Festival Outings

AN: Heheh, thankfully, I remembered I still had my OLD (Nearly 5 years old) laptop so I'm using that for now until I get my proper laptop back. So this chapter is coming faster than I realized. Gonna try experimenting with multiple perspectives for this one. Let's go!

Heimdallr's Summer Festival is certainly not an event lacking in sights to see. Food stands, tours, sideshows, contests, you name it, the festival would have it. And of course, all the different sorts of people around from all walks of life and all over the continent would certainly ensure that one isn't left wanting for interesting conversations and stories.

However, while many of these attractions would normally be interesting enough for most people, a discerning eye would likely be able to pick out a certain duo from the crowd. Namely, one Ashen Chevalier and one Purple Lightning.

What was originally a visit and donation to the St. Astraia Charity Bazaar to wind down from a couple earlier missions with Lechter, Altina and the others had turned into a leisurely stroll throughout the capital for Rean and Sara. The pair made sure to take part in more of the festivities; playing some games and contests, watching a few sideshows, trying some of the food, interacting with a couple tourists, trading stories and laughs, getting each other some small gifts, and overall (most importantly) just plain enjoying each other's company.

If the situation were any different, Rean's mind would likely be plagued with concerns and doubts at the moment. And who could blame him? After all, they had narrowly avoided disaster the day before with both the Calvardian Spec-Ops and the near revival of an ancient evil dragon. Not to mention their encounter with Azure Siegfried and the overall uncertainty of the future ahead for Erebonia.

But now, in this moment, those thoughts were quelled for the time being. The jovial atmosphere of the festival combined with having Sara, the woman he had come to care so deeply for, by his side helped see to that. For the first time in a long while, Rean felt genuinely happy and at peace; if only for a short time.

Sadly for the pair, though, all good times must eventually end. Duty called as Sara received a message from Toval and Victor saying that there were still some things the three needed to discuss in the racecourse lounge. And so, Rean reluctantly agreed to see her off at the plaza near the stadium.

When the pair reached their destination, they began to say their goodbyes and well wishes. But as Rean turned to head out, however…

"Oh, Rean. Hold up…" Sara gently requested of Rean, who stopped in his tracks and turned with a curious expression for her.

"Hm…? Something the matter?" Rean asked the purple-haired bracer.

Sara lightly shook her head and closed her eyes with a small laugh. "No, not at all. I just wanted to give you a little invitation," she stated. Then the bracer looked at Rean with a small, warm, and hopeful smile as she continued. "Once we get through all this and everything's over, what do you say to visiting North Ambria with me?"

"Whoa, what?" Rean thought to himself. "Are you sure?" the young instructor asked Sara, recovering pretty quickly from the mild shock that hit him.

The purple-haired bracer then took on a worried expression. "It's just… I haven't been back there since the Northern War." Then Sara looked to Rean with a sad smile. "And it seemed like you were worried about the place too, so…" She trailed off before sighing. "But I know we're both so busy… I understand if it's too far out of the way." Sara said, seemingly offering Rean a way out if he didn't want to go.

Rean's response was immediate, however. "All right. When we can both find the time, I'd love to go," he stated before giving Sara a soft and warm smile. "I'd like to visit your father's grave while I'm there too."

Sara seemed pleasantly surprised at the suggestion as she took a moment to think. Then she smiled softly at Rean. "You got it. There's a ton of stuff I need to go report to him, too." she began. "How I became a bracer in Erebonia, somehow ended up teaching at a military academy…" the older bracer trailed for a second. "That even someone like me can teach people and help them grow."

Rean gave a sad smile at this. "Still on that, is she?" he thought to himself. Though there may have been some personal bias on his part, he knew that he and the rest of the Old Class VII felt that they wouldn't be half the people they were if not for Sara.

But then Sara changed tune and donned a small playful smile. "Oh, and how I've even got a little Junior Instructor following in my footsteps," she said with a wink. A small blush came up on the purple-haired bracer's cheeks as she continued. "And that said Junior Instructor became quite the man if I do say so myself."

That caused Rean's smile to warm up a bit. "Sara…" the young man began as a small blush came up on his own cheeks. Then he straightened himself a bit before continuing. "I'd like to help your father rest easy. I plan to go there and tell him…" What the young man said next managed to even surprise himself a bit. "'As her student and as a man, I want to support your daughter just as much as you did. Mainly as the latter.'"

Sara jumped a bit in surprise at this, but she quickly recovered with a smile. "Heheh, well well, Rean. I get that you like to move fast, but damn!" she said lightheartedly, though, she was blushing a fair amount.

Rean sheepishly scratched his cheek at that. "Haha, sorry. I got a little too caught up in the moment." Then he stepped up and took one of Sara's hands in his own. "Let's get all this craziness here settled and done with. So we can both go visit North Ambria one day." he stated confidently.

Sara looked at the hand Rean was holding then chuckled with another warm smile and gently closed her eyes. "Yeah, I'm gonna hold you to that bit about supporting me!" she stated as the bracer moved to give her man a hug, one which was returned pretty much instantly.

The pair held the embrace for a few moments, with neither of them seeming to want to let go first. Then Sara leaned up to Rean's ear, a small grin on her face. "So what do you think, Rean? Should we tell her?" she whispered lightheartedly.

Rean gave a small chuckle as he whispered back. "Might as well." The pair then simultaneously released each other as the young instructor turned with a confident yet somewhat annoyed smirk. "Okay, you've had your fun, Musse. Come on out of there."

"Aawww, you caught me yet again, Instructor~" came a giggling reply as the busted student stepped out of her hiding spot. "Good afternoon, Instructor, Miss Valestein," she greeted with her signature curtsy and enigmatic smile. "Enjoying the festival, I hope?"

"We would've enjoyed it more if a certain someone wasn't stalking us the whole time," Sara responded, crossing her arms in mild annoyance.

Musse's smile turned even more playful at this. "Aww, caught from the very beginning again, hmm?" she asked with a small pout.

"Yes. You were," Rean answered simply before turning on Instructor/Dad mode. "Why were you following us, anyway? And does Maya know where you are? Where is she, anyway?"

Musse gave her signature giggle. "Oh, Maya's still at the boutique," she began. "When I saw you two walking around, I told her I had something I needed to do. She seemed to get the idea, though. As for 'why', well…" the young lady trailed, her expression turning even more playful but with a hint of determination as a small blush appeared on her cheeks. "Come now, Instructor, you can't blame a girl for wanting to gauge her competition, can you?"

"Really?" Rean thought to himself with an exasperated sigh. He noticed Sara was shooting the young lady a very unamused glare. She also seemed to move ever so slightly closer to him as she did so.

Before the topic could be discussed further, however, Musse's ARCUS suddenly went off. As the green-haired student opened her orbment and read the message she received, her expression went from curious to resigned.

"Oh, dear," she began with a small sigh. "It seems Maya's starting to get worried about me. I suppose I have kept her waiting for some time." Musse then typed up a quick response before she closed her ARCUS and turned back to her instructor and self-proclaimed rival with a smile. "And it would be cruel of me to keep her waiting, so I shall take my leave now. Enjoy the festival, you two~" she said as she gave the couple another curtsy before heading out.

Rean and Sara watched the student for a few moments before letting out exasperated sighs. "Is she always like that? I know you told me she was… Eccentric, but…" the bracer asked with a very perplexed expression.

"Yeah. To be perfectly honest, I'm more than a little worried that she'll end up getting me fired one of these days." Rean stated, shaking his head. "I still can't quite figure her out yet, either," he mused to himself. He put that train of thought on the backburner for the moment as he turned to Sara.

"I don't blame you, really," the bracer admitted before sighing. "I mean, seriously? 'Competition?'" she stated before looking to Rean with a curious glance. Since that seemed to get a few chuckles out of him. "Okay, what's so funny?" she asked him with a small smirk.

Rean cleared his throat. "Sorry, it's just…" he trailed before shooting Sara a lighthearted smile. "She was talking about 'competition' when she really should've realized that she's not even really a contender." Rean then gently grasped both of Sara's hands in his own. "Because you've already won."

The pair was silent for a few moments after that… Until Sara started flat out laughing, with Rean blushing slightly in embarrassment. "Yeah, that sounded better in my head," he admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, I bet it did!" the bracer responded, managing to get ahold of herself fairly quickly. "And here you were being smooth earlier, too!" Then her expression softened as she gently tightened her own grip on Rean's hands. "But honestly? Thanks, Rean. Cheesy or not, that made me happy to hear."

Rean shot the bracer a soft smile of his own. Before he could respond, however, Sara leaned forward just enough to plant a brief kiss on his cheek. "Anyway, I've probably kept Toval and the Viscount waiting long enough. So with that, I'll see you later, Rean. Enjoy the rest of the festival," she said with a wink before turning and heading towards the racecourse.

For a moment, Rean stared at Sara's retreating form with a gentle and content smile on his face before placing a hand over the spot she kissed. "That's certainly familiar. Not that I mind," he mused to himself. After taking a second to gather his thoughts, the instructor reached into his pocket to check on his tickets. Turns out, only one was left. "Hmm… I wonder if Altina would enjoy that bread-making competition on Vesta Street..."

Meanwhile…

Originally, Gaius was content to go along with Elliot and explore Heimdallr and the festival together. The previous few days had been crazy, to say the least; for both him and the rest of Class VII.

However, it seemed that the winds and goddess had different plans for him. Not long after Gaius met up with his musician friend, they came across Mint and Linde in the Racecourse Plaza. Apparently, Mint had managed to find a way to drag her out of her office to enjoy the festival together.

After exchanging their hello's and pleasantries, Linde suggested the idea of the four of them enjoying the festival together as a group. Mint and Elliot both readily agreed, with the mechanic musing that a group of four would be perfect for the festival; while also musing about checking up on her Uncle Makarov, who was apparently on a date with Instructor Mary.

Gaius was quick to follow up on his own approval of the idea. In truth, he had been waiting for a chance like this. Since his visit to the Branch Campus, he hadn't had much of a chance to talk to Linde until that point. While there were a few small things he wanted to discuss with her, a certain event from said visit was at the forefront in his mind. And though Linde tried her best, whenever they made eye contact, Gaius could tell she was following the same basic idea. She seemed fairly nervous about it, too; though he couldn't exactly blame her.

Something like that wasn't a proper discussion to have with two other people nearby, however. So as the four of them went around the festival together, Gaius and Linde had managed to skirt around the topic. Though Gaius did not that she seemed to grow more nervous little by little as they went on.

Gaius couldn't lie, though; he was having a lot of fun. Mint was right on the money about their group size being perfect for the festival. And suffice it to say, they were having a blast. Chatting up tourists, trading small talk, checking out the stalls, taking part in some of the contests and games, and just hanging out together in general proved to be a great time for all four of them. They even managed to run into a few of the others from both the Old and New Class VII; with the highlight of the former being Jusis and Millium while she was practically dragging the poor noble around. Though both Gaius and Elliot noted that he didn't really seem to mind.

Then, later in the afternoon as the group was about to get a quick bite to eat, Mint spotted a stand that apparently had really caught her attention. She explained to the three of them that she was going to check it out and would be right back before she dashed off. But with a quick cursory glance, they easily figured out what was going on. The stand was a perfect spot for Mint to hide so she could get a good view of Instructors Makarov and Mary out on their "date."

Elliot, Gaius and Linde all gave each other worried glances at this. "I'll… Go and bring her back." Elliot volunteered himself with a sigh. "I'm pretty sure Instructors Makarov and Mary wouldn't appreciate her following them like this." He then turned to the pair with a light smile. "Why don't you two go on ahead for now? We'll catch up," the musician promised as he gave a small wave and went after his fellow orchestra member.

Gaius and Linde took Elliot up on his suggestion and went off on their own. As they walked, they managed to check out a few more sideshows and contests while making some small talk along the way. But as time went on, it was clear to Gaius that Linde was running out of steam and she was growing more and more nervous as time went on.

Eventually, the pair found themselves in the Sankt District, with the awkward tension between them growing higher and higher. "Okay, now's as good a time as any, I guess," Gaius thought to himself, before putting on a somewhat serious expression. "Linde, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," he began. "...About what happened back in Leeves."

Linde looked to Gaius with clear unease in her eyes. "Um… You mean what happened at the station?" Linde asked nervously, her cheeks flushing slightly. Gaius responded with a nod, and a few moments later, she turned her gaze to the ground. "I'm really sorry about that, Gaius. I honestly don't really know what came over me, and I-"

"You don't need to apologize, Linde," Gaius gently interrupted with a soft smile. Linde turned her gaze back up to her companion at this before he continued. "I wasn't mad at all, just surprised, really." A fairly interesting idea suddenly came to him as he went on. "Though, I'll admit you didn't give me much of a chance to respond," he said with a somewhat more neutral expression.

That caused Linde to shoot him a fairly confused glance for a moment before she realized what he meant. "Oh… Yeah, I guess I did, huh?" she asked with a small nervous smile and chuckle.

Gaius responded with a small warm chuckle of his own. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to rectify that." he stated, taking a small breath. "Could you please do me a favor and close your eyes for a second?" he gently requested of the nurse.

Linde looked unsure for a moment before responding. "Um… Okay." she said as she gently closed her eyes.

"Okay, here goes…" Gaius thought to himself as he took a quietly deep breath and stepped forward. Linde seemed to tell that he was right in front of her as she visibly tensed up ever so slightly. But that didn't deter Gaius much as he raised a hand to gently caress her cheek…

And he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

Linde gasped and stiffend in surprise at this. After a moment, Gaius pulled away, keeping his hand on her cheek and giving her another small and warm smile. As he did so, he was met with Linde giving him a fairly shocked expression, wide-eyed stare and all. That did little to deter his smile, though.

After a moment, Linde's expression started to shift. Her eyes remained wide, but they seemed to take on a bit of a shine. And the corners of her mouth started to turn upwards. Eventually, she had on the brightest smile Gaius had ever seen on her up until that point. And he couldn't help but widen his own smile in return.

Then, with a small giggle, Linde hopped up to latch her arms around Gaius' neck in an embrace, one which he happily returned. For a few moments, the noise and atmosphere of the festival seemed to have been drowned out for Gaius. His sole focus at that time was on the woman in his arms. It seemed like nothing could break him or Linde out of this moment.

"Oh. My. Goddess!"

But the Winds and the Goddess just love to prove people wrong, it seems. The sudden outburst broke Gaius and Linde out of their little reverie as they loosened their hold on each other slightly. They turned to where the voice came from and found Linde's twin sister Vivi, wide-eyed and jaw practically on the floor. And on either side of her was Fie and Laura, who looked no less surprised themselves, minus the hanging jaw. Fie managed to recover quickly though, as she gave the pair one of her signature v-signs with a relaxed expression.

Before either Gaius or Linde could say anything, Vivi straight up sprinted to her sister and wrapped her up in a big hug. "Haha! I'm so proud of you, Sis! I knew you had it in you!" she practically squealed.

"Vivi?! When did you get here?" Linde asked her younger twin, more than a little surprised and flustered at this turn of events.

Laura managed to gather her bearings and cleared her throat, albeit with a small blush. "I apologize, but... We have actually been here for some time," she answered. "We only saw you two a few moments ago and had thought to join you for the festival, but then…"

"You two started getting cozy," Fie bluntly finished for her friend. Then she turned to Gaius with a small but genuine smile. "By the way, congrats you two." Laura seemed to share her sentiment as she nodded and gave the couple a warm smile of her own; albeit with a fairly apologetic glint in her eyes.

Gaius and Linde glanced at each other for a moment before donning small smiles of their own. Then Gaius turned back to his former classmates and Linde gently returned her twin's embrace. "Thanks, you two, that's nice of you to say," he said with a scratch to the back of his head.

"Yeah, thanks," Linde stated with an appreciative glance to the two before turning to her sister. "Okay, Vivi, you can let go, now."

Vivi reluctantly let go of her sister and took a step back, a sheepish smile on her face. "Heheh, sorry. Guess I got a little overexcited," she admitted. "But can you blame me?! I mean come on!" Vivi shouted, starting to get excited again already. "My sister is out on her first date with her new boyfriend!" That last remark from her seemed to give her a small lightbulb moment as she stopped to think.

Meanwhile, Gaius and Linde shared another surprised expression with each other at the 'boyfriend' part. "Huh, never thought I'd see Gaius blush," Fie remarked. As for Laura, she opted to stay quiet; visibly suffering from more than a little second-hand embarrassment from this situation.

However, Gaius didn't exactly register Fie's statement right then and there. "'Boyfriend?' Me?" He thought to himself. "Am I- Are we really...?" He stopped that train of thought. "Well, with everything that's happened, looks like we are," he concluded internally before donning another small, warm smile. And it seemed to Gaius that Linde was following the same train of thought, as she practically mirrored his expression, albeit with a more pronounced blush on her cheeks.

And with a snap of her fingers, Vivi spoke up. "Alright, I got it," she stated before grabbing her camera and gesturing to the new couple. "Can I pleeeaaassse take a picture of you two really quick?" That got the pairs attention as they turned to the journalist, who raised a finger before they could respond. "And before you ask 'why,'" she began. "...I mean, c'mon! It's your first date, Sis! This is something worth commemorating!" While her eyes were shining with excitement, it was clear to both Gaius and Linde that she was being very genuine as well.

The pair then made eye contact once more and nodded in silent agreement before turning back to the excited journalist. "Okay, Vivi," Linde acquiesced, much to the audible joy of her sister.

"Just one condition," Gaius interjected, as the others turned to him in curiosity, minus Linde. "Could you please send me and Linde a copy of the picture as well? I'd like to have one as a memento, myself," he explained with a small smile towards Linde, who returned it happily before turning back to her twin.

"Same here. Please?"

Vivi shot the pair an easygoing smile. "Oh, of course! Was kinda planning on that anyway!" Then she gestured between them. "While we're on the subject, are you guys alright if I share it with the others in Class VII?"

"I don't mind at all" "Sounds fine to me" Gaius and Linde respectively answered. Gaius noted that Fie donned a small smile at that, and gave a nearly imperceptible fist-pump. Even Laura, who had tried to check out of the discussion for the past few moments had visibly brightened up at the idea.

Vivi grinned and gave a thumbs up. "All right, great! Now let's get to work!" She stated as she started getting her camera ready. Once she was done, she gave the couple a thumbs up. "Okay, all set, now scooch in nice and close together, you two."

Gaius and Linde shared another small smile as he offered her his arm, which she happily took. Linde also managed to snake a hand down to Gaius' and interlocked her fingers with his while gently squeezing, which the Nord reciprocated. Then she topped it all off by gently grasping Gaius' proffered arm and leaning her head into his shoulder.

"Haha! Perfect!" Vivi shouted happily. With her day clearly made, she got to work on snapping pictures of the couple. And she was a quick worker, too, managing to get a fair amount of pictures at a few different angles all within the span of at most two minutes. Once the journalist was finished, she went up to the pair and surprised them by giving them both a hug. "I gotta say it again, congratulations, you two. I'm really happy for you guys." she said warmly.

Gaius and Linde shared another smile before gently returning the embrace together, while still holding each other's hand. "Thanks, Vivi. That's really sweet of you to say." the nurse responded with Gaius humming in agreement. Then her eyes narrowed at her younger twin. "But let me guess, you're still going to tease me nonstop over this whole thing, aren't you?"

"Of course!" Vivi responded happily, breaking away from the hug and shooting the pair a grin. "Would you have me any other way?" Linde's only response was to sigh and shake her head, though Gaius noted that she had a soft smile on her face as she did so. He also noticed Fie shooting them a very bemused expression while Laura was smiling happily at the trio.

"Some things never change, it would seem." the swordswoman said with a light chuckle. Fie looked to be about to add on to her friend's statement, but right as she opened her mouth…

"HEEEEEEY, GUUUUYS!" a familiar shrill voice broke through the festival noise.

When the group turned to the source, they found Mint energetically waving at them, with Elliot in tow… Poor, disheveled and tired-looking Elliot. "Just what did you do to him, Mint?" Gaius thought to himself, more than a little worried for his friend.

"Sorry to leave you guys like that! Just had to get a status update on-" Mint cut herself off from her explanation as something caught her eye. The mechanic then shot Gaius and Linde a smirk as she raised a hand to her chin. "So, what's been going on here, huh?" she asked lightheartedly.

Elliot, once he had smoothed his hair and clothes over some more, turned to his friend in confusion. "Uh, Mint? What are you-" he was cut off by Mint pointing towards the pair. After a moment, Elliot figured out where exactly she was pointing, donning a fairly surprised expression. "Well, uh, that's new." he stated with a small smile as he recovered quickly, albeit with a nervous scratch to his cheek.

It was then that Gaius and Linde realized that they were still holding each others' hands, and Mint and Elliot had gotten a pretty clear view of it. With a small smile towards each other, they let go and went over to their friends to give them the scoop and resume their earlier plans.

"WAIT, WERE YOU GUYS ON A DOUBLE DATE?!"

"Oh goddess, here we go…" Gaius thought to himself in a rare moment of exasperation from him. And yet, despite the slight embarrassment and chaos that was about to ensue thanks to Vivi, he found that he wouldn't have changed a thing for that day. One more moment of peace and happiness for both him and Linde… Before the Winds took their destined course.

AN: Oh dear lord, I am so sorry this took so long, guys. I wasn't really planning on having to take my proper laptop into the shop (speaking of which, looks like that might still be a little bit). Not to mention periodic writer's block, lack of motivation, and having to rewrite different parts of this chapter a few different times didn't help much at all, either. And neither did the fact that this old laptop of mine is kind of a POS.

Well, anyway, hope you folks enjoyed this chapter! It's my longest one yet, after all. And with that, I bid you all a good day!