over to her.
"A duet, you and I."
The warrior blinked. "I'm a little surprised. I did not take you to be one proficient in the performing arts."
"I was instructed in several instruments in my youth, and piano is just one. Though, I admit I may be a bit rusty as well, not having the luxury of time to sit down and hone it as of late."
The warrior raised a curious eyebrow at his response. “I didn’t think you would be the sort to play the piano."
He let out a chuckle at her response. "I suppose it did come out as a surprise; it's not exactly a talent that I would have many opportunities to present. But regardless, the question still stands."
With a smile on his face, he points the instruments on his hand toward her in invitation, and she could only give out a giggle, taking the instruments from him in turn.
“I would love to.”
While they worked towards fine-tuning their instruments, the first few drops of snow landed gently on her arm, the Raen pausing to look up towards the sky to see snowfall coming. Illuminated only by the glow of lanterns around them did the dancing snowflakes glitter in the in the dark of night, painting an almost ethereal scene around them.
The soft smile that graced her features was a vision that Aymeric wished to burn into his mind so that he might treasure it till the end of time.
Slender fingers hovered over the piano keys, brilliant blue eyes locking with the warrior’s golden ones, nothing but affirmation and eagerness dancing in them. In that one singular moment, it felt like the world had come to a standstill, just two people in complete sync with each other.
At that one singular moment, it felt like everything was right.
“Shall we begin?”
The first few notes were experimental and rough, slightly out of tune. But eventually, despite the initial rust, they found their groove and everything seemed to fall in place naturally. Nothing else mattered to them at this point, completely engrossed by the medley that they weaved together.
Hearing this piece when the warrior performed with Francel had been mesmerizing as it is. But to be able to perform this at her side, creating a beautiful duo of melodies that intertwined as if naught beyond the two of them existed?
Aymeric thought, how lovely it would be if he could spark more memories like this with her.
The melody had enraptured them both, caught in a trance as they let their instruments convey feelings held deep within them that they could not manifest in words. But all good things would come to an end eventually, and as they hit the final notes, everything suddenly went silent.
There was nothing but the sound of their soft breathing as they came down from the emotional high, their eyes locking together. Whatever apprehension that held him back was finally let loose, and he finally mustered up the courage to say the words that he had bottled up the whole day.
“The melody we weaved together…That was something I couldn't have imagined. It was beautiful, exquisite, a fond memory that I would love to cherish.” He paused, steeling himself for whatever came after he let loose the floodgates.
”If it...isn't too much of me to ask, I would love to make more beautiful memories with you, if you would have me.”
It took a while before the implications of his words completely sank in, and in a span of seconds, pink dusted the Raen’s cheeks.
“I—you—” she stammered, a lot of things processing in her mind.
“Please, do not feel pressured to say yes for my sake,” he assured her, attempting to soothe her nerves. “If you do not share these feelings that I hold for you, then that is completely fine by me. All I wish for is for your happiness, after all.”
“No! You don’t understand.” she finally blurted out, her face seemingly redder by the second. “It’s not that I’m against it, but rather…”
“...Rather?”
He held his breath in disbelief, not daring to hope that she would say the words that he’d dreamed that she would say.
“To know that you share the same feelings for me…It makes me happy. I like you, Aymeric. I really like you a lot. You don’t understand how this means to me.”
He almost choked on his breath, the words ringing true at his core.
“Truly?” he asked her softly. A small part of him was asking himself if this was but a dream.
She smiled back in return, propping the violin on top of the piano before reaching out for his hands, wrapping her own hands over his in loving affirmation.
“Truly.”
They stayed like that for a while, letting the weight of the confession sink in; the realization that they had feelings for each other, what it meant for the both of them moving forward. It opened up a whole new plethora of possibilities and challenges that seemed daunting at first.
But now that they had each other, probably not as daunting.
The warrior broke the silence eventually, a sheepish chuckle escaping her lips as she finally came to terms with what had happened.
“I will admit, for something like a confession, I would think that moments like these would feel more magical and less…ordinary.”
Aymeric chuckled. “Is that so? There’s nothing wrong with the ordinary, if that’s what you think. It’s who you spend it with that makes it special ”
“I suppose so.” She laughed , closing her eyes for a moment before looking upward, her lips forming a silent O, which prompted Aymeric to look up above them to see what had caught her attention.
It was as if the Twelve above has decided to humor them. On the archway above the stage, nestled among the decorations that had been set upon it, was mistletoe, dangling just above them. They turned down to face each other, bursting into laughter.
“Well, that answers everything, does it?” she mused.
“Absolutely,” he replied, before pulling her close for a kiss.