Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX. Or Snakes on a Plane.

Note: Would you believe me if I told you that Kate and I created this plot bunny in a matter of minutes while discussing a package of "XXX" breath mints?

Sweat and Desperation

By Raine Ishida

"Ms. Alexandros, I'm sorry, but this job just isn't working out for you. I wish you luck, but really…we're going to have to ask you to turn in your apron."

"You're firing me?"

"Afraid so, honey. It's just not working out."

Garnet "Dagger" Alexandros was a nineteen year old, as-of-thirty-seconds-ago former waitress, with nothing to her name but a tiny apartment and a potential college degree. She had the smarts, but not the money to pay for her tuition, and the date was coming up fast.

Where was she going to get three thousand dollars? Especially since she'd just been fired?

Dagger sighed as she put her apron on the table in her boss's dingy office and collected her purse. Slipping her coat on, she sighed again, loudly, as she turned and left the diner. Fired. Let go. Not wanted.

Her boss had given her her final pay check, a measly eighty-six dollars and thirty-nine cents. Not exactly money she could send home to her mother. If she had a mother.

Dagger was an orphan. She lived as well as she could, pay check to pay check, with welfare helping her as much as she could beg them. All she needed was a good job. If the pay was better than five bucks an hour, that would be even better. Perhaps she'd be able to afford her meagre rent that way.

Her rent alone was four hundred dollars a month, not including utilities. She wished her friends from high school lived closer. Perhaps one of them would be able to put her up.

For now, she would have to go job hunting in her former uniform. It was an hour's bus ride back to her slummy apartment, and she didn't feel like making the trip back and forth with the few bus ticket vouchers she had left in her purse.

On the bulletin board outside her workplace were several job postings. The newest one bragged fame, fortune and friends. It looked sketchy. There was a phone number and an address, reprinted and cut into strips for people's taking pleasure.

Dagger frowned. It wouldn't hurt. She took one. The address was close by. She could check it out, couldn't she? If all else failed, she could audition to try out as an extra in a movie or something.

…

"Zidane. You're killing me. Is it really so difficult to act like you're enjoying yourself?"

Zidane Tribal, nearly twenty, egotistical, charismatic, charming, ridiculous, arrogant and everything in between, was blond, blue-eyed, slim, smug and adored by adult film-watching women and men around the world.

"But I'm not anymore, Freya," he complained, throwing back another sip of his sparkling water. He made a face and passed the bottle to Freya, his manager. "Why do you keep making me drink this crap? Can't I at least have a Coke or something?"

Freya was a woman in her late twenties, sharp and focused, annoyed with her client, but with a soft spot for him that he didn't understand. Though they were of a different race, she felt like they were somehow related. Too bad that meant their relationship consisted of her helping him find clients to have sex with on film.

Freya didn't exactly love her job. In fact, she rather loathed it. But hanging out with Zidane day after day made it kind of interesting and fun, and she was paid very well. He was a popular film star, so when he made money, so did she. And make money he did.

"The company is worried that you're losing your edge. Your magic. That charisma that's attracted you so many fans before," Freya explained, ruffling his hair. "I don't want you to get filed under the category of 'has-been', Zidane. I care about you."

Zidane looked up at her with clear eyes and sighed. "Thanks, Freya…I know you mean well, I'm just bored. There's no challenge in this place. I get naked, do my thing, then I'm done for the day. Is that it? I don't have any friends besides you, and…I'd kinda like a girlfriend who wasn't temporary. Day-girlfriends suck. And I don't mean that literally," he added with a vile grin. "Though-"

"That's enough," Freya said, cutting him off. "Just because I know about it doesn't mean I want to hear about it. Thank you. We have a batch of new auditionees coming in today to try out…Please be nice to them."

"What's the plot for tomorrow's film?"

"It's with Ruby again," Freya said, glancing at her notebook. Zidane shrugged.

"Alright," he said. Ruby was cute. Southern, had a bit of a feisty streak, but she was a good enough actress, and she was attractive. This was enough for everyone to work with.

"Well," Freya explained further, "It's a flight attendant flick. It's called 'Snakes in a Plane'."

Zidane blinked up at his manager. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Why am I in this business?" Zidane groaned, pushing his bangs out of his face. Freya shrugged.

"Because it pays really well, I suppose."

"Whatever," the blond grumbled. "Let's meet the new kids, I guess…"

…

Dagger entered the dimly-lit studio and found herself among a few other young women around her age. They smiled at her nervously, some sneered, the rest just ignored her.

"You here to audition?" asked a young-looking girl with blonde hair and a sweet mouth.

"Is that what this is?"

"Yeah, they need girls to be in some of their movies…Every month they have this huge audition process and we come here. Whoever they choose gets treated really awesome for as long as they need her. And you get paid, too! It's pretty sweet."

"Have they ever chosen you?" Dagger asked, glancing around at the other women. Some of them were ridiculously beautiful, like the busty one with long, curled brown hair and soft brown eyes, or the dark-skinned one with cherry-red hair.

The blonde smiled sheepishly. "No, but I wish they would. The guy you get to act with is really, really cute…" Dagger noticed how deeply she blushed. And now she was curious.

"Do you have to read lines?" Dagger asked. The blonde nodded.

"They'll give us our scripts soon."

Twenty minutes later a young woman with a long, narrow face and silvery hair entered the room with a stack of scripts. She introduced herself as Freya Crescent and handed out the scripts.

"You have an hour to memorize these, and then we'll call you in, one by one, alright ladies? Good luck and break a leg."

Dagger looked at the script. Lines from "Taming of the Shrew". Couldn't be all bad, could it? She was going to read Shakespeare.

…

Freya called Dagger half an hour later, and by then, Dagger had memorized most of the dialogue and was fairly confident she could perform it well.

"Miss…Alexandros, is it?" Freya asked, brushing back her silvery hair with one hand, and glancing at her notes with the other.

"Yes."

"Begin."

Dagger spoke most of the lines from memory, but glanced at her script a few times. Freya made her notes, smiled a few times, but spent most of the time studying her. Dagger grew nervous by the end of her speech.

"Thank you very much, Miss Alexandros. That was very good. I'd like to see you once I've seen all of the other girls. Please wait for me to call you back in, alright?"

Dagger blushed. "Thank you."

…

Several hours and some paperwork later, Dagger had been signed.

"…You are aware of what you're getting yourself into, aren't you?" Freya asked as she led Dagger through a corridor.

"I believe so," Dagger said.

"That's good. I'm taking you to meet your costar. He's pretty popular, so you might have heard of him, or seem him before. He's rather well-known."

Opening the door before them, Freya led Dagger into a room which looked a lot like a lounge with couches and chairs and a TV on one end. On one of the couches sat a young man with sandy blond hair, holding a bowl of potato chips as he watched Jerry Springer, an amused smirk on the corner of his mouth.

"Zidane. This is your new costar."

Zidane jumped, startled, but stood quickly. Approaching them, he frowned, then his frown melted into a smile that she recognized as one of admiration. "Hmm. I do approve."

She studied his face and wondered where she'd seen him before. Passing video stores…she'd…seen him…on posters… at adult video stores. Porn.

"Wait…I'm doing porn?!" she shrieked, stepping back several paces. Zidane grinned sideways, glancing at Freya.

"You're kidding me. No one told her?" he asked, his smile ever-present.

Freya frowned. "I assumed she knew. Most people know about our company and what this building entails…"

The Tantalus building. Tantalus Productions was a huge film industry…famous for its production of pornographic films.

Dagger paled and fell into one of the chairs. "I…didn't want to sign up for this."

Zidane knelt in front of her. "Babe, no worries. I've got your back."

"But…"

"Don't worry about it. How about we go over the script, seeing as we're coworkers now, and if there's anything you're not comfortable with, tell me."

Dagger looked at this young man who knelt in front of her. She was…supposed to have sex with him on camera? That was just ridiculous! But…Freya had said her first film would pay her well enough to cover her tuition. And rent.

The allure of having money to survive was tempting. But…sex for money. On camera. That was prostitution, almost…wasn't it? No. Something similar, though, and just as wrong. She felt kind of dirty about it, but there was no way she'd make the money otherwise in such a short amount of time…

"Can we just talk about it first?" she asked gently. Freya handed her a script and turned to leave.

"Take your time. We don't start filming until tomorrow. If you're uncomfortable, I've picked someone to replace you."

"…Thanks," Dagger said, not really sure what her reaction to such a statement should be.

Zidane led her to the couch where he was and turned the TV off.

"Tell me about yourself," he offered, his smile gentle.

Dagger studied his face. He was a porn star. And yet…he seemed so normal. So…human. As if he was anything else. She chided herself for being silly.

"I'm…nineteen," she started, her voice shaking. Her hands were trembling. He noticed, but didn't do anything about it. He sat on the couch facing her, his arm over the back of it.

"Are you in school?'

"Thanks kind of how I got into this mess," she explained, blushing. "I'm trying to get my degree in English Lit, but…I got fired today, so I need to make a lot of money in a really short amount of time to make tuition on time."

"Makes sense. English lit, huh? What's that like?"

"It's difficult, but I really love it."

"So there are some brains in that head of yours. What do you like to do for fun?"

"Well, I haven't really had much time for hobbies lately, but I enjoy reading, um…I can play the piano…"

Zidane smiled gently. "That's really cool. Do you sing?"

"Sometimes," she admitted. "I also like American Idol…and crocheting."

"Really? What are you working on right now?" he asked, grinning.

"Another blanket. My apartment gets pretty cold, so I know I'll use it," she said with a laugh.

Zidane smirked. "So. My turn. Do you want the porn profile or…just me?"

"You have two?"

"I'll give you a rough overview first. My name's Zidane Tribal, I'm almost twenty, and I've been doing this for two years, since I was legally allowed to be in porn. I know, it's not really…a great occupation because it's pretty embarrassing for me to explain to my father, but…he doesn't ask, so I don't tell." His eyes seemed to grow distant for a moment before he smiled. "The normal me likes to play Nintendo, ride my bike around the city, which I can't really do that often anymore because people actually recognize me, and that's embarrassing." He paused. "I like to go fishing."

"Fishing?"

"I like the solitude sometimes. It's quiet out there, you know? Just me and the water. I get my best thinking done out there."

Dagger leaned forward, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Zidane, if you don't mind me asking…why are you in this industry?"

He frowned, but nodded as if he'd expected the question. "The money's great." He grinned, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I mean, I meet a lot of gorgeous women too, but…it's mainly the money."

"Your manager seems to care about you a lot."

"She looks after me pretty well. She's like a big sister I never had."

Dagger figured if she was going to do this for certain, she might as well dig deep. "So you mentioned your father, do you have any other family? I'm an orphan."

Zidane frowned briefly before his expression softened. "I'm sorry. My mom…I never met her. It's just been my dad, and I'm pretty sure I was adopted. He never told me, but…I've never asked either, so we're kind of square in that respect. No siblings…so Freya's pretty close to being my sister."

"Is it weird that your sister helps you prepare to be in porn?" Dagger asked with a half-smile.

Zidane laughed. "Yeah. It's totally weird sometimes."

"At the risk of digging even deeper," Dagger started. "Why do you need the money?"

Zidane studied her face for a moment, his eyes burning into hers, making her uncomfortable. He sighed, as if he had decided to trust her.

"My father, Baku, has cancer. He needs treatment…and we don't have the money. He can't work, and disability doesn't really help him at all. I…have sex on camera to earn money for Baku's treatments."

Dagger's eyes misted for a moment before she blinked away her looming tears. "Zidane, may I say something and be really up front with you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"That's really messed up."

He blinked at her, stunned. "What?"

"Doing this for a living? Is he proud of you?" Dagger asked. She knew this wasn't her line to cross. She was being inappropriate. Perhaps she wanted it that way.

"He's never said he was proud of me for this…but he's proud of me as a person."

"Who does porn so he can live."

"Look, lady. I don't know who you think you are, but-"

"I'm just…trying to figure you out," she finished softly.

"Are you angry because no one told you what this job entails? I don't want to fight with you. I just wanted to get to know you a bit because…being out there with no previous knowledge of each other can be really awkward. Please trust someone who knows."

Dagger frowned, her eyes red-rimmed from fighting off tears of frustration. "Look, Zidane, or whatever your name is, I don't know you. You don't know me. Somehow I ended up being signed up to do porn with you and I don't like it. I need money, so I think I'll do this anyway, and then pretend it never happened for the sake of my shattered dignity. If you wouldn't mind, I'm going to go read over the script in peace and quiet."

Zidane blinked before smiling gently. "Fair enough, but it's better if we go over it together. Chemistry and all."

"We don't have any."

"We have to make some up."

She gave up fighting and let the tears flood her eyes. "I don't even know what I'm doing here, Zidane…" Her hands were balled into fists on her knees. Zidane covered them with his hands and smiled.

"Let's go for a walk, okay? You need some air."

Dagger let him lead her outside where he walked next to her, studying their surroundings, the sky, the buildings, all the while keeping his eye on her.

"So what's got you so overwhelmed, anyway?" he asked when she stopped to lean against the cool of the cement building.

"…Everything, really. This situation is so not where I thought I'd be when I got out of bed this morning."

"It's me, isn't it," Zidane said, squatting down in front of her, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "I get it. You're nervous, aren't you?"

Dagger raised her eyes to meet his. "You think?"

"You have every right to be. It's weird the first time with someone new, I get it completely."

"…I don't think you do."

"Are you a virgin or something? I don't…"

"No, no…" Dagger blushed. "It's just…I've only…" Her blush grew deeper.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted finally. Zidane smiled.

"That's totally fine. I'm sure we can convince Freya that you're a skittish flight attendant."

"Flight attendant…?"

"This one's about a flight attendant and a passenger, played by me. It's called 'Snakes in a Plane.'"

Dagger wrinkled her nose. "That's horrendous."

"I know, the wordplay is horrible in most of them. But, it's what's keeping my father alive, so I'll do it."

"Have you any shame at all?" Dagger asked him with a straight expression. She meant her question.

Zidane sighed. "I've swallowed my pride. I have nothing left, really."

"I'm sorry it's come to this."

Zidane's eyes grew alarmingly sad. "…So am I."

He offered her his hand. "Ready?"

She took it and sighed, returning his reluctant smile. "…As I'll ever be."

…

Blank stood on the left side of the set where more airline chairs were needed. With one hand he pointed to where the prop people needed to put the chairs, and to another, he pointed extras to their places in the already set up chairs. "Come on, people!"

Blank was the director of most of Tantalus Productions' films. He was personable enough, but his strange face left much to be desired. He wore a bandanna so low over his forehead it was impossible to see his eyes. How he could see to direct was beyond everyone.

Marcus strolled by, the keys on his belt jingling, his mop in his hand. He was prepared for this.

Off to the side, Cinna waited patiently. He ran in and touched up anyone's makeup. Most of the time. He had a few other unlucky jobs as well. But he didn't like talking about them.

Amarant was already in the cameraman's chair. His camera was set up and ready. He was ready. Everyone else was taking their sweet time about it. Idiots.

"Isn't anyone ready for this shoot?" Blank yelled. Freya swatted him on the head with a rolled up notebook and smirked.

"Patience. We've got a newbie on set."

Blank's face fell. "We're doing a flight attendant shoot and you hired a newbie?! You're mental!"

"It might work. Zidane likes her."

"Likes her, or wants to have sex with her."

"…Could be a bit of both," Freya said with a shrug. "Either way, she seems to only want to talk to him because…well, I suppose I wasn't very warm to her from the get-go."

"Well, you know how he is. It's how he gets into their pants."

Zidane walked up behind them in a suit and tie, smirking. "You guys are full of it. She's cute. You should see her in her uniform. Totally hot."

"Whatever, Zidane. Take your place, please. I have places to be after this shoot."

"Where, at your other job flipping burgers?" Zidane joked, sitting in an aisle seat and pulling out a newspaper.

Blank flipped Zidane off and took his seat in the director's chair. "Where's our flight attendant?"

Dagger stepped onto set, looking a little unsure in her short skirt and high heels.

"I don't know if I can go through with this," she said in a soft voice. Blank sighed, looked her over and shrugged.

"Look, kiddo. If you can't, we'll cut, you don't have to do it and you don't get paid. Got a deal?"

Dagger bit her lower lip. No money…? That was bad. But…at least she wasn't being forced to do this. But it was her only option…

When had she sunk to this new low? Doing a porno to pay for school? This…could never get out. She'd have to change her face drastically as soon as she got to school. Wouldn't some of the boys recognize her? Surely they're into this kind of …drivel.

She took her place at the drink cart at the front of the set and glanced at Zidane, who winked at her with a smile. With a thumbs up, he grinned. "You'll do great."

He'd explained to her that he'd lead, even though it was supposed to be her leading as the sexy flight attendant. It wasn't exactly Freya's idea of a good switch, but…Zidane was a decent actor. She was certain he'd be able to make something work.

"Ready on the set?" Blank called. Zidane, Dagger, the extras all gave a nod.

Off to the side, makeup artists were ready. Everyone was ready.

"Action."

…

The shooting was going well. Blank hadn't called cut more than twice to get lines repeated because of a problem with the boom mic, but all in all, things were relatively smooth. Like now. Like how on the next set over was supposed to be the bathroom.

Like how Zidane was currently occupying himself with kissing Dagger's neck and working on the buttons of her blouse.

"Look, sir. The seatbelt sign has been turned on, I think it's best if you returned to your seat," Dagger said, in as forceful a voice as she could manage. Zidane pulled back enough to grin.

"I'll hold on to you tight enough that we won't go anywhere. Besides, you have such a stressful job, you could use a little release now and again, right?"

"Sir, I would hardly call this appropriate behavior," she chided him, a hint of a smile on her lips as she raised her brow. Zidane almost congratulated her. For a newbie, Dagger wasn't doing too badly.

Moments later found Dagger where she hadn't imagined. And completely out of character. Her mind was clear. Did she have any lines? She couldn't remember. …Why was no one calling cut?

Blank wanted to call cut. He wanted to argue that there was nothing happening that was supposed to be happening. This was porn. There was supposed to be noise, anger, lust, passion, raunchy things that disgust and thrill people! But why couldn't he call cut? …no one was making any noise. The crew wasn't even breathing.

What had happened in the last few minutes? And why…couldn't he break his gaze from their faces?

They were staring at each other. Still acting, still…doing what was necessary for the shoot, but…instead of sharing lines, instead of remaining in character, both had fallen out of it and were staring at each other.

It was in this moment, looking into her face, at her flushed cheeks, that Zidane realized he couldn't do this anymore. This profession was over for him. He couldn't. Not with her looking at him like that. He didn't want anyone else ever again. Just her. Now. Tomorrow. Yesterday. Forever.

With her voice trembling, Dagger drew in a breath. "Sir. …I think you should return to your seat."

Zidane shook his head to clear it and painted on a smirk as he pulled her off the bathroom counter. "Yeah. It's probably a good idea. I'd hate for something bad to happen if we crashed."

"…Yeah."

Zidane smiled as he refastened the button on his dress pants. "I'd fly this airline anytime. What fantastic service," he said, winking at her as he left the bathroom.

"CUT!" Blank called. Dagger, still blushing, quickly pulled on her blazer. She didn't want to look anyone in the eyes. A makeup woman rushed up to her to powder her nose, and Dagger noticed that Zidane had someone doing the same to him.

"Did we screw it up? Do we have to do it again?" she asked, her heart at the bottom of her throat.

Blank shook his head. "I want a closing scene, a sort of day-dream. He's going to be in his seat, falling asleep. I want you to come up to him, straddle him and kiss him. Then we'll cut it. There'll be some effects added during editing to make it look like a dream to him, so this is all you have to do for now, kitten."

"…Kitten?" Dagger asked with a frown. The makeup artist was fixing Dagger's hair quickly.

"Can I put your hair back up quickly please?" the woman asked. Dagger nodded and let her long hair be put into a bun, held with only one pin. Dagger knew why. Apparently it was sexy to let her hair down and shake it out. Men enjoyed that. For whatever reason.

Zidane took his seat. They were ready.

Blank called "Action!" and the camera started rolling. Zidane made like he was falling asleep, a smile on his lips, as Dagger was cued to start walking.

Undoing the scarf around her neck, she straddled Zidane, wrapped the scarf around his neck, using it to pull him to her and grinned as she pulled the pin out of her hair. "Sorry there's no in-flight movie. May I be of service to entertain you?"

Zidane grinned. "Airline movies suck anyway," he replied, kissing her deeply.

"Cut!!" Blank called. They broke apart and smiled.

"You did it," Zidane whispered, helping her off of his lap. "Nice touch with the scarf. That was way hot."

Dagger blushed. "You think?"

"I hope they liked it," he said softly, his arm around her waist. "Well guys?" he called.

Blank grinned. "Good job guys. I need to ask, though…where'd all the raunchy dialogue go that was written?"

Dagger flushed. "I'm sorry, somehow I managed to…forget all of it."

"No worries, kitten. …It seemed to work without it."

"Can we go?" Zidane asked. Freya waved them away.

"Go on, someone will come for you when the food's arrived."

"Thanks Freya, you're an angel," Zidane offered. "Madam," he asked, offering his arm to Dagger. "Might I walk you to your dressing room?"

Dagger smiled. "Please do."

…

Dagger showered, dressed, and took a short nap. She was wakened to the sound of someone knocking on her dressing room door. She opened it to find Zidane standing on the other side, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Hey… Do you want to go somewhere for dinner?"

"With you?"

Zidane paused. "…Is that weird?"

"I think we've passed weird," she said, opening the door to let him in. "Dinner would be wonderful."

…

They talked for hours. Freya even called Zidane's cell to find out where he was and if he had Dagger with him.

When they returned to the studio, Freya had a massive check in an envelope for Dagger. "Brilliant work, Miss. Please, if you don't mind, we'd like to call on you again sometime."

Dagger chewed her lower lip. "I'd like to think about it, is that alright?"

"Certainly. How about if we call you, you think about it then?"

"Thanks, Miss Crescent."

"Call me Freya."

…

About four days passed before Dagger saw Zidane again. He'd called her twice in that time, once to ask if she was available later in the week, and the second time to tell her he was coming to get her.

She was going to meet his father, who was still in the hospital.

The four days had been more than enough time to deposit her check, which was larger than anticipated. She was able to pay her tuition and her rent on time, and was now sitting comfortably…at least until next month. She'd see how the next few weeks panned out before she made any decisions.

But right now…she was nervous. She was going to meet Zidane's father. And they weren't even, really…dating or anything. Were they? As he'd dropped her off at her apartment the night they'd first met, he'd admitted that he really liked her and wanted to see her again. The way he was blushing, Freya had explained earlier to her in private, meant that he was serious.

Dagger felt a little special, and embarrassed at the same time. She had fallen for a porn star. Who was well known. What the heck?

…

Zidane's father was in a ward that dealt with extended treatment. The nurse greeted Zidane warmly, as if they were old friends. Dagger supposed…his father had been here longer than he'd alluded to.

In the hospital room, room 1205, a thin, papery-skinned man with red cheeks and a wheezy-sounding cough lay on a hospital bed, hooked up to countless tubes and machines.

"My son," he whispered when Zidane entered the room. Zidane smiled warmly and kissed his father's forehead.

"Hey, Dad. How are you?"

"Still in swimming lessons," Baku joked. Zidane smiled and nodded towards Dagger, who stood at Zidane's side nervously.

Baku smiled and shook Dagger's hand. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Miss Dagger. He talks about you a lot," he said through his oxygen mask. Dagger smiled softly.

"Likewise, sir."

"Take care of him, alright? He's done his job taking care of me…he's been a good son. He hasn't taken care of himself in years. Could you do me that little favor?"

Dagger nodded. "Yes, I think I could handle that."

"Good girl," Baku whispered, patting her hand and turning his face to look at Zidane. "I love you, son."

Zidane frowned. "…Dad…"

"I mean it," Baku insisted. "I never tell you, and I'm a fool for it."

"What are you not telling me?" Zidane whispered.

Baku squeezed Zidane's hand. "It's time."

Tears pricked at Zidane's eyes and he shook his head. "No, not already…is it?"

"Well, think about it. You've met a nice girl, you won't have to pay for my medical expenses…you can stop that horrid profession."

"…Dad."

"You don't actually like it, do you?" Baku breathed, his voice strained with the difficulty of so much talking.

Zidane looked at Dagger. "I'm going to quit."

"Why?" Dagger asked.

"Because of you."

Baku smiled. "That's my boy."

Dagger didn't know what to say. Quit. Because of her?

"…Really?"

"My dad's right. I need to get a normal job. Maybe I can just do regular acting or something…but we'll figure that out later. Let's just visit with my dad and talk about it after."

And so, they stayed for an hour and a half, telling Baku about the outside world, politics, world news, and of course, about Dagger's love for English Literature.

Baku smiled, especially when he got a kiss on the forehead from either of them.

"Take care, Dad. I love you too."

Baku smiled with watery eyes and watched his son and …well, he figured she was his son's girlfriend, leave the room.

"Now…I can go in peace."

…

Baku died that night.

That same night, Zidane told Freya he quit, and then asked Dagger to be his girlfriend.

…

The End.

Note: What was supposed to be a humorous story ended up being something serious. Oops. Hope you liked it. ^_^