Of Kisses and a Princess

by fabre writes

Kissing doesn't mean much when you are an actor, or at least this is what Zidane has made himself believe. But this doesn't mean that a certain princess cannot come around and prove him otherwise... Even without meaning to do so. Fluff. Zidane x Garnet.

Zidane had kissed many, many girls in his lifetime -- and there was also that one boy who had fooled him into believing he was a girl, but he was definitely not going to get into that -- and it was fair to say he had a lot of experience in that area. Being an actor made sure that you knew that during your life you would have to kiss people who you normally couldn't stand, and it made you realize that not every kiss meant an 'I love you'. Of course, this was also taught by life itself, and the boy had long ago gotten to the point of assuming that everyone knew this by default.

After all, who would even bother to consider a kiss to mean anything more than just a random hormonal impulse? Certainly no one he had come across as of yet.

If he was being honest, he had been one of them at first, but being a flirt and hanging out with a group of thieves/actors was not a very good combination if you were attempting to keep that ideal. So long ago he had given up on the foolish notion of romantic kisses, and had moved the whole idea to the back of his memories to be forgotten. And it was much better off staying there forever; keeping buried with it the pang of pain that accompanied the coldness of a kiss.

... Too bad his denial hadn't taken into account the one girl who didn't feel like going along with his preconceived ideas.

The princess of Alexandria had never had to worry about being kissed by people who just wanted something from you, seeing as she had always been locked up in the castle and otherwise heavily guarded when out for a walk. So of course, the young thief had assumed that it was his duty to continue that tradition and keep the girl's innocence intact. The fact that he didn't want to see her kissing anyone but himself was nothing but a small, redundant detail.

But of course, he had forgotten that his little princess had a tendency to surprise him more often than not.

So when they had been walking down the streets of Lindblum on that fine evening and he had suddenly found himself pressed against a wall, with soft yet confident lips against his own, his whole conception of the world had been badly shaken. Not that he had noticed it right at that moment, as he had been too busy feeling his brain melt at the taste of the sweet lips he had been hoping to try for so long, and which left him craving so much more.

About five minutes and a relieved sigh later he had found out that an Alexandrian guard had been walking by, and that the girl had apparently thought that being confused for two random people making out on a dark street corner was better than the alternative.

He hadn't been about to argue.

But still, as they continued on their way, he wasn't able to keep himself from stealing glances at the girl from time to time. Especially since the girl's composure was throwing him off more than the actual kiss they had shared.

Yes, shared. He had been too contented at the moment to even try and fool himself. He had kissed her back, and he was most certain that she had noticed. He had made a point of making her notice.

It was at that moment, as he led her in silence through the streets of the ruined city, that he had realized that how great a kiss was had nothing to do with the intention behind it, but had everything to do with the person who you were sharing it with. And it was also then that his heart had let him know that if he had even the smallest chance of feeling the princess that close again, he didn't really have the need for any other kiss in the world.

Later, when Garnet had eyed him oddly and asked him why he was smiling like that, he was only able to grin brightly at her and wrap an arm around her waist, bringing her closer against his side as they walked. Before she could hurt him, he had whispered there was a guard nearby and he was merely hiding her from sight. The princess had given a nod in understanding, and they had continued on their way in silence.

What he never did tell her was that it had actually been a Lindblum guard, and that she hadn't actually needed to hide from him.

But oh well. What she didn't know couldn't hurt her -- or give her a valid reason to hurt him. Not to mention he had decided to wait until she clarified her feelings for him; but that didn't mean he couldn't have something to give him a little hope every now and then.

He had sported a foolish happy grin all the way up to the castle.