DISCLAIMER: Suikoden 2 and all its elements are properties of KCET. The fanfiction belongs to littlemaiko. Stealing is prohibited.
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~ Silent Little Mermaid 5 ~
Flik blinked twice upon entering the night tavern, not quite sure how to take the sight of a red-cheeked and sleepy-looking Jess sitting at the counter. Along with the fact that there were several civilians and mercenaries close to the chamberlain giving him interested stares, the younger man's stupidity in becoming so obviously incoherent angered Flik. Giving Leona a concerned glance flickering fro and back to Jess, he advanced quickly when the same was returned.
"Out you go, Mister Chamberlain."
Jess didn't respond as the rotatable stool was turned, merely giving a soundless mumble and sagging to a side as the nonexistent balance was disturbed. Amusement almost made Flik chuckle, but he shook his head instead and picked up the lithe body before it hit the wooden ground. With any other man, he would have allowed the hearty fall to snap some senses back into the alcohol-blurred mind, but he correctly guessed that such an impact would have injured Jess.
// Damn, he's light. //
"Flik, you'll take him back // safely // to his room?" Leona asked with a tint of relief and some bits of concern. She put a special emphasis on the word "safely", meaning that she did not trust anyone to handle Jess with complete gentleman-like manner. At least, not in the current state.
"No, I'll sell him off to the next slave caravan." Shrugging his shoulders and grinning a bit, Flik hoisted Jess so that the slender burden leaned against his chest. At least, the tailored garment was easy to hold onto, even with Jess squirming erratically with silent whines for more sweet liquor. "Shush, you drunk. I'm taking you out of here."
With Jess hindering him as a sack of flour might have, Flik put his own plans for drinking behind him and made way to the sector set aside for the so-called office elites. In actuality, those were all of Shu's assistants who had more flair for words and numbers than for the weapons. Jess, being a relative newcomer, occupied the room at the farthest end of the stone-tiled room. The door was locked, as expected, but Flik easily found the key by patting over the younger man's pants pocket.
The room, as pristine as Flik remembered it in the daylight, was dimly lit by one lamp by the bed. Lowering the now-asleep chamberlain upon the white-linen bed, he closed all sterile-looking curtains and pulled off the other's shoes, getting him ready for the night's sleep. He never considered himself to be a mothering type, but he found some joy in fussing with the sleeper.
"Now this, makes you very different from her. She never got drunk."
Flik sat at the rim of the bed and ran his fingers through the auburn-brown locks nestled over the pillow. Even without the tea-colored eyes, Jess looked very much like Odessa. However, the illusion of the past did not grip him now; he knew, from the slender chest devoid of curves to pants-clad limbs lacking feminine definition, that the body that lay before him now was not the same as his lost love's. Perhaps it was the position, the very real and solid bed, making the physical shape more apparent. Flik had enough discipline not to be swayed by the suggestive setting, but his mind had its own set of rules and wandered into realms of fantasy.
"You are really lucky that it was me who carried you back. Lord knows what would have happened with others, eh?"
Jess' lips parted a little, probably to moan in the relaxing hold of sleep. Although no noise came out of the scarred throat, Flik leaned down and listened to the soft breath. Faint smell of fruit liquor touched his nostrils, making him smile. It seemed that the young chamberlain had a taste for fruit-flavored drinks.
Upclose, Flik could see two small scars on the other's neck very clearly. Huan had sewn and patched up the threatening wounds right away, but holes created by a penetrating arrow remained obvious to any eyes. Now, a week after the freak accident, twin injuries were completely closed and most likely without pain.
"I'm sorry about these..." The blue-eyed swordsman murmured, burying his face against Jess' neckline. He kissed each scar with much tenderness, wishing without use that his small licks would wipe away the marring of the white skin.
**********
Jess almost fell off of the bed when he opened his eyes in awakening. His single-sized bed carried two grown men, one its owner and another an unexpected mercenary. What shocked the chamberlain more was that he lay half-cradled in Flik's arms; the comfort of the position did nothing to delay his immediate escape. He scrambled to the end of the mattress and patted over his clothes, making sure that his fly was up and shirt buttons in place. Much to his relief, nothing had happened to him in // that // way.
"Do you always bolt up like that in the morning?" Flik rolled to his back and sat up, rubbing a little at his vivid blue eyes. From the looks, he had gone to sleep unintentionally; the sword belt remained about his waist and his feet still clad in leather boots. With much dismay, Jess eyed the brown dirt stains left on his sheets.
"...Oh. Sorry about that."
Heavy throbbing of hung-over head made Jess wince. He left the bed to back slowly into the bathroom, shutting the door as soon as he got there. He heard Flik speaking after him, something about "hey, I didn't do anything!". Ignoring all that, he brushed his teeth and washed his face, followed by a rare sloppy job of shaving. Each action was a routine, but he went through them this morning merely to keep his hurting head from thinking about what Flik was doing in his bed.
// I must have been drunk. And he brought me back here. ...That makes sense. //
Shower appealed to Jess, but he delayed the plans for refreshing warm water to peek back into his room. Flik was still there, yanking sheets off of the bed and rolling it up for laundry. Sensing his gaze, the tall swordsman turned and smiled apologetically.
"I'll get these washed right away."
Jess nodded as he studied the older man; the conviction toward what he supposed had happened last night grew stronger. As far as he knew, Flik was not the type to mess with incoherent men. Incoherent women... maybe, but definitely not a prissy, unpretty chamberlain like himself. Little did Jess know that he was anything but unpretty, but that was beside the point.
// Do I owe him a thanks? ...What am I thinking, I never thank him anyway. //
The lithe chamberlain stepped out of hiding and picked up a pen from the work desk. He wondered why the sudden change of mind, but the businesslike cursive letters created smooth penmanship on a piece of note paper. Finished with the short note, he handed it to Flik with deliberate nonchalance.
"...'Thank you for everything. I will take care of the sheets, so go get ready for the day yourself'? Hmm, this is the nicest thing you ever said to me, Jess." Grinning a little, the handsome mercenary consented to the written instruction. He handed the bunched sheets to Jess, blue eyes twinkling despite the early hours of the morning. "You could always just smile, though. I like your smile."
Jess reddened a little, mistaking the words for a teasing. He folded his arms and tapped his right foot lightly on the wooden floor, forcing Flik to leave the room in reluctance.
// What is so great about smiling, anyway? //
**********
Viktor raised an eyebrow upon seeing Flik; the younger mercenary had not returned to the room next door last night, and Viktor had a pretty good guess of where he had been from the half-smile present on the other's handsome face. Breakfast at Hai-Yo's restaurant provided the opportunity for a small poke in the ribs and questioning look.
"Viktor, don't probe, all right?" Flik gave a shrug and tasted the orange juice.
"Well, I'm going to anyway. Leona said that you took a very incoherent Jess back to his room."
"So? You think that I did him or something?"
Taking a hearty bite of butter toast, Viktor returned the initial shrug. "Did you?"
"...No. Come on, Viktor. I never take advantage of others, not like that." Suddenly losing interest in the juice, Flik put the glass down on the table and glared a little at the bear-like man. "Why do you care so much? Jess is not your friend."
"He's Anabelle's 'lil brother'." Viktor peeled at ears of the toast and rolled the browned hem before popping it into his mouth. "At least, he was when I last saw him before meeting them at Muse. Back before Neclord and all that mess."
"Oh," nodding, Flik worked on his own piece of sliced bread. He understood his friend's concern, but he was still miffed that Viktor acted like the chamberlain's overseer. Especially since he hadn't done anything dishonorable... yet.
"If he didn't look so much like Odessa, I won't bother like this, Flik."
"He is not Odessa!" Flik's gaze sharpened like a knife, snaring Viktor. True blue eyes darkened until the other man shut up completely. "...Don't probe, Viktor. I know damn well who is who and what's right and wrong. It's not the hair or eyes or skin or face, not the guilt of making him lose his voice. I won't say that I love him, but I like him."
Surprise left Viktor's face, replaced by an amused look. He didn't hide his relief and apologetic shrug. "Sorry."
"...No problem."
Flik fastened his teeth on a green apple, too preoccupied with what he had just said to taste the tangy fruit. Besides the fact that the dialogue had been the longest he'd spoken in a while, how true it rang inside him shocked him.
// I like him. //
A nod to self confirmed the thought, and Flik curled his lips. He knew what he felt now.
**********
"Jess, something is wrong." Shu stated the words as a fact rather than a concerned question. His elegant Asian eyes studied the younger chamberlain, the dark gaze not cold like usual but rather mildly interested.
Shaking his head in denial which was a lie, Jess awkwardly returned his attention back to the documents on the desk. He knew that he was acting jumpier than usual all thanks to Flik spending a night in his bed; he swore inwardly never to go drinking against, though the reason for his drinking also held roots in the blue-eyed mercenary. It was as though there was no escaping the Blue Thunder. If there existed such thing as paths of destiny forming inevitable acquaintances, then Jess and Flik's paths were intercepting right now.
// Yet all crossroads come to an end somewhere. //
Jess hoped half-heartedly that Flik would stop bothering with him, but the notion sobered him at the same time. Somehow, the tall swordsman's presence spiced up his solitary, now-silent life. Whether the change was for the better or for the worse, he didn't know.
"Jess, you have a choice to take this job or not, but I need a summary of outgoing goods and money, as well as people, in Kuskus. Just a week's worth of figures would do." Shu added that if Jess declined, he would ask Klaus to go instead.
The chamberlain could tell that Shu preferred that he go, so he nodded in acceptance without a second thought.
"Good. I will assign someone to accompany as a guard. There really should be no danger, but one can never be too careful."
Undrestanding the implied reference to the arrow incident, Jess shook his head. He had no natural compassion to be this mindful of others' guilt, but Shu so rarely exhibited such concern that it touched the younger man.
The beautiful oriental strategist wandered his gaze to the ceiling, apparently thinking of who to send with Jess. An almost mischievous look lit up Shu's face and he announced much to Jess' disbelief, "Take the blue one with you."
NEXT
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~ Silent Little Mermaid 5 ~
Flik blinked twice upon entering the night tavern, not quite sure how to take the sight of a red-cheeked and sleepy-looking Jess sitting at the counter. Along with the fact that there were several civilians and mercenaries close to the chamberlain giving him interested stares, the younger man's stupidity in becoming so obviously incoherent angered Flik. Giving Leona a concerned glance flickering fro and back to Jess, he advanced quickly when the same was returned.
"Out you go, Mister Chamberlain."
Jess didn't respond as the rotatable stool was turned, merely giving a soundless mumble and sagging to a side as the nonexistent balance was disturbed. Amusement almost made Flik chuckle, but he shook his head instead and picked up the lithe body before it hit the wooden ground. With any other man, he would have allowed the hearty fall to snap some senses back into the alcohol-blurred mind, but he correctly guessed that such an impact would have injured Jess.
// Damn, he's light. //
"Flik, you'll take him back // safely // to his room?" Leona asked with a tint of relief and some bits of concern. She put a special emphasis on the word "safely", meaning that she did not trust anyone to handle Jess with complete gentleman-like manner. At least, not in the current state.
"No, I'll sell him off to the next slave caravan." Shrugging his shoulders and grinning a bit, Flik hoisted Jess so that the slender burden leaned against his chest. At least, the tailored garment was easy to hold onto, even with Jess squirming erratically with silent whines for more sweet liquor. "Shush, you drunk. I'm taking you out of here."
With Jess hindering him as a sack of flour might have, Flik put his own plans for drinking behind him and made way to the sector set aside for the so-called office elites. In actuality, those were all of Shu's assistants who had more flair for words and numbers than for the weapons. Jess, being a relative newcomer, occupied the room at the farthest end of the stone-tiled room. The door was locked, as expected, but Flik easily found the key by patting over the younger man's pants pocket.
The room, as pristine as Flik remembered it in the daylight, was dimly lit by one lamp by the bed. Lowering the now-asleep chamberlain upon the white-linen bed, he closed all sterile-looking curtains and pulled off the other's shoes, getting him ready for the night's sleep. He never considered himself to be a mothering type, but he found some joy in fussing with the sleeper.
"Now this, makes you very different from her. She never got drunk."
Flik sat at the rim of the bed and ran his fingers through the auburn-brown locks nestled over the pillow. Even without the tea-colored eyes, Jess looked very much like Odessa. However, the illusion of the past did not grip him now; he knew, from the slender chest devoid of curves to pants-clad limbs lacking feminine definition, that the body that lay before him now was not the same as his lost love's. Perhaps it was the position, the very real and solid bed, making the physical shape more apparent. Flik had enough discipline not to be swayed by the suggestive setting, but his mind had its own set of rules and wandered into realms of fantasy.
"You are really lucky that it was me who carried you back. Lord knows what would have happened with others, eh?"
Jess' lips parted a little, probably to moan in the relaxing hold of sleep. Although no noise came out of the scarred throat, Flik leaned down and listened to the soft breath. Faint smell of fruit liquor touched his nostrils, making him smile. It seemed that the young chamberlain had a taste for fruit-flavored drinks.
Upclose, Flik could see two small scars on the other's neck very clearly. Huan had sewn and patched up the threatening wounds right away, but holes created by a penetrating arrow remained obvious to any eyes. Now, a week after the freak accident, twin injuries were completely closed and most likely without pain.
"I'm sorry about these..." The blue-eyed swordsman murmured, burying his face against Jess' neckline. He kissed each scar with much tenderness, wishing without use that his small licks would wipe away the marring of the white skin.
**********
Jess almost fell off of the bed when he opened his eyes in awakening. His single-sized bed carried two grown men, one its owner and another an unexpected mercenary. What shocked the chamberlain more was that he lay half-cradled in Flik's arms; the comfort of the position did nothing to delay his immediate escape. He scrambled to the end of the mattress and patted over his clothes, making sure that his fly was up and shirt buttons in place. Much to his relief, nothing had happened to him in // that // way.
"Do you always bolt up like that in the morning?" Flik rolled to his back and sat up, rubbing a little at his vivid blue eyes. From the looks, he had gone to sleep unintentionally; the sword belt remained about his waist and his feet still clad in leather boots. With much dismay, Jess eyed the brown dirt stains left on his sheets.
"...Oh. Sorry about that."
Heavy throbbing of hung-over head made Jess wince. He left the bed to back slowly into the bathroom, shutting the door as soon as he got there. He heard Flik speaking after him, something about "hey, I didn't do anything!". Ignoring all that, he brushed his teeth and washed his face, followed by a rare sloppy job of shaving. Each action was a routine, but he went through them this morning merely to keep his hurting head from thinking about what Flik was doing in his bed.
// I must have been drunk. And he brought me back here. ...That makes sense. //
Shower appealed to Jess, but he delayed the plans for refreshing warm water to peek back into his room. Flik was still there, yanking sheets off of the bed and rolling it up for laundry. Sensing his gaze, the tall swordsman turned and smiled apologetically.
"I'll get these washed right away."
Jess nodded as he studied the older man; the conviction toward what he supposed had happened last night grew stronger. As far as he knew, Flik was not the type to mess with incoherent men. Incoherent women... maybe, but definitely not a prissy, unpretty chamberlain like himself. Little did Jess know that he was anything but unpretty, but that was beside the point.
// Do I owe him a thanks? ...What am I thinking, I never thank him anyway. //
The lithe chamberlain stepped out of hiding and picked up a pen from the work desk. He wondered why the sudden change of mind, but the businesslike cursive letters created smooth penmanship on a piece of note paper. Finished with the short note, he handed it to Flik with deliberate nonchalance.
"...'Thank you for everything. I will take care of the sheets, so go get ready for the day yourself'? Hmm, this is the nicest thing you ever said to me, Jess." Grinning a little, the handsome mercenary consented to the written instruction. He handed the bunched sheets to Jess, blue eyes twinkling despite the early hours of the morning. "You could always just smile, though. I like your smile."
Jess reddened a little, mistaking the words for a teasing. He folded his arms and tapped his right foot lightly on the wooden floor, forcing Flik to leave the room in reluctance.
// What is so great about smiling, anyway? //
**********
Viktor raised an eyebrow upon seeing Flik; the younger mercenary had not returned to the room next door last night, and Viktor had a pretty good guess of where he had been from the half-smile present on the other's handsome face. Breakfast at Hai-Yo's restaurant provided the opportunity for a small poke in the ribs and questioning look.
"Viktor, don't probe, all right?" Flik gave a shrug and tasted the orange juice.
"Well, I'm going to anyway. Leona said that you took a very incoherent Jess back to his room."
"So? You think that I did him or something?"
Taking a hearty bite of butter toast, Viktor returned the initial shrug. "Did you?"
"...No. Come on, Viktor. I never take advantage of others, not like that." Suddenly losing interest in the juice, Flik put the glass down on the table and glared a little at the bear-like man. "Why do you care so much? Jess is not your friend."
"He's Anabelle's 'lil brother'." Viktor peeled at ears of the toast and rolled the browned hem before popping it into his mouth. "At least, he was when I last saw him before meeting them at Muse. Back before Neclord and all that mess."
"Oh," nodding, Flik worked on his own piece of sliced bread. He understood his friend's concern, but he was still miffed that Viktor acted like the chamberlain's overseer. Especially since he hadn't done anything dishonorable... yet.
"If he didn't look so much like Odessa, I won't bother like this, Flik."
"He is not Odessa!" Flik's gaze sharpened like a knife, snaring Viktor. True blue eyes darkened until the other man shut up completely. "...Don't probe, Viktor. I know damn well who is who and what's right and wrong. It's not the hair or eyes or skin or face, not the guilt of making him lose his voice. I won't say that I love him, but I like him."
Surprise left Viktor's face, replaced by an amused look. He didn't hide his relief and apologetic shrug. "Sorry."
"...No problem."
Flik fastened his teeth on a green apple, too preoccupied with what he had just said to taste the tangy fruit. Besides the fact that the dialogue had been the longest he'd spoken in a while, how true it rang inside him shocked him.
// I like him. //
A nod to self confirmed the thought, and Flik curled his lips. He knew what he felt now.
**********
"Jess, something is wrong." Shu stated the words as a fact rather than a concerned question. His elegant Asian eyes studied the younger chamberlain, the dark gaze not cold like usual but rather mildly interested.
Shaking his head in denial which was a lie, Jess awkwardly returned his attention back to the documents on the desk. He knew that he was acting jumpier than usual all thanks to Flik spending a night in his bed; he swore inwardly never to go drinking against, though the reason for his drinking also held roots in the blue-eyed mercenary. It was as though there was no escaping the Blue Thunder. If there existed such thing as paths of destiny forming inevitable acquaintances, then Jess and Flik's paths were intercepting right now.
// Yet all crossroads come to an end somewhere. //
Jess hoped half-heartedly that Flik would stop bothering with him, but the notion sobered him at the same time. Somehow, the tall swordsman's presence spiced up his solitary, now-silent life. Whether the change was for the better or for the worse, he didn't know.
"Jess, you have a choice to take this job or not, but I need a summary of outgoing goods and money, as well as people, in Kuskus. Just a week's worth of figures would do." Shu added that if Jess declined, he would ask Klaus to go instead.
The chamberlain could tell that Shu preferred that he go, so he nodded in acceptance without a second thought.
"Good. I will assign someone to accompany as a guard. There really should be no danger, but one can never be too careful."
Undrestanding the implied reference to the arrow incident, Jess shook his head. He had no natural compassion to be this mindful of others' guilt, but Shu so rarely exhibited such concern that it touched the younger man.
The beautiful oriental strategist wandered his gaze to the ceiling, apparently thinking of who to send with Jess. An almost mischievous look lit up Shu's face and he announced much to Jess' disbelief, "Take the blue one with you."
NEXT