Author note: I don't own Bravely Default or Bravely Second.
Warning: Spoilers for Bravely Default, takes place during Bravely Second then jumps ahead to post-Bravely Second, mild spoilers for Bravely Second up to Chapter 1, mentioned BraevxMahzer, onesided BraevxKamiizumi, onesided KamiizumixMahzer, onesided KamiizumixBarbarossa, KamiizumixGeist, some references to "Things We Cannot Undo" and other fanfics in that continuum.
Past Loves and Communication
Summary: While dining in the Al Khampis dorms, the party deliberates past rumours about the Swordmaster, the Templar and the one the both loved. Kamiizumi, who's currently with said party, decides against his better judgement to ask about said rumours and completely regrets it afterwards. In the present while recounting it to his lover, Kamiizumi has a question to ask Geist about regarding all of it…
It would've been cruel to just leave Kamiizumi at Al Khampis dorms alone after he just got injured. So, the party opted to stay the night with him at the dorms before continuing on with their journey to save Agnes. He appreciated their company, he truly did. It had been some time since the Swordmaster dined with any companions save for Tsubaki, after all.
Unfortunately, some curious minds couldn't be stopped from prying into things.
"Master Kamiizumi?"
Kamiizumi looked from Edea, who was chowing down a second serving of food, to Yew, who had asked the question. "Yes, Yew?" He was half-finished his own plate of food when she asked the question.
"I was wondering, about those rumours regarding you and the Grand Marshal…are they true?"
"Oh? Which rumours?"
As soon as the words left Kamiizumi's mouth, he found himself starting to regret them as the entire party gave him knowing looks.
"I mean," Yew managed, "by the ones regarding the two of you fighting over Mahzer Lee—"
Edea gave him a look. "You know you could just ask me, right?"
"Yeah, but," The Cavalier pointed out, "If the Swordmaster is here, why not ask him?"
"A love triangle?" Magnolia chimed in, eyes sparkling. "Oh la la! Monsieur Kamiizumi, I had no idea you were involved in one!"
"It wasn't really that much of a love triangle." Kamiizumi stated, looking to the Ba'al Buster as calmly as he could. "I believe Edea and Tiz already know, but I was childhood friends with both Braev and Mahzer. I confessed my feelings for Mahzer first, when we were younger adults, but she rejected me because she loved Braev. So, I helped nudge things along between the two of them instead."
He shot a slightly bemused look to Edea. "And if it wasn't for me doing so, you wouldn't be existing right now."
Edea wrinkled her nose at that statement. "Master, seriously?"
"It's true." He chuckled slightly, then grimaced as pain crackled through his body.
"How's the wound?" Tiz asked, looking to Kamiizumi's bandaged side. He couldn't quite be fully robed, otherwise the bandages would get rather itchy, though he was at least decently clothed to dine with the four.
"I've suffered worse." The Swordmaster reassured him. "I believe I will be fine with bedrest, as Martha mentioned earlier. Speaking of her," He looked to the food, grinning, "Her food is excellent."
"I'm glad you like it." Yew grinned, thinking back to his days as an Al-Khampis student. "Janne and I loved the food. Everyone did. Whenever we got sick of grabbing cup noodles and other foods from the vendors, we could always rely on Martha for wholesome meals."
"I see…"
"Speaking of food," Tiz looked to the Swordmaster, "What were you doing out on the road for the past few years? How did you eat?"
Kamiizumi looked to the currently napping Tsubaki, then to Tiz. "Much poorer than this, unfortunately." He finally confessed. "My meals were mostly plain rice gruel, partially because I can't cook that well and also because I had to make sure Tsubaki dined well."
"Ouch."
None of the party members wanted to imagine eating nothing but rice gruel for a few years straight.
"So, um," Yew thought back to the rumours, "I know the rumours regarding you, the Grand Marshal and the whole romance triangle are false, but I know there were a huge variety of them."
The Swordmaster raised an eyebrow. "…Really?"
Edea stared at Yew, her mouth beginning to gape. "Seriously?"
"Yeah." Yew nodded in agreement, thinking. "There was one rumour that you and the Grand Marshal were in a secret relationship, Master Kamiizumi, and you two broke up after you both fell in love with Edea's mother."
"I—what?"
Edea noticed her master blanching at such a remark, but Yew kept carrying on.
"Apparently rumour has it that the whole swordfight never actually happened and you two spent all the time doing your final making out with each other and such, too! Some people say you both did this all in the woods!"
"..."
The Swordmaster was rendered speechless. Magnolia and Edea exchanged awkward glances, and even Tiz was wondering if they should stop Yew as well.
"Some other rumours indicate that you and the Grand Marshal are still technically with each other romantically but now you're shared between Mahzer and the Grand Marshall!"
"No!"
It was Kamiizumi that finally cut in and stopped Yew in his tracks. "I did nothing of the sort with Braev! I'm not with him or Mahzer in that sort of arrangement, either! All of these rumours are…they're completely false!"
It was the redness of Kamiizumi's face that had Edea wondering if the rumours were true.
"Oh. I see." Yew seemed to agree, but no one could be sure since he could just be saying so not to piss off the Swordmaster. "There are other rumours regarding your love life as well, Swordmaster, if you want to know…"
"Crystals," The Swordmaster looked a bit worried, still shaking away the embarrassment on his face as best he could, "What others could there be?"
"A popular one is that you and Barbarossa had a fling during your time in the Black Blades together." Yew pointed out.
Magnolia's eyes went wide as she looked to the Swordmaster. "The Swordmaster and the Pirate?" She giggled as Edea's eyes went wide like dinner plates. "I never thought your mentor had such a love life, Edea!"
"I, uh…" Edea blanched. "I didn't know, either…."
Kamiizumi frowned, but his face was still faintly red from earlier blushing. "The relations between Barbarossa and I were and still remain platonic, though I think I understand how such a rumour gained existence. He was my right-hand man in the Black Blades, after all."
"And?" Edea added. Kamiizumi shot her a stink-eye, and Edea gave him a look in return. "Master, seriously, I know when there's more to be said."
He sighed, relenting with her request to elaborate. "There was one time during Christmas when I gave him a kiss on the cheek. I had a small crush on him at the time, but it never went anywhere beyond that. I think he just assumed I was slightly tipsy and he laughed it off. To be fair, though, I did get drunk one time before that Christmas. Barbarossa carried me back to my room when I passed out, and helped me through the hangover..."
Who ever thought he'd be discussing his love life (or lack of such) with young adults, one that was his pupil and another having come from the Moon? Funny, how things worked out that way.
"What was it about Barbarossa that made you attracted to him in the first place?" Magnolia asked. Kamiizumi looked to her, purely reluctant, but he had the feeling that he was doomed at this point. Might as well go with it...
"He can't carry a tune too well, but I liked his honesty, loyalty, and humour. Despite his age and behaviour, he can actually be quite charming."
"Carry a tune…?" Edea then thought of the Performer. "What about Praline?"
"Are you serious?" Kamiizumi glared at her at the idea of him being romantically involved with Praline. "I have no feelings for her in such a way. If anything, I see her far more like a daughter."
Edea stared. "…A daughter? Her?"
"A stereotypical teenage daughter that gets dramatic, but a daughter still."
"What about Kikyo?" Tiz asked.
Kamiizumi grimaced. "I also see her like a daughter. And this topic of conversation is getting uncomfortable."
"Oh. Sorry."
With that, they dropped the subject.
The Swordmaster would one day recount this part of the adventure to a certain Exorcist.
"…You have a type."
Kamiizumi looked to Geist as they sat beside each other on the floor of Central Command training hall, leaning against a wall.
"A what?" The Swordmaster repeated.
"A type," Geist drawled, a chuckle escaping him. "Perhaps that's why you got so intrigued by me so soon. I'm not exactly 'good,' nor am I completely horrible. One would even say, given my actions with the Orthodoxy, that I am rebellious. You seem to like rebellious types."
"Rebellious types?" Kamiizumi frowned slightly. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Well," The Exorcist giggled, raising an eyebrow, "You did help Braev take down the Crystal Orthodoxy. And then I hear you had Pirate Hayreddin Barbarossa as your First Mate in the Black Blades when you were in Eisen. And now you're dating me~!"
Kamiizumi gazed slowly at his giggling lover, hesitating.
"I'm not sure what to say about it…"
"Well," Geist looked him in the eyes, his own gaze reassuring, "There's nothing wrong with having a type. At least, I don't think so."
It was the Swordmaster's turn to raise an eyebrow. "That phrase sounded oddly specific…do you have past experience with learning such a lesson?"
"What? No!" It was the Exorcist's turn to blush as he shook his head. "I'm just…going off of what everyone else had going on back in the Skyhold, really. Romance was not a high priority for me, but for some reason others found the time for it…"
"Interesting." The Swordmaster wondered, for a moment, if he should ask the other Grantz Empire Asterisk holders what sort of things occurred there. "Geist?"
The Exorcist's red eyes made contact with the Swordmaster's grey ones. "Yes?"
"Is it….is okay to talk about past loves like this?"
Geist noticed Kamiizumi's voice faintly crack, even though the expression on his face didn't change.
"I mean," The Swordmaster leaned his head back against the wall, temporarily shutting his eyes, "This relationship with you is the first I've ever been in. I don't want to cause any huge, unfixable and grievous errors like betraying your trust or taking advantage of you. I don't want to hurt you."
There was silence, but Kamiizumi saw Geist's eyes widen. It wasn't a shocked expression, it was one that said he was genuinely touched that the other was thinking so much about it and trying to be mindful of things.
If there was anything Geist knew, as well as Kamiizumi, relationships could get messy. They were grateful that the one they had right now wasn't as bad as they heard of others being, but it never hurt to be careful either.
"Tsuna…" He gently grabbed one of Kamiizumi's hands, taking a deep breath as he thought of the words. "For me, I'm comfortable talking about the whole subject of past loves, depending on the timing and such. I think it's just a matter of knowing the right moment to talk about it if you want to, and only if you're comfortable. But as for your worries of making mistakes…if there is anything I learned from my first marriage, as well as observing from others in their various romances, it's that mistakes will happen. What matters more is how we work things out. And given the amount of communication we already have, I…"
Geist smiled, faintly.
"I think we'll be okay when it comes to handling any conflict."
Kamiizumi squeezed his hand, and there was some kind of relieved light in his eyes.
"Thank you, Geist."
His voice went soft, and Geist knew, from past observations, that Kamiizumi's voice only suddenly got soft like that with him when he was serious. Or about to kiss him, or—
Oh. Okay. Kamiizumi was kissing him now.
Geist smiled into the kiss, and kissed him back in return.