Title: Protective

Fandom: Final Fantasy I

Rating: T

Genre: Romance

Summary: First Final Fantasy fanfic! After Drusus was poisoned to protect Keme, the Thief found out the reason why his best friend was so protective of him. OC x OC, slash.

Pairings: OC x OC (Drusus (Monk) x Keme (Thief)) slash.

A/N: Thanks to awesome friends like h34rt1lly and SuzuriHeinze, I decided to play Final Fantasy I & II on the GBA via emulator! :D The series grew on me FAST, so here's a story starring my new FFI OCs.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFI. I own Drusus, Keme, Taika, Veles, and Than.

ENJOY!

Protective

"NO!"

Blood splattered everywhere as a Tarantula used its deadly talons to strike down a red-headed Warrior—the Monk could only watch. Drusus' eyes were wide upon seeing his friend stabbed in front of him, and he lunged towards the Tarantula, his Nunchuck raised.

"You'll PAY!" he screamed, his spiky brown hair swaying slightly in the wind. He struck the Tarantula down and it fell to the ground, its guts spreading around it.

Drusus growled, his anger still coursing through his veins, and he turned to see his Warrior friend bleeding on the ground.

"THAN!" he cried out, rushing towards the warrior. Than coughed up blood and Drusus lifted the hem of his friend's shirt, wincing when he saw the festering wound.

"D-Drusus…" Than gurgled.

"Than! Save your strength!" Drusus was cradling Than in his arms, tears springing from his eyes.

"D-Drusus…please…I—" Before Than could say anything else, his body went limp.

"Than! THAN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Drusus jolted awake, cold sweat dripping down his face. He glanced around, seeing his friends wrapped in their sleeping bags. The team had set up camp earlier, giving them time for the sun to rise again so they could continue on their journey. Now that he was awake again, the memory came back to him.

Surprisingly, Taika, the White Mage, and Veles, the Red Mage, didn't wake up from his scream. However, he heard a groan beside him and turned to see Keme the Thief stirring.

He turned to face Drusus, one eye opened. "Sup, Drus?" he asked, tired.

Drusus blushed, gulping down a lump in his throat. "N-nothing, Keme…" With that, he laid back down in his sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Keme tilted his head, wondering what in the world had happened to Drusus.

Morning came, and the four friends were out traveling again. Veles and Taika were chatting, with Keme occasionally joining in; Drusus stayed silent.

Keme knew that something was wrong with his best friend. Even though the Monk was usually the strong, silent type, this much silence concerned the Thief.

"Hey…" Keme spoke hesitantly.

Drusus said nothing.

"Drus?" Keme spoke up a little louder this time.

Drusus finally turned to face Keme. "Yeah?"

"Are you…okay?" Keme asked, his voice filled with concern.

Drusus nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"But you've been quiet the whole time. Are you sure?"

Drusus blushed slightly, and he gulped down a lump in his throat. "I'll be fine, Keme."

Keme shrugged. "All righty."

Drusus remained silent as the four continued on their way down the forest path.

Keme however, was still worried about his best friend. What's on the guy's mind?

"Drus?" Keme spoke up.

"Hm?" Drusus hummed.

"You sure you're okay? You're still silent."

Drusus sighed. "Keme, I said I'm fine."

Keme held his hands up. "Okay, okay, jeez—"

"SHH!"

The sudden hushing from Drusus startled Keme.

"Huh? What's wro—"

"KEME! GET DOWN!" Drusus cried out, and before the Thief knew it, Drusus shoved him out of the way.

"Hey!" Keme cried out. "What's the big ide—"

Suddenly, a large Tarantula jumped out from the trees, aiming for the spot that Keme had been standing in only moments before.

The tarantula's talons sank into Drusus' chest and he fell to the ground, blood spurting from the wounds.

"TARANTULA!" Veles cried out, placing his hands in a praying motion and calling out a Thunder spell.

The spell shocked the monster and it let out an ear-splitting squeal. However, it was still standing.

"DRUSUS!" Keme called out, getting up from the ground and running towards the poisoned Monk.

Drusus was coughing up blood, feeling his body weakening. "Keme…" he gasped.

Keme growled, looking up at the Tarantula. Grabbing his knife, he rushed forward. "You'll PAY!" he yelled.

With one quick stab to the head, Keme heard a screech from the Tarantula and it fell to the ground, dead.

Once he was sure the monster was indeed done for, he pocketed his knife and turned to see Taika tending to Drusus' wounds.

"Taika! Is he…?"

"He'll be fine," she spoke softly. "He just needs an Antidote."

Keme nodded, and he grabbed an Antidote from his pocket. "Got one right here."

Taika nodded as Keme handed her the Antidote, and she poured it on the wound Drusus sustained.

The green tint to his veins slowly disappeared as the bleeding gradually stopped. Drusus sighed in relief.

"You'll recover, Drusus," Taika said in a comforting voice.

Drusus smiled slightly. "Thank you, Taika."

"AHEM!" Keme cleared his throat.

Drusus turned to Keme and shook his head in amusement. "You too, Keme."

"Let's get going," Veles called out.

"Gotcha!" Keme called back. He helped Drusus up from the ground and let out a long sigh.

"Drus, man, you don't have to take the hit for me," he spoke.

Drusus shook his head again. "I know, but whenever you get attacked, I have this urge to protect you."

Keme stared at him. "Then one day you'll get yourself killed by doing that!"

As the two caught up with Veles and Taika, Drusus chuckled, to Keme's surprise.

"Hey…" Keme began. "I never hear you chuckle like that. What's so funny, Drus?"

"You're always so concerned about me, even the first time we met." Drusus chuckled again, thinking back to their first meeting.

Keme shrugged. "Well, a Thief has to have a heart, y'know."

Drusus nodded. "Of course. And you do a good job with that heart. Don't change, Keme."

Keme felt his face flushing in embarrassment…or was it love? No! Why would I even think that?!

"Hey," Drusus smirked. "Your face is red."

Keme blushed even harder at this. "Ah! W-well…" He pulled down his green handkerchief that was tied around his head down, concealing his face somewhat.

Drusus laughed.

Night came faster than the team expected, and they set up camp near a small peninsula. Veles scouted out the area, and it turned out that there were no monsters around to ambush them.

As Taika finished setting up camp, Keme called out to her. "Yo, Taik!"

Taika let out an "eep" before she turned to see Keme. "O-oh…Keme?"

"Have ya seen Drus around?"

"D-Drusus?" Taika pointed at the trees. "H-he's near the cliff, staring at the sea."

Keme tilted his head. "Okay…wonder what's up?"

"I-I'm not sure. Perhaps thinking about something?"

Keme nodded. "All right. I'll go find him." With that, he rushed through the small forest.

It took only a few minutes for the quick Thief to find his best friend sitting near the edge of the cliff. He heard the waves of the sea, and the smell of salt water filled the air.

When Keme approached Drusus, he heard his friend sigh.

"Sup, Drus?" Keme asked. "Somethin' on your mind?"

"…" Drusus said nothing.

"Drus?" Keme called louder. The Monk didn't turn and Keme tried again. "DRUS!"

Drusus jumped and with his heart pounding in his chest, he turned to see Keme behind him. "Keme! You scared me!"

Keme shrugged. "Gotta get your attention somehow."

Drusus sighed before turning his back on Keme, staring at the ocean again.

Keme crouched down and sat beside Drusus on the cliff. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up. "Thinkin' again, huh?"

"Yeah…" Drusus nodded before taking his headband off. He stared down at it, a tear threatening to fall from his eye. "See this headband?"

Keme stared over it. "Yeah? So?"

"…It's from an old ally of mine."

"Really?"

"Yeah…he…" Drusus sighed. "…He was killed in a raid."

Keme cringed. "Ouch. Drus, I—"

"No, Keme, no need to be sorry. None of that is your fault."

Keme didn't respond, his lips turning into a thin line as he stared at the waves.

Silence reigned the area again before Drusus spoke up. "Keme? There's a reason why I was protective of you in those last couple of fights."

Keme eyed up at him "Drus…?"

"'Cause I don't want to lose another close ally like you."

Keme scooted closer to Drusus. "Drus…"

Drusus sighed before putting his headband back on around his forehead. "C'mon, let's go back to the camp. Taika and Veles might be worried."

Keme nodded, not knowing how to respond.

When the two got up to walk away from the cliff, Drusus suddenly grabbed Keme and pulled him into a kiss. Keme's eyes widened, but he closed his eyes and accepted it.

After a few seconds, Drusus broke the kiss.

"I love you, Keme. I'll always protect you." Drusus spoke softly.

Keme's face was red before stammering, "I-I love you too, Drus."

Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Beta reader: h34rt1lly