You're doing a lot of really interesting things here. I never really thought of putting Sabin and Shadow together before, but you make it work. It's hard to feel properly sympathetic towards Locke at this point, as we don't have the background of exactly what happened between him and Celes, but I get the feeling that's coming.
I think what I like most about this story is your ability to portray the chemistry between all the characters, and still keep them in-character. My favourite scene was the poker game. :D
I really enjoy what you have written, and hope you'll write more soon! (I even went to your website in hopes that further chapters might be posted there... ^_^;) Looking forward to the next part!
Author\'s Response: Yeah, Sabin and Shadow are my personal crack pairing. o.o; They seem to get along, though, at least when I write them.Thanks for the tip about Locke. Yeah, to be honest what happened between him and Celes is less interesting to me than using it as a backdrop for what's going to happen now, but you're completely right, that I should at least let the reader know what happened. I'll pencil it in. I think I know right where to put it.I'm glad you liked the story. I write it incredibly slow, as I'm really busy IRL and have since moved on to other fandoms. Heart's Ease is a bunny that by now's being kept alive by good wishes rather than any real sense of urgency, if you know what I mean. But I've got a dedicated cadre of stalkers that kick me in the butt every now and then and make me write something for it, so it's not quite dead yet! ^__^