1I don't own any of these characters, they're all from Final Fantasy 9 and therefore the copyright of Square Enix this is just for the sake of humor and cuteness...

Ok... some little notes: I hate the name Dagger... when I was playing the game I refused to let Garnet be named Dagger... EEEW! I mean come on! how stupid is that! So, I ended up calling her Kodachi which is a small Japanese sword... means the same just sounds pretty. I hope it doesn't bother you too much, but I only call her that a couple of times... mostly it's just Garnet.

2nd thing: I donno when this is supposed to be in the game... sometime towards the end... after Beatrix and Steiner are a couple.

About the Rating: Well I most likely rated this too high, It's a humor/romance... there is no cussing, violence, or smutty stuff (I don't write smut stuff) it's all cute, nothing worse than a kiss on the forehead sort of thing. So no worries.

I'll shut up now, and I hope you enjoy it... it's my first finished fic (and I may add new stuff later... I have gotten ideas lemme know if you want more.)

Update: Tee hee... I re-read all this and was horribly embarrassed at my editorial skills... I'm sorry you had to endure such horrid spelling and all that. I think I've corrected everything, but then, I stink at that sort of thing! And I know I've still missed some things. Anyway, thanks everyone for reading this! oh and I forgot to mention.. Vivi's nightmare was inspired by a doujinshi pic I saw once where Quina was eating him... I have no idea why Quina was eating him... but it struck me as funny...heh heh.. poor Vivi..

Trials of Love

A Final Fantasy 9 Fan Fiction

by dragonnova

Night had finally fallen, the velvet sea of stars now shown in all their beauty over head, surrounding the twin moons that cast their soft glow over everything they could touch. However, this natural beauty went unseen by one. They only served as accents, barely noticeable against the true beauty the night now held in his azure eyes. Garnet stood quietly gazing into the vast night sky, leaning slightly and gracefully over the balcony railing. Everything she did looked graceful to him, this vision he loved from the moment he saw her. But how could he ever get her to understand his love for her. Every time he tried she acted like she didn't notice, or shot him down flat... his attempts were clumsy, coming off as a pervert most of the time, so how could he blame her.

His tail twitched irritably as he fell slightly back against a nearby tree, he mulled over a few choice embarrassments that refused to leave his memory. One in particular was the time he and Garnet had gotten 'married' in order to pass over Conde Petie. Married people were supposed to kiss! But NOOOO! Just when he was leaning in for the moment... she walked away! The only thing he kissed that day was the dirt... and who knows what people had been standing there to see that humiliation.

Zidane grimaced at the memory, but soon left it behind when he caught a movement from the balcony. Garnet was letting her hair out of the little clip that held it loosely together, sliding her fingers through it and letting it fall back over her shoulders. A soft breeze caught stray strands and allowed them to glisten in the pale moon light that was surrounding her. It was all he could stand for.

"I've gotta tell her I love her, TONIGHT!" He said aloud. "But how should I..." He took a few steps towards the Inn, and then paused to think things over.

Maybe I should just burst in the door and say... I LOVE YOU! No... To simple... I could spout some lines from 'my Canary'... stupid; she knows that play forwards and backwards... I'll sound like a rip off... she knows all of Lord Avalon's plays... so I'll get some flowers and walk in and say "Kodachi(dagger)I can't keep my feelings for you locked up inside any longer, it's tearing me apart! You're like the air I breath, I can't live without you! I love you so much..." Zidane paused in mid sentence; mid hand gesture..."Did I just say that out loud?" he questioned the surrounding darkness.

"Yup..." Amarant snorted. He had been leaning against the wall of the Inn the whole time.

Zidane blushed briefly in embarrassment and then turned to anger "Shut up!" he growled as he stormed through the doorway.

Once inside he composed himself a little and allowed his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the Lobby. He glanced around to see if there was anybody else who might have heard his declaration. To the left were the stairs up to the rooms, to the right the dinning/bar room and directly in front was the check-in desk, the clerk grinned knowingly at him almost taunting Zidane to walk over and slug the guy right then and there. He ignored the urge, and walked over to the entry of the dinning room, peeking around the corner, 'Where is everybody... last thing I need is is for Rusty to get in my way...'

He quickly surveyed the room, but no familiar faces could be seen. 'Maybe they've gone to bed' a cocky grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, "my chance!"

Zidane quickly made his way up the stairs and to Garnet's door. He stopped short, taking a deep breath and calmed his nerves before he grabbed the door knob and flung the door open, "I LOVE YOU! You're like the air I breath, I cannot spend another day without telling you how much I care for you...FREYA!"

"Zidane, I didn't know you cared for me so!" Freya sat cross-legged in an old cushy armchair with a book in hand; she grinned evilly swaying her tail back and forth along the edge of the chair. She then sighed, "Next floor... Lover boy!"

Zidane backed out slowly, a grim emotionless facade, and closed the door quietly. As he walked slowly toward the next flight of stairs he could hear a chuckle from the room he had tried to gracefully exit with some dignity. "Please don't let that happen to me again." he groaned as he trudged up the steps.

He stepped cautiously now to the second floor, making his way down the short hallway to the right door this time. The door way to his only love, or so he hoped it was the right one.

'Ok, so I got the floors mixed up, that's all. Stupid, she's on the same floor I am... I just got too excited and forgot where I was...' he reassured himself. However, this time he held out his hand to knock, forgoing the dramatic entrance he had envisioned in the streets as he gazed at her loveliness.

Just as he was going to rap gently on the door he felt a soft tug on his tail, which sent shivers from the tip all the way up his spine. "Nyah! AH!" He stammered, half startled and half irritated, quickly turning to find Vivi with his head bowed down.

Instantly the look of disgruntled irritation changed to a softer, caring countenance. After all, Vivi was like the little brother he never had, he had to look out for him. "What's wrong Vivi? Did something happen?" Zidane questioned as he dropped to one knee to meet Vivi's hunched over height.

"U-Um... I had a really bad dream..." Vivi managed to squeak, still shivering from the terror that had befallen him.

"Hmmm... Well, what was it? Sometimes you can feel better if you tell somebody the dream; it helps to make it go away faster." Zidane sat down, leaning his back against the wall and curling his tail (which Vivi had finally let go) around his right foot.

Vivi sat down next to him with a thump, and sighed. "Well, I, um... I dreamed that we were on our journey again, and we couldn't find any food... and then I got sick, and I couldn't talk very well, and then Eiko said that I sounded like a frog... and then... and then..." he gulped and shivered..."Quina ate me.."

Zidane stifled the chuckle that tried to escape... "There's nothing to be afraid of, Vivi... we'd never let anything happen to you! It was just a dream, nothing that can hurt you... and besides, Quina wouldn't eat YOU! " he trailed off... wondering for himself if that was really true or not... he could see a vision Quina standing there with Vivi's hat sticking out of his/her mouth... scary.

He shook the thought away, and tried to sound convincing again. "It was just a dream and they can't hurt you."

"Yeah, it was kinda silly..." Vivi laughed; Zidane joined in.

"Come on, you should get back to bed... it's really late..." Zidane stood, stretching and yawning a little before he turned and took hold of Vivi's hand to help him up.

"Alrighty." Vivi followed Zidane down the hallway to his room four doors down.

"If it will make you feel better you can stay with me tonight, but I won't be in until a little while longer...'k?" Zidane said as he opened the door.

"If you don't mind..." Vivi shuffled inside.

Zidane grinned and then quietly closed the door, "goodnight" he said just before he closed it completely.

'Now back to business' He thought to himself as he turned back in the direction of Garnet's room. It was getting late after all; he had to tell her before she went to sleep. This pain of waiting was killing him, and he would never have a better chance. Rusty was still nowhere to be seen, how often had lady luck treated him so kindly.

His train of thought came to a screeching halt, jumping the tracks and burning in a pile of disoriented rubble..."Nya...Eiko! What are you doing up so late?"

The little girl stood before him, looking up into his eyes with such a look of endearment. Yet, she was trying her hardest to look irritated at him, suspicious. She tilted her head slightly to one side like a little bird, causing her violet hair to fall across her cheek. "I could ask you the same thing..."

"I'm older than you, which means I have late night privileges... you should be in bed." he explained.

"Couldn't sleep..." she waved her had as if to dismiss the whole silly idea of privileges..."Whatcha doing?"

Zidane glanced at Garnet's door, stuttered a moment and then faced the little one again, "Nuthin', just walking..." He hoped she bought it.

Eiko sighed 'poor stupid boy, I'll have to save you from yourself...' she thought as she quickly grabbed his hand. "Com'on, I want something to eat..."

"B-but Eiko, you shouldn't eat so late it's not good for you're..." Zidane was cut off when she pulled him a few steps down the hall.

"I'm hungry and you're coming with me!" She said happily.

Zidane stopped, causing her to fall back towards him. She looked up to his face; a serious determination hid the usual cocky smiling face she had seen so often. "I have something very important to do Eiko. I can't go with you right now."

Eiko opened her mouth to say something, nothing came out, she only stared at him 'He's more determined than I thought, I have to do something quick, or I'll loose him for sure this time!' She thought hard for a moment, and then the her bottom lip began to tremble a little, her bright blue eyes began to sparkle with welled up tears that tried to fight their way free. She sniffled as a single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek.

Zidane was taken aback for a moment, not sure what to say, Eiko sniffled again, "You don't like me do you! I thought you were my friend but you don't even want to talk to me!" The sniffle now turned to full fledged cries.

"No! Eiko! I like you! I do! I'm sorry! I just..." He glanced again at Garnet's door and sighed "You're my friend, and nothing is more important than a friend in need...it can wait... I'm sorry, don't cry!"

He knelt down, same as he did for Vivi, and Eiko threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. The crying finally subsided back into sniffles.

Zidane held her for a moment, "I'll get you some ice cream, how's that?"

Eiko snuffled a couple more times before finally saying "ok..." However, she still would not release her death grip on his neck.

He stifled a sigh of exasperation as he picked Eiko up, turned for a moment to stare at the door one last time, and then made his way down the stairs, with Eiko still hanging on for dear life.

She glanced up for a moment; no tears. Not even a sniffle. Now a maniacal little grin spread across her face as she tightened her grip on him a little. 'He bought it! Zidane, you are so gullible...poor baby.' She thought as she cast an evil eye toward Garnet's door, which cracked open a bit just as Zidane and Eiko disappeared down the stairs.

Garnet poked her head out the door, looked up and down the hall way, "Huh? I thought I heard Zidane..." She pulled back inside, closing the door quietly "Oh, well..."

As they entered the lobby Zidane finally set Eiko down, or rather, she allowed him to set her down. She skipped on ahead of him toward the Dinning room, stopping short of the door and standing in awe. The sudden change in her attitude caused his curiosity to get the best of him, temporarily forgetting his troublesome situation. He slowly peered around the corner with her.

Steiner and Beatrix were dancing with only the sweet sound of her humming, a very familiar tune, near the empty stage. His rusty armor clanked here and there, and Beatrix chuckled at how clumsy he was "klutz!" she snorted when he stepped on her toe.

Steiner, blushed and then smiled "Klutz! I'll show you!" He swung her back and went in for the kiss...

Beatrix glanced toward the entryway, "ZIDANE!"

"Zidane?" Steiner stared at Beatrix, and then followed her gaze, "ZIDANE!"

"MY EYES!" Zidane screamed as if he was in some terrible agony falling back and landing on his tail. He covered his eyes and curled up into a ball, "AAAH! For the love of chocobos! That's an image that'll be burned on my retinas!"

Eiko kneeled next to him, giggling as she patted his blond head.

"WHAT KIND OF IDIOT SPYS ON PEOPLE FROM THE DOORWAY! WHAT..." Steiner halted in mid yell... "AND WHERE IS HER HIGHNESS! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE SNUCK INTO HER ROOM!"

Zidane jumped to his feet in one swift movement, "NO! don't be disgusting" he yelled back.

'Er... well I guess I was kinda gonna bust in her door and declare my love for her.' his thoughts reminded him. "Why can't you just Chill, Rusty?"

Steiner angrily stomped across the room past the man at the bar who was trying desperately to halt the oncoming fight, "Please, sirs, people are trying to sleep this late at night and we don't want any..." the man was cut off before he could finish his pleas.

"Yeah, shut up! You could wake the dead with all that noises you make…in fact, don't breathe, that's annoying too!" Zidane snickered, taunting the knight further.

"That's ALL I CAN STAND FOR!" Steiner started to draw his sword when Beatrix grabbed his arm.

"Then SIT DOWN!" She ordered.

Steiner sat down right then and there on the floor with a loud clank. Beatrix rubbed her temple for a moment, thinking things over, "I think I'll call it a night, we've still got some time before the ball in Alexandria. So you've still got plenty of time to learn to dance, Steiner." she sighed.

Zidane blinked at her a couple times, "Your teaching Rusty to dance?" a thought of Steiner gracefully dancing across a stage in a tuu-tuu flashed through his mind. He suddenly burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"THAT'S IT! YOU MONKEY TAILED…!" Steiner started to stand up but Beatrix shot him 'the look' and he remained seated.

Eiko ran over to them and giggled again with big bright sparkling eyes of envy and awe "Are you going to dance together at the ball? Wow that's so romantic!" She sighed with a dreamy look filling her bright eyes.

Zidane suddenly got nervous, "Give her more ideas why don't cha" he muttered under his breath.

"I'm surprised, Zidane, I thought for sure you'd be using this valuable time to see Her Highness." Beatrix smiled, it was obvious to everyone how much Zidane loved Garnet, obvious to everyone, except the one he really wanted to know.

"U-um, I promised Eiko some ice cream... Yeah... "He dodged the insinuation with the grace of a one-legged hippo. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly, resting his gaze on Eiko. A mistake. If looks could have killed they ALL would have been dead.

"That's right! He's spending quality time with me!" Her glare transformed into a sweet smile and then she skipped back to Zidane, taking his hand in hers once again. "Com'on! I'm hungry!"

"Ha ha, that's wonderful! Keep a close eye on him, my Lady!" Steiner stood and bowed to Eiko, he then shot a sadistic look toward Zidane before he finally turned back to Beatrix. Her expression was less than pleased.

"Must you be so hard on him?" she whispered.

"I have to protect the Princess!" he shot back.

"Even when she doesn't want that protection? Hmm?"

"He's a scoundrel! I have to..." Steiner was cut off by her hand over his mouth.

"Just drop it already, Stubborn." she sighed and pulled her hand away, "I'm going to bed... I'll see you in the morning"

She started to walk away but Steiner grabbed her hand and kept her from leaving, "Do you have to go so soon, my Lady..." his voice was actually tender, and caring, a surprising change from the loud oaf that everybody knew him to be.

Beatrix chuckled softly, "It's already very late, and I have to get some rest..." They had moved closer to each other without knowing it.

Steiner now saw his chance once again; he started to pull her closer...

"Get a room! There's a kid in here!" Zidane hollered from the booth he and Eiko had sat down at in the far corner of the room.

Steiner's face turned a lovely shade of purple, however, he didn't get the chance to vent his rage at the peanut gallery. Beatrix leaned close and kissed his forehead, then turned and walked over to the entryway, glancing momentarily back to Steiner, a sweet smile across her face.

"Good night, Steiner." Her voice was like a melody to his ears. Even Zidane heard this and was amazed at the love he could hear in her tone, it almost made him jealous of the old rust bucket.

'Never thought she could be such a gentle person' He thought to himself as he watched the two part ways.

Eiko sighed, this had struck a cord in her and she snuggled up to Zidane's arm, but soon let go when the waiter brought the Sundae in and set it before her, much to the relief of her captive.

Zidane sat quietly at the little booth, staring up at the black grand piano on the empty stage. Eiko sat uncomfortably close to him, chowing down on the huge Sundae before her. He glanced at the clock above the door way to the main lobby, the second hand clicked by slowly, abnormally slow; he could almost feel each click inside his heart. 1:00 Am. He sighed and looked down at the blue soda before him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eiko watching him, it startled him that she had stopped eating and was just sitting staring at him with such admiration, a little ice cream mustache around her mouth. When Eiko knew she had his attention back again she grinned really big letting out a 'tee hee' and then returned to her treat.

'MOOGLE BUTTS! Even when I have him all to myself I don't really have him... He's thinking about her, I just know it! How rude! He's with me now! He should be thinking about me!' she thought to herself as she shoved another spoonful into her mouth. It was unusually biting cold and it went strait to her brain... "OOOOOW!" she let go of the spoon and held her head.

"Don't eat it so fast, silly. You'll freeze your brain" Zidane chuckled.

This tickled Eiko for some reason, maybe it was the softened tone he had, but none the less it tickled her that he was paying attention to her. So she giggled, "okie dokie."

Zidane reached over and patted her head, ruffling her hair a little and then grabbed up the soda and leaned back against the cushioned seat backing. He poked the straw at the ice cubes floating in the glass, causing it to fizz up a little, and he quietly thought about Garnet. She was most likely asleep by now, she had to be. Do princesses stay up till all hours? He was too late; it would have to wait until next time, if there would ever be a next time. That image of her ran through his head again, how the moonlight cast its silver glow over her. How her hair blew free in the night breeze on the balcony. It made him suddenly remember the time she was singing on the roof of the castle in Lindblum. That beautiful voice, there she was leaning on the wall singing to the birds that remained quiet. Even the birds were in awe of her. That was a memory he never wanted to forget, that was the most perfect image of her that he cherished so much.

His thoughts were cut off when he felt someone lean up against him, Eiko! He had forgotten about Eiko. He looked down at her; she had fallen asleep finally, and was now cuddled up against his side like a little puppy. "You should be tired, it's so late." he patted her head gently and then looked around the room, there was nobody around.

"Rusty must have gone to bed..." And why not, it was pushing 2:00am. a worried look crossed his face as he set down his soda and gently pulled Eiko up into his arms "You should be in bed, I shouldn't have let you stay up so late." he whispered as he stood and carried her out into the Lobby.

Eiko buried her face in his chest, hiding the smirk that had come across her angelic 'sleeping' face. 'Ha, my plan is working! hee hee!' But her thoughts were cut off when she felt him struggle a little with a door 'what's he doing, where are we going?' she thought to herself.

Zidane nudged the door open and slowly made his way through the dark room holding Eiko a little bit tighter just incase he bumped into something in the shadows. He laid her down on the bed and pulled one of the extra blankets up over her tucking her in. "g'night, Eiko." He whispered as he turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He leaned back against the door and sighed "Well, now I don't have a place to sleep..."

Eiko waited a moment then opened her eyes, it took only a moment for them to adjust to the dim moonlight, and there one the opposite side of the bed was Vivi snoring away. "Wha? That bum ditched me!" she growled as she sat up and started to pout. "OOOOH I bet he went to se HER!"

Vivi snorted in his sleep and rolled over, Eiko just stared at him and grunted but soon she fell back on the pillow, and all was forgotten.

Zidane wandered very slowly toward the stairs, stopping in front of the door. He stared at it for a long time, debating, wondering if maybe she was still up. Just maybe she was reading a book, not able to sleep, or maybe she was still out on that balcony, shaming the night sky with her beauty. He hesitated, starting to quietly knock. 'What if she's asleep?' he took hold of the doorknob. It moved a little. 'I'll just peek in; if she's asleep I'll leave... if she's awake... I'll get my tail kicked for barging in on the princess.' He started to open the door but stopped when he saw a vision of Steiner yelling, 'UNCOOTH, PERVERT! PEEKING IN THE PRINCESS' ROOM!"

He released the doorknob and backed away. "I shouldn't... I'll leave her alone." he sighed "But I wanted to tell you, Kodachi... I feel like I've gone though so many Trials tonight, just so I could get to you...just so I could tell you..."

"Tell me what, Zidane?" It was her gentle voice; he spun around and their eyes met.

Garnet was standing right there in front of him, and everything he wanted to say just emptied right out of his head, "ah, what's up?" of all the stupid things.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a warm bath... you should try it, if you can't sleep. It's very relaxing." Garnet said as she started to open the door.

"yeah..." Zidane murmured dreamily, he hadn't heard what she was saying at all, he only listened to the sound of her soft voice. Finally he remembered just as she was about to disappear behind the door "I mean, wait!"

Garnet stopped suddenly at his outburst, peeking back through her doorway questioningly. He shook his head in frustration at almost loosing his chance, "I had something I needed to tell you, Kodachi..." he paused as she looked into his eyes.

She could see his determination, and what she thought was a hint of fear? "something very important..." he said then tore away from her gaze, suddenly feeling very self conscious, and bowing his head a little so that his blue eyes where now hidden by his blond hair.

This startled Garnet; she'd never seen Zidane act so strangely. It must be something that's been eating away at him, something he was keeping from her for a very long time. "Well, come in and we'll talk about it?" She smiled.

Zidane nodded, and followed her into the room. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought of Steiner, 'what would old Rusty do if he knew he was alone with garnet' Zidane snickered a little at the vision of Steiner turning different brilliant shades of red, hopping up and down as he usually did when he thought Zidane was doing something uncouth.

Garnet heard his soft chuckle, and turned to face him again, "Is something funny?" she asked, wondering at the strange changes in his attitude.

Zidane blushed a little from embarrassment, he couldn't let her know what he was really laughing at. "N-nuthing..."

Garnet stared at him for a moment, still wondering about him, worrying almost. She could still tell something had been bothering him. She walked over to the small couch that was along the wall of the room, motioning for him to sit with her. Zidane obeyed, noticing how much bigger and better her room was from his or even Vivi's. 'Guess they knew she's the princess...somehow.'

"So what is it, Zidane? What did you need to tell me?" once again she looked into his eyes, with such kindness, and... Could it be...?

"Ah," was all he got out, before he finally tore the gaze again and looked away. He had planned this so well, he knew what he wanted to say and he kept missing his chance to be suave. 'What's wrong stupid, just say it!' he mentally beat himself.

Garnet saw the torment again in his expression, in his mannerism. It was so unlike Zidane to act so strangely, he was usually flirting relentlessly and so outgoing. In fact, she wondered why he wasn't still at it, it was a perfect opportunity. It was annoying most of the time, but she didn't mind too much. It was almost like a game now, she loved to tease him and pretend she hadn't noticed his intentions. To be honest, she really cared about him. They were friends now he should be comfortable enough to talk to her about anything that was bothering him.

"Zidane?"

Zidane was yanked away from his thoughts, his plans to save face. Garnet's voice was so gentle, and concerned. It was the sweetest thing he had heard in a very long time, she's never used that tone when she said his name before. He listened quietly and slowly began to feel comfortable again as he watched her. She was looking toward the door, but he could tell that she was not seeing it. Perhaps she was thinking about their journey, maybe she could even be thinking about him. He felt at peace, like none he'd felt before. He slid back against the overstuffed cushioned backing of the couch and continued to watch her, listening for what she was going to say next.

She continued, "We've traveled so far, and gone through so much together. There shouldn't be any more walls between us. We're friends, and friends need to help each other. If something is bothering you, if you feel like you need to say something to me, then nothing should hold you back. You needn't be worried about anything. I'm here, whenever you need me...I will always be there for you, because" She paused, almost startled, herself, by what she was about to say. It was something that had been deep inside her, she knew it had always been there... She cared for him, much more than a friend. She suddenly remembered the time he had to chase her all over the castle when they first met... the look on his face as she fell back off the tower wall with a smirk, he was so cute, and that was when she first knew of it's presence in her heart. She took a deep breath. "Because, I love you...and always will..."

Garnet blushed, now she was begining to act strangely. She waited for his reply, afraid to look him in the face. She wondered if he'd come back with one of his usual flirtatious lines or would he be sincere, did he really love her back?

Nothing but an awkward silence filled the room. Garnet fidgeted a little, then she heard his soft breathing, it was slow and steady, almost like he was...

She turned to looked over at him. He was sound asleep.

Garnet sighed, slightly disappointed. And yet, she couldn't remain so, he looked so peaceful, and just adorable the way his hair was hanging over his closed eyes. She finally stood and walked over to her bed, grabbing up the extra blanket that had been carefully laid across the foot. She brought it to him, covering him up and tucking it behind his shoulders. She gazed lovingly at him for a long time. Finally, she reached out and brushed back some of his blond hair away from his face and tucked it behind his ear, allowing her hand to gently stoke his cheek as it fell back. She leaned close, kissing his cheek softly.

He smiled in his sleep, as she whispered softly in his ear, "Goodnight, Zidane...my love."