"Xehanort, what do you see?"
Ienzo's voice drifted lazily to Xehanort, who was lying on the hill near him, a few feet away. It had been far too hot to work that day, anyway – the chemicals they would have used needed to stay cool –though the sky was darkening with heavy clouds. But Radiant Garden was known for its humidity, and Elaeus knew this best of all Ansem's apprentices, because his thick wavy hair would frizz out to such an extent that his friends could barely recognize him. (Ienzo briefly imagined Elaeus straightening his hair, and then he tried to remember what Ansem had written on the chalkboard before it had been abandoned for the afternoon. It was useless; the lesson had faded in his mind the same way that the sky's endless blue had done so upon the looming rain's first clouds) Ienzo rolled slowly to his right, where Xehanort lay with amber eyes half-closed, seemingly peaceful but restless below his surface, like an impending storm.
The clouds above were dancing in the turbulent sky, and Ienzo fancied seeing different types of sweets in them. It was around lunchtime, after all, and he was getting hungry. He wished that they'd gotten out of their lesson earlier so that he could have found something to eat before Xehanort dragged him outside, too. But he still wished he could remember the lesson in case Ansem decided to give his apprentices a pop quiz; it was the sort of thing Ansem would normally do, without hesitation.
"Xehanort," Ienzo said, "What was Ansem prattling on about before he let us out?" He paused, "I don't remember anything of it."
His companion yawned. "Now you know how I feel all the time."Ienzo looked down in embarrassment – he'd not meant to offend Xehanort. But Xehanort didn't seem to be too put off by the comment.
"To tell you the truth, Ienzo, I don't remember, either. All I could think about was……" he suddenly opened his wide, golden eyes, "you know. The secret. The research. The darkness." He whispered. He remained in the same position – lying stiffly on his side, staring at Ienzo (who ignored him) – for a while. Then he seemed to give up and once more flattened tranquilly on the soft summer grass. Ienzo sighed and looked up at the clouds again.
"So what do you see?" he asked once more. The thick heat of the day made him feel rather stupid. Xehanort looked at him for a moment.
"You." He said, simply. Ienzo was not amused.
"No, no, I mean in the sky," Ienzo muttered to Xehanort's bored blank stare, "The way that the clouds are shaped. What do you think that they look like?"
"Oh…I don't know." Xehanort replied, closing his eyes again.
"Use your imagination, Xehanort." The heat made him feel oddly snappish, too. How odd.
Xehanort opened his eyes a just a bit, and stared for a long time. Or maybe it was a short time. Boredom tended to confuse one's sense of time.
"They look like something I dreamed of once." He continued reluctantly, as he knew that Ienzo loved to analyze dreams, "Like…this big moon and clouds around it with a city below. What do you think about that, Ienzo? Show me the depths of your psychological prowess."
"'Don't fall asleep near the dangerous chemicals'– that's what I think." Ienzo said after mulling it over. Xehanort frowned and threw a handful of yellowing grass at his friend; he'd really hoped that Ienzo would actually analyze the dream.
"Well then, O Wise Ienzo, what do you see in the clouds?" Xehanort asked mockingly.
"Dessert. Like, there's an ice-cream cone there, and some strawberries." Ienzo pointed to them as he spoke.
"Oh. If you look at it upside-down, it looks like a castle."Xehanort mused.
"I don't see a castle." Ienzo said, once again bored.
"And you're supposed to be the imaginative one, always reading. Haven't books taught you how to dream things up?" Xehanort asked, his eyes sparkling in the afternoon light.
"All right, that sounded really dumb, Xehanort," Ienzo smiled, "have you been reading Ansem's romance novels…again?"
"No…" Xehanort lowered his voice, "But I think I did see Even sneaking into that part of the library."
Ienzo laughed mischievously, but didn't reply. The silence set in once more. Ienzo watched Xehanort for a while. It almost looked like he was asleep, but Ienzo knew better. So he leaned over to get a better look at him, to get Xehanort to acknowlege his presence somehow. From somewhere deep within himself, he suddenly felt an odd desire to touch Xehanort. His own heart was beating quickly. To feel the warmth of Xehanort 's dark skin against his own pale fingertips. His face felt hot. To stroke his soft white locks of hair. To……Ienzo shuddered and shook the feeling off. But it felt even stranger when Xehanort opened his eyes to find Ienzo practically on top of him. He scrutinized Ienzo for a moment.
"Are you wearing any sunscreen?" Xehanort asked, "You look like you're getting a burn."
Ienzo shook his head, "I didn't think of putting any on. It was so cloudy, you know. I think I'll go inside now, though. See you later."
Xehanort watched his friend retreat back into the castle. After Ienzo had stepped inside the strong castle door, Xehanort resumed his cloud-watching. All he could see was the darkness of the clouds.
This was one of those stories inspired by listening to Imogen Heap's "Cumulus" at midnight. They're so fun to write, these two. Was the last part weird? (i.e. the slight shounen-ai) 'Cause I think it was weird. Almost took it out, but I decided to keep it for the story's end's sake.
...Whoops! Forgot my disclaimer! Here it is!
Please review - I appreciate anything you've got to say about it, good or bad!