The day began so...ordinarily.

Nodwydd presented himself at eight thirty at Bella's door, received his usual list of instructions (he often wondered whether Bella was one of those people who just ran on autopilot until midmorning, or whether she truly believed he'd forget everything she told him the day before) and slipped into the Dincht kitchen to make a breakfast for Kiel.

That was the way things always went.

Rousing Kiel at nine, with breakfast, he made sure the boy ate and then at ten they went to the dojo for training. Kiel was truly a gifted student of martial arts, gaining his belts with remarkable speed. Nodwydd knew he shouldn't be surprised; Zell had been one of the best the world had ever seen - but it still worried him a little. Kiel didn't speak of it much, but it wasn't hard to see that Kiel applied himself with the greatest dedication to those things which would help him most if he were to sign up with SeeD. He'd promised Bella he wouldn't encourage Kiel to follow that particular career path, and he wasn't encouraging it - but he was becoming increasingly aware that he didn't need to. Kiel knew what he wanted, which in an eleven year old boy was rather disconcerting.

Returning to Kiel's house around noon, Nodwydd made them both lunch. Clouds had gathered over Balamb; it looked to be one of those summer storms that occasionally swept over the island. The beach would be closed, so Nodwydd and Kiel settled down to games of Triple Triad interspersed with practice bouts whenever the boy got too restless. Neither of them was particularly worried about the weather - summer storms were furious but short-lived, and they were sure it would pass before Bella got home from work at five thirty.

When someone knocked on the door at half past three, Nodwydd thought perhaps it was Hilde - who worked nights, and would be waking up around now. She had started to take a rather protective interest in Nodwydd, as if she feared someone would charm him out of his last penny if she weren't there to stop it. Nodwydd found it embarrassing and gratifying at the same time.

He found himself looking down onto the top of a rather large umbrella, and blinked. Hilde was taller than that, and anyway would never carry around an umbrella big enough for two unless she had her girlfriend with her - and she didn't bring her girlfriend here for the same reason Nodwydd didn't bring Chai here.

The umbrella solved his dilemma for him. "Fine damn way you say hi to your soppin' wet jet-lagged brother, needlebrain," it growled in a familiar bass rumble. "You gonna stand aside an' let me in, or did y'want me to drip the whole damn ocean on your carpet?"

"Gwynt?" Nodwydd breathed, hastily standing aside. The umbrella was too wide to fit through the door open, so it tipped backward as it approached. And under it, in the loudest purple and yellow paisley shirt Nodwydd had ever seen - and in the tourist town of Balamb, loud shirts were a cottage industry - was indeed his brother Gwynt. And, rather to Nodwydd's surprise, a pretty white haired woman even smaller than his brother. Gwynt waited until the woman had scooted inside, looking around her with interest, before he closed the umbrella.

"Of course it's me," Gwynt growled, shaking water out of his curls. "Who the fuck else would it be? You think Taran's gonna cross the ocean on a chocobo?"

Kiel and the woman giggled as Nodwydd, delighted and stunned, picked his brother bodily off the floor and bearhugged him tightly. "Gwynt!" he squeaked, and Kiel muffled his laughs with a pillow. "I haven't seen you since last October! How did you get here?"

"Put. Me. Down," growled Gwynt, struggling out of the hug. "Demon's balls, Noddy, you'd think I came back from the dead or something! I got here the same damn way any other Esthari would get here, dingus. I flew ." Angrily straightening out his damp shirt, Gwynt glared up at his half brother. "And damn me if you haven't just reminded me why the hell I didn't want to live here with you in the first place. Yeesh!"

Nodwydd just grinned; Gwynt was always swearing and griping. "You're here, though," he pointed out. "To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" He kept any trace of sarcasm out of his voice, and Kiel was watching with interest while the woman smiled.

"Two things," Gwynt sighed. "One's a promise I made to Taran. The other's geography - this place is the best refueling stop between Esthar and Galbadia - FH is too far out of the way. I'll be through here pretty often now."

The woman coughed, and Gwynt startled. "Oh. Sorry, Cho," he said - surprising Nodwydd once again, as his brother normally didn't apologize. Gwynt continued, "Noddy, this's Cho, an' she's with me. Cho, this' my half-brother, or one of 'em anyway. His name's Nodwydd, but he'll answer to Noddy."

"Hajimemashite, Cho-sama. Watashi wa Balamb no ab Llew desu. Doozo yoroshiku," said Nodwydd, bowing deeply.

Gwynt stared at his half brother as though Nodwydd had just grown horns, but Cho laughed. "Doozo yoroshiku," she echoed, smiling, and returned the bow. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" demanded Gwynt. "Noddy, what the hell did you just do?"

Cho laughed. "Gwynt, your brother was just being polite. Though how he knew the noble tongue -?" she shrugged. "I'm flattered by your courtesy, Nodwydd, but please don't do that again. I keep expecting to find my parents standing behind me."

"I listened to Grandfather's stories," grinned Nodwydd. "He lived in Esthar for a long time. I didn't think I'd end up talking to a noble, though, and I hope I got the words right." He indicated Kiel, who was apparently just as surprised as Gwynt had been. "This little scamp is Kiel Dincht," he said. "Kiel, come on. This is your house while Bella's away. Come and say hello."

Kiel set down the pillow he'd been muffling laughter with, and bowed as he'd been taught to do in the dojo. "I don't know what Noddy said," he told Cho, "but I'm Kiel. Nice to meet you. And you're Gwynt?" he asked.

Gwynt nodded, eyeing the boy consideringly. "Yep. You're Zell's, all right. The brown hair's got to be whatshername though."

"Bella," put in Nodwydd dryly, as Kiel beamed at the comparison. "Yes. That's about all he inherited, though." Struck by a thought, he asked, "So, where are you two staying?"

Gwynt shrugged. "Haven't settled that, yet," he admitted. "Prob'ly a room in the hotel. We're just here for the weekend."

Nodwydd heard the unasked question, and nodded. "That's probably for the best; I don't actually have a spare bed at my place, and believe me Bella would rather skin you than have you stay here. You probably shouldn't be here when she gets home, either."

Gwynt cocked his head, eyeing his brother warily for a moment, then shrugged. "Anyway...did Taran ever talk t'you about this?"

"About you coming to visit?" Nodwydd asked. "No - should he have?" He indicated the living room. "Here - you two go sit down. Kiel, get some towels to dry them off, and I'll go get some tea." He went into the kitchen to get the requisite tea tray made up, and came back to find Cho cheerfully toweling Gwynt's curls - his brother looking both amused and resigned. Nodwydd allowed himself a grin, but didn't say anything. Just the fact that his brother was tolerating someone playing with his hair told him that Gwynt was very much head over heels. Nodwydd set down the tray and took a seat. "Tell me, then?" he asked. "Why you came? I know it wasn't just because you missed me."

Gwynt caught Cho's hand in one of his, and she stopped toweling his hair. Instead she started sorting out his curls with her fingers - which, given that his hair was still pretty damp, meant clearly defined ringlets. "Taran asked me to," he said. "S'what I've been doing in Esthar, see. Getting my pilot's license, and a plane to fly." He grinned. "You're lookin' at your very own carrier service, Noddy. I'll see everybody, often as I can. When I do, I'll pass on any news or letters or whatever y'all have given me." Cocking a finger at his brother, he continued, "Even Taran. I can do it at least once a year if I push it. I'm here for the weekend, Noddy. You got till Sunday morning to hand on anything you want me to deliver. I'll always stop here for refueling anyway, but that's iffy for you 'cos I'd only be here long enough to pick up fuel unless it's really late. Just getting here is fifteen hours by air. The rest of the overseas trip'll be a major bitch."

Nodwydd just gaped. If he had a sibling he would have said looked out for himself first, last, and always besides Daear, it would be Gwynt. And yet here his brother was bluntly offering a great deal of his time and money...just to let everyone talk to each other. Was here, in Balamb, proving he meant what he was offering. Nodwydd looked at Cho, and wondered if she were in any way responsible. Certainly Gwynt must adore her, to let her toy with his hair when he was conducting what to him was certainly business. And very private business at that. Nodwydd waved a hand in her direction. "And her, Gwynt? Where does your friend fit into this?" His voice was faint and stunned even in his own ears.

"Cho's with me, Noddy," said Gwynt firmly. "It's okay. She already knows, she's okay with it. She's my co-pilot."

Cho's wry smile told Nodwydd she was a lot more than just Gwynt's co-pilot. But then, her easy familiarity with his brother had already told him that. "I'm....well, I'm floored, Gwynt," Nodwydd admitted. "I'd never have believed you'd do anything so...generous."

"Yeah yeah, rub my face in it," grumbled Gwynt. "I just want to fly. Y'all handed me a good excuse, that's all."

"Of course," Nodwydd agreed, knowing as well as Gwynt did that that wasn't the whole truth - but that forcing the whole truth would be deeply embarrassing to his brother. "You two must be very tired from your long flight, though. And where is your luggage?"

Gwynt blinked at Nodwydd, and then considered Cho - who did indeed look rather tired. "Left it on the plane 'till we knew where we were goin'," he said. "Took us a while to find this place, even. S'pose you'd better come with us, so you'll know my plane when you see it. Sounds like the rain's stopped, at least."

"I'm surprised you made it," Nodwydd commented. "Don't they cancel flights for this kind of weather?"

"Private flight," Gwynt told him. "And I've the ratings, so basically, it's my own neck." He grinned, and let his eyes shift briefly. "Not that I needed the instruments."

"Of course not," Cho murmured with a wicked grin. "Not a sky god like you."

Nodwydd had no idea what she meant - it seemed an appropriate enough nickname for someone of Gwynt's skills, but Gwynt scowled at her. "You take that back," he growled. "I ain't no sky god!"

"No, of course not. You just act like one," Cho grinned. "With maybe a bit more reason than usual." To Nodwydd's puzzled expression, Cho explained, "Among pilots and other people who work or play in the air, a 'sky god' is someone who believes he can do anything and get away with it. They take stupid risks because they don't believe they'll ever get hurt, that they're the best that has ever been. In general, they're a pain in the butt to be around, too."

"Ain't no sky god," growled Gwynt.

"Of course not," grinned Cho, pleased to be able to tease. "Though the only difference is that you've managed to do everything you've bragged you can do."

"Damn straight," Gwynt rumbled.

"Ah, I see," Nodwydd smiled. Naturally his brother could probably do things that would be insanely dangerous for anyone else. "Well, we probably ought to get you two into a hotel room, really. Before Bella gets home." He turned to Kiel. "Do you want to come and help? Or stay here?"

"I'll come," the boy grinned. "It's just rain, no biggie. Better than being here when Mom gets home."

Cho sent Gwynt a what's going on? look, that Gwynt could only shrug to. "Look, Noddy," he began. "Did Bella lose her marbles or somethin'? Only I don't remember her bein' the terror of Balamb..."

"She's not," said Nodwydd flatly, getting an umbrella and tossing a second to Kiel. "But - well. You remember what happened to Zell, Gwynt. She blames us - all of us, really, but me in particular. The day's dark enough. I'll save details for tomorrow, if that's all right with you."

Gwynt just blinked for a moment, then shrugged. "Whatever," he grumbled, grabbing his own umbrella and handing it to Cho. "Want to show you my plane while it's still light enough to see."

* * * * * *

Gwynt's plane turned out to be - well, larger than Nodwydd expected, really, but then he hadn't really known what to expect and wasn't at all sure he knew what he was looking at. Except that it had to be Gwynt's, simply because Nodwydd had never met anyone else who would be willing to paint a perfectly good airplane in shades of dark purple and bright yellow. The yellow shooting star painted on both sides of both wings just sort of clinched it.

"It's a Partenavion Observer 2," Gwynt said proudly, although he was well aware that this meant absolutely nothing to his brother. "And all mine - or at least, I'm paying the loan off on her. The Shooting Star."

Nodwydd sighed. "I'm sure it's very nice, Gwynt, though it looks a bit cramped to spend fifteen hours in. Where are your bags, and we can get you settled in a room you can stand up in before the rain comes back?"

"It won't rain any more today, Nodwydd," Cho put in quietly. "I'm pretty sure about that."

"You'd be right, too," rumbled Gwynt as he opened up the plane and started pulling out bags. "I'd say, clear flying from here at least through Monday."

Kiel stared at the authority with which Gwynt spoke, but Nodwydd only smiled. He'd learned to trust Gwynt's weather sense on the voyage here. Gwynt fished out four bags from the plane, then hopped out and locked it up again. One bag each didn't seem like much - and they were all four very small. Gwynt carried Cho's, though, as the long flight was definitely catching up to her. "Which way to the hotel?" he asked Nodwydd, then sighed. "No, here. You an' Kiel better take these. Cho's out on her feet."

"I'm fine," Cho protested, but Gwynt swept her off her feet anyway. Nodwydd grinned and Kiel laughed, and each of them took an extra bag as Gwynt got his co-pilot settled in his arms. "Gwynt, I'm perfectly capable of walking."

"Then you c'n walk after dinner,"Gwynt told her. "Nice quiet walk along the beach. Meantime, all you've had today was a bagel, so you're gonna get fed first." Looking up at his brother, he asked, "This hotel - decent food?"

"I believe so - I know someone who works there," Nodwydd replied, blinking. Part of his brain kept trying to link 'Gwynt' with 'romantic', and the two words were steadfastly refusing to have anything to do with each other despite the evidence of his eyes. To cover the mental confusion, he started walking - and was grateful for the ballast of the bags he was carrying. It gave him something else to focus on. Gwynt with a girlfriend? No. Focus on the bags, on the road, these two must have wandered Balamb for an hour and more trying to find just Bella's house...

The Balamb Hotel was of course famous throughout the world - there were other places to stay in the town, but none so beautiful. Gwynt blinked up at it for a moment, then asked, "All right, Noddy. Did I win the lottery in my sleep or somethin'? Place looks kinda pricy."

Nodwydd smiled happily. "This is what I can do for you, Gwynt," he told them. "I told you I know people here. Kiel, keep an eye on these bags for a moment? I'll be right back."

Leaving Kiel and Gwynt exchanging puzzled looks, Nodwydd set down the bags he was carrying and slipped inside. Hilde's girlfriend worked here, he knew, and although he didn't really get along with her too well there were others he'd met who worked here who would be happy to help.

The man he was looking for was currently giving the cleaning staff holy whatfor on the matter of sopping wet carpets in the foyer. Nodwydd guiltily looked down at his own wet feet.

"Noddy!" the man beamed, causing Nodwydd to look up again and smile. Rhys had to make an effort to sound harsh; his voice and speech had the music of Trabia in them. "Don't tell me your apartment was ransacked," he continued. "What brings you here?"

"Well, actually, I could use a room here for the weekend," Nodwydd admitted. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to go for friend's rates for my brother?"

Rhys blinked, surprised. "I wasn't aware you had a brother," he replied mildly. "How did you find one?"

"I didn't," Nodwydd grinned. He knew Rhys' sense of humor very well. "Actually, today he found me. He's flown a long way to visit, and I thought to show him the better aspects of Balamb while he was here. He needs a place to sleep, but doesn't have a lot of cash. Can you help?"

Rhys smiled graciously, and brushed his hair back from the eight-spoked wheel tattoo on his forehead. "One good turn deserves another, Noddy. I'll give your brother friend's rates for the weekend, but you're showing me how you threw the sensei to the mat last Tuesday. And it doesn't matter how long it takes you to teach me, either."

"Deal," Nodwydd grinned back. "I'll go get them."

Rhys blinked. "Them? Who's with him?" he asked as they headed for the front doors.

"Apparently he picked up a girlfriend," Nodwydd shrugged. "Beats me how. They'll share a room, I'm sure."

Cho was standing on her own two feet when they came back out, though she was leaning rather sleepily on Gwynt's shoulder - even though it was still late afternoon. Nodwydd made introductions.

"Rhys, my brother Gwynt and his co-pilot Cho. Gwynt, Cho, this is Rhys. Be nice; he's agreed to cut the rate for you to stay here for the weekend."

Gwynt rolled his eyes. "Right. Like I was plannin' on stealin' the room. Noddy, is there anyone in this town you don't know?"

"Quite a few people," Rhys commented dryly. "But if you can't enjoy a stay here, you can't enjoy a stay anywhere in Balamb." And he ducked back inside to grab a porter or two.

Gwynt blinked. "Noddy...you sure?"

Nodwydd grinned and nodded happily. "Yes. He's agreed to friend's rates, Gwynt, which means about the same as you'd pay for the motel on the docks. Be nice, all right? And there's a good restaurant on the main level, I do know the chef, so if you like the food say so - and if you don't please don't say anything!"

"Noddy, you know too damn many people," sighed Gwynt, as porters came out and grabbed his bags. "But I ain't in the mood to argue with you. Me an' Cho were gonna see the town tomorrow. You want to hook up, or will you be busy?"

"Busy, I think," Nodwydd smiled. "I'll be getting gifts together for you to take out for the others. I'll meet up with you two for dinner, how about that? That lets you be tourists all day."

"Good," replied Gwynt. "Nice t'see you, Kiel. Good t'have a face to stick with the transmissions. But right now, I got a sleepy Cho to take care of." And with that he headed up into the hotel, Cho leaning heavily on his shoulder.

"So that was Gwynt," Kiel commented. "You know, it's kind of hard to think he's your brother. He's all...short. I mean I could almost look him in the eye."

Nodwydd patted Kiel on the shoulder, and started walking back to Bella's house. "Half brother, Kiel," he corrected. "Which sometimes makes all the difference. We need to get you back before your mother gets home. Can you imagine Bella's reaction to Gwynt?"

Kiel made a face, then grinned. "She wouldn't like it at all," Kiel agreed. "But I bet she'd have a hard time telling him to vacuum the carpet!"

"That is because my brother wouldn't have to deal with her every day," Nodwydd admonished. "I do."

* * * * * *

Gwynt and Cho were led to a very nice suite of rooms - finer, by far, than Cho's flat in Esthar. But Nodwydd seemed to be sure it was all right, so Gwynt let go worrying about the probable cost. His brother might have a head full of butterflies, but he wouldn't steer anyone wrong.

Cho flopped gratefully onto a large, soft bed. "Mmmmmm," she hummed happily. "Much nicer than an air mattress on the floor."

Gwynt chuckled, and sat down next to her. "Yeah, guess so," he said. "You want to take a nap, then, an' get up for dinner? That should set our clocks right."

Lying down, it was easier for Cho to think. "First - what was all that business about Bella being more willing to skin you than have you over? I thought you'd never been to Balamb?"

Gwynt made a face. "Not quite true," he corrected. "Was here once before - at least, I saw the docks when I dropped Noddy off here. But I don't know Bella from that. She's sort of a family acquaintance."

"Who'd like to skin you?" Cho's hand was tracing patterns on Gwynt's thigh - not as if she meant anything, but just idle movement.

"Thought you were tired?" Gwynt chuckled. "Look, I don't know what's been goin' on here. No idea why Bella would go nuts. Have to find that out from Noddy."

"Mmmmm," Cho hummed, her eyes closing. Gwynt took a throw from one of the chairs and spread it over her - the hotel was very cool with air conditioning. He himself would not sleep just yet - it would be easier for him to adjust if he stayed awake until Cho wanted to sleep for the night, and then sleep with her. In the meantime, he thought to explore a bit. This would be a frequent stopover for him, he knew - though most carrier pilots preferred to stop in FH. Fisherman's Horizon was a bit farther out of the way, but made up for it by being incredibly efficient with its refueling - not to mention cheap, especially with jet fuel.

Gwynt didn't mind the inefficiency of Balamb - not in this case. It gave him more time to get hold of Nodwydd, to deliver and pick up a few extra parcels. And Balamb, overall, was a far more interesting town than FH. Gwynt wandered down the halls to the hotel lobby, noting the way to the restaurant for later reference, and out into the Balamb afternoon. The clouds were clearing, as he'd known they would. The sunset would be magnificent - he would have to make sure Cho saw it. He grinned to himself; he had plans for tonight.

He walked around Balamb idly for a few hours, marveling for the most part at how incredibly color blind the natives seemed to be. Balambese enjoyed soft pastels for their houses, blues, peaches and pinks that Gwynt knew would drive him crazy if he were forced to deal with them on a daily basis. When he judged it late enough in the day to get away with having a meal - neither he nor Cho had had a real one all day - he headed back to the hotel, gave Rhys a nod, and when he returned to their room he woke Cho up in the way she preferred; he sat down at her side, and bent over her, and started kissing until she moved. Generally she moved to kiss back, and they'd learned to set the alarm at least an hour early because once Cho started kissing back schedules tended to get tossed to the winds.

Today she merely stretched, which meant she wasn't awake enough to enjoy such games. "Mmmmrrrff?" she asked, and he chuckled.

"You wanted dinner?" he asked in a low voice. His voice was already very deep, basso profundo, and if he pitched it correctly it gave Cho shivers.

"Tease," she growled, but not unhappily. "Yes, dinner sounds good. And coffee."

"No, no coffee," Gwynt demurred. "You want to sleep after." He grinned. "I'll keep you awake. I took a look 'round town while you was nappin'. Come on - let's get you a bite."

Cho laughed then, and he knew she was awake enough to catch the double meaning. They'd picked up quite a reputation around the Airstation for the sort of bedroom antics that left marks. Though calling them 'bedroom' antics was a misnomer; they rarely got that far before things got out of control.

She sat up and sorted out the tangles in her hair from her nap, and they had dinner at the hotel restaurant. Cho insisted that, since Nodwydd knew one of the chefs, they leave a nice tip - and Gwynt bowed to her desires, since she tended to have a better grasp of such intangible matters. Walking, dinner, and her nap had left Cho almost as alert as she usually was, but Gwynt managed to divert her from asking probing questions. He wanted her to see the beach at sunset; his weather sense was never wrong, and he rather thought it would be worth seeing. And when Gwynt insisted on something to do with the outdoors, Cho bowed to his wishes.

It was completely, utterly worth it.

The storms earlier had cleared the air, and the setting sun at their right tinted the whole sky and sea in hues of rose and gold and violet shading into deepest, richest blue. Gwynt and Cho walked side by side along the beach as the tide was coming in, barefoot on the sand, and Gwynt forewent his shirt for the trip as the weather was warm and there really wasn't a need for it.

There was a rocky outcropping a way down the beach, and it was for this that Gwynt was making as the sunset faded to twilight and most people left the beach. He led her to the edge of the ledge, and even though it was a low place it felt like being on top of the world, surrounded by all of its colors. Gwynt's arms slipped around her waist as he came up behind her and she leaned back into the embrace.

"Good?" he asked, the bass rumble almost - but not quite - a pleased purr.

"Very," Cho agreed, and turned her head to kiss him. His arms tightened around her as she did, and she was surprised as always that Gwynt never tasted of anything. Not beer, not the dinner they'd shared, nothing at all. His breath was wind, always. When he opened his eyes, she saw that they had shifted.

"Want to fly?" he asked, and the tone carried all sorts of suggestions. She answered all of them.

"Always."

Gwynt shifted his hold around her waist as the winds rose around them. Abruptly he picked her up and pitched them both off the rock - and the wind caught them, and lifted them up. He held her facing away from him, his right hand and arm on her stomach, around her waist, as his left nestled between her breasts. Both arms held her firmly against him - the wind lifted him, but they'd learned it was tricky to have it carry her if she was too far from him - and her view of the world was completely unobstructed. With Gwynt behind her, it felt like having wings.

For a little while they rose on the wind, high above the ocean, far enough away from Balamb not to be noticed against the darkening night sky. It was so much more beautiful than flying over Esthar - Esthar was heavily light polluted, the stars faint against an ever-pale sky, but here the night was rich and black and the stars went down to the horizon with the small lights of Balamb behind them.

Gwynt's kisses on her neck were so light she didn't notice them at first, so entranced was she with the view. His right hand, flat against her bare stomach, felt very warm and it held her firmly against him, and she wriggled a little - trying to turn around, to return the kisses.

Gwynt was apparently having none of that. "Stay put," he half-purred in her ear, and she knew by that that he was very pleased. He couldn't control the purr. "Just you an' the sky, Cho."

"And you," she replied, turning her head as far as she could. He took the offer, and kissed her, but wouldn't let her turn around.

"I am the sky - din't you know?" he purred, and the vibration of it in his chest, against her back, set her breathing up a pace. She wanted to touch something, but there was only the wind and the sky in reach - Gwynt's plan, she was sure. Not that she was very surprised he'd wanted to try something; she'd tied her shirt up under her breasts to serve instead of a bra, and foregone underwear under her fitted skirt - not because she was necessarily wanton, but because she'd anticipated flying sooner or later and having to search for such items of clothing later was almost impossible. Gwynt, too, tended to go with easily removable clothing when they were alone - tonight, just cutoff jean shorts, letting the July heat take care of being warm. It was either go with easily removable, or easily recoverable.

Not being able to touch back was a new thing, though. Having only the wide sky to see and feel, as Gwynt's hand undid button and zipper and slipped inside her skirt and he pressed kisses into her neck with his purr in her ears and vibrating against her back - this was new, and it pulled a strangled cry from her throat. No fair, damnit! She reached behind her, as well as she could, trying to get a hold on Gwynt. He let her do what she wanted, unless she tried to turn - then his arms tightened, and she couldn't move.

He well knew, by now, how to move and where to touch and how hard, even with his own movements restricted by the need to hold her against him where his power would lift her up. One hand always held her securely, or one arm, and he delighted in touching as much of her as he could with everything he had. Stars seemed to wheel crazily overhead, dancing just out of arm's reach, while the fingers of his right hand slipped inside her and his left pushed up her shirt to caress her breast.

With effort she got her own hands between them, to the button of his own shorts, and got them undone. The weight of his erection was heavy in her palm, and his body jerked as she worked it with her hand - as best she could, considering both were behind her back. He couldn't moan, but his purr grew louder and his kisses on her neck and shoulders more insistent, and the wind grew louder and harder and lifted them higher. His hands on her, in her, were rough and quick and hungry, as if he would devour her with his fingers.

He twitched in her hand for a little while, then withdrew his fingers from her body, sticky and wet, and started pushing her skirt up. She wriggled to help him, spread her legs and tried to pull him forward, curl him around her. Which he was apparently quite agreeable to doing, and his hand guided him into her even as it held her against him. Cho's thighs tried to clamp around him, pull him in, more in, and her arms went behind her head and around the back of his neck, but she had no real leverage and no real way to touch back, and as he started thrusting it tore cries from her throat. Her arms tried to pull his head down for a kiss, but he went for her neck instead - devouring almost-bites, as if he would take all of her into himself, and all she could do was clamp tighter with her arms, and tightly with her legs, and feel him thrusting hard and deep and purring against her neck, and it was driving her mad.

Gwynt had no understanding of 'taking it slow'. He wanted her, all of her, as much as he could possibly get, and it showed. He thrust hard and fast and deep, his fingers still working at her, playing with her, and his other hand wanted to touch as much of her breast as it could reach. When Cho turned her head enough, he caught her mouth in a kiss. Her shirt was up under her arms and her skirt a ring around her waist, and wherever Gwynt wasn't touching the tornado surrounding them was, and the night and stars all around and Gwynt deep inside her, and she cried out as she came and moaned as Gwynt joined her with short hard thrusts...more . Once was not enough; her body still pulsed with want and need and all the contact he'd denied her.

This time when she twisted around, he let her. "Your turn," he growled into her ear, more than a bit breathlessly - and caught his breath as she locked her legs around his waist and laced her fingers behind his neck and pulled his face close to hers so that she knew he would hear her even over the roaring wind.

"You'd better believe it," she growled back, and as she proceeded to attack his body with everything she had, his purr started up again.

* * * * * *

"So, when were you going to mention you had a brother?" asked Hilde lightly as they strolled around the mall.

Nodwydd blinked. "Honestly, I didn't think it would ever be important. My brothers and sisters live all over the globe, Hilde. I didn't think I'd see any of them again."

"Brothers and sisters," Hilde repeated, emphasizing the plural. "So there's more than just this one running around?" She rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Do you know, prying information out of you is almost impossible? So, how many do you have?"

"Five, total," Nodwydd shrugged. "Gwynt and Taran are my brothers, Daear, Chwaer, and Cariad are my sisters. As to where they are? Gwynt is here, at least for now. And the others...I'm not really at liberty to say."

"Someone's going to bite your head off if you do?" Hilde asked sarcastically, and to her surprise Nodwydd took her seriously.

"Something like that," he agreed. "We aren't supposed to leave any means for someone to find us, if one of us is...found. Gwynt's taking a risk just being here, and a bigger risk in offering to be our courier."

"So you don't want gifts that are going to shout, 'Hey, I'm in Balamb,'" pointed out Darrel - off shift just as Hilde was, and currently shopping for clothes for his housemates.

"Exactly," Nodwydd affirmed. "But still - something I know they'd like."

"Fluffy fuzzy gifts are more Chai's bailiwick than ours, Noddy," Hilde pointed out.

"Chai's got a big production tonight," Nodwydd sighed. "Though he did send tickets for us." He grinned at Darrel. "And for all of your group too, if you want to go."

Darrel made a face - he wasn't crazy about the need to sit still and sit quiet while a live show was going on. "I'll ask 'em," was his response on the matter. "Back to the fun things! Who're you buying for?"

"Everybody, I guess," Nodwydd replied. "Though Daear...hm. Maybe you can help with my sister, Hilde. Daear likes her looks, but I doubt I know her size any more. What should I get?"

Hilde considered the question. "Noddy, just because I'm female doesn't mean girls aren't a mystery to me. You've never seen me just before my girlfriend's birthday, have you? Well...you could get her styling products, but women like that tend to have favorite brands. What's her fashion? Trendy, classic, casual?"

"Classic, I think," frowned Nodwydd, trying to remember. "Or things to look hard and tough..."

"Belts, maybe?" Hilde offered. "Go large - she can wear them loose if they're too big and still make a statement. Who else?"

"Oh, Cariad and Chwaer are easy to buy for," Nodwydd grinned, pointing at a gift shop. "Anything in there would make them squeak - they love cute things." Abruptly he snapped his finger. "Darrel - where's the electronics shop? It's been a while since I've been here, but I know I can find something for Taran..."

Darrel blinked. "Um. Down the left hand corridor going this way, I think, and it's on the right side. Why, anyway? I could knock together something as good as anything you'd find in there."

"Not in twenty four hours you couldn't," Nodwydd disagreed. "Gwynt leaves tomorrow morning, probably early. I need to have everything ready by then." He checked his watch. "Or sooner...damnit. I'm supposed to meet Gwynt for dinner tonight, and this mall is too big!"

"Whoa!" Hilde laughed. "You don't take well to having deadlines, do you? Tell us what you need, and we'll split up and get it - and meet back at the south entrance when we've got it, okay?"

"I could kiss you, if your girlfriend wouldn't knock my teeth in for doing it," Nodwydd breathed gratefully. "Okay - Hilde, if you could find those belts you suggested, it would save me ever so much trouble. Um, Darrel, if you could find me a good portable CD player - weather resistant, and shock resistant if you can find one, with a supply of rechargeable batteries and some sturdy headphones? I'll get my other two sisters and the CDs for the player."

His friends nodded agreement and split off, searching for the required items. Nodwydd ducked into the gift store - oh, and there was Ellone and Irvine and Selphie too, wasn't there? Well - Ellone at least he could cover with his sisters. He trailed along the racks of stuffed animals, until he found a perfect little stuffed chocobo. He grinned; that would be perfect for Chwaer. His sister could be in her dotage and still she'd love a stuffed chocobo. For Irvine and Selphie he got a small stuffed cactuar, knowing that they had a baby on the way.

These prizes in hand, he swung by an herbal shop. Thankfully herbalists made a point of noting when something was locally grown or native to the area, which made Nodwydd's work easier. He picked up seed packets for a good handful of native-to-Balamb plants, and that was Cariad covered. Which left his aunt Ellone, and he didn't even know if Ellone knew who he was. So he chose a few scented soaps - generic enough to make him wince, but as an opening it seemed safe enough. Nodwydd generally prided himself on giving good presents, but he'd never met his aunt at all.

And that just left Taran. Nodwydd scooted over to the music store, and simply bought the number one CD on every chart - he knew his brother well, and knew that Taran didn't care as long as it was music. A broad swath of what was currently popular would delight his brother no end.

Returning to the south entrance, Hilde and Darrel were chatting with the ease of longtime companions - both worked in the shipyards, after all. Nodwydd showed them his own catches, and they added their packages to the pile. "Are you wrapping this mountain?" Hilde asked.

Nodwydd shook his head. "Labeled boxes, no wraps," he said. "Some of this is going a long way, and may need to be opened quietly. I think I have enough cardboard boxes at home. Thanks so much for your help, guys. If there's anything I can do..."

Darrel gave Nodwydd a kiss that threatened to make his knees buckle. "Next weekend, you come by our place," he grinned at Nodwydd's flushed expression. "We'll have lots of fun. Okay?" He waved his own bag of purchases at them - clothes, mostly. "I gotta go. Later!"

"Later," said Nodwydd, and blushed harder when his voice cracked. He coughed as Hilde laughed. "And you?"

"You can take me with you to dinner tonight," grinned Hilde. "I want to meet this brother of yours."

"All right," Nodwydd agreed. "But first - I need to get this lot home and boxed up so Gwynt can get it on his plane."

"Deal," nodded Hilde.

* * * * * *

Ordinarily, Gwynt greatly admired Cho's skill at cutting through all the bull and going right to the point. Ordinarily.

Today, he was wishing he could get the benefits of aspirin, because it was giving him one major headache.

"So, who was your grandfather, how did he learn the noble tongue and courtesies, and why did you never mention him?" she asked completely out of the blue, as they were looking over various souvenirs.

"Um," Gwynt hesitated. "Cos he's dead? You know, no real point in mentioning dead people, right?"

Cho grinned at him, and he knew he wasn't going to get let off that easily. "All right," she nodded. "How about your father? Mother? Or are you going to tell me a sudden plague wiped out your whole family tree?"

"I ain't a liar, Cho," snapped Gwynt. "My grandfather's dead. I have no idea how you'd call my father, I have no fucking clue who my mother was but she's definitely dead, and the only other relative I know of is I got an aunt in Winhill. My brothers, my sisters, and my aunt in Winhill. That's all I know."

"You have no idea if your father's alive or not?" Cho asked. "How do you not know if he's alive or not?"

Gwynt pressed his lips together in annoyance - in his anger he'd said more than he should, and now he had no idea what to say. What he could say, and keep any secrets at all. Damn Nodwydd for showing off! Just because he didn't think it was important...

"There's a café at the end of the street," he said slowly. "I'll tell you when we get there, 'cos you're gonna want to sit down, and you're gonna need a stiff drink."

She gave him a curious look. "It can't be any stranger than the things I already know," she said.

"Yeah, it can," Gwynt shrugged. "Trust me, Cho. It can, it did, it does..."

"Then we go now," Cho replied. "You're only making me more curious."

Gwynt nodded, but said nothing until they'd gotten to the café he'd seen - and he'd ordered Cho a strong cocktail, and a stiff double for himself. "Right," he said slowly. "Okay - maybe it'd be easier if you work it out on your own...who knows the ways of nobles, in Esthar? Like, can you take a course on it or anything?"

Cho blinked. "No, that's why I wondered where Noddy learned it. It's supposed to be something only noble families know, and high officials."

Gods damn you, grandpa, thought Gwynt, annoyed. You could've fucking told us they play at secret societies. He nodded. "Okay. Noddy look like either of those to you? Familiar at all? He damn well ought to."

"Well, yes he looks sort of familiar," replied Cho, puzzled, and then the penny dropped. "Like the statues. Like the history books." Her voice was rising, and Gwynt put a hand out, a little alarmed. "You aren't seriously going to tell me your grandfather is Laguna Loire?"

"Told you you'd need a stiff drink," sighed Gwynt. "I c'n live in Esthar 'cos I don't look a damn thing like the guy. Noddy can't go anywhere near Esthar. Part 'cos he's a dead ringer for grandpa, and part 'cos he's a damned idiot who can't keep a secret to save his damnfool life."

"Who's your father then?" Cho demanded, somewhere between shocked and furious. "You said your grandfather was dead, and you didn't know about your father. Who's your father?"

Gwynt stared morosely at his drink. "Squall. Leonhart. That Squall. S'where I got my name, Cho. Ab Llew means 'of the lion'."

Cho just stared at him, open-mouthed. "And you sleep in the Airstation half the time," she said vaguely. Abruptly she took a good swallow of her drink. "You're right, a drink does help." Then she blinked. "No, wait, it doesn't. If Squall's your father, and Laguna's your grandfather, you've got to be older than I thought you were. And you said you don't know your mother so it can't be Rinoa..."

"Twenty one," Gwynt said. "I know I look sixteenish. I'm twenty one. You could've seen that for yourself, my right age's on my license."

Cho blinked. "Okay, you know? I give up. You - " and she pointed at him with her cocktail, "are going to tell me the whole story. Right now, and you're not leaving anything out. Or I'm beating you over the head with the nearest whatever I can find, and taking your plane back to Esthar, and checking myself into the nearest mental institution."

"You ain't nuts, Cho," Gwynt sighed. "Might've been easier on you if you were, really. I don't know the whole story. Dad does, but if you think I keep secrets he's a fucking pro."

"No. Excuses," said Cho.

"Right," replied Gwynt. "Okay...what I know. My mom's dead. Who she was, I don't know, but she died having me...or something like that. Noddy's not my full brother, he's my half brother. The others the same - we're all half brothers an' sisters except my twin sisters in Winhill. Squall's our dad, Laguna's our grandpa - that's the parent we've got in common. All - an' I mean this - all of our mothers died around the time we were born. With me so far?"

Cho's eyes weren't leaving his face - as if she worried that he might explode, or turn yellow, or some other equally freakish thing. She nodded, slowly.

"Okay," Gwynt continued. "Lessee...I don't know how, but a guy called Soares Detmer adopted me. An' Noddy. An' all the others. How he found us, no idea - but I think he knew more'n he ever told us, cos he knew we were all...diff'rent. Like me with wind, you know? He was my dad until I was ten. He was everybody's dad. He kept us in a room, for the most part. One room, the six of us, an' a box of toys." He grimaced. "If we'd been old enough to really use our powers, we'd'a torn that house down around his ears. But at the time? Wasn't too bad. Fought or talked or played around, as long as we din't make too much noise it worked out okay..." he frowned, staring off into space. "Took blood from us sometimes. Only one who didn't mind that was Noddy. Kind of hard to get on Noddy's bad side, really. Detmer let him out the most, I know that. Used to have Noddy kill people."

Cho blinked. "Nodwydd - killed people? You don't mind? This Detmer had a child...kill people?"

Gwynt's eyes on her were entirely too level - just stating facts. "I told you, we all have diff'rent powers. Noddy shoots needles. Lots and lots of needles. He shoots you with his needles, the only way they're identifying you is by DNA analysis. An' that's only if they realize they ain't lookin' at hamburger. Detmer liked Noddy a lot. Wanted Noddy to be in charge of us - the six of us. Like if Noddy said do something we should do it, you know? Didn't work out that way, though. We follow Taran. Prob'ly saved our necks, that. Anyhow - one day, Noddy goes out like he was allowed to, an' doesn't come back when he's supposed to. Detmer came in an' tried to tell us Noddy wasn't ever coming back, but Taran wasn't havin' none o' that. We knew - the rest of us, I mean - we knew Noddy wasn't going to just up an' disappear without a good reason." He took a long swallow of his scotch, and chuckled. "An' who does Noddy come back with, outta the fucking blue? Zell fucking Dincht - an' our real dad. An' we knew it 'cos Squall had eyes like ours - eyes that went strange, an' saw more than other people's."

Cho looked ready to interrupt, but Gwynt held up his hand. "You wanted the whole story," he said flatly. "Wait, an' I'll get to that. This shit's weird enough as it is without you gettin' confused on me."

"Just so long as you explain everything," Cho replied, though she looked less outright angry than she had.

"I will," Gwynt agreed. "Detmer, see - he didn't want to let us go, or somethin'. We was following Noddy and Zell - gonna get ourselves out, you know? But Zell took a detour. Detmer was gonna shoot Dad, for some reason. Prolly just 'cos he was there an' getting us out. Zell stepped in the middle an' took the shot for Dad. Zell died - and that is why Bella's got it in for us and always has. Kiel is Zell's boy, and Bella was his girlfriend. If Zell hadn't got in the way of that shot, Dad would be dead. Zell died for him...an' maybe for us, too. Noddy knows more about that, but Zell's a pretty decent guy..." Gwynt finished his drink, noticed Cho had finished hers, and got up.

"You're not done yet," Cho told him, and he grinned - an evil expression that had nothing of humor in it.

"This is where it gets freaky," he replied. "An' you're gonna want the drink." He walked into the café, and came out with refilled drinks. "Set?" he asked, and Cho nodded.

"Okay," Gwynt shrugged. "Don't go hittin' me with anything. This is all true, you're just not gonna believe it. Anyway - Dad takes us to Balamb Garden. Officially, we're all of us wards of the Garden, because Dad's down as being dead, and now Detmer's dead too. But Dad, see, isn't dead. It turns out the reason his eyes went all weird wasn't cos he was just like us. He's more one step up from us. When they said in Esthar that Dad died, with Rinoa? He didn't die. What he did was...sorta become something else. Dad's part of the Guardian Force called Griever."

"Which I've never heard of before," said Cho, deadpan.

"Nor likely to," Gwynt agreed. "Irvine's got the junction, most people don't know Griever exists yet. But that's what Dad is, and Rinoa. They ain't dead, they're just," he waved a hand vaguely, "really fucking weird. One person, two people, three people...fuck it. You'd have to see that part to know what they're like. Just take my word - that's where my dad is, and why I can't really call him dead or alive. Griever isn't the same thing as Dad. He sort of is and isn't." He took a swallow of his drink, feeling very uncomfortable with this much explanation and with Cho's unwavering attention on it. "So...lessee. Oh, yeah. Anyway, Dad takes us back to Garden an' at least explains that he's our dad, proof positive courtesy of Balamb Garden, an' asks if we want to come with him where he is." He grimaced. "Cho, we were ten years old, the lot of us, and we were turned loose in the Garden for a few days with more breathin' space than we'd ever had in our lives, an' we were just handed a real true dad out of the blue who knew what it was like to be different...Taran told us we should go an' that just clinched it. Somebody could've knocked on our door and said they were Hyne come to give us big fat smoochies an' we probably would've piled onto their lap at that point, so I don't blame Taran for that one."

"Griever took us back to its place, Cho. To live with it - them - whatever. You know where the GFs live? Outside time. Where the dead live. Me an' the others, we spent ten years outside time. That's why I look younger than I am, and that's how we got to know grandpa and Zell. Dad...Griever...taught us how to handle our powers, what to do, what not to...and when we were twenty it turned us loose again. I went to Esthar...the rest you know."

Cho, even with two cocktails, was hard to derail. "So how did you all end up with powers, then?" she asked. "Do GFs have children?"

"No," Gwynt denied. "Personally I got no clue about that, except that asking Dad about it was a surefire way to piss him off. I've told you all I know."

"Then you can get me another drink," Cho replied. "Because I need to think."

Gwynt gave her a half-worried, half cynical look that clearly said if she needed to think then she did not need a third cocktail, but he got up and got her drink, and waited while she sipped at it and stared into space. At last she said, "This is a lot to take."

Gwynt simply nodded. "True, though."

"I want to talk to your brother, I think," she said slowly. "Privately."

Gwynt's expression twisted for a moment. "You think I'm lying to you."

"I don't know what I think just yet," Cho snapped suddenly. "So I'll thank you for refraining from telling me."

Gwynt's eyes slammed closed; he got his aviator sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on - his eyes were shifting, and this was far too public a place. "Fine," he growled. "He's supposed to meet us for dinner anyway. It won't be any diff'rent from him than from me, Cho, except for the things only he got to see. I ain't never lied to you. Never fucking once."

"I'm not calling you a liar," replied Cho, tiredly. "I don't doubt what you're telling me. I doubt what they told you. You may not know the truth yourself, and I doubt it's ever occurred to you to examine your life in detail because if it had you'd know just how strange even the so-called 'normal' parts of it have been. I want to hear Nodwydd's version and compare a few notes. That's all."

If you knew to look for it, there was a faint glow behind Gwynt's mirrored sunglasses. "Whatever," he said shortly. "What do you want to do now? Person'ly, I'd advise doin' some walkin', 'cos you ain't a drinker and if you want to get anythin' useful outta Noddy you need to be a damn sight more alert."

"He volunteered the information about his grandfather," Cho pointed out, getting a little unsteadily to her feet.

"That, Cho, is 'cos you weren't askin' him a direct question. He ain't the brightest bulb in the chandelier, hon, but he can handle direct questions. It's only when you get indirect he runs into trouble."

Gwynt remained silent for the rest of the afternoon, his eyes invisible behind the sunglasses. It pretty much stole the joy from the afternoon, and somehow the warmth as well. She was glad when the time came to meet up with Nodwydd for dinner. The restaurant was called the Cantata, probably more because the owner liked the sound of the word than for the kind of music played therein. Somewhat to their surprise, Nodwydd had a girl with him. At five foot six she was at least slightly taller than either of them, with close-cut hair slightly redder than true auburn, and gray eyes. Gwynt promptly proceeded to ignore her, and grabbed his brother by the elbow. "Just a minute," he growled as he hauled Nodwydd a few paces away - and the woman was left alone as Cho followed quickly.

"Gwynt," Nodwydd hissed. "You're being rude!"

"Yeah?" his brother growled. "I'm about to get fucking pissed off. You started this and you're gonna finish it. Cho here has some questions for you. You're gonna answer 'em." A flash of teeth, a wolfish grin with nothing of humor in it. "You are gonna answer every single one without dodging, Noddy. I'll keep your girl company." And he walked back to where Nodwydd's friend was waiting and looked up at her, his expression unreadable behind mirrored sunglasses. "Who're you?" he asked, in a way that clearly implied he didn't believe any female had any reason to be around Nodwydd.

"Hilde Fleissig." She didn't hold out her hand to shake, but evenly stared back at Gwynt, letting herself slouch a little to lessen the height difference.

"Gwynt," he replied shortly. "Cho had some questions for Noddy. Won't be long."

"Alright." She nodded, lapsed into silence, and leaned back, idly picking at her nails with one hand. They needed cutting.

Gwynt cocked his head at her; stared, actually, though she wouldn't see that. He wasn't going to take his sunglasses off until he could finish fighting down the urge to throttle his brother; life would be so much simpler without brothers. Or sisters. Or any relatives at all. He pursed his lips, debating whether to ask her if she knew she was trying to teach a dog to sing by hanging out with Nodwydd, and decided hell, it wasn't his problem, and she'd work it out eventually. Meantime, he needed to keep her from trying to overhear Nodwydd spilling state secrets. "You here for the food, or what?" he asked at last.

"Oh, the joys of your company." She raised an eyebrow rather than smiling, and trusted in the dryness of her tone. "I know what the food here's like."

Gwynt's expression tightened. "Givin' me lip ain't the best way to get on my good side, lady," he growled. "An' today ain't been the best o' days to start with."

"Sorry to hear it." To look at the floor would seem weak; she settled for watching the waiters hurry in and out of doors.

Gwynt only growled briefly, low in his throat - the sound of a large cat before it springs. He didn't, however - only turned to keep one eye on the door, and one eye on his brother and Cho. Hilde leaned against the wall, nails finished with, and tried to think of something to think about, since conversation appeared to be such a non-starter.

Meanwhile, Nodwydd stared down at Cho in mild shock. "Questions?" he asked.

Cho looked up at this almost-stranger and with the courage of the cocktail decided to just get it all over with. "Who was your father?" she asked bluntly. "Who was your grandfather?"

Nodwydd blinked, his jaw dropping slightly, and then nodded as if he understood. "Those questions," he commented. "I see why he's so angry now. You didn't believe him? - Don't answer that. To answer you, they are Squall Leonhart and Laguna Loire, respectively." He paused a moment. "At least, Laguna is the only grandfather we actually know. We never got to meet the other ones."

Cho took his statements in silence. "What was your childhood like?" she asked at last.

"That's rather a long story," Nodwydd replied. "And I thought we were here for dinner? Look - from your questions it sounds like Gwynt's already tried telling you. Why don't you just ask me to clarify the points you want clarified, and we can go eat?"

"All right," Cho agreed. "What were you trained to do? What was he trained to do?"

Nodwydd looked saddened. "Kill," he said softly. "I was Detmer's assassin. I killed with my power; I got close to them because I was a helpless looking child with no possible weapon, and I took them into alleys and I needled them into nothing. Until Irvine, I never missed." His tone was impersonal and somewhat flat; just stating facts. "As for Gwynt - as far as I know he wasn't trained to do anything. His power takes a lot of energy to reach lethal levels, and he wasn't old enough to touch that much of it until his teens. By then we were all in Griever's realm." He managed a small smile. "And Gwynt has never been very good at following anyone's wishes but his own." He offered her his hand. "Shall we go, now? Really, the food here is pretty good, and not too expensive."

Cho was trying to adjust to very large facts, and took Nodwydd's hand numbly. He led her back to their companions. "Sorry for the delay," Nodwydd offered cheerfully, and handed the shell-shocked Cho over to Gwynt. "Shall we eat?"

Hilde grinned at Nodwydd. "It's an idea."

Nodwydd took in Gwynt's closed off expression, and Cho's thoughtful one. "I'm sorry I didn't get time for introductions," he apologized as he hustled everyone to the door. "Gwynt, Cho, this is my friend Hilde. Hilde, my brother Gwynt and his girlfriend Cho. And Hilde, if Gwynt's being an ass, I'm afraid you'll just have to get used to it. That's more or less what he does all the time."

Hilde smiled impishly at Nodwydd and refused to comment. She could have guessed - but Gwynt did not need to hear that.

Gwynt snapped, "I din't get snarky first this time, Noddy, so keep it light with the insults. I ain't in the mood for it today."

"You never are," laughed Nodwydd. "But I assure you, they have very good scotch here."

Dinner turned out to be a fairly quiet affair, with Cho mostly silent as she thought things over, and Hilde watching Gwynt and Nodwydd discuss their recent doings and catch up on each other's lives. When Gwynt heard about the mound of gifts that Nodwydd had gathered on short notice, he boggled.

"You do know planes only carry so much, right?" Gwynt demanded. "This shit better not be heavy!"

"Very small, most of it," Nodwydd reassured. "Light, too. Though I got batteries and CDs for Taran...?"

Gwynt waved that off. "Long's you didn't empty a shelf or somethin', that'll fly. But balls of the Demon, Noddy, you don't need to raid the retail shops for gifts. Could take me the better part of a year or two to find everyone."

Nodwydd considered that. "I think most of it will keep, at least. Really, the best thing you'll bring is news. I'll write letters tonight to everyone."

"Letters are light, at least," Gwynt sighed. "Oh - d'you have a cell phone? I need the number. I can give you some warning next time I'll drop in, and you can warn me if somebody on the happy joy squad starts pokin' around."

"Deal," Nodwydd laughed, and pulled out a card. "That's my phone number, and my pager's on here too if you need to talk to me immediately."

Gwynt regarded the plain card. "Should've known you'd hand out your number so many times you'd have it on a card," he grumbled. "Here. Hand me another, an' I'll put my cell on the back of it. I don't want there bein' any ID along with it, so watch where you store it!"

"I will," Nodwydd smiled, and produced another card for Gwynt to scribble on.

"This second number is Cho's home phone," Gwynt said as he wrote. "You call that, my phone better be dead and your ass better be on fire, okay?"

"Of course," Nodwydd agreed, and slotted the card back in his wallet. "Now - a friend of mine has given me tickets to a show in the theater district tonight. Would you and Cho like to go with me? Please? I'd like Chai to meet you."

Hilde shot Nodwydd a brief look that clearly said and what, exactly, did Chai do to you?- which thankfully Gwynt didn't see.

Gwynt shot a glance at Cho, who was still looking a little blitzed. Probably giving her something to focus on would be good, though personally Gwynt regarded shows as being only marginally more fun than a drill to the head. "Yeah, I guess," he reluctantly agreed.

* * * * * *

The production was excellent. Hilde and Nodwydd clapped enthusiastically, and Cho showed her appreciation as well. Gwynt, however, had scowled with arms crossed through just about the whole thing. He'd gone very quickly from bored to insulted, and the only thing that kept him there at all was the fact that it was indeed waking Cho up. After it ended, Nodwydd reached out almost automatically to keep Gwynt from making a beeline for the door. Once the press of crowd cleared he led the group to a corner of the stage, where a man was sitting by himself, swinging his legs idly over the edge and wearing a friendly grin.

Nodwydd indicated the man. "Chai, these are my brother Gwynt and his girlfriend Cho. Gwynt, Cho, my friend Chai."

Cho nodded with a slight smile; Gwynt just glared.

Chai smiled and extended a hand to Gwynt. "Hey!" he chirped. "Nice to meet you."

If anything, Gwynt's scowl deepened. "That so?" he snapped, earning him a surprised frown from Nodwydd. "So you c'n turn people into cats all night long an' you don't have the littlest problem not laughin' your ass off at y'r own reflection in the mornin'?"

Chai only grinned, biting back a laugh. "Not a problem in the world. Well, unless I fall asleep with wet hair, then it's pretty comical."

Nodwydd shook his head. "I'm sorry Chai, I'm afraid he's always like that."

Gwynt ignored his brother, blinking up at Chai in what might have been surprise. "Yep. You're one o' Noddy's, all right," he said after a moment.

Chai made a casual little gesture of dismissal in Nodwydd's direction. "Don't worry about it." To Gwynt he grinned, "Why, thank you! I'll be taking that as a compliment."

Hilde had her hand over her mouth; Cho was biting her lip. Nodwydd had a look of long suffering as Gwynt just shrugged. "Yeah, I bet you would," he growled. "I swear he's a magnet for poofs."

Cho laid a hand on Gwynt's forearm then, and his stance eased back just slightly from 'about to go for the throat'. "Have you known Nodwydd long?" she asked curiously.

"Not too terribly long," Chai replied easily. "ut long enough to become good friends." In a tone somewhere between critical and complimentary he continued, "You know, you have a face that a makeup artist wouldn't touch. It's already perfect."

Cho blushed; Gwynt, however - knowing only Chai would see - let his eyes shift briefly to the glowing purple-gold swirls of his power. Just as a 'friendly' warning, as Cho said, "Thanks, I think."

The brief display of glowing swirls definitely unnerved Chai, but he did his best not to show it - telling Gwynt he'd seen the trick before. "It is a professional opinion," Chai said, and then to them both: "How are you enjoying Balamb?"

"It's all right," Cho said pleasantly.

"Glad to be goin' home tomorrow, though," Gwynt replied shortly.

"Yes, that might well be best," sighed Nodwydd. "Honestly, Gwynt, you could try to be polite to my friends once in a while, it wouldn't kill you."

Chai was wise enough to recognize a brewing argument, and wanted to stay out of it. "I'll bet you are anxious to get back home," he commented, and after some consideration added, "How about drinks as a farewell?"

"Virgin," replied Gwynt firmly, shooting Cho a look. "We're flyin' in the mornin'. Early." And to this Cho nodded agreement.

"Right," said Chai, nodding. "Have a preference?"

"Soda?" Cho asked, on seeing Gwynt's helpless shrug. Generally if it wasn't alcoholic, he didn't pay any attention to it.

"All right then," said Chai amiably, sliding off the stage. Turning to Nodwydd with a mischievous look, he grinned, "Where to, Captain? The Soda Shop with the pink straws?"

Nodwydd saw Hilde's smile, noted Cho's look of amusement and Gwynt's of horror, and nodded firmly. "Yes, that sounds perfect."

* * * * * *

Balamb was a near deserted town in the hours just before dawn, so the three of them hauled luggage and presents without hindrance into the airport and to Gwynt's plane.

"You could be nicer to my friends," Nodwydd admonished as he handed packages to Gwynt to secure, as Cho got the pre-flight check started.

"Your friends could be less annoyin'," Gwynt replied, not breaking pace. "I din't come here to play Mister Social, Noddy. Came to see you. Do what Taran asked me to."

He said it so casually, as if it didn't matter, and Nodwydd blinked. "Gwynt...you do know you're taking a risk, being the only one of us able to find all the others, don't you?"

Gwynt settled the last bag in place with cargo netting, and sighed. "Yeah, Noddy. I know. But we ain't gonna be rabbits runnin' scared forever, Noddy. Seifer's gotta die sometime. Taran's not gonna let us stay hid for good." He grinned. "Not like we could, either. Cho knows about me, and at least a few o' your friends know about you. Sometime, we're gonna be found. Might as well be on our terms, right?"

Nodwydd frowned. "I don't like the idea of Seifer hurting Chai just because he knows about me. Or Darrell, either. And he would, wouldn't he?"

"Yep," Gwynt nodded. "Tell you this for nothin', though, Noddy. He lays a hand on Cho an' I'll fuckin' bite his head off an' spit down his neck."

"We're set," came Cho's voice from the cockpit. "Loaded and fueled, close the door and seal it and we're good to go."

Gwynt turned his head to face the cockpit. "Gotcha," he told her.

Now it came down to it, Nodwydd didn't want him to go. Pain in the ass he might be, and even proud of that, but he was still Nodwydd's brother. Nodwydd reached out and clasped Gwynt's shoulder, and Gwynt looked startled.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" Nodwydd asked seriously. "Visit any time." He managed a small smile. "Though I'd appreciate it if you give me a few hours warning at least."

For just a moment, Gwynt's expression might have been mistaken for affection. "Yeah, I can do that. Outta my plane, Noddy, I got a long trip home. I'll see y'around, okay?"

"Okay," Nodwydd smiled, and backed away. Gwynt gave him a lazy salute and pulled the plane's side door closed, and Nodwydd could hear it being sealed.

He watched as the propellers started up on the wings and the nose, watched as the plane slowly wheeled around and taxied to a runway, and watched as it gracefully lifted up into the sky, flying into the rising sun. Flying toward Esthar.

Nodwydd watched until the plane disappeared into the distance, then sighed and headed toward Kiel's house and his morning weekday routine.

The day would be very dull, with his brother gone again.