[Hey, Celes! How are you? Are you okay now? Sorry, I haven't visited you at the Healer's. My brother just fill me. Hope he's not stressing you?]
Celes chuckled.
Oh how I miss this girl.
"Thank you, Ales. I feel so much better now that you call. I've been feeling lonely."
[Me, too. I just call because I want to hear your voice so I can relax. Ugh, I just remember why I'm so pissed. I saw that Szarina at the Consul's meeting today.]
Celes's heart sank a little but she tried to keep her tone light. "Oh? What was she doing there?"
Ales sighed. [You know, the usual. But get this—she interrupted a conversation about what gift brother should get for you. Just barged in and asked him to go with her somewhere.]
Celes forced a smile, even though Ales couldn't see it. "Really? That's unexpected."
[Ugh, it was!] Ales groaned. [I can't believe how easily he complied. He always does that because of his stupid sense of duty.]
Celes's smile turned bitter as she thought to herself, It's not only duty driving Andros. Feeling suddenly disappointed, Celes tried to divert their conversation and sighed in relief when Ales did not notice. They catch up for a long while, but the heavy feeling did not even go away long after their call ended.
That evening, as Celes returned from the healer’s quarters, her hands full of medical journals and notes, she was met by Andros’s barely-contained frustration. He was sitting with a bouquet of flowers, his eyes expectantly happy.
Why is he here?
"What's the occasion?" she asked, her voice neutral.
Andros went pale. "Today is our wedding anniversary," he said, his voice tight.
Celes realized why he had been asking Ales about what gift she would like.
"Oh. I'm sorry. It slipped my mind," she admitted honestly.
Andros's expression darkened.
"Of course it did. Too busy with your damn job to remember our anniversary," he snapped.
What seemed like a sweet moment quickly devolved into another argument.
His impatience and irritation stung, but Celes’s calm demeanor only seemed to fuel his ire. He accused her of neglecting her duties at home, of prioritizing her work over their relationship. The accusations cut deep, and Celes struggled to keep her composure as she faced his anger.