I'm breaking my own tradition of completing a fic just to keep people on tenterhooks :P

Don't own FFIX, blah blah blah

This isn't a songfic, just to clarify, but I got the ideas for this fic after listening to 'Buried Alive' by Avenged Sevenfold, who are my favourite band of all time. I think the lyrics, in a way, tell the story of what is now before you! Due to copyright I won't post them here, but take a listen to the song; for something by Sevenfold, who are generally classed as metalcore, it's really a beautiful piece, and my favourite song from their recent album 'Nightmare.' R.I.P The Rev, thank you for your contributions to a great band! 28/12/2009 Gone but not forgotten.

And now, on with the story! X x x x

It was taking some time, but Alexandria was making progress towards its recovery. With Lindblum almost completely restored due to its advanced technology, Tantalus had returned to Alexandria at the behest of Regent Cid to work on reconstructing the city around the castle. The broken blade of Alexander glinted in the afternoon sun, casting bright flashes of light onto the streets.

An angry voice broke out from atop a roof, breaking the monotonous sounds of hammering, heaving, huffing and puffing. "For the love of…look, just let me use your hammer!"

"No! My hammer!" Cinna clutched his precious hammer to his chest and scowled up at a miffed Marcus, who was supporting a wooden beam with some difficulty. "Get your own!" yelled Cinna.

"Mine's just broke on me!" Marcus yelled back, straining against the beam and kicking his hammer's remains down for Cinna to see. "And this beam is gonna fall on me unless I can get it nailed down!" He tried adopting a softer voice. "Come on Cinna, help a pal out…"

"My hammer!"

Marcus rolled his eyes. "You're such a child…what do I do now- oh, geez!"

THUD.

"Marcus?" Blank looked up from his work, confused. "Are you alright?"

Baku stormed down the street, looking haggard, followed by Ruby. "Whatchya doin', boys?" Baku called. "Cid'll kill ya if ya don't start workin'!"

Blank pointed to the roof, scratching his shock of red hair with his free hand. "I think Marcus is stuck under a beam, Boss."

"Oh." Baku deflated slightly. "Well, he can get himself out."

"No, I can't!" came the muffled cry from above. With an irritated sigh, Cinna climbed the ladder and managed to extricate a slightly squashed Marcus from underneath the beam. Once free, Marcus quickly scaled down the ladder and pulled it away from the wall, leaving Cinna stranded. "Right, you're sorting out that beam, you bastard!" he yelled up to him, "considering you have your precious hammer!"

"You-"

"Aw, shaddap!" Baku roared; all of Tantalus jumped as if shot. "Since you lot ain't workin', go take a break. And Ruby, take the slobberin' elsewhere."

Her arms round Marcus' neck, Ruby murmured, "Yes, Boss…"

"I wan' you back here in an hour!" And with that, Baku strolled off, humming to himself. The rest of Tantalus headed off for Ruby's theatre for a drink.

"…Hey, what about me?" Cinna called.

"Man, Boss is getting cranky," Blank commented, tapping his fingers on the table in front of him. "Must be the heat."

"We're the ones slaving our asses off though, not him," Marcus replied. He sipped his beer and sighed heavily. "Still, we're making some progress, and I'm getting pretty muscly, which is a bonus. Wish Zidane would come down and say hi."

"What in tarnation does he do with himself all day?" Ruby said to herself from her perch on Marcus' lap, a wine spritzer held daintily in her hand. "I mean, that gal of his ain't even that purty!"

"To each their own, I guess, but at least she didn't take after Brahne, eh?"

"That' cos Garnet's adopted, Bro."

"Oh, yeah…"

They all drank in silence for a few minutes, cooling off. Then slightly bumbling footsteps disturbed the calm quiet. A soft, curious voice rang out. "A-Anyone here?"

"Depends," Ruby replied, straightening up. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Vivi." The young black mage rounded the corner and faced the troupe, adjusting his hat as always. "I just thought I'd come and see if there was somebody down here."

Blank tapped the seat next to him. "Sit down, kid; I'll get you a drink."

"Some Lindblum grape juice would be nice."

"Sure thing." Blank got up to go to the bar and Vivi hauled himself up onto the rather tall stool. His face was hidden behind the brim of his tattered hat, but the troupe could tell something was bothering him. "What's up, little guy?" asked Ruby, reaching over and patting his hand. "You wanna tell us?"

Vivi looked up and stared round. "Where are the Benero brothers? And Cinna?"

"Benero brothers are elsewhere in the city…hey, where is Cinna, boys?"

"Oh, crap!" Marcus cursed, "We left him on the roof!"

"You mean you left him on the roof!"

"Aw, leave him!" Ruby laughed. "He hurt my Marcus!"

"Hmmm. Point taken. Here you go, Vivi." Blank handed Vivi a glass of purple juice. "Right, what's eating ya?"

"Well…" Vivi drank a little of his juice before carrying on, "I'm enjoying my time here in Alexandria, and I enjoy helping people out, but there's just one thing bugging me…"

"Which is?"

"Nobody has any time for me anymore!" Vivi groaned, setting his drink down and folding his hands in his lap. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Alexandria, and it's one of the few places I feel accepted into society, but it's lonely all the same." He paused to look up at the troupe; seeing they were still paying attention he carried on. "I don't blame Dagger- s-sorry, I meant Garnet- for not having any time to see anyone, being Queen and all, but I at least hoped Zidane would want to hang out every now and then…"

"I feel for you, kid," Marcus commented, wiping beer froth from his upper lip. "We're feeling a bit peeved that he ain't around much these days."

"That damn bronco took our Zidane, eh boys?" said Ruby with a small scowl creasing her pretty face.

"Still, she's quite attractive, so I can't blame him," Blank said with a smirk. "But I hope to God he never marries her. Can you imagine what would happen if Zidane was king?"

They all laughed amicably. Then Blank patted Vivi on the shoulder. "Well, you know you're welcome here anytime, kid. We're not always in Alexandria, but Ruby is."

"Come here whenever you want, Vivi!" Ruby chirped with a smile, fiddling with her ocean blue locks. "I'm always here for a chat!"

"Thanks, Miss Ruby," Vivi replied, "thanks, Blank, Marcus."

"Anytime."

"No problem, kid."

"And can I ask you something else?"

"Sure," came three voices in unison. Vivi could feel his face heating up, thankful that nobody would be able to see his blush, due to the black aura of his skin. What he was about to ask Tantalus, he had been pondering for a long time, thinking it over whenever he had spare time. His 'children' had opted to remain in the Black Mage Village, where they felt most comfortable and where No. 288 could keep a careful eye on them, so Vivi could spend some time in Alexandria with his friends.

Freya and Sir Fratley had passed through a few days ago to visit, with Freya proudly showing off a new diamond engagement ring. Zidane and Garnet had each other now (and Vivi vowed never to go into their bedroom ever again after the incident last time), and Marcus had recently started dating an ecstatic Ruby.

A new Qu chef by the name of Qualli had recently started working in the kitchens in Alexandria Castle alongside Quina, and the two had taken a liking to each other.

Steiner and Beatrix saw each other in the evenings after finishing their rounds of the castle and were often spotted strolling arm in arm through the streets.

As far as anyone knew, Amarant was the loner, as ever.

So Vivi wasn't the only one without anyone he was fond of, but he still felt a little left out. Of course, there was Eiko too, but…

"Do you think I could ever be with somebody?" Vivi asked. There was a short pause, and Vivi drank some more of his grape juice for something to do. Marcus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm…that's a tough one."

"Don't be like that!" chided Blank. "I know where he's coming from, mind you; you being a black mage and all…aren't there any female black mages, Vivi?"

"I asked Mr. 288, and he said that Kuja never made any female black mages, since he didn't think gender important when he only had one purpose for them." Vivi sighed. "Since I was the prototype, so I'll last longer-"

"Yeah, not to sound harsh or anything," Marcus interjected, "but we thought you'd have deactivated by now."

"Well, Cid offered to have a look at me, being the technological genius he is, and he attached a pacemaker of sorts to my 'heart' that he says will make me last a long time. So over that time I've thought more about human emotions and how I came to possess them…so I think I could use them as well as feel them. I may be a black mage, but I was hoping I'd find love…"

Ruby clasped her hands together over her chest. "Awww!" she cooed. Vivi giggled.

"So, since there are no female black mages, I was hoping it would be possible for a human to…love me." Vivi picked up his glass and drained his juice. "I know what you're thinking. I'm young, but I'm basically a robot, and I've been told that I'm mature for the age I was programmed at."

Blank was grinning. "Oh…now I get why you came down here!"

"Y-Yeah, I wanted relationship advice, and you get straight to the point, Blank."

"Unlike Zidane."

"Unlike Zidane," Vivi said with a small laugh. "I'd heard you played Cupid for Marcus and Ruby too. Baku told me a few days ago."

"It didn't take much," Blank shrugged, draining his glass. "These two have been flirting since we were fourteen. Didn't need much to close the gap."

"Heh, thanks, Bro."

"No problem, man, you know I'd do anything for my best buddy. So…Vivi, we'll have to get back to work soon, or Boss'll kill us, but come find me at the Inn tonight, and we'll have a good ol' chat about girls, eh?"

Vivi smiled; it was a shame nobody could see, for it was a very happy smile. "Y-Yeah, that sounds great!" He got up and straightened his hat. "I'll be on my way now, I think. Thanks for the drink. See you later, Blank." He turned to Marcus and Ruby, embracing affectionately. "And thanks for chatting with me."

"Anytime, Vivi!" smiled Ruby, and Marcus nodded in agreement. Much cheered up, Vivi left the theatre with a little bound in his step. Blank smirked as he watched the mage leave.

"Heh, he's growing up fast. Let's see me work my magic again."