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"Mister! Can you play hide and seek with me?"

Lloyd had mock-sighed, running one hand through his unkempt hair, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Hey, I'm not that old! Mister's what they call my dad."

The boy tugged on Lloyd's arm, excited but also very impatient. "Come on, come on! Before it gets too late!"

"Ha, okay but careful!" Lloyd laughed aloud. Despite his height and lanky body, he let himself be pulled away easily. "You're gonna rip my jacket."

Colette, seated by the large fountain in Luin, watched contently as Lloyd was more or less 'convinced' to play with the overeager children. His bright red outfit could be easily seen from the crowd, the white strips trailing from his collar like outstretched wings. He then spoke out his countdown while the kids (seven in total) ran off, but not before letting one young girl place both of his hands over his eyes to be assured that there would be no cheating involved. His voice echoed down the cobbled pathways, reminding Colette how much she missed this.

She was apparently very entranced by the sight, for she barely even felt Sheena seat herself next to her.

"Still lovestruck?"

Colette yelped a tiny bit in surprise. An embarrassed smile made her way to her face reflexively.

"I'm sorry. I didn't ignore you, did I?"

Sheena leaned back slightly, arms crossed over her chest as she smirked back at the other girl. "I was hoping Lloyd would break you out of that habit by now."

"Oh! I'm sorry."

"Ahh… really though, Colette, it's no problem." Sheena turned back to the view, where now a 20 year old young man was stomping along the pathway that was nearby some crates - crates where two children hid behind, snickering behind their hands. Lloyd made a show of how he couldn't find any kids, one hand on his hip, the other scratching the back of his head. Just where were they? He had no clue! They must have just left him- And then he'd whip his head just around the crates, shouting 'Boo!' making the children squeal with laughter, even if they had just lost the game.

Colette found herself laughing, too, though much quieter, muffled moreso as she placed a hand over her lips. "He's really great with kids, isn't he?"

"Heh, yeah," Sheena agreed. "Good thing he has a lot of energy for them though. I was always so worn out after playing games for more than two hours."

"Oh, that's right. You spent a lot of time in Luin before." Colette smiled at her, swinging her legs happily. "You must be really great with kids, too!"

"I… uh…" Sheena flushed at the comment, then, in a much too nonchalant manner, brushed one of her black locks from her forehead. "Well, someone had to spend time with them! Their parents were always busy, and they gave me shelter, so just looking after their kids was the least I could do…"

Sheena's humbleness did nothing to sway Colette's admiration, which showed all too clearly. "I wish I could do the same."

"What do you mean? You're pretty good with kids, from what I've seen."

"Not like how you are," Colette said with full conviction, then turned her gaze back to the swordsman, seeing how easily he gave a piggy-back ride to one red-headed little girl, while swinging a happily shrieking boy from his right arm. "And not like how Lloyd is either."

Sheena took her time before speaking again. With patience, she gently patted a hand against Colette's shoulder, getting back the younger woman's attention.

"You didn't answer my question before, you know."

Colette blinked. "Um, oh! What did-?" Then she instantly stopped, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

At that, Sheena grinned, placing a friendly fist-bump against her shoulder. "Still lovestruck, huh?"

It was so weird hearing someone talk about it aloud. She and Lloyd had only started dating a few weeks ago, but neither had made much of a fuss about it to other people. Only later did their friends slowly start to realize what was happening between the two. She stared at her hands, which curled inward as they stayed perched on her lap.

"I think the both of you would be great with children."

Colette's embarrassment was almost too much to handle. "Ah! What- but I'm.."

Sheena laughed wickedly, patting her friend on the back. "Not so fun being flustered, huh?" Then her smile softened. "But seriously. I think you two would make pretty awesome parents someday."

Colette could not find any words to respond, but it seemed that Sheena didn't expect any. She just continually patted her back and shifted her gaze back to Lloyd, who was now finding the last child that hid among the boughs of a tree. Lloyd mock-growled that he was the tree monster, come by to snatch little kids from his leaves, as he expertly climbed up the trunk, doing it so fast that the kid gasped so loud in shock.

"Though I guess I can see why Lloyd's so good with them. He's basically a little kid himself sometimes."

Colette, her head still feeling warm, managed a nod. "Yeah, he's always… he's always been like that."

And as she gazed with Sheena towards her friend that she loved, she just couldn't help but wonder. Lloyd would make a great dad, wouldn't he?

"You've been quiet."

Colette shot up her head from the cooking pot, eyes blinking away daydreams. "Just wanna get this dish just right!"

Lloyd peered over her shoulder at the meal that was brewing, the scent of it filling the common room of Dirk's home. "It's just beef stew. I could make that in my sleep!"

"But the last time you tried, you nearly set fire to the pot…"

Lloyd frowned as he remembered. "Just once! And I thought you were supposed to put a lot of that oil stuff in it!"

"Not really. At least not for beef stew."

"Are you sure? Because the professor told me- Wait, scratch that. I get it now."

Colette giggled. The apron's straps on her shoulders nearly slipped from her movement, their size much too big for her small frame, more suited to the stockiness of a dwarf. She then gestured to the wooden bowls perched in the cabinets. "I think the stew's ready now."

Lloyd took that as his cue to grab said bowls to get ready for serving. "I can have seconds in advance, right?"

"Mm, well, you can have the whole pot!"

"Wow, really?"

"Aw, I hoped you knew I was kidding."

"You can't kid about food!"

Accompanied by more teasing, followed with some skilled maneuvering of hugs while they both ladled their food into the bowls, they (eventually) tried to settle down to have their meal. Honestly, the most that had even changed between them both now that they were together, were the slight increase in touches. Which meant more surprise hugs, tackle hugs, and quick kisses on the cheek. It was a change that Colette was glad she was getting used to.

Dirk's home was their rest stop of their continued journey, still searching for Exspheres, even after all the trouble with previous Centurions and the Vanguard. It was a mission neither had ever really let go of, and once other affairs had been settled down for the most part, both had just taken up where they left off. Only as a couple this time, instead of close friends. Strange, how the snow in Flanoir could bring them closer a second time…

"Colette, I think you overdid it on the carrots."

Her smile was full of amusement. "They give the stew texture! Plus, they're good for you."

"Yeah, but I don't really like vegetables…" Lloyd whined, then downed another spoonful anyways. He leaned against the kitchen counter while Colette seated herself in a chair, both of them steps away from the dining table. "Just switch the carrots for mushrooms!"

"There's already mushrooms in it!" she countered happily.

"Yeah, it should have even more!"

She giggled softly, bringing up her knees just slightly, hands still carefully holding her bowl and spoon. "Dirk never made you eat any vegetables?"

"Yeah, he did," Lloyd sighed, suddenly pulled back into bittersweet nostalgia. "He seriously wouldn't let me leave the table unless I finished eating every broccoli on my plate." A shudder. "Way too much broccoli."

"It's only because he wanted you to be healthy!"

"Meat's plenty healthy!"

She laughed again. "Wouldn't you do the same for-?" She stopped. Oh, where did that come from? She hadn't meant to ask him that…

"Hm?" Lloyd raised his head to her, the spoon in his mouth as he took another bite. Then, of course with his mouth full, "Whuffs rung?"

"Oh, it's noth…" Nothing, she could say. But already she could see Lloyd narrowing his eyes at her, already catching the hint of her trying to tuck away more information from him. She used to be so good at keeping secrets, but Lloyd had learned her habits too well to be fooled like before.

"Um.. Uh…" Colette looked around the room for something to grab her attention, but there was nothing more attention-worthy than her friend, the person she loved the most, standing right in front of her. With his mouth still half-full.

With a held in breath, she stood up, walked over to the counter where Lloyd leaned against, and set her bowl on its surface. Then she stood before him, hands brought up to her chest.

"Promise you won't get weirded out? With what I'm about to ask you?"

Lloyd looked all around confused. He swallowed his food. "Huh? Why would I?"

"Just… um… promise me!"

"Colette, you're weirding me out already!"

Oh, this wasn't going as planned. But she gazed at him with wide eyes, making Lloyd blink, then shake his head. "Fine, fine. I mean, why would you think that anyway? You know I'll never actually think you're weird. And after all we've been through, I don't think you could weird me out, honestly."

She would've rushed into his arms if he hadn't still been holding onto his bowl. Lloyd looked to said bowl and smiled sheepishly. "Um, is it fine if I keep eating? I'm still really hungry."

Colette, with an easy smile, nodded to him. Lloyd took another huge mouthful and, for a moment, her nerves eased. Until she thought about what she was going to say. But, she was just curious.

"Do you…" she started. Lloyd looked at her expectantly, with brown eyes that she had known for most of her life, brown eyes that she would sometimes get so close to when they embraced. "Do you, um…" Oh, maybe she should hold off on- "Do you ever think you want children of your own?"

Oh no.

Lloyd didn't react at first. He blinked, stared, shifted his eyes around himself, gazed back to her, then blinked again. "Wha?"

"Would you…you know…would you like kids someday?"

Apparently, Lloyd was just really slow on the uptake. More than usual. Because his eyes widened then at their meaning. "Ohh… like…" He paused. "To have?"

"Yeah…"

"Uh." Lloyd nearly uptipped his bowl to the floor when he moved, getting enough control of his reflexes to set it next to Colette's own bowl on the countertop. "Why, uh. Um."

"I'm sorry. It's a really dumb question…"

"Hey! It's fine. Really." Lloyd placed one hand on her shoulder, though his face betrayed the confusion that refused to leave him. "Just, um… what brought this on?"

Colette fidgeted slightly, trying to decide on an answer. Because Sheena mentioned… no…because I saw you play with the kids at Luin… no, not that one either. It was something before that, but she couldn't pinpoint just when.

"I was just thinking," she finally said. "You really don't have to answer."

"No, really, it's okay! Just, ha…" He scratched the back of his head. "I haven't really had to think about that before."

"Sorry for forcing you…"

"Come on, Colette. Stop that." He playfully flicked her forehead as reprimand. "I'm really okay with it."

She wasn't sure then, just what exactly he meant. "With me asking you?" she asked for clarification.

Lloyd hesitated. "Yeah." He shifted his gaze away. "And maybe…um, kids can be pretty fun, ya know?"

Suddenly, she was remembering him carrying a little girl on his shoulders, while swinging a laughing boy around in his arms, not hampered down by their combined weight at all. It was such a happy image, she almost wanted to cry.

"Colette?" Lloyd sounded worried.

She shook her head, gaining back her control, at least for the moment. "I think you'd make a great father."

He was very silent. His hand was still on his shoulder, the other hanging off his side.

"I think… that was what I wanted to say, really. That you'd make a really great dad. Like you were with those other kids in Luin, and like with Paul, too!"

Lloyd paled a little bit at that last part. "Um, yeah, but I almost kinda messed up with that…"

"Oh. It's okay, Lloyd. I'm not mad anymore about with Lilia-"

"Ahhh, I thought we promised we wouldn't talk about that anymore!"

With barely restrained laughter, she stepped nearer to him. Both automatically wrapped arms around each other, relaxing into one of their hugs that always felt so comfortable and natural in its existence. She took in his scent, of pine trees and forest grass. She relaxed, shutting her eyes, and Lloyd's breathing seemed to slow, his arms holding her tighter, hands rubbing her back.

"Hey, uh, Colette, I know I didn't really give much of an answer, but… are you saying you want kids?"

She was very content in his embrace, which pushed away her anxiety, and made her find her words easily enough. "I might. I haven't thought about it that much either… since I didn't think I'd need to worry about that before…"

"Y-yeah, I guess," Lloyd answered softly. "But are you saying you want kids now though?"

"Oh! Um!" Colette raised her eyes to his. "Not- not now! It's still too soon, isn't it?"

Lloyd looked confused again. "Uh, is it?"

"Is it not?"

"Wait, hold on a sec. I think we need to think this through.."

Colette was truly wondering if it really was the time for people to have children. The Church never educated her about that. "I guess I don't really know what I'm talking about."

"Hey, if you don't know, I don't know either!" Lloyd pointed a thumb at himself, grinning way too broadly for someone admitting their ignorance. "I mean, we could just ask Professor Sage or something.."

"Should we do that? Wouldn't that be weird?"

"That would definitely be weird, yeah!"

"Huh." She thought about it, one of her hands idly playing with the metal button on his jacket. "Well, if neither of us wants kids right now, then I guess there's…um, no point in talking about it right now?"

Lloyd pondered on that. "Probably."

"Ha ha, umm… sorry for making this difficult."

"It's fiiine." Lloyd hugged her again, one hand now settling around at her waist. "I think when we're done searching for Exspheres, maybe… maybe we can think about it?"

Oh, of course. She inwardly sighed at herself. That was really selfish of her for thinking about families and kids when they had a journey to complete!

"Colette." Lloyd's voice brought her out of her private berating.

"Oh?"

"I can feel you blaming yourself." He frowned, though patted gently at her hair. "It's not your fault for asking me about this stuff. It's… it's not bad to think about."

Colette could wholeheartedly agree with that. She did just that. "Yeah! It is kind of a fun thought."

Both stayed quiet, enjoying the moment, until, "Wait, so if I were a dad, I'd have to eat all the vegetables?"

"Yeah! To show the kids it's alright to eat them, too!"

Lloyd sighed. "Man, being a parent sounds like hard work."

Packing up again for the journey was always the hardest part. There was the rations to consider, the amount of blankets to fold up carefully and efficiently, the cooking utensils, the spare clothes, and always the 5 blocks of wood for Lloyd's whittling hobby. And without fail, it ended up to be too much in the end. Luckily, Noishe never seemed to mind carrying the extras.

"Once so much as a bunny shows up on the road though, there goes Noishe and all our stuff," Lloyd grumbled, patting the furry creature's head as he did so. Noishe whined at him, but it was a whine of contentment and not of remorse. Only Lloyd and his friends could tell the difference.

"I think he's gotten braver." Colette said this with utter conviction, already strapping her own bundle to her back. "Noishe stuck with us all this time! He only ran off on us maybe twice."

"Yeah, and he actually got stuck up in a tree one of those times! I still can't wrap my head around how he did that!"

They had already arrived back in Iselia, to finish up the last touches for their journey. More apple gels to buy, more elixirs to trade for, and parting words to receive from Colette's family. On the way, one of the children had tackled Lloyd's legs, because it was easy to recognize his red outfit from miles off and, hey, hey! Play with our friends, please?

Phaidra had noticed Colette's stare, even as her granddaughter talked with them, genuinely expressing heartache from leaving. She noticed her distant focus, and her hands gripping the hem of her coat as her still sensitive hearing (though margins less than before) picked up the laughs of the children as Lloyd played the part of the beast of Bear of the Mountain. Playful growls echoed across the open space in front of the schoolhouse, along with genuine exclaims of surprise as the children dog piled the swordsman to the ground.

"You are happy, aren't you, Colette?"

Phaidra had handed her a small little statue of Martel, exquisitely crafted, though the painting had peeled off with age. The Church may have changed, but there were some tenets that Phaidra still valued, that Colette still did.

She took it gratefully, this gift meant to bring her good luck in all her endeavors. "I am, grandmother." She nodded, then smiled so widely that her cheeks ached in a wonderful sensation. "I really am!"

Lloyd's jacket was a bit dusty by the time they left the town gates, and maybe Noishe might have snuck in an apple from the orchards which the two immediately paid for, but both of their faces were bright, leaving Iselia to camp under the stars - under the light of both moons of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla.

Colette held onto Lloyd's hand, knowing she wanted to stay by his side forever. Whether that meant marriage, or children, or anything else, she was happy with what she had.

And whatever the next step would be.

"Hey, uh…"

"Hm?" She turned to him. They were now far off on the road, the afternoon sun gentle in both its glare and heat.

"Just wondering, can we name her Anna?"

Colette stared. Her mind went over the name, quite a pretty name, but unable to find the context. "What?"

"I mean, uh." Lloyd's fingers clenched around her own nervously. His face was turned away, eyes drawn to the ground as his free hand scratched behind his ear. "I mean, if it was like… a girl… just throwing that out there."

"Oh." She gasped. "Ohhh!"

"You don't have to act so surprised…"

"No, no! I'm not, well, maybe a little!" She hopped on her feet, locks of her hair falling behind her shoulders. "Yeah, we can name her Anna." She nodded. "I think she'd like it."

Lloyd's grin was nothing but pure joy. "Yeah… yeah! Me, too."

They continued their walk out onto the plains, Noishe already lagging behind as it whined for rest. They'd barely made two miles out… but the camping spots here were as good as any.

"I guess you can pick a name if it was a boy?" Lloyd suggested.

Colette considered this. "I'm not sure… I'm only good with pet names. Hey! Maybe you can be in charge of the names!"

Lloyd accepted his newfound responsibility gladly. "Sure! And you can be responsible for all that gross vegetable-eating stuff!"

"Lloyd! We're supposed to do that together!"

Noishe had already deigned to plod his giant self right there, in the middle of the road, content with the sun baking his fur to a pleasant heat. Lloyd and Colette were too preoccupied with each other, hands around each other, laughter coming easily to them as they mock-argued to notice his defiance. The dog-creature huffed sleepily, head on his folded paws as he closed his eyes, drifting into a pleasantness upheld by the young voices, by the fresh wind, and by the complete, unending vista that was the sky.