Golden Lanterns

A continuation of "Picard Almighty", but devoid of the humor (That was pretty much only there in the first 2 chapters anyway) and a little more dark, but romantic rather than fluffy. It gets best at the end. Whoo!

I do not own Golden Sun. Its so good it owns itself.

---

"We're not going to die." He said outloud to himself.

And it was so sudden. It was almost unfair.

On the way back to Lemuria, a storm had struck, and such a storm it was! Picard's mighty ship swung madly to-and-fro upon the waves. Slowly, but oh so nerve-racking. Rain came down in immense, massive sheets, as if to somehow drownthe ship. It was impossible to see a mere few feet in front of yourself, it was that bad. Thunder and lightning boomed ominously in the background.

And there at the tiller, Picard stood.

With his hands firmly on the tiller, he was using every last ounce of strength he had to steer the ship safely through the storm. He was completely drenched, clothes saturated. Cold, foreboding raindrops dripped down his pale skin, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps..

"We're not going to die!" Picard firmly said aloud, almost as if he was convincing the storm.

His body attuned to the freezing cold, to the soaking wet and the swaying of the floor beneath his feet, and he braced against every wave, fuelled with determination.

Belowdecks, he knew Kinu and Felix sat, worrying, praying that everything would turn out alright.. But it seemed not so.

Picard's health was deteriorating rapidly. He'd been fighting this treacherous storm for nearly 4 hours, and he was catching a dreadful cold, sneezing, lapsing in and out of consciousness. Being from a land with no disease (Lemuria) caused him uneasiness to experiencing his first sickness.. worse still, he was fighting for the lives of him and his friends.

Lightning flashed, then so did a bit of blue.

"Picard!"

Picard looked over his shoulder immediately, and without hesitation yelled; "Kinu! Its not safe! Go back in before you get a cold!" He cried, some rasping coughs in between his words.

"Anchor! The storm is even worse up ahead, we're on reasonably low ground here!" Kinu yelled back. "Please! Just stop this and come inside, don't try going through it!" She begged.

Picard rubbed his forehead, swaying along with the ship. He said nothing, but showed a clearly disdainful, worried look upon his face.

"Anchor! I'll get Felix!" She shouted, sliding expertly along the deck, and bolting down the stairs to go get Felix. Picard hadn't gotten the chance to protest even in the slightest.

Sigh. I don't really feel good about any of this.. not good at all.. Picard mused to himself, sniffing loudly and shaking his drenched, blue locks around his face. It was only a matter of moments before Kinu arrived back at the tiller, choking Felix's wrist.

"Piccy, Go take the left! Felix will get the right anchor!" Kinu screeched, Felix giving them both a look of 'what am I doing here again?..'

Sighing heavily again, Picard sprinted over to port of the ship, and leant under the railing, unraveling the anchor with some difficulty. Following suit, Felix took to the starboard, and with Kinu's help, tried to untie the other anchor. However, with wind and water whipping his face, it did not pose an easy task—he got irritated and simply the rope that was holding the anchor to the side of the ship. Not the actual rope with the anchor on it, silly.

The ship rocked insanely for a moment, and Kinu had to grip Felix's legs to stop him going overboard. The rocking ceased almost as quickly as it had begun.

Felix spat. Picard waved, holding the door open. "Guys!" He called out to them, "Get in before you all catch cold.."

Felix and Kinu didn't need to be told, they had already darted in whilst Picard warned them.

The boats rocking had slowed, but the sound of rain on the wooden roof was ever-present.

Kinu surveyed them both. "You both look like you could do with some sleep.." She muttered. Picard yawned considerably, and Felix also looked him over. "Picard, do you have any spare clothes?" Picard nodded halfheartedly, looking dazed from lack of sleep. "Cupboard." Came the bland reply.

Kinu set down some warm noodles in a container before Picard, and urged him to eat. Picard looked up at her with narrow, yellow-gold eyes, sniffing.

"I don't know if we'll make it to Lemuria." He said, folding his arms.

Kinu couldn't believe him. "Your tired. Your tired, Piccy. Cant think straight."

Picard averted his eyes, grinding his teeth slightly. "I have a connection with the sea, Kinu. You've always known."

Kinu nodded slightly, curiosity aroused.

"I wonder if this has something to do with the manifestation of my feelings." Picard pondered, gaze now upon the black sea outside.

"But then you can stop it, right?" Kinu asked, tipping her head.

The mysterious Lemurian could only blink at her. "..Who knows."

Silence.

Suddenly, Felix walked in wearing something rather odd. Kinu and Picard both studied every inch of his body with sheer fascination. Felix was wearing long, sky blue pants which had strange flares upon meeting the feet, and a tight white shirt with the first two buttons undone. And for once, no cape! Ah well, they say there's always a first time for everything.

Felix came to join them at the table, and ravenously swallowed down his noodles. When he was done, he rose. "G'night."

Without waiting for a response, he turned to leave, but heard the most violent coughing. Felix spun around and watched in horror, watched as Picard leant on the table for support, practically coughing his lungs out. When he had finally finished after 2 minutes, he parted his hand away from his mouth, and stared curiously and the fresh mucus on his hand, his eyebrow twitching.

Kinu ran to the kitchen to make him some tea. Picard just looked at his hand some more.

Felix pursed his lips. "Okay. Goodnight now." He stammered, slamming the door shut behind him, wanting to just sleep without worrying about Picard.

---

The storm was worse than ever.

Felix crept silently down the hallway, still in his strange attire. He hungered for something.. something he didn't know about. Despite the near unbearable tossing of the ship, Kinu slept contently. Barely audible, he could still hear her breathing.

Within an instant, the waves threw the ship and sent Felix flying into the wall on the other side of the hallway. He stiffened, and listened. Good. Kinu's breathing was still regular.

It didn't take him long to reach Picard's room. Since the time that the entire party had been traveling on the ship, he had moved into the spare bedroom below decks.

What am I doing here, anyway? Felix thought, a strange emptiness coming over him. Summoning his courage, he rapped upon Picard's door.

"Enter." He heard a quiet, masculine voice call to him.

Ever so slowly, Felix creaked the door open and peered in. Picard sat on his bed with that same book in his lap, open to a certain page. In the dim light, he could just barely make out Picard's handsome, young features.

"Come in Felix. You have nothing to be afraid of." Picard said, looking at him with a hint of hidden amusement. Felix cautiously stepped in, somewhat comfortable here in his cozy room. He sat down at the edge of Picard's bed, beside him.

"What'd you want to see me about?" Picard asked.

"Oh, Nothing. I just thought I'd come talk to you since I couldn't sleep." Felix said, completely truthful in his answer for once.

"The rocking?"

"I think so. But I don't really know. Maybe I'm worried about you still."

"Worry for me?"

"Yeah." Felix said, now making eye contact.

"No need to do that. I'll be fine. I'm more worried about this storm."

"Yeah. I know you are. But, if I may ask.."

"Hm?" Picard's expression changed.

"Why do you fear this storm so much?"

"You know me, Felix. I have a connection with the sea, it's a part of me now." Picard said breezily, closing his eyes. "I feel its pain, it feels mine."

Felix still didn't understand a bit of it. He slipped off his shoes, and flopped down near Picard.

Picard's face remained expressionless, or at least from what Felix could see.

"Soo.. are you going to explain yourself a bit better?" Felix asked in a kinda sing-songy tone, as if bored and impatient.

"You won't understand."

"Try me."

"You won't understand, and I know it."

Felix ran his tongue over his chapped lips, slightly offended, but confident nonetheless.

"Just try me."

"You're as stubborn as a mule, lest I repeat, you won't understand."

"So what if I'm stubborn. I have a more open mind than you think I do." Felix said, putting his arms behind his head and fighting the temptation to raise his voice.

"Hurr, Fine!" Picard said, practically growling.

It all happened so fast. Picard lunged towards Felix, grabbed his collar, and slammed him against the wall, his hands shaking whilst gripping Felix tightly. "So.. You still want to know.."

Felix's eye twitched. He wasn't particularly used to being slam-pinned to walls. Picard merged closer to him, and Felix weakened. The Lemurian was shaking gently all over.

Picard's face grew very close to Felix's. Their lips were just barely touching, and Picard's grip only remained hard on Felix's collar, but neither said anything.

Felix's heart jerked insanely inside his chest, and he could feel the blood galloping to his cheeks. He had never seen Picard's eyes from this close, and they were beyond human description. His eyes were just.. stupendous. There they were, locked onto his own, and in the light coming from the lantern, he felt as if those pools of pure gold were glaring, drilling into the depths of his mind..

"I'm lonely."

Those two words came from Picard's throat, from behind clenched teeth.

"But why?" Felix probed, feeling sympathetic.

"Felix, you yourself should know. There is only so much one man can stand.. I've been alone my whole life. Ever since I found you and the others, I wanted that loneliness to end, because I found something important."

"What's that?"

".. Friends." Picard said, smiling now, with a looser grip.

"They may not be here with us now, but they are still your friends. Jenna will miss you."

Jenna, Picard thought. Jenna. Miss me. I would have never guessed.

Picard shook his head, dismissing these thoughts for a moment. "That's not it. I'm lonely because.."

Felix waited.

".. Because I've never had anyone to love me before. Now here you are before me. Its you. I want you."

I want you.

Before Felix could even dwell on the thought, Picard drew him in by the collar, into a deep, fiery kiss. His strong hands moved down from his collar, and wrapped themselves possessively around his waist. And before Felix knew it, Picard moved in very close, creating the most incredible, sensual, body-on-body friction. The Lemurian's tongue hungrily explored every last inch of Felix's mouth, and his warm body pressed into his own..

Felix sucked in his pride, and constricted his own arms around Picard's shoulders, breathing deeply and feeling his skin grow warm, as if Picard's tongue would suck him dry. Swallowing his dignity further, he caressed Picard's lips with his own, and then slipped his tongue in.. He smelt his musky scent, and listened to his deep, rapid breathing..

Picard's eyes snapped open, and he backed away a little. He had felt something utterly unmistakable pressed upon his thigh.

Felix took a deep breath inwards, turning as red as the cloth that always remained tied to Picard's right wrist.

Still in the dim light from the red and gold lantern, Felix could see Picard's cheeks faintly blushing. All of a sudden, this wise, philosophical, and strong Lemurian named Picard had been reduced to looking like a perfectly normal 16 year old boy, who wanted nothing.. but longed for him. Also, Felix realized, he hadn't moved away.

Picard twisted his body all the way around, and gently opened the glass door of the lantern. With one gentle blow, the candle was out, and Picard turned to face Felix once again.

"At last Felix.. You're mine." Picard piped quietly. Even now whilst there was little light and the storm outside was still raging, it didn't matter. The only thing Felix could see was Picard's eyes. It was almost as if half the time his body was invisible, and yet his eyes were always glowing..

Hidden in darkness apart from the brief flashes of lightning, Picard's hand reached out and began unbuttoning Felix's tight shirt. Lightning flashed for a moment, and Picard saw Felix. He was looking down at him, a warm, friendly gaze coming from his eyes, and almost instantly, he was gone into the shadows again.

Picard's warm hand made its way to the last button on the shirt and worked it loose. Upon another flash of lightning, Picard saw Felix contort his shoulders slightly, allowing the shirt to fall away from him, leaving him bare-chested. Picard jumped slightly, feeling Felix's warm arms slip under his shirt, and pull it off with ease.

Picard moved in closer, pressing his naked chest to Felix's and held his head, one hand holding the back of his head, one hand holding his cheek. He leant close to Felix's ear and whispered:

"'Tsal ba."

"Huh?" Felix murmured, wishing he could speak Lemurian.

"..Nothing." Picard lied, smiling and hugging Felix around the waist, his cheek buried into Felix's lightly muscular chest.

Felix stroked Picard's hair. "Is this what you want, Piccy?"

Felix saw Picard blink for a moment, with the aid of another flash of lightning. "What I dreamt of." Picard said firmly.

Felix laid his hands on Picard's buttocks, in a more tender way rather than aggressive. "Love you." He said quietly.

"Me too.." Picard quietly answered, beginning to lick Felix's chest. The rain pouring down remained constant, so too did the feeling against Picard's thigh, but he didn't seem to mind too much.

The two slipped under the covers, still with naked chests and hair set free, carpeting and spilling over the pillow. Felix curled his arms around Picard, and Picard buried his face into his neck..

And that's how they slept.

---

The sun rose early next morning.

Picard's heavy eyes lifted slowly. He could still feel Felix's arms around him, though he had rolled slightly away. He slept on nearby, looking peaceful, with his ash brown hair glimmering in the sunlight.

Sunlight?

Picard sat upright, and looked out the large port-hole. The waves were gently shimmering an odd hue of sapphire blue, with a glorious sun overhead, brimming over the ocean as far as the eye could see. And not a cloud was visible.

With his own aqua locks sliding over his bare skin, Picard looked over at Felix, silently thanking him. Thanking him for being his companion, his leader, and most of all..

"'Tsal ba." Picard exclaimed, more to himself than to Felix.

Picard beamed brighter than the sun, that day.

---

WHOO. See. I can do things. I CAN do things. I didn't procrastinate on this, and bought it to ya when I promised I would. Now. If your curious about 'Tsal Ba, I can explain.. But review first, foo.

The Tibetans are descendants of the Lemurians, and speak a similar dialect. So I went out and searched LOTS of Tibetan/English dictionaries and found 'Tsal Ba, which apparently means "My Love." If you wish to learn more about the REAL Lemuria, go search Google. It's fascinating I say. I've been doing extra-curricular studies on it for 2 years now. Anyway. Review.