Kira began her race into the dawnstar sanctuary, riddled with confusion and even annoyance. One catastrophe after another. Shouldn't these sort of factions have at least some stability?
Cicero's voice could be heard from an unknown source. He cackled with his usual idioms, but far more exasperated, edging her on.
"Listener! Is that you? Oh, I knew you'd come. Send the best to defeat the best. Astrid knew her stupid wolf couldn't slay sly Cicero."
After a few scrapes with traps and ill-willed spectres, Kira reached the end of the blood trail. She wasn't dying, but the anticipation of reaching Cicero was killing her.
"And now we come to the end of our play. The grand finale."
She slammed the doors open to find the jester leaned against a fireplace, weakly holding his wound. Kira's heart was pumping fast, and lungs running on empty. She was suddenly filled with emotions she didn't understand.
Cicero wore a wan smile. He never wanted it to come to this. Even in this despair, there was something comforting about being alone with Kira. Yet, something about it made him a tad nervous. Not the prospect of death, no, being the keeper of the unholy nightmother ceased any fear of death Cicero may of had. No, no, it was something else that made poor Cicero want to squirm.
"You caught me! I surrender! Ha ha ha ha," Cicero giggled, a joker till the end.
Kira's lips curled down and eyebrows furrowed. Cicero didn't understand. Is the dearest listener angry? Surely she could be, even with the delightful keeper he hoped she considered friend. But no, anger didn't seem right. Kira only stared, further perplexing Cicero.
Stumbling over his thoughts, Cicero chimed out: "Oh, you prefer to listen, eh? Of course, of course! The Listener listens! A joke! A funny joke! I get it. Then listen to this - don't kill me. Let poor Cicero live! I attacked the strumpet Astrid, I did! And I'd do it again! Anything for our mother! Return to the pretender, tell her I'm dead! Tell her you strangled me with my own intestines! Ha ha! But lie! Yes, lie! Lie, and let me live!"
Kira said nothing for a moment, unmoving. Cicero jiggled a bit from antsyness, but not moving much because of his wound; a wound that was not actually real. He had healed himself with a generous amount of potions after establishing all the traps in the long abandoned sanctuary. But he did not feel fine. No no, poor Cicero felt something aching in his chest, but he did not know why.
He knew Kira was primarily a magic user, but she did carry around a fancy, beautifully embellished blade for sneak attacks and when her magic reserves ran out. He remembered asking about it in the many times she took up conversation with him at the Falkreath sanctuary. How fond he was of those talks, how sad he'd be without them.
Kira's blade was tightly gripped in her right hand. Clearly those traps and brutes did wear her down. Her fist was trembling and face still holding an emotion Cicero did not understand. She began slowly advancing towards the "dying" jester, blade at her side, but not poised for any sort of fight.
The jester began to stutter a bit, "D-Do what you will. Cicero has no fight left. In the end, S-Sithis will judge us both." Not being able to interpret the listener's emotions was a bit rattling to the usually overconfident fool.
Kira was standing over him now, visibly shaking. Her face was much more clear now, and her emotions were intensified. Cicero understood now, the tears forming in her eyes could not be mistaken. It was sorrow.
Cicero's eyes widened with a seriousness he rarely expressed:
"Kira-?"
Kira let her blade fall to the ground. She dropped to her knees and threw her arms around Cicero's shoulders, choking back a sob.
A quiet gasp escaped Cicero's lips. This wasn't the first time the two have shared a hug, but rarely had Kira been so emotionally exposed with anyone, even Cicero. Cicero trepidatiously raised his left arm to return the embrace. He rubbed Kira's back in small circular motions as she quietly sobbed.
She finally pulled back and cupped Cicero's face with her hands.
"You damn fool…" the words came out in quiet, weak voice Cicero had never heard from her before. Her teary eyes wandered down to his torso, her hands moving down to his "wound".
"I know you're not as stupid as you want people to believe, please tell me you at least prepared health potions-" Kira lifted Cicero's hand to reveal torn, bloody fabric, but no wound.
She heaved out a sigh of relief "Oh thank the gods." Kira rested her head back on his shoulders, sniffling a bit.
With a sad laugh, Cicero began, "aha..Cicero thought you would be upset at him for his trick." He brought his right arm up and gently rubbed the back of her head.
"I'm just hap-ppy you're okay," Kira sniffled. She was trying to pull herself together and stop the tears.
Cicero gently lifted Kira from his shoulders. She was looking down, avoiding his gaze. He wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs.
"Cicero is flattered you care so much about him…" he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I always knew you were such a nice lady when you helped Cicero and our nightmother with that infernal farmer." He shifted Kira's legs so she was more comfortable, sitting in his lap.
Kira looked up at him, before reaching into her purse. She slipped a pouch of coin into Cicero's hand. "...I'll return to the sanctuary and take care of the nightmother for now. Please take care of yourself."
"Kira," Cicero started, "Thank you. I will, but promise me this: that you will be cautious around that, wretched, pretender. I don't trust her. Never did!"
The listener sighed and nodded. Her eyes still reflected worry she had for the jester, "I promise."
"Aha, wonderful! Now Kira, don't be sad! We will meet again, I know it! I promise." Cicero's lips curled into a smirk, voice lowered in tone: "Ha, But until then…"
Kira's eyes widened as Cicero gripped her chin and tilted it upwards into a short, but sweet first kiss. The listener gasped in surprise, followed by a soft moan. Cicero pulled back with a wide smile and admired Kira's lovely, flushed face. Kira's dashed her eyes to the side and shifted in the jester's lap.
He chuckled, "Ah? The deadly listener is shy?"
Kira pout her lips, still looking away, and resigned her head to his shoulder. She mumbled a "S-shut up."
This only caused Cicero to laugh more. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist. After relaxing in the euphoria for some time, he spoke again "You should probably get moving. Make sure you make my death dramatic! Still fond of the 'strangled me with my own intestines' bit."
While Kira was sad to depart, she still managed to laugh. That was one thing she loved about Cicero, how he made her laugh. She looked at him with a smile he could only describe as beautiful.
"Okay," she said, still a bit giggly. She started to get up, but not before she planted one last kiss on his temple.
Cicero looked surprised, but smirked.
Kira walked to the big doors she originally came in. She glanced back once more with a reassuring smile, before taking off.
Ahh, how I hate to see her go, but I love to watch her leave.
After the fall of many of her assassin comrades and the near destruction of the dark brotherhood, Kira and the remaining members set up at the dawnstar sanctuary. Despite the chaos, a certain man was never far from her mind. Kira, clad in her Dark Brotherhood garb, caught sight of a familiar face when she left the dawnstar sanctuary entrance.
"Listener!" he called.
Kira, shocked, turned to face him. "Cicero?"
"Oh yes, it is Cicero! You were a fool to spare me. What, did you think I would be grateful? Cicero should be Listener! Not you! Now you will die!"
Kira's face was one of shock and bewilderment, maybe even a tad embarrassment. She opened her mouth but no words came. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, giggling broke her trance.
"Ahhh... gotcha! Oh, Listener, you should see the look on your face! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, Cicero has returned! Not to kill the kind Listener, but to serve, until one of us dies horribly, in service to our Mother! Best friends forever! In the meantime, I'll make myself at home in the Sanctuary. I'm sure Mother needs... tending."
Kira's face twisted up in spite. She pinched Cicero's nose as punishment for his cruel trick.
"Ow ow ow! Haha sorry Listener, I couldn't resist!"
Kira's eyes softened, satisfied with her punishment, but before she could completely withdraw Cicero took her hand in his and pulled her into him by her waist. Her eyes widened in shock and red flushed into her cheeks.
Cicero leaned into her left ear and whispered in low voice, "I couldn't stop thinking about you. Awfully lonely you know."
If it was even possible, Kira bet her face just got redder. She looked away, and gently squeezed the jester's hand.
"I missed you," she whispered.
Authors note: This piece is personally no longer desirable for me, but I know there might be some who would enjoy this! It is unfinished, and will not be completed. "Kira" is merely a placeholder name. "Jane" doesn't really fit skyrim's lore (not saying "Kira" exactly does, but it is certainly better than "Jane"). The majority of Cicero's dialog is from the game's original script, I obviously take no credit for that. I apologize for repetitiveness and some of the corny tropes in this, they were funny to me at the time. Thanks for reading!