Title: Happily Ever After
Chapter: Blooming Love
Author: Raserei Hojo
Summary: FF Crossover. When you die, you're not really gone. In separate worlds, two men died. They were brought together in the darkness and a friendship began to grow. In an attempt to see an opera, magic is used, and witchcraft is called.
Rating: T
Feedback: Very much so desired!
Story Warnings: Male/Male, shounen-ai
Pairings: Kuja/Sephiroth
Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters of Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy IX belong to Squaresoft. Any that are NOT recognizable belong to me. However, feel free to use them in any story you wish.
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Bing.
The double doors to the wine shop swayed open gently. Kuja pressed himself against the damp wall in hopes of blending in with the darkness, praying that the Sage would not notice him. For a moment, it seemed Kuja's plan had worked as Sage Maximilion stood in the middle of the room and looked around, unable to find him.
"I know he's in here…. I can feel his presence."
Kuja took a step sideways, towards the door. If I can just get through…
Bing.
The double doors opened again, but not as graceful as before. It slammed shut a few moments after the other man walked in. "Oh, hey! Laura! How are you doing? Working a double-shift, I see?"
"Hello, Zidane."
Kuja hugged his bag tighter, wishing he could be anywhere but the wine shop. He was torn between the two urges to run from the Sage and talk to his brother. Wanting to know why his brother was in the World of the Dead, he decided to stay and keep himself cloaked in the darkness.
"Are you in line?" Zidane asked sweetly, as if he knew it were fact Max was not in line.
"Erm… No, sorry." Max stepped aside and allowed Zidane to browse the wine behind the counter. He offered another look around the small shop, frowning as his eyes fell upon what appeared to be Kuja.
"…What did you do to your hair?"
"N-Nothing…What do you want with me?"
Max placed his hands on his waist and sighed. "Does being a Sage really give me that bad of a title? I'm here to help you."
Kuja peered around the Sage to make sure that Zidane was not leaving any time soon. "If you're here to help me, then where's Sephiroth?"
"With Professor Hojo."
This time the bag really did fall on the floor. The floor was carpeted, which saved the bottle from breaking and its contents from being spilled. Still, it caused Zidane and the sales clerk to look at him.
"Sorry," he murmured. I don't like him! What purpose does he have with Sephiroth?
Max instinctively wrapped his hand around his hourglass necklace. "Kuja, we don't have time for this. Sephiroth thinks you've run off somewhere without him and that you're not coming back. I know you wouldn't, but Professor Hojo has a way of messing with people's minds, especially Sephiroth's."
Kuja knelt down to pick up his bag, feeling the gaze of Zidane on his back. His heart was racing; he didn't know what to do, and was beginning to dread thinking of what would happen if Sephiroth found out he was a thief as well.
"…Kuja? Is that you?"
"…What…are you doing here, Zidane?"
"Kuja, we don't have time for this!"
"But—"
Max squeezed the hourglass on his necklace tightly again, murmuring words under his breath.
"Zidane…?" Kuja stood and blinked down at Zidane, who was completely motionless. He then turned to face Max. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing!" Max quickly waved his hands in the air. "I just stopped time for a bit. You and I are the only one's aware of it, that's all."
Kuja took a shuddery breath and looked at the sales clerk, Laura, and found that she was perfectly still as well. "You…you sound as if you've done this many times before."
"I have, and I was even able to do it in my own world when I was alive. But the spell will last for no longer than ten minutes, so we have to explain the situation to you. Then you may speak with your friend."
Kuja stared for a long moment at Max, not quite trusting him. It was too suspicious for him to just appear out of no where and offer help. Especially to someone who was his enemy. "Why should I believe you? I'm sure that stupid Sage Shenter would punish you if he knew what you were doing."
Max scratched the back of his head, feeling silly. "Yes, I know… But it's my job to make sure you're happy, and you obviously can't be happy without Sephiroth, now can you?"
Lowering his gaze, Kuja stared at the floor. "…I don't think I could be happy if anything ever happened to Sephiroth… I think…"
"You think you love him?" Max bit his lip to stop from smiling as a dark red blush appeared in Kuja's cheeks.
"Well—I mean…" To hear someone else say it to him felt strange. It was a relief though, that he himself wasn't strange or anything. At least, that he wasn't too terribly strange. "Maybe…maybe I do."
"Do you?"
"…Yes, I do." Kuja nodded to reaffirm this. "I do."
"But you're not saying it."
"But I know I do!"
Max rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're right, actually. Don't say it now. Tell Sephiroth first, and then you may scream it out to the entire world if you so desire."
"…The entire world?"
"Yes! It will feel better that way! And then we can hold an extravagant wedding, just for you and Sephiroth!"
"Erm… That's a bit much, isn't it? I mean, I was happy with the idea of Sephiroth being with me forever and never leaving my side. I don't exactly want to marry the guy. Besides, is that even legal?"
"I could pull a few strings." Max sighed contently, but an image of Sage Shenter, angry as ever, crept into his mind. "Well… we'll see. But as for now…" Max released the hour glass, and Zidane nearly fell forward. "Have a moment with your friend, he looks awfully worried about you, Kuja." With a smile, he turned to involve Laura in conversation.
Zidane peered up at the two. "How did you get over there?"
"With magic," Kuja replied. Forcing an overly happy smile and banishing the thoughts of Sephiroth being hurt somewhere, he walked back to Zidane and knelt in front of him. "Why are you here…? I mean, I knew Queen Garnet was here but…"
"She died in child birth… I guess the depression got to me." He blinked as Kuja suddenly looked as if Zidane was the most immature person alive. "No! I didn't commit suicide or anything! Just… I didn't eat, and I felt worthless. I wasn't healthy enough to take care of my children, and I just got sick, and you know…" He sighed. "I really miss them." Making a motion with his arms, he smiled. "It's been seventeen years though. Even though my children aren't here, I can finally see you again, and damn, do you look lovesick."
"I am not lovesick!"
"Right." Zidane smirked and stood, brushing himself off. "And I'm not a Genome."
Kuja stood up as well. "Then you must be a monkey or something."
"Hey now, you've got a tail too. And what's up with your hair?"
"I dyed it. Disguise, you know. People are looking for me… and Sephiroth."
"Ohh, Sephiroth. That's a pretty name. Is she physically pretty too?"
Kuja couldn't help but apologetically hang and shake his head sadly. "I suppose there is beauty…"
"Well then why'd you shake your head? Are you embarrassed to be in love or something? I mean, it's a completely natural thing, just look at me and Dagger!"
Kuja thought of Queen Garnet and how cruel she was to him while he was in his prison. Definitely not the happy memories that Zidane shared with her. Sure, he probably deserved to be treated that way, but there was no reason to actually treat him that way.
"Are you gonna get married and have children?"
"…No. In fact, I don't think it's physically impossible for us to have children."
Zidane forced a one-armed hug onto his elder brother. "Come on, I used to think that way too. Genomes can have kids. At least we, the Angels of Death, can. I dunno what Garland had in mind when he created us, but I'm glad I got to enjoy myself."
"Yes…"
Zidane peered up at Kuja again, and this time he was blushing, looking quite mortified. "Whoa, what's wrong with you? You look kinda…sick."
"Sephiroth…"
"Yeah, what about her?"
"Sephiroth's… Sephiroth is a…" He took a deep breath. "Sephiroth's a man!"
Dead silence.
Kuja bowed his head and folded his hands.
"…Oh."
"I have to go… I'm actually looking for him. Some guy named Professor Hojo, whom I believe to be his father, talked some nonsense to him. He could be anywhere, doing anything."
"Well, don't feel bad. Like I said, love is natural. You can't choose who you fall in love with."
Max walked over to Kuja. "…Shall we go then?"
Kuja smiled sadly. "…I'll see you again, right?"
"Yes! I'll come find if you, don't worry. I'm the best thief in this entire world—but don't tell Dagger that." Zidane wrapped both arms around Kuja and gave him a tight, reassuring hug. "Don't go dying on me again. A death here is pretty gruesome. They're rare, but still…"
Kuja nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Zidane watched Kuja go with the Sage, doing his best to ignore the strange feeling creeping down his spine. It felt as though he wouldn't see Kuja again.
---
Sephiroth closed his eyes and leaned against the wooden wall, trying to get his mind off Kuja. But no matter how hard he tried, the image of Kuja, cheerful and offering him a glass of wine was there. Over, and over, and over again. He reached out to embrace the image that wasn't there, sighing as he opened his eyes to stare at the empty room. "…Kuja… What are you doing now?"
The airship gave an unexpected lurch and Sephiroth fell forward. He caught himself on the table, which wasn't lucky for him, considering the table was made of glass. The glass had tore right through his leather glove and into his hand. Muffling a sharp scream of pain, he sat on the floor and cradled his bloody hand.
He briefly wondered if Kuja would have healed his wounds. But since he wasn't around, Sephiroth busied himself with the task of picking out the tiny shards of glass embedded in his hand. "I don't understand…" He held his bleeding hand up to the light, watching the droplets fall to the floor. "…what this feeling is…"
"The ship has now arrived in Terra-Matra. All passengers, please exit through the northern-most door on the airship."
"Hah… Hojo and I are the only passengers on here." Half-heartedly, Sephiroth trudged down the hall to exit from the northern-most (and only) door. Hojo walked out after him.
"Now, your mission is quite simple."
"Mission? What mission? I'm only here to be with my Mother."
"Oh, yes… Jenova… Unless you're speaking of Lucrecia?" Hojo laughed and shook his head. "Never mind, never mind. But we're not just handing Jenova over to you. You've got to do something to earn her."
"Like what?"
"Prove yourself in battle against the other captives. If you win, Jenova will be your prize. And if you lose…"
"I won't lose," Sephiroth said confidently.
Hojo laughed again. "Alright. If a miracle happens, and you do lose… You'll enter the World of Reincarnation. And in order to win, you must kill your opponent."
Sephiroth crossed his arms over his chest. "We're all dead to begin with."
"Oh, that's a small matter we can change. See, with the weapon you'll be using, you'll be able to kill. Or we can cast the spell on your Masamune, either way works."
"I'd prefer to fight with my own sword." Sephiroth ran his hand along the smooth hilt reassuringly. "It hasn't let me down yet, and I doubt it ever will."
"Good." Hojo held open the double doors to Terra-Matra's palace. "In you go. Your room is still available, so you'll be resting there. In four days the competition will begin. So rest up."
"…Alright."
Within only two days, however, Sephiroth was nearly insane with boredom. Training didn't help, and he couldn't concentrate on anything but Kuja. Hojo had let him borrow one of Sage Shenter's laptops to browse the internet of the dead, which was linked to the internet of the living.
It was kind of creepy in a way, but it suited him. He browsed the websites, yearning for anything to keep his mind off Kuja. Despite his wishes, he fingers searched up information on him. A picture of Kuja in one of his Kuja-ish poses appeared, along with some general information.
Kuja
Age: 24
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 110lbs
Profile: Kuja (last name unknown) is Gaia's most wanted criminal. Charged with manslaughter and homicide, this man is extremely dangerous. Although he wields no weapons, his magic is what is most dangerous. In his arsenal of magic spells, Kuja knows the Death spell, which is instant death to anyone within five feet from the target. He has destroyed Burmecia, leveled Cleyra entirely (although he was not physically there, he was the cause of it), took out half of Lindblum, and unleashed a powerful summon, Bahamut, onto Alexandria. He was last seen at the Iifa Tree, but his body was not found. He could be dead, but we cannot take chances. If you see this man, please alert the police immediately.
Sephiroth stared at the information for a long while. It seemed bizarre that Kuja really could do so much damage. His eyes were locked on the image though, staring at the digital Kuja as if he was right there. "…I miss you…"
He was sorry he left. But Kuja was the one who left first…right? Hojo was telling the truth… right? Now that he could think about it, he had no reason to trust Hojo. Sephiroth turned off the laptop and shut it.
"I'll fight in this stupid competition, turn down Mother, and then go look for Kuja. Maybe he's looking for me too…" He stared at his hands, wincing as his left hand was covered with tiny scratch marks. "This had better heal soon, how else am I going to fight?"
Kuja, he inwardly thought, you're the most important person in my life. You're physically here, and not even Mother could make me feel the way you do. I think that maybe, I've… Fallen in love with you. Sephiroth nodded to reassure himself of this. And when I find you, I'll tell you, and I'll pray to God that you love me back.
---
Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long wait for an update! I hope this satisfies you though. I would say that Happily Ever After is about 3/5 over. Maybe I'll make an epilogue… Heheh. I can just imagine how long it would take for me to write THAT up. Anyways, thanks for reading! Please leave a review…!