a gift for darkmary on tumblr for the prompt - peace - spending a quiet moment together
There had been a time when they watched the sun rise together. Leo rose from his quarters early to savor what he could before his duties overwhelmed him. It started as a quiet moment to relish a fresh cup of coffee by a balcony. No troops asking him what to do next, no details of the day's agenda. Simply nothing.
He never invited him to the balcony. More like it came up in idle conversation, at best dismissed as trivial details. When Leo found Kefka leaning into the stone parapet one morning, he almost dropped his cup.
Kefka peeked back, his chin perched upon a loose fist. Either boredom or fatigue riddled his features. "What?"
Leo swallowed. "I wasn't expecting you."
To that, Kefka raised an eyebrow. "If I recall correctly, you invited me up here."
"It wasn't—" Catching his tongue, Leo recomposed himself. "I didn't believe you put much thought into it."
The snicker leaving Kefka brought a chill through Leo. "Oh, but I did. Seems you've underestimated me."
Sipping his coffee, Leo joined Kefka. There, they stood in silence and looked out to the horizon in hopes that the sun's warmth would pierce through the thick fog and banish it. Leo caught glances of Kefka, who never moved an inch; those small eyes glued to the skies while his fingers tapped along the balcony. A million thoughts danced in Leo's head, each one begging to come to life, but he swallowed back the words. The silence spoke more between them than either could ever convey otherwise.
Once the sun dared to blind them, Kefka stretched, yawned, and pivoted on his heels. "Well, that was fun." Maybe sarcasm dripped from his tongue, or maybe sincerity. Leo couldn't tell. "You do this every morning, hmm?"
"Just about."
Kefka scoffed, nodded slightly, and left.
Leo didn't expect him to show up again the next day. And the next. For an entire year. He cherished those mornings more so than his coffee.
Though when Kefka agreed to be the first test subject for the Magitek experiments, Leo spent the following morning alone. And as Kefka's mind slipped away—as did the man he once knew and admired—Leo longed for the simpler times when they found comfort in silence.