Title: I Miss You

Fandom: Final Fantasy: Record Keeper

Rating: K+

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Friendship

Summary: Keme woke up from a nightmare of what had happened before being sent to the Record Keeper world. It's up to Fletcher to help him with his terrible dreams. Implied Monk x Thief slash. Ranger x Thief friendship. Generic classes are named. OCs.

Pairings: Implied Monk (Drusus) x Thief (Keme) slash, Ranger (Fletcher) x Thief (Keme) friendship.

A/N: Something I wanted to write on a whim. Besides… I'm on a roll, so I need to write more, especially in this category since it's been a year since I wrote in here.

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in Final Fantasy: Record Keeper or Final Fantasy 1. Drusus, Keme, Veles, Taika, Aric, Than, and Fletcher are mine.

ENJOY!

I Miss You

Finally. It had been months since he finally took the time out of his busy schedule to just hang out with his husband. Even though the two were married, neither of them had the time to do usual marriage things; from going out to spend time together and whatnot. He wasn't mad at Drusus for not taking the time to spend it on Keme—in his defense, Keme himself was also busy.

When Keme had returned home first, the first thing he saw was a note written by his husband. Apparently, he had planned out a picnic in the clearing near the forest. Keme smiled widely when he read the letter. Despite being the strong and serious type, Drusus' writing had always made the Thief swoon—he had a way with words. The more he read it, the more excited he became—though he hoped that Drusus didn't make the food himself. He remembered what happened the last time he and the others let him cook.

After dressing himself for the "date" (as he called it—they were married after all), Keme stretched and let out a long sigh. His heart pounded in his chest as the thoughts of what the two would do in their picnic date swarmed in his mind. Even though he was excited, Keme was also a bit nervous. He had no idea why, but the thoughts of them hanging out together after months of being busy had made his heart pound even faster in his chest.

He walked out the door of their shared medium-sized house, and when he looked up, Keme raised a brow upon seeing that the sky was… cloudy. But the clouds weren't white—they were instead a dark color. He groaned, shaking his head.

For the love of all, Gods, please don't make it rain… he begged in his mind. It wouldn't be any fun to have a picnic in the middle of a storm. Unless Drusus had plans pertaining to that, if a storm did happen now, they would have to cancel their date. And Keme honestly didn't want that to happen—this was the very first time they had for each other, and he'd hate it if it got ruined because the Gods decided to make it rain for whatever reason besides ruin their day.

Keme then walked down the forest path, enjoying the scenery around him despite the dark sky—deers jumped through the forest, the birds chirped, and the squirrels scurried towards the trees with acorns in their paws. To Keme, he was glad that he and his three comrades saved the world from total darkness two years ago—otherwise, the scenery like this would be ruined. He had to be honest—he didn't pay much attention to that kind of stuff until now, and after a near-death experience from defeating Chaos, he grew to appreciate the world around him more.

He breathed deep through his nose, enjoying the scent of pine trees and their leaves, and he sighed through his mouth. That was, until he heard a voice call out to him.

"Keme!"

Keme smirked, recognizing the deep voice. If he was lost in a chattering crowd and he heard that voice, he'd knew who it was right away and he could pinpoint where it was.

He looked, and lo and behold, his husband, Drusus was running towards him, a basket—most likely full of food—tucked under his arm. When he was close enough, Keme hugged him.

"Hey, Drus," Keme chuckled. He still called his lover by nickname even though they were married. "Saw your note. You planning on taking me on a picnic?"

"Of course..." Drusus smiled—although it was rare for Veles to smile, Drusus himself almost never smiled. Keme wasn't sure if it was because of the death of his former comrade, Than, or if it was just the way he was, but it always made him blush whenever the Monk showed that extremely rare smile.

"I hope you didn't make the food," Keme joked, a silly grin on his face as he let Drusus go. "Remember what happened back at the Mercenary Group?"

Drusus chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, his face turning a tint of red. "Of course. I don't want you to get sick because of my poisonous cooking."

"Poisonous?" Keme's smirk grew wider. "Don't you mean deadly?" He enjoyed teasing his lover. At least it wasn't yet another of his pranks.

"Don't worry," Drusus said, kissing his husband on the forehead, eliciting a chuckle from the Thief. "I asked Taika to make the food. I even ask her to make your favorite: beefsteak."

"Aw, Drus," Keme laughed. "You know what I like."

"Of course."

The two then walked down the forest trail, though neither had said anything after that brief conversation. Keme racked his mind into thinking of what to say to Drusus. He could say "I love you", but that sounded a bit flat and out of nowhere. He could hold his hand and give him a surprise kiss—it was something that Drusus liked—but he wasn't sure with himself

However, as they neared the clearing, Keme began to think of what had happened the past several months. The two were married a few months after Drusus confessed his love to Keme, and even though the marriage was something he would never forget, he realized during the last few months since they were together, that neither of them had spent any time with each other. Drusus was busy going out on mercenary missions, as Keme helped with the paperwork for the missions. While he wasn't as good as Veles back in the day, Keme was still an asset to the work after their boss, Aric, was killed two years ago. Despite being an official couple, Keme now felt terrible that they hadn't spent time with each other, and he hoped that nothing could botch up this date.

"Keme?"

Keme snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Drusus. The Monk had a concerned expression on his face as he stared right at the Thief's blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" Drusus asked, an eyebrow raised. "You've been quiet the whole way..."

"Oh, um..." Keme scratched his head. "I-it's nothing… I've been thinking about how we've been doing."

"We?"

"Yeah!" Keme nodded. "Drusus, I… well, you know I love you, right?" His face turned a bright red when he blurted that out. It was nothing new, however—even though they were now husbands, he was still a blushing mess when he told Drusus those three words.

Drusus blinked a few times. Then, there it was again—his smile. Keme's heart pounded and his face turned even redder upon seeing that handsome smile again.

"That's what you've been thinking about?" Drusus asked.

"Of course!" Keme laughed sheepishly. "Though… I wish we had more time together."

Drusus rare smile suddenly turned into a frown, to which Keme raised a brow. What did he say that made Drusus' expression changed within a split second?

"Keme..." Drusus sighed. "I've been bothered by this for a few months now."

Keme's brow rose even higher, and all of a sudden, his heart beat faster to the point that he wondered if it would burst out of his chest. Whatever Drusus was thinking, Keme gulped as sweat beaded his forehead. He hoped that it was just a trivial confession or a secret, instead of—oh Gods he hoped not—a thought of divorcing. He tried to improve on himself so that Drusus could stay by his side for the rest of his life, after all. Besides the pranks he pulled on his husband, he thought that Drusus still loved him. But if that wasn't enough… Oh Gods… please don't tell me he wants to…

"Keme," Drusus spoke in a serious voice. "I just wanted to say that I—"

He was interrupted when they heard thunder. Keme jumped—he was still apprehensive about what Drusus wanted to say at the time—and Drusus looked up to see the dark clouds taking form. Keme also looked up, and his frown intensified.

"Aw, don't tell me," Keme groaned, "it's gonna rain, isn't it?"

"No."

Keme turned to face Drusus, who he saw—to his confusion—gritting his teeth as he stared at the dark sky with dreadful eyes. He looked down at Drusus' free hand and saw that it was balled into a fist.

"Something's wrong."

"Why's that?" Keme asked.

"The fortune teller said that it's not going to storm today… and the birds..." he glanced around the area. "...where are they?"

Keme realized that he was right—although fortune tellers could be wrong, even he noticed the lack of chirping in the air. Not only that; the wind began to pick up at an alarming rate, as he could tell by how chilly he was feeling as he shivered, plus the two tails of Drusus' red headband fluttered violently. This was not good.

Thunder boomed again; this time, it struck a tree, and it fell to the ground, fire spreading around it. Keme jumped upon the sound, and his eyes widened upon seeing the fire starting as it quickly spread to other trees.

"Whoa!" he gasped. "This is unusual all right!"

"Keme!" Drusus cried, "We have to get out of here!"

Keme didn't argue, as he was right on Drusus' tail out of the forest. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that if anything, it could kill them if they didn't get out of this as fast as they could.

Lightning crackled in the dark sky, and when Keme looked up for a brief moment, the clouds took form into a swirl, and there, thunder crackled out of the swirl. Keme covered his ears upon hearing the deafening boom, before the thunder hit even more trees. The fire spread around the forest, though by that time, the two were already out of there.

That was when things got worse quickly.

When they managed to run out of the forest, the wind picked up from there—except instead of blowing everything away, it was sucking things right into the swirl in the sky.

Keme fell to the ground due to the sucking growing stronger, but he held on to the nearest vine that had been rooted on the ground. Drusus, on the other hand, had nothing to hold onto, but he was on his knees in an attempt to save himself from being sucked in. The picnic basket that he held by his side was dropped on the ground, spilling out contents of food, which were then sucked away into the swirl.

But like always, Drusus' first thoughts were on Keme's safety. "Keme!" Drusus cried out loud enough for his lover to hear. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine!" Keme cried out. "We just need to tough it out!"

But as soon as he said that, Drusus lost his grip on the ground, and he was then about to be sucked into the swirl above. Keme could hear Drusus cuss—but he didn't hear exactly what was said as his heart nearly stopped when he saw the Monk getting sucked away. Keme's eyes widened, his expression changing to pure terror.

"DRUSUS!" Keme screamed. Oh Gods NO! NO NO NO NO NO! Don't take him away from me!

When Drusus flew passed him, Keme grabbed his wrist tightly with his free hand, holding onto his lover for dear life.

"KEME!" Drusus cried. "FORGET ABOUT ME!"

"NO!" Keme screamed. "I'm NOT losing you like this!"

Keme gripped the vine hard with his other hand—he didn't want to get sucked in himself, but if anything, he'd rather be sucked in if it meant that his husband was safe. He felt Drusus' hand holding onto Keme's wrist so tight that it left a red mark on Keme's wrist. Even if Drusus wanted to hold onto Keme with both hands, it was impossible thanks to the sucking growing more powerful—he wouldn't be able to reach out with his other hand, which was stuck on his side.

"DRUSUS!" Keme gasped his name, tears threatening to fall as he realized that his grip was beginning to slip. No, he couldn't let this happen. He wouldn't let this happen. He didn't want this to happen at all. Not after all the times where Drusus protected him. Gritting his teeth, he tightened his hold, but it was still slipping.

The sucking grew much stronger from there, and Keme then heard a small snap. His eyes widened, but didn't bother to look as he knew where the sound came from—the vine he was holding was starting to break. But he was more focused on Drusus' safety.

"KEME!" Drusus cried out upon feeling—and even seeing—that their grip slipped into their hands now. There was no hope for him, and Drusus knew that sooner or later, he would get sucked in despite Keme's best efforts to save him. He wouldn't want himself and Keme to be taken away by the swirl. "I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING! I LOVE YOU!"

"Don't SAY that!" Keme cried. "I'm NOT losing you! Not after—"

"LISTEN TO ME!" Drusus screamed. "Let go of me NOW! It's too late for me!"

"Drusus—"

"If you keep on doing this, BOTH of us will get sucked in!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Keme screamed, tears now falling, though they began to fall up thanks to the wind. "I'd rather die than let you get sucked in!"

As he said that, Keme felt Drusus beginning to loosen his grip from his hand. His eyes widened at this. Drusus was actually willing to die here? But he was not letting that happen! Drusus, NO!

"Keme!" Drusus cried, tears also filling his eyes, though they weren't falling yet. "I'm sorry for this! I love you! Always and forever!"

Before Keme could say any more, their hands then slipped to only a few fingers… before Drusus was literally ripped away from Keme's hold. Keme held out his hand, hoping that he could get one more chance to save Drusus. But that was the only hope he had. And now Drusus was being taken away to Gods' know where—or possibly to death.

"DRUSUUUUUUS!" Keme screamed, more tears falling as he could only watch helplessly as Drusus was being sucked into the swirl.

"KEEEEEMEEEE!" Drusus' scream of Keme's name was the only thing he heard before Drusus completely disappeared into the swirl.

No… no no no! Not Drusus! NOT DRUSUS! Why—

Before he could even properly react to what was going on, he heard a snap nearby, and he too was sucked into the swirl…

"DRUSUS!"

Keme jolted up after he screamed, tears and sweat on his face. He breathed heavily and quickly, his heart beating in his chest. Distortion gripped him, and his vision was blurry—he wasn't sure if it was his tears or not. He held his chest to calm his heart rate down as he glanced at his surroundings.

It was dark, but after Keme blinked a few times, he realized he was in an unfamiliar place—more like a small dorm. But after his fuzzy memory began to clear up, he realized: he was in the Record Keepers' university. He breathed a sigh of relief, and he could feel with his hand his heart slowing down into a reasonable level. He wasn't being sucked in by the swirl. He wasn't being attacked by thunder. He was safe. It was all a nightmare.

But then he remembered.

Drusus…

He still remembered it so vividly: Drusus being sucked into the swirl, despite how hard Keme tried to save him. And now he was missing, nowhere to be found.

Keme curled up into a green ball, his body shaking all over. The traumatic memories of what had happened flooded his mind. Of all the times Drusus protected and saved him, Keme never saved him in return. He felt like a failure of a husband—even a bad one—and his heart broke into even more pieces as he tried to stifle a sob. He needed to calm down, however. He remembered what Tyro and everyone else had said:

"We'll find him. Just be patient."

He was patient. It was just that the wait was way too long. Even though it had been a month since he was rescued from his crystal prison, Keme was still thinking about his lover every day. He just hoped that he was okay, and that he was safe and unharmed somewhere—

He jumped when he heard a soft knock on the door. He glanced up at his door, and he wiped away the tears that had fell. Who was up at this hour? Did his scream woke someone up? Now he felt embarrassed and guilty, as indicated by his blushing face and his guilt-filled eyes.

"W-who is it?" he called as softly as possible—loud enough for the unexpected guest to hear, but low enough so that he wouldn't wake up the others near his dorm room.

"Fletcher," Keme recognized the voice as soon as it spoke. "Are you okay in there? I heard you scream."

"..." Keme felt the blood rushing up to his face once more, leaving it even redder than before. Well, this was embarrassing. Now how would he explain to Fletcher about what was going on? "Er… come in."

Fletcher opened the door, a concerned expression on his face upon seeing Keme curled up on his bed. The Ranger wore his night clothes—a comfortable brown tunic with… no pants. Well, that was even more embarrassing as Keme looked away for a second, his face turning even redder, if that was possible. Was Fletcher in the middle of dressing himself when he heard Keme scream? At least he put on a tunic.

"Hey," Fletcher smiled slightly. "Are you okay?"

Keme shook his head. Even though he saw Fletcher as an acquaintance, he was more comfortable talking to the Ranger about his problems than even with his two old companions. To Keme, he felt that Fletcher was more understanding than Taika and Veles. "Just… a nightmare," he admitted.

"A nightmare?" Fletcher questioned, raising a brown brow.

"Y-yeah..." Keme spoke, wiping his tear-stained face.

Fletcher walked towards him and sat on the bed beside Keme, his small smile on his face. To Keme, his smile was comforting, and it put him at ease as he relaxed somewhat. "What was it about?" Fletcher asked.

"...It's about what happened with Drusus," Keme admitted. "Remember what I told you a month ago?"

"Yes," Fletcher nodded. "He was sucked in by a swirl, correct?"

"Yeah," Keme nodded, staring down at the ring on his finger—the engagement ring that Drusus had given him on the day of their marriage. "Even though I tried to be patient, I… miss him. I miss him a lot. Out of all the times that Drusus saved me, I failed to save him..."

"Keme..." Fletcher placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it, giving him the comfort he needed. "I'm so sorry. If I had the power to do so, I'd bring Drusus back right now. I saw how you've been acting that day, and it's painful to see you so depressed because of all this."

"I know..." Keme sighed. "It's not your fault though… it was mine. He begged me to let him go, but I was too stubborn to listen. And… he was gone, just like that."

Fletcher said nothing, except listen to Keme. He reassuringly rubbed his shoulder before he rubbed his back. To Keme, it felt… nice. It reminded him of how Drusus massaged the stress out of him—

Drusus…

Keme sighed, though he didn't want to say anything to Fletcher. He slumped for a moment as he was comforted a bit by Fletcher's rubbing. He glanced down at the sheets of his bed, not saying a single word.

After several minutes like this, Fletcher removed his hand from Keme's back. "Feeling a bit better?"

Keme looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah… thanks, Fletcher. And… sorry for waking you."

"It's fine," Fletcher said. "I hadn't gone to bed yet."

"Really? But it's—" he glanced at the clock on his bedside. "—twelve in the morning."

Fletcher's face turned red then, and Keme raised a brow. Keme could tell that he wasn't angry—he was just embarrassed. But why? He decided to not question it for now, since it was Fletcher's business after all.

"Anyway..." Keme said, "I'll try to get back to sleep. Thanks for being there for me, Fletcher."

"Don't worry about it, Keme," Fletcher smiled. "But if you can't sleep, you're more than welcome to come by my room and talk it out."

Keme nodded, but didn't smile—to him, it felt like smiling took too much work, especially after what was going on around him. "Thanks..."

Fletcher then got off the bed and walked towards the door. "Good night."

"'Night."

With that, Fletcher left the room, closing the door behind him softly, leaving Keme to his own devices. The Thief then laid down on his bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. He tried to think of anything else to help him sleep—anything but what had happened. But no matter what he thought of, the same thing kept coming back in his mind:

Drusus… I miss you…

Constructive criticism is welcomed!