A/N: This chapter sucks just a little more than I'd like it to. It does a lot of stuff I didn't expect it to do at this moment, but whatever. It's also shorter because I wanted to cut it off before they left.
Give it two more chapters, I'd wager...
Amarant wakes up to find Kuja sleeping on him. His first thought was to shout and toss him from the bed, but he's too damned tired to bother with it. He swears to never drink again, and watches the monkey sleep.
He's curled up, half on top of him, half not, tail wrapped loosely around Amarant's ankle and head on his chest. Amarant's dully surprised that his hand is resting in Kuja's hair, but it's soft and comfortable. He blinks, suddenly, and frowns in confusion.
What the hell did he do last night?
Kuja makes an annoyed noise when Amarant sits up, and he feels the monkey's tail tighten briefly before uncurling to flick at Amarant in aggravation.
"W'sit?"
Amarant looks down at Kuja, who's curled into the spot Amarant had been occupying, looking at him with half-asleep eyes.
"What happened last night, and why are you in my bed?"
Kuja blinks, and looks around in curiosity. "Am I?" The Genome sits up and takes a long while to stretch, back cracking. "Mm, I was tired. So I went to sleep."
"In my room?"
Pink tinges his cheeks, "I was keeping check on you. Besides, Lani's in my room."
"I thought you said you wouldn't bed her?" Amarant drawls, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and rolling his shoulders. They feel more relaxed.
"I didn't! She was worried about you, you ass." Amarant opens his mouth but Kuja cuts him off before he can even start a sentence, "Not of you being hurt, but because you left so suddenly. I didn't expect you to do that."
"What else would I've done?" Amarant asks, annoyed, standing up and moving towards his shirt, lying on the ground.
"I don't know... Are you okay?" Kuja's by his side when he falls on his knee, wincing.
"'m fine," he mutters, standing up and hobbling to the bed again, sitting down heavily. "Damn it."
"Let me see," the monkey asks, kneeling down in front of Amarant. He flushes and looks away.
"It's nothing."
Kuja shakes his head and then, to Amarant's complete amazement, his hands dart out and grab the hem of his pants, forcing them off. Kuja pays him no attention, not even to note the fact that he's blood red, focusing solely on Amarant's knee, which is swollen and bleeding, looking a lot worse than Amarant had thought it would. Kuja's looking at it in worry and confusion.
"What did they do?"
"Kicked me, I guess," Amarant mumbles, flushing as Kuja's hands touched his leg, watching the other in dull awe. "What're you..."
Kuja mumbles something and the wound starts healing – it's so strange to see the swelling go down and the color fade so quickly. "However they did this, it could've caused some serious problems," the Genome mutters, standing up and turning around suddenly, "Now, get dressed and come on, we have to go see Lani."
Amarant stumbles to get his pants on and grabs the shirt Kuja bought him – he's learned his lesson and will consider wearing the pants in future advents.
Kuja's blushing hotly when they leave, and Lani leans against the wall, grinning coyly at them.
"What have you been up to, blushing like that?" she asks the Genome, who only blinks and turns away, heading downstairs. "Hmm?" she turns the question to Amarant, who shrugs.
"Nothing important," the bounty hunter mumbles, following Kuja down the stairs, feeling Lani follow.
"Mornin', mates." Amarant groans and turns, attempting to go upstairs again, but Lani pushes him back to the table where Kuja and Arok are sitting, a weird looking guy with obnoxiously bright orange hair and dark skin leaning against Arok in a tired stupor.
"Hi," Lani speaks up, sitting down next to Kuja and looking at the sleeping man in confusion. "Who's the stiff?"
"'m notta stiff," the man mutters, sitting up and wiping at his eyes, "This asshole just gotta get up so damn early to talk to y'all."
"Shh y'self," Arok chides, smacking the other upside the head, "Ain't y'grateful I only got one missin' teeth insteada twen'y?"
"I dunno. It might be better without all those teeth."
"Yer disgustin', y'know tha'?"
"Who is this?" Kuja finally asks for all three of them, leaning in and watching Arok grin stupidly. Amarant realizes that he's got a gap in his teeth – that asshole from last night must've knocked it out.
"'S is Byrd. 'e's my mate."
"Your mate," Lani starts, raising an eyebrow, "Or your mate?"
"Either or," Byrd cuts in, grinning cheekily, "Dependin' on the situation, it can be both."
"Tha's what 'e says now," Arok drawls, punching Byrd's shoulder, "Jus' 'cos there's a pretty lady talkin' t' 'im. Gimmie five minu'es inna room 'lone with 'im 'n y'll see."
Amarant smirks at Lani's annoyed expression. "Fairy monger," he mutters quietly enough so only she hears it.
"You shut up!" she exclaims.
"C'n we go back, now, darlin'?" Byrd yawns in a completely exaggerated, overdramatic way and Amarant rolls his eyes, "I'm so tired..."
"God, y'wonder why I throw thin's n' make a fuss!" And yet, Arok turns back to them, "I guess I gotta take th' lug back 'fore 'e throws a fit. See'y' 'round, mates."
The two scurry off almost immediately, and Amarant makes an annoyed noise.
"He wanted to say thank you," Kuja speaks up, leaning his head on his hand, "But you scared him off. Poor guy, losing his tooth like that."
"It would've fallen out eventually," Amarant grumbles, "Lowlifes aren't so good at keeping their teeth clean."
"And I suppose your dental records are flawless?" Kuja responds, raising an eyebrow.
"When are you going to be able to go to Alexandria?" Amarant suddenly asks, crossing his arms. He's had enough of Treno, really, and it's about time they thought to move on.
"...I don't know. You don't have to stay here, you know – I'm quite capable of taking care of myself."
Lani watches this exchange cautiously, and then suddenly stands up. "You know, I have some things I have to take care of... I'll catch up with you two later." She darts out of the inn and Amarant and Kuja stare each other down.
"I don't trust you," Amarant growls, "You're not stable enough to leave alone."
"You know, I don't exactly find you to be the best of company. It's not like I asked you to take me on a stupid little trip to Alexandria."
"What would you rather me do? Leave you to rot in the desert?"
Kuja crosses his arms and narrows his eyes, "That would've been easy enough for you to do, wouldn't it?" Amarant almost feels the air stop so he stands up, shaking his head.
"I'm not going to fight with you over something stupid."
Kuja stands as well. "This isn't fighting – oh, you haven't seen fighting yet! And you can't just back out of something that you started! You wanted to take me to Alexandria, I didn't want to do anything of the sort!"
"I would have left you in that great goddamned desert if I had any of my old sense!" Amarant snarls, and the inn is completely silent – most of the patrons had left discreetly at the start of the argument, and the last stragglers are heading out of the door quickly enough. "If it wasn't for that goddamned Zidane-"
"Fuck Zidane!" Kuja throws his hands into the air, energy crackling around him, "I don't give a crap what heroic bullshit my brother instilled in you, you didn't have to bring it out on me!"
"I didn't have to but it comes with the goddamned package! You would've blown up an entire village if I hadn't-"
"That's enough!"
The two stop and look at the tiny barmaid, who's standing in front of the bar, hands on her hips and eyes narrowed. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, if you two are going to continue this argument. From what I've seen, you're both being stupid and childish, and it's no one's fault that you're here with each other so you should just stop!"
"I..." Amarant wants to apologize, but at the same time he wants to grab Kuja and strangle him. He settles for going silent and feeling like he's a kid being yelled at for trying to steal a cookie.
It's just as humbling as it was when he was little.
"...Forgive me," Kuja finally mumbles, before heading out the door as if he has one of the most important meetings of his life in five minutes. Amarant follows the Genome with his eyes until he's outside, and turns back to find the barmaid standing in front of him, arms crossed. She doesn't look nearly as angry now – more tired than anything.
"Miss Lani is right about you two – you don't fit together at all."
Amarant wonders when the hell this girl gets the chance to talk to Lani, but doesn't ask. He's still being chewed out – damn, he should've left after Kuja.
"I'm surprised you made it this far before you actually started yelling," she continues, sighing and picking up dirty plates full of half-eaten food. "But I wish you would've waited until morning rush was over. That's three bills that've been skipped out on," she mumbles, counting some gil on a table and pocketing it. Amarant sits down in one of the chairs, sighing heavily.
The girl puts the dirty dishes on the counter and then comes over and sits across from him, pulling her hair out of her bun and starting to redo it. "Still..." she frowns, "I think you might be too harsh on Mr. Kuja."
"Me?" Amarant asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Well, Mr. Kuja did say you dragged him out of wherever he was living at the time..."
Wandering around, more like it, he thinks, but stays silent.
"And he has a lot on his mind. That Zidane you were yelling about...?"
"His brother."
"He sent him a letter a few days ago and got a response. I don't know what it said but Mr. Kuja told me he was going to go to Alexandria soon. I think you should apologize to him, so he doesn't leave you here."
"What in the hell makes you think I want to stick around Kuja?" Amarant asks, leaning back. The girl bites her lip, but smiles nonetheless.
"I don't really know what you want," she says, "But Mr. Kuja wants you to go with him." She notices he's annoyed, and blinks, "You don't know?"
"Know what, exactly?" Amarant groans, "Everyone knows something I have no clue of."
The girl suddenly blushes and stands up, tying the bun back up. "I have to clean the dishes. Um, it's not my place to tell you what Kuja thinks – I'm just a barmaid, you know?" She's heading back to the bar and he stands up, frowning.
"Do I look like I could ever understand what that monkey's thinking?" he asks, and she looks at him seriously. "I'm not exactly one of those mind-reading types you women seem to be."
The girl laughs suddenly, shaking her head. "It's not mind reading that 'we women' do, Mr. Amarant," she giggles, "It's the fine art of body language. You're a fighter, aren't you? Shouldn't you know how to read when a person's going to attack and defend?"
"So, what? Is Kuja about to attack me and I have no clue?"
The girl bites her lip, holding back another laugh, "You could say that. Now, go on and find him before he runs off and gets into trouble with those two pickpockets that were here earlier."
She shoos him out of the inn rather easily, considering how much Amarant wants answers that she has. He shakes his head – what the hell was she talking about, body language and mind reading and whatnot?
"Deceptive little wenches," he mutters, putting his hands in his pockets and starting off around the circle. He probably should look for Kuja – the barmaid's right, he's probably getting himself killed – but his head is full and he needs time to think. Kuja's a complicated, confusing, irritating guy and he gives Amarant too much to think about without giving him enough answers.
He's afraid of dying. That's something Amarant's always known – he was afraid to die before, and it hasn't changed. He wants to spend his money before he dies, which is plausible enough...
He likes drinking and dancing, and hanging around pick pockets. He's danced with Amarant, and goddamn it, Amarant's enjoyed it. He's tended to Amarant's wounds like a damned nurse and slept on top of him as if it were natural. What kind of body language was that, and why did the girl think that had anything to do with Kuja's wanting to leave Treno with Amarant?
He closes his eyes and tries to remember exactly what happened the night before, after Kuja told him he was so afraid to die, but he hits a blank and can't think past it. He must've fallen asleep with Kuja there... but it feels so strange, like there's something he's missing.
Six hands grab him and he's pulled into an alleyway, thrown off balance because he hadn't been watching – damn him for getting so careless!
There's a sharp pain in his arm and then he hears the cutthroat from the night before mumble something, and the pain stops. He hears an infinitely softer, younger voice say something and then he's shoved back out into the street. Nobles glance at him as he ducks back into the alleyway, searching every corner for the jackasses so he can beat them into bloody pulps – what did they do?
They're gone, and he suddenly feels very tired.
"Shit," he mumbles, leaving the alley and heading back to the inn, blinking his eyes to keep them from blurring.
The barmaid looks up when he enters, frowning. "Mr. Amarant, what's wrong?"
"'sattacked." He can feel the ground under his feet, sure as he can feel a slight sting in his arm, but suddenly his leg goes numb and he falls to the floor.
"Mr. Amarant!"
Oh, he should probably say something. He knows, somewhere, he's trying to open his mouth, but for some reason his brain just doesn't want to work with him.
A few deep breaths, and he can't hear her calling his name any more.
"...Can't leave now."
"You'll have to, you're both up for nasty payback after that fight last night."
"I don't think it's those guys from the warehouse we have to worry about, Lani."
Amarant groans and the conversation dies. He forces his eyes open – it shouldn't be so hard – and looks to the door. He's laying in bed, Lani and the barmaid standing close together and watching him strange expressions. He looks to the other side and Kuja is staring at him, and he suddenly realizes the monkey's got a hold of one of his hands. His hand is so small but he knows – first hand – just how strong it is.
"Wh..." His throat is dry and his voice is hoarse. The barmaid comes forward and gives him a glass of water – he drinks it down like a man in a desert, before starting again. "What happened...?"
Lani crosses her arms, "We were hoping you'd tell us. Janelle said you came in and collapsed."
Amarant looks at the barmaid. Her name's Janelle?
"I got attacked. I think it was the assholes from last night."
Kuja's hand tightened, and he murmured, "Was there anyone else?" He seems so sure that there was...
"...I don't... there was another voice; didn't sound like one of theirs." He tries to place it in categories that he can say, categories that fit it but there aren't any... "It sounded... younger, I guess. Softer." There's the word, "Noble. Not the kind that talk with cutthroats."
"I think..." Kuja's looking away, hand moving out of Amarant's. The bounty hunter surprises both of them when he closes his fingers around Kuja's, assuring him that no, he's quite alright holding his hand. "I think we should consider going to Alexandria soon."
"Hell no," Amarant immediately responds, raising his eyebrows, "Not when those assholes are still around, laughing about knocking me out like that." He sits up to prove his point but feels suddenly tired and has to lay back down.
"They didn't just knock you out, you fool." Kuja's voice is soft, and he glances at Lani and Janelle, who both quietly move out of the doorway, closing it behind them. Amarant takes this as a bad sign. "They sliced your arm open with some kind of enchanted blade."
"So? I'm fine now."
Kuja sighs, shaking his head. "You'll need to rest for a good couple of days. And by then, you'll be so tired of me you'll want to go to Alexandria. Besides, until we know exactly who hired those three brothers, we'll be at a disadvantage. So we're going to Alexandria, and that is final."
"I didn't say I wouldn't go. I just..."
"You want to kick their asses, I know, I know." Kuja tosses his hair over his shoulder, sighing. "You're so incredibly manly it's amazing."
"Mm, and whose words are those?"
Kuja grins, "Oh, I don't know. I'm sure Janelle's thought it once or twice but I'm holding them as my own for now." The monkey looks at him for a long while, and then reaches out and pushes his hair out of his eyes again.
"This is the second time you've got me bedded in less than two days," Amarant grins despite himself, "Never met anyone to do that before."
Kuja laughs. "I'm the first of a lot of things," he mutters, running his thumb along one of Amarant's huge knuckles, "Go back to sleep. Sooner you sleep it off, the sooner we can leave and you can be rid of me to fight your own agenda."
Amarant allows himself to drift into sleep, but can't help but wonder if it's not just body language he needs to be watching.
The Test Is Over... Now.