Title: Word of the Day v. FFIV
Author: Garnet Eyes
Archived: fanfiction .net, livejournal .com
Last Updated: 3 Apr 2011
Summary: 01 April 2000 edition.
Rating: K+
Characters/Pairings: Edge, Kain, Kain x Cecil x Rosa
Author Notes: coxcomb, noun;
1. Obsolete. A cap worn by court jesters; adorned with a strip of red.
2. Archaic. The top of the head, or the head itself.
3. Obsolete. A fool.
4. A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a dandy; a fop.
Disclaimers: Final Fantasy IV is owned by Square-Enix and I in no way, shape, or form profit off of my writing. This is simply for my own pleasure, and may at any time be removed and/or modified as I see fit.
...
There were a variety of reasons that Kain was not fond of the king of Eblan when said man came to visit. It wasn't that he was necessarily of poor character, although the dragoon could do without a great deal of the man's obnoxious fawning over any pretty thing that caught his eye, only to jump to the next thing within minutes as though he'd never noticed the first. ...Kain chose to outright ignore the fact that King Edge had a habit of not moving on when around Cecil or Rosa, in that same way as the ninja tended to give his all to the summoner girl. The dragoon knight was well aware of the older man's interest in Rydia, and it was disconcerting to have him display the same traits when handling Baron's royals – King Edge decidedly did not behave the same way when handling the royals of Fabul, Damcyan, or the underworld, and the epopts of Troia all held little more than fleeting fancy to him. And yet that man flirted unabashedly with Cecil, who was painfully oblivious, and with Rosa, who took everything with a grace that seemed to at once deflect the behavior while returning it. But none of that bothered Kain. At all. Period.
The blonde didn't like Eblan's ruler for the simple reason that he didn't like himself when the other man was around. He didn't like how his own behaviors changed out of sheer frustration, nor how he half wanted to physically stake out his territory like some dog snapping at an interloper, and he knew he'd probably be left to sleep with the castle's dogs if he couldn't get the desire to demonstrate that Baron's royals were his out of his mind.
No, Kain was all around happier when that damned ninja was far, far away.