Work Text:
The day Jote reunited with Joshua in Tabor, he began building a wall between them. The feeling of his soft lips burned on her forehead, even six months later, a phantom brand that would never fade. Not even after he said goodbye, she knew deep down he had started building that wall because the curse on his body had spread too far, especially after caging Ultima, and he was not long for this world.
He must have thought that saying his early goodbyes would spare her from the pain of when he passed, but he felt worse than death by detaching himself starting at Tabor.
There were times at the Hideaway when they would pass each other in the hallways, but words were never exchanged between the two, only painful glances. Then, the day came when he was leaving to resolve everything with Ultima. He spoke to her for the last time, kissed her forehead again, and apologized for everything he had done to her. Too hurt, she told him she would pray for his safe return and tried her hardest to smile for him.
That was six months ago.
Origin had long since fallen from the sky in a cascade of diamonds. All crystals were gone from the world, and with it, magic. When the sky regained its beautiful blue hue, uncertainty came for the future. Though difficult at first, people learned they could survive without magic. The Hideaway had the most effortless transition since most bearers living there didn’t use their magic unless dire. Mid’s inventions helped them find other ways to do things without magic. Mid was now in the business of producing her prototypes for other towns to use, but it would take time.
Jote, on the other hand, found ways to keep herself busy in the Hideaway to keep her mind off losing Joshua. She assisted Tarja in her physicker work, usually by making potions or draughts to take away the suffering of her patients.
As all things come to a head, that also became difficult, especially on the day Clive returned to the Hideaway without his brother or Dion. When Jote got him alone to ask about Joshua, he confirmed that he had healed Joshua before destroying magic, but Dion or Joshua was nowhere to be found when Clive next awoke.
Jote thanked him and accepted he might have been gone from the world but was frustrated that Clive made it sound like he hadn’t bothered to look. The following evening, Jote packed a bag to travel and see if she could find him. Jote left without saying goodbyes the next day because Jill or Tarja would try to stop her. Instead, she left them letters, saying she did not know if she would return, but one thing was sure.
She could not live in a world without Joshua Rosfield.
—
As Jote thumbed through her travel log, there was one place left to go. It was the summit of one of the mountains of Storm. She remembered this place well because it was one of the first places Joshua wanted to visit to see how far the Blight had spread when he awoke from his coma after imprisoning Ultima. She loved and hated this location because while it seemed like they were on top of the world here, it made Joshua feel like his efforts were in vain. There was little she could do to comfort him then because when she compared her power to him, she was like a speck drowning in a sea of aether next to him. Not that he would ever allow her to use her magic for him anyway.
She sighed, sat down on the summit's edge, looked up at the blue sky, and began to cry, wishing she dared to tear down the wall Joshua was building at the time. How foolish was she to waste the fleeting moments she would have with him before he left and never returned?
“I have failed as an attendant, and I cannot continue living in a world without you,” she sobbed out, her hands covering her eyes to try and hide from her foolishness and attempted denial of her feelings. When her throat had burned from the realization, it was too much for her, and she pushed herself from the summit to fall to her death below.
But her last resort never reached her as she felt her body collide into something hard yet soft at the same time. She felt no pain other than from the initial impact, which was at the entire length of her back. When she finally found the courage to open her eyes slowly, she saw Joshua’s face hovering over hers. He held the same look of endearment he gave her when she looked back to him one last time in Tabor.
Her first thought was she had perished, and she was able to reunite with him after the fact, but when she reached out to touch his cheek, she felt skin. He leaned into her touch and sighed with happiness until she pinched his cheek, and his face changed into a look of shock.
“Ouch! What was that for?”
“How are you here? Is this a dream?” She had so many questions for him, but all she could do was choke as her emotions drowned her, so she buried her face into his chest, her hand fisting his tunic, and she let the flood of emotions out.
“I am real. I am here with you,” Joshua clutched Jote’s body to him as they continued to drift down from where he had rescued her from doing the worst, and it was all because of him, as usual. “Jote, I am sorry. It seems all I can do is apologize to you.”
His phoenix wings dissipated into particles of blue and orange aether when his feet touched the ground under them first, and he let Jote down gently. He found himself struggling to hold back his emotions as well.
“If you would allow me to explain—” but before he could speak further, her arms were around his waist, and Jote silenced him from speaking further when she cried into his chest. The guilt finally overcame him, and he let his arms wrap around her shoulders and held onto her while she sobbed out the rest of her tears. She stepped away from him slightly when she sniffled and punched his shoulder.
“You are a jerk, Joshua Rosfield!" but she laughed afterward when his face gaped at her declaration.
The air whipped around them, and when she looked at the sky, she noticed something that frightened her. Jote immediately searched for the dagger she kept at her back but found it was gone. Joshua’s face remained unchanged, so she then relaxed. Looking at it more closely, she noticed the faint pattern of scales and the slight fluttering to let her know it was something alive.
“May I explain?” he searched for her gaze again before her eyes locked onto his, and she nodded, slowly returning to his arms. His face kept that look of endearment but was laced with the guilt of his past actions boiling over and causing her to perform a last resort.
“After Clive defeated Ultima and Origin fell, Leviathan whisked the three of us away to the bottom of the sea, where she nursed us back to health over several days. I thought I could return to you within a week or less, but time passes differently there, she said.
“She revealed we had all died within Origin. Dion fell to his death, and nigh, every bone shattered in his body. I wonder how long he suffered before he perished. He sacrificed everything for Clive and me. I don’t know if I can repay him. Clive was able to fulfill his destiny, revive me from the brink, and then destroy magic. He lost his arm, but Leviathan restored it and helped guide my spirit back to my body after I had accepted my death.
“When we emerged from the sea, I could tell it had been more time, so I begged her, please grant me one wish and bring me to Jote.
“After the wall I had so cruelly erected between us, I felt there was no way you would have waited at the Hideaway. How could you? I had so cruelly sent you there because I wanted you to escape the Undying and make your own way in the world. I should have explained it better, but I knew my death was approaching.
“The timing I was able to find you was impeccable. How cold-hearted was I to send you on this path…”
He took in a deep, shaky breath and dropped his hands to cup her face between them. Her face was stained with tears, and he tried his best to wipe them away from her cheeks, but her face remained red and puffy from the amount of emotion that escaped her body. All he could do was drown himself in her eyes as they stared at each other for a long time before Jote broke the silence.
“How did you get here so fast? How could you have known I would be here?” Her face morphed into that of disbelief.
One of his hands left her face and brought her hand to lips so he could brush his lips over her knuckles, where the ring he gave her a long time ago sat.
“Our hearts know a bond more remarkable than any stone, yet your ring is enchanted, so I will always find you if I have lost you,” he kissed her hand again before continuing. “But it also helped that Leviathan granted me her aid by allowing me to keep my wings until I could see you, and now that I have, I suspect my magic is gone.”
Taking her face back between his hands, he kissed her forehead and leaned down to brush his lips across hers in a chaste kiss.
“‘O mia lost elan. Tu isag elythe’, I have found my way to you again,” he whispered, then leaned his forehead tenderly against hers. “Now the question remains: where do you want to go?”
She took a deep breath to steady herself and lost herself in his azure gaze.
“I want to go anywhere as long as I’m with you.”