Title: Word of the Day v. FFIV
Author: Garnet Eyes
Archived: fanfiction .net, livejournal .com
Last Updated: 18 Jun 2011
Summary: 14 October 2000 edition.
Rating: T
Characters/Pairings: Kain, Rosa, Kain x Cecil
Author Notes: ignoramus, noun;
1. An ignorant person; a dunce.
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.

...

Kain frowned heavily as he watched that child rather unsubtly impose himself on Cecil. Of course the paladin wouldn't notice, but Kain was a member of the dragon clan and he held all of the standard traits, including intense possessiveness. The younger knight might well know this Palom character, might feel familial affection toward the youth, but that was no excuse for not setting the boy straight. Cecil was worthy of love, true, but Kain had been that lad's age once and there was no question in the blonde's mind what precisely the black mage was thinking when he touched the back of the paladin's bare hand. Cecil was Kain's, and he wasn't about to lose to a child. Granted, the child was on the cusp of his majority, but Cecil didn't need a younger man, he needed an older guiding hand.

"What has you in such a foul mood?"

Grunting, chocolate eyes tilted down to the side, acknowledging the white mage now at his side. Rosa could always figure out what was wrong, whether he wanted her to know or not, so it was rather fruitless to hide anything from her. With an agitated shift of his body, the dragoon kept one eye on the brat courting what was his, but turned to better face the blonde woman at his side.

"That child is being untoward."

Azure eyes blinked before turning toward the focus on the dragoon's irritated glower.

"Palom?"

Kain did not bother to respond to the question, as it was clear that Rosa had understood and her exclamation was simply due to surprise.

"How so?"

She likely hadn't seen most of what the knight had, if only due to the fact that she had been speaking with others and hadn't been focused on the paladin for the entire evening.

"He is accosting Cecil."

There was a tense pause before Rosa let out a rush of air that was somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle.

"Oh, Kain, don't be an idiot."

Affronted, the older blonde chanced a glance at the younger before turning his eyes back toward the upstart that was currently molesting his paladin's hands. Horrible child.

"You know how much Cecil loves you."

Well, yes, Kain was well aware of how devoted his king was. Cecil would never betray him, and certainly not with some young foal who had no idea how to properly please the smaller knight. But Kain didn't trust the child to be a model citizen; it was more difficult to trust the boy, even, since he was a black mage and the dragoon didn't know a lot about magic, but he did know that superior mages had the potential to manipulate minds. And Cecil was too easy to manipulate already when it came to the people he cared about.