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You are viewing the most recent 25 entries.
3rd October 2009
5:02pm: FMA: Waiting in Denial
Author’s note: This story was written for one of the 25 Papa!Roy/Ed themes from the Hated_Guardian community on LJ, as posted by mabis. Mangaverse/AR. Thank you for reading and enjoy.
--------------#15: Automail-------------
Roy walked through the hospital’s pristine hallway at a brisk and purposeful pace. When he first heard that Edward had been admitted, he had not worried much…after all, the boy landed himself in the hospital often enough. However, this time appeared to be more serious.
Maes had called in after stopping by himself, planning on just saying ‘hello’ and sitting with Alphonse for a while so he would not be bored. The bespectacled man did not say much; he just told Roy that he needed to get there straight away.
The boy had already been whisked into the operating room by the time Roy arrived, and several panicked nurses and doctors rushed into the room shortly afterwards, refusing to speak to anyone on their way.
The Lieutenant Colonel asked Maes to give him the details rather than upset Al any further, as the boy‘s panic was clear even with a body that could show no emotion.
His bespectacled friend reported that the boys had been investigating a rogue alchemist, as Roy had asked Ed to do, when several of the suspect’s supporters had cornered and threatened them, each wielding a firearm. Ed had been about to use alchemy when Al had the bright idea to try intimidating the gun-toting men. The boy had assumed that a large, fearless ‘man’ clad in solid steel armour would get the men to back down…and if they refused, then their bullets would simply ricochet off him and strike them or the wall.
Al had figured it was a win-win situation. What the twelve-year-old had failed to consider, however, was that bullets do not always ricochet back in the direction they came from…sometimes they bounce to the left or to the right. In this case, that happened to be right where his brother was standing when the men opened fire on the advancing armoured figure.
To make a long story short, Hughes had summarised that Ed took at least one bullet into his upper side and, from Al’s description of his reaction, it seemed to have struck his lung. The men had panicked and fled, leaving Al to rush his brother to the nearest hospital, which was where they all were now. It was not as good as the one in Central, but the staff should have been more than competent enough to treat the boy.
At least, that had seemed to be the case until half a dozen doctors and nurses began running in and out of Edward’s room as though the hounds of hell were chasing them.
Finally growing tired of not knowing what was going on, as well as Al’s fidgeting, worried sounds, and questions (certainly not because he himself was worried), Roy approached the room, waiting outside patiently until a young nurse left the room at a much calmer pace, jotting down something on a clipboard.
Roy flashed a charming smile at the young woman, “Excuse me, miss? Do you have a moment?”
The nurse immediately blushed and grinned upon seeing the raven-haired man, “Of course, sir. What can I do you for?”
Continuing to smile at the now simpering woman, Roy indicated the room she had just vacated; “That is my subordinate in there and I was wondering what you could tell me about his condition. There seems to be a great deal of…flustered activity occurring.”
The young woman blinked and then glanced back at Ed’s room before turning to Mustang again, “I’m sorry, sir, there must be some mistake. The boy in that room is too young to be in the military…too young by years.”
“He isn’t an enlisted man; he’s a State Alchemist,” corrected Roy. “Perhaps you’ve heard of him, The Fullmetal Alchemist?”
The nurse’s head snapped back to look at the door of the operating room again. “That’s the Fullmetal Alchemist? I’d heard he was the youngest State Alchemist ever, but…I never imagined…”
She looked at Roy, blushing again, “When we heard the Fullmetal Alchemist was here, we just assumed it was the man in the armour that brought the kid in.”
“That’s understandable; it happens all the time,” replied the raven-haired man with a small smirk. “So, can you tell me what’s happening to him or are you needed back in there? I’d hate to waste valuable time while Fullmetal is suffering.” Roy’s tone and expression turned serious at the final statement; he felt they had wasted enough time already and he wanted answers.
“Oh, of course…I’m sorry,” the nurse looked and sounded much more professional now, Roy’s tone and expression having clearly reminded her of the circumstances of their exchange. “Well, the wound itself is serious, but Dr. McCabe was confident that he could save the child with no lifelong side effects…”
“He was confident?” the obsidian-eyed man repeated questioningly, trying to ignore the way his heart rate had suddenly sped up. “What changed?”
“Well, there were some complications with the anaesthesia and other medications,” replied the nurse, sounding tense. “It seems the doses were much too strong for him. You see, we determine the doses by body weight, and while we were able to weigh the boy, we had to compensate for his Automail limbs. The standard method is simply to subtract the estimated weight of the limbs…that’s usually close enough, but I’m afraid we underestimated their weight in this case.”
The nurse swallowed, noting the darkening of Roy’s eyes and the firm set of his face. “Children’s Automail is usually lighter than adult Automail, even if it’s the same size. I suppose it’s less durable that way, but since kids usually have to have it changed out every couple of years at least, to accommodate their growth anyway, it ends up being more cost effective to make it lighter…
“More importantly, the lighter Automail is less likely to stunt the child’s growth so harshly. We should have guessed something was wrong by his size, but we don’t know anything about his family record and we didn’t even know his exact age until the doctor had already rushed him into surgery.”
Roy noted the information about the Automail having likely attributed to Edward’s stunted growth, but filed it away for later contemplation. At the moment, all he cared about was Edward‘s current condition. “How is he now?”
“We were able to revive him and we have him stabilised now; the doctor was just about to continue the surgery when I exited the room. We won‘t be able to say anything for certain until after he regains consciousness and we can run some tests, but the doctor is still confident that there will be no permanent damage.” The nurse frowned at the clipboard in her hands before looking at Roy again, “Actually, there is something you might be able to help us with.”
The obsidian-eyed man arched an eyebrow, “Regarding Fullmetal?” The nurse nodded, and he motioned for her to continue.
“Well, we really need to contact his parents or legal guardian. It’s standard procedure when operating on a minor, plus there are some forms that need to be filled out.” The young woman smiled lightly, “I assume you have some contact information for your subordinate’s guardian? If you could just give me a name and perhaps a phone number…?”
The Lieutenant Colonel frowned at the door to Ed’s surgery room. As far as he knew, Edward’s situation was unprecedented. Other children had lost their parents and homes before, especially after the Eastern Rebellion, but those children were taken in by family or the like…they certainly never became military auxiliaries and wandered across the country on their own, conducting complex and sensitive research.
Without any protocol to abide by, Roy felt confident in handling the situation as he saw fit. Nevertheless, he even surprised himself with the words that ever so confidently passed his lips. “That would be me.” He held out a hand to take the forms from the nurse, who was blinking perplexedly. “I’ll fill those out for you.”
The woman wore a confused expression as she handed over a stack of papers that was nearly a centimetre thick. Roy frowned, “All of this?”
The nurse arched an eyebrow, “Well, there are the standard permission and consent documents in triplicate, and we need as much information on his medical history as you can give for his permanent file…it’s grossly lacking in information. You won’t have so much next time, and there are copies for you to keep as well.”
The woman looked Roy over thoughtfully as he glanced at the top page, “I suppose it might be different in Central, sir, but next time, you might want to introduce yourself as his guardian first; it’ll get you past all the red tape. Military or not, no hospital is going to deny you information or access to your child.”
The obsidian-eyed man looked up sharply at the last two words, but made no comment as the nurse smiled kindly at him, “You’re new to this, aren’t you? Don’t worry. These things happen no matter what you do and even soldiers can be blindsided…especially when children are involved. Why don’t you go sit down and fill those out? It will give you something to focus on and I promise to get you right away once we’re finished here or if there are any changes in his condition.”
Realising that the woman was mistaking his emotions and thoughts for something more paternal -for surely he was just disappointed at having yet more paperwork to fill out- Roy simply nodded and returned to his seat. The permission and emergency contact forms were menial but time consuming, and the raven-haired man filled them out easily.
The rest was another story…
Full Name: Edward -Roy tried and failed to recall a middle name, but decided first and last would suffice- Elric.
Age: -Roy knew that one at least- 13.
Birthdates: -Roy quickly subtracted Edward’s age from the current year and was somewhat surprised by how recent the date looked on paper; he could actually remember what he had done that day- February 17, 1899.
Blood Type: -Roy frowned slightly, trying to recall if that had been anywhere in Fullmetal’s State Alchemist exams-
Weight: - Roy left that blank, thinking that they obviously needed to figure that out sometime soon-
Height: -Roy sighed quietly-
“Do either of you know how tall Fullmetal actually is?”
Both Hughes and Al turned to look at the Lieutenant Colonel; the former looked as though he had asked what made the sky blue.
In the end, Roy had to borrow some measuring tape from a little old woman who was knitting quietly on the other side of the waiting room and measure up to the point on his chest that the boy reached. It was not going to be exact, but it would be close enough for a (hopefully) growing child.
It took all three of them to fill out the rest and there were still several blank areas on the pages where they had not been able to provide the information requested.
After what felt like hours, but had likely been less than one, the obsidian-eyed man turned in the mostly-completed paperwork and returned to his seat, studying the copies he had been given. Al wandered to the other end of the waiting room, where there was a stack of reading material on a small table. Roy was re-reading Edward’s allergy information when he realised that Maes was staring at him with a grin that meant he was about to be tormented.
“What is it, Hughes?”
“You could have let Al fill out those forms and just tell you where to sign, you know,” stated the green-eyed man, clearly holding back on something. “It would have saved time.”
“I doubt he would have been able to focus,” replied Roy easily. “Besides, we could all use something to distract us…sitting and staring at the walls is hardly mentally stimulating.”
“Ah, so that’s why you’re studying your copy of Ed’s file so earnestly…just because it‘s so much more interesting than any of the newspapers or magazines Al‘s flipping through.” Maes made no move to hide his mocking tone, although he at least had the grace to speak quietly enough for no one else to hear their conversation.
“As his appointed guardian, state sponsor, and military liaison, I will be required to disclose this sort of information again in the future,” the Lieutenant Colonel drawled out, hoping his friend would catch a hint for once and just keep his mouth shut until the nurse came with news of Edward’s condition. Obsidian eyes glanced toward the doors to the surgical wing again. It was beginning to really bother Roy that no one had come to tell him they were finished working on Ed yet…a simple overdose and one punctured lung could not take this long to fix, could it?
Hughes’ eyes were practically sparkling with diluted (for he was still worried about Ed) delight as he continued teasing his friend. “On that note, why exactly did you just appoint yourself Ed’s guardian? You could easily have named that Rockbell woman or even the boys’ old teacher and her husband-”
“That would mean more hassle for me and, considering his situation, it would be better for Fullmetal not to bring anyone else into his personal affairs. They would only complicate things…especially since they despise State Alchemists.” The raven-haired man hoped his logical explanations would bore his friend soon...and end the line of questioning before Maes got to the question he was obviously itching to ask.
“You could have asked me,” the green-eyed man stated with a grin. “You know Gracia and I are excellent parents and we don’t have anything against State Alchemists-”
“Yes, and I really need you to have more of a reason to feel free to intervene in my life,” Roy muttered, rolling his eyes. “I think Fullmetal will be pleased to hear he just dodged a different type of bullet…” The obsidian-eyed man looked for a clock, wondering if Ed had been in surgery as long as it felt and momentarily forgetting the State Alchemist issue watch that rested in his pocket.
He noticed that Al was across the room, colouring with a boy a few years younger than him as the boy‘s father paced a few feet away. Roy vaguely wondered if the man was here for another child and if all children caused this much stress in the lives of the adults responsible for them. Those thoughts came back around to Ed’s current state, and the obsidian-eyed man returned to his visual search for a clock after taking another glance toward the surgical wing and seeing no signs of change.
The bespectacled man’s grin broadened as he shook his head slightly, “I never thought I’d see you acting like a concerned father…it’s so cute! I wish I had thought to grab my camera on the way here. No one will believe th-”
“Maes, if you tell anyone about this, I will have you court-martialled for slandering a superior officer,” interrupted the obsidian-eyed man smoothly. Then he blinked and frowned, “And I am not behaving like a concerned father. I am merely taking my new responsibilities seriously and attempting to take care of a valuable State Alchemist under my charge.”
“Uh-huh,” the Major obviously did not believe a word his friend was saying. “Come on Roy, it’s just us here…you can admit you care about the little guy.” Suddenly, the man deadpanned, “Don’t tell Ed I called him that if you ever mention this conversation.”
“Neither of us will ever be mentioning this conversation to anyone,” Roy grumbled.
“Well I have to tell Gracia,” commented Hughes zealously, his moment of solemnity having passed. “I tell her everything! She‘s such an insightful and understanding w-”
“Maes, for just this once, do you think you could contain yourself?” The obsidian-eyed man rubbed his temple with one hand while the other still held his copy of Edward‘s medical records up so he could read them…assuming his friend would let him concentrate. “Fullmetal could be in there losing a lung or suffering brain damage and you’re actually beaming.”
The bespectacled man immediately sobered and turned to his friend with an apologetic expression. “Oh, Roy I’m sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood and then I got too caught up in how adorable you’re be- Err…” Maes held up a hand and rubbed the back of his neck with the other before clearing his throat.
“I shouldn’t make light,” the older man continued. “I’m worried about Ed too; you know I am. I don’t even want to imagine how you must feel. If it were Elycia in there…” Maes shook his head slowly, his expression suggesting that the thought was too terrible to contemplate. “I’d be a complete mess inside.”
Roy was not sure how he should react to the last comment. A part of him wanted to argue -again- that Ed was not his child…and even if he had considered the boy as such, Roy would still be more sedate as a father than Maes. However, the comforting hand that his friend placed on his shoulder led the raven-haired man to believe that Hughes was being completely sincere.
He settled for glaring at the front desk across the room. “Why hasn’t anyone updated us? Does it normally take this long?”
“Sometimes no news really is good news,” Maes responded gently. “If something had gone wrong, they’d have sent a nurse to talk to you. Remember, most medical procedures are a little more delicate where children are concerned…their bodies are still developing and there’s less room for mistakes. Imagine how small Ed’s lung-”
The Lieutenant Colonel was just about to interrupt, not wanting comments on the demure size of Edward’s organs adding to the visuals that were running through his head of things that could be going wrong. Just then however, the same nurse that had spoken to Roy outside of Ed’s operating room approached the two soldiers with a small, reassuring smile. Roy still found himself standing abruptly and shoving the paperwork he had been holding against Hughes’ chest, forcing his friend to hold them.
The nurse spoke to the Lieutenant Colonel in a comforting tone; “Relax, Mr Mustang, I just came to tell you that Edward is out of surgery. The doctor ran some tests, and his vitals look good. We cannot say that there was no additional damage until he wakes up, but there definitely isn’t anything serious. Maybe just some memory loss or temporary fits, but the doctor is confident that he will be fine.
“He’ll have to take it easy for a while with that lung though,” the nurse warned, her tone becoming more businesslike, but still kind. “Once it’s healed, it’ll take some time to rebuild his stamina, but he should recover fully within a few months. We’re setting him up in a room now; you should be able to see him sometime in the next half-hour.”
Roy smiled appreciatively at the young woman. He felt as though a vice had been tightening around his chest without him even being aware of it, until just now, when it vanished. He took a deep, steadying breath before thanking the nurse.
She smiled and nodded, but paused halfway into turning away. “Oh…one more thing; His Automail leg took a couple of bullets too. He’s lucky it wasn’t a real leg, or he probably would have bled to death on the way here.”
The woman frowned slightly as Maes hissed sympathetically and Roy seemed to loose some colour, but continued speaking. “We were worried about the shrapnel and wires sticking out, so we removed it after the surgery. He should be taking it easy for a week or so anyway, but I’m sure you’ll want to contact an Automail mechanic to repair it and then reattach it. We don’t do that here; sorry.”
“That’s fine,” Mustang reassured the woman once he had regained his composure. Hearing that Edward had taken multiple shots and had only survived due to his Automail had shaken the man more than he would like to admit. “I’m sure he’d prefer for his usual mechanics to handle that anyway. We’ll be sure to contact them.”
The nurse smiled again and tentatively patted Roy’s arm. “He’ll be up and driving you crazy in no time, you’ll see.”
“I’m sure he will,” Mustang replied as the nurse left, and then he turned to Maes. “Why does that woman keep acting like she has to placate me? I’m completely rational and composed.”
The green-eyed man grinned, “Because -despite the rational tone and overall composure- you have the telltale tension around your eyes and gut that suggests a worried parent who is ready to go feral at a moments notice should they feel their offspring is in danger. The gun doesn’t help any either…”
The obsidian-eyed man frowned slightly, but Al appeared beside them before he could comment.
“I saw the nurse talking to you…what did she say? Is brother all right? When can we see him?”
Roy was quickly trying to decide exactly how much details the younger Elric should be given when Maes answered. “Ed’s going to be all right, Al. He’s going to have to stay here a few nights so they can watch him…you know the drill.”
The man smiled as Al agreed, and then continued in an easy tone, never letting on that he was leaving anything out. Roy had to admit that he was impressed. “We’re going to be able to see him within the hour, but it might take a while for him to wake up fully. Even then, he’ll need a moment to get his bearings and he might be a little out of it from the surgery for a while, so go easy on him, okay?”
Roy suddenly understood why people normally marred before having children…at least they could work as a team that way. He could not imagine how Trisha Elric had managed her two sons by herself. He also made a mental note to talk to Maes about influencing children, because it seemed to work quite differently from manipulating adults.
“Of course,” Al agreed immediately, his voice sounding much lighter, as though he had caught Hughes’ obvious relief. “How long before he can leave; did the nurse say?”
“She didn’t say specifically, it will probably depend on how well he follows their instructions,” commented Maes, still sounding calm and sure of his words. “He’ll have to take it easy while his lung gets used to working at full capacity again though. Oh, and it sounds like his Automail leg was damaged a bit, did you notice anything?”
Al sounded a little nervous again, but not nearly as much as before. “No, but I didn’t see him walk after the fight and then he got shot, so I carried him while he was unconscious…is it serious? Should I call Granny and Winry?”
“Hmm, I don’t know.” Maes rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It wasn’t ruined or anything, but the doctors were scared that Ed would hurt himself because some metal and wires were sticking out, so they removed the leg. Does he need them to reattach it?”
“Well…usually you do, but Ed tends to handle the small stuff himself,” Al explained in a tone that suggested he was unsure if he should reveal so much, but he clearly trusted Hughes with the information. “He can use alchemy to fix any little breaks and he has reattached them himself before…but it hurts a lot. Maybe we should let him look at it and decide. At least having the leg off will get him to stay still while his lung heals.”
Roy smirked lightly and Hughes chuckled gently. “That’s a good point,’ the bespectacled man commented, “We’ll let Ed make the call then.”
“While he’s at it, ask him to find out exactly how much his Automail and ports weigh,” added Roy; “It will make the doctors’ job much easier in the future.” As much as he doubted he would never be in this exact situation again, Roy knew that Edward would find more ways to injure or endanger himself and the raven-haired man did not want to worry over that particular complication.
“Uh…okay. Is that why it took them so long? They had to figure that out for some reason?” Al sounded confused, clearly not understanding why that would be an issue.
Roy did not want to tell the boy that they had almost lost his brother because of it, so he simply nodded once. He would let Al assume they took the extra time making calculations as opposed to fixing their mistake and checking the damage.
“Hey, now that we have a timeframe, I’m going to grab a cup of coffee from the cafeteria,” stated Maes. “Al, you wanna come with me?”
Mustang sat back down as Al and Maes walked away, talking about the boy Al had been colouring with, whose mother was apparently giving birth to his little brother or sister. Glancing at Ed’s medical records, which Maes had left on the chair beside him, Roy could not help but wonder why anyone had more than one child. Ed seemed to cause him plenty of extra work and stress all on his own…but then, he realised that Edward was likely a special case.
Despite the relief he felt at hearing that Ed’s surgery had been successful, Roy found that he still felt an odd tension, as though something were not right. Before he could think long on that, he noticed the pretty nurse enter the waiting room again and fix her gaze on him. He stood, Edward’s paperwork in hand, and met her halfway across the room this time.
She smiled knowingly; “Yes, you can see him now. Come on, I’ll show you to his room.” Roy simply nodded and followed her down another hallway. “He isn’t awake yet, but you can see him and speak to the surgeon.”
The room she led him into was cold and sterile, but Roy’s eyes immediately landed on the small lump in the bed that was Edward. The sheets were pulled up to his heavily bandaged chest, his face was pale and blank, and there was an IV attached to his flesh arm. An oxygen mask was set over his mouth and nose, and his small chest rose and fell weakly but steadily.
The obsidian-eyed man felt his chest tighten and his throat constrict. He set his jaw and clenched his hands into fists. He felt the immediate urge to act…to do something, but he could not think of a single thing that he could do to help or change the situation.
The nurse cleared her throat politely to get his attention. Her smile was gentle as she spoke to him, “I have to drop off a few papers here and there and find your surgeon. Would you like to sit with Edward while you wait?”
Mustang nodded, not trusting his voice to be as smooth and confident as usual just yet. He was not sure why he felt so vulnerable at the moment, after all, it was not him lying on the bed unconscious and severely injured. He just knew that he felt as though he were about breakdown.
If the nurse noticed anything, she had the decency not to comment. “I’ll just be about ten minutes or so then. I’ll bring the surgeon back and you can ask him any questions you might have about Edward. Why don‘t you take a seat?”
She indicated a chair beside Ed’s bed and then left the room, closing the door behind her.
Roy moved and sat in the chair to Edward‘s left, and then shifted it closer to the boy. He could smell blood, medicine, and antiseptics, as well as the underlying scent of Edward. Until that moment, he could not have told anyone that he could recognise the child’s scent so readily.
After staring at the unconscious boy for a moment, Roy removed his right glove and brushed Ed’s bangs out of his face before simply resting his hand over the boy’s head. Suddenly, the remaining tension and fear drained out of him, as though Ed’s presence proved that he would recover. The obsidian-eyed man released a heavy sigh.
“Fullmetal…I hope you know that I am never having children of my own because of you.”
There was no reaction, not that Mustang had truly expected one. He sat still for a moment, just watching Ed struggle to breathe. He did not even know how long he had been stroking the boy’ hair when he finally realised he was doing so.
Roy reached over with his other hand and gently wrapped it around Ed’s flesh one. He smiled faintly as he realised that for all the times he teased the kid about his size, he had never actually realised how much smaller than he the boy was until now. To think that Ed faced dangers that most of the soldiers Roy had encountered would not have been able to handle…
“Never again;” Roy shook his head slowly. He was going to have to keep closer tabs on Ed. He had always just assumed the kid could handle himself. “I’m never letting you do this to me again, Edward.”
Ten minutes later, the Lieutenant Colonel managed to look completely composed, yet intimidating as he grilled the doctor on Edward’s condition and the complications that had arisen during his surgery.
Maes and Al arrived just as a rather pale and stiff doctor walked out of Ed’s room as quickly as possible.
The bespectacled man grinned as Al bypassed both men without a word to sit by his brother and Roy joined him by the door. “You know, it wasn’t entirely the surgeon’s fault…you didn’t have to scare him so badly.”
“I know, but better him than the next person unlucky enough to give me an excuse,” the obsidian-eyed man responded levelly, his eyes still trained on Edward.
Hughes bit back a chuckle and clapped his friend on the shoulder. “You make a good father, Roy…now you just need to get yourself a wife-”
Maes was down the hall and around the corner before Roy ever had the chance to snap his fingers.
3rd June 2009
4:27pm: FFVII/KH: Lae to Waste (Prologue)
This is technically a Kingdom Hearts fanfic because of Lae (Axel's other) and some brief mentioning of the Heartless. However, beyond that, it takes place in the FFVII world, so I think it will read like an AU FFVII fic overall. Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to FFVII or Kingdom Hearts and I am making no money from this story. ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- At first, there was darkness, and Axel thought that this was what the others meant when they said Nobodies returned to nothing once they died. Perhaps that was true for most of them, but the powers that be had something else in mind for this particular Nobody. A light broke the darkness, and Axel suddenly felt as if his mind was being filled…or perhaps it had simply been reawakened. Images, sounds, scents, and feelings that had always been there, but just out of reach, suddenly came back to him in a pounding rhythm that matched the sudden beating in his chest. “My heart…” Lae frowned, for with the return of his heart and memories, he truly was Lae once again, and a Nobody no longer. Your heart has been returned for two reasons…Lae vaguely wondered where the voice was coming from, but considering all that he had been through, it really did not surprise him as it would have years ago, before a non-being named Axel ever existed. You have cared again, and for that caring, you made a great sacrifice…that should be rewarded…Lae remembered giving all that he had -literally- to defend Sora…or, more importantly, the part inside of Sora that would always be Roxas…which the part of him that had been Axel had cared for...despite the fact that he should not have been capable of caring. Axel had never understood what it was about Roxas that made him feel as though he had a heart. They had only known each other for little over a year, yet something in the boy’s fierce determination called to something inside him…something he never knew was there before he met the fiery little Nobody. He had the strangest urge to take care of Roxas, even though he knew the boy’s small form held a very strong spirit that truly did not need him to. It had all seemed strangely familiar. Suddenly, a particularly strong image came to Lae’s mind; a teenaged version of himself stood with a small redheaded boy with bright blue eyes and a ponytail. They had been happy together, even in a faraway place where the air was poor and the sun never shone past the upper plates, but now was a time for goodbyes… “You’ll come back…won’t you?” asked the young boy with tearful eyes, which were hidden in part by his long bangs. “You won’t forget about me?”
Lae smiled down at the boy, “Of course I‘ll come back, Kiddo…we’re all we’ve got; how could I forget?” He pulled the goggles that he always had in his possession from his pocket and placed them on the child’s head, chuckling quietly at the look of surprise the action earned him. “There, tell you what…why don’t you hold onto those for me? Make sure you take care of them, though…they’re all I have of my dad’s, so I’ll want them back when I come to get you. Deal?”
“Deal, yo,” replied the younger redhead, pushing the too-big goggles up on his head and grinning.
Both pretended that the younger wasn’t crying as the older walked away a moment later, never looking back…Lae gasped, “Reno…how could I have forgotten?” Your heart was able to return to you, because it was kept alive in the heart of your brother. His love for you is what has allowed your continued existence all these years…The green-eyed man felt a long forgotten pain in his chest when he heard this, as well as a churning feeling in his stomach. His newly completed mind immediately named these feelings as sorrow and guilt. He chuckled sadly, “I guess I really owe the little bastard.” This gift, however, has been taken for granted for too long…The redhead blinked, “Crap, I don’t like where this is going…” Your heart is not complete enough to exist on its own yet, and in your brother’s heart, his belief in you wanes as your promise remains broken. Soon, his heart will accept what his mind has known all along…Lae looked around worriedly, wishing the voice had taken some sort of form for him to address, he felt a little crazy speaking to the still air around. “What do you mean, ‘my heart isn‘t complete yet’? What happens if he stops believing in me before it is? Where is he anyway…come to think of it, where the hell am I?” You must find what is missing in your heart and heal what your unfulfilled promise has broken in your brother’s before his faith in you is lost. Only then, will you be whole, and be allowed to continue to exist as a complete being without depending on another to complete you...”“Wait, how long do I have?” Lae questioned the light around him as it began to fade; “And what happens if I fail?” Suddenly, Lae felt heavy, and only then did he realise that he had felt weightless before. His seemed to turn in the air, until he soles of his feet abruptly made contact with solid ground. The redhead stumbled, and knocked over something with a crash before he blinked his eyes open, wondering how long they had been closed. The green-eyed man realised that he was in an alleyway, and that the object he had knocked over was a rubbish bin. Looking around, he saw that the area was dingy and dark, nearly devoid of colour, and the air was heavy with a slightly acidic taste to it. “The Slums,” he murmured to himself; “I’m home.” The redhead unzipped and removed his coat, exposing a dark green shirt before he un-tucked his pants from his boots, not wanting to draw any extra attention to himself by looking too distinctive. He could only assume that time had passed the same in his home world as it had in The World That Never Was. If less time had passed, or if certain people simply remembered him, then he could be in some serious trouble. Seeing a puddle in the street just outside the alleyway, the tall man approached it and checked his reflection. He had almost forgotten about the slight changes in his appearance as a Nobody, but now that he was actually seeing himself, he realised that this felt so much more natural. His hair was still a shocking shade of red, but was a softer and more natural hue. His eyes were still green, but not the too bright acid shade they had been. His skin was less pale and his face was slightly fuller, the lines a hair less sharp. The kill drop tattoos were as they had always been; somehow, those marks alone had remained unchanged throughout his entire ordeal as a Nobody. He vaguely wondered what that said about him before he decided that he had more important things to contemplate. Lae pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and swore when he discovered that he could not use fire in the same way as he had for the past several years. He would need to use spells and Materia again, but he quickly decided that he could live with that, after all, he had for most of his life. He tapped the unlit cigarette against his palm as looked up and down the street, trying to figure out his exact location. Noticing a small pawnshop down the street, Lae headed in. If he were going to be hanging around the area, then he would need some sort of weapon and he had long since discovered that pawnbrokers and barkeeps were excellent sources for local information. He smiled at the aging man behind the counter when he entered and draped his coat on the counter. “Hi. I want to sell this.” The man looked him over quickly before smiling in return and inspecting the coat carefully. “It’s an expensive one, but I doubt you’ll get its full worth here.” The man’s voice was raspy and hard, but not unkind or unintelligent. “Actually, I’ve never seen one like it here…it imported?” “Yeah, from pretty far too,” commented the green-eyed man with a smirk. He discreetly glanced at the items that were locked in the glass case, noticing several knives, guns, bottles of pepper spray, brass knuckles, some jewellery, and other expensive or dangerous items. “Say…wasn’t there another pawnshop near here? I think I recall one run by a guy named…what was it…Oh yeah, Hyde.” The aging man eyed Lae over again, more carefully this time, his face suddenly expressionless. “You haven’t been here in a while, have you son?” “Nope, I’m just in town for a little while,” replied Lae. There was something odd in the man’s tone that he could not place, as though he was not sure whether to sound apologetic or accusing. “I’m trying to find a kid who used to work for him. Hell, he might still…for all I know.” “I don’t know which kid you mean, he went through a few,” commented the man, still using that odd tone and watching Lae’s every reaction closely, “But I can tell you that whichever boy it was, he isn’t there anymore. Hyde…his reputation went bad a few years ago.” “How bad?” asked the redhead quietly; he suddenly had a very bad feeling about where this conversation was going. The aging man eyed him over even more slowly, clearly trying to figure out what Lae’s interest in the matter was; with a sigh, the green-eyed man decided that honesty truly was the best policy for once. “Look, I don’t know what happened or what’s going on, but I haven’t been here for years. I’m not looking to cause trouble for anybody, I’m just trying to find a kid I said I‘d take of. I- He was left with Hyde several years ago. He was supposed to work there until his big brother came to get him but…there were some delays.” Well, it was honest enough for starters. He tapped his cigarette again, “You got a light?” The man nodded with a sad expression on his face as he handed Lae a cheap lighter. “This boy you’re looking for; was he a little on the short side, skinny, with flaming red hair and bright blue eyes?” Lae had to reel in his excitement as the now lit cigarette nearly fell from his mouth, “Yes! His name’s Reno. I think he’d be grown up by now-” “Yeah,” the pawnbroker interrupted, looking thoughtful, “He would be, I suppose.” The redhead’s face fell, “What do you mean, ‘he would be’…? Did something…?” he could not finish the question. Fortunately, the older man understood anyway. “I don’t know. No one knows exactly what happened to those boys. Somehow, I don‘t see little Reno going out that quietly though. I figure he‘s just managed to get himself out of this misery;” He gestured to the dreary streets outside as he said the last part. “I hope so anyway…that kid deserved better than the shitty hand life dealt out to him.” “Yeah, he did,” Green eyes looked down remorsefully, and then rose to meet the other man’s gaze with a purposeful edge. “Can you tell me what you do know? I haven’t heard anything about him since he was left with Hyde.” “Sure thing,” the old man sighed, and glanced at the door. “Turn the sign to ‘closed’; we aren’t going to want to be interrupted.” Lae did as he was asked, and then returned to the counter. The man had pulled up a couple of barstools on his side of the display case, and motioned for Lae to take a seat in the empty one. The redhead nodded his thanks after sitting and had to put some effort into not tapping his foot against the floor as he waited for the man to gather his thoughts. “Reno lasted longer with Hyde than any of the boys that tried to take the job afterwards,” the man began. “He stayed for nearly a year, thinkin’ his brother was going to come back for him, but finally, he’d had enough I guess.” “Enough of what?” questioned Lae, frowning. Reno had never been one to quit without just cause and he was not deterred by any amount of effort or hard work when he set his mind to something. “Well, Hyde didn’t treat the kids too well. He fed ‘em little and worked ‘em hard, but that’s not too unusual around here. He hit ‘em too, but that happens a lot in these parts. None of the kids would say exactly what was going on, not that I know of anyway, but it got around that beatin’ ‘em wasn’t the only time Hyde put his hands to those boys. No one knows just when that started though,” the man added to silence Lae when the younger man’s eyes widened slightly and his mouth fell open. The redhead nodded for the aging man to continue and took a particularly long drag form his cigarette, his right foot tapping against the concrete floor nervously. “Like I said, Reno left after ‘bout nine months, the next boy, named Billy, I think, lasted about six; the next boy disappeared after two. The rest never lasted more than a few weeks.” The pawnbroker seemed to note the way Lae’s hands shook slightly as he lit another cigarette, but he chose not to comment. “Reno didn’t stray too far at first though…he still thought his brother would come around. Then, he stopped hearin’ from him; only took a year for Lae to become the kind of scum their mama warned ‘em about.” Lae frowned, and the man shook his head sadly, “I don’t know what you know about Lae, young man, but we knew he was bad news around here. It wasn’t always that way, but after he joined one of the local gangs…there was no stopping him from hitting bottom. Reno wouldn’t hear it though; he thought somethin’ must’ve happened to his brother and was determined to find him. Whether he ever did, I don’t know. “Reno got into some trouble himself, but nothin’ too bad…nothin’ that can be avoided, livin’ down here anyway,” the man smiled slightly and shook his head. “He never joined any of the gangs; always seemed to prefer to go it alone. Wouldn’t stop searchin’ for his brother though and that led him into some bad situations. Wandered into the wrong territory more than once, got himself hurt pretty badly on a couple of occasions, but he wouldn’t stop lookin’ for Lae. We all heard the rumours about Lae; theft, drinking, murder, whoring, drugs, everything that the stiffs on the upper plates assume we are all down here. I guess you could say he became the worse the Slums has to offer.” The redhead frowned again, but said nothing. He really could not argue and he did not want to give away his identity yet anyway. Therefore, he decided to turn the conversation back on topic, “So what happened with Reno? When did he finally quit?” “I don’t think he ever did,” replied the pawnbroker. “He just disappeared ‘bout eight years ago. No one has heard of him since. He was seen talkin’ to a man in suit a few times over the year before. The guy looked Turk, so no one bothered him or asked after him. Anyway, wherever Reno went, he left no traces here, which is sort of odd considerin’ the way he wanted to find Lae. The kid must’ve found a better way to look…or he got himself killed off by that Turk or kidnapped and sold in some slave ring.” The older man looked thoughtful for a moment, as though he were straining his memory. “One thing that always struck me as a little too much to take as coincidence though; A few months after Reno disappeared for good, a man no one recognised hung around for a few days…asking questions ‘bout Hyde and the boys that used to work for him. The man was young, but he had this air to him, I don’t know how to describe it. When he talked, you just felt as if you should shut up, listen, and answer anything he asked of you. He was clean and he held himself all regal like. He looked Wutain…had dark hair, a surprisingly deep voice, this funny little tattoo on his forehead, and eyes like the devil. I never heard any name for him, but the night he disappeared, Hyde’s pawnshop went up in flames with Hyde still in it. Officially, it’s down as an accident and he supposedly died in the fire. None of us who saw the man liked Hyde enough to make anything out of it, besides, like I said, he had this way to him…like a Turk.” “What did the Turk seen talking to Reno look like?” questioned Lae, catching the man’s implication. “Tall, dark hair and eyes, fair skin, and the suit was all anyone managed to catch,” answered the pawnbroker. The green-eyed man nodded slowly, then narrowed his eyes slightly, “What about the Wutain guy’s tattoo? What did it look like?” “Just a dot,” replied the aging man with a shrug, before pointing to a spot on his forehead, sometimes referred to as the ‘third eye’, “Right here. Didn‘t look gang related…seemed like some sort of spiritual or cultural thing.” “Thanks,” stated the redhead with a slight, puzzled frown before he stood. “I guess I’ll ask around some more. Oh, about the coat…how much can you give me?” The older man unlocked the glass case they were standing behind, and removed one of his nicest switchblades, one that Lae’s gaze had lingered on for a second when he glanced over the case’s contents earlier. He placed it on the counter, along with a pack of cigarettes, another cheap lighter, and one hundred Gil. “How does that look?” The redhead grinned and pocketed the money and items, “Pleasure doing business with you.” “Name’s Grey,” stated the man as Lae headed over to switch the shop’s sign to ‘open’. Lae waved over his shoulder and was about to leave when Grey spoke again, “I’m glad to see you cleaned your act up a little. Keep it up; you won’t do your baby brother any good like you were before. Smart not to give out your name though.” The green-eyed man paused for a moment, and then turned back to Grey with a smirk. “When did you figure it out?” “When you asked about Reno,” replied the older man with a small smile. “Well, that sealed it…you both got your momma’s crazy hair, not too hard to recognise. Makes me wonder how both of you managed to vanish like you did.” “Maybe I’ll tell you about it one day,” commented Lae before turning back to the door, and calling “Take care,” over his shoulder as he left the shop. Once outside, the redhead started heading for his old neighbourhood. There was no home to go back to and apparently, questioning Hyde -as Lae had planned to do- was not an option, but he did not know where else to start looking. He hoped that someone else closer to their old neighbourhood might have more to say about Reno’s disappearance, or the Turk that seemed tied to it. Lae shook his head as he lit yet another cigarette. The one good thing he would have to say about losing his heart and living as a non-being for a few years was that he had at least kicked some of his more dangerous habits. He quickly considered what Grey had said about his and Reno’s appearances, and wondered who else had noticed the resemblance since he had been gone. He just hoped his brother had not paid for his mistakes in his absence. Another thing that bothered him about Grey’s account was that it sounded as if Reno had disappeared right around the time the Heartless has attacked and Lae had lost his heart. All he could do was keep moving forward, and hope to find something that would tell him Reno was still alive and mostly unscathed. Lae was not sure whom to blame if that was not the case. He only hoped he had enough time to find his brother. Reno…wherever you are…I know you don’t owe me a damned thing but I need you to keep believing in me, Kiddo.
4:07pm: FFVII: Heal Thyself
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Final Fantasy VII and I am making no money off of this story. I did make up Dr Tannins, but feel free to use him if you need a perverted ShinRa psychiatrist. ^_^ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- Dr Alex Tannins was not easily intimidated or frightened. He could not afford to be in his current position as one of ShinRa’s employee evaluation psychiatrists. He specialised in trauma and recuperation, so whenever one of the company’s guards, SOLDIERs, or Turks returned from a mission or event that could have likely affected their mental or emotional state, they were sent to him before they could become a liability. After fourteen years of handling shell-shocked SOLDIERs, traumatised Turks, and gabbling guards, Dr Tannins was confident in his job, and had gained a decent reputation among his peers, as well as some of the ShinRa executives. However, all of that experience and praise meant very little to him at present, for the man sitting across his desk, frankly, scared him. The man had greeted him politely, if a little monotonously, sat down on the large leather sofa when asked to, and had remained there for nearly three hours. Over that time, he had said six words, each given only when necessary. Aside from that, he nodded or shook his head in response to Dr Tannins’ questions, and did not say anything. Not one word… It was unnatural. The man also did not move and Dr Tannins was sure that he was not even blinking behind the sunglasses that he wore, despite the fact that the light in the building did not seem to merit sunglasses. The brawny Turk’s suit was immaculate and his fine moustache and goatee were trimmed neatly. His posture left nothing to be desired, and while the suit hid most of the brawny man‘s body, it could not hide his broad shoulders and thick, heavy limbs. The light of the room reflected off his shaven head, dark glasses, and many piercing as he sat straight-backed with his gloved hands folded neatly in his large lap. For nearly three hours, he had not turned his head to glance about the room or to gaze out the window as most of the patients who sat in his position did, but had simply stared at the doctor. Rude of the Turks would have been a perfect study in self-discipline and control had he not been freaking the psychiatrist out too much to think of such things. It was unnerving. This was the fourth afternoon that Dr Tannins had seen Rude. Normally, such a case would have been assessed after the usual one hour evaluation, however, Alex could not sign off Rude, nor could he suggest therapy or medication, since he truly had no idea how to determine the large man‘s mental state. He could not very well deem the Turk a threat or liability, yet he could not declare him fit for field duty in good conscious. How could he? The man had not spoken a complete sentence since they met. Dr Tannins was having a very different, but just as serious, problem in assessing the silent man’s partner, whom he was also supposed to evaluate after the last botched raid in which the two young men had been involved. The first impression of Reno was that he was Rude’s contrary. The younger Turk was fair skinned, slight of build, bright-eyed, and boisterous. He entered the room with a casual grace and a nervous slump to his shoulders, introduced himself right away, checked the certificates and diplomas on the wall, complimented the artwork and plant life in the office after checking the room out, and then sat on the sofa, gazing out the window. Unlike his taciturn partner, the redhead’s suit and hair were always dishevelled, and his posture and grammar left much to be desired. The redeeming feature had been that the blue-eyed Turk actually spoke when prompted to and could easily hold a conversation. At least, that is what Dr Tannins had thought until after the young man left him, sitting slightly dazed and disorientated. At that point, he realised that Reno had not actually answered any of his questions, but had manoeuvred the conversation in a way that made it impossible to determine anything about him, aside from a sharp wit and quiet sort of control. The second meeting with the wiry redhead had been similar, only this time, the Turk had managed to turn the conversation around so that Alex found himself revealing information he should never give a patient, and then discovered that Reno had rearranged all the items on his desktop while he was writing in his notebook. Apparently, the young man’s title as the fastest of the Turks was well warranted. Dr Tannins sighed quietly as his thoughts returned to the bald man currently in his office. He had hoped that keeping Rude for longer than the standard hour session would prompt him into speech, if from simple boredom than nothing else. Nevertheless, they were nearly through with the allotted time and the man had still said nothing other than a brief greeting when he first entered the room and a polite refusal when offered something to drink. Alex glanced down at the file on his desk. Normally, for this type of evaluation, he simply was given the names, ranks, and serial numbers of the employee in question, as well as a brief overview of the incident that had led them to his couch. His receptionist’s computer would flag e if something in their personal file indicated a previous condition or incident that could be of interest. Otherwise, he never knew much about his patients. However, as his usual methods were not working with these two men, he had asked his receptionist to pull their files and put together a few notes on their history. Deciding that he was running out of options, for he truly hated to resort to threats, Dr Tannins opened the file and began to read. It seemed that Rude was the youngest of three children. The eldest, his brother, had an impressive career in SOLDIER, until the beginning of the Wutai Rebellion, when he had gone missing for several weeks before he was found dead. The other sibling, a sister, was currently a teacher in Costa del Sol. His parents were both in semiretirement. Rude’s educational records showed that he was of above average intelligence, with a particular affinity for chemistry and mathematics. The young man had worked part time in both an electronics shop and a fireworks dealership until he became old enough to enlist, which was when Turk had picked him up. Naturally, most of the information on his assignments and skills were classified, as it was with most members of Turk. There were no marked incidents of indiscretion or notable illnesses or injuries in his history. Over the nine years that he had served in Turk, his vacations were always spent in Costa del Sol, where his family still lived. Alex found it slightly odd that a man whose background suggested a bright boy with a happy family and a promising future would end up so imposing and uncommunicative. Moving on to Reno’s file, Dr Tannins took a moment to note that, despite the fact that Rude had four years of service over Reno, the younger man had a larger section of restricted information. That meant the redhead had served in more close-lipped cases than his partner had or had recovered information that was more sensitive during their assignments. It was noted that the young man was a likely candidate for second in command once Tseng took over The Investigative Division of General Affairs Department for Verdot. Making a mental note of that, Alex moved on to the redhead’s background and found it to contain less than a third of the information that Rude’s had. It seemed Tseng had discovered Reno while he was investigating a group in the lower plates, in an area best known as the slums. Reno, then a mere child, had left a great impression upon the senior Turk. The boy informed them that his mother was deceased, that his elder brother had been missing for several years, and that he never was aware of his father’s identity. As he appeared to have no legal guardian at that time, he had been legally emancipated and signed up for Turk within a fortnight. There were no records of any formal education prior to entering the Turk training program, but Reno had shown no signs of struggling while passing his exams and possessed an IQ of well over average. His medical exams showed that he had several past injuries that had not healed correctly, however, the ShinRa medical staff had repaired the damage (although the reports did not specify the means, Dr Tannins suspected that Mako was involved) and the youth had passed every physical exams just as quickly as he had the academic ones. Alex was briefly amused by the idea that if he were to block out the names and have one of his associates read both backgrounds and then attempt to evaluate the two young men, they would likely assume that Rude’s history was Reno’s and vice versa. Dr Tannins attempted to start a conversation with Rude again, this time bringing up Costa del Sol and his family; however, the brawny man still responded with grunts and gestures only. Alex was just about to start pulling out his hair when his receptionist ringed him to announce that Rude’s session was over and it was time to prepare for his next patient, which happened to be Reno. The bald man stood, nodded as he shook the psychiatrist’s hand politely and then left the room without a word. Dr Tannins’ receptionist dropped off a note from Tseng, inquiring as to why there was no progress with either Rude or Reno’s evaluations after nearly a week, and reminding him that he could not have two of his best men off field duty inevitably while waiting for his assessments. Alex crumpled the note and dropped his head onto his desk. Then, he heard Reno’s voice drift through the door, which his receptionist had left halfway open. “Hey, Aibou; how’d it go?” “Same as the last two, only longer;” Dr Tannins’ head shot up at the sound of Rude’s easy reply. He found himself straining to hear the partner’s conversation, even as his conscience told him it was highly unprofessional. “So…name, rank, serial number, nada?” questioned the redhead, sounding slightly amused. “No, that was the first session,” corrected Rude, whose tone matched his partner‘s; “Now, I just get the formalities out of the way and get the hell out of there. How about you?” “Eh, you know me.” Rude made a light scoffing sound; “So, you tell him nothing in as many words as possible so he doesn’t realise you’re not cooperating; nice. I’m surprised you haven’t started picking his brain just for shits and giggles.” “Who says I haven’t?” questioned Reno. “His full name is Alex Nicolas Tannins; he’s a divorcée -they met in med school- with no kids; one younger sister -she’s a surgeon- mother’s a retired housewife and his father’s a deceased military officer. He swings both ways but is in denial, yo. He has a cat named Mince and three fish -used to be four but one ate one of the others. He plays the trombone and likes jazz, golf, and scuba diving. His poison of choice is scotch.” Alex’s mouth fell open. He had had no idea that the redhead had managed to gain that much information on him. He could not even recall telling the young man most of it and guessed that much of it had simply been surmised with frightening accuracy. There was a deep, velvety chuckle, and Dr Tannins was shocked further when he realised it must be coming from Rude. “I wish I knew how you do that. You’ve only spoken to him for what, three hour-long sessions? …And you spent most of that time talking to deflect his questions.” “Yeah,” Reno sounded tired now, “I’m thinking of just giving the jargon they want to hear to get this over with, you know?” “I know,” Rude’s tone was completely understanding and supportive. “You would think they’d cut this bullshit by now and let us get back to our jobs. It’s not as if we weren’t trained to handle these things and do they actually think we’d have lasted this long if we weren’t mentally equipped to endure it?” “No shit,” agreed the redhead. “We wouldn’t have survived advanced training if something like one botched mission could push us over the edge.” “Speaking of going over edges,” the brawny man’s tone turned concerned and Alex moved to peek through the hinged side of his office door, his conscience long having given up. Rude and Reno were standing close together on the far side of the small, empty lobby. “How’s your head?” “Haven’t heard you complainin’ yet, yo;” Blue eyes glanced down to the larger man’s groin before glancing up at his face with a hint of a grin. Reno did not seem fazed at all by the sunglasses that prevented him from looking into the taller man’s eyes. “Reno,” his expression gave away nothing, but there was an exasperated tone to Rude’s voice, and a hint of fondness. He lifted a gloved hand to gently cup his partner’s jaw and turn his head in order to inspect a livid bruise and a gash secured by a couple of butterfly closures on the shorter man’s temple. “It’s fine, yo,” Reno rolled his eyes. “We both know I’ve had worse. I didn’t even need stitches this time.” Rude released the younger man’s face and nodded as he folded his hands in front of him once more. “Do you feel like going out tonight?” The redhead rubbed the back of his neck and scrunched his nose slightly. “Nah, I’m still in that weird nestling mood…sorry.” “Don’t be, I understand.” Rude’s assurance was simple and firm, and seemed to be enough for his partner, who relaxed immediately. “How does some Wutain takeout sound?” Reno grinned lightly, “Sounds great. Hey, one of the new releases at the movie rental place looks like a good one. It has all your favourite plot elements too: explosions; cool cars; good cinematography; lots of guns; justice prevailing; and it looks like the guy gets the girl at the end. Want to pick it up on the way home?” The corner of Rude’s mouth twisted up slightly, “Sure. I’ll see you in the office in a few hours.” Both men nodded to each other and Alex could have sworn he saw their hands brush against the others’ as they passed each other. Dr Tannins returned to his desk immediately and flipped open the files he had previously disregarded. He immediately noticed a fact that he should have become aware of earlier: each of Reno’s vacations over the past four years always coincided with Rude’s and were always spent in Costa del Sol. Alex sat up straight as his door opened and his receptionist entered with a strange smile. “Aren’t they just adorable when they think no one’s watching? You should see some of the things Cissnei and Buki have caught with those cameras they hid in the Turk’s male locker room. Reno’s ready whenever you are, sir. Oh, and your six o’clock needed to reschedule. Apparently, he needs to be at work an hour early today. Want me to put him in your free slot on Monday?” Dr Tannins looked from his receptionist, to the files on his desk, to the crumpled note in his waste bin. He pulled two evaluation forms out of his top drawer as he shook his head, “No, tell him my current patient is only going to need the standard hour, so I can fit him in early.” In his report, Dr Tannins recommended giving the pair the weekend off before putting them on active field duty again. He made a small note at the end, stating that they both knew their limits -as well as each others- better than anyone and recommended that Tseng speak to Rude and Reno about what they felt they were capable of before wasting everyone’s time again in the future. As Alex finished his paperwork that evening, his receptionist handed him a small envelope with a wink and an odd smile. He discovered a disc inside, with the words Welcome to the R&R club written on it in an unfamiliar hand. Curious, he placed the disc in his computer and saw the words R&R’s Best Moments appear on the screen before the worlds melted away to a scene taking place in what appeared to be a locker room in one of the ShinRa buildings. Dr Tannins’ eyes widened as the scene continued. Realising what he was viewing, he quickly stopped the video, ejected the disc, returned it to its envelope, and stuffed it in his briefcase…all the while muttering about crazy fangirls. He was very pleased that Tseng had apparently taken his note to heart, for he had been uncomfortable enough around Rude without knowing that his left ear was not his most pierced body part and had enough trouble not eyeing up Reno before he was aware that the redhead had remarkable control over his gag reflex. Dr Tannins avoided the company locker rooms from that day onward and felt a mix of dread and anticipation whenever his receptionist left a gift for him. His reputation continued to grow, however, as nearly every secretary and receptionist in the company, as well as several lower officers, seemed to know of him suddenly, and would recommend him whenever an executive mentioned the need for a company psychiatrist. As frightening as he found it, he had to admit that the fangirls had an impressive network. He began to wonder if he should seek treatment when he actually began to look forward to the envelopes marked R&R that would appear on his desk from time to time, holding either discs or photos. In the end, he decided against it. After all, if they worried about every idiosyncrasy or kink that a ShinRa employee possessed, they would all be in therapy. Then there would be no one to govern the planet and he would have no time to sit down with a glass of wine and a nice…movie.
3rd May 2009
9:24pm: PotC: Fine Men
Author’s note: I wrote this because I always find it odd that everyone basically ignores Will at the end of the film. Considering the number of witnesses to Jack’s rescue and the fact that Will could not claim to be simply protecting anyone (other than Jack, of course) by his actions, I don’t see how the Commodore or Governor could justify simply letting him go free when it came time to report to higher authorities. I also could not see them wanting to hang the boy, so here is the most likely alternative I could think of. Enjoy. Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Pirates of the Caribbean. I am making no monetary profit from this. Thank you.
After watching Captain Sparrow jump (or more truthfully, fall) into the waters below and start swimming towards his ship, James turned to see that Will and Elizabeth were watching their apparent friend as well, with mixed looks of fear and joy on their faces. As he swiftly took in all of his surrounding men, he realised that he needed to make a decision...and fast. “Mr. Turner,” he stated in his usual no-nonsense tone. He heard the boy tell Elizabeth that he would accept the consequences to his actions and felt a small stirring of respect mixed with an odd sort of pride. He motioned for his men to stay back with a hand as he nodded for the boy to walk a small distance away with him. The young blacksmith’s apprentice looked slightly confused and completely resigned as he followed James, who turned to him once they were out of easy hearing range. His tone was businesslike as always, but he lowered his voice slightly, so Will would know the words were for him only. “I have always tried to be a good man, Mr Turner, and I have certainly intended to live honourably.” When James paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, Will nodded solemnly, “And you always have, Commodore.” The Commodore fixed the youth with a sombre stare. “Have I? Sometimes I feel torn between my duties and my own desires…” His eyes drifted towards Elizabeth, who watched with concern from her father’s side, then returned to gaze at the boy beside him. “I fear that you have received the blunt end of that torment.” “Me, sir?” The youth seemed to be asking out of an ingrained politeness rather than actual curiosity. He no doubt suspected how often the Commodore had turned a blind eye to his accomplishments or sufferings over the past few years in their unspoken rivalry for Elizabeth’s hand. James turned his gaze back to the sea; the pirate was halfway to his ship already. “Ever since we rescued you on the voyage here eight years ago, I felt responsible for you…even more so than I do the other people under my protection here.” He turned back to the boy. “I even considered taking you in myself when I heard that drunkard Brown wanted you as an apprentice.” The boy looked slightly stunned by that confession, and then his warm eyes turned inward and James knew the youth was comparing what had been to what might have been, if he had taken that course of action. Brown eyes snapped back into the present as the Commodore drew his sword. “This is a beautiful sword,” James commented without a hint of threat or irony. The boy looked thoroughly confused now. “You have done well, despite Brown’s shortcomings. You have never caused trouble before and have become a useful and respectable member of this society…but that will not matter when word of your feat today spreads.” The older man sheathed his sword and took a step closer to the youth, “I am sorry, but my hands are tied.” Will swallowed and nodded, his voice was soft but steady as he replied. “I will accept responsibility for my actions. I-” “Go after Sparrow,” James interrupted, looking as though he were just as surprised as Will to hear himself speak the words. “You called him a good man, and I am inclined to trust your judgment. You saved his life today. He owes you. He can leave you at the next port he docks in and you can start over.” Blue eyes moved over the youth quickly before locking onto a pair of torn brown eyes. “You are young, talented, and dedicated. If you claim to have finished your apprenticeship early, your work will speak louder than your youth; or you could simply claim to have learned all you could from your last master and that you want to finish your apprenticeship under another.” Will blinked as understanding broke through the haze of shock of confusion that had clouded his eyes. “You would have to search for me anyway. What good would-?” “You are not in the same boat as Sparrow,” stated the Commodore. “You are a boy who took his civic duty too far and got caught up in a mess he never should have been involved in. The people here will remember what you did today, but they will also remember the quiet boy who never asked for anything or caused any trouble. As long as you continue to be that boy, you will not be hunted, as the pirate will be. Your crime is not great. You can disappear.” Will looked hesitant and his eyes flickered towards Elizabeth. James noticed this and then glanced towards the pirate ship in the bay. “Elizabeth will lose you now either way and Sparrow is boarding his ship. You have to hurry, Will, please…” The last word along with James’ slightly desperate tone and the use of his given name caused the youth’s attention to return to the older man immediately. “Do not force me to choose between my duty and my own feelings again. I will not hang you.” Brown eyes widened slightly, the boy knowing what the consequences would be if the Commodore refused to fulfil his duty in such an instance. He nodded gravely, and then glanced towards Elizabeth again before turning his gaze back to James. “Explain everything to her…please; and take care of her.” James nodded sombrely, “I will.” “Thank you.” The boy’s tone and expression made it clear that he was thanking him for more than just his promise. James grinned slightly, “I honestly don’t know if I’m being selfless or selfish at the moment.” Will grinned slightly in return, “I’ve felt that way throughout all of this.” The Commodore nodded and, with a look of slight trepidation, the youth ran to the edge of the fort and dived off. Elizabeth screamed and ran toward the ledge, but her father grasped her arm firmly and James was beside her in a heartbeat. They all looked down and released a group sigh of relief when the boy resurfaced and started swimming towards the Pearl. James heard the pirate captain’s voice on the wind, carrying orders to his crew and saw that the Black Pearl was obviously moving to the boy’s aid…the crew was keeping an eye on him and preparing a rope already. “What is going on?” Elizabeth demanded, locking eyes with James. “What did you say to him?” “Elizabeth, please…” The Governor pleaded but stopped upon noticing the harsh edge to his daughter’s eyes and the way the Commodore looked both heartbroken and elated at the same time. “Elizabeth, he is doing this for us,” stated James. Her expression remained angry and confused and he continued before she could retort. “If he stays, he goes to the hangman. He is sparing us…all of us. I would rather know he is living somewhere where I cannot watch over him than be bound to watch him face the gallows, whether I am a witness or facing it beside him.” Elizabeth gasped lightly and turned to her father, “But you granted him Clemency before…couldn’t you-?” “I’m sorry, my dear, I truly am,” replied the Governor as he shook his head sadly. “No one was being threatened besides a known criminal with a long list of ill deeds. I cannot justify granting him Clemency this time. Please, Elizabeth…Commodore Norrington has found the only way to save the boy’s life and I am glad for it. I couldn’t bear to watch him hang either.” The young woman nodded slowly, still shocked. Her voice was shaking slightly when she spoke again. “Of course…I would rather him live. I just…I thought it would all end differently. I suppose I was not being very realistic…” Her eyes moved to James and her voice dropped to barely more than a whisper, “Do you suppose we will ever see him again?” The man wished he could say something to let her hold on to the fairytale ending she had imagined, but he knew she deserved better than placating remarks. “For his sake and ours, I hope not. He can never return here and as long as he does not continue to throw in his lot with the likes of Mr Sparrow, there will be no need for me to seek him out.” Elizabeth nodded again, then blinked back the tears in her eyes and took a few steadying breaths, obviously trying to compose herself. James decided to give her a moment, and turned to check on the Pearl’s progress. He saw that Will was already on board, surrounded by several pirates as the Pearl sailed away form Port Royal. He prayed that he had indeed led the boy towards a better, and far-off, end. “The boy has once again saved you form a painful fate Elizabeth,” stated Governor Swann. “Do not think poorly on him and, please, do not make his and the Commodore’s efforts in vain. You can have a very fulfilling life here. You were willing to live without him to save him before.” James turned back to the pair to see Elizabeth offer her father a small reassuring smile before squeezing his hand gently. The man immediately looked relieved. The young woman then turned to James, looking as though she wanted to say something but was not sure of what or how. The Commodore turned to the Governor, “Could we have a moment, sir?” Elizabeth nodded when her father glanced at her and then the elder man nodded and walked several paces away. James placed a hand on Elizabeth’s back as they both turned to watch the Black Pearl disappear into the horizon like a ghost ship in the fog. “Sir, what about Sparrow?” called Norrington’s second in command. “Oh, I think we can afford to give him one day’s head start,” replied the Commodore easily before turning to raise his brows confidently, giving the younger soldier the cue to leave, which he obeyed. Then, James turned back to the sea. “Elizabeth, Will asked me to take care of you and I intend to do that,” he turned to look at the young woman, who he was surprised to see was watching him already. “However, I meant what I said aboard the Dauntless. I only want your hand if it is given sincerely, so I will not ask you to marry me now. Perhaps someday, when we have moved on from recent events…but for now, please feel free to come to me for anything. If only to honour Will’s parting wish.” Elizabeth smiled, but her eyes were still holding a lingering sadness, and the man knew she would vary between those emotions for some time yet. “Thank you, James. I shall…and not only for Will. You are a fine man, and I would not have been unhappy to marry you. I meant what I said aboard the Dauntless as well. Perhaps, in a few weeks, we might try again. For now…it’s just all too much.” The Commodore smiled and patted her back gently. “Why don’t we play it by ear? If nothing else, your unusual friends have taught us that such a plan can lead to pleasantly surprising results.” Elizabeth smiled genuinely as the two continued to stare into the sea for a while, both content in their decisions and wishing their friend well.
Will grasped the rope thrown down to him easily enough, and made to climb it before he was hoisted out of the water and flung over the railing of the Pearl, much to his surprise. He lost his footing upon landing and fell onto the hard deck. He looked up to find himself surrounded by pirates, most of which he recognised. The boy then made to stand, but paused in his movements when a few of the pirates drew their weapons while a few others fingered theirs, and the remaining pirates, who had travelled with Will before, looked at the others in confusion. “Captain,” asked Ana Maria, clearly annoyed with some of her crewmates. “Is the whelp a stowaway, a hostage, or a new member of the crew?” The pirates moved out of the way as Captain Jack Sparrow approached. He looked down at the boy thoughtfully before answering. “That all depends…” He slowly looked down at Will, “Can you sail under the command of a pirate, whelp?” Jack then grinned as he held a hand out to the boy, “Or can you not?” Will took the older man’s offered hand, feeling a slight sting as their cut hands pressed together, and allowed him to haul him to his feet. “I cannot,” he replied, and then grinned as the pirate’s smirk fell in confusion. “But I can sail under a good man…even if it often requires an act of piracy.” Jack offered his usual roguish grin, “It’s in your blood after all.” The man’s smile turned more genuine when the boy’s did not drop at the reference to his heritage. He hoped that meant the lad was starting to square with his father’s vocation and the residue it left on him. Then, the Captain noticed that several members of his crew were still standing nearby to watch the exchange. “What are you all standing around for?” He asked roughly. “The Pearl’s not going to sail herself!” The man sauntered back to his place at the helm and continued calling out orders until all of his crew were likewise in their rightful places. “Now,” he said quietly, as though to himself, “Bring me that horizon.” Jack glanced about as he pulled out his compass, and noticed his newest crewmember helping Gibbs tie down the mainline. Aside form the lad’s clothes, which the Captain intended to rectify at the soonest opportunity, he looked for all the world as though he belonged there. Jack grinned again as he flicked his compass open and started to hum to himself. “…And really bad eggs…” Fin
9:22pm: FFVIIBC: A Question of Perception
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Thank you for reading and enjoy.
Tseng had recently been promoted to Field Commander when Rude joined Turk, and he had noticed right away that the brawny young man was far from loquacious. However, he was good at his job and, within a couple of years, the bald man had earned the title of ‘the most powerful of the Turks’. Despite this, Tseng could not help but feel slightly concerned about the taciturn young man as time passed. Instead of establishing a rapport with the other Turks, the brawny young man grew less sociable and even more reticent. Even when he led a team on assignment, Rude would only speak when necessary and would only say what he absolutely had to. Verdot did not seem to find this concerning, but Tseng could not help but feel that it was hindering the bald Turk. After a few more years passed, a young Turklet, as the officers jokingly called the trainees, named Reno was promoted to Turk and Tseng could swear Verdot was testing the strength of his heart. Surely, a less battle-hardened man would have had a heart attack at the introduction of the newest recruit. While he had passed every test with flying colours, the skinny redhead was young, vibrant, laidback, playful…none of which were desirable attributes for a Turk. Tseng knew either the teenager would turn out to be brilliant on the field or he would not survive his first mission. Three missions later, the raven-haired man just wondered if the kid even knew how to knot a tie. A few weeks later, Rude and Reno had to work an assignment together, and the Field Commander wondered what the odds were of them getting through it without Rude strangling Reno. He returned to his question of whether Verdot was testing him once again, however, as soon as he saw the two Turks in action together. He could not believe that two people who had never fought together, trained together, or even discussed any sort of plan of action would move that efficiently together. Wherever one left an opening or had a weak spot, the other moved in to fill or reinforce it perfectly until they weaved a tight net of kicks, punches, head butts, electric shocks, and other such blows to trap their enemies and take them down. Partnering the two up just became natural after that. While the two youths were quickly becoming the best pair of Turks that Tseng had at his disposal, the raven-haired man still could not help but feel that he was missing something when it came to them. He knew there had to be more to the youths than just ‘the strongest of the Turks’ and ‘the fastest of the Turks’, but he never heard anything more about them. The other members of Turk joked or teased one another, and occasionally spoke of lovers, friends, or siblings; but never Rude or Reno. Rude was still rarely heard speaking when he was not required to, and Tseng had long noticed that for all the talking Reno did, the redhead rarely spoke about himself or any private matters. Mainly, the scrawny teenager seemed to be collecting a wealth of information from and about those around him. The Field Commander noted this, for the boy would no doubt be useful for intelligence, but it made him anxious. There was nothing more intimidating than handling a dangerous weapon when you did not know its full properties or what could set it off. Still, Verdot did not see any cause for concern or discretion, and so Tseng continued to use the pair more and more...if nothing else, the man could not deny that they were effective. Tseng was pondering all of this as he left his office late one evening. He supposed his superior had a point in stating that the personal lives of his men should not concern him as long as they performed satisfactory in the field, but the raven-haired man liked to know a little more about his subordinates’ mental and emotional states. Their jobs were demanding in every sense of the term and a little reassurance that no one was about to break during a critical moment did not seem like a bad thing to obtain to him. However, he really did not know how to get that assurance, save for sending the two in question to the company psychiatrist for an evaluation. Unfortunately, he truly had nothing to merit such an action. He doubted even a ShinRa shrink could handle Rude and Reno anyway. Just before he reached the foyer, Tseng paused as a vaguely familiar voice reached him. He had the feeling he should recognise it, but he could not place it. Knowing that there should only be Turks on this floor of the building, he cautiously headed down the hall that the voice seemed to be issuing from. The raven-haired man soon approached an office door, which was open only a few inches. The scent of primer, grease, and something like epoxy reached him as he silently peeked into the room. He blinked and could not have made a sound if he wanted to as soon as he realised why he had trouble recognising the voice, which was still speaking easily. It belonged to Rude. The bald man was standing by a makeshift workbench, which was covered in various metals, wires, chemical compounds, tools, and assorted equipment that the brawny man used to make the various explosives that he was so adept in creating. Sitting on the edge of the workbench, was Reno, wearing a small, somewhat sad smile as he popped slugs out of some small metal boxes. Rude was still speaking, his voice less clipped and smoother than Tseng had ever heard it before. “That’s not stupid at all, Reno. He’s your brother. If they hadn’t found my brother’s body, I never would have believed he was gone. Those two months that he was MIA were terrible for the whole family…and at least we had each other. I don’t even want to imagine going through that shit alone and for nearly ten years; hell, I’m amazed you’re sane…well, as sane as you are.” The redhead’s smile gained some sincerity to it as he replied, “I guess I just thought, once I got out of the Slums, that I’d be able to find something, yo…maybe that was just wishful thinking though. I don’t even know what I’d do if I did find him now.” “Well, I guess you’ll figure that out when you find him,” replied Rude as he held out a hand, into which Reno promptly dropped one of the boxes he had prepared. The bald man continued working as he talked, “You seem more at ease now, though…you were pretty down when we were first partnered together.” “I guess, yo,” Reno dropped some more slugs into a jar beside him as he moved onto another box. “Okay, I don’t want to take any crap for this-” “Have I ever given you crap on the sensitive or serious stuff?” interrupted the brawny Turk. The blue-eyed teen nodded his concession before continuing, “I think I was sick of being alone, you know? I never really thought about it, but I guess I’m sort of a people person. I can take care of myself and all, but I like talking to you and teaming up with Cissnei to hassle some of the older Turks or sparring with Rod or Kilik…even Tseng is pretty cool; he’s a lot better with me than any of my old bosses were.” Rude nodded, “That’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Believe it or not, I was practically ecstatic when you came along. Everyone else has been here for a while, and I felt like I was intruding into their little group or something when I joined. Coming from a tight group of my own, I was used to people either just getting me or not mattering; trying to fit was never something I needed to pay any mind to.” “I think you fit, Aibou,” commented the skinny redhead, “The others just haven’t figured that out yet. They already know when to rely on you and when they don’t need to tell you what to do, yo. They can’t read you like I can, but I’m a lot better at that then they are…not to brag or anything. For them, that’s a tool of the trade, they can take time to hone it; for me, that‘s always been a necessary skill for survival.” “Sometimes, I think it’s more than just that,” stated Rude, his voice lower than before. “Sometimes I just start to think shit and you react as if I actually said it out loud. Maybe that’s what my mother meant all that time she kept going on about ‘clicking’ with a certain person…” “You mean that speech you said she gave you guys anytime one of you had a break up or something?” asked Reno, sounding more thoughtful than Tseng thought the young man could be. The bald man grunted something unintelligible, and Tseng would have believed that it was just a dismissing sound, had he not noticed the way Reno’s eyes softened or the smirk that tugged on the corner of his mouth. The raven-haired man was just deciding whether he should make his presence known or simply leave as quietly as he had come, when something happened that erased the last of his doubts about the pair in the room. Still looking at Rude, Reno had failed to notice the sharp edge left behind by one of the slugs he had popped out of the box he had moved onto, and it left a small but deep slice across the tips of his third and fourth fingers on his left hand. He did not make any sound or even stop what he was doing, until Rude, in the same efficient motions that he had been constructing explosives a moment before, turned and grabbed the smaller Turk’s wrist. “C’mere.” Rude quickly and silently removed a small package from his pocket and ripped it open as Reno slid closer to him. The large man wiped Reno’s fingers with a disinfectant swab before securing a couple tiny band-aids over the small wounds and then placing a brief kiss into the palm of the redhead’s pale hand. He silently tossed the wrappers into the waste bin beside the workbench and then both of the young men returned to their tasks as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Tseng slowly and silently left the building. On one hand, he now knew that the mental and emotional states of the pair were fine and that there was no need to worry about one of them snapping in the field, especially as long as they were partnered up. However, he now had a completely new series of questions regarding the two young men. Sometimes, he really believed that Verdot was testing him with those two…or maybe it was the powers that be. In any case, Tseng doubted he would ever fully understand Rude and Reno. However, that did not seem to matter anymore, as they clearly understood each other. The next time Verdot asked him to send them on a dangerous and important assignment, Tseng merely nodded and confidently carried out his orders…but not before he caught the smirk on Verdot’s face as he left his superior’s office. The Field Commander vaguely wondered if there truly was anything his boss did not know about his subordinates. He decided that thought was too frightening to contemplate and that he really needed to start curbing his curiosity anyway. The next time Tseng left the office late, he heard Rude speaking quietly from his own office again, followed by a breathy gasp that the Field Commander was sure came from Reno. He did not pause for a second as he headed straight to the elevator.
9:19pm: DN: An Unexpected Call
Warning: Spoilers Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Death Note. Author’s Note: This is not my best work, but it is also my first time writing this fandom and the characters are admittedly more complex and less explained than the others I usually write. I wrote this because all the stories I have read that explain how Matt entered the story have yet to suggest this concept and it makes the most sense to me (and because the plot wouldn‘t leave my head until I wrote it out, so I might as well post it). I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading.
Matt blinked and hit pause on his PSP when he heard his phone ring. He immediately checked the caller ID, as it was highly unusual for him to receive a phone call. Even more unusual, was for the ID to read ‘blocked’. The redhead did not simply buy a phone equipped with a caller ID, activate it, and call it a day as most people did. Being the technological genius that he was, he had made some improvements. Among some precautions for his own privacy, if a number that should have been blocked called, his customised system would automatically hack the line and tell him who was calling anyway. For it to read blocked, the person on the other end must have prepared their system for him…and there were only two people who could have done that. Matt answered as soon as his mind reached that conclusion. The phone had only rung twice more. “Hello?” “Hello Matt.” The voice was scrambled; not to the extent that L’s would have been, but enough that one would not recognise the true voice hiding underneath the electronic one unless they were already familiar with it. However, very few people were familiar with that voice. Matt recognised it right away. His mind conjured memories of a small, fair boy, with pale clothes and hair, playing silently by himself in a corner while the other kids ran and laughed as though there were not an odd man out. “Near…” He knew he should not be surprised. Near had always known where he was…he just never expected the odd teenager to contact him. The voice on the other end of the line paused briefly. “Nine forty-five Clydown Avenue, Los Angeles, California, nine zero one zero three.” Without question or thought, Matt grabbed a Post-It pad and (ironically, he thought) a Lego pen and scratched down the address. “Okay, I recognise this area but it’ll take a while to get there. What am I looking for?” The redhead noticed a small sound, which might have been a release of breath. He decided that Near was relieved; and between that and the abrupt information, he concluded that the pale teen was doing this (whatever it was) as Near instead of L. “There was an explosion.” Between the teenager’s usual soft, monotonic voice and the scrambler, Matt could not detect any emotion in the statement. Nonetheless, he knew this was important to the boy…Near would not have called him if it was not. “Mello was there.” Green eyes blinked behind yellow tinted goggles. “What…?” He shook himself mentally; if Near was acting as Near, then he could not let whoever was working for L know about the phone call, which meant they were short on time. Asking if the elder had survived was pointless anyway, as Near would have started by stating that Mello was dead if that were the case. There are only so many ways to blow up a building by accident, and Matt knew that Mello would not make such a mistake, nor would he surround himself with those who would. If he was there, it was deliberate. “He’s in trouble, then?” “Yes. He premeditated the detonation.” This fact meant more to the two speaking than anyone else would have gathered from the information, for aside from being unusually intelligent and having incredible deductive skills, they both knew Mello. If he planned the explosion, then he was both cornered and had an escape route in mind. Near’s phone call was all the proof Matt needed to accept that Mello had succeeded in executing it, but that did not mean he had escaped scot-free. “He’s on his own now, isn’t he?” asked Matt. “Yes.” “Can’t you get in touch with him?” questioned the gamer. He understood that all of this meant the other was probably injured severely and alone somewhere and assisting the chocoholic would be easier if he knew what condition he was going to find the blonde man in when he got there. “We both know he will never cooperate with me.” Matt nodded his understanding to no one. Near had already told him that he had wanted them to serve as L together, but Mello had refused. The blonde man would not simply accept any assistance form the boy now. “Yeah;” The green-eyed man decided he would not mention that Near had basically sent him to Mello after he found him. He knew he did not have to request the same of Near. The teen would probably never mention Matt when he and Mello next spoke to one another anyway. There was a small shuffling sound through the distorted connection. “I cannot stay on the line.” “I understand,” replied the redhead. He was already packing. “I’ll find him.” “Please proceed with extreme caution,” was the scrambled response. Matt understood the meaning behind the oddly formal and emotionless words. Most would have said ‘please be careful’ in a concerned tone or something among those lines, but Near was too awkward socially for even that. The green-eyed young man smirked ever so slightly. “I will.” “Thank you, Matt.” Near’s voice had grown softer. The redhead understood that he was saying goodbye…L had to get back to work. “Yeah,” the gamer had an odd feeling about what he most likely going to become involved in. “See you on the other side.” The line went dead and Matt hung up only a few seconds after. He glanced at his watch and saw that the conversation had only taken a couple of minutes. He continued packing quickly, mostly various electronics and first aid supplies, and then got in his car. As he drove, Matt considered how much time would pass between the explosion and his arrival at the site, and decided where he would start in search for Mello. He doubted the blonde man would have gotten far. He sighed heavily as he thought of how much this incident must have increased Mello’s emotionally driven desire to top Near. He wondered if the blonde man had realised yet that they would be working as a unit in either case. In the end, it did not matter. Matt was going to help them catch Kira…not get involved in an old rivalry. He decided not to calculate the odds of Mello’s rabid need to top the pale boy getting them both killed. He doubted the teen had another unexpected rescuer in his pocket. Of course, he would never say never when it came to Near.
9:05pm: FFVII: Mirror, Mirror
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Final Fantasy VII, Before Crisis, or their characters. Thank you for reading and enjoy. Happy Halloween!
Rude awoke to the sound of an autumn wind striking the window of his condo and the scents of coffee, spiced cider, and chocolate-pumpkin muffins. He tightened his arms around the small form he was holding and lowered his head to breathe in Reno’s scent. That was when he realised he was holding the redhead’s pillow instead of the young man himself. The bald man frowned slightly while inhaling the lingering scent of his recently obtained lover. Reno never got out of bed before him, unless Rude was injured or there was an emergency. He quickly sat up and turned to see a tray sitting on his bedside table. The source of the scents he had awoken to were found there. Obviously, his fiery partner had gotten up early to make breakfast, so he could not have been awoken by anything terrible or pressing. Beside the tray laid a note covered in Reno’s tiny, shambolic handwriting. Happy Birthday Rude! I made your favourite muffins and I even cleaned the kitchen well enough to meet your standards. ^_^ I hope you don’t have any plans for today, because I do. Happy Halloween! --Reno. PS. The boss man called and needed an errand run, but he said I could do it alone. It’s supposed to be an easy one anyway. I should be back by noon. Sorry. Glancing at the clock, Rude saw that it was half past nine. He wondered when Reno had left and was slightly agitated that the lithe redhead had gone on a mission without him. He tried not to think on it too much as he ate breakfast, showered, dressed, and got the mail. He received cards from his parents and most of his co-workers, as well as phone calls from Elena and Cissnei, wishing him both a happy birthday and a happy Halloween. The fact that Tseng did not call was telling. Rude knew the man must have been busy as well. Not for the fist time, the bald man wondered how Reno had talked him into taking the day off…then he remembered with a smirk and a growing erection. After a few hours passed, the bald man could no longer pretend that he was not concerned. Reno was never late when he could help it. Rude called his partner’s cell and received no answer. He then paced for a moment and tried again, to the same result. Rude stared at his phone for a moment. No one knew of the recent development in his and Reno’s relationship and he intended to keep it that way. However, he was a possessive lover and he had always been protective as a partner, so he found himself dialling Tseng within seconds anyway. His superior’s rich voice came through before the completion of the first ring, and Rude did not find that comforting. “Happy birthday, Rude; I’m sorry I haven’t called, but I’ve been busy. I suppose this is about Reno?” The bald man nodded, even though the other man could not see him. “Yes. Has he checked in?” A deep sigh answered Rude before Tseng’s words did, “No. I’m giving him until the end of the hour and then I’m going after him.” “I’m going with you.” “No Rude. The order for this one was clear, only Reno or I were to be sent. Stay there. I’ll contact you once I know Reno’s whereabouts.” The large man had to fight to unlock his jaws. “I‘ve been a Turk longer than Reno. Unless this involves people skills or fitting into small spaces, I really don‘t think I‘d be any less qualified, sir.” There was a brief silence as the raven-haired man clearly registered the strain in his subordinate’s tone. “They thought that one of us would be able to see something the rest of you would not. That’s all I can tell you, Rude.” The large man‘s growing unease was beginning to give way to anger. “Aren‘t we supposed to be doing these things in pairs, sir? Isn’t that why partners were instated?” “This was a different sort of assignment,” replied the Wutain; a touch of regret laced his tone, but was quickly abolished. “Once I find him, I will inform you of his condition at the earliest opportunity. R-” Rude’s voice came out too level and more forceful than he had expected when he responded, “He’s my partner. I’m going. I know him inside and out; I can find him faster than you can…sir.” “Spoken like a true controlling lover,” commented Tseng smoothly after another brief pause. Rude quickly recalled something Reno had told him, which he had not believed at the time. He decided to test the redhead‘s theory out now. “You would recognise one. Wouldn’t you rather I accompany you than Elena? If Reno hasn’t contacted either of us, then the job is obviously more dangerous than was assumed.” There was another heavy silence before Tseng released a breath that held a dry laugh. “At least I know my second in command was chosen well…and to think, I believed someone older and more experienced would be more astute. All right, Rude. Be ready in ten minutes.” Rude was ready in three. He met Tseng when the Wutain was halfway to his condo. Neither spoke of the brief and unusual riff that had passed between them. Rude was simply too concerned about Reno and Tseng understood that well. After driving for what felt like too long to the bald man, they arrived at an old abandoned building, which Rude guessed had once been a hospital or institution by the looks of it. He supposed he was just uncommonly impatient, but he felt as though his partner needed him. He glanced at his superior through shaded eyes, “Any idea what we’re going up against, sir?” “Only the usual monsters and vagrants that tend to hide in dark and solitary places,” answered the raven-haired man as they exited the car. “There’s an object and some records that ShinRa wants, which are believed to be hidden here. Reno was supposed to verify that claim.” Rude could barely detect the additional tightness to his superior’s voice, and understood immediately that the other man was just as angry about the situation as Rude was. Most of the members of Turk counted each other as family -their only family in many cases- and Reno was the baby brother of the group. Sure, he was annoying at times, but everyone cared about him and Tseng was no exception. The bald man simply nodded when Tseng’s gaze flickered to him. “If you notice anything odd, inform me right away,” added the Wutain. “I don’t think rank had anything to do with why they wanted Reno or I to take this assignment…but they did believe we would see something you would not.” Rude frowned at the cryptic warning, but asked no questions as they entered the building. The windows that were not boarded were dingy with years’ worth of dust and residue, and the sky was overcast, causing the lobby they had entered to be dark and stagnant. Rude glanced at his watch, noting that they only had a few hours of daylight left. He hoped to find Reno by then. It would be impossible to see anything in there at night. Both men were tense and alert as they moved into the main hall. “Any thoughts as to where Reno would have looked first?” asked Tseng quietly. “I wasn’t given any instructions on where to begin.” “What was he looking for?” asked Rude in return, keeping his voice low as well. The raven-haired man’s voice was tight as he answered, “Something that was intended to teach ShinRa that the Lifestream, as well as the Aeons, are not things to be tamed by man.” The bald man frowned again, knowing that his superior knew more than he was saying but also that he would say no more. In addition, he knew that was probably all Reno had been told as well. That was all the information he needed in that case. “The basement, followed by any high security areas, and then he’d do a full sweep…unless something gave him an idea along the way.” Tseng nodded, although the larger Turk could scarcely make out the gesture in the dark building. They turned to the direction of a door marked as a stairwell, figuring it would be the quickest way to the basement. Along the way, they found a few telltale signs of another person having passed through there recently, and the skill and presence of mind it took to identify these suggested that it was Reno. The stairs and the trail, if it could be called that, both led directly to the basement. The room had once been large and open, most likely used for storage, but at some point, a cluster of rooms had been built in the centre. Rude noted that the design was suited for guards or devices to prevent anyone from reaching the rooms unnoticed or uninvited. A shared glance with Tseng told him the other man had reached the same conclusion. Rude was the first to step toward the nearest door, moving cautiously and listening for any signs of a trap being tripped. The door’s handle was dusty and rusted, but opened easily, suggesting it had recently been opened. Once the bald man had entered the room, Tseng followed, and they found that the room had two more doors. It appeared that each of the rooms in the cluster were interconnected. Mirrors were placed along the walls were windows would be in an office complex above ground, and they reflected the dim light of the basement, allowing the Turks to make out the area. Rude removed his sunglasses and placed them in his breast pocket as he glanced around the dark room. He could make out the shapes of desks and tables, but nothing that gave any clue of Reno’s whereabouts. In the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red dart across one of the adjoining rooms. He immediately crossed into it. “Reno,” he called softly. A strange cold filled the room, and then the door to yet another room burst open, as though hit by a harsh breeze. The bald man caught another glimpse of something red moving quickly and followed without hesitation. The room he ended in had doors on every wall, each were open. “Reno!” Rude called quietly, looking around for any sign of which door his partner had passed through. Tseng grabbed his shoulder with a shushing sound. Dark hazel eyes shifted, and Rude saw that his superior was tense and looking around, as though he were aware of a danger the bald man was not. Before Rude could comment, his peripheral vision caught the top of Reno’s head in the reflection of the mirrors of a room across from them. He seemed to have run across the room and through a doorway. Rude followed quickly and silently, with Tseng close behind him. The room they entered was slightly larger than the previous ones, with several file cabinets along the walls and a desk with an outdated computer in the corner; what appeared to be an examination table sat in the centre of the room. A larger mirror hung on one of the walls, and Rude realised he had mistaken it for a door. He wondered if Reno had as well. “Reno,” Rude whispered loud enough to be heard by anyone in the room. “Rude,” Tseng said forcefully. The bald man turned and noticed that Tseng was looking in the opposite direction. Following his gaze, he saw what had caught the raven-haired man’s attention. Reno’s worn satchel was lying on one of the file cabinets, opened and abandoned. Rude crossed to it and looked inside. He looked at Tseng, “A few files marked ‘confidential’, the hard drive to that computer, and some old diskettes.” The raven-haired man nodded. “Then he found at least part of what he was looking for…” “Reno wouldn’t have just left this,” stated Rude firmly, with growing apprehension. “He might not have had any choice,” commented Tseng softly as he looked at the bag. Then he raised his eyes to meet Rude’s steadily. “I think h-” The Wutain stopped speaking as the door suddenly slammed closed. The two Turks quickly crossed to the door and pulled it open. Rude noticed an odd presser working against them at first, as though someone were trying to push it closed again but gave up. Tseng stepped through and looked around the other room before turning back to Rude. “There’s no one here.” The bald man nodded, and then turned to retrieve his partner’s satchel when the door slammed closed again. This time, the lock sounded before either man could open it. “Are you all right?” Rude called through the door. “Yes,” the raven-haired man called back, somewhat hesitantly. “Is it cold in there, Rude?” The bald man blinked, “No.” “Listen to me,” Tseng’s toned had lost its previous thoughtfulness and was one of complete authority now. “Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths through your nose.” Years of training and service had Rude’s eyes closing even as he considered how odd the order sounded. His mind let go of the question as he took the first breath, and then his heart skipped a beat on the second as he breathed in a familiar scent. His eyes shot open; “Reno.” Another look over the room proved that the redhead was still missing, however that seemed to be what Tseng was expecting. “You smelled him?” Rude looked at the door again. “Yes…but he isn’t in here.” “Actually, I think he is,” countered the raven-haired man. “In a sense; I think he closed the door to keep out whatever is now making this room cold.” Rude felt a cold wash over him that had nothing to do with the one Tseng spoke of; “Are you suggesting that Reno…is some kind of ghost?” “No,” the apology was mild but apparent in the superior’s voice, and gone just as quickly as it had appeared. “I think he accidentally used what he was sent in there to retrieve. He’s in this space but not on this plane…we don’t have time for a full explanation.” The Wutain swore in his mother tongue. “My cell phone can’t make a connection down here. I’m going to move above ground and call some people who might be able to help us. Stay in there until Reno or whatever being he’s avoiding opens the door and do not handle anything in that room, do you understand?” “Yes, sir,” Rude answered automatically. In truth, he understood the physical order, but had no idea of what was happening. If it were not for the fact that Reno was obviously in danger somewhere that Rude could not help him, he would have considered it a normal day at the office. “Good.” It sounded as though Tseng had already moved further away from the door. “Oh, and Rude…? Keep your eyes and your mind open.” The large man looked around the empty room, trying to work out everything that his superior had just said. He normally was not one for those kinds of stories, but he had seen too much on the job to disregard it all. He picked up Reno’s satchel and pulled out the files. As he looked over the first one, a familiar shade of red moved in the corner of his eye. Rude quickly looked up to find the source, but found only the same mirror he had mistaken for a door earlier. He glanced down at the file. It told of old legends of a realm that held all of the people who had crossed into the Lifestream, as well as the guardian forces, called Aeons, which were now known as deities. It also mentioned beings called Dark Aeons, and questioned where they had come from. Rude’s eyes moved back to the mirror. Reno loved old myths, and would have been interested in the stories told in the files…and he would have believed them. The bald man slowly placed the files back into the satchel, knowing he would never make sense of it all. As he did so, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. All he knew was that he was not leaving this place without Reno. He just wished he knew what was happening to his partner. A familiar scent reached him again, and Rude opened his eyes. He could feel something was wrong, but did not know what. Without moving his head, he shifted his gaze slightly to look about the room, taking in everything in his peripheral vision. When the mirror came into view, he stopped cold. The room he was standing in looked the same. Worn and abandoned, but still clinging to the sterile air it had once held. Its reflection however, was different. It was decrepit and darker, with stains of old blood on the walls and broken furniture. He slowly raised his head and was surprised when the image remained the same. When his eyes finally rose to his normal line of sight, he felt as though his stomach fell to the floor. His own image was missing from the reflection, but standing beside where he should have been…was Reno. The large Turk was afraid to move, even to blink as he stared at his partner in the mirror. Reno was looking at him, and after a moment, followed his gaze to the mirror. The redhead looked back and forth between the two before appearing to think quickly. Then he met Rude’s eyes in the mirror and mouthed his partner’s name. “Reno…” The brawny man stared into the reflection of his partner’s eyes. Most could never tell what he or the redhead were feeling by their appearance, but they could always read each other and Rude knew that Reno was afraid. He looked over the smaller man’s image and saw that his left shoulder was bleeding badly, his coat was missing, and he was dingy with scratches and bruises over his arms and face. His right thigh was also bleeding from three parallel slashes, which looked like claw marks. Reno mouthed Rude’s name again, as well as the word ‘go’. His mouth continued to move for a moment as he shook his head, but Rude could not make out what he was saying and he could hear no sounds. “Reno, I don’t know what you’re saying, but I’m not leaving you.” Reno either could hear him or simply knew him well enough to guess what he had said, because his expression immediately fell. It appeared that he was going to say something else, but then his attention snapped to another part of the room. The fear in his eyes grew, but his expression was one of familiar determination and his stance meant he was ready to move in any direction at any second. “Reno, what is it?” Rude watched in growing fear as his partner’s eyes flickered between him and whatever had caught his attention before the redhead began looking around the room hurriedly, as though searching for either a weapon or a way out. The bald man noticed that Reno’s eyes periodically flickered to whatever he had been looking at before, and followed his partner’s gaze to the room’s only door. …The one that Reno had apparently slammed closed twice and locked closed before Tseng had felt an odd cold stirring on the other side. “Damn it,” Rude looked back to the mirror and did not see his wiry partner. “Reno!” The redhead ran to what should have been Rude’s side and, after realising the man was still not looking at him, turned his gaze to the mirror once more. “You can see me…” The bald man blinked when the scrawny Turk nodded, “And you can hear me.” The redhead gave a small shrug and another nod. Then, his attention was drawn to the door again as his body tensed. Rude noticed that the smaller man was paler than usual, which he assumed meant the blood loss was affecting him. The large Turk glanced at his partner’s satchel again. “Reno, this contains all of the files that the scientists who used to work here had on this project, right?” He glanced up to see the redhead’s reflection give a somewhat distracted nod. “Then there might be something that explains or at least theorises how you ended up…wherever the hell you are…” He began sifting through the contents of the bag again when he noticed Reno in a slight panic as he spoke to him very quickly. Aside from a few ‘yo’s, the bald man could not make out any of it. “I can’t hear you, partner, and I can only see you and what you see in the mirror,” explained Rude, feeling even worse about his inability to help the younger man now that he was clearly worried. His hand shifted the hard drive in the bag and then landed on something else firm and cold. He removed the object and studied it with a small frown. It was a twisted band of either stone or metal, but the bald man could not tell which, as he had never seen the material before. It was a very dark grey and it had two veins of some other mineral or metal running through it in a chaotic but distinct pattern. One line was blood red, the other Mako green, and they crossed through the twists, appearing on both sides of the band. He turned it over a few times to study it, noting that it felt heavier than its size suggested and that the veins of colour almost seemed to move as he turned it. So many sensations struck the large Turk then, that he could not make sense of, or even identify, all of them. He felt a sudden chill, and then he felt as though a great weight had been lifted from him, making him lighter than he had ever felt before. He heard a voice cry out for someone or something to stop, and a steady pounding as something warm filled him. Then suddenly, he felt himself being knocked back. Once his senses settled, he noticed an acrid scent, as rust, decay, blood, and darkness all poured into one. The steady pounding was louder, and he could make out the subtle sound of something dripping. He also felt a light and comfortable weight over him. There was something decidedly familiar about it, and the large man forced his eyes open and looked down. Reno was lying atop of him and staring up at him in a mixture of shock, relief, and horror. “Aibou!” The redhead suddenly found his voice, which sounded a bit strained. “I told you not to touch the damn thing!” “And I told you I couldn’t hear you,” replied Rude automatically, before the fact that he was with Reno resurfaced in his mind. He pulled the smaller frame up with him as he stood, and then he held him out at arms length to look over him. The redhead’s injuries looked worse in person. “Are you okay? What-?” Both men quickly turned their heads to the door as a loud cracking sound joined the most recent thud. Reno had barricaded the door as well as he could by himself in his current condition and with the materials in the room, but it clearly was not going to do much once the door itself gave way. The two partners looked at one another. “Physical damage takes a long time to get them down, yo,” commented the redhead. He indicated the door, “And that one seems immune to lightning too…actually, it seems to get a boost from it, yo.” “We’ll see how it does against fire if it gets in,” replied the bald man. Reno nodded and then indicated what was left of the old computer desk. “Want to help me move that, yo?” Rude nodded, and soon they had utilised the few pieces of heavy timber and furniture in the room to create a heavier barricade. Looking about the room once more to see if they had overlooked anything that might be of use, Rude noticed that the mirror he had seen Reno and the grim room in was also different on this side. The glass was smoky, dingy, and broken. He could not even make out his own reflection in the dull surface. “You couldn’t make out my reflection in that,” he noted to Reno. His partner’s blue eyes turned to the mirror as well. “No, none of the mirrors on this side are any good, yo, unless you need something sharp. I took out one of the other monsters that way earlier.” The large man frowned as he was reminded of the redhead’s injuries when he noticed the odd angle at which Reno’s left arm was hanging. He then realised the redhead had not used it while they reinforced the barricade. “Here, sit against the back wall and let me see what I can do about that,” he indicated the smaller man’s wounds. Reno nodded and followed the suggestion without argument. “Damn, that must really be hurting you,” the bald man teased as he kneeled before his injured comrade. “Na, I’m just too tired to fight right now,” Reno lied, and would have been believable to anyone else. “Mm-Hmm,” The bald man carefully removed his partner’s make shift bandages and winced sympathetically at the wound. “This will need either stitches or a strong cure spell. I can’t help there, but it’s also dislocated…” The short man nodded, knowing what that meant. He closed his eyes, “Just do it quick, yo.” Rude spoke as he removed his tie and folded it over a few times. “I was thinking, about that mirror…Tseng said that the order was for only he or you to be sent on this assignment because it was thought that one of you would see something me or one of the others couldn’t. Here, bite down on this.” More crackling noises were accompanying the thudding at the door now, and so Rude had to pop Reno’s shoulder back into place with less care than he would normally use, but he still tried to be as gentle as he could. The redhead’s eyes squeezed as tightly closed as they could and he bit down on the folded tie firmly as he whined low in his throat. Rude released a relieved sigh when he was finished. “You’re gonna want to take it easy on this arm for some time, at least until we get you to ShinRa’s healers,” commented the bald man as he removed his coat. Reno snorted at the statement and then removed the tie from his mouth. “I’m going to have to rewrap that wound, partner.” The wiry Turk nodded impatiently and arched an eyebrow when Rude started tearing his own coat into bandages. The bald man met his gaze for a second before returning to his task. “I need clean material to work with.” Reno cracked a small grin, “Thanks Aibou.” The grin fell and he grunted slightly as the larger man attempted to clean his bleeding shoulder. “So why would Tseng or I be the only ones to notice this stuff, yo…some of the rest of you have been on the job longer. …And what does the mirror have to do with that?” “Tseng said he didn’t think the order had anything to do with rank, and I think he was right. I could only see you in the mirror, and even that was only after I accepted that you might really be with me somehow.” Rude began to wonder just what had made the injury to Reno’s shoulder as he started wrapping it. “You, however, could see and hear me from the beginning, right? You tried to lead whatever’s about to bust in here away from us?” The smaller man nodded and Rude continued explaining the theory he was beginning to believe. “Tseng seemed to have an idea of what was happening right away. At first, I thought he just knew something he hadn’t told me, but what if he could see whatever you could? Maybe that’s what they meant about you two being able to ‘see’ something the rest of us couldn’t.” Reno watched Rude curiously for a moment. “So…you didn’t see those shadows or anything weird in the mirrors when you came in, yo?” The large man shook his head, “No. Well…I thought I caught glimpses of your hair, but that was only in the corner of my eye so it could have just been my imagination. Unless you didn’t get here until after Tseng and I arrived?” “If by ‘here’ you mean whatever this creepy Dark Aeon place is, then no, I was already here when you guys showed up, yo.” The redhead frowned slightly, “I could’ve sworn the boss man heard me before you guys followed me in here though…well, not here…just this room, but the clean one, yo?” Rude nodded to show that he was still following the younger man’s train of thought. “He did seem to be listening to or for something. Can whatever you locked outside hurt him?” “No,” the smaller man shrugged and then winced lightly, “At least, they couldn’t hurt me ‘till I got dragged in here, yo.” The door gave a much more pronounced crack and both men stood up immediately. Reno, who had already disconnected his weapon from the cuff it was normally attached to in order to switch hands, extended his EMR without bothering to turn on the current. “Okay, so aside from being charged by electricity, that thing uses it, yo…and some other spells I don’t anything about. Plus, it has hooves and a nasty horn. That’s what messed up my shoulder.” The bald man nodded, “And your leg?” “No, that was something else,” answered the shorter man. “I took care of ’em before this thing showed up.” They both assumed a fighting stance, with Rude trying to shift his body discreetly in order to block his injured partner, when the door finally broke as a pair of hooves brutally crashed upon it repeatedly. The hooves indicated some sort of giant evil goat, but soon enough a dark, equine-shaped head appeared, featuring gleaming eyes and a deadly looking horn. The first description to enter Rude’s mind was ‘massive unicorn from hell’. Once the creature had broken through to the chest, Rude hit it with a fire spell, to no effect. Reno cursed softly beside him. Then the redhead picked up a broken piece of furniture and threw it at the monster as it continued breaking its way in. “Stick to physical attacks, yo. Then it’ll charge us first and we can break and get around it. We’re screwed if it uses Thundaja or Aerospark in here…” The partners waited, tense and still, as the creature proceeded to break through the door and their barricade. Reno lunged forward and struck the monster’s head with his EMR. Rude followed suite and followed up his partner’s attack with a solid punch to the creature’s muzzle. The Aeon released a shrill roar and backed up before charging forward, just as Reno had predicted. The two Turks reacted immediately and in perfect synchronisation as they darted in the opposite directions. As the monster connected with the wall behind them, they ran to the door, and Rude pushed his wounded partner through the broken opening before rushing though himself. Before the bald man could even glance over the room, Reno had tugged on his sleeve and Rude followed his lead as they headed through the maze of offices. They had only made it through the next room before Rude realised that the shadows on the walls were growing and seemed to be moving. The large Turk nearly ran into his scrawny partner when the redhead suddenly skidded to a stop with a small curse. They toppled over together, just in time to avoid a creature that had lunged from the shadows. Both men quickly rolled and stood, assuming a defensive stance. The creature circled them on four legs, with sharp claws clicking against the old tiled floor. This monster was like none that Rude had seen before; to him it appeared to be the living obsidian skeleton of some ancient beast. He noticed that Reno was watching the shadows just as much as the creature. “I haven’t seen one of these things attack by itself yet, yo,” warned the smaller man just before ducking as another creature leaped over him, appearing to manifest from the shadow behind him. Rude heard a sound like a rush of air and turned just in time to see a third manifesting. He just managed to dodge the creature, his shirt being torn by four sharp claws. The brawny man vaguely thought that he now knew where Reno’s leg injury had come from before he dodged another attack, this time punching the creature as it passed. He heard the familiar sound of his partner’s EMR making contact with an enemy behind him, before the familiar warmth of the younger man’s back pressed against his own. He was just able to hear Reno’s voice trail past his shoulder, “These ones can take a beating, yo, but at least they go down.” Rude nodded in response as he planted his feet and flexed his fingers before tightening them into fists, knowing the shorter man would be able to feel and guess his reaction. He felt the smaller form behind him shift as well and heard the gentle hum of Reno’s EMR a couple feet behind his right shoulder, which was all he needed to know that the redhead was ready to fight as well. Had Rude been merely watching the creatures attack on one of the nature specials Reno like to watch, the monsters would have impressed him, as they never attacked individually, nor did they make the same mistakes repeatedly. Here were several moments when he knocked away one and would have been killed by another had Reno’s boot or EMR not struck; he also had to duck his partner’s weapon on a few instances. He also had to catch Reno from falling more than once, and grew worried as the fight commenced that his partner was growing weak from blood loss and too much excursion. Then suddenly, the beats vanished into puffs of darkness, as though they decided to turn into shadow once more. The bald man looked around cautiously before settling his gaze on his partner. The redhead shrugged, “Yeah, they tend to do that, yo. I don’t know if it means they died or just gave up, but it works for me.” Rude nodded, he did not actually care either, so long as he and Reno survived the encounter. “Think we should head topside?” The smaller Turk shook his head adamantly, “No way, yo, the higher you go, the more of these things there are. That’s how the big one with the horn got me…it was waiting in the stairwell.” “So what do we do?” A red eyebrow arched, “Why are you asking me, yo? I’ve been stuck here all day, remember? What was the boss-man’s plan, yo? Did he tell you?” Rude shook his head and Reno rolled his eyes as though he had expected as much. Just as the large Turk was about to ask after the shorter man’s injuries, the redhead frowned and looked around the room. The bald man gave a questioning grunt, and Reno turned to face him; “Nothing else has attacked us yet.” The bald man looked around, “That a bad thing?” Reno shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck, “Hasn’t happened yet, but maybe we just finally killed everything down here…’cept the thing with the horn.” Rude nodded and then looked over his partner, who was looking paler by the minute, his shoulder having obviously been injured further in the fight. “Think its still in that room?” The smaller man shook his head. “Let’s head back there, then.” “Why?” asked Reno, who was already walking beside his partner anyway. “The damn thing that brought us here doesn’t seem to exist on this side, yo. I checked before you got here.” Rude was disappointed, but had expected as much; “Tseng will head there when he gets back and if he can see and hear you like you could me, maybe we can work out what happened and how to get back. Did he tell you much before sending you here?” “Not any more than he told you, yo,” answered the redhead. The bald man nodded and the two continued to the room they had earlier fled from, moving quietly and carefully. When they finally reached the room, the door had been completely demolished and the creature they had fled earlier was gone. The redhead’s eyes suddenly gained a distant edge, just as they were about to enter the room. “I hear something, yo…” The large Turk stepped closer as he flicked his eyes between the entrances to the room they were currently in. “Any idea what it is?” “I dunno…it sounds like the boss-man,” commented the scrawny Turk before he suddenly looked to Rude. “He’s back.” The bald man could not hear or see anything, but decided he might as well take the younger man’s word for it. After a moment, the redhead looked somewhat relieved, before tilting his head slightly and straightening his back a little, as he did whenever their superior was speaking to him. “Is Tseng here?” asked Rude. “Yeah, and he brought Fayte with him, yo,” answered Reno before apparently looking at the taller man again, who Rude still could not see. The redhead frowned suddenly, “Me? Hey you’re the one who brought him here, yo, and I tried to tell him not to mess with the damn thing.” “He can see me?” questioned Rude, looking at the space where Reno seemed to be focusing. He then recalled that Reno could hear him when he was on the other side. “Can he hear me?” Nothing happened, and after a brief moment, Rude looked at Reno, who nodded. “He said yes.” Rude thought for a moment. He did not believe that Tseng actually knew all that much more than he had told them, and Fayte certainly would not know more than their superior would. He glanced at the mirror, “Reno, ask Tseng if Fayte can see or hear us.” Reno arched an eyebrow, “Didn’t I just say Tseng can hear you, yo? Why do I have to ask him?” Before his partner could respond, the redhead looked up at an invisible person to his left. “Hey Fayte, can you hear me, yo? Fayte!” The smaller Turk glanced back to the spot where Rude assumed Tseng was, with the expression he normally wore when the older man was scolding him. Then, he glanced back to his partner, “No, he can’t.” “Then ask Tseng,” the bald man caught himself and turned to the area Reno had bee addressing. “Could you ask Fayte to look in that mirror, sir?” He indicated the mirror with a tilt of his head. “He’s looking, yo,” commented Reno. “He wants to know what he’s supposed to be lookin’ at though…” The bald man frowned, and the frown deepened when he noticed Reno stiffen before turning to face him. “Do you hear that, yo?” Rude stilled and listened before stiffening himself. “Damn…we need to hurry.” The sounds of something heavy and clawed were approaching. “Yo boss man, the thing lying on my bag there; don’t mess with it,” commented Reno as he quickly turned back to address their superior. “It’s what brought us here…I dunno, we just fidgeted with it and then,” the redhead gestured vaguely, then flinched and tenderly touched his shoulder with a small hiss. The brawny man’s attention snapped back to his partner. Suddenly, he had an idea. “Tseng, tell Fayte what you can about where we are and then tell him to focus on wanting to see us…sir.” Reno arched an eyebrow and Rude sighed, “When I saw the documents, I knew you’d believe them, so I considered it a possibility, then all I was thinking of was how much I needed to see you…and then, I did.” “...In the mirror, yo.” The scrawny Turk quickly took a few steps closer to said object. “The frame…I think it’s made from the same stuff as that ring-thingy.” Rude moved to stand beside the smaller man and looked at the mirror as well. “You’re right.” “So…should we pull it down and turn it a few times?” The redhead looked up at the bald man. “Maybe it works the same as the other thing, yo.” Reno suddenly looked to something beside Rude as though startled. “Tseng says that Fayte can see us in the mirror now.” He turned towards where Rude assumed the older Turk was standing. “They want to check out something on their end first. Hurry up, yo, we aren’t the only things moving around down here and the natives aren‘t friendly.” Blue eyes flicked towards the door for a moment, “Yeah, I see it, yo.” The large Turk glanced to the doorway as well. The room beyond had grown darker, as though the shadows were moving in. After sharing a brief look with his partner, the bald man moved to grab the mirror, “We’re trying it your way.” The shorter man simply nodded as he grabbed the other side of the frame while Rude was pulling it from the wall. Their eyes met again over the broken mirror; “Now what?” “All I did was fidget with the damn thing,” replied the redhead. Despite those words, he appeared to be thinking seriously. “When you were checking it out, you turned it over a few times, yo. I did the same thing…but not right away…and I didn‘t get stuck here the first time I handled it…” He looked over the mirror before raising his eyes to meet Rude’s again. “Which way do you think, yo?” “Bottom over top;” No sooner had Rude answered than they were slowly flipping the mirror over. Reno’s eyes shifted to the doorway, which was now behind Rude. “Uh-oh…” As they were making the third turn, the redhead spoke again quickly, “Hold it, Aibou.” “Wait, Reno;” Rude let the mirror drop from one hand as it made the turn over, in order to reach for his partner as the redhead whipped out his EMR and moved for something behind him. As he turned his head, he saw something lunging out of the shadow towards the lithe redhead. Suddenly, the large Turk was struck with the same multitude of sensations that had hit him when he entered this place. He felt a sudden warmth, and then he felt as though a great weight had been settled on him, making him heavier than he had been, but it held a feeling of normality at the same time. He heard voices calling out in concern and surprise, as well as a strange noise like the cry of some wild beast. Then suddenly, he felt himself being knocked back. Once again, a pleasantly familiar weight landed on him once his senses settled, but the sounds in the room were familiar in an alarming way. Acting on well-honed instincts, Rude wrapped an arm around his partner’s waist and rolled both of over and using his free arm to keep most of his weight off the injured man. He looked up and was both relieved and apprehensive by the sight that greeted him. They were in the same old but sterile room that he and Tseng had entered while looking for Reno; however, the shadow creature that had been attacking them was also in the room. Tseng moved before the two younger Turks and drew his weapon, while Fayte had already drawn his katana and was circling the monster. “Anything we need to know about this?” questioned Tseng, his tone no different than if they were merely debriefing in his office. Rude stood slowly, still supporting Reno with one arm. “They can take a lot of damage, but they don’t seem to have any immunities, sir.” The Wutain nodded, “Tend to your partner, then.” Without a backwards glance, Tseng joined Fayte against the monster, and the two Turks dispatched the creature by the time Rude had seen and wrapped his partner’s newest injury, and finally treated his thigh wounds. Between his shoulder injury and the makeshift bandages around his chest and right thigh, it was obvious that Reno was looking at some time off. Fayte glanced at Tseng after noticing the younger Turk‘s state. “Should I call a med team? The fact that Reno isn‘t arguing must mean those wounds are as bad as they look.” “No, I can wait until we get back into town, yo,” the redhead cut in. Rude frowned, but was slightly relieved. A quiet Reno was never a good sign. “We should start heading back, then. If that’s all right, sir,” he turned his eyes to Tseng. The raven-aired man nodded. “Just remember not to answer any unnecessary questions. Fayte, drive them to the ShinRa Medical Centre. I’m going to call in and send for a contamination unit. We need to make sure this doesn’t get out.” “Just make sure no more of those things get out, yo,” commented Reno. Then, the scrawny man frowned. “Man…between medical, reports, and debriefing, there’s no way we’re going home today, yo…and I had Rude’s birthday all planned out for once.” Rude had to fight to keep his amusement from showing. Then, he had to stop his jaw from dropping when Tseng responded. “Actually, I’m going to be tied up here tonight anyway and we have no idea what to expect from those injuries of yours, considering how and where they occurred, so I want you to return to your apartment once the medic clears you. Rude, go with him and keep an eye on him; report to me immediately if anything seems off and keep me updated on anything the medic has to say about this. I’ll expect reports from you both on my desk tomorrow evening and we’ll debrief Monday morning. I expect we’ll all have to attend several meetings come Monday as well.” With a nod of both acknowledgement and thanks, Rude assisted a somewhat stunned looking Reno out of the building, with Fayte following behind them, seeming surprised as well and offering to help the bald man with his partner. The brawny man refused, and did not release the smaller man until the medics were treating him, even then, he did not leave him. A couple hours later, a multitude of stitches, several x-rays, and injections to dull pain and prevent infection, the pair was finally able to return home. There, Rude found that his favourite restaurant had dropped off some packages, which had presently been pre ordered by Reno. The food had long grown cold and Reno was not up to eating it, but Rude was touched, and he enjoyed the portion he reheated. The scrawny Turk insisted on singing ‘happy birthday’ and lighting the candles on the cake before they cut into it. Afterwards, Rude insisted that the lithe redhead lie down, and immediately became suspicious when he was not met with any argument. “You’re too injured and medicated for any action, you know that right?” The smaller man rolled his eyes as he settled under the covers. “Of course, yo; I just figured since it’s your birthday and you sort of went to hell and back for me today, I might as well go easy on you. Besides, you still have to open your present.” Reno’s smile was slightly dopey, and while it could have been attributed to medication or exhaustion, Rude thought it was caused by something else. What that was, he could not say. “Check my side of the closet, yo; on the top shelf.” With a small smile, the bald man checked the closet and found a decent sized box with Halloween wrapping paper and a tag that read To Rude. He took the package to the bed and sat down beside Reno. Inside, he found a new pair of sunglasses, which were supposed to be shatter resistant and a new pair of fighting gloves that were shock absorbent for the wearer. There was also a book that, while he could not recall showing any outward interest in, had caught his eye a few weeks before. The last gift -a sexy pirate wench costume- Rude had assumed to be a gag gift until he realised that it was Reno’s size and that a functioning pair of manacles had been added. He smiled openly as he placed the items back in the box and set it on the floor so he could lean down to kiss his bed partner. “Happy Birthday, Aibou.” Reno grinned tiredly, “We can play with those once I‘m feeling better, yo…but at least you can enjoy the book in the meantime. That‘s the one you liked, right?” “Yeah, thanks Red.” Rude stroked the blue-eyed man’s cheek before grinning and arching an eyebrow. “I’ve never mentioned that I had a thing for pirates either, have I?” The redhead was nestling against the larger man and sounded as though he were falling asleep when he answered. “Nuh-uh, but I could tell anyway…” Rude leaned back, guiding the shorter man with him and then adjusted the blankets over them before reaching down to pick up his new book. He had just adjusted it so he could read comfortably without releasing Reno when he heard the redhead mutter quietly, “Sorry everything got all screwed up today, yo.” The bald man looked from the book to the pale and bandaged form curled up against him. He decided right away that there were worse ways he could spend the evening…far worse, as he had feared on multiple occasions that day that he would not have a partner to hold that night. “It’s fine, Reno…at least I got some great gifts.” He gently rubbed the smaller man’s arm and turned back to his book with a grateful smile. Reno‘s voice drifted up to him once more. “Happy Halloween, Aibou.” “Happy Halloween, Reno.”
9:01pm: FFVII:BC: ...Oh.
Author's note: Please ignore my blatant disregard for canon. Also, for those of you familiar with Before Crisis and/or Last Order, Kilik is Two Guns, Fayte is Katana, Rod is Rod (old joke), Inara is Elena's older sister (Gun), and Cissnei is Shuriken (I know it is an alias in Crisis Core, but I like it). By the way, if you dislike the idea of Reno being anything other than heterosexual, don't read this. Thank you for reading and enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Final Fantasy VII, Before Crisis, or Last Order.
It was the evening that Reno, along with a few other Turklets, had completed his training and become a full-fledged Turk. Several of the Turks had come to like the young trainee, having met him during training exercises and tagalongs, and decided to take the redhead out for a drink at a tavern, which only served ShinRa employees. While none had said anything to the boy either way, many of the senior Turk’s had wondered if he would succeed in his training. Not one of them doubted the teen’s skill, but many had questioned whether he had the disposition for Turk. However, their concerns were put to rest when the boy had been given a uniform and Turk identification card instead of a bullet between the eyes at that mornings meeting. Therefore, after several hours of ceremony, paperwork, and a tour of headquarters, the newest member of the Turks could be found sitting at a table in the back with several of his newly official co-workers, with his shirt un-tucked and his collar open, the tie having been long since discarded. After a couple of hours, the redhead could not help but notice that Rod, Kilik, and Fayte kept glancing towards the far corner of the tavern. “Is there something suspicious going on in the corner or what, yo?” Blue eyes scanned the area, not finding anything he would consider attention-worthy in the process. “Why do you guys keep lookin’ over there?” Each of the others grinned, and Kilik decided to have mercy on the rookie. “Look about five paces from the last stool…the blonde in the purple dress.” The teenager turned and found the described woman. She was fairly tall, with wavy blonde hair that fell to her hips -reaching almost to the hem of her dress in the process- and heavily lidded green eyes. The woman was quite fit, with just enough weight to allow for the curves expected of a female…or perhaps a bit more than expected, as the redhead discovered when the woman turned. He briefly spared a thought that it could not be comfortable to carry that much weight on your chest before noting the drink she was holding and the cigarette in the other hand. Reno turned back to the others with a questioning look, “What about her?” The grins fell from all three Turk’s faces simultaneously, to be replaced by completely blank expressions. It was as though they had never before heard the words that the slight teen had spoken. “Are you serious?” asked Rod. “Yeah,” the redhead’s tone indicated that he thought the question stupid. “What’s so interesting about her? She doesn’t seem to be doin’ anything entertaining.” Fayte simply shook his head and sipped his drink, Rod was staring at the younger Turk in shock, and Kilik smiled, releasing a sigh that seemed to hold a small laugh before turning to the others. “See? This is why they shouldn’t take in Turklets so young…the kid has completely missed the finer pleasures in life. I mean look at him; he’s completely clueless. That’s just…ugh-” Reno looked away while his new friend apparently searched for a word of appropriate proportion for describing the inhumanity of a world that allows an adolescent to be so distracted that he is uninterested in a woman who appears to be suffering from some sort of elephantitus in her chest. The redhead really could not see it as a problem. He was a competent helicopter pilot, proficient in several forms of martial arts and weaponry, and could pick just about any lock built by man, all by the age of fifteen…a worthy trade for any social shortcoming he may have, in his opinion. Someone moved in the crowd, revealing what the scrawny Turk recognised as a SOLDIER uniform. Blue eyes trailed up a toned stomach and broad chest to meet with the brightest pair of violet eyes he had ever seen, framed with dark lashes a few stray strands of black hair. The man Reno did not realise he was staring at offered a pleasant smile to the younger male, which snapped the redhead back to reality. He replied to the handsome man’s friendly nod with a grin and a small nod of his own. The small Turk then returned his attention to his companions, whom he realised had not spoken since Kilik trailed off a moment before. Reno was marginally surprised to find all three Turks staring at him. Fayte’s expression was neutral, save for a questionably arched eyebrow. Kilik was smirking; his eyes bright as he clearly fought the urge to laugh about something. Rod was looking at Reno with a slightly disturbed expression, as though the shorter male had a nasty cold with which he did not want to become inflicted. These reactions caused the redhead to frown in confusion. The frown quickly gave way to a small but fierce glare as Kilik lost the fight against his amusement and released a hearty chuckle, “What, yo?” “Making a new friend, were you?” commented the former mob guard once his chuckling had eased. The shorter Turk glanced back to the SOLDIER, who was still watching him, oddly enough. Reno drew his brows in irritation, knowing there was something going on here that he really should be catching. He had passed all of the tests on observational and deductive skills very well, after all. The corner of Fayte’s mouth quirked up into a minute grin, “I guess the blonde woman just isn’t put together to your liking.” Kilik broke into a fresh wave of chuckles when the katana wielder stressed the word woman slightly, and Rod looked like a rookie after his first day at hands-on triage training. Reno turned his gaze back to the woman in question, who was now flirting shamelessly with a dark-haired man in a long blue coat. He still could not see what was so great about her, but then, he realised he never had found women to be particularly interesting…from a physical standpoint anyway. Girls like Cissnei and Elena were cool to talk to and fun to hang out with, but he had never had any romantic interest in them. Actually, the redhead suddenly realised that he had never had any romantic interest in any girls. Of course, he had been more than a little busy trying to survive in the slums up until a couple of years prior and had spent his time since then determined to prove himself worthy of Turk. Despite the logic in the explanations, the teen could not help but notice that they felt like excuses. Blue eyes turned to the raven-haired SOLDIER at the bar, who had been joined by another young man. Both were very well built, obviously they spent plenty of time working out. Since coming to the upper plates to join Turk, the redhead had realised that he noticed the built of the men around him. At first, he had written it off, thinking that of course a pale, scrawny kid from the slums would notice the toned, large, and usually tanned (or at least a healthy fair shade when not) skin of all the people who used the same locker rooms as he did, who were naturally males. While logical, the teen also found this to feel like an excuse. Then, the raven-haired man he was watching absently stroked his companion’s side in a gesture that was far too slow and intimate to be strictly platonic. “…Oh.” Reno blinked and looked down at the table in front of him. Okay, so he obviously was attracted to men instead of women. He knew that was not unheard of, he had accidentally interrupted upon alleyway rendezvous of all sorts while looking for a place to sleep out of the elements as a kid. It clearly was not that unheard of on the upper plate as well, if all three of his companions had reached the conclusion that he was gay after seeing him check out only one man. It only took a few more second for the redhead to decide that he was fine with this new discovery. …And since at least one of his new co-workers was obviously less than comfortable with the idea, he also decided that he might as well have some fun with the information. He looked up and smirked at his companions, “Well at least I picked a good job for my tastes, yo.” He wagged his eyebrows once at their suddenly confused expression. “I get to share a locker room and get naked with the hottest bodies on the planet.” All four stared at each other in silence for a brief moment, before both Reno and Kilik broke into laughter. “Oh man, you should see your faces, yo…” Fayte grinned lightly and shook his head at the younger Turks, while Rod released a nervous chuckle. “Relax, man,” commented Kilik. “I think he was teasing abut checking us all out in the locker rooms…besides, if he wasn’t, I doubt your one of the guys he’ll be looking at. He seems to like the big ones.” “Oh come on,” Reno rolled his eyes. “Just because I like men doesn’t mean I like all men. I have my standards, yo.” “Uh-huh,” Rod nodded and then stiffly stood from the table. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. I think it’s time to cut myself off…” Reno frowned as the baton wielder all but fled the tavern. He got along well with the slightly older man, and hoped that they would still be able to be friends. “Just give him a couple of days to wrap his head around it,” stated Fayte, catching the teen’s eyes and holding them with his own. “Then, he’ll realise he’s being an idiot and you two will be joining forces to give Verdot some more grey hairs in no time.” “Yeah,” Kilik nodded his agreement. “Rod’s cool…he just takes some time to adjust to things. You’ll be fine, kid, don’t worry.” Reno shrugged, “Hey, if he can’t take it, he can’t take it. I’m not cryin’ over it, yo. As long as he can deal so we can both do our jobs, its okay.” The redhead glanced across the room again. The blonde woman was sitting at the bar with a different man than before, and the two SOLDIERs had disappeared. “You know, I’m not really planning’ on checking anyone out at work…it just, doesn’t seem like a bright idea, yo?” “Yeah, with a job like ours…one you can’t get out of, it really is playing with fire,” commented Fayte with an agreeable nod. “If it goes wrong, you’re gonna burn or suffocate. There’s no escaping.” Reno and Kilik nodded, and then the youngest man noticed a large man with sunglasses and a shaven head approaching the table. The redhead had seen, or more to the point, admired this man whenever he saw him around headquarters or the Turk training grounds before. The suit and badass air about him would have marked him as a Turk even if Reno had not seen him in places where only Turk had access. The small male could not help but wonder if it was his newly acknowledged preferences or simply the lighting in the tavern that made the older man look sexy enough for the redhead to actually feel himself blush as he reached the table. “Shit,” the teenager muttered and then met Kilik’s eyes across the table as Fayte greeted the brawny Turk. “I’m gonna burn, yo.” The gunman chuckled at the younger man’s declaration as the bald man took Rod’s vacated chair. “I saw Rod on the way in,” commented the large Turk once he had seated himself. Reno could not recall ever having heard the man speak before and he immediately thought that he could easily become drunk of the sound of his voice alone. “What’s wrong with him?” Fayte answered, which only made sense, seeing as how Kilik was clearly trying not to burst into hysterical laughter at both the reminder of the previous event and the youngest Turk’s current blush. Reno was too busy studying the wood grain of the table and trying to fight down said flush. “Apparently he doesn’t find the idea of young Reno here checking us out in the locker rooms all that appealing.” The bald man simply made a sound of acknowledgement and nodded. If the answer bothered him at all, he did not show it. The shift of white behind his shades suggested that he glanced at the redhead, who had paled slightly at the sword-wielder’s reply. Then, he seemed to turn his attention back to Fayte. “I’m leading a small team out to the Gongaga area in the morning. Inara’s already on board, but I need someone who’s good at close combat.” The katana wielder nodded, “Should I meet you at the helicopter pad?” The large Turk nodded as well, “At four. Reno?” He turned to the small redhead again, who looked up immediately. “I need a pilot. Meet me at the chopper at three for prepping.” The teen grinned, pleased that the older man had obviously heard enough about him to know his name and that he was a pilot. “You got it.” He titled his head slightly as he thought of each time he had seen the man, usually with another senior officer. “You’re Rude, right? I mean, that’s your name, yo?” “Mm-Hmm,” the large man fixed his tie after he stood and offered a hand to the younger Turk, “Pleased to meet you.” Reno accepted the offered handshake, and was surprised when the larger hand did not crush his own; even though it gripped just tightly enough for it to be clear that it possessed the strength to do so. The younger Turk actually had to push away thoughts of how well his smaller hand seemed to fit into Rude’s powerful one, “Same here.” Kilik arched an eyebrow as the two Turks pulled their hands back to their sides, noting that their fingers dragged along each other’s briefly, and keeping contact for a just a few seconds longer than necessary. He glanced at Fayte, “Well if you guys have to get up that early, then we should really call it a night, don’t you think?” “Yes, we should,” the older Turk replied as he stood and took out his wallet, noting that the two younger males were following suite. He held up a hand to Reno, “No, this was to celebrate your graduation, so you’re off the hook this round.” Kilik nodded his agreement and Reno grinned. “Thanks, yo. I had a good time…this is a nice place.” While it was what most would call a quiet, modest tavern, where ShinRa’s finest went to relax and try to forget the stresses of their jobs, to Reno the quiet and calm atmosphere was very comfortable after being used to the rowdy, loud bars in the slums. It was also a lot cleaner then what he was used to, but everything on the upper plates seemed to be that way. While he glanced around the tavern one more time, Reno failed to notice that Rude was watching him thoughtfully. Fayte, however, did not. “Rude? Are you heading home as well?” He glanced towards their newest co-worker when the bald man nodded. “Reno here lives in those little apartments just past your building; do you think you could walk with him? It’s a bit out of the way for us.” “Oh, I don’t need an escort or anything, yo,” interjected the teenager as he looked between Rude and Fayte. “I’m fine on my own.” The large Turk shrugged slightly, “We’re heading in the same direction anyway.” “Yeah,” added Kilik. “You might as well walk together as far as Rude’s building. No sense in going alone when you can get to know another one of the people you’re going to have to trust with your life soon, kid.” Reno stared at the other Turk for a moment. While having his life in someone else’s hands was not a new experience, he still was unused to the concept of actually being expected to trust others with it. He blinked and glanced at the others, wondering if that might actually work. Then, he shrugged casually. “Okay, let’s go home.” Reno could not tell if the taller man enjoyed his company or not throughout the walk back to his apartment. The older Turk stayed beside him the entire time, never told him to shut up (which the teen was used to), and even spoke a few words that could have been intended to prompt the redhead to talk more during the lulls in the conversation…if it could be called that with how little the larger man was actually speaking. Still, the younger Turk could not help but wonder if he was annoying Rude. Then Reno suddenly realised that they had reached his building, which was several buildings past Rude’s own. “Hey, why didn’t you tell me when we reached your building? You didn’t have to go out of your way.” “I felt like walking,” replying the brawny man simply. “Oh, okay,” the teen looked from the man beside him to his building and then back again. Feeling even more confused. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.” The bald man nodded, “See you tomorrow.” He then nodded his head towards the door, and did not head back to his building until Reno was already safely inside his own. The redhead noticed this and wondered if he should feel insulted or just give into the warm fuzzy feeling growing in his torso. The redhead took the stairs up to his floor, hoping the movement would help clear his head, and once he had entered his small apartment and set his alarm for the next morning, he decided that maybe it had. After all, he had suffered through worse then a burning before and survived. At least this time, he might get some good memories out of it too. The teenager set his alarm for a little earlier before going to bed. He decided he would try ironing one of his suits in the morning. The redhead sighed and snuggled into his warm bed, thinking that he was really going to enjoy life as a Turk.
8:25pm: KH: What's In A Name
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Kingdom Hearts or any Final Fantasy titles.
Author’s note: Oddly enough, I got the basic idea for this while dusting my videogame and anime figures. I suddenly realised, while cleaning Squall, that the Kingdom Hearts version of the character had to have received his scar differently than the Final Fantasy VIII version did, so I started pondering how he might have received it. This whole thing just fell together from there. Thank you for reading and enjoy. The fifteen year old ran as fast as his legs could carry him, dodging the strange dark creatures that seemed to everywhere or else cutting through them as well as he could. He was surprised by his own skill, as he had only ever sparred with friends or train with an instructor prior to the nightmare he was currently trying to survive. He evaded the claws of one of the monsters, noticing that he had never seen that particular breed of them during the attack yet, and cut down another as it tried to follow up its comrade’s attack. The young fighter’s eyes finally landed on his destination and he pushed himself to run faster, hoping he was not already too late. “Squall!” The named boy spun around at the sound of his name, and raised his Gunblade just in time to block an attack. He ducked under the follow-up swing, then leapt into the air and cleaved the creature as he came down upon it. As the dark monster was reduced to nothing but smoke and ashes, steel-blue eyes took a quick assessment of the situation. Several other SeeD trainees had arrived at the orphanage already, and were following the orders of the newly made instructor, Quistis. The blonde-haired girl turned toward Squall as soon as she sent a few SeeDs to lead a group of orphans to the transports. “Have you seen Ellone?” asked Squall as he turned to meet another enemy that was rushing at him from the right. Before it came within reach of his blade, Quistis’ chain whip shot out and sent the creature flying across the room. “What’s happening?” “She’s here, helping Edea make sure all of the orphans are accounted for as we load them up. No one seems to know, what is going on,” replied the blonde teenager as she adjusted her glasses. “Master Cid just asked us to help Edea evacuate the orphanage. There hasn’t been any word from Ansem the Wise, his apprentices, ShinRa, or Esthar yet…” “Hey, watch out!” A blonde and blue blur shot past the two and collided with one of the smaller monsters. After landing a few well-aimed punches, Zell turned away from the scattering ashes of his opponent and joined his friends. “Watch out for those ones…they use fire spells;” he pointed to burn across his right temple; some of his hair had been singed away. “Zell, grab that little boy,” Quistis pointed to a child no older than six, who was peeking from around an armoire, “And take him to the transport area. Get that burn patched up before you come back, all right?” “It’s not that seri-” Blue eyes narrowed slightly as Quistis released her chain whip and struck out a few more attacking creatures. “That’s an order!” “Yes, ma’am!” Zell ran towards the boy, then jumped and struck out a kick to knock away a creature that had just discovered the child. Within seconds, he was running with the child thrown over his shoulder. Squall and Quistis continued fighting off the strange creatures as a few other members of SeeD grabbed what appeared to be the last of the orphans. After a moment, the sounds of gunfire were added to the fray of the battle. “I guess Irvine finally showed up,” commented the brown-haired boy as Quistis nodded, neither paused in their fight until the surrounding enemies were destroyed. “Trepe,” Irvine tilted his hat as he approached the young instructor. “I know you’re not supposed to give this sort of thing away, but please tell me this some sort of messed up training exercise.” Quistis shook her head apologetically, “Whatever this is; it’s real. Have all of the kids been evacuated?” “Edea’s going over her checklist now,” replied the sharpshooter as he reloaded his weapon. He took out a few monsters that were approaching in the distance and then began to reload again. “No one can find that little Wutai girl though…the one who thinks she’s some sorta ninja.” “Yuffie headed into town just before everything turned to chaos here,” stated Quistis. “She said something about going for her weapons cache in her secret place, but no one knows what she was talking about.” “She has some of her parents’ old training gear hidden in a hollow spot at the Bailey,” stated Squall. He rolled his eyes when the other two looked at him in utter shock. “Just because I don’t respond to the little pest doesn’t mean I turn deaf whenever she’s prattling on.” Quistis recovered from her surprise first, “Well, Aerith was supposedly with her, but I haven’t seen either of them since I got here.” Irvine arched an eyebrow, “Aerith…she a new recruit or something?” The blonde girl shook her head. “No, she’s that flower girl from the church. You’ve seen her around; long brown hair, green eyes, a handful of years older than me…do you know who I‘m talking about?” The sharpshooter turned to Squall, who did not even glance at the taller boy; “Zack’s girlfriend.” “Oh,” the violet-eyed teen nodded, and then frowned. “Does she fight?” “…Not that I know of,” the sable-haired teen looked to Quistis. The blonde girl immediately nodded, “Go locate them. -Wait, take this;” she handed the boy a small walkie-talkie. “Irvine and I will make one more sweep here, and then check at the transport area to make sure everyone else is accounted for. Your objective is only to keep the girls safe until you can get them to a transport, okay Squall?” The steel-eyed teen nodded and took off without any further preamble, attaching the walkie-talkie to one of his belts as he ran. He did not pause as he cut through more of the dark creatures, keeping his focus on his objective. He had no idea what condition Yuffie or Aerith would be in when he reached them and he just hoped they could hold out until he arrived. Squall discovered even more of the odd monsters in the Borough when he reached it, including some different variations than the ones he had been fighting all morning. As he fought his way up the stairs that would lead him to the Bailey, he heard a child yelp and threw more force into his swings, barrelling forward as quickly as he could. He realised a moment too late that this was a mistake, as some of the midsized creatures, armed with what appeared to be a sword, used his unstoppable momentum against him in an attack, knocking him down and causing him to lose his grip on his weapon. Blood splattered across the stone floor as the teenager hit the ground. Squall had learned years before, that face wounds bleed worse than most any other part of the body, and so the blood pouring from the bridge of his nose did not concern him until it began to hinder his vision. He wiped at his face with one gloved hand as the other arm stretched out for him to pat the ground in search of his weapon, which he knew was somewhere nearby. “ Leave my friend alone!” Both Squall and the large creature that had been about to pounce on him stopped and flinched at the shrill screech of a child; the sable-haired teen quickly wiped the blood out of his left eye, simply opting to keep the right one closed as the wound above it meant it only keep filling with the substance. He looked up just in time to see an abnormally large shuriken strike the creature responsible for the wound in the centre of its head. The steel-eyed teen used the moment that his enemies were distracted to grab his weapon. With one clear sweep, he destroyed the nearest two as he rose to his feet. The boy continued to slash at the creatures as he started making his way to the ten-year-old ‘ninja’, who was actually dodging the monsters with unsurprising speed. However, Squall had only made it halfway to her when she lost her footing on some loose gravel and fell over, leaving her open to multiple attacks. The boy‘s eyes widened as he kicked the nearest creature off the wall; “Yuffie!” Nearly as soon as the girl had hit the ground, an air shield appeared around her. Without bothering to question it, or even think, Squall raised Revolver and shot the surrounding monsters. Then, he adjusted his grip on his weapon and ran toward the girl, dodging, jumping, and only occasionally slashing to get through the horde of enemies. He would prefer reaching her with a few injuries than not making it to her in time again. As he approached the petite child, who was not sitting up and looking confused, a familiar green glow appeared around Yuffie, healing her injuries. Squall glanced to their left and saw a young woman with long brown hair carrying a short staff and approaching them swiftly…several of the strange creatures appeared to be chasing her. She looked a little worse for wear, but intact. “Look out!” Yuffie screeched and the sable-haired boy spun around and executed a rising slash just in time to strike an attacking monster. Several more rushed in and the SeeD in training leaped into the air and twirled his Gunblade, sending out a wave of energy that destroyed the creatures. He struck another monster upon landing and glanced behind him to see the young woman help the girl up before swinging her staff and knocking away another monster. “That way,” Squall pushed the girls further into the stone passage and released the hidden switch that closed the wall behind him. He then moved ahead of his newly acquired charges and cut down a few more of the creatures. “Stay behind me…we’re gonna have to take the long way around.” The green-eyed woman looked him over with a concerned expression as she took in all the blood staining his face, clothes, and hair. “You’re Cloud’s friend, right…Rain or something?” “Squall,” corrected Yuffie as she adjusted a small bundle, wrapped in some sort of old silk cloth, which was still too large for her to be carrying. “Grab that for her,” Squall snapped as he held off the throng of monsters that were trying to come through the other opening of the confined area. “There are more of them as you go further into the meadow,” commented Aerith as she took the bundle from Yuffie, “And you’re injured pretty badly. I don’t think we’ll be able to go back that way.” “Well we definitely can’t get back the way I came,” stated Squall. He took a quick look toward the meadows and saw that there were in fact thousands of the dark creatures swarming across it. It appeared that the seemingly endless wave of monsters was coming from Ansem the Wise’s castle. The boy felt as though he had just been doused in cold water, “Oh, no.” Firing at the nearest creatures, Squall took his walkie-talkie from his belt with his free hand and started speaking into it. “Quistis, there’s even more of these things out here. It looks like they’ve completely overrun Ansem’s castle. I found Yuffie and Aerith, but we’re holed up in the Bailey and moving isn’t going to be easy, so it will take us some time.” A stream of white noise, punctuated here and there by snippets of Quistis’ voice -which was concerned and slightly frantic- sounded from the walkie-talkie as Squall continued fighting off the odd monsters. The sable-haired teen frowned, “Quistis, I can’t read you…say that again.” Once more, only static and brief scraps of his friend and instructor’s voice came forth. “Maybe we should jump out the window,” suggested Yuffie, as though leaping from a sixty-foot ledge were everyday practise, once the hidden wall that Squall had closed started to give. “ Squall, come in;” stated a gruff voice from the named boy’s walkie-talkie. The sable-haired teen frowned at the unfamiliar voice, but answered all the same, knowing now was not the time to be antisocial. “This is Squall; who are you?” “ Name’s Cid Highwind; I just heard you and your friend trying to reach each other. You’re some of Master Cid’s SeeDs, right?” The steel-eyed teen glanced at the two girls behind him. “…Yes. Could you relay the message?” “ The girl, Quistis, said she’s sorry but she can’t hold the last transport for more than a few minutes. I’m flying out from my garage on the outskirts of town near you. Can you hold your position for about two and half minutes?” Squall continued slashing at the attacking creatures, which now had to come in groups of three at the most, since they had only a narrow entrance to come through. “It doesn’t sound like I have much choice.” “ Isn’t that the damned truth…all right; I’ll be there in about two minutes now. Hold on, kid.” Two minutes had never felt so long in all of Squall’s life. He heard another attempted contact from Quistis as well as one from Master Cid, but neither was any clearer than the previous attempts. If anything, Master Cid’s was even more garbled than Quistis‘ had been. Finally, the sounds of a powerful engine could be heard over the sounds of the creatures, and Squall glimpsed a small but impressively build, custom Gummi ship approaching just as another transmission came through. “ Can you kids make it to Postern? There’s a spot there I can use to land on…it’ll be a hell of a lot quicker that way.” “How soon can you be ready for us?” asked Squall. “ In about forty seconds.” “Okay, we’re on our way.” The steel-eyed teen attached his walkie-talkie to one of his belts again, and then quickly unbuckled one of the longer ones that wrapped around his hips. He tossed it to Aerith, “Use this to strap that bundle to you…you’ll need both of your hands to fight.” Once the girl had used the belt to strap the bundle to her back, she stood forward, holding her staff at the ready. “Can you hold them for a few seconds?” asked Squall. Once the girl nodded, he motioned for her to move in and then kneeled once she took over. “Yuffie, get on my back. Don’t even think of arguing.” The girl had opened her mouth and narrowed her eyes, clearly ready to argue being treated as a little kid, however, the tone of the boy’s voice silenced her immediately. She closed her mouth and climbed onto his back without a word. Squall stood easily, “Hold on tight; I’m going to need both hands too.” Once he felt Yuffie adjust her grip to support herself well, he released the girl and held his weapon with both hands and he moved closer to Aerith. “When I tell you too, let me cut in front of you. I’ll push through these things and you follow. Then, we just cut our way to the Postern as quickly as we can. Do you know where the Postern is?” The young woman nodded, and Squall mimicked the motion, flinching slightly as he jarred a few injuries. “All right; stay behind me and don’t stop for anything. …Now!” Aerith immediately raised and stilled her staff, allowing Squall to cut ahead of her and slash the incoming creatures. He boy could barely make out the sounds of her following through the din of monsters and battle as they fought their way down the stairs and across the alley that led to the Postern. The Gummi had landed, but the hatch was still closed. It did not open until the trio was only a few meters away, and immediately, a blonde man leapt out with a spear, sending a dozen of the small creatures flying easily. “Get Yuffie,” Squall called to Aerith, who grabbed the girl right away and ran up the small ramp that led inside the Gummi ship. Meanwhile, the steel-eyed teen had spun around and was fighting beside Cid. “What the hell are you doin’?” called the gruff man. “Get your ass in there!” “I’ll hold them off while you go and then head back on my own,” replied Squall as he fired his weapon before slashing another monster. “I think that head wound you got scrambled your brains, kid.” Cid move closer to the boy as swept his spear through six more creatures. “You can’t go back.” “I have to. My friends are waiting and I don’t even know if my sister got on a transport yet or not.” “You didn’t hear the transmission your leader tried to send out, did you?” asked Cid as he subtly forced the boy to move closer to the ship while they fought. “He said the transports had to leave. There’s just too many of these damn things for them to risk sticking around. I told him I’d get you out. Now get your ass in that ship!” “Did he mention Ellone?” asked the sable-haired teen as he took out another dark being with an upper slash. “No, he just had heard me and wanted to know if I was close enough to get you. It didn’t sound like he was missin’ anyone else though.” Squall shook his head. “I can’t go without knowing that Ellone made it out. Just go with the girls. I’ll figure something out once I’ve checked for her…there have to be some ships left here.” “Kid, you’ll make a damn good leader once you grow up, but for now, you’re just a boy with shit for brains,” commented Cid. “Even if your sister is here, which I doubt, there’s nothing you’re going to be able to do for her. You wouldn’t even be able to find her in the mess these things are making of the place.” The teenager turned his head towards the pilot as he spoke; “Look, I am not going anywhere without-” Squall was cut off and caught completely by surprise when the man’s fist connected with his already wounded face. He fell back and hit the ground hard as his wound broke open and began to bleed anew. Dark spots and blood filled the boy’s vision; however, he recognised the sounds of Cid striking a few monsters that had no doubt moved in when he fell, before the man stepped towards him. Without thinking, Squall snapped out one of his legs and heard a stream of profanity as he connected with a solid body. “ ~f**@!!g&^#@+!*…Son of a bitch! That’s it, you little punk…” “Stop it!” Yuffie called, sounding distressed; “Aerith, lemme go! They’re hurt!” Squall forced himself into a standing position and swayed as he held a hand to his aching, bleeding head. He swung Revolver instinctively when a dark shape rushed him, and felt the blade cut through a couple of the strange monsters he had been fighting all day. Hearing Cid move beside him, the boy turned unsteadily; “Look, just go. I’m not your responsibility. You’re wasting time, just take the girls and-” The gruff man’s fist connected with him again, this time, in the solar plexus. The sable-haired teen felt all of the air forced out of his lungs and dropped. However, the same arm that had struck him caught him. After stowing his spear on his back, Cid grabbed the boy’s belts with his other hand and hefted the stubborn teen onto his shoulder in a fireman‘s hold. He then limped onto the Gummi ship, closed the hatch, and tossed the boy into the cargo area. Squall’s vision faded completely when he landed none-to-lightly on the floor of the ship. He heard Aerith call out harshly, “Hey, you can’t manhandle him like that! He has a concussion and an open wound on his face, plus who knows what other injuries!” The steel-eyed boy was only vaguely aware of the feeling of the ship’s takeoff a few moments before he felt someone lift his head and hold something against his lips. Aerith‘s voice sounded as though it were coming from somewhere far off when he heard her; “Here, drink this.” The SeeD in training automatically swallowed the bitter liquid that was gently poured down his throat, recognising the taste as that of an elixir once he registered it. Within seconds of finishing the foul tasting potion, he felt the pain and fatigue fade from his body. He groaned and then frowned when he had some trouble opening his eyes. “Hey, hang on a minute you pain in the ass,” Cid grumbled as Squall felt a hand land on his chest, preventing him from sitting up completely. Then, something warm, wet, and soft started brushing across his face. “You’ve got drying blood all over your face…no sense in ripping out all your eyelashes. There, try it now.” Squall opened his eyes successfully this time, to see Cid kneeling in front of him with a wet and bloodstained shop rag in his hand and a frown on his face. “Damn, those elixirs were supposed to be top dollar. Last time I buy anything in Midgar.” Aerith moved into Squall’s line of vision now and looked the boy over critically. “I don’t know; even a properly made elixir would have probably scarred, considering how deep that wound was and how long it remained open. At least it’s a nice, clean line.” “Oh well, shit happens,” commented Cid. He looked over Squall once more and then patted the boy on the shoulder before standing. “Just remember, no matter what those damn bishies say, chicks dig scars…they add character. Besides, you have a hell of a story to go with yours. Just talk about fighting thousands of monsters to protect a couple girls and the ladies will be swooning all over you.” Steel-blue eyes blinked. “…What the hell are you talking about?” “Your face scarred,” explained Yuffie as she sat down beside the teen and pulled on his sleeve in an attempt to help him sit up. “I got your sword thing for you.” She pointed to Revolver, which was lying beside her bundle of whatever she had risked her life to collect. “…It’s a Gunblade.” Now sitting and thinking clearly, Squall turned to Cid. “Where are we going?” “To a world called Traverse Town,” replied the Gummi pilot as he sat down gingerly and then drank a health potion. “It’s the only world I know of that definitely knows about other worlds, so we don’t have to worry about blending in.” “Do you know if that’s where ShinRa is taking everyone they evacuated?” asked Aerith with a concerned expression. “I have no fucking clue where ShinRa or SeeD was headin’ but I caught a couple transmissions from Reeve,” Cid glanced at Squall before turning to Aerith again. “SOLDIER and Turk got most everyone out of their territory, even the kids down in the slums. From what I heard from Cid, SeeD sounded like they were just missing the mule here.” “Did you hear anything about a SOLDIER named Zack Fair?” questioned Aerith, sounding hopeful now. “The cheerful guy that thinks you just have meet someone once and you’re suddenly pals? Yeah, Reeve said he dropped off a couple of tagalongs before he and Sephiroth went to lead a few groups to gather the citizens while Turk was evacuating all of ShinRa’s employees. They all reported in as scheduled before everyone headed out.” The young woman smiled, “The tagalongs must be Cloud and Tifa…they were going to the city with Zack today, since he was only supposed to be gone for the morning.” Squall felt some relief at hearing this, the named teenagers were only a couple of years younger than he was, and he had actually wondered about them when he did not see them trying to help around town that morning. It was not like that pair to remain uninvolved in any large event. Aerith looked as though she were about to ask something else but hesitated. Squall rolled his eyes and then Cid started speaking. “Reeve mentioned Tseng too.” He once again had the green-eyed girl’s complete attention. Squall had no idea who Tseng was, but could tell it was someone important to the young woman. “He and his team made it out of course; Turks are harder to kill than cockroaches.” Cid smirked slightly, “Some runt in the slums gave him a run for his money though…I guess the little shit was pretty scrappy. Tseng actually had to bring him onto one of the transports on their level since it took so long to catch him. Reeve said he‘d never seen him look more pissed or impressed in his life.” The Gummi pilot turned to Yuffie; “And what‘s your name, brat?” “I’m Yuffie Kasaguri, one of the great ninjas of Wutai!” The ten year old seemed unfazed by the blank stare Cid was giving her. “I know there’s no way my people failed to escape, and at least I know my friends are all right now…plus, ‘m with Aerith and Squall, so I‘m not worried.” The blonde man shook his head and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He shook one out and lit it as he stood, “I’ll be in the cockpit. Don’t break anything.” Aerith and Yuffie made themselves comfortable and talked about various topics, from their favourite flowers to what they thought Traverse Town was going to be like. The girls attempted to include Squall in on their conversation, but the sable-haired teen responded in very few words, if at all, so they gave up after a while. Squall spent the flight deep in thought. He felt that he had failed everyone: his sister, his friends, SeeD, and his home world. He had no idea where his friends and fellow trainees were going or whether Ellone or his father had made it out of Radiant Garden. The more he thought on it, the more guilt and frustration he felt. The trip took less than two days, and Squall hardly spoke throughout that time. He learned the basics of operating the ship’s weapons and shields, and had a decent handle on how to fly the Gummi, taking turns with Cid, while Aerith kept a watch on Yuffie for the most part. When they finally landed in Traverse Town, the three young passengers gazed over what they could see of the strange city while Cid handled all the arrangements for his Gummi and got directions to a motel. “This place is a lot darker than home,” commented Yuffie with her nose scrunched slightly, “And it smells funny.” While Squall was inclined to agree with the ten year old, he said nothing. “Well, I’m sure we’ll find something to keep ourselves occupied until we can go home with all of out friends,” Aerith replied quietly, looking for all the world as though she’d rather head back into the Gummi and leave. “All right,” said Cid as he returned to the youths, obviously finished with his transactions. “This is the first district, the third is mostly residential…it’s through there, and the hotel is in the second.” “We should all stay together…for now, at least,” commented Aerith. She was still facing the general town, but her eyes had moved toward Squall. “We don’t know how long it will be before any of the others show up.” “They might not show up here,” stated Cid, “The guy at the hanger said we aren’t the first refugees to show up. Seems ours wasn’t the first world to get hit by those damn things. Look kids, I‘ve got some Munny, but we don‘t long how long we‘re going to be stuck here, so don’t go treating this like it‘s going to be short term.” Aerith nodded sadly while Squall gave the pilot a look that stated he really had not needed to be told that. Neither of the males bothered looking down when Yuffie responded, “That’s okay, ninjas are very resourceful…and I even have thirty Munny saved. And, we can bunk up to save…hey, Squall? Do you wanna be roommates?” The boy was about to rebuff the child, but he caught the expression on Aerith’s face in mid-eye roll. Confused, he glanced at Yuffie, to discover that the girl had moved closer to him while he was not paying attention, and was now looking over the dark streets and unknown inhabitant of Twilight Town wearily. With all the hyperactive girl’s babbling and ninja talk, he had actually forgotten that she was just ten and had probably been somewhat traumatised by recent events. The newly scarred teen did not bother to soften his expression, however. “…Whatever.” Yuffie smiled and fell into step beside the sable-haired boy when he adjusted his weapon and her package and headed for the second district. Cid and Aerith followed, carrying some food, clothes, and supplies that the pilot always kept in his Gummi in case of emergency. The quartet followed the front deskman to their rooms, Aerith’s was beside Yuffie and Squall’s, with another room between theirs and Cid’s. Squall dropped the items he was carrying on one of the beds in the room he was apparently going to be sharing, and glanced out at the balcony. He had a feeling this was going to be ‘home’ for much longer than the girls seemed to think it would. The steel-eyed teen also decided that he did want to be as useless as he was in defending their home world anymore. He was not going to spend his time in limbo idly. “How long do you intend on staying?” The employee asked when Squall stepped out into the hall again, with Yuffie following his heels. Squall simply looked at the man and said nothing, so Yuffie piped up, “We don’t know yet and it isn’t any of your business anyway.” She seemed to have mistaken the older boy’s silence for having been offended. The man smiled slightly, “I’m sorry, little miss, I meant no-” “Hey, don’t call me that,” argued the girl, apparently in the mood to argue now that she had started. “I’m the great ninja Yuffie!” The man looked to Squall for assistance in placating the child, but the teen offered him a look in return that said he was completely on his own. The sable-haired boy had other things on his mind at that moment and could clearly not care less about whether his apparent charge caused a bit of grief. The man seemed to appease the girl on his own, after several minutes, and then turned to Squall; “And what would your name be?” Steel-blue eyes turned to the man, although the teen made no other motion to acknowledge him. “…It’s Leon.” “All right,” the man wrote something down in a small notebook. “I’ll just go and check with the, er…gentleman that checked in with you.” As the man scurried off, Yuffie looked toward the sable-haired boy perplexedly, “Squall-?” “While we’re here, it’s Leon, all right?” Large brown eyes blinked, and it seemed that the girl did not understand, although she recognised a closed subject when she heard one. “Come on…let’s go see what Aerith’s room looks like. Okay, Sq-eon?” Leon looked down, to find Yuffie looking at him as she would if bothering him for something back home…as though she had not made slip or found anything odd in the fact that he had just changed his name for some reason unknown to her after they fled their home from unfamiliar monsters. The boy frowned slightly and felt his skin pull tightly around his new scar. “Hey, are you guys all settled?” asked Aerith as she stepped out of her room to join the pair in the hallway. While Yuffie told Aerith about the clock in their room and inquired about lunch, the steel-eyed teen watched them for a moment. While he still felt he had failed his home, he supposed he should at least be pleased that he had fulfilled his objective to get them out safely. The question was; what should he do now? “Hey Leon, do you wanna go get something to eat and then explore a little?” asked Yuffie, earning both she and the named boy an odd look from Aerith at the new title. The sable-haired boy decided that until he was strong enough to protect his home, he was at least strong enough to protect what he had of it. He offered the girls a firm nod and then returned to his room to grab Revolver before joining them again. If only he did not abhor leading…but at least he knew that things would not get even more messed up this way. “Great,” stated Yuffie cheerfully. “I saw a café on the way here.” “Remember, we don’t have much Munny, Yuffie,” cautioned Aerith. “I have some Munny,” stated Leon, “And I’ll get a job here as soon as I can.” The brunette looked at the teenager with an expression of sad surprise for a moment, catching the implication of that statement, but then seemed to take in his determined face before glancing at Yuffie’s unfazed expression. The young woman then smiled lightly, “All right. That’s a good idea.” “You three do know that this is a public hallway, right?” commented Cid as he approached the others. “We’re gonna go get lunch, then explore and find a job for Leon,” Yuffie explained easily, ignoring the man‘s rhetorical question completely. “Do you wanna come?” The blonde man looked from Yuffie to the steel-eyed teen with a questioning gaze for a moment, until Leon nodded. “All right, sounds good to me. I suppose I ought to find something’ too…knowing my wife, I wouldn’t be surprised if she showed up here sooner or later. Best to avoid any bitching about loafing around…” The girls smiled and began asking the gruff pilot questions about this wife as they walked, with the SeeD trainee following and offering Yuffie a nod when she checked to see that he was still with them. With a silent nod of assurance, the young man assured the girl that he was not going to leave, and she trotted ahead to walk beside Cid, immediately asking all sorts of questions about their new, hopefully temporary, home. Leon watched the three ahead of him dutifully, making sure that none of the people who came by seemed threatening and silently taking charge of the small party. His back straightened slightly and a resolute edge to his eyes caused the passer-by’s near him to give the teen a wider birth, somehow recognising that the boy deserved respect and caution. He might not have been able to protect his old home and friends, but Leon was determined to give all that could to take care of what remained of it. Perhaps, if he was successful, he would be able to save Squall in the end as well.
13th February 2008
4:59pm: KH: In The End
Zack felt waves of shock and sorrow crash over him repeatedly as he stared down at the body lying below him. The blood pooling around it stained soft silver hair. Fair skin was even paler than usual. Thin lips had a blue tinge to them as they parted slightly, shallow breaths barely passed through them. The former SOLDIER’s hand shook as he reached down to grasp a cold slender hand. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out when everything had changed…when it had all gone so wrong. In the past, if he and Sephiroth drew their swords in the same vicinity, it was because they were going to fight side by side. At present, it usually meant they were going to fight each other. Once, if Zack felt like the word had been pulled out from under him, he could go to Sephiroth for guidance. Now, it was usually Sephiroth that had pulled it all away to begin with. They used to work together to build a better word. Nowadays they worked against each other, and tore that world apart in the process. Some time ago, they had gone from the best of friends, to the worst of enemies, and now Zack knew that they had passed their chance to return to what they once were. They used to try to protect one another and the others they loved. Nowadays, Zack struggled to protect everything he loved from the other man. Once, they used to cover for Cloud and then Sephiroth would tease him good naturedly about how fortunate he should feel that they were friends. Now, Zack often had to cover Cloud as Sephiroth attacked him while throwing taunts that were anything but good in nature. In the past, if Zack went looking for Sephiroth, it was to see his best friend. At present, he was looking to destroy the shell that remained of his best friend. “Aerith, stay with Riku.” The violet-eyed man released the boy’s hand. “I’m going to make sure this is over.” He heard her call ‘be careful’ as he turned and walked away, following the trail of blood and feathers further into the mansion. Zack felt a strange combination of sorrow and relief when he found Sephiroth. His long hair matted with blood, fair skin white as marble and pale lips frozen in a soft smile that Zack had not seen in over fifteen years. As he grasped a cold and lifeless hand, he was oddly pleased that even after all that had past, he still mourned him as a friend.
4:42pm: KH: A Celebration of Hearts
Valentine’s Day, it is not about the candy hearts and red roses, but about all the little ways to say I love you.
Kairi passed out little heart-shaped boxes of chocolates to her friends during a class Valentines Day party. When she was done, she drew her brows in confusion to find one extra box sitting at the bottom of her bag. After checking with Selphie and Penelo to make sure she had not forgotten anyone, they decided she must have accidentally bought one for Riku out of habit. That did not explain why she brought it to class though…Riku had been in the year ahead of her.
Axel walked along a cold rooftop in The World That Never Was, wondering about the new plan that Xemnas had revealed to the remaining members of the group. He had not told any of them that he had repeatedly met the little silver-haired nuisance that had escaped them and defeated several members in the process. He was not going to either. The boy reminded him of Roxas, not in personality or appearance, but in the sense that he made Axel feel…even though both had been told that was not possible. The teen was also prone to developing some interesting theories on Nobodies, hearts, bonds, and emotions, and Axel found that he just enjoyed talking with the kid. The fiery Nobody pulled a small silver lighter out of his pocket. It had been waiting for him at one of the spots he usually went to when he wanted to disappear for a bit. Carved on one side was a heart, accompanied by twin flames… The other side also contained a carving, only this was a brief message in impossibly neat script for the small amount of space available…especially since he knew a slender hand that was accustomed to holding a larger blade had carved it. Happy Hearts Day Axel Your friend, Riku The redhead opened the hinged top and flicked the little switch that made a flame appear…he wondered why such a small flame suddenly made him feel all warm inside.
Roxas returned to his room after what had seemed like a rather pointless assignment. He really did not think that the small item he and Luxord had retrieved was worth the hundreds of Heartless he had to plough through to get to it. His thoughts paused when he noticed two small, red, cardboard boxes on his bed, each shaped like a heart. One was covered in Axel’s distinctive handwriting, which looked like it belonged on the cover of a gothic manga or heavy metal CD. He arched an eyebrow at the words, Happy Hearts Day Roxas, from your best friend Axel. Inside were several chocolates, filled with various liquors that burned when you ate them. The writing on the other box was much smaller, with sweeping lines and an elegant flow to it, Happy Hearts Day Roxas, from Demyx. This box contained red and pink saltwater taffies. The Nobody popped a chocolate into his mouth and decided to go hear whatever crazy theory was behind this one. Ever since Axel started taking those long walks he so enjoyed, he had been coming back with all kinds of ideas that would land him in big trouble if the superiors heard, and Demyx tended to soak them up like a sponge. The blonde wondered from where or whom his fiery friend was getting these ideas. He vaguely recalled that the new feeling rising in him was jealousy, but then he pressed the thought down as he reminded himself that he had no feelings.
DiZ entered the room that contained Sora’s sleeping chamber to check some of the equipment there, and raised a bemused eyebrow at the new additions to the usually all white chamber. There was a piece of paper, folded into quarters with a bright red oil pastel drawing of a heart on it, and the words, Happy Valentine’s Day Sora written in yellow, taped to the glass. Beside it was another piece of paper, cut into a heart and then drawn on with a plain pencil to make it appear that the heart was made a pair of folded wings. The words Happy Hearts Day Sora graced this one as it hung, taped beside the other ‘card’. One more piece of paper had been left, with a pencil and a few oil pastel pencils, lying neatly on the read-out printer as though the adolescent and the Nobody had thought DiZ might want to make his own Valentine too.
The next year Kairi had just the right number of heart-shaped boxes, but she left Sora’s at his desk quietly since he was a little busy giving Penelo the bracelet he had begged Kairi to help him pick out for the occasion.
Sora smiled as he slipped the thin silver cuff onto Penelo’s wrist, glad that he guessed the right size after Kairi showed him the one his girlfriend had liked while the girls were out shopping the week before. The blonde turned her hand to grasp his and placed a strawberry flavoured kiss to his lips. He decided that Selphie’s idea of giving flavoured lip-gloss to all of her friends instead of candy was brilliant after all. The smile on his face and the slightly smaller hand in his both remained in place for the remainder of the day.
Zack led Aerith into the backyard with his hands over her eyes, after making her promise that they were closed anyway. He turned his wife (he still loved being able to call her that, even in his own mind) to face the door they had just exited before allowing her too look. There were two new rose bushes planted on either side of the door they had just passed through and band-aids on the ex-SODLIER’s fingers. That did not stop him from pulling her closer when she smiled and kissed him.
Rude entered the kitchen early to find Tifa already cooking at the stove and Denzel setting the table with a grin on his face as he tried to talk her into a name he liked for his future little brother or sister. The bald man messed the boy’s hair, then wrapped an arm around the woman’s waist, and kissed her cheek as he handed her a small velvet box. She smiled broadly and kissed him thoroughly before letting him slip the ring onto her finger and then handing him a platter of heart-shaped waffles to set on the table. He noted with a grin the way the new ring sparkled on her finger as she ate and gestured while she spoke. However, he thought that her smile sparkled even more than the diamond.
Quistis laughed when she opened her door to see Zell grinning on her doorstep with a large stuffed Moogle whose Pom had been fashioned into a heart and whose little stuffed hands were stitched together to hold a small box of chocolates. He chuckled when she invited him in and handed him a card with a sheet of Valentine themed temporary tattoos. They only snickered more at the strange looks he received due to the extra tattoos on his skin when they went out for lunch at a nicer restaurant then they usually frequented.
Leon actually smiled when he entered his kitchen to see a homemade card on the table that read Happy Hearts Day Squall in Riku’s handwriting over an impressive sketch of two intertwined hearts. He did not even mind Yuffie covered in four and running out the back door as though her life depended on it, or Enkeli playing with a heart-shaped squeak toy non-stop. Steel blue eyes were set on Riku, who bit his lip before commenting that Squall was home early while he set the last red velvet cupcakes on the little stand he had placed next to the handmade card. Normally he might have been annoyed about the mess that Yuffie had made in their kitchen, but he could not complain about any situation that left Riku covered in strawberry frosting and tiny candy hearts. The scarred man sat the card he had purchased for his young lover on the table next to his and then pulled the candy coated adolescent to him, ignoring the frosting that smeared on him as he held and kissed the boy.
Cid grumbled as he rejected yet another card from the shop, wondering not for the first time why they had to make them all so damn sappy. He wondered why one could not just say Happy Valentine’s Day, or better yet, Thanks for putting up with me all these years. He thought that perhaps he should have taken Jailbait up on his offer to make one for him. Oh well, there was an idea for next year. In the meantime, the Gummi mechanic left the shop carrying a small red box made of firm cardboard. It was rectangular, not heart-shaped, with no fancy lettering on it or words of endearment, but it contained a pound of Shera’s favourite liquorice snaps. She would appreciate that more then a sappy card anyway…there was one of the many reasons they had married in the first place.
Cloud rolled his eyes as they were bombarded with reds and pinks while he walked through the market district. He usually found this holiday quite irritating…not because he rarely had anyone to share it with, as his friends suspected, but because everything was so overdone. He did not think that three foot wide, heart-shaped balloons; giant pink and white teddy bears with their arms spread and the words I love you this much written on their stomachs; or cards that crammed in thirty lines of poetry on the wonders of love, were truly befitting of anyone. The whole idea seemed to be to encourage one to be as sappy as they could for one day to prove that they cared about someone who really should know it already if that were the case. He used the back door to get to his apartment over Tifa’s tavern, not wanting to deal with its patrons, who were no doubt getting emotional over loved ones or whining about having no one to with for the holiday. His musings ceased when he saw a little bag of candy hearts on his bed along with a small note. Instead of the usual I LOVE YOU or HUGS AND KISSES, the candies were stamped with personalised messages that were generally blunt, funny, and even crude in some cases. The note looked like a blank white business card that someone had simply used to make a quick note. Yo Cloud, Happy V-day -Reno The blonde smirked before turning and heading back out to the market district while popping a few candies into his mouth.
Riku padded into the kitchen with a towel around his shoulders and his hair still dripping from the shower, with intensions to feed Enkeli. Once he had, he picked up the two classroom-like valentines cards that Yuffie had dropped off earlier for him and Squall (before she insisted on staying to help him make the cupcakes) and set them on the table beside the cards they had given each other. He froze when he noticed an additional item on the table as well. A slender hand slowly picked up a small silver lighter with a flaming heart embossed on the side. He discovered a safety latch that prevented the lighter from accidentally opening as well as another safety to prevent it from lighting unless intended to. The teen smiled softly when he remembered that he had only ever confirmed his fear of fire to one person…who had ironically been somewhat of a pyromaniac and supposedly had no heart or feelings. He picked up two cupcakes before returning to Leon in the bedroom while pondering if hearts would ever cease to amaze him.
Kairi smiled as she gathered the few bottles her friends in Twilight Town had sent with valentines for her and Sora. She doubted that King Mickey had expected them to use the information he had given them on passing messages for such casual purposes, but how else were they supposed to keep in touch? Not everyone had Riku’s ability to just sit down and build a device that could break all laws of nature and allow cross-world communication. She shrugged off the thought and threw her own bottle of valentines out into the sea. Then she opened the bottles she had received, read her valentines, and set Sora’s aside since he was still with Penelo. The auburn-haired girl was glad for his absence when she felt herself blushing after she read the valentine Hayner sent her; Happy Valentine’s Day to the prettiest girl to ever come out of the blue.
Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy each smiled as they settled into their reserved box at the opera house. One of Daisy’s best friends, Clara Cluck, had finally landed the role she had been trying for in this season’s opera. The king smiled as he settles hi hand atop of one of Minnie’s (the other was still holding the flowers he had given her before they arrived) while they pointed out the various cupids and other Valentine’s Day decorations that graced the grand but warm and inviting opera house. He noted all the other couples and friends they were filling the seats below as Minnie turned her hand to hold his, then he smiled. This was what made the worlds worth saving every time. Fin
21st January 2008
8:38pm: KH: Dancing Lessions
Author's note: This story was written for Frozenobsidian.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.
Several residents of Radiant Garden had gathered in the ballroom of the recently restored castle, which had been turned into a sort of public recreational centre. Aside from the library, falls, chapel, and computer room, several talented residents had decided to turn spare rooms into public classes or clubs.
Aerith had recently decided that it would be fun to open a dance hall, where everyone could learn various forms of ballroom dancing. Now she and Zack, whom had been volunteered to be her assistant, were standing before several of the townsfolk and a few of their friends.
Zell approached Riku and Reno at the back of the ballroom, where both seemed to be avoiding everyone else. “I didn’t expect to see either of you here. Actually, I’m just here because I want to impress the ladies the next time I have a date…what about you guys?”
“Blackmail,” was the Turk’s brief reply.
The tattooed man raised his eyebrows slightly, “Oh…er, Riku?”
“Zack and Aerith thought it would be good for me to develop some social skills and this came up…Aerith was so into the idea that I couldn’t just blow it off.” The silvered teen shrugged with a weak smile.
“Yeah, I could see that,” replied the redhead as the other man nodded his understanding.
“I think that’s why most of the people you actually recognise are here,” stated the blonde man. “They wanted to make sure Aerith didn’t arrive to an empty class.”
“That’s how Rude and Tifa ended up coming,” agreed Reno. “’Course, they seem to be enjoying themselves now, yo.”
The other two males followed the Turk’s line of sight to his best friend and Tifa. The bald man wore a slight smile as the mahogany-eyed woman laughed at something Leon muttered under his breath.
Riku looked slightly puzzled. “I thought Squall already knew how to dance?”
“He does;” Zell smiled and waved at his friend. “He and Cloud lost a bet to Zack and he said they had to come here as payment. I guess he didn’t want them to have anything on him. I’m going to go bug him a little; I’ll see you guys later.” With a small wave, the tattooed man headed towards the steel-eyed man.
Reno and Riku simply nodded to the man’s turning form and remained in the back, even as Aerith and Zack moved to the front of the ballroom to begin the lesson.
Both Aerith and Zack clearly knew what they were doing, and had obviously danced together on multiple occasions, for they moved as though they were one person. Aerith was calmly instructing the class as they demonstrated each movement.
Tifa and Rude took to dancing rather well, moving together easily and appearing to be enjoying themselves. It also looked as if Rude had some experience with dancing, although clearly not as much as Zack or Leon. Tifa caught on quickly and whispered to Rude from time to time, causing him to smile softly.
Leon clearly did not need to be taught anything. However, Yuffie, who he had agreed to dance with for the time being, obviously had a lot to learn. The scarred man was clearly putting some effort into remaining patient as he ignored the hyperactive ninja’s foot stepping on his for the third time. His expression remained neutral as the petite woman giggled and muttered something.
Cloud clearly did not want to be there, but wanted to make an effort for his friends’ sake. He moved stiffly and fumbled his footing several times, causing Lulu, whom he was dancing with, to look torn between annoyance and amusement. It appeared that annoyance was going to win out though.
Zell appeared to have a natural talent when it came to the upbeat dances, such as the Rumba, however, any of the dances that required grace and stillness seemed to escape him. Quistis had all of the motions down, but seemed to lack the nerve her dancing partner had to simply drop all composure and move with the music.
Riku had forgone a partner, as had a few others. The cyan-eyed boy remained at the back of the ballroom and seemed tense as he watched his feet. His movements were still graceful and precise, despite his obvious unease.
“You got the footwork down, yo,” commented Reno as he steeped a little closer to the silvered adolescent. “And you definitely have grace and rhythm. Looks like you’re just holding yourself back…”
Riku arched an eyebrow at the Turk. “If you know how to dance already then why are you still here?”
“Blackmail; Remember?” The redhead circled the teenager once before stopping in front of him. “Do you ever stand straight or move your arms away from your body…? Here…-”
As the Turk stepped forward and placed one hand on the silvered teen’s waist while reaching for one of the boy’s hands with his own, Riku stepped back and placed a hand just before the man’s chest. The teenager’s face remained impassive, but his eyes reflected apprehension, some irritation, and mild amusement. “I am not dancing with you.”
Reno scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What’s the point in going to dancing lessons if you aren’t ever going to dance?”
“I’m not here because I want to dance, remember?” retorted the cyan-eyed boy.
“Oh right. I forgot about that, yo.” The Turk smirked and then shrugged. “But while we’re here…”
Riku glared slightly. “No.”
“Come on, what if some guy you actually want to go out with sometime wants to dance?”
Cyan eyes blinked before the teenager looked at Reno guardedly and dropped his voice. “How do you know it would be a guy?”
“It isn’t a big feat, kid,” Reno replied with a smirk. “You don’t react to or check out any of the girls here and I’ve seen the way you look at Leonhart when he’s not looking.”
“I admire him,” defended the silvered adolescent. “He’s determined, kind, noble…And so what if I don’t check out girls…? I just…-”
“…Just don’t have any interest in them,” finished the Turk with a grin. “It’s okay, Silver, I’m not going to give you any shit about it. I don’t think any of the others are actually gay, but a few are definitely bi, so no one in our group should care too much, yo.”
Reno suddenly chuckled. “I’m gonna laugh my ass off though if Stone Cold actually goes for you. Everyone thinks it’ll either be me or Cloud to get nailed for taking jailbait…plus he‘s always defended that he‘s totally straight, despite the fashion sense.”
Riku glanced at the man in question. Leon had managed to stick Cloud with Yuffie, both of whom actually seemed to be enjoying themselves, and was speaking quietly with a man who had recently arrived in Radiant Garden. The man used to be some sort of warrior and had blonde hair and a notable scar on the left side of his face. The teenager suspected they were not discussing dance techniques.
The steel-eyed man seemed to sense eyes on him and quickly spotted Riku, to whom he offered a nod. The cyan-eyed boy nodded back before looking at the ground again. “Just because he knows what looks good on him doesn’t mean he’s not straight. I don’t see any practical reason to think he’s lying.”
“True,” agreed the Turk with a grin as he eyed the silvered teen over and stepped closer once more. “But there are also exceptions to every rule, yo. I don’t usually go for guys either but I’d go for you any day…and I‘m not the only one who‘s checked you out when you aren‘t paying attention.”
The silver-haired boy took another half step back as he shook his head. “Sometimes I really wish I knew what you guys see in me…other times I just wish you didn‘t. Stop it.”
Reno stopped moving forward. There were still only a couple feet between he and the boy, and less than that between the boy and the wall behind him. “You know, I can’t help but wonder why Aerith would think dancing lessons would be a good idea when you obviously don’t want anyone near you, yo.”
“And I can’t help but wonder why you keep advancing when it’s clear he doesn’t like it,” spoke a deep and steady voice from behind the Turk.
The redhead turned and both he and Riku turned their attention to Leon, who was standing a few feet away with Zell only a step behind him. The Gunblade wielder stepped forward so that he was almost as close to the boy as Reno.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” said the Turk. “I was just talking to him and offering to show him how to dance.”
A sable eyebrow rose in disdain. “…And why didn’t you stop when he refused the first time?”
Icy blue eyes looked over Leon, taking in his stance, expression, and proximity to the teenager beside them. “Because he’s got promise, yo;” Reno smirked and began moving towards Zell casually, without turning away from Leon and Riku. “But since he’s obviously uncomfortable with me or Aerith teaching him, maybe you should take over. You obviously know what you’re doing and he admires you and trusts you.”
Reno grabbed an amused looking Zell by the shoulder to turn him as he passed. “Good. Come on, Dincht. Let’s go show the ladies how to Rumba.”
“You’re on,” Zell smiled as he turned. While he walked away, he called to Leon over his shoulder. “I bet the kid‘s a natural at the slow ones.”
Steel blue eyes narrowed slightly before turning to look at Riku, who appeared to be just as confused by whatever just happened as he was. Leon softened his expression and tone slightly. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Riku glanced at the scarred man before looking at the wall beside him. “You don’t have to teach me…”
“I don’t mind.” Leon shifted his head to catch the boy’s gaze. “Do you want me to show you?”
The silvered adolescent smiled softly. “Sure.”
The Gunblade wielder took the teen’s hand and moved to take his waist, but paused before making contact. “I only know how to lead.”
Riku adjusted his hand in the man’s slightly larger one. “That’s okay. I’m a little tired of being expected to.”
Leon smiled vaguely as he placed his other hand just above the boy’s hip.
In the front of the room, Aerith smiled at Zack before directing his gaze to the two in the back with her eyes. The raven-haired man smirked at his wife. “Okay…you’re always right.”
“Naturally,” the green-eyed woman replied before leaning forward to leave light kiss on her husband’s lips.
The couple in the back of the ballroom continued dancing as if the others were not even there.
13th December 2007
7:49pm: KH: When You Say Nothing At All
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the song.
It’s amazing how you can speak right to my heart. Without saying a word, you can light up the dark. Riku did not quite know what to make of Leon when he first met him. The silvered adolescent was blindfolded, so he could not go by any visual cues, and the man was reticent and rather cold when he did speak. However, there was something soothing about his voice, and his scent held no trace of darkness …in fact, Riku found the man’s presence unusually comforting. It was as if his own darkness faded when he was with him. Without offering any hollow sympathies or empty promises, Leon managed to become a beacon of light and hope in Riku’s dark and disheartened world. Try as I may, I could never explain, What I hear when you don’t say a thing. The boy soon found that he noticed subtle changes in Leon’s tone and aura, which spoke volumes while the man himself said very little. The cyan-eyed boy thought that the Gunblade wielder must be aware of how easily Riku could read him, but instead of avoiding him because of this, Leon seemed to spend more time with him and even seemed to look forward to the time they spent together. They sparred, ate, worked, and planned in near complete silence, yet Riku constantly found himself learning new things about the man and slowly the teenager even lowered his own defences around him. The smile on your face lets me know that you need me. There’s a truth in your eyes, saying you’ll never leave me. The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall. You say it best when you say nothing at all. Riku had long understood that his eyes could not lie, even to himself. For some reason, he had always thought of that as a flaw…until the first time he truly saw Leon. As well as he could read the scarred man before, nothing compared to the feeling Riku got whenever he offered him one of the soft smiles that seemed reserved for him. In addition, Leon seemed immensely pleased by what he saw in the silvered adolescent’s unusually expressive eyes, because any remaining hesitations faded as soon as he looked into them. Neither were one to trust easily, but they trusted each other completely. All day long, I can hear people talking out loud. But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd. Returning to a normal life was difficult for Riku, even on a world with Leon. The skills and abilities he had honed did not fade just because the need for them did. He could smell any amount of darkness on the people around him, could hear the slightest shifts in their tones. Mistruths, white lies, nervous covers, and forced politeness were all painfully obvious no matter how skilled the speaker. Being around people was hard for the boy. Leon would always find him to let him know they could go home at the end of the day. When he was in Leon’s arms, he could forget about the day’s distress. Try as they may, they could never define, What’s being said between your heart and mine. It troubled Riku when none of Leon’s friends seemed able to understand their relationship. They all thought that the man and the boy were either too different or too alike, and all believed the age difference was too great. Many just had a hard time letting the fact that Leon was with a boy set in. Riku did not want to come between the man he loved and his friends, but he did not know if he could let him go. Finally, everyone agreed that it did not matter if they understood it; they could all see how happy Leon was with Riku. The boy could only smile at Leon and the man rubbed Riku’s arm in response. The smile on your face lets me know that you need me. There’s a truth in your eyes, saying you’ll never leave me. The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall. You say it best when you say nothing at all. The first time Leon said I love you Riku froze. He had known this already, but for some reason the adolescent had never expected to hear the words spoken. Leon tried to say more, but he was never a man for words and it showed. The cyan-eyed boy came out of his blissful shock and repeated the words back to Leon. The scarred man stopped speaking, smiled, and pulled Riku close. As he stoked the boy’s back, held him firmly, and pressed their lips together, Riku decided that Leon did not ever need to worry about expressing himself to him. They always found a way to make their meaning known to the other. The smile on your face lets me know that you need me. There’s a truth in your eyes, saying you’ll never leave me. The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall. You say it best when you say nothing gat all. Riku had been nervous before his first time but Leon’s reassuring smile, gentle touches, and concerned eyes quickly reminded him of why he trusted the man with his very being. Both were silent as bodies and hearts joined completely, but eyes, hands, breaths, and hearts spoke enough for them. Afterwards, they laid as close together as possible, with limbs and souls intertwined. Leon wrapped his arms around the boy and kissed the top of his head. Riku wondered how he had ever thought he was complete without the feel of Leon’s arms around him and the sound of the man’s heart beating beside him. You say it best when you say nothing at all. You say it best when you say nothing at all. One evening, Leon simply held up a smaller copy of his own ring. Riku looked up at him to see that soft smile that was only his. Two males could not marry, and Riku was too young anyway, but that did not matter. Leon never actually proposed, and Riku never actually accepted or denied. The teen simply smile din return and held up his left hand. Neither said a word as Leon slipped the ring onto Riku’s finger and then caught the boy in his arms before kissing him soundly. Neither said anything to their friends or associates afterwards. Anyone could see they loved each other by now. No words were needed. You say it best when you say nothing at all.
12th November 2007
1:27am: KH: Sankakkei: Chapter Four
Chapter Four: The Tip of the Triangle
Leon was about to leave the corridors to the Postern when Riku turned into the corridor ahead of him. The Gunblade wielder was sure to keep his tone and expression neutral; he did not want to do anything rash now that he was so close to settling this. “Riku,” he acknowledged the boy with a nod, and continued walking.
“Leon…?” Riku stopped and turned to face the man as he walked past him. “Are you busy right now?”
“I- Yes…I need to talk to Cloud about something,” answered Leon, making sure not to look into the boy’s well-hidden but incredibly expressive eyes. He would not be able to just walk away if he did. He had already learned that from experience.
“I’ll talk to you later,” the steel-eyed man said as he began to turn away, hoping he was not sounding too callous.
The boy’s head seemed to tilt down further as he looked away. “Okay…I guess I’ll see you later then.”
Leon frowned as the boy turned and walked away. The teenager’s dejected tone and demeanour further strengthened his determination to resolve the situation. Clearly, his and Cloud’s reactions to it were having a negative effect on Riku. The last thing Leon wanted to do was hurt him.
Leon continued on his way out of the building, ignoring the feeling in his chest that was trying to pull him after the boy. He found Cloud working at the reconstruction site just past the Postern with Zack.
“Cloud, do you have a minute? We need to talk,” the sable-haired man said as he approached his friend.
“This better be about Riku,” commented Zack as he leaned on his shovel.
Steel blue eyes remained on Mako blue as Leon answered, “It is.”
“About time,” said the eldest. “Go on Cloud; I’ll cover this.”
The blonde nodded at the other former SOLDIER. “Thanks Zack.”
The blonde man joined Leon, and with an unspoken understanding, the two men walked side by side past the Bailey and to the ruins of the old castle gate. Once there, Cloud stared down at the tiled ground, now broken like an undecipherable mosaic, as Leon stared out to the distant castle ruins.
The scarred man decided it was best to get to the point; they both already knew why they were there. “I’m in love with Riku.”
It felt strange, freighting, invigorating, and relieving to say finally say it aloud.
“I’m not,” Cloud replied in tone that suggested his statement felt very similar.
Steel blue eyes darted to the other man as Leon quickly turned to face him. “You… What?”
“I don’t love Riku,” repeated Cloud, meeting his friends stare. “Well, I love him, but not the way you do…I’m not in love with him. I wanted to be, but I’m not. I was planning to tell you later. I didn’t realise that you… How long? Why haven’t you…what were you planning to do?”
“I was planning to resolve this so we would stop hurting Riku,” stated Leon evenly. “If that meant stepping aside while you took care of him, then so be it.”
Cloud looked troubled and slightly shocked. “You’re right…I never even noticed how we were affecting him.”
“I’m not all that surprised,” commented Leon. “He’s barely eaten, slept, or spoken for more than a month. You’ve been so wrapped up in…if you don’t love him then what has been going with you? You’ve been practically possessive of him and you keep brooding.”
Now Cloud looked away, toward the horizon. “I told you, I wanted to be in love with him. I nearly convinced myself that I was…But Zack called me on it. It would be easy to try, but I can’t do that to him. I do care about him…and I think he’ll always be special to me, but I’m just not in love with him.”
Leon nodded and then the former SOLDIER turned back to him, “You didn‘t answer when I asked you how long you‘ve felt this way.”
“I realised that I loved him nearly two months ago,” replied Leon, still meeting the other man’s gaze. “When we had that problem with the town’s defensive mechanism…after fourteen hours of trying to fix that thing on top what we had been doing when the problem started, he was still just as focused and devoted as when we began…he only stopped to make sure I kept drinking and didn’t push myself too much. We were nearly finished and suddenly, I couldn’t stop staring at him…”
Leon turned back to the castle ruins and crossed his arms over his chest, “He had to have been exhausted and nearly as disgruntled as I was, but he was still easily the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I think I already was in love with him, I just didn’t realise it until that day.”
“Wow, Leon…I had no idea,” Cloud shook his head. “And you were willing to let that go?”
“If it meant that he would be happy and taken care of, then yes,” replied Leon easily. “I love him.”
“I believe you,” Cloud stepped forward to stand beside his friend as he also looked to the castle ruins. “Are you going to tell him?”
“I’m going to give him some time first,” Leon answered levelly. “Now that the tension will be settled between us, he should start feeling more at ease. Once he does, I’ll tell him.”
“Don’t wait too long,” Cloud advised quietly. Before Leon could respond, another voice was heard a couple yards behind them.
“I hate to interrupt your little moment,” Reno said drily, smirking at Cloud as he approached, “But the object of your…well, desire and,” the Turk glanced at Leon, “Your affection is MIA, yo.”
Cloud took an involuntary step closer to the redhead, “What!?”
Leon’s arms fell to his sides as he stepped forward as well, “But I just saw him. Has anyone checked Ansem’s study or computer room?”
“No,” answered Reno smoothly. “There’s no need, yo. I saw him heading out, but even the Mini-Spiky doesn’t know where he was headed. Funny thing is Sora didn’t seem as surprised; he was just concerned…and he let something slip about you before he said he promised not to say anything.” The Turk indicated Leon once again.
“Promised who?” asked Cloud.
“Riku, I would imagine,” replied Leon.
Reno nodded, “What did you say to the kid when you saw him last? Whatever it was, I think it sent him packing, yo.”
“I-” Blue grey eyes shifted slightly before Leon groaned. “I was too curt with him…I’ve been too brusque him for a while.”
“I haven’t been much better,” Cloud stated. “We need to find him and fix this.”
“No kidding,” Reno stated, rolling his eyes. “He can’t have made it very far on foot…unless he has a trick up his sleeve we haven’t seen yet, which wouldn’t surprise me, yo. Mini-Spiky is moping at the borough; maybe you’ll be able to get more out him.”
With a brief nod, Leon began walking to the borough at a determined pace. Cloud glanced at Reno, “Thanks.”
“Oh, you know I’ll make you both pay up later,” stated the redhead.
“Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone you did something decent,” commented the former SOLDIER. Then he caught up to his friend.
Leon approached an usually dour looking Sora sitting on the wall of the Borough on which he usually skateboarded. Cloud was only a few steps behind him.
The boy hopped off the wall to meet Leon halfway. “What did you say to Riku?” he demanded.
Both men stopped in their tracks. They had never encountered any anger in Sora before.
“Not enough,” Leon answered tightly. “I wouldn’t talk to him. I think I might have brushed him off too coldly this time.”
“This time?” repeated the spiky-haired teen roughly. “You’ve been making him feel like you either hate him or he did something wrong for more than a month. What is your problem? I thought you liked Riku. I thought you understood him…”
“I understand him as well as anyone can right now,” stated Leon, “And I do like him…I just had some things I had to work out.”
“Like what?” asked Sora, his hostility mixing with genuine curiosity.
“I needed to find out how Cloud felt about him and whether it would damage our friendship if I told Riku how I feel about him,” answered Leon.
Now the blue-eyed boy looked more confused than angry. “Huh?”
“Why don’t we fill you in after we’ve found Riku,” suggested Cloud.
“Where is he, Sora? Do you know?” asked Leon.
“I can guess,” replied the spiky-haired teen. “What are you going to do once you find him though? Upset him some more while you work out your feelings?”
Cloud actually flinched while Leon seemed to gain even more determination from the Keybearer’s reaction.
“I’m going to tell him that I love him and ask him to come home,” replied the Gunblade
wielder evenly.
Sora opened his mouth but quickly closed it and blinked up at the man. “You…You love him too? You mean it?” Suddenly, they were dealing with the Sora they all knew and loved. “That’s great! He loves you…but he thought…”
The teenager looked thoughtful for a moment and then smacked his own forehead. “How did I miss that…?”
The cerulean-eyed adolescent looked between the two men as he began talking in a rush. “He didn’t tell me directly, and I only worked it all out just now... He thought you figured out how he felt about you and that you had a problem with it, that was causing problems between you and Cloud, because of how close he and Cloud have gotten, and he didn’t want to harm your friendship so he thought it would be better if he just left. He told me the last part, and I convinced him to at least talk to you first but then you brushed him off and I guess he decided to just go.”
After taking a moment to process all of this, Leon brought one hand up to his own face while Cloud shook his head and sighed. “We’re idiots,” Leon said as he and the blonde man glanced at one another.
“We need to bring him back,” stated the blonde.
Leon nodded and returned his attention to Sora, “Do you have any idea where he’s going?”
The younger brunette thought for a moment, “Try the ruins of Nibelheim.”
Cloud’s head shot up instantly, “Why would he go there?”
Sora shrugged, “He wanted to see them and he wouldn’t expect you guys to look for him there.”
Cloud glanced at Leon, “I’ll get Fenrir; see if you can borrow a bike from-”
“Wait,” Sora interrupted, “Why don’t you guys just take a Gummi ship? How far is Nibelheim?”
“It’s far, but not that far,” said Cloud.
“Besides, Riku couldn’t have made it all the way there already,” stated Leon. “We wouldn’t be able to see him and we’d pass him.”
“I doubt he walked the whole way,” commented Sora, “Just trust me, he’s probably there already.”
The two men exchanged glances again. Finally, Leon nodded, “You coming?”
The boy looked torn for a few seconds before he shook his head resolutely. “I’ll wait here. Just make sure you bring Riku back…I don’t want to lose my best friend now, after everything‘s over.”
Leon nodded again, “You won’t. We’ll bring Riku back.”
Leon and Cloud stepped out of a small Gummi ship in Nibelheim nearly an hour later.
“You think he’s here already?” Cloud asked as he looked at the surrounding ruins.
“If Sora says he could have gotten here, then he probably could have,” answered Leon.
The blonde nodded, “How do we go about finding him?”
“We don’t,” replied the scarred man. “No one can hide like Riku can. But if he’s knows we’re here for him, he’ll find us.”
“I didn’t think you were paying attention to me that closely,” stated Riku’s voice quietly from somewhere behind them.
Leon turned with the smallest trace of a smile on his lips. Riku was standing a few yards away, with his back turned to them. His face was downcast and his silver hair danced in the breeze.
Cloud smirked and then nodded to Leon, “I’ll wait here.”
Leon nodded and then approached the teal-eyed boy.
“Did Sora send you?” Riku asked before the scarred man could say anything.
“No,” Leon answered, “But he did tell me where to look…and a few other things.”
The silver-haired boy sighed and shook his head slowly, “Secrecy has never been one of his strong points.”
“I think you make up for it,” stated Leon. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Why would I?” countered the adolescent smoothly.
Leon sighed. He realised he was going to have to take the initiative. “I never meant to be cruel to you, and I didn’t want to avoid you, but there was misunderstanding with Cloud. We’ve worked it out, so I’m out of excuses…”
“Excuses…?” Riku turned his head and raised his eyes to glance at the Gunblade wielder through his bangs. His incredibly expressive eyes showed a deep pain and sadness, but also longing, devotion, and hope through his uncertainty.
“For not admitting how I feel,” The sable-haired man elaborated. “I’ve always been bad at that.”
The boy watched him for a moment longer before dropping his eyes again. “I’m so tired of this…enigmas and elusiveness… Can’t anyone just be up front? Maybe that‘s why we all like Sora so much…”
Leon snorted lightly, “You might be onto something there.” His expression sobered instantly, “I want to be up front with you from now on.”
Leon moved closer to the boy and gently traced his jaw with a single finger before tilting his face up to look at him. “I’m sorry that I hurt you before…and that I didn’t tell you sooner…I love you, Riku.”
Leon punctuated the statement with a soft kiss.
He pulled his head away slowly, but remained close to the boy, and kept his hands on the teenager’s slender back.
Riku searched the scarred man’s eyes for a moment and then smiled slightly, his own eyes already stating what he was feeling; “I love you too.”
“I know,” Leon smiled at the boy. “Like you said, secrecy isn’t one of Sora’s strong points.” Both chuckled, more out of relief than humour. “I’m glad you finally told me though.” The scarred man continued to smile at the boy.
Riku smiled and wrapped his arms around the steel-eyed man’s waist as Leon held him a little longer. “Come on,” the Gunblade wielder said after a moment, “Let’s go home.”
Cloud smiled at his two friends as they walked to the Gummi ship. One of Leon’s arms was still around Riku’s shoulders.
“You two alright?” asked the former SOLDIER. After he received dual nods, he turned to board the small vessel before them. “Good, then let’s get out of here. Why did you come to this place anyway?”
Leon glanced down at the teen, “That is a good question.”
“That’s a long story,” answered the teen. “I’ll tell you after you explain why you had to talk to Cloud before you could tell me that you love me.”
Ahead of them, they heard the blonde snort, “This is going to be an interesting trip home…”
~Fin~ |
8th November 2007
1:17am: KH: Sankakkei: Chapter Three
Chapter Three: The Master of Shadows Riku sat on a ledge overlooking the Dark Depths with a pensive expression on his face. If his head were not downcast, and one could see his eyes, they would notice how much sadness and confliction was expressed in them. The silver-haired teen was pulled from his thoughts when he heard familiar footsteps approaching. “There you are,” Sora called as he neared, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” “Sorry, I just wanted to be alone for a while.” Riku wished his voice had come out stronger. Sora sighed as he sat down beside his friend. “You still haven’t learned, have you?” “Learned what?” Riku asked, even though he knew the answer. “That you don’t have to handle everything on your own,” replied the spiky-haired teen. “It’s my problem…” the teal-eyed boy responded, then he released a weary sigh, “And anyway, I think I’ve been enough of a burden for one year.” “You made one mistake,” stated Sora, in a surprisingly stern tone. “That doesn’t mean everything that followed is your fault…and you’ve more than made up for that mistake. I wouldn’t even be here if weren’t for you.” Riku raised an eyebrow and glanced at the blue-eyed boy. “Well someone found his masculine side…about time, too. I was really getting sick of being the tough one.” “Ha-ha,” Sora replied sarcastically. Then his voice gained a concerned note. “Seriously, Riku…What’s wrong? I’ve never seen you like this.” The silver-haired boy shook his head slowly, almost dejectedly, before speaking in barely more than a whisper, as though he were afraid to have the words heard. “It’s Leon…” “Leon?” repeated Sora. “Did he say something…?” “No,” replied Riku flatly. “He barely says anything to me…” “Oh,” Sora looked relieved and offered his friend a smile. “Leon’s just like that. It’s probably just taking him longer to get comfortable around you because of how focused he’s been on the restoration. He’ll come around.” “He was comfortable…he backed off recently,” stated Riku quietly. Sora looked a little confused by that one, “Really? Well, I’m sure there’s a reason…” “So am I,” agreed Riku. “Riku…he doesn’t hold any of it against you,” Sora said sadly. “He wouldn’t have eased up around you to begin with if he did.” “I know,” replied the teal-eyed boy. “It isn’t that…I think it’s something else…something more recent…” “What?” asked the blue-eyed boy. Riku lowered his head, his hair hiding nearly all of his face now. “At first I just looked up to him, you know? He doesn’t let anything that’s past hold him down, but he doesn’t forget it either. I wished I could be like him. He is so determined to set things right. Of course, none of what happened to this world or his friends is his fault to begin with…” “Yeah,” agree Sora. “He really needs to learn to let that go, but I see what you mean. He‘s definitely worth looking up to.” “That’s the thing though,” Riku said hesitantly. “I do look up to him, but it’s more than that. He’s so wonderful…I mean, I know that no one is perfect, but…” The silver-haired boy sighed. “I think I might have misinterpreted what I was feeling before…” “So…you don’t want to be like him…?” asked Sora, looking and sounding completely lost. “No…I want to be with him,” answered Riku softly. “Wait…” Sora gained an expression similar to the one he got when he was trying to figure out a complicated equation. “You love him?” Riku nodded silently. “Wha…” Sora stuttered a moment before staring at his friend in surprise, “How long? Why haven’t you said anything?” “How can I?” Riku answered in a dejected tone. “I would just mess everything up…” “What makes you say that?” questioned Sora, eyebrows drawn in confusion. “Well for starters, there’s no way he feels the same about me,” said Riku. “You don’t know that,” interrupted the brunette. “How could he possibly want me?” said Riku. “I’m ten years younger than he is, I have no experience whatsoever, and I’ve been tainted by the darkness, I…And what about Cloud? He‘s one of Leon‘s best friends.” “Wait…I’m lost,” said Sora, sounding thoroughly bemused. “What does Cloud have to do with any of this?” “He’s been my friend longer than Leon has; he’s the one who introduced me to Leon while you were sleeping. We really helped each other when we were trying to escape the darkness,” explained the silver-haired boy. “He spends most of his time with Zack, Leon, or me, and he’s been really…almost possessive of me lately. If I say something to Leon, and he does not want to have anything to do with me afterwards, then that’s going to put a strain on their friendship. I don’t want to come between them.” “You’re not going to come between them,” said Sora. “Could anyone come between us? No. Even if you didn’t want anything to do with one of our other friends anymore, even Kairi, I wouldn’t stop being your friend, and I know nothing could make you stop being mine. Leon and Cloud have been friends for even longer than we have, I don’t think anything could come between them. And as far as everything else goes, well…” Sora seemed to think for a moment. “You’re really mature for your age, you always have been, but you’re even more since everything’s happened.” Sora continued on, without giving Riku a chance to respond to anything. “You’ve always been all calm and cool about everything, and since you defeated the darkness, you’ve been really centred, even when you don’t sleep for days and get all quiet. And you are not tainted. You accidentally were caught up in the darkness and then you were trapped in it. Maleficent lied to you and she used you; so did Ansem…er, Xehanort’s Heartless. Cloud went to Hades of his own will and Leon forgave him without hesitating…I’m sure he doesn’t hold any of it against you.” “Thanks Sora,” Riku said quietly, “But something has definitely been off with Leon and me, and it started right after I began to feel this way about him. I think it might be better if I just left…I shouldn’t have stayed here to begin with.” “But Riku,” Sora said sadly. “You like it here…and you’ve been much happier here than you were on the islands, especially after we got back. Well…up until this; but you haven’t even tried talking to Leon about it yet. He may not feel the same way about you, but I know he wouldn’t stop being your friend because of it, and he definitely wouldn’t want you to leave over it.” “Alright then,” Riku said just before he raised his head to meet Sora’s eyes for the first time since his friend had joined him. The spiky-haired teen’s expression fell further at the emotions in his friend’s teal eyes. “I’ll go talk to Leon…alone. And if it turns out I was right, then I don’t want you to saying about it if I leave; deal?” Sora looked uncertain for a moment before nodding confidently. “Okay. If you try to talk to Leon about this, and he does react in way that makes you think you should go, then I won’t try to stop you.” Riku stood and turned to face his friend. “Thanks Sora…I’ll see you later.” “You’d better,” replied the blue-eyed boy. “Good luck.” With that, the silver-haired boy turned and strode back to the town, his head tilted downward and his bangs shielding his expressive eyes once more.
1:06am: HP: The Day After Forever
A note from the author: Although they both can and do stand alone, this story is technically a follow-up of one of my other one-shots, entitled, Forever and a Day. So if you have not read that story, no worries. If you have, the letter mentioned in this story is indeed the one that Sirius received from Remus in that narrative. Thank you for reading and enjoy the story. Riku-Rocks. Warning: Possible spoilers for PoA, GoF, and OotP. Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter books, etc.
A large, black, bear-like dog padded down an old dirt trail. In truth, he was not a dog at all, but a wizard. He just so happened to be an Animagus, although precious few people were privy to that information. The wizard had considered returning to his human form, as he had spent most of the past two years posing as a stray, but thought better of it. He knew that no one would be out here, especially this late in the day, but the overgrown trail was easier to master as a dog. In addition, it was a long trail and he could cover more ground in his Animagus form. When Sirius started his journey from Hogwarts, he was thrilled that he would be able to see and speak to Moony freely again. There had not been time to talk the last time they saw each other face to face (other then to uncover a secret, which had been buried for twelve years). And there was a strong limit to what you write in a letter; especially when one correspondent was a wanted criminal and the other a werewolf -both just trying to survive in a world that would gladly watch them perish. Partway through the long journey however, he had grown nervous, and would have welcomed a slower pace in order to think. What if he was not as welcome as he expected to be? It’s been twelve, no thirteen now, years. He said he would wait for answers, and that he would believe me, and he has held true to that so far, but… What if he would rather forget or leave the past behind him. The last thirteen years must have been terrible for him; it would be understandable for him to try and just move on… Then, he realised who he was thinking about; Sirius knew Remus. Knew him better then anyone else in fact, even after all the years apart. Remus would never turn his back on someone he cared about, and Sirius (along with the other Marauders) had always meant the world to Remus. Moony will always welcome me… and accept me. Besides, Dumbledore said to lie low at Lupin’s, and Dumbledore would not offer someone else’s home unless he was sure they wouldn’t have any strong objections to it. Therefore, it was with a newfound resolve, a large amount of excitement, and a small amount of trepidation, that Sirius Black arrived at the small cottage owned by Remus Lupin. Sirius finally returned to his true form, glad that at least this time he was a much better sight then the last time they had seen each other. I must have smelled awful back then too… and he has those bloody acute senses. Even still, he didn’t hesitate to embrace me; that’s my Moony. Sirius ran his fingers through his hair, straightened his clothes, and cleared his throat before raising a fist to knock on the worn wooden door. However, said door opened before he ever made contact, and he met face to face with Remus for the first time in a year. Remus had always been a little too thin and bit pale, and both were still true of him. Sirius could also see a few scars that had not previously graced his face and neck, and Sirius suspected there were many scars that he would not recognise on the rest of Remus’ body. It upset him that the wolf had obviously returned to its self-mutilating ways while he was gone, but he realised that he should not have expected any better. He also noticed that the other man’s hair was already greying and at thirty-four years old, he looked too worn. Sirius was pulled from his musings when he heard a soft but hoarse voice, that was familiar and yet different from his memories of it. “Padfoot, why don’t you come in?” Sirius could not help but smile at the old name as he entered the cottage. I should have known better then to ever doubt him. The room he entered was worn, modest, and clean, much like its owner. It was small, but not crowded, and had a warm, comfortable feel to it. Sirius already knew that the rest of the house would be much the same, for that was always how Remus kept his spaces. Sirius also remembered the layout of the small cottage, as he had been there when it still belonged to Remus’ parents. “I was wondering when you would come around,” Said that familiar voice behind him. Sirius turned to face Remus. There was so much he wanted to say, but he been sent here with another purpose, and he needed to handle that first. He swallowed hard, knowing that the news he brought was going to hurt to hear just as much as it would to say. Remus waited quietly, seeming to sense the grave mood of the other man. He always was good at that. “I’m afraid I didn’t just decide to stop by, Remus.” Sirius said, meeting the others eyes. He used to swear that he and Remus could communicate with each other using only their eyes. When he was first on the run, he had vaguely wondered if it would still be that way, should they ever be together again. ..And then he entered that shack and looked into my eyes, and it was the same. He practically solved the whole damn thing on his own, by just looking into my eyes and reading a name on the map. Then that voice pulled him back to reality, as it had done countless times in the past. “The last trial of the Tri-Wizard Tournament… Something happened.” It was not a question. Some things never change. Sirius nodded, still holding the other man’s eyes with his own. The eyes Sirius was looking into were suddenly frightened, and then Remus spoke again, his voice tight now. “Tell me Harry is alright.” “Harry is alright,” said Sirius, managing to make sure it did not sound like he was mocking or simply pacifying the other. Although he doubted the other would misunderstand him while their gazes were locked like this. Sirius could see the relief settle into Remus, although he still looked concerned, nervous, and a little afraid. Sirius wondered if anyone besides himself would be able to tell. He doubted it. “Who then?” Remus asked quietly. Sirius took a step forward and placed a hand on Remus’ shoulder. “Harry and a boy named Cedric Diggory both reached the Tri-Wizard Cup at the same time, they tried to tie.” A ghost of a smile touched Sirius lips, and then vanished as both he and Remus knew what was coming. “Cedric was killed, Remus, I’m sorry. I know he must have been one of your students.” Remus closed his eyes for a moment as he bowed his head and nodded. Then he raised his face to Sirius’ and opened his eyes. His face looked resolved; Sirius knew he suspected what would come next. Sirius took a deep breath. “Lord Voldemort has returned. We had better sit down. I’m going to tell you everything I know.” A few hours later found them sitting on the couch in the drawing room, with mugs of tea sitting forgotten on the table in front of them. Indeed, Sirius did tell Remus all he knew of the year’s events, even the ones he was sure he already knew, whether from the Prophet or Sirius‘ epistles. Starting from the moment he learned Harry’s name had come out of the Goblet of Fire, and ending with Dumbledore’s instructions to contact the old crowd and lie low at Lupin’s. He included every detail he could think of, whether small or large, and whether they seemed important or not. For the most part, Remus just listened quietly, only interrupting (and rather politely so) every now and again to ask a question. Sirius became mildly annoyed halfway through the telling, when he realised that Remus had already figured out who the culprit was and had even discerned his motive. He was not sure whether it was just because the werewolf already knew the gist of the ending, or if he would have done the same had anyone bothered to fill him in as the events were unfolding. From now on, I am running everything by Moony. I should have asked him to come out before it became too late. I knew he would if I asked. Well, it is too late to worry about that now. “Has Dumbledore informed any of the others who were in the Order of your innocence?” Remus asked after a moment of silence following the end of the tale. Sirius shrugged casually. “Just Snape and McGonagall, as far as I know, why?” “Well…” Remus seemed to be thinking of a gentle way to voice his concern. He had always been the most sensitive and diplomatic of the Marauders. “Forgive me, but won’t they possibly react poorly to receiving a letter from you, claiming that Lord Voldemort had returned?” Sirius blinked, and then released a bitter laugh. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that, I guess Dumbledore didn’t either. He was in a bit of a hurry to get things started.” Remus nodded again, as if to say ‘that’s understandable’ and then Sirius got an idea. “Maybe that’s why he mentioned you first. He had to have known that would distract me, and naturally I’d find you before anyone else.” “Good thinking. I’ll write the letters and send them off.” Remus stood and crossed the room, to where an old writing desk sat in the corner. He pulled out some parchment, ink, and a quill and began writing the letters. “Why don’t you mention that I’m innocent while you’ve got their attention?” Sirius said as he moved to stand behind the small wooden chair in which Remus was seated. “I tried that thirteen years ago. They didn’t believe me then, and I can’t say that they will now.” Remus said mildly. “Perhaps it would be wiser to tell them later, just to make sure they don’t assume I’ve finally lost my mind and disregard the entire message.” Sirius pondered this for a moment while Remus quickly wrote out several copies of the same letter in his small neat script. He recalled a letter, written in that same script, which he had received while in Azkaban. One that Remus had written and somehow managed to smuggle into the prison, via the help of another werewolf, a couple months after Sirius had been sent there. The letter, which Sirius had kept hidden (and incidentally still had -carefully folded in his pocket), had brought him a small amount of hope and comfort, and had helped him quite a lot over the years that he remained in that awful place. In the letter, Remus had mention the Order had scattered to the winds and that, before then, they had told him that he needed to accept the truth about Sirius. Exactly when did he ‘accept’ that I was guilty? How long did he try to convince them that I might not have been? How did they react, that he would think they might dismiss this important message if he dared to bring up the subject of my innocence again? Sirius thought that he would have had better odds of going insane if he had been in Remus’ position all those years. To know that something was not right, but to be unable to do anything about it, to have people dismiss you when you tried to do what was right. To be completely alone, having lost all of the people who were closest to you, to not know the truth… He was not sure which one of their lives had been worse. He was a prisoner too… And neither of us deserved it. If I ever get my hands on Peter… “Padfoot? Sirius, are you alright?” Remus had finished writing and was looking at Sirius with a rather concerned expression. “What? Oh, yes… I’m fine. I was just thinking.” Sirius said with a small wave of his hand, as if to brush away Remus’ concern. “Alright,” Remus said, obviously not completely convinced, but deciding to leave it alone for now. “If I leave now, I should be able to make the post office before it closes.” “I’ll go with you.” Sirius said, and then noticing the apprehensive edge in Remus’ eyes, he added with a grin, “What? Doesn’t anyone bring their dog to the post office with them anymore? It‘s dark out, he‘ll protect you.” “Alright, but please don’t draw any attention to us.” Remus stated with the smallest of smiles as he grabbed his coat and headed to the fireplace. Sirius transformed into the bear-like dog again, and followed. They returned nearly an hour later, after Remus had sent the letters with the fastest owls he could afford. Sirius suspected that Remus had spent a good deal more money then he would have if he were writing the old crowd for his own purposes. Then again, Sirius also suspected that Remus never wrote the old crowd for his own purposes. “Well, the only instructions I have left are to lie low here… Is that alright?” Sirius asked in a conversational tone after he returned to his usual form. Remus looked slightly affronted for a fleeting moment, and then his usual mild manner returned. “Of course that’s alright. You can take the master bedroom, I‘ll set it up for you.” Sirius chuckled warmly. Always the considerate host. “You don’t have give me the master bedroom Remus, even your tiny old bedroom will be better then the caves I’ve been sleeping in.” Remus shrugged, “The master bedroom is the one that’s unoccupied anyway.” Then he continued down the small hallway and disappeared into the undersized master bedroom at the end. Sirius wore a puzzled frown for a moment. Of course… After that Halloween any small comfort, like the familiarity of his old room, would be welcomed… maybe even clung to. Just like I clung to my memories and innocence… And that letter. Sirius had only seen the master bedroom once. He recalled that it was about the size of the bathroom that connected to the master bedroom in the houses that he and James had grown up in. He would be willing to bet that the same aged bed, nightstand, and wardrobe were in it, with a threadbare quilt on the creaky old bed. Sirius could not think of anywhere else he would rather be tonight. Remus re-entered the sitting room with a small smile, which Sirius returned. “It’s good to be back.” He commented. “It’s good to have you back.” Remus replied. Just then, Sirius’ stomach decided to join the conversation with a rather loud grumble. “I’ll start work on dinner.” Remus said and both men sauntered into the kitchenette. Remus’ mother had been a Muggle, and she had taught her only child how to do things her way. Sirius had always found it amusing and oddly fascinating to watch Remus cook, clean, or repair his clothes and books without magic. Even before Hogwarts, Sirius had never had to do chores like cooking or cleaning, the Blacks had house elves for those sorts of things. Without a thought, Sirius settled into this old habit once again. He was now sitting at the table, watching Remus prepare their dinner. “So, what have you done with Buckbeak?” Remus asked as he glanced over his shoulder to look at the other man. “I left him in a cave a few miles into the woods.” Sirius answered. “I wasn’t sure if the Muggles had migrated closer to the cottage over the past decade and I didn’t want to risk him being spotted and bringing the Ministry upon us both.” Remus, who had returned his attention to the vegetables he was preparing, nodded. “We should probably get him after dinner. There still isn’t anyone within many miles of this place.” “I noticed on the way over.” Sirius commented as he observed the werewolf. Remus was still and quiet, the type of person whose presence other people generally fail to notice. He had always been this way; Sirius continually supposed that the lycanthrope purposefully made himself fade into the background. After all, no one can figure him out and hurt him if they do not notice him, or even think about him, to begin with. Still watching, Sirius noted that Remus did not appear to have the timid, introverted tendencies that he had when they first met, nor did he have inner peace he seemed to possess during their prime years at Hogwarts. The everyday trials of being a werewolf, the previous war, months of being the suspected traitor, the loss of everyone dear to him, the years of isolation, and now all the added weight of being ousted as a werewolf had clearly taken a rather large toll on Remus. “It has been a long time since someone observed me like you‘re doing now… the way you used to,” Remus commented lightly. “I had almost forgotten what it feels like to have a pair of eyes following my every move.” “I’ve just never understood how someone could always be so careful with their actions,” Sirius replied easily. “It’s so… different… from the way I function. You know me, I rarely consider the long term, and I certainly would not have the patience to do all this the Muggle way.” “Well, when someone like me doesn’t think about the possible long term affects of their actions, it can produce some rather serious consequences…” Remus responded mildly, and then added, “As you experienced last year”, so quietly that Sirius was not sure if he was supposed to hear it. However, he did hear it, and Sirius decided they might as well lay it all on the table now; as experience had taught him there may or may not be another time to, and for once, he was not going to take any chances. That was another thing he had learned from past mistakes. “Remus,” Sirius started gently, as he stood and moved toward the werewolf. “What happened that night… it wasn’t your fault. There were so many ways that it could have turned out, and I never expected to be proven innocent. At least now, you know the truth, and Harry and Dumbledore do as well. Soon all of the Order will, that’s more then I ever could have hoped for.” “But that doesn’t make it right…” Remus said in a voice that sounded too defeated for Sirius’ liking. “If I had just remembered to get that potion from Snape before I-” “If you had, then it would have taken you that much longer to reach the Shack.” Sirius cut in, “Harry very well may have killed me if you hadn’t arrived when you did. Besides, we both know I would never have had the patience or courtesy to explain everything to the children; without you there, no one would have understood what was happening. Hell, Remus, I don’t even know how you figured all of that out so quickly.” Remus appeared to be thinking for a moment, and Sirius knew that particular distance which appeared in his friend’s eyes. Remus was deciding how much of himself he was willing to expose on this matter. That bothered the grey-eyed man for a moment; in the past, Remus would have bared everything to him without giving it a second thought. It’s my own fault. If I had handled things differently back then, the way he would have, then he wouldn’t be concerned about any vulnerability around me now. He has suffered too much over the past thirteen years to simply drop his defences… And arriving at someone’s door to tell him that Voldemort has returned doesn’t encourage anyone to do that anyway. Not when they have lived through the last war. “I received you’re letter.” Sirius stated, and then (realizing that they had corresponded through letters for a year) quickly added, “The one you sent into Azkaban.” Remus, who had been standing facing the counter he was working on, turned to look Sirius in the eyes again. “I’m glad… I’ve always wondered about that.” “I believe you’ve wondered about quite a lot over the years we’ve been apart.” Sirius gently laid a hand on Remus shoulder as he spoke. Remus simply nodded slowly, obviously still thinking. He’s thinking of what he said in that letter. I bet he can remember nearly every word he wrote. “Why don’t I fetch Buckbeak while you finish making dinner? It won’t take me long, and it’ll keep me out of your way.” Sirius offered. “You’re not in the way.” Remus responded with a slight smile and a slow shake of his head. “I’ll be fine Remus,” Sirius said lightly. “I’ll come back, I promise.” Sirius gave the thin shoulder under his hand a light squeeze before turning to leave. “I expect dinner when I get back, and then I’m commandeering your bathroom,” he called over shoulder as he left the cosy little cottage. When Sirius returned, he tethered Buckbeak in Remus’ backyard, cast a concealment charm, and entered the house without knocking. Remus had clearly been washing some pans and cooking utensils in the kitchen sink, but had stopped as soon as he heard Sirius. He was drying his hands when the dark-haired man re-entered the Kitchen. “Dinner’s ready,” he said with a small smile. “It smells great,” answered Sirius as he took a seat at the table, and was slightly surprised at how easily it seemed for him to fit into his lycanthropic friend’s home and company. “It’s just stew and biscuits,” Remus said as he laid a bowl in front of Sirius, and placed a small basket of biscuits in the middle of the table. They talked about some of the more mundane recent events, Harry, Buckbeak, and Remus’ garden throughout dinner. Sirius noticed that he ate more then twice as much as Remus, and made sure to point the observation out with a teasing smirk. Overall, it was startlingly similar to the meals that the two men had shared as boys. Sirius was not sure whether he felt more elated that they could fit back together like this, or dishearten at all the years they could have shared, but instead spent in solitude. He decided not to focus on that for the time being and was just content to enjoy the moment. After dinner, Remus insisted on cleaning up while Sirius helped himself to the bathroom. “I put some of your things in there, and there are towels in the cabinet over the loo.” Remus commented offhandedly. “Help yourself to anything else you need and let me know if you have trouble finding anything.” Sirius smiled; he knew he would be welcomed, but the way Remus just embraced his presence was very uplifting. “Thank you, Moony, I- Wait… some of my things? What…? You still have all of my things?” “Of course; what would I have done with them?” Remus answered lightly. Sirius was tempted to ask a question that had been on his mind for far too long, but he knew he could not walk away from that discussion once he started it, so he decided to go clean up first. We might as well get comfortable first. Sirius sauntered into the short hall and straight into the small bathroom. Balanced on the limited amount of counter space beside the sink was a box labelled ‘Sirius- bathroom’. The dark-haired man smiled as he ran a finger over the delicate script. Only Moony… Remus must have sealed the box (or possibly the entire shed) with magic, Sirius realised, because when he opened the box, its contents looked just the same as they did when they were packed. Folded neatly on the top was Sirius’ favourite bathrobe. Sirius spared a second to ponder if he could still call it his favourite, considering he had not worn it in thirteen years. Underneath was the shiny stainless steel grooming set (as the marauders started lovingly referring to it once they managed to become Animagi and saw what Sirius turned into) that Sirius bought to replace his old silver one after he learned that Remus was a werewolf and became concerned that his friend might hurt himself if he accidentally touched it. I thought I broke this mirror a few days before I left… Remus must have repaired it for me. There was also a bottle of Sirius’ favourite cologne, and a candle that Remus bought Sirius sometime after the lycanthrope moved in with him. The grey-eyed man recalled something about the scent supposedly being soothing. On the bottom of the box were a few motorcycle magazines that Sirius used to keep in the bathroom. Sirius put the folded letter in the pocket of his robe before undressing. He took a long shower, longer then he had taken in thirteen years. He noticed that Remus must still like the scent of sandalwood, as the soap was that particular scent. When he stepped out of the shower, he dried off with one of Remus’ towels, slipped into his old robe, and used his old comb, brush, and toothbrush (which he could not believe Remus had saved). Feeling more relaxed then he had in nearly two decades, Sirius retuned to the living room to find a fire in the hearth, and Remus sitting on the sofa, flipping through an old book. “I could get used to this kind of life again.” Sirius said as he sat down next to Remus. “Of course, I would discover that right before things are about to go all pear shaped again.” “Hopefully things will end better this time,” Remus responded mildly. Sirius nodded, “About last time, though…” He removed the letter, unfolded it, and held it out to Remus. “How did you get this to me?” Remus looked at the envelope, with a date some thirteen years prior written on the front in his own handwriting, but he did not take it. Instead, he moved his eyes to meet the grey ones that had him in their steely gaze. “Do you remember how I used to disappear from time to time, and I told you that Dumbledore had something he needed me to do, but that I couldn’t talk about it?” “Yes,” Sirius knew he sounded as guilty as he felt. “It was one of the reasons why…” “I thought we already forgave each other for those mistakes.” Remus cut in quietly before Sirius could finish, and the dark-haired man was grateful for that. “Anyway, I was an representative of sorts, I suppose you could say. I would speak to other dark creatures on behalf of the Order.” “You’re not a dark creature,” Sirius snapped before he could compose himself. “Yes I am, which was useful to Dumbledore at that time, and might be again.” A slightly bitter edge marred Remus’ usually mild tone. “That’s why you wouldn’t talk about it,” Sirius said with a far bitterer note to his voice, “You were more sensitive of the subject back then, and I wouldn’t have stayed quiet if I knew Dumbledore was asking you to do something that dangerous on your own.” “There was no one else to do it, most of the beings I dealt with weren’t very tolerant of humans, and they never would have spoken to one.” Remus sighed, “Anyway, we’re digressing. I met with a pack of werewolves on a few occasions during this time. With a little convincing, they decided not to join either side in the war, which was better then joining Lord Voldemort’s forces I suppose.” “Of course it was.” Sirius interrupted, “That was quite a feat Remus, you should be proud of yourself. I cannot believe we never guessed what you were doing. No offence, but you were made for that sort of thing. Diplomacy and such, I mean.” “Thank you, Padfoot,” Remus assured the other man. “One of the members of that pack seemed to take a liking to me. Several days before you received that letter, I heard that this werewolf was going to be investigated by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. We both knew that regardless of the findings, those kinds of investigations do not bode well for our kind. I had already written that letter, so I found him and we made a deal. He wrote similar letter to someone he cared about and we traded. If he was sent to Azkaban, we would each deliver each other’s letter.” “I doubt it was as simple as you make it sound.” Sirius commented, “What really happened, and what if he didn’t go to Azkaban? What if he was executed or let go?” “I had to earn to right to go into the pack’s territory.” Remus said carefully. “I supposed I could have tried to sneak in, but it would have been worse if I was caught, and anyway, I didn’t believe that Voldemort was dead, so I couldn’t have them deciding our side was trouble.” “Ever the considerate one, aren’t you Moony?” Sirius attempted to sound teasing, but he knew he did not pull it off. “You weren’t hurt badly, were you?” “No, I don’t think they really considered me a threat or a challenge, so it was only enough to warn me off.” Remus replied gently, “As for what would happen if he was not sent to Azkaban, well if he was let go, we would trade back and if he was executed then I would deliver his and write a new one I suppose.” “Did you have much trouble delivering his letter?” The grey-eyed man asked. “Who was it for?” “His mate,” Remus answered sympathetically. “I had to enter the territory again, but under the circumstances, they went lightly on me.” “Moony…” Sirius just stared at the other man for a moment. Then Remus broke the silence, and it sounded like he had been dwelling on the question he asked for much longer then Sirius wanted to think about. “Was it wrong to send you that letter, Sirius? I had hoped that it might bring you some peace of mind, but I…” “It wasn’t wrong, Moony, it was the best thing you could have done for me.” Sirius placed a hand on Remus’ shoulder. “It did bring me peace of mind… and hope. I don’t know if I could have lasted without having read it.” “There wasn’t anything I could do,” Remus whispered sadly. “At first I tried to convince some of the other members of the Order that it was -or might be- a mistake, that you at least deserved a fair trial. The Ministry would never care if a werewolf complained, but if the others had… only they wouldn’t listen to me. I’m sorry.” “You have nothing to apologise for,” Sirius said thickly. “There are so many things I could have done… no, should have done, that would have prevented everything.” “It’s not your fault Padfoot,” Remus placed a hand over the one still holding his shoulder. “You did what you thought was right at the time. You just wanted to protect Harry, James, and Lily. We all did.” There was sound that disappeared before it could form any syllables. In fact, it was gone so quickly that Sirius would have thought he had imagined it, or blamed it on the wind, fire, or the settling of a worn house if he had not heard it many times years ago. “What is it Moony?” Sirius asked softly. Remus simply shook his head, but Sirius would not have it. “You can ask anything you want. It won’t upset me; I know you don’t hold any of it against me. I don’t know why, other then the fact that you’re you, I guess.” there was a brief pause before Sirius added, “I want you to know the truth anyway.” ...Because you deserve to know. Sirius left the last part unsaid, because Moony would argue it instead of asking about whatever was bothering him. “Why did you go after Peter on your own?” Remus asked so softly that Sirius almost did not hear him. “You know you didn’t have to.” “I know, but now that I know how it turned out, I’m glad I didn’t think to find you first. Werewolves don’t fair well in Azkaban you know.” Sirius sighed, “I really didn’t think after I realised what had happened… that James and Lily were dead, that you weren’t the spy, that I had failed everyone who loved me, and that Peter had betrayed us all. I knew from what Hagrid said that Dumbledore was going to fight me on my right to take Harry. I was angry, I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I had nothing left to lose.” “Nothing left to lose?” Remus repeated tenderly. “What about Harry? What about Dumbledore and the Order? What about…?” The lycanthrope’s voice trailed off when he could no longer mask the raw pain it held. Even if his voice had not betrayed his emotions, Sirius knew that Remus would not have finished that statement… at least, not as he should have. It was too difficult for him to accept his own worth or think even remotely selfishly. Sirius on the other hand, could, and he knew how Remus should have finished that sentence. What about me? A fresh wave of the old guilt washed over the Animagus. I have betrayed him far more then I realised. “I’m so sorry, Remus. I wasn’t thinking clearly.” Sirius shook his head slowly. Those two sentences were true for many of his past actions. “I know it’s a poor excuse, but I thought I had already lost… everything.” For a moment, Sirius just held the other’s gaze and pleaded with his eyes for Remus to understand. The eyes he found himself staring into however, held no blame, or even anger. There was understanding, compassion, and the residue of the grief he must have felt all those years ago along with the pain of being alone for so long afterwards. That was the problem Sirius had discovered the first time he had greatly wronged the lycanthrope: Remus would forgive Sirius anything, but he could never forget. Anger Sirius could burn out, or Remus could reason away, but sorrow? It just seemed to settle in the other, and Sirius could never figure out how to take it away. Maybe we’ll have the time to figure it out now. Remus gave Sirius‘ hand a little squeeze. “It’s alright, Padfoot, I understand.” “I know you do,” Sirius said with a small smile. “I can’t figure out how you always manage to understand everything, but you do.” Remus gave a reserved smile and shook his head modestly. “I don’t understand everything. I’ve just become rather talented at putting the pieces together on my own, and I think I have a fair understanding of you, which helps considerably.” The smile slipped from Sirius’ lips. He was unsure of how to ask the question that brought up. Remus seemed to notice the change in the other man’s thoughts, and he looked at Sirius with a patient expression. Sirius looked into the scarred man‘s eyes, “W- …at the Shack, you said you hadn’t been my friend…” Sirius realised it was not a proper question, but Remus must have understood because his warm eyes suddenly looked even more sorrowful and a little ashamed. “I think, after all that time, it just became easier to resent you then to miss you,” Remus said contemplatively, “especially with Harry’s welfare to consider.” Sirius blinked and said nothing while he thought over that statement. That explains last year, but… Wait, he couldn’t have… “When did you believe that I was guilty?” Sirius asked after a moment. Remus eyes shifted as if he were going to look away, the way he used to when he was ashamed or embarrassed, but ultimately remained locked with the grey eyes boring into them. “Well, I had my moments of doubts over the years, naturally, but I never completely believed until after you escaped from Azkaban.” Remus moistened his lips and swallowed, but held Sirius’ gaze. For a moment, Sirius could not understand why Remus was so apprehensive about the statement. Of course… If he said anything like this over the past thirteen years, his words would have been ill received. Sirius’ train of thoughts altered, however, when he thought over the words Remus had just spoken again. This time, he decided to voice his thoughts. “What? Why did that convince you of my guilt after holding out for nearly twelve years?” Remus seemed to have relaxed considerably now that the conversation was underway. It probably feels like a relief to finally be able to say all this, now that he knows he was not clinging to false hope, or simply mental, as anyone else would claim. “Because you never contacted Dumbledore or me,” Remus answered with a dismal smile. “I know you Sirius, you could never be happy with being free unless you were truly free to act as you will. For that, you need to have your name cleared. You knew, or I had hoped that you did, that I would listen to your explanation, and believe you. Of course, no one would pay heed to me anymore then they would to you. Dumbledore would keep an open mind, and he is in a position to at least earn you a fair trial.” Sirius nodded, he understood now, “but instead of trying to contact either of you, I snuck across country, broke into Hogwarts, assaulted a portrait, and frightened one of Harry’s friends to death.” Boy was I stupid… Sirius looked thoughtfully at the other man, “I thought it was rather… convenient that you, Harry, and Dumbledore all happened to be at Hogwarts.” “I figured, whether for good or ill, you would have to face each of us if you attempted to approach Harry.” Remus made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. “I actually left a rather cryptic message here, in case you came looking for me first.” “I should have come to you first,” Sirius said earnestly. “Everything would have turned out differently… better.” “Nothing that Peter has ever done is your fault Sirius.” Remus said levelly. “I should have known… or at least suspected something,” Sirius said dejectedly. “It wasn‘t just you, Sirius,” Remus moved his hand from Sirius’ in order to rub the other man’s arm condolingly. “No one suspected Peter.” “…because we were too distracted in being sure that you were the spy,” Sirius voice sounded bitter. Remus made a sound somewhere between a scoff and a snort. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you and Voldemort essentially came up with the same perfect plan... and each were brilliant. Who would ever suspect weak, talent-less Peter when there was a much more obvious and fitting choice of suspect.” “Your right,” Sirius gave a brief mirthless laugh. “I never thought of it like that… but still, was it so obvious that I would betray you so easily?” “Was it so easy?” asked Remus softly. “No,” Sirius’ voice was strong as he stared into the werewolf’s eyes. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.” Sirius scoffed, “and to think I did it to myself.” Remus‘ voice was just as clear when he answered, “I’ve never despised myself as much as I did the day I decided I was no longer so certain of your innocence.” That is really saying something. “There was a lot of evidence against me,” Sirius said in a comforting tone. “It probably appeared the same for me,” Remus took a deep breath. “Why don’t we agree to be more open with each other this time around? I know I’ll never mistrust you again… well, on anything more then simple pranks.” Sirius grinned and cocked an eyebrow, “When were any of our pranks simple?” The grin grew into a smile as he squeezed Remus’ shoulder again. “I’ll never doubt you again; I don’t care what the circumstances are.” If Sirius had known just how much those words would affect the other man, he would have said them as soon as he walked through the door. Remus did not say anything, but a gentle smile graced his features. Not one of the vague smiles he usually wore that did not quite reach his warm eyes. No, this was a true smile, which seemed to lift the wear his face had obtained during the past thirteen years. Sirius returned the smile with a wide beaming one of his own. His eyes, which had appeared dark and empty before, sparked to life with a familiar flame that used to burn there before Azkaban. Without thinking about past mistakes or future consequences… When did I ever think about the consequences, anyway? …Sirius pulled Remus into a tight embrace. Had he been thinking, Sirius would have expected Remus to tense or just go very still, as was a usual reaction for the lycanthrope when he was touched unexpectedly. He had stopped reacting this way toward Sirius during their time at Hogwarts, but that was before… everything. A small level of surprise still registered somewhere in the back of Sirius’ consciousness when Remus returned the embrace without a hint of hesitation or trepidation. For a moment, it was as if the past thirteen years had not happened. For the first time, Sirius could not prevent himself from thinking about what might have been, if he had not been so foolhardy all those year ago. As a response to the bittersweet images running through his head, Sirius tightened his hold on Remus, as though he were trying to completely envelop the other man. Remus’ only response was to adjust his own hold accordingly and tuck his face into the joint where Sirius’ neck and shoulder met. Sirius rested his head atop of Remus’, and after what might have been minutes or hours, he began to feel the pull of sleep. As if sensing this, Remus begun to ease away from the Animagus, although they remained in a loose embrace. “I’m sorry; you must be exhausted after all that travelling.” Sirius chuckled lightly, “Ever the courteous one, eh Moony?” “Forgive me for having manners,” Remus replied wryly. “Come on, Padfoot, it‘s high time you got a descent night‘s sleep in a proper bed.” Sirius nodded, he had not slept in a real bed for thirteen years. “That sounds wonderful… There is a proper bed here, right?” He added the last with a grin. “Well, I should hope you find it more accommodating then the places you have been sleeping.” Remus gave Sirius a pointed look, “Of course, if you had just accepted the money I sent you after I left Hogwarts…” “You earned that money and you needed it,” Sirius answered as he stood from the couch, pulling Remus up with him. “How have you survived all these years anyway? From a financial standpoint, I mean.” “Oh, a little of this, a little of that,” Remus began to steer a sleepy Sirius towards the master bedroom. “Mainly locating and capturing assorted ‘dark creatures’, usually that had taken residence in someone’s home or grounds. I also did a little archiving, translating, and worked in some bookshops and the like. Just, whatever I could find, really.” “Whatever you can find is getting more difficult to find, I imagine,” Sirius was too tired to hide the anger in his voice, and he was not certain that he would have anyway now. “I read in the papers something about a woman at the Ministry drafting some serious anti-werewolf legislation.” “Her name is Umbridge; she has a rather strong distaste for dangerous half-breeds,” Remus put up his hands defensively when Sirius turned to retort that title, “her words, not mine. Anyway, it is nearly impossible for, well, beings like me, to get a job now. Of course, that‘s not going to help when Voldemort starts putting another army together.” Sirius groaned, “I hadn’t even thought of that yet. Between Umbridge, Greyback, and Voldemort, werewolves are going to be hard to keep neutral this time.” Although… how easy could it possibly have been last time? Oh, Moony… at least you won’t be alone this time around. Remus sighed dejectedly, and Sirius knew he must have been thinking of what was to come. However, Remus began speaking before Sirius could attempt to say anything consoling. “There will be time for all of that tomorrow. We should sleep well while we can.” You mean, ‘now that we can’, don’t you? “Your old pyjamas and some of your old clothes are in the wardrobe,” Remus looked as though he was not sure whether he should feel self-conscious or not. “If there’s anything else you need, you’re welcome to anything I have. You know where to find me if you need me.” Sirius was touched yet again by the faith and loyalty of his friend. “Thank you, Moony. I don’t… You’ve been… Thank you for just…being you.” The Animagus cursed himself inwardly for being unable to form complete sentences all of a sudden. Remus is supposed to be the vulnerable one, I was always the self-assured one of the pair. Sirius threw on the best cocky smile he could muster, “Sorry, I’m just tired. Goodnight Moony.” Remus gave a small nod and wore a formless smile that meant do not worry about it. Sirius was pleased that he was still able to translate Moony into English. “Goodnight Padfoot,” The werewolf’s smile turned into something softer, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that uplifting thought, Remus departed for his room, and Sirius opened the wardrobe and pulled on his own pyjamas, which, like his robe, had also been preserved by some spell or recently laundered. The pyjamas did not fit the same way they had before, but Sirius supposed he should be pleased that they still fit at all. Much like something else… Sirius settled under the covers and released a contented sigh; he had not been so comfortable in years. He was in a real bed, in a cosy cottage -Remus‘ cottage. No one was screaming, crying, or muttering in the background; there was no unnatural chill in the air. …James was dead, Dumbledore wanted Harry to stay with his aunt, Remus had been scorned and neglected, Peter had escaped… and it was entirely his fault. He threw his head back and laughed mirthlessly at his own failure and foolishness, not realising that he was hurting Moony and Harry by doing this, by not acting innocent and rational, by making it so easy for the Ministry to separate them and leave them all alone… Sirius awoke with a start, but his nerves were quickly soothed when he took in his surroundings and remembered where he was. I suppose it was too much to expect to forget about that after reliving it so many times in Azkaban… Sirius had completely relaxed by the time he noticed a faint sound drifting into the room. Years of hearing all the various sounds of distress that a human could make had left Sirius able to identify them quickly. His mind snapped fully awake when he realised there was only one other person here whom the upsetting sound could be coming from. Sirius was out of bed and into the hall with only a few steps. He paused for a moment at Remus’ door, which he had left open just as Sirius’ had done with the door to his room. Remus lay curled into himself on the small bed, he was still and quiet for the most part, only tensing and releasing a faint sound like the whine of a distressed animal every so often. Sirius had crossed the room, knelt on Remus’ bed, and placed a hand on the other’s back before he realised his actions. That small gesture it seemed, was all that he needed to do, because Remus relaxed his muscles and ceased making the distressing sound once Sirius‘s hand made contact. Then the werewolf stirred and turned slowly to settle his hazy gaze on Sirius. “Padfoot…? Are you alright?” “Yes,” Sirius only had to wait a few seconds for Remus to clear his mind of sleep. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine,” Remus propped himself up on one arm. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” “I don’t think so,” Sirius said honestly, “I woke up and only noticed afterwards that you seemed… distraught.” “Sorry, I really am fine,” Remus looked caught between concern and shame. “Why did you wake, then?” “My dreams seem to have forgotten that there aren’t any dementors around to pull up bad memories,” answered Sirius flatly. Remus wore a sympathetic expression, “Is there anything I can do to help?” Sirius shook his head, “You already have, just waking up here and knowing your still there for me is enough. I’ll be alright Remus, really.” Sirius looked around the tiny bedroom, it appeared much the same as it had the last time Sirius had been here, only the books were obviously more suited for a professor then a student, and the clothes draped over the small wooden chair by the bookshelf were more dignified then the jeans and sneakers that would have been there before. “You always were well organised,” Sirius said lightly, “…came in handy when we needed to pull of something that required good timing.” He turned to look at Remus again; the lycanthrope was still watching him. “Do you remember that time I woke you up from some horrible nightmare during our sixth year?” Remus nodded and smiled warmly. “You stayed with me all night afterwards…” “…and James’ jaw nearly hit the floor when he found us the next morning.” Sirius finished with a smile of his own. “Well, this bed seems a little smaller now, but you’re welcome to stay if you want to.” Remus said, and Sirius was glad that he too had retained the ability to translate Padfoot into Moony. Sirius decided to forget the time apart for a little longer as he and Remus adjusted under the covers to allow them both to fit comfortably on the bed, which did seem smaller then Sirius recalled. I wonder if Dumbledore knew what he was doing when he sent me here. I would have come sooner if it weren’t for the trouble I could cause Moony. About that… Sirius shifted his head so that he could down at Remus, who always slept lower into the blankets, the Animagus had often wondered if he did that before he received his bite. “So Moony, tell me honestly, how long can I stay?” “Well Padfoot, normally one stays in bed until sometime in the morning,” said Remus pleasantly into Sirius‘ torso. “I was thinking we would stick to that concept.” “I meant more then just tonight,” Sirius answered drily, “So… how long?” “Stay as long as you like, Padfoot,” was the simple reply. “Well then, let me know if or when I reach the cut-off point.” Sirius responded as he pulled up an arm to rest under the pillow. There was silence for a moment, before the Animagus barely heard Remus‘ soft reply. “Forever and a day…” Sirius’ face broke into another broad smile, “Forever and a day sounds too long; I wouldn’t want to wear out my welcome.” “Hmm, good point.” Remus answered after a pause, which led Sirius to the conclusion that he had not been expected to hear the werewolf’s previous statement. “How about just until the day after forever, then?” “That sounds nice,” answered Sirius, and his smile grew when he felt the other exhale against him. “Until the day after forever, then.”
12:57am: HP: Forever and a Day
Disclaimer: I do not own the right to Harry Potter.
Sirius Black sat on the bench in his cell about two months after he was sent to Azkaban Prison. A few people were screaming in the distance. He understood why, but was glad that he hadn’t reached that point. A dementor glided past, causing him to relive some of his worst memories again. Breaking his promise to Remus just to get back at Snape, nearly getting one of his best friends expelled or worse. Seeing the pain and the fear in Moony’s eyes afterwards, when they told him what happened whist he convalesced in the hospital wing. James’ anger at him for what he had done. However, he didn’t lose his mind as the others in Azkaban did. At least, he hadn’t yet. He knew he was innocent; what did he care if the Ministry didn’t. He wondered if any of those that were left believed him. He doubted it, for he had read the headlines. He also knew what it must have looked like in retrospect. He didn’t feel angry about it anymore, actually, he didn’t feel anything these days. Another dementor glided past, this time accompanying a new prisoner. Part of his mind remembered that this prisoner was a werewolf, believed to have been working under Lord Voldemort. This part of his mind might have noticed that the before mentioned werewolf flicked an envelope into his cell while passing, but the rest of his mind was once again lost in some of his worst memories. Believing that Remus was the spy, just because the Order was a bunch of bigots that couldn’t see past his lycanthropy, and all but abandoning him. Convincing James and Lily to use Peter as their secret keeper instead. James and Lily’s death. Peter escaping. Sirius wondered if anyone had ever gotten used to the effects of the dementors. He doubted it, and seemed to recall Moony telling him about them during their sixth year at Hogwarts. He should have paid more attention to Moony. He should have done a lot of things. He remembered Moony telling him some muggle quote once (the boy knew so many from all those books he read); A man is not old until his dreams are outnumbered by his regrets, or something among those lines. He supposed that he and Remus had both become prematurely old then. Suddenly his attention was drawn to a dingy looking envelope lying on the floor in front of him. The only thing written on it was a date, some weeks after he was sent here, but Sirius instantly recognized the handwriting. It was Moony’s. He glanced in the direction that the werewolf had been taken in, but he couldn’t see him. How could Moony have arranged to have a letter brought into Azkaban? What risks did he take to get this to Sirius? Sirius tried to remember that Remus had every reason to hate him, and that this letter could be his way of letting Sirius go. That thought was enough to keep his building excitement down to a nervous level that would not attract the dementors. Sirius held his breath as he started to read. Dear Padfoot, Sirius exhaled; Moony would not have called him that name if he were only writing to tell him off and then try to forget about him. Sirius continued reading. I don’t know why I am writing this letter. I know they don’t normally allow prisoners of Azkaban to receive messages, and they certainly are not going to make an exception for a poor filthy abomination such as myself. However I need to say these things somehow, and I refuse to speak to myself, I’ve hardly spoken at all since Halloween anyway. I don’t like to hear my own voice echo off these cold walls, because that makes me have to think about things that I would rather not. Sirius doubted that he had to worry about this letter making him too happy now. Moony’s pain was already starting to bleed through his words, at least to Sirius. He hadn’t thought about how awful this whole ordeal must have been for the last marauder. Such as the fact that I am never going to have my train of thought broken by your barking laughter, or hear that ridiculous motorcycle of yours pull up the walk. I will never again listen to you recounting the previous evening, when you played with the wolf as Padfoot. James and Lily will never write to say that Harry has taken his first steps or spoken his first word. Peter will never announce that he is seeing some new bird and that he’s sure he’s found ‘the one’ again. You and James will never teach Harry how to fly a broom or throw a dung bomb. I’ll never help him with his homework as I did you and James when we were in Hogwarts. Sirius was saddened by this, but also confused. He had also failed to think about where Harry had ended up. Why didn’t he think of Remus and Harry before going after Peter? They could have sorted this out; they could have remained a family; if only he hadn‘t been so rash. James; Lily; Peter…they’re all gone now. I’ve been told that I can never contact Harry while he is at his Aunt and Uncle’s home and he needs to stay there. They don’t particularly like your kind, and they loath monsters like me entirely. You may as well have fallen off the planet. I truly am alone now, aren’t I? Are you, as well? Or are you with the ones you chose to stand beside? A few things stuck Sirius now. The first being how completely horrible he was for leaving Moony all alone like this. It had always been the poor werewolf’s fear that he would be deserted by those he cared about, and now Sirius had made that fear come to pass. The other was that Harry was at Lily’s awful sister’s house, and Remus and the others could not contact him. He would never learn about his parents and the marauders. It also sounded like Moony was starting to doubt Sirius, which he had every reason to, and Moony was referring to himself as a monster again, which Sirius hated. They say that you betrayed us. They say that I have to accept that. How can they say that as if it were such a simple thing? I can’t accept this…not yet anyway. I never want to. Why would you do such a thing? You loved us…at least, that is what I’ve always believed. We all loved you…I still love you. How could you join Lord Voldemort? You always hated the cruel things that your family believed in. Hope began to swell inside of Sirius. Perhaps Moony hadn’t given up on Sirius, as he had once given up on him. Remus didn’t accept what the Order and the Ministry said, and he still loved him. Sirius had often wondered, while they were at Hogwarts, if the sorting hat had difficulties in sorting Remus. He was true and loyal enough for Hufflepuff, clever and studious enough for Ravenclaw, just as he was courageous enough for Gryffindor. It seemed that he always would be. Besides, weren’t they the ones who told you that I was the spy, just because I’m a werewolf? I suppose everything you ever said to convince me that I was more then just a dark creature was simply to pacify me. Why else would you have believed them? I know you did. Had you just spoken to me, we might have sorted this mess out before we lost everything. Again, Sirius felt repentant, because he knew that Moony was right. That hope in him was also growing, as it sounded like Moony knew in his heart that Sirius wasn’t guilty. There I go again, assuming that this is all some sort of mistake and that you are actually innocent. Perhaps you hadn’t spoken to me those past weeks because you didn’t want me to realize that you were the spy. I don’t know that I would want to survive this if I believed that what they say happened is true. They say that time will help me to accept this. Time has never been a friend of mine, and I believe it owes me a favor, so time can wait. I wish it could just stop. But then, when have wishes ever favored me either? A ghost of a smile touched Sirius’ dry lips. Moony didn’t believe it; he knew it was the logical explanation, but he refused to believe it. That would rule out Ravenclaw then. After you became ‘Padfoot’ I told you that you made my transformations bearable. I never explained that. You see, aside from the physical pain and such, transformations caused me to lose my mind, or rather, my sense of self. I could only remember some feelings from when I was the wolf; darkness, coldness, pain, anger, and fear. You made all of that better, but now you’re gone, all of you, and I feel that way all the time, even when the moon is far from full. The wolf hasn’t taken to losing its pack well either. Any trace of a smile vanished from Sirius. How could he have left Moony alone like this? How could he have allowed their pack, as Moony so perfectly called them, to die? They had made life bearable for each other, and now they were nothing but the soon-to-be shell of a human being and a miserable, anguished lone wolf. I wonder if that is what Azkaban is like. I hate the thought of you in there. I know what the dementors are like. I know what it means to feel yourself slipping away. I know what it is to have people look at you and assume that you are dark and vile. I never wanted you to know those feelings. I had always wanted you to remain mercurial, cocky, carefree, and…well, all those things which drove me mad and made you Padfoot. I never wanted you to change. Sirius had never wanted to change either, but maybe he should have. Then he wouldn’t have gotten them into this situation. However another feeling, which he could only classify as comfort, was growing in him as he realized that Moony truly did understand how Sirius felt in this place…and that he did not want him to feel that way. He didn’t hate him for any of it. The Order has scattered to the winds. I think I might try to disappear into the muggle world for a while. The wizarding world just isn’t the same without you. It’s so cold without you. There are some muggle illnesses that require treatment once a month, in case anyone notices my disappearances, or my general appearance for that matter. I don’t know if I can leave this place yet, though. All the memories of us are here. How can I leave all of that behind? I hate walking into a room and remembering us there, but I can’t imagine being somewhere that I cannot see us at. I suppose I shouldn’t complain about that dilemma to you, as you don’t even have the luxury of making such a decision. I’m sorry. There isn’t anything that I can do to help. I’m so sorry, Padfoot. Leave it to ascetic Moony to feel guilty about feeling bad for himself when he had more right then anyone. Sirius also felt some annoyance that the Order could abandon them both like that. He wondered if Moony would last. He was a half-blood and a half-breed, and never seemed to belong in any world aside from the one that they created with the other marauders. I managed to get your bike before Hagrid tore it apart. Actually, I have all of your things. No one else wanted them. I have no idea what I am going to do with it all. I could purchase a shed to put behind the cottage and just leave it all in there. I think that is what I will do. Sirius was actually touched. Moony hated that bike, he always was worried that Sirius would be hurt or get into trouble because of it. Not only had he inevitably argued with an angry half-giant over it, but had also kept all of Sirius’ belongings, and intended to keep them indefinitely. It was almost as if he expected Sirius to come back for them one day. What happened, Padfoot? Where did everything go wrong? Is there anything I could have done that would have made you trust me enough to confront me about this or confide in me about what was going on? Did you really betray us all, or just me? Please tell me you didn’t do this. Tell me that this is all some sort of terrible misunderstanding and that you’ll come back one day after it’s all sorted out, please. I’ll believe you. Sirius knew he would. He felt terrible that Remus thought this was his fault somehow; that he could have prevented this. The hope inside him swelled as the guilt and the anger rose. Sirius wished there was a way to talk to Moony; to tell him that it was all Sirius’ fault, that Remus had done nothing to cause the others to mistrust him, and that yes, it was all just a terrible misunderstanding and he would happily return to Moony’s side if given the chance. Love always, Moony. As his throat tightened and his eyes stung from that last declaration of love and loyalty, Sirius realized something. He was feeling. It was a bittersweet hope, a righteous anger, a weighing guilt, and an aching love. They weren’t exactly happy, so the dementors weren’t taking them away, but they weren’t terrible either. Sirius would not go mad, he would not succumb to the fate of the other prisoners, because these feeling reminded him of who he was and what he had to survive for. He was innocent, and he wasn’t the only one who believed it. P.S. I’ll wait for an answer…forever and a day if I have to, and I will believe you. He was innocent and he would live to see Remus and Harry again somehow. He would get out of this place…and Moony would believe him. That was enough to sustain him, and it would be enough until he could answer Remus’ questions…and Harry’s, if he ever learned of all this. He was innocent, he was believed, and he would remain whole for his pack…forever and a day, if he had to.
12:50am: KH: Sankakkei: Chapter Two
Chapter Two: The Lone Wolf After Cloud stormed off, Tifa turned on Cid. “That was pushing it.” “He needs to learn to lighten up,” said Cid. “Don’t know what’s crawled up his ass…that isn’t even the worst comment I’ve made this week.” “That’s what did it,” said Tifa as she turned towards the door. “You’ve been on him about it for too long. I need to go ask Zack about something. I’ll see you guys later.” Yuffie waved and Leon inclined his head before the mahogany-eyed woman left. “You know I like tormenting Cloud and all,” said Yuffie, “But maybe you should back off the Jailbait issue for a bit. It seems to be really getting to him.” “He’s the one lusting after a damned minor,” commented Cid. “At least I’m just heckling him; he makes a move on Jailbait and some people are going to react a lot more strongly than some jokes. He needs to learn to let it roll off him, or back off Jailbait before he goes too far.” “The town isn’t that big, Cid,” said Yuffie. “How’s he supposed to avoid him without it being obvious? He’ll hurt Riku’s feelings if he just stops talking to him.” “He’s going to hurt Jailbait no matter what he does,” stated the Gummi mechanic. “He needs to decide if it’s worth it.” “Aww,” Yuffie smiled at the older man. “I didn’t know you cared about them so much.” “Well someone has to look out for the idiots,” Cid grumbled. “Of course, stone-face here seems to be taking care of Jailbait.” He turned to Leon, “What are you going to do if Spiky puts the moves on the kid?” Leon did not answer...he could not. After a moment, he turned towards the door as well. “I need to check something in the computer room. Let me know if you make any progress with those schematics.” He left without waiting for a response. The scarred man walked straight to the computer room at a brisk pace, without paying any attention to his surroundings or acknowledging anyone he passed. He silently made his way through the labyrinth of halls in Ansem’s office building, making his way through with an ease that suggested all the time he spent working there. His thoughts drifting to a silver-haired boy he should not be thinking of in such a manner the entire time. Once he reached the computer room, Leon closed the door behind him and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He needed to get a hold on this. “You know,” Leon’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Zell’s voice. “I really am going to have to meet this kid. Anyone who could not only get past Strife’s self-pitying emo ways but also get under your defences and have both of you fall for him -and at only sixteen- has to be something special.” “I have not fallen for him,” snapped Leon. “Oh come on, Squall-I mean Leon,” Zell held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Just a slip, I meant Leon…that stoic bitch act might work on some of the others but it doesn’t fool me. You like this kid...a lot.” “He is a kid,” stated Leon, temporarily forgetting his earlier denial of the accusation. “I’m ten years older than he is. Even if I were interested, you have to admit, that’s quite a problem.” “Yeah…physically the kid isn’t going to have the same needs, psychologically it’s going to affect him differently, and it’s going to be really conflicting with emotions and hormones and all that,” commented Zell with a wave of his hand. “But…you are one of the few men I know with the willpower and self discipline to handle that. Besides, we both know there’s a lot more to a relationship, and honestly, do you think that kid is going to find anyone his own age who can understand him and relate to him well enough for a relationship after everything he’s been through?” “Thanks Zell, I needed to be reminded of that,” commented Leon. “Of what?” asked the blonde man, knowing his friend was not referring to the point he had intended to make. “Everything he’s been through,” replied Leon seriously, most of the anger had drained from his voice, but it still held a bitter edge. “He might seem cool and collected, but considering he was only fifteen when all of this started, and the fact that it hasn’t been over for more than a few months, we both now that kid has to be torn up inside even worse than we would be. It’s only a matter of time before he either has a complete meltdown, or becomes like me or Cloud…He doesn’t need this on top of it.” “Well he might have to deal with it anyway,” stated Zack. “The kid’s observant; now you might be able to hold off on any urges and keep him from figuring out the truth, but Cloud won’t…Personally, I think Riku’s better off with you and in any case, the kid deserves to be able to make that choice knowing all his options.” “That’s another problem,” commented Leon, “Cloud…He likes the kid too, and he’s made it much clearer than I have.” “So what…he has first dibs or something?” questioned Zell with a sour expression. “I’ve never known you to objectify someone like that. I think it’s just another excuse.” “They’re already emotionally involved, Zell,” stated Leon. “They haven’t been together physically, and they’re not technically together, but they might as well be…there’s an attachment there.” “So you’re just going to wait until Cloud decides he can’t hold off and moves in on the kid?” asked Zell incredulously. “You think the kid deserves to be in that kind of position…that he even knows how to handle that without getting hurt? …And you’re just going to watch it happen? You’re better than that, Leon.” “The kid-” “-And that’s another thing,” interrupted Zell, “Do you think that always referring to him as ‘Kid’ is going to help you? You obviously don’t need a reminder of his age, so why do it? Is that supposed to keep him at a distance…make sure he doesn’t feel like you have any sort of attachment to him? ...Because you’re better than that too.” Leon sighed and looked at his friend. “I can’t fall in love with Riku, Zell. He deserves…” “He deserves the truth,” Zell placed a hand on the brunette’s shoulder, “And you deserve to start living your own life again…Squall. I don‘t think Riku‘s the only one you’re holding back because of.” The tattooed man walked past Leon and out of the room after that, whether to give his friend some time to think alone or out of fear that he might have pushed too far, Leon was not sure. The Gunblade wielder walked over to Ansem’s old computer. He fingered a pen that contained a few small bite marks, and remembered telling Riku that he needed to slow down if he did not have time to set his pen somewhere when he had walked in and found the boy typing away whilst reading some notes he had made and holding the pen in his mouth. Leon smirked as he remembered the witty remark the boy had replied with before they had begun a friendly banter. He paused for a moment and the smile faded. Thinking of several similar moments between him and the teal-eyed boy, Leon was surprised that Zell was the only one to call him on his feelings for the adolescent. Steel blue eyes squeezed closed for a moment. There was no use in denying it any longer. Leon loved Riku, and he knew it. He decided he needed to talk to Cloud first. Then, he would talk to Riku after they settled it. That thought gave him pause. He had no idea how Cloud would react. They had never truly discussed how the former SOLDIER felt about the silver-haired boy. He was not sure if it was simply attraction on top of friendship or if Cloud actually loved Riku as well. Leon wanted to find out exactly how his friend felt about the boy before he did anything. However, he was not sure what he would do if Cloud also wanted to pursue a relationship with the silver-haired teen. He could only hope that their shared interest in the teal-eyed boy would not come between them as friends. The scarred man schooled his features once more and left the room with the intentions of finding his old friend.
12:43am: KH: Sankakkei: Chapter One
Chapter One: The Vagrant
Cloud looked up as Tifa entered Merlin’s house. The mahogany-eyed woman held up a single Munny. “Did anyone lose this; it was in front of the door when I came in.” Cloud, Zell, and Yuffie shook their heads and Cid glanced at the woman before snorting. “I really don’t think losing that’s going to break anyone’s bank.” “Well, it’s still polite to ask,” remarked the woman. “If you don’t want to keep it, then here,” the Gummi mechanic held up a glass jar with more Munny in it. “What is this for anyway?” asked Zell as Tifa dropped the found Munny into the jar. “It’s bail Munny for when Spiky takes the bait,” answered Cid. Cloud turned to look at the other man, “What bait is going to land me in jail now?” “Jailbait of course,” answered Cid in a completely serious tone. This did not stop Zell from smirking, Tifa from chuckling, or Yuffie from cracking up completely. Cloud’s eyebrows drew together, “Cid-” “We’ve all seen the way you look at Jailbait, Spiky,” answered Cid. “It’s not like it’s going to surprise any of us when you call for bail Munny.” Mako blue eyes narrowed, but the door opened and Leon entered before Cloud could retort. Steel blue eyes took in the former SOLDIER’s glare before Leon raised an eyebrow. “Now what?” he asked flatly. “Spiky’s got a bug up his ass ‘cause I was teasing him about Jailbait,” Cid answered before Cloud could respond. This sent both women into a giggling fit. The scarred man rolled his eyes. “Look, I find teasing Cloud to be just as entertaining as you do, but didn’t I ask you not to call the kid that?” “I didn’t call him that,” said the elder blonde. “I referred to him as that. I won’t do it when he’s around…wouldn’t want to give Jailbait any more issues than he’s already got.” “Cid,” Leon began sternly, “I want you to take it easy on the kid.” “Haven’t I been doing that?” asked the Gummi mechanic. “I don’t want to upset him any more than you do…If he takes off then it’s just you and me trying to fix this mess.” Cid gestured at the computer he had been working on. “Oh, that reminds me,” said Zell as he stood. “I was supposed to fix the lighting in the computer room.” “You haven’t done that yet?” asked Leon. “We had a whole block lose power this week; I’ve been busy,” responded the tattooed man. “I know,” said the Gunblade wielder. “Sorry to jump on you, I just don’t want the kid to go blind in there.” “Yeah, plus that place is creepy enough as it is,” added Yuffie. “Tell me about it,” said Zell. “I’m stopping at the hotdog stand after I’m done. Anyone want me to bring them back anything?” “I’ll take two chilli dogs,” said Yuffie. “You just had lunch,” said Tifa, earning her a shrug from the hyperactive ninja. “No wonder you have so much energy.” “I’ll bring back plenty,” said Zell on his way out. “Assuming they aren’t sold out again,” Leon said under his breath. “Well between him and her,” Tifa indicated Yuffie, “Is it any surprise?” “Not to mention all the kids that go there,” added Cid. Then he turned to Cloud, “Hey, you should take Jailbait there sometime. I’m sure it’ll be right up his alley…of course, you might want to give me time to build up more funds if you intend to go up his alley…” “That’s it,” said Cloud as he stood quickly and headed toward the door. “I’m leaving.” Cloud slammed the door behind him and stormed off. Without paying attention, he ended up at the Bailey. After pacing for a moment, the blonde man understood why Leon and Riku often came to that location when they wanted some space. No one seemed to linger there. Cloud leaned against a wall, arms folded and eyes closed. After some time had passed, it could have been minutes or hours, Cloud was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he was not sure; he heard footsteps walk past him and stop as someone leaned against the opposite wall. “What do you want, Zack?” asked the blonde man without opening his eyes. “I want you to shit or get off the pot,” answered the violet-eyed man. Mako blue eyes snapped open. “Excuse me?” “Tifa talked to me after you stormed off. We all knew Cid was going to react this way about the kid,” commented Zack. “At least he’s only teasing you. A lot of others will think poorly of you if you get involved with this kid.” “His name is not kid,” commented Cloud, “And do you honestly think I don’t know that? I also know that they‘ll all have a reason too. I could completely ruin his life-” “You could ruin both your lives,” interrupted Zack, “Which is why you need to think this through and then make a decision. Now, you know I’m behind you either way, because I‘m your friend and hell, the kid‘s hot, but I would really like to hear the story behind this.” Cloud raised his head now. “This isn’t just about his looks.” “I didn’t say it was,” stated the black-haired man. “I know the boy is beautiful, smart, and that if it weren’t for him, half of the worlds and most of their population, including myself, would still be wherever we went after we disappeared. Trust me; no one appreciates that distinction more than I do. What I don’t know is how you ended up attached to him.” “I woke up in a world I never even heard of, you and Tifa were gone, so I went to look for you,” explained Cloud. “That’s when I ended up signing that contract with Hades. Riku was in a similar position, only he was just a kid, and Maleficent took advantage of his situation. We met a few times while we were under them, and we got along. Sometime after Cid brought me back here, I went to the castle ruins and Riku found me there. We kept in touch after that.” Zack nodded slowly. “That was after he escaped the dark realm and found his friend. You were trying to come to terms with what you had done and had just learned that Sephiroth returned with everybody else.” A small smirk touched his lips, “You two must have made a nice little support group for each other.” “That’s exactly what it was like,” agreed Cloud. “No one else understood what I was trying to deal with, except for him; and the things this kid believes and can do…He just kept reminding me what was important, and that you’re never too far from the light.” “I’m glad you had that kind of support,” stated Zack, “But it still doesn’t sound like that kind of love to me.” “What do you mean?” asked Cloud, sounding genuinely curious. “I mean, you love him, but not like a lover should,” said Zack, “And you want him for the wrong reasons. You want to be with him because you hate being alone but you don’t like to open up to people and explain yourself. With him, you don’t have to. That isn’t right for you, and it isn’t fair to him. You both deserve better.” Cloud sighed. “I don’t want to use him.” “Then don’t,” Zack commented without pause. “Back off the kid a little, be his friend…that’s it. Then, you can try to open up to everyone else and maybe you’ll find someone you actually want for the right reasons and are willing to work on a real relationship with. You know Tifa‘s been pretty worried about you…” “Don’t start that up,” interrupted the blonde. “I think I have enough to work with for now.” “Well, I think you should talk to Leon anyway.” Zack raised his hands and smiled at Cloud’s startled expression, “Not like that. It’s just…you’re not the only one who’s gotten close to Riku.” Cloud looked confused for a moment, and then his eyes widened slightly. “Are you saying that Leon…?” “I’m saying he’s also been way too protective and attached to the kid,” stated Zack. “You know how he likes all his ducks in a row. You might want to let him know that he doesn’t have to watch you around Riku anymore.” “Yeah, it’ll be nice not having him glare at me half of the time,” said Cloud, “And I certainly won’t miss all of Cid’s crap.” “Oh, you know he loves us,” commented Zack with a smirk. “Come on; let’s get back to work.” Cloud nodded, “Hey Zack?” “Now what?” asked the former colonel in a teasing tone. “Thanks,” muttered Cloud. “Aw, you’re so cute when you aren’t trying to be cool,” commented Zack with a chuckle. Cloud rolled his eyes and the two friends continued walking to the Postern.
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