Disclaimer: Golden Sun belongs to Nintendo and Camelot, not to me.
It was a clear night in early autumn. The air was balmy, occasionally rent with a crisp gust of wind from the west. The moon hung high and bright in the sky, illuminating the festivities taking place out of doors. The Adepts' reunion had taken on a prominence that no one would have expected previously. Izuman lanterns were strung around outside, bobbing gently in the breeze and casting a warm glow on Vale's plaza. The inn, however, was where the real festivities were.
Inside the inn were many familiar faces, people the Adepts had met during their travels. Susa and Kushinada had come, as had Feizhi and Hsu. Small groups from various towns in Angara had come bearing the good wishes of their mayors and their people. Sheba had come back, this time with her foster family in tow. They were also accompanied by a group of Colosso warriors; Lord Iodem of Tolbi had sent a few as an act of goodwill. Lady Layana had insisted on accompanying Ivan, and since his wife was going, Master Hammet came to Vale also. Briggs of Champa and his family, Master Hama, and even a few Proxians were in attendance as well.
The festivities were in full swing. The inn's common area was crowded with townspeople and visitors, everyone in a good mood from the generous amounts of food and drink and the music provided by Valeans who were talented in such things. Only two people were missing from the throng.
Isaac wandered through the crowd, a mug of beer in hand. He nodded a greeting to Master Hama and stopped to shake hands with Faran. In between encounters, he scanned the crowd, looking for blue hair. He hadn't seen Mia or Piers at all yet.
It was merely coincidence that Isaac was by the inn's door when the Mercury Adepts entered. First came Piers, looking the same as always. Mia entered after him. The two of them stopped just inside the doorway, looking around. Piers touched Mia's arm and pointed into the crowd. Mia smiled, and then she turned past him, looking back outside. A third person entered, another blue-haired man. Isaac had no time to speculate as to why the fellow seemed familiar, though, since Garet, Jenna, and Ivan were all going to greet the newcomers. Isaac finished off his beer and set the mug down on a nearby table before heading over himself.
"Mia! It's so good to see you!" Jenna hugged the Mercury Adept enthusiastically. Jenna had no idea of the role that Mia had played in her and Isaac's breakup; Isaac hadn't wanted to shatter another friendship.
"It's good to see you, too, Jenna," Mia said. "And, Ivan, you too." The Jupiter Adept gave her a hug, too, while Jenna moved on to exclaiming over Piers.
"It's been a while, guys," Garet said. "By the way, mind introducing us to your friend? He another Lemurian, Piers? Oh, hey, Isaac."
Isaac nodded at Garet. "Piers, Mia. It's great to see you both." He smiled at them, and he had to restrain himself from just spilling his guts to Mia right then and there.
Mia smiled back at him, and from her expression, Isaac wondered if she didn't somehow know how he felt, because she looked so happy.
"Isaac?" The blue-haired man stepped closer. "Wow, it is you. It's been a long time." He held out his hand. "I don't know if you remember me, but we met on the ship to Tolbi a couple years ago. My name's Sean."
"Oh yeah," Isaac said, shaking his hand. "You were with that other guy, red hair... What happened to him?"
"Ouranos is back in Bilibin with his wife," Sean said. "We said he should come with us, but he said he'd been away from home for too long recently."
"Well, it's good that you could come," Isaac said.
"I wouldn't have missed this," Sean said. "Mia's been telling me all about her friends, and I wanted to meet you all."
"Where are Sheba and Felix?" Mia asked. "I want them to be here, too."
"What for?" Garet asked. "Anyway, there they are. I think they must've heard that you guys got here."
"Mia!" Sheba squealed as she pushed through the throng on people. "Wow, it's great to see you again!"
"Hi, Sheba," Mia said. "Hi, Felix."
"Hello," Felix said, giving her a nod before turning to talk to Piers.
Mia cleared her throat. "Um, everyone? I just want to tell you something great. Sean and I are engaged."
"Oh my god, wow!" Jenna exclaimed. "Mia, congratulations!" She gave the girl another hug. "That's great! That's so totally awesome!"
"Thanks, Jenna," Mia said, beaming. "I'm so happy." She took Sean by the hand and smiled up at him.
Garet caught Isaac's gaze and raised his eyebrows. Isaac shook his head. This was... This couldn't...
"Congratulations," he choked out. "I'm gonna grab another beer." He turned and plowed into the crowd of partygoers before anyone could stop him.
.".".".".".
It was several hours later when Mia found him again. He'd been at the bar the whole time, nursing a beer and wondering exactly why he'd ever fallen in love with Mia in the first place. Bitter thoughts for a bitter occurrence, he thought. A year. In just a year, she'd found someone else, and- A hand on his shoulder derailed his train of thought. No matter, as he'd ran through this same sequence of thoughts quite a few times already. He looked up at the newcomer. Mia.
"Hi, Isaac." She sat down in the chair next to him. "I haven't seen you much tonight."
He nodded.
"Um... So, I thought we could catch up?" she continued. "It has been a long while since we were able to talk."
"Yeah."
"Is there anything new with you?" Mia said, persevering.
"Nah."
"Are you and Jenna doing well?"
Isaac fleetingly recalled when he'd spoken to Mia as though she and Garet were a couple and how that had caused much hilarity on her part. Right about now, he could identify with that. "We've broken up."
"Oh..." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry to hear that."
He shrugged. "It's been over for several months. No big deal. That's the only real news. And I already heard about you and Sean. Engaged, huh?"
"Oh, yes." She grinned, glad to be on more comfortable conversational ground. "It's only been about a year, but I know that he's the one."
"Huh."
"He's a really great guy, Isaac. You should get to know him. He's a good fighter, but he's kind, too, and smart." She cataloged her fiance's virtues. "He's a Mercury Adept, too, can you imagine? We found it out by accident not too long ago when he got hurt while working. I needed to use my Psynergy to heal him, and he was able to see it."
"Wow."
Mia looked at him. "Isaac, is something wrong?"
He shook his head. "Sorry. Nothing's wrong." He managed a sheepish grin. "I guess I just had a few too many. No more drinks tonight." What else could he say? Gee, Mia, I'm in love with you after all, even though it took me over a year to finally admit it to myself, and I'm such a coward that I couldn't even tell you right away. I hope you have a fun time going through what I did, agonizing over your relationship with someone else. Have fun canceling the engagement! Of course not. So that left doing the right thing: sucking it up and telling a flat-out lie.
Mia gave him a small smile in return. "Ah, I see." Her gaze switched to something behind him. "Oh, Sean!" She waved to him. "Isaac, you should talk with Sean some. He's been wanting to get to know you better."
Time for another polite lie. "I would, but you'll have to excuse me." He nodded at his mostly-empty beer mug. "I've had quite a bit to drink, as I've said."
"Oh, of course." Mia nodded. "Another time, then."
Isaac hopped off the bar stool as Sean approached and muttered a response to the other man's "hey!". As Sean took his seat, Isaac melted into the crowd of people. As he made for the door, he took a look back. Mia and Sean were kissing. Pretty passionately. Isaac tore his gaze away. A couple deep, sighing breaths to get control, and then he was off again, striding ever faster towards the exit. He was almost running as he burst outside. Once he rounded the side of the inn, he sank to the ground and stared blankly ahead. In front of him was the wall of the weapons shop, but he didn't see it. Mia and Sean's kiss replayed in his head, and he felt a stab of perfect melancholy.