Dagger let out a small sigh as she eased herself into bed on the night of her 18th birthday. So much had happened...her head was whirling at the thought of the day's events! She smiled softly, running her fingers through her hair as she recalled the one sentence that made her day complete, and set her life straight.

"Bring my beloved Dagger to me!" Those were the words Zidane spoke. Zidane spoke. He was back. He was alive, he was actually there! The two had spent the day at the docks of Alexandria Castle, where they found peace and quiet, and the only other person was an Alexandrian Soldier who respectfully left at the sight of them. All they had done was talk.

…

"There's so much I need to tell you," Dagger murmured, smiling gently as she rested her head on Zidane's shoulder, her soft, fair hand clasped in his rough, callused one. Her eyes were filled with tears; however, they were tears of happiness. Zidane removed his hand, and wrapped his arms around the young queen, murmuring soft words of love.

"The feeling is mutual," he replied finally, taking her hand once more. Dagger nodded, ready to speak, but Zidane continued. "However, before we even try to begin to talk, there's something we need to clarify. What...well...huh, how should I put this? Um... Dagger, what exactly are we?"

Dagger's heart lurched, and she hesitated. "I'm not sure," she admitted slowly, inching away from him, a little nervous at the fact that she was talking about this. "I mean, I love you, and to you and all the others I may be Dagger, but... to my country and to the rest of the world, I am Queen Garnet of Alexandria, and you...well, you, Zidane, are..." she trailed off awkwardly.

"I'm a thief from Tantalus," Zidane muttered, finishing her sentence. He turned away from her, putting his head in his knees as he sighed. "Our relationship could only ever be looked down upon by most. But, then again," he faced her as he spoke this time, his eyes shining. "Dagger, we'd have Lindblum, Burmecia...surely Cid and Puck would support us!"

Dagger felt a tear slip out of her eye, but for a different reason than before. She leaned forward again to hug Zidane tightly, crying into his shoulder. "I love you," she whimpered in between choked out sobs. "I don't want to be queen if it means I can't ever be with you. I love you too much to let you go, and...oh, Zidane, these past two years were just horrid without you...I had everybody with me, but even then, not knowing if you were alive or dead...it just...it just ripped me apart!"

Zidane closed his eyes, a feeling of sorrow washing over him, now knowing the pain his beloved had gone through. "Oh, Dagger," he whispered, before lifting up her chin, and gracing her lips with the gentlest of kisses. Dagger sobbed again, before leaning forward to kiss him more eagerly, more passionately, wanting to make up for two long, painful years. Zidane smiled gently at her through the kiss, before pulling back.

"Dagger, you can be queen," he said, while stroking her long hair with his hand. "You can be queen, and be with me. It's not that hard!" Dagger's tears were beginning to subside, her expression now one of confusion. Zidane chuckled, and continued. "Honestly, Dagger, who gives a damn about what anybody says? I love you, you love me, we saved the world together, and that's that. What could they possibly do to us?"

Dagger nodded slowly, hesitantly, before clutching him tightly, as if she would never feel the touch of a human again.

…

"What are you thinking about?" a masculine voice asked from Dagger's window. Dagger gave a small scream, but calmed immediately, seeing it was Zidane, climbing over to her with a confident smile on his face.

"You scared me, silly!" she huffed, batting his shoulder playfully. Zidane laughed for a moment, before his smile turned into a smirk. He began to climb into bed beside her, moving close to her. Dagger blushed madly, but did not protest, even when he wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her neck repeatedly.

"As queen of Alexandria, I must ask you why you're here," Dagger tried to sound authoritative, but she was, however, betrayed by a smile gracing her features.

"There's that royal tone in your voice again," Zidane muttered in between kisses, before moving up to her cheek for one long, final kiss. "I want to give you a pop quiz," he admitted finally. "Trust me, and answer my questions for a prize. First question: Do you love me?"

Dagger was, of course, puzzled, but she answered with a nod, "Yes, of course, more than anything."

"Two: Do I love you?"

"Yes, but, Zidane, what exactly are you doing?" she demanded, curious. Zidane shook his head, and swept his tail over her mouth to silence her.

"Just trust me, Dagger. You'll see eventually. Three: Do you want to stay with me forever?"

"Um...yes? I don't quite see where you're going with this...I would have thought the answers to these questions were obvious," Dagger insisted, removing his soft, fluffy tail, and stroking it as if it were a cat.

" Four: Does your heart beat fast near me?" Zidane questioned, bringing his face closer to hers, until their lips were mere millimeters apart, before pulling back at the last second, just as she prepared herself for a kiss.

"Yeah," Dagger murmured, her face red as she pressed her head to his chest, to hear his steady heartbeat. Zidane let his head fall back for a moment in bliss as he held her close, before asking the next question he had in store.

"One last question... are we soulmates?"

Dagger shrugged from where she lay, snuggled against him. "I guess? I don't know, how would I? Probably, yes...how else would we still be together?" Zidane smiled at her answer, his hand finding hers, squeezing it gently.

"Next question, Dagger."

"You just said that was the last one."

"I lied, sorry," he admitted with a wink. Dagger sighed, and groaned. "You're doing really well," he encouraged. Dagger shot him a glare, a little annoyed at how long this was going, but didn't say anything.

"Will I ever leave again?"

"If you do, you can bet that I'll be sending my Alexandrian soldiers and my Pluto knights to bring you back," she warned, shifting around so that her back faced him, exhausted and wanting to try to get a little sleep... if his presence allowed her.

Zidane's eyes lit up. "But not kill me?"

She turned her head to look at him, amused, before turning back. "Steiner and Beatrix have that honour," she replied with a laugh. Zidane huffed, and rolled her back over, so she faced him again, before curling up, his tail brushing against her. Dagger poked him. "Come on, monkey. Your tail is tickling me. That's it, I presume? We can sleep now?"

Zidane shook his head with a laugh. "Now for the actual, honest last question!"

Dagger shook her head in response. "Not right now. I'm tired, Zidane. Being a 17...well, an 18-year old queen is tiring, you know? Plus, you returned today, and it was my birthday, and lots happened, and... oh, can we just sleep now?" she begged, slamming her head onto his shoulder in desperation.

Shaking his head madly, Zidane suddenly embraced Dagger tightly, and Dagger realized he was shaking. She moved her head up to kiss him, hoping to calm him from whatever was bothering him, however, he just pressed her head to his chest, and took a deep breath.

"Bonus question, Dagger. Will you marry me?" he whispered anxiously.

Dagger's hand flew to her mouth, her heart beginning to race, tears springing up in her eyes. "You...you're being serious?"

Zidane looked hurt. "Or course! Wow, I'm not even taken seriously when proposing. That stings, Dagger. So, let's try this again," he sighed, emphasizing again. "This time, 'Seriously'." He got up off the bed, leaving a cold, empty space beside Dagger, which she longed to be filled back up with his warm body. He moved up over to her side of the bed, and knelt down, moving his hands to his heart.

Dagger sat up, watching with affection in her eyes as he began to speak once more.

"Dagger, my love, my soulmate. I don't care if you're a queen, and I'm just a random thief from Lindblum. I'm in love with you. Madly, passionately in love with you... the way your eyes sparkle, the way you smile when our hands brush... I've never felt this way before. I even love it when you scold me! We saved the world together, and we changed one another. You became more confident, I became less insane. We deserve each other. Will you marry me?" Zidane asked again firmly, honesty shining in his beautiful eyes. Dagger's heart did back flips as she answered.

"Yes. I will marry you, Zidane. I love you too much to say yes, you know that! Hah, King Zidane...Steiner will be furious!" she laughed, and Zidane joined her, relief clearly showing on his face at her answer. He did not have a ring, however, he clutched her hand, and kissed it, swaying from side to side as he continued to press her dainty fingers to his lips.

"I have something to tell you, Dagger," he said with a smile, climbing back into the bed beside her, curling up next to her chest, like a small child would when cuddling with their mother.

"What is it?" Dagger asked drowsily, holding him as close as she could.

"You got all questions correct, Dagger. Now, for that prize...?"

Dagger sighed, smiled, and began to kiss Zidane. Her exhaustion would just have to hold off for one night.

…

Outside their room, the poor guard, meanwhile, knew she would be haunted forever by the sounds she heard coming from their door throughout the night...]

The end :)

Did you liiike it? -crosses fingers- I've had writers block for a long time, and I felt guilty for not submitting anything for an even longer time, so I picked one of the random stories I write in my binder in class when I'm bored, added onto it, and here you go! I know it's short, but, hey, it's Friday night, I'm tired, I've got strep, and this is all I can get out. This is also my first FFIX story, despite how much I love the game! .

Thanks for reading, and goodbye! :)