Deep breaths, he told himself. Don't think about it too much. It was just a night to hang out with a friend. You don't do that as often as you should, he told himself. Think of it more for what it is, and not what you were expecting it to be before you saw who was involved. Don't think about how awkward you'd made things, the pain you had caused, or the pressure in your chest. Don't think about the water that seemed to well up in your eyes here and there, wanting to rush out but as suppressed as everything else. A subtle turn away, a movement as if to wipe sleepy sand from one's eyes, and it was like it never happened. Forget. That was the best thing you could do. Forget and do what you promised to do all those months ago. You'd made a promise, hadn't you? Why weren't you fulfilling it? You don't break promises. Why start now?

Treat it as it is. A night. Nothing more.

"This isn’t a real date. I mean, you and me?”

”Can’t you just stop?”

It was a bitter pill to swallow, even worse than he'd ever imagined. But he understood. He swallowed as he tried to pick up what was left of his confidence and move forward. Celes was merciful in that she didn't speak on the subject further, and his interest was piqued when she expressed that even she was in the dark about Sabin and this Daisy. "I think it's a woman, anyway. He talks about her a lot, and quite affectionately so I just kind of assumed he was referring to a romantic partner. He wanted to bring her to the ceremony but thought it might be a little overwhelming for her. Which I understand. I hate crowds. I didn't want to go either" he admitted with a sheepish laugh. Caius had never explicitly stated he hated crowds before, but there it was. He had hinted at it a few times, but always silently. Though even he was a bit surprised he'd opened up, considering what had happened.

But it was always easy with Celes. Even if he was a little more guarded right now, that didn't change.

"I guess I didn't think too much about it until now. Considering he spoke his intention to sign up in the same breath as encouraging me to, I obviously had other things on my mind."

She hoped he was having fun, and he nodded his head in agreement. She said that skirt chasing ran in the family, and he recalled her mentioning during their previous talk about someone of that mind... Or did he? Questions for later. He handed in his badge for a drink. It was a relief and a pox. It was like shutting the door on something deep inside, but it was also a relief to just be rid of the thing, and the reminders it held. He sure as hell didn't want to take it home. He already knew what he wanted, so he had a drink in his hands quickly enough. The glass was fancier than anything of the kind he'd seen in his life and he couldn't help but peer over it for a hot minute with a perplexed gaze. It was shaped like... A flute? Interesting.

He soon joined her and while it took a bit of willing, he did manage to look to her. There were a lot of emotions running through right now. Pain from what had occurred. Shame for what he'd done to her. Embarrassment. His haywire nerves that he continued to try and push aside. Anger at himself, and just... So much in a boiling pot threatening to overflow at any moment. He didn't know what to do, but he was certainly going to try. And that meant not disrespecting her by constantly looking away from her, and running from his problems.

In the end, perhaps that's all he'd been doing by keeping quiet about how he'd felt, he realized. He was just running away. But then again, after how she'd reacted to things before... Perhaps he had been right. Perhaps it was for the best she didn't know. While it was clear by her participation in this event that what she'd said before that led to his original promise was null and void, something he didn't want to think about, he had likely prevented something even worse by keeping some semblance of silence. At least he knew now, instead of after acting rashly and bearing his soul to her or something.

Celes brought up the garden, and he slowly nodded his head as he gazed out at the environment before them for what felt like the first time. Suddenly the rose he gave her seemed inadequate compared to the beauty spread before them, not that it mattered anymore. He had been so wrapped up in his own anxieties that he hadn't truly looked to their horizons.

"Mm" he responded softly. Good, a distraction. "I'm no expert on flowers, but I've seen different attempts at it. People trying to cultivate flowers in my world, but never having enough time, or enough hope left, or the right resources. Across my travels in Zephon I've seen many flowers too, but... Looking at these, I can tell just how well cultivated they are" he brought up, losing himself a bit in the view as he began to relax just a little, began to speak his mind again. "You can tell by the degree of their colors. The blue colors shimmer like the cleanest oceans, the reds are vibrant and could be mistaken for a blazing wildfire from a distance. The yellows almost seem to shine as brightly as that first sun when it parted the darkness of Lucis. The purples are darker, but no duller, they have their own unique magnificence that tells of their care all the same. Their lavender glow reminds me of brilliant amethyst. What this tells me is that these were raised with a great deal of love and care, with a lot of time, and likely a fair bit of cost."

He managed a smile. "It's actually kind of nice to think that this world has people with the time and the passion to pull this off on so grand a scale. And variants with colors this bright and bold, I'd wager they're not often seen outside of Torensten either. The Torensten sun is an overwhelming presence, and I know I'm sure still getting used to the heat, but its strong and vigorous glow likely brings the same to these flowers when cultivated right, what Torensten seems to bring to its people. Everywhere I look in Torensten, I see life in people's eyes. No matter what happens around them, that life and vigor never leaves their faces. And I get that same impression when I look at this garden. It tells a story about the world we've found ourselves in."

Seeming to snap to his senses after that, he looks to her and scratches his head sheepishly. "I apologize, I uh... I talk a lot when I get lost in something. Still getting used to that one too. But... It makes me happy, knowing things are like this. Knowing that... People can be like this. With hope. With life. And spread that life to a garden like this."

For a little bit, perhaps his anxieties had been forgotten. It would likely be fleeting. But it's a start.

"Oh really? I'll keep that in mind" Caius responded with a laugh at her remark. He didn't put too much thought into the way he spoke, it just kind of came out. Lucian history documents in the palace, as well as Zephonian books had colored his language despite Caius himself being uncultured. He sipped his drink, having gone for something a bit harder and on ice. Fitting for the situation. He shrugged his shoulders when she brought up that it was the gardener's jobs to keep the garden looking this nice. He knew that. But it was still nice to see considering where the two of them had once come from.

Celes wanted to go and explore, and he nodded his head. "No arguments here" he responded as he knocked back the rest of his drink, tipping a piece of ice onto his tongue. Torensten was still hot, and he was still getting used to being here long enough to register just how hot it was. The harsh cool of the ice tipped those scales. After a few moments to cool, he chomped the ice down. With that, he followed alongside her. He reached up and caught one of the petals, looking it over between his fingers for a few moments. He would never get over seeing new and wonderful sights in this world, he figured. There was so much he'd missed out on. After a moment of thought, the petal disappeared into hammerspace. Many had been tread upon, and many more would after they left, but he could salvage one. Maybe he could make something with it on his spare time.

Celes echoed his earlier thoughts. He nodded his head. "I don't think I'll ever get over seeing it. It's just so... Different, from what I grew up seeing. And it's a constant reminder of the impact our work can have. The more folks keep this place safe, the more hope these people can have, and focus on wonderful things like this."

She brought up that she liked flowers. Right, she had put that on her form, hadn't she? Roses in particular. He still felt a little silly for going out of his way to find the best one he could when they were literally going to a garden. Serves him right for not paying attention. At her last remarks though, he laughed a little and shook his head.

"I don't think it's silly" he admitted with a small smile. "The more I've been here, the more I realize that in a way, we've been given a second chance in this world. A chance to embrace these sorts of things when we didn't have as much opportunity to before. So fill your house with the things. What matters is it makes you happy."

He mulled it over a moment. "Besides, I melt over animals, myself. I think my heart skipped a few beats when Vordun hatched out of that egg. Some of the recruits might laugh at the thought, but I don't care. If the day ever comes that I retire from the field, I might just take in an entire army of animals and spend the rest of my days raising them."

Until recently, retirement hadn't even been a thought. But this world and those within it had changed a lot of things.

Caius would likely never heal from the experience, at least not in the "traditional" sense. He would be forever shaped by the world he had lived in for so many years. And he would likely spend many years more learning to survive in a world like this one. It would be a long and hard journey, but Caius was plenty used to long and hard journeys by now. But the amount of time he spent there did not shape how he viewed Celes' own struggles. She'd struggled just as he had all the same. And if there was anything he could do to help her in what was to come, he would. That's what friends were for, right?

"It used to be beautiful, mine. Not like this, but it was beautiful in its own way. Lush trees abound, chocobos trotting everywhere. I vaguely remember hiding in the hay to scare the pants off my sister" he spoke softly, with a quiet laugh at the thought. "Then it was gone. And until I came here, it'd been a long time since I had seen things I considered aesthetically pleasing."

And he wouldn't take it for granted a second time. Caius understood that in many ways, for all the pains that he had endured starting out here, this was very much a second chance for him. A chance to live in a world while yes, there was fighting... It was a choice. A choice he did not have before. And now he had the choice to enjoy things like this. He knew to make the most of it, in the time there was. But he knew he could extend that time too. Fighting was a choice he made to extend this peace and this beauty, the best he could. And he was content with taking that role.

For it was very much worth fighting for.

But the mood lightened when Celes spoke up. Caius laughed. A real laugh this time. And the laugh intensified the more she spoke until he nearly busted his gut from it. It just sounded so silly. And in its own way, sounded kind of wonderful. A world where they could retire to a waterfall garden full of monsters and flowers and whatever else. It was definitely one worth fighting for. Even if they were both married to their jobs.

"You have a deal" he responded with the cheekiest grin he had ever mustered. "One day we'll get that waterfall monster chocobo zoo flower garden, just you wait."

This was more than a little silly, but... He didn't really mind it either. It felt... Right. as they spoke his shoulders had steadily relaxed as the pressure seemed to just... Die out. He felt like he could be himself, something he did not feel often. Everywhere he went, it was always business, or something else. Now there just... Wasn't. It was just the two of them, two friends, having a good time making stupid jokes talking about.... Waterfall monster chocobo zoo flower gardens. It was still hard to believe sometimes he lived in a world where he could do this. And where he would meet someone that he could be this way around. The jitters had mostly faded with the pressure being off. It was just right.

He laughed at her remark as he took a small sip from what was left of his glass. "No complaints here. Torensten has become home in a way, but... I won't pretend I would miss the heat. I never realized until recently just how bad I've been simmering."

Wearing a black armored jacket? He didn't know how he survived here. Only when he began to stick around Torensten more did he realize just how unbearable it was to live here while wearing his armor on a regular basis. Which was why he had begun wearing more casual clothing in Torensten unless he was out on business that he knew would require him to need it. He didn't mind Torensten at all. It was far more beautiful than anything he had ever seen in his lifetime so far. Not even the sights of Galdin Quay on TV looked like this. It just plain flat out paled in comparison to Torensten's classical splendor and its neighboring Pale Coast. But he was gonna die if he tried to make this a forever home.

Caius met her smirk with his own as she suggested why not try the gazebo. Caius sat on the bench with his arms relaxed behind his head. Luckily he'd bought a suit just slightly bigger than what would be expected. It looked a little silly in some angles, but it let him do this without ripping the thing. And his muscular frame would easily rip one his own size anyway. It had been hell to commission though, Caius wasn't exactly a small man to begin with.

He nodded along to her admission. "Only left the farm a handful of times. Some of the sights I saw were beautiful, but this? This is something. It's... Well, it's kinda surreal knowing that there was no beauty to be found for most of my lifetime, and now... This. I may very well wake up in the 'morrow and think this was all a dream. At least until I walk out that door."

He was surprised though when Celes actually started to talk about her life with the Empire, especially something as touchy as her involvement in their campaign. He turned to look to her. He'd bit his lip, as though something about it concerned him. But it wasn't that. It had just... Reminded him of something.

"Even if you did know it was wrong, I don't know if it would have made a difference. At least not at the time. When you get into a routine..." he trailed off, averting his eyes a moment. "... You can tune out a lot. Not forever, but... A long time."

There were things he hadn't told her either. Things that he tried to squash and push away on the constant. He met her eyes again, his expression softening as he managed a small smile.

"The important thing is the campaign you're fighting now. And the choices you get to make today."

He laughed at her admission she'd found something to drink. He raised his own glass, which was pretty much empty at this point. "Right?"