Good day, readers! I felt like writing a oneshot for somebody, and who better than my good friend MysticSpiritus. She asked me for something that showed Zidane proposing to Garnet, and that's where this is born. Let's see if I met her standards!

Mystic, this is for you!

Disclaimer: The characters of FF9 belong to Square-Enix and Square-Enix only. That leaves me with nothing at all! Hurray!

Of Monkey Tails and Wedding Rings

By RenzokukenZ

It's been a few months since Zidane Tribal made his dramatic appearance after what felt like ages that he's been gone for the young queen of Alexandria. The genome could still remember that very moment; how his Dagger ran through the crowds and embraces him on stage, tears of both joy and anger running down her soft cheeks. How the crowds of nobles and commoners alike applauded and cheered for their reunion. It was this that was running through the mind of the master thief as he stood by the balcony of the rebuilt Alexandria Castle. That feeling he felt was so new to him, exotic even. A feeling of…completeness. This made him consider something that he never thought he would do. And for the past months since the events of saving the world from abomination he has been gathering money to buy what was considered by tradition the symbol of his commitment.

"Zidane? Are you up here?"

Zidane was thrown away from the flow of his conscious when he heard a sweet voice calling him. He then felt a small hand wrap around his tail and a quick yank followed. A harmonic chuckle escaped the lips of the culprit, easily shadowed by the sharp yelp of the monkey boy.

"Ow! Did you really have to do that?" Zidane was eye to eye with the queen of Alexandria, Garnet, who gave him a lovely smile in return. She wore a beautiful sky blue dress with small jewel attachments allocated along the waist area. Her brunette hair was now back to its former length and tied into a ponytail, a small tiara placed on her head. She didn't feel that carrying around a heavy crown would be appropriate right now, so her old princess tiara will do.

"Well you looked so synched with your thoughts that I needed to get your attention somehow." The queen exclaimed to her monkey boyfriend. "So what were you thinking about so hard?" A sly grin appeared on Garnet's face as she eyed Zidane coyly. "You aren't hiding anything are you? You've been acting strange ever since you returned."

"Uh…no, of course not, Dagger. I'm not hiding anything from you. Honest."

The young queen stared at her boyfriend warily. "Really?"

"Geez, Dagger, where's the trust? I come back because I love you and all you give me are suspicious looks. I'm offended right now." He playfully huffed and crossed his arms, pretending to be upset. Whatever he was planning, it backfired when he heard Garnet cry. She was sobbing and had her hands covering her eyes, little whimpers heard between sobs. Zidane quickly dropped his act and grabbed the queen by the shoulders and rubbed them.

"Hey, don't cry! Come on, I didn't mean it like-"

"Gotcha!" Garnet removed her hands revealing a tear-free face, a wide smile was all that was shown. The look on Zidane's face was priceless; a face of shock and amusement. She then closed the distance between them and hugged him. "Oh, did I surprise you? I only learned from the best."

Zidane washed away the look and replaced it with a grin, embracing his queen back. "Well, it fooled me. You know I only fell for it because I love you, right?"

"Whatever makes you happy, my thief in shiny cuffs." Their eyes met, and slowly their faces came closer and closer until…

"Ahem, Queen Garnet."

Both stopped and lit up like a couple of bombs ready to blow. Zidane quickly removed himself from his Dagger and casually leaned back on the balcony, acting as if nothing happened. Garnet herself just straightened up, fixing her hair and such. She then approached the one who intruded her 'quality time' with Zidane.

"Yes, General Beatrix?"

"Forgive me for intruding, your Highness. The Council members from Limblum have arrived. They are expecting you."

A small gasp escaped the lips of the young queen. She had completely forgotten about the meeting. The only thing in her mind was her thief. Zidane had that effect on her. "Right. I'll head over there immediately." She turned to Zidane and gave him a small wave and left passed the general. Beatrix pulled back a wave of hair from her shoulder and giggled at the lonely thief. "Bad timing?"

"You can say that again. I don't barge in when you and Steiner are making out."

A slight blush formed on the face of the general, but she managed to be rid of it and shook her head. "For a cunning young man with a tail, I'd suspect you'd pick a more secluded place than here. You've proved me wrong, Zidane." Beatrix said, giggling yet again.

"I'm not here to make out, I'm here for my deliv-I mean, yeah to make out." Zidane bit his tongue, afraid he already said too much. General Beatrix merely stared at the boy with a confused eye and left, leaving the monkey boy yet again alone. "Phew…that was close."

"Is it ok for me to me to come up here?"

Zidane looked down at the side of the balcony and saw a little rat boy near a tree. "Puck! What took you so long?"

The Burmicean prince leapt onto the balcony and landed perfectly. Well, save for one of his feet being on top of Zidane's tail.

"Owowowowow, get off!" he pulled hi tail off of Puck's foot, making the rat fall in the process. He then rubbed the end of his tail in a gentle manner.

"I'm telling ya, Zidane. Might as well just put the ring on your tail rather than Dagger's finger. You love it more than you love her. And speaking of rings," Puck reached in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet case. "Here it is. Just like you asked!"

The master thief reached for the box and opened it, his eyes tracing the silver ring for any flaw or error. But that couldn't be right. He chose the ring himself. A small, silver ring with a decent sized diamond placed on it. He asked the person who was selling the ring, some jeweler in Treno, if he could add one little detail, and as his eyes glided over the shining metal, he caught it. Right underneath the ring was a small engraving that read 'To my Dagger' in well crafted letters. It seems the man kept his end of the bargain after all. Zidane couldn't have met with him in person, for fear that someone might have found out. He wanted it to be a surprise to everyone. The only one who knew anything was the prince Puck, who helped out by sending letters in secret to the jeweler. Zidane then closed the box and placed it on his pocket. "Thanks, Puck. Now all I need to do is pop the question at the right time."

"Like that will ever happen. She's queen! She won't have time! Why do you think I'm still not accepting the whole 'prince' thing?" Puck crossed his arms.

"Then I'll have to make time." Zidane almost bolted inside the castle when a thought crossed his mind. "Oh, yeah. Was any gil spared?"

Young Puck snapped his fingers and dug in his pockets again, pulling out a small bag. "Just this much. Consider it an early wedding gift."

"Wow. My money back. You're a true friend, you know that?"

"Don't mention it." And with that, he jumped off the balcony and scurried off away from sight. The thief made a small chuckle before entering the castle with one intent in mind.

xxx

The young queen of Alexandria was sitting on her throne, bored, resting her head on an arm. The Limblum Council had come to announce a more effective trade route between the sister kingdoms and all the technical details was just enough to send the queen to dreamland. At least there she could be with her thief and not be interrupted. Just the thought of Zidane was enough for Garnet to throw away the crown and be free to be with him. But alas, her duties as queen were too important to throw away, no matter how much she wanted. Her worries left her, however, when General Beatrix entered the royal chamber. The queen stood up and gave the general a small smile.

"Ah, Beatrix. What news do you bring me today?" Garnet had to fight to not let a yawn out.

"My queen, one of the Pluto Knight asks for your audience out in the courtyard."

"Very well them." She got up and exited the chamber, leaving the general with one single thought: Who in the Pluto Knights has a tail?

xxx

The courtyard was empty save for a few birds that scattered around the bushes. Garnet was quite worried that Beatrix lied to her, but she knew the general would never do that. So what could it be? No one was here, no Pluto Knight, nothing. She was about to leave when something caught her eye. There by a bush was a long yellow tail sticking out. The queen had a guess as to who that belonged to, so she neared it and stepped on it.

"Ow! What is it with people and touching my tail today! Is it 'Hurt the tail of the Genome Day'?" Zidane shot up from his hiding spot in the bush and rapidly brushed his bruised tail, all the while Garnet laughed over the idea of such a day.

Perhaps she'll find a way of making it possible.

"Was it you who wanted to see me? Why didn't you just go to the chamber like a normal person, Zidane? What's going on here?"

Zidane could feel the tension building up inside his Dagger's words that he knew he must do something fast. And he did the only thing that could come to mind.

Garnet was overall surprised when the man that she was arguing with, the man she was yelling at, was also the same man whose lips landed on hers, forming a passionate and slightly heated kiss. At first her eyes were wide from the shock, but slowly they shut due to the effect of the kiss. As weird as it was, if felt perfect, like the kiss was meant to happen at that very moment. It was shortlived, however, as Zidane pulled back only to stare at a red Garnet.

"Dagger, I love you, and I want to be with you always. There is no force in this world that will stray us apart. We've done so much, and I want to do more." The genome knelt on one knee, making Garnet blush even more and cover her mouth. His tail maneuvered behind the monkey boy and pulled out the velvet box, setting it gently on Zidane's open palm. He opened it, revealing the symbol of his commitment, and locked eyes with the queen. "Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th, will you marry me?"

Her reaction was something he remembered. Tears falling down, blush as red as the crimson moon, and so much love radiating off of her. "Yes," She nodded, the tears getting stronger. "Of course I will!" Happiness beamed off the thief's face as he slid the ring on Garnet's left finger. He rose, and just when he did, he was greeted by a crushing hug and deep kiss from his queen. The passion that was shared was like no other that Zidane has ever felt. He was now complete. United fully with the one he loves. All of his pain, his sorrow, his near death, all of it felt that it was worth this moment.

To him, everything was worth it.

My first take on the FF9 world, and I say I did a pretty good job at it. But only you can decide that, readers! Hope you liked it, especially you Mystic!

Please read and review!