It seems today is my day for random oneshots... oh well, I've never written a Final Fantasy anything before and I like this pairing, it's fun. So enjoy!
A/N: This is my first time writing these two, as noted above, so please excuse any OOCness on their part. It's not their fault, I swear, it's mine! (hides) Still... enjoy.
"Brother?" Kadaj looked up to his elder sibling, mako green eyes watching his every movement. Yazoo was currently baking-- yes, Yazoo baked, quite often. Cookies, brownies, muffins, and a million other things. Yazoo, Kadaj thought, looked rather fitting in an apron. He'd always had that motherly way about him; though he was damned if he'd say it, he enjoyed sitting at the kitchen table, eagerly awaiting whatever his brother would pull out of the oven next.
"Hm?" Yazoo murmured, distracted with slipping on a pair of oven mitts and opening the oven door a crack, peering inside as a blast of heat met his face.
The younger sibling sighed, "Pay attention to me when I'm talking to you."
"A few more minutes," he thought to himself as he shut the door again and glanced over his shoulder, "Sorry, Kadaj, what is it?"
Said boy pouted slightly, showing his immensely childish side. Yazoo was one of the few that he could be so natural around; everyone else demanded that he was cruel and violent. Sure, he enjoyed beating people's faces in, but every now and then, he liked to be a bit more kid like and act how he never got to as a child.
"You won't..." he paused, biting his lip. He knew how that looked, him hesitating, but he knew Yazoo wouldn't care or say a thing about it. He sighed slightly to himself, how was he supposed to ask this kind of question? He didn't even feel comfortable enough around his older brother to speak the words that had been on his mind for quite some time.
"I won't...?" Yazoo tilted his head, as was normal, and studied his younger brother. Kadaj looked quite serious, despite having the traces of a pout on his lips. His eyes reflected a bit of an emotion that even Yazoo rarely saw in those pretty green eyes: uncertainty.
"Uh...you won't burn the brownies, right?" He mentally kicked himself. Why was he being so...so.. shy? It was unbecoming, he knew, but he just couldn't get the words out.
A silver eyebrow arched at the horrible cover up, but the elder teen simply shook his head and turned back to the oven, "No, I won't burn them, don't worry." He would have asked what was wrong, but knew it wasn't his place to question Kadaj. The three of them, he and his two brothers, had a relationship down. Kadaj was the leader, Loz was the brute strength, and Yazoo...what was he? "What do I do for him that's so great?" he wondered, placing a mitted hand on the stove top.
Kadaj blinked, surveying his brother's back. "I didn't say anything, though, why's he acting depressed now?"
Yazoo knew his younger brother kept him around for a reason, he knew that he had a use for him, he just wasn't sure what that use was. Loz was strong, and he listened well. He might be a little slow sometimes, and emotional, but he got what needed to be done done. Yazoo didn't always perform so miraculously. Sure, he could carry out simple tasks, but he needed to be better than that; he needed to be more useful than that. "So why does he keep me around?"
"Brother?" the younger boy asked again, tilting his head in concern. The taller one didn't seem to be paying much attention, and Kadaj frowned to himself-- Yazoo never spaced out. He glanced around before picking something up and hurling it at his sibling's head.
A small hiss left his throat as the rolling pin collided with his skull, falling to the floor with a thunk. Yazoo turned around, rubbing his head, "What was that for?"
"You were spacing out and ignoring me," Kadaj pouted again.
"Sorry," he muttered, pressing a button and turning the oven off, "I already told you, I won't burn them."
"No, that's...not it." The child-like teen sighed slightly, "I was just wondering what's wrong, you look depressed."
"I'm not," he assured the other boy as he pulled a pan full of the gooey, brown dessert and set it on the stove, "Just thinking." When he received no response, he glanced over his shoulder and offered a rare, genuine smile, "Promise."
"Good, I don't need you and Loz crying together like girls," Kadaj noted, crossing his arms. He wouldn't say it, but he wasn't sure Yazoo wasn't lying to him. That worried him more than anything.
A few minutes later, a plate with a brownie placed on it, topped with whipped cream, was set in front of the swordsman. "What did you want to ask me earlier?"
The question caught Kadaj off guard and he paused from digging into the sweet, "What do you mean?" he feigned confusion, cursing Yazoo for his non-obliviousness.
"Before, you were going to ask me something, and it wasn't about brownies," Yazoo reminded him. He took a seat at the table and looked up from his own plate, "So what was it?" When the other boy hesitated, he cocked his head to the side once more, "You know you can tell me anything, brother."
"I know that," the shorter boy snapped slightly, wincing himself at the sound, "I just mean... I know I can, it's not like I've got anything to hide..."
"It's not like you to be so secretive with your feelings," he pointed out before taking a bite of brownie.
"I'm not being secretive." Though, he wasn't sure that was quite true. If he wasn't hiding his feelings from Yazoo, then what was he doing?
"Of course." A silence fell over the two while they quietly ate, Kadaj shifting uncomfortably in his chair every now and then.
"Alright, fine, I wanted to ask if you won't...ever...leave me..." Was that it? Was that what he'd been so conflicted over? He knew Yazoo would never leave him, he wouldn't let him. Green eyes blinked; that couldn't be why he was so frustrated.. was it? Sure, Yazoo wouldn't leave him, but why wouldn't he? Was it because he was afraid Kadaj would try and kill him if he did... or because he wanted to?
He looked up to see his brother staring back at him, a look of confusion on his face. Yazoo glanced down to the table, apparently deep in thought, before looking back up, "Of course I won't."
"Why?" The question had left his mouth nearly before Yazoo had finished speaking.
"Where's all this coming from?" He knew better than to avoid the question, though, "You're my brother," he answered easily, "My loyalties lie with you."
That silenced Kadaj as he shoved the last forkful of brownie in his mouth. No sooner was he done than Yazoo was taking his dishes away to the sink and rinsing them off. He studied his back once more, and before he knew it, a small smile was creeping its way onto his face. "He's always been there for me... no matter how childish or selfish or wrong I've been... and... I think he always will be." He wasn't sure if it was just brotherly fondness or something more, but he knew that it was a pleasant feeling.
"Brother?" This time it was the paler one who spoke the word.
Kadaj focused on him again, "What?"
"What...am I to you?" he nearly whispered the questions, not wanting to be a bother, but the question was simply nagging at him too much not to ask.
"What are you?" Kadaj repeated, confused, "You're my brother."
The long-haired boy shook his head, "No, I mean... Loz is useful to you, he's strong. What do I do for you?"
The younger one was taken back by the question. He shook his head and stood from his seat, "Idiot..." he whispered, walking over to the taller one and wrapping his arms around his neck. "Don't compare yourself to Loz... I don't care about him like I do you.. he gives me physical strength, but that isn't important.." Without really knowing what he was doing, Kadaj pulled his brother's head down and met his lips in a firm kiss. He pulled back after a moment, only slightly, whispering, "You're my real strength."
Poor Loz.. he's just not loved.. o.o and beware the fluff! Oh, should have put that before... oh well. XD, you're infected with the fluff now, you can't get away from it! At least he's not like this with everyone? Thank gods.. that would be a nightmare.. Sappy!Kadaj.. fear it. Oh, I'll shut up now. Hope you liked it!