Author: Ponderosa (ponderosa@dragonworld.com)
Fandom: Final Fantasy 6
Pairing: LeoxKefka
Archived at: Destiny Interrupted (My site. URL in profile)
Warning: [PG-13] Yaoi. Angst.
Spoilers: All over the place.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to their respective copyright owners, like Square. Plot, if you can call it that, belongs to me.
Notes: Leo is such an awesome character. :D
-=*=-
A Taste of Tears (Part 2)
"Oh, you're back," the healer said. He paused briefly at his task of arranging an assortment of bottles in a glass-faced cabinet and nodded amiably at Leo.
"You didn't do anything to help him," the warrior said. Kefka was sleeping, but the time he had spent with the slender blonde before he had succumbed to exhaustion had been mildly disturbing. From time to time it was as if there was an entirely different person lurking behind those ice blue eyes.
"They've broken things I can't fix," the doctor replied.
"What do you mean?" Leo demanded. He speared the man with a fierce look, but received only a sad, slightly weary smile in return.
The medic stopped sorting bottles and closed the cabinet. He turned to face Leo and stuffed his hands in the low, deep pockets of his lab coat. "No potion in the world could undo what happened to Colonel Palazzo in that machine," he said.
Leo struggled to comprehend that. Kefka was acting strangely, but he didn't look sick. "What if I got an Elixir?" Leo asked. He had no idea where or how he would find one, but they were said to be able to cure a man from the most grievous of wounds.
"The brain doesn't heal easily like other parts of the body," the older man explained. "It can't be regrown like bones, skin, or muscle. And I'm afraid the science of the mind is rudimentary at best."
"So there's no hope," Leo said.
The healer shrugged his narrow shoulders. "There may be no easy cure, but there's always hope."
-=*=-
Leo rapped his knuckles against the door to Kefka's quarters before he poked his head in warily. His dark eyes swept the interior automatically. Kefka's room was a good deal larger than any of the other Corporals', himself included. The fact didn't go unnoticed by the other officers, but was ignored primarily because Leo had made it crystal clear that he didn't want the blonde to get any grief over it.
His friend was seated cross-legged on the dark covers of his bed. Long blond hair was swept up in its typical style; secured high on Kefka's head by a short, braided cord of dark blue satin. The tip of Kefka's ponytail whispered against the high collar of his shirt as he twisted to look over his shoulder. When he saw who waited at the threshold, a wide grin split his face and his light blue eyes sparkled with excitement. Two weeks had done a great deal to erase the unhealthy pallor from his fair skin.
"Leo!" he exclaimed, maneuvering himself around to sit on his heels and face the other man. The pair of deep violet trousers he wore were snug fitting and the flare of his tucked-in shirt drew attention to the slimness of his hips. "Come on in."
"You didn't come down to the mess, so I brought you some food," Leo said, nudging the heavy door open with his elbow.
"Who are you, my mother?" Kefka said. He laughed sharply, then shook his head. "Nevermind.... Look at this!" Placing his hands in his lap, he pressed his palms together and screwed his eyes tight in concentration. His lips moved silently and Leo felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
When Kefka carefully unfolded his hands, Leo almost dropped the laden tray he carried. A small flame flickered to life in the blonde's cupped palms. "Gods," Leo breathed. The Emperor had actually succeeded. True magic really was back in the world.
"Beautiful isn't it..." Kefka said, opening his eyes to look down lovingly at the small, magical flame. At its core, the unnatural fire was painful to look at, but it fluctuated in size and intensity; shifting from a marble-sized sphere of bright yellow to something plum-sized and warm orange. When the spell lost its stability, the flame vanished with a soft pop of air, leaving behind a subtle, sulfurous odor.
Saying nothing, Leo skirted the bed and set the tray down on Kefka's small writing desk. Magic. It boggled the mind. One always heard stories, but to see it with his own eyes....
"You don't think so?" Kefka prompted. He dusted his hands off on his thighs and unfolded his long legs to stand up.
"I don't think what?" Leo asked, turning his head to watch as Kefka inspected the food he had brought. The slender man picked through the assortment of meats, cheeses and fruits delicately; finally choosing a small chunk of green melon and lifting it to his mouth.
Kefka paused, holding the fruit an inch from his mouth, and quipped, "At all." He slid the sliver of fruit past his lips and chuckled at his own cleverness. "You dunce, I meant my spell, of course," he said, licking melon juice off his fingers with small, catlike swipes of his tongue. "Did you think it was beautiful?"
"I-" Leo faltered. Yes, it had been beautiful, but like lightning crackling across the sky, it had been equally terrifying. Choosing his response cautiously, he finally settled on admitting to Kefka that he thought it had been amazing.
"And what about me?" Kefka said, searching Leo's dark, hawkish features. His eyes glittered behind his long, dark-blonde lashes. "Am I amazing? Am I... beautiful?"
The other soldiers often joked that Kefka was pretty enough to be a woman. He spent as much time out in the sun with the rest of the men, yet his skin remained light enough that it was easily to believe he did not tan at all. With Kefka's slim frame, long hair, and the gentle curve of his jaw, it wasn't the least bit difficult for Leo to understand what made the other men say such things.
Leo had never joined in with the others as they taunted and made dishonorable, lust-filled overtures or threats of rape. It was that which had formed the basis for his and Kefka's friendship. Furthermore, unlike the other soldiers, Leo had made note of how that too-pretty face could twist into a feral snarl. He had always felt uneasy about the way Kefka handled himself on the battlefield. The blonde struck with merciless speed, but, as often as not, did so to wound and cripple. Leo on the other hand preferred to deal death swiftly, if he had to at all.
"You?" Leo said, turning to leave. "You're dangerous."
Kefka caught his arm and Leo could feel the chill of the man's fingers through his sleeve. Strange, he thought, how they were so cold after having just cradled flame.
"Never to you, Leo," the fledgling mage said.
His resolve wavered slightly as Kefka's hand slid up his arm, but, in the end, Leo manufactured an excuse and left.
TBC