Ice Thaws, Illusion Scatters
(Rough draft)
A Kingdom Hearts fanfic by Raberba girl
For Zexion/Vexen Day, 4 June 2012
Summary: Platonic fic for Zexion/Vexen Day 2012. SPOILERS for Dream Drop Distance. [Ienzo's happy to be a Somebody again. Even, on the other hand, would be more interested if not for this stupid headache.]
o.o.o
He regained consciousness with a groan, unable to open his eyes for a moment due to the pounding headache. "What...happened...?" He appeared to be lying on something soft. The room was very dark, but traces of sunlight were still evident through the thick, drawn curtains. "Where am I?"
Looking around, he discovered Xaldin nearby, unconscious but fascinatingly dressed in his old guardsman's uniform from their Radiant Garden days. 'How in the worlds did we get here like this?' he wondered. The last thing he remembered was... Oh, yes. That cocky, traitorous wretch had been murdering him. Yet now, he seemed...fine?
Cautiously, he raised a hand and found to his surprise that it was ungloved. He was, in fact, not wearing black; the opposite, actually. 'This is what I used to wear back in the Garden, too,' he realized. 'What on earth...?' They couldn't have traveled back in time, could they? 'Perhaps this is some sort of hallucination experienced during my death. A flashback to the past-'
...He had been surprised, at discovering what he was wearing. He was confused and weakened. He felt surprise, felt confusion, in a way that was stronger and more real than anything he should be able to experience as a Nobody. 'I...what happened to me?'
This feeling of weakness...perhaps it was not just from the headache. Experimentally, he reached out a hand and tried to summon ice-
Nothing.
"Zexion!" he shouted, without thinking. He swung a leg to the floor and started to surge up, but then fell back with a groan. His head...throbbing so cruelly, it hurt to move...
There were footsteps from outside, and the door opened softly. "Professor?"
"Zexion?" he asked weakly. ...It had been a long, long time since he had been addressed as such by his protégé.
The young man approached quickly, leaning down to rest the back of his hand against Vexen's forehead to gauge his temperature. "Your clothes," Vexen observed in a murmur. A white lab coat, just like his own. "Yet you look as old as you were back at Castle Oblivion..."
"We're back, Professor," Zexion said gently. His little smile was the sweetest expression Vexen had seen on his face since...ever. "You can feel it, right?" The hand came away from his forehead to rest on Vexen's heart.
...
...
Not Vexen anymore, then. Even.
'We really are back,' he realized in astonishment. And was dismayed to feel very, very unexpected tears suddenly brimming in his eyes. 'Stop that at once,' he told himself firmly. 'It is neither professional nor seemly.' Especially with his young subordinate looking on.
"I cried, too," Zexion - Ienzo - remarked, irritatingly casual. "It's all right. Dilan's still asleep and Aeleus is back in the Master's study, there's no one around to see. Just me."
"See what?" Even said angrily, forcing the tears back. "All I can think about is this blasted headache. I need a Potion."
"Virtually all our items are still back at the castle in the World That Never Was," Ienzo explained, "which is now much more difficult to get to than it was before."
"What? Why?"
"The Keybearer," Ienzo said simply.
Even thought a moment. "...Would it be a fairly reasonable assumption that our leader now no longer exists in any form?"
"We haven't been able to find some of them," Ienzo sighed. "Xehanort, Braig, Isa, all the members from IX to XIII... Apparently, Roxas reunited with his Other at an earlier time than we did, but there's not even a trace of the rest of our Organization." He paused, then added, "Not that he shows it, but I think Lea is worried. He left a little while ago, using the dark corridors."
"Did he, now. I hope he disintegrates."
"I was tempted to hold a grudge, too," Ienzo said resentfully as shadows crossed his face. "But...I am forced to admit that without Axel's treachery, the two of us would still either be lost to darkness or have been defeated at the hands of the Keybearer anyway."
"So that stupid boy survived, then," Even grumbled.
"It seems there is something to be said for those who wield the Keyblade, no matter how unintelligent or incompetent they might otherwise be. He defeated not only Marluxia and Saïx, but Xemnas himself. Most of the others, as well. I suppose we...should have known." Ienzo looked unhappy. "Sora's appearance and demeanor are deceiving. We must never underestimate him or his friend Riku again."
Those shadows were back. Even found that it strangely bothered him to see his young companion's expression so clouded. "Where are we, anyway?" he asked abruptly, thinking absently to distract the young man. Well, that and he was also wanted very much to know.
It worked - Even was startled at how well at worked. Ienzo unexpectedly smiled at him again, less restrained this time, and it was amazing how much it lightened his face. He looked even younger than he really was. "We're back in the Garden, Professor. Master Ansem's study is down the hall. When we were looking for the others, I went out to see what's become of our world- It's altered and scarred, but, oh, Professor, there are flowers again. Aerith's been working on that... Do you remember her? She's still alive. Several of them are; they've been slowly restoring this town, and they've been doing a splendid job. There are some shops open in the square, the Heartless population is under far better control than I imagined, and I've even discovered that the great wizard Merlin is still residing in-"
Even, once he had received the most crucial piece of information, was now steadily losing focus. He would ordinarily have been interested in harvesting all this data, but his head was still throbbing, and he finally let out a small groan as Ienzo's chattering voice never let up. Since when had his protégé ever talked this much?
"Are you still feeling ill?" Ienzo asked sympathetically. "It took Aeleus and I a while to recover, also. Would you like me to bring you a cup of tea?"
"Why would I want tea?" Even growled irritably.
"Well, that's what they do in books. When a character feels unwell, another one will often bring them a cup of tea. I suppose it's a restorative item for humans, though I don't recall noticing it ever working half as well as Potions and such do."
"Very well, yes, bring me some tea," Even finally commanded, hoping to have a break from that disconcertingly perky voice. Since when had Zexion - or little Ienzo, for that matter - ever been so cheerful?
It was good to rest in the dark again, despite the pounding headache preventing him from drifting off as he might have liked. Soon, though, he began to grow restless. Feeling terrible, yet nothing to distract him from the pain, hating the sense of wasted time, increasingly overwhelmed by the waves of strong feelings he had grown so unaccustomed to over all these years...
He met Ienzo's return with just as much relief as when he'd left. "There you are. What took you so long?"
"Forgive me, Professor." The young man's arms were laden; he stooped to carefully set down both the tome and the tray he had been carrying in both hands. "Aeleus said that some people like sugar or lemon or milk in their tea. What will you have?"
"Nothing, just give it to me plain," Even said in exasperation, and reached out to accept the drink Ienzo was handing him. Then he watched as the young man dumped spoonful after spoonful of sugar into his own cup. "I wasn't aware you were fond of sugar," he said testingly.
Ienzo gave him a sheepish smile. It kept startling Even, both the uncharacteristic expressiveness of the boy's face, and the strength of his own reactions to it. "It...tastes good," he explained lamely. "I did not have much opportunity to eat sweets when I was small except when Master Ansem gave me something, and of course we didn't care during our time as Nobodies..."
Even frowned, feeling a strange twinge in his chest. "Are you accusing me of something?" he challenged.
"Not at all!" Ienzo exclaimed. "You and the others were very kind to me when I was young, and I will always be grateful." He sipped at his sugar-saturated tea. Even grimaced in response, imagining what it must taste like.
"You did have a very irregular childhood, I suppose," he mused.
Ienzo's voice was quiet. "An orphan like me could have no higher honor than to be accepted into your ranks the way I was. You and Master Ansem taught me, trusted me, treated me almost like an adult even when I was still so young..."
Even frowned, and after a moment reached up to his protégé. Ienzo gazed back at him, offering no resistance as Even held his face and studied him. "You know," Even murmured, "that might have been a mistake." ... 'Heart-wrenching.' Even had never, ever had any use for the term before, dismissing it as sentimental nonsense. Yet now, he began to get an inkling of what it actually meant, as he watched the way Ienzo's face fell.
"I," Ienzo said hesitantly, "I suppose I...have need to redeem myself, the way I...allowed myself to be so instrumental in betraying the Master-"
"Stop looking like that." He was also beginning to understand for the first time what Axel might have meant when he'd used to gush over Number XIII's 'Puppy Eyes.' "I was talking about us, treating you the way we did."
"The way you did?" Ienzo repeated in confusion.
Even found himself smiling a little. "Don't think I never noticed the way you'd look out the windows sometimes, like a caged bird yearning for freedom."
"But...I liked...I just-"
"The way you'd watch other children playing when we passed by. The way you only ever smiled for Ansem the Wise, when he'd waste time with his sentimentality that I'm beginning to think wasn't a waste of time after all."
"..."
"I forgot to let you go," Even suddenly remembered.
"Pardon?"
"That night - the Garden's final winter, when that Christmas party was going on and I'd said you could attend once you'd finished your duties - I forgot. I was doing the Rare Truffle experiments that night, and I needed your help. I'd forgotten that I'd promised to let you go. You never said a word."
"Our work was more important," Ienzo whispered. "I know that."
"That's what we told you," Even corrected. "That's what we thought. Maybe we were wrong."
There was a long moment of silence.
"You never really did have a chance to be a child, did you," Even finally said. It gave him a theory about the young man's odd behavior now.
Ienzo finally drew in a deep breath and said, in what sounded like an awkward subject change, "I've been looking through the research notes Master Ansem left behind, and I wanted to show you some things." He opened the book he had brought and flipped eagerly through the pages. "It seems that we who regain our hearts wake up in the same place we lost them, which is why you and I, and Aeleus and Dilan and Lea, awakened in the computer room. It would be quite interesting to travel to the places where, for example, Luxord or Marluxia lost their hearts, and see if perhaps they might be there. It's just that none of us except Lea have dared to try the corridors yet - he's the only one who still has his coat, but I also wonder how well he will hold up to the darkness now that he has a heart to be corroded again. I've also been quite curious about Number XIII, whose circumstances differ so greatly from those of the rest of us. According to Lea, Roxas and Sora have-"
"Ienzo," Even said tiredly, resting an arm over his forehead, "you'll have to tell me this later."
Ienzo actually pouted. "Lea brushed me off, too. Aeleus listened, but I think he was only being polite. Why is no one interested in any of this? It's fascinating!"
"The headache has something to do with it," Even groaned. "Just please be quiet for now, Ienzo."
"All right," he grumbled, sipping at his tea.
There was a long pause.
"You know," Even finally said, "I find it rather odd that your current childish behavior does not at all reflect how you acted back when you actually were a child."
"Childish?" Ienzo said indignantly. "How have I been unprofessional?"
"You're excited. I've never seen you excited before in your entire life, even when you still had a heart."
Ienzo fidgeted a little. And drank more tea. "Keep in mind," he finally mumbled, "that you didn't know me before I lost my parents."
"Your hypothesis appears to be similar to my own. Upon regaining your heart, you've reverted to behavior that circumstances had repressed until now. It's like your heart is still nine years old despite your mind and body having aged far past that."
"That might not mean as much as you're implying," Ienzo suggested a little sulkily. "Lea is twenty-five but often acts like a boy much younger than that."
"True," Even snorted. "That would explain a lot, actually..."
"Are you feeling any better?"
"Just a little. I don't mind talking as long as you don't chatter."
"I wasn't chattering!"
"And now you're whining."
"...If you weren't who you are, I'd think you were teasing me."
Even thought about this. "Who knows who any of us are now," he mused. "After such a long and traumatic experience, perhaps it's only to be expected that we might not return exactly like we were before..."
"For the record," Ienzo said thoughtfully, "I think I like this Professor Even better than the one from ten years ago." Then he winced a little. "Not that there was anything wrong with the last one..."
'And for my record,' Even thought, 'regardless of the other pros and cons, one thing I deem a certain improvement in this Ienzo is his smile, which I wish he would demonstrate again. I don't know how or why such a thing can possibly be so important, but it is.'
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...No reason." Even took another sip of tea. "Ienzo, let's have a Christmas party this year."
Ienzo looked startled. "A Christmas- What?"
"It seems you find the idea distasteful."
"No! Of course not! I would...actually...look forward to such a thing." This smile was even more pleasant to look at than the last one.
"Strangely enough, so would I." Even smiled back.
Ienzo studied him critically. "I think I've figured it out."
"Hm? Figured what out?"
"It's your eyebrows. This is the first time I've seen you smile without your eyebrows quirked in an ominous or disconcerting way. You should smile like this more often, I think fewer small children would run away from you then."
"Wha-! Are you mocking me?"
"I wouldn't dream of it, Professor."
"Good. A boy like you should know his place."
"I'm twenty-one..."
"You're nine."
"Professor!" He had the most amusing sulky glare on his face now. "Now you're the one mocking me."
"I believe the correct term is 'teasing.'"
"You're Professor Even. You don't tease people."
"The Professor Even of ten years ago did not tease people, just like the Ienzo of ten years ago did not bounce around handing out tea and rambling enthusiastically about flowers."
"...Yes. I hope these changes are for the better - I'm going to ask Aeleus what he thinks."
"Wait." Even reached out again and caught his sleeve. "Don't leave yet."
After a moment, Ienzo smiled. "Would you like me to sit with you a while longer?"
"If you like," Even said haughtily.
"You'll feel better soon."
"Mm."
"I'll read to you."
"I told you, I'm not interested in hearing about your theories yet, I want my magnificent brain back in full working order first."
"Not from the research notes, I meant a fairy tale."
"A fairy what?"
"You'll see. Tell me if you like it." Apparently, the dusty book from Ansem's study was not the only one Ienzo had brought. He opened a much smaller volume to a startlingly colorful page and began to read. "Once upon a time, there lived a merchant with three daughters..."
o.o.o
Author's Notes: Good grief, my first "pairing day" fic, and it's for Vexen, of all people. XD I'll probably revise this story once more games come out and clarify some stuff that don't make sense to me.
I dunno if it's just me or what, but Ienzo in at least the Japanese version of KH3D seemed to act a bit hyper compared to his more dignified appearances in CoM and Days. I found that interesting.
Yay, I think this is the first time I've managed to post a fic where Vexen has a positive portrayal!
Lol, anyone pick up on the hinted Shadowless Princess pairing...?