Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later. Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be yaoi. Not in this chapter though- but there is shounen ai. Sorry ' I'm getting there though!
Chapter 2.
The blond genome groaned slightly. Everything was a massive swirl of confusion. His body ached all over from head to toe, and it felt like he had been through a massive airship wreck of some kind. The only other time he had remembered ever being this sore, was when Tantalus first took him in, when he was around the age of 4.
Starting to get up, he realized he couldn't move. 'I can't move!!! Am I paralyzed?!' Panic struck his heart as he squirmed, trying desperately to sit up- before hitting his head hard against something above him. Fuck! He whimpered to himself as he stretched his arms out a bit, feeling around. 'Ok, maybe I'm not paralyzed...' His aquamarine eyes slid open as he glanced around, trying to get a sense of where he was. However, only the darkness greeted him. Again, he tried to move, only to realize something was confining him to this small prison.
Suddenly, his attention was suddenly drawn to the soft groaning sound he heard beneath him. He blinked for a moment when he felt something brush against his leg as well. What the hell? He tried to see, but couldn't. The only thing he could make out in the dim darkness, was the outline of a body beneath him. It took him a few moments to realize who it was, after the memories of the previous day came back to him.
"Kuja?" he called out softly, unsure of himself.
"Mmm...." There was a brief groan before a paused silence, and then a soft reply came from the other man pinned beneath him. "Yes."
Zidane sighed with relief, relaxing a bit now that he knew Kuja was not dead or dieing. "I'm glad you're still alive."
The mage grinned to himself as he thought how ironic that sounded at the moment. Considering all that had happened, he didn't exactly expect that from the younger boy. Though Zidane had come to save him, Kuja had figured it was out of pity, just to be with the mage during his last moments of life. "I don't think your friends would say the same thing."
The blond furrowed his brows a bit. He hated that kind of attitude, but he'd have to learn to deal with it. After all, this was Kuja in question. Though the mage was probably right, Zidane couldn't bring himself to put himself on the same level as Steiner. No one had wanted him to go and bother helping Kuja. With Zidane's personality though, it went against his nature and everything he stood for when it came to someone's life. No matter how evil they were. Well... maybe in certain cases. Like this one for example.
Ignoring Kuja's comment, he sighed. "Hey, can you move? Are you injured or anything?"
The mage's tail twitched a bit, having become free from all the events of earlier, and simply prodded the youth in the side. "I'm not paralyzed, if that's what you mean. Other then the injuries you and your companions gave me earlier, and the fact that I'm a bit weak..." He paused for a moment. "...That and my hair is probably a mess..." He added quickly, and grimly. " ..I'm okay."
Zidane winced at the former comment about giving Kuja the injuries he had, but shrugged it off no less due to the side comment the older man had added. He didn't feel too bad if the other was willing to complain about such insignificant things such as his hair. "Sorry."
"No need. I think the only way you would have been able to get through to me, was by beating the sense into me. Literarily." Kuja chuckled weakly, reaching up and patting Zidane on the head. This equaled in a simply nod from the blond.
"Any way... Since it seems that we're not paralyzed, my only guess left is that the Lifa Tree's roots compacted around us." Zidane said simply, his tail twitching ever so slightly as it trailed along the mage's thigh.
Kuja just lay there, weak and exhausted. He was too weak to use any magic to even attempt to get them both out of there. But... Why would he want to escape anyways? Wasn't he supposed to die now anyways? Speaking of which, why was he still alive to begin with? In any case, he didn't see them getting out of their prison of roots any time soon. On top of things, He didn't have any potions of ethers with him. Of course, he never did to begin with.
"I'm too drained to use my magic..."
Zidane sighed. "And I can't move either..."
"...We could just sit here and die." The mage suggested, his tail wrapping itself around the blonde's own furry appendage, causing the blond to freeze almost instantly. His eyes widened as his tail twitched to become free, at the uncomfortable feeling of being stroked, by the other Genome's appendage. After all, their tails were the most sensitive parts of a genome's body- save for 'other' areas.
"N-no... I don't want to stay here and die." The blond said hostilely, sitting up with a quick haste as a reaction from the mage's administrations, causing him to bang the back of his head sharply against the confined cell of roots compacted around them. This produced a yelp from the younger man as he flopped back down on-top of Kuja. Rubbing his head, Zidane let out a soft grunt. "Arg..."
The older man simply chuckled under his breath, his tail retracting itself from the poor violated boy's own appendage, twitching and laying to rest at his side. He could feel the other's body pressed atop of his own, and he was simply savoring the warmth the boy had to offer, considering Kuja felt extremely chilled to the bone. 'Amusing...' Nonetheless, he was entertained.
"And how come?" Kuja asked.
This had caused Zidane to inadvertently shiver, making him feel rather uneasy around the older man. It was that same kind of laugh that made his skin crawl. Kuja was actually the only person to make him feel that uneasy. Naturally in the past, whenever Zidane felt uneasy about someone, it wasn't long afterwards he would find out if that person was truly dangerous or not. Then the feeling would go away. Kuja however, was unpredictable. He had actually not expected Kuja to change in the short amount of time after his defeat. However, in this instance, Zidane was not going to fall back just because he was a little nervous. If anything, it taught him to move forward with a stick. A big stick. Coming back to reality, he didn't have to really think about Kuja's question. It shouldn't have been even asked in the first place- if the mage had brains, anyways. He was a little annoyed actually, and his voice didn't falter at all. In-fact, Zidane empathized just how irritated he actually was with that.
"I beat your sorry ass, and Necron's for a reason. After all the trouble I've gone through, I have no intentions of sitting here to rot in the grave when I haven't even reached my mid-life crisis. I made a promise to someone special to me, and I plan to keep it." He snapped.
This caused the mage to blink curiously into the darkness, not being able to see the blond, but simply imagining the look he was probably getting. He was a bit curious, and simply repeated softly "A promise...?" before continuing to ponder on what the blond was exactly talking about. It only took him a few brief moments to remember the dashing young princess- now queen- who accompanied the thief during their travels.
"Your 'canary'?" the pale man asked.
Zidane would never understand Kuja's speech patterns or why he titled people with such old English pet names. That wasn't any of his business- nor did he care to know either. He simply nodded, unsure of himself if he even considered Garnet 'his' to begin with. He had grown very fond of the young queen during their travels- perhaps even love. However, for some odd reason, it wasn't the kind of romantic love he had hoped for. She was beautiful in his eyes in every way- however... She didn't seem to have what he was looking for. He wanted a place to call home- Sure, Alexandria was a great place, and he wouldn't mind living there. To him, however, it didn't feel right. He didn't know if he would ever end up with Garnet any way. She was a queen, and he.. well.. He was some punk kid who stole shit for a living. He couldn't even imagine himself as a king.
"..Yes?" he replied, shaking the thoughts from his mind. He didn't need to think about this now. He was more concerned with the man beneath him at the current moment.
Kuja sighed with a hint of anger. 'He gave up his only reason for living, to come back to save a man who is already dead. How Ironic...' he thought to himself, furrowing his brows in the darkness as he shifted his body beneath the blond, trying to find a more awkward position, considering he couldn't be upset and be comfortable at the same time.
"Zidane, tell me. Why did you come back for me?" he asked, his tail twitching violently to slap at their heels.
This caused the younger genome to furrow his brows. Kuja was apparently upset about something- what, he wasn't sure of. He didn't even like the question. Mainly because he didn't know. When he thought about it, why the hell DID he come back? Because he thought the older man deserved a second chance? Forgiveness? Perhaps a chance to repent for his crimes? It was only fair, right? He figured so. Kuja did deserve a second chance. Everyone did. That and it was also something Mikioto had mentioned to the blond earlier as well. Something she had told him. One of the secrets behind Garland, the creations of the genomes, and... Kuja.
"I believe you deserve a second chance." He commented simply.
This produced a bitter laugh from the older man, which caused shivers to run up the blonde's spine. "Zidane dear, did you hear nothing Garland said? He said I wasn't going to last much longer- my soul isn't eternal. I'm dieing Zi-!"
"Oh god, do you really believe all that?!" the blond snapped, cutting the older man off. "Yeah, some of the things he said were true... But your not dieing, Kuja." He was starting to feel weary and very uncomfortable, being pressed that close to someone, while knowing an argument was coming.
The older man simply frowned at this. What did Zidane know? Why did he care? Kuja knew his creator more then anyone else. So well, it made him shudder with disgust. He despised the old man. However, it still didn't answer his questions. What did Zidane mean anyways? There was a long silence to follow Zidane's comment, before Kuja simply shook his head and snorted, breaking the awkward silence.
"What do you mean?"
Zidane sighed. "Remember what Garland said before? 'You'd only last until Zidane grew' and 'Your only mortal'. Basically he was saying the obvious: you're a mortal like everyone else and I. And if you haven't noticed, I'm still a teenage punk, Kuja. It'll be awhile before I'm 'full grown'." Zidane hated bringing himself down to a lower level just the cheer the other man up. He was grown up in his own eyes, but to others he was still some punk kid. "I don't think your going to be dieing any time soon." He added, trying to bring an edge of humor to his voice to ease the edges.
"But Garland said I was a defect..." Kuja replied, furrowing his brows some as his eyes slid closed, thinking it over. Zidane had to be wrong. "He said I wouldn't last..."
"No. Mikioto told me something interesting while I was in Bran Bal. (Hope I spelled that right). What Garland meant is that your 'power' wouldn't last. When he said ' you'll be dead soon' he was actually talking about your mage abilities. You're loosing all your mage abilities, Kuja. "Zidane said, knowing Kuja wouldn't digest this well. If he knew Kuja, he knew the other would rather probably die than live without his magic.
Kuja remained silent. He would live, but he'd be weak and vulnerable. Well, Garland did have a way of ruining everybody's fun. Ice blue eyes stared into the darkness, lost in thought. Kuja had a hard time digesting all of this. Was it true? He was having mixed feelings. Perhaps instead of dieing, this would be his punishment. Suddenly, Kuja felt all the guilt inside him begin to boil, as he felt sick to his stomach. He felt a hundred times worse, and his mind was racing a million miles a minute as he thought about everything. He had destroyed his entire home planet, his creator, caused war between nations, brought about chaos onto Gaia, and now just realized that he had done it all and fucked everything up, just because he misinterpreted a few words produced from an old geezer. Kuja sighed, letting his eyes slide closed as he went lax under the blond, his tail going limp beside him. Today was obviously not his day.
Zidane furrowed his brows in the darkness. He could feel the older genome beneath him go limp and a heard sigh. He had hoped he did not upset the older man too much. Then again, that was a lot to digest too. Nobody could be certain for sure. It was something their sister had told him, and a theory that he had put together. Mikioto had told Zidane, that Garland was very metaphorical.
The silence dragged on between them for awhile, and in the back of his mind, Zidane could simply imagine the sound of crickets at that very moment. He didn't know what would happen. Honestly, he hoped Mikioto was right, and that Kuja was not dieing. He wanted Kuja to live- but why? He couldn't seem to figure it out. Hadn't he wanted to kill Kuja not long ago? However, the blonde's thoughts were interrupted when he felt the older man beneath him begin to shiver. Though Kuja had felt like ice most of the time, he could not have grown cold. Not with Zidane lying on top of him. However, what sounded like choked back sobs, caught the thief's attention.
"Kuja?" he asked.
Almost instantly, the other man tensed and choked back his quiet sobs. He went silent for a minute longer, as he calmed himself enough to regain his composure in front of the blonde. He didn't want his former enemy to see him in this mental state of grief and pain. As if Kuja's pride had not been crushed enough.
"You... you should have left me to die..." he said, his voice dripping with bitter grief and agony, as he shuddered his words.
"Are you... Crying?" the blond asked, lifting his head slightly. Kuja? Crying? Those two words did not belong in the same sentence together. Not to Zidane, any way. It just didn't seem to fit. However, how was he to know? He'd never seen any other side to Kuja, other than his elegance and sadistic nature. Still.. The thought of the powerful mage crying was still unnerving.
Kuja sniffed and let out a shuddering sigh. "All the things I've done... For reasons I misunderstood. You have no idea how awful I feel. I'm going to live the rest of my life with the guilt, Zidane. Knowing what I did and that I could have stopped it. That I could have lived differently... Instead, I lived a life seeking revenge against my creator and the world..." He furrowed his brows going silent a bit as he tensed under the younger boy. 'All because of you...'
"So what... you want to die now?" Zidane asked, slightly bewildered.
Kuja choked slightly, shaking his head. "God, Zidane... I should be dead!" He grunted, seeing the ironic state of the whole argument. "I can't believe I'm having this argument with you- of all people." He grumbled, his tail twitching now to lash at his heels again.
"Ever heard of the words 'redemption' and 'forgiveness'?" the blonde asked, using his 'as a matter of fact' tone, his own tail flickering with annoyance
The pale man went silent once more, sniffling ever so often as well as choking back his sobs silently; to savor what dignity and pride he had left, as the guilt continued to stab at him. This had caused Zidane to give up. It was useless to argue with a man who couldn't make up his mind on life and death. After awhile though, Kuja almost immediately stopped crying and froze when he felt the blond on top of him shift his weight, burying his face into the mage's shoulder to nuzzle him affectionately. Obviously, Zidane figured that trying to comfort Kuja would be better then arguing with him- not to mention it helped stop the mage from crying.
'Hey! It worked! He finally shut up'! Zidane mused to himself, beaming to himself in the darkness at his accomplishment. After awhile of this, Kuja began to relax under the youth. It was rare he received such affection, but it was one of his many weaknesses. Reaching up with a weak pale and thin hand, he gently began to run his fingers through the blond hair as he let his ice blue gaze slide shut. Due to the relaxing administrations, the mage let his tail curl around Zidane's in a loving manor. Zidane blushed a bit before relaxing as well, his own tail curling around the other's in response. In their own way they became understanding to one another. To Zidane, it was a miracle to get Kuja to finally relax. To the mage, he was simply content to have Zidane there for him. To know, that someone did care about him.
The mage had so much to hate himself for. So much regret and anger. True, he had been jealous of Zidane when he found out he was to be replaced. However, he never hated the younger genome. He remembered the first time he met Zidane. He remembered he had just gotten back to Terra from a four year exploration and training mission in Gaia. Garland stood waiting for him in Pandemonium with a small child by his side: Zidane. He had noticed the blond right away. 'He was different from the others. He was like me... He had a soul...' Kuja remembered that Garland had wanted Zidane to learn a few things from him, and so the blond was sent off with Kuja for awhile. That had been the perfect chance for him to get rid of the brat. But... when the young child began showing affection towards the older genome, Kuja had gained a soft spot for Zidane. Nobody had ever showed him love before.
It wasn't jealousy that brought Kuja to bring Zidane to Gaia and leave him there... It had been done out of love. He didn't want Zidane ending up like himself, or used by Garland for the old man's own pleasures. He didn't want Zidane to have to experience the same things he experienced. He didn't want Garland putting the boy through the same abuse. He left Zidane in Gaia hoping the boy would turn out better then he had... And he did. All these years later when Zidane showed up again, Kuja had become confused and thought Zidane to be an enemy, but that was not true. Zidane really did care about him. He didn't realize that until now... he owed Zidane so much...
"Thank you, Zidane." The mage whispered.
The blond simply stirred, having fallen asleep some time ago. This caused the pale haired man to smile some, as he studied Zidane's sleeping expressions. Though it was dark and hard to see, he could still figure out the sleeping form's expressions even in the darkness. Zidane still looked the same from when he was a child. Stroking his fingers through the blond boy's hair gently, he let the other know in his slumber that he was protected, before drifting off to sleep himself...
End of chapter 2
Author's comments: Oiiyo!!!!! I am SOOO sorry I haven't updated as fast as some of you would have liked. That's because I have a major lack of motivation as of late- also with the last two weeks, I had been working really hard for my finals. Yeah, work sucks like hell. I've also been really busy with a lot of crap IRL too. Cant really help it though. However, now that it's summer, I'll have a lot more time on my hands hopefully. Though I'll be putting most of my creativity for work, still. I should probably get more things done. However, I still have a billion websites I need to update and work on, write other stories, plus work on emotional relationships! Phew! Life is hard. However- enough about me and my problems. I just want to comment, that the third chapter isn't finished in my notebook. So it's going to be really, really hard for me to find motivation to do the next chapter. Xx though it does get interesting. Still... Please don't be mad with me if It takes me awhile to update again! -OH!!! And I'm tired of getting bull-crap about my spelling. Oo you know... "Dieing" is spelled correctly. A lot of people have told me I'm getting this wrong and say it's "Dyeing" well no. "Dieing" means 'dead' dieing. "Dyeing" means like... to 'dye' your hair, dyeing. Oo that's the difference people. So Yeah. I'm not wrong otherwise Kuja would be like... dyeing his hair or something. And Zidane would be like "Eh? O.o"
Chapter 2.
The blond genome groaned slightly. Everything was a massive swirl of confusion. His body ached all over from head to toe, and it felt like he had been through a massive airship wreck of some kind. The only other time he had remembered ever being this sore, was when Tantalus first took him in, when he was around the age of 4.
Starting to get up, he realized he couldn't move. 'I can't move!!! Am I paralyzed?!' Panic struck his heart as he squirmed, trying desperately to sit up- before hitting his head hard against something above him. Fuck! He whimpered to himself as he stretched his arms out a bit, feeling around. 'Ok, maybe I'm not paralyzed...' His aquamarine eyes slid open as he glanced around, trying to get a sense of where he was. However, only the darkness greeted him. Again, he tried to move, only to realize something was confining him to this small prison.
Suddenly, his attention was suddenly drawn to the soft groaning sound he heard beneath him. He blinked for a moment when he felt something brush against his leg as well. What the hell? He tried to see, but couldn't. The only thing he could make out in the dim darkness, was the outline of a body beneath him. It took him a few moments to realize who it was, after the memories of the previous day came back to him.
"Kuja?" he called out softly, unsure of himself.
"Mmm...." There was a brief groan before a paused silence, and then a soft reply came from the other man pinned beneath him. "Yes."
Zidane sighed with relief, relaxing a bit now that he knew Kuja was not dead or dieing. "I'm glad you're still alive."
The mage grinned to himself as he thought how ironic that sounded at the moment. Considering all that had happened, he didn't exactly expect that from the younger boy. Though Zidane had come to save him, Kuja had figured it was out of pity, just to be with the mage during his last moments of life. "I don't think your friends would say the same thing."
The blond furrowed his brows a bit. He hated that kind of attitude, but he'd have to learn to deal with it. After all, this was Kuja in question. Though the mage was probably right, Zidane couldn't bring himself to put himself on the same level as Steiner. No one had wanted him to go and bother helping Kuja. With Zidane's personality though, it went against his nature and everything he stood for when it came to someone's life. No matter how evil they were. Well... maybe in certain cases. Like this one for example.
Ignoring Kuja's comment, he sighed. "Hey, can you move? Are you injured or anything?"
The mage's tail twitched a bit, having become free from all the events of earlier, and simply prodded the youth in the side. "I'm not paralyzed, if that's what you mean. Other then the injuries you and your companions gave me earlier, and the fact that I'm a bit weak..." He paused for a moment. "...That and my hair is probably a mess..." He added quickly, and grimly. " ..I'm okay."
Zidane winced at the former comment about giving Kuja the injuries he had, but shrugged it off no less due to the side comment the older man had added. He didn't feel too bad if the other was willing to complain about such insignificant things such as his hair. "Sorry."
"No need. I think the only way you would have been able to get through to me, was by beating the sense into me. Literarily." Kuja chuckled weakly, reaching up and patting Zidane on the head. This equaled in a simply nod from the blond.
"Any way... Since it seems that we're not paralyzed, my only guess left is that the Lifa Tree's roots compacted around us." Zidane said simply, his tail twitching ever so slightly as it trailed along the mage's thigh.
Kuja just lay there, weak and exhausted. He was too weak to use any magic to even attempt to get them both out of there. But... Why would he want to escape anyways? Wasn't he supposed to die now anyways? Speaking of which, why was he still alive to begin with? In any case, he didn't see them getting out of their prison of roots any time soon. On top of things, He didn't have any potions of ethers with him. Of course, he never did to begin with.
"I'm too drained to use my magic..."
Zidane sighed. "And I can't move either..."
"...We could just sit here and die." The mage suggested, his tail wrapping itself around the blonde's own furry appendage, causing the blond to freeze almost instantly. His eyes widened as his tail twitched to become free, at the uncomfortable feeling of being stroked, by the other Genome's appendage. After all, their tails were the most sensitive parts of a genome's body- save for 'other' areas.
"N-no... I don't want to stay here and die." The blond said hostilely, sitting up with a quick haste as a reaction from the mage's administrations, causing him to bang the back of his head sharply against the confined cell of roots compacted around them. This produced a yelp from the younger man as he flopped back down on-top of Kuja. Rubbing his head, Zidane let out a soft grunt. "Arg..."
The older man simply chuckled under his breath, his tail retracting itself from the poor violated boy's own appendage, twitching and laying to rest at his side. He could feel the other's body pressed atop of his own, and he was simply savoring the warmth the boy had to offer, considering Kuja felt extremely chilled to the bone. 'Amusing...' Nonetheless, he was entertained.
"And how come?" Kuja asked.
This had caused Zidane to inadvertently shiver, making him feel rather uneasy around the older man. It was that same kind of laugh that made his skin crawl. Kuja was actually the only person to make him feel that uneasy. Naturally in the past, whenever Zidane felt uneasy about someone, it wasn't long afterwards he would find out if that person was truly dangerous or not. Then the feeling would go away. Kuja however, was unpredictable. He had actually not expected Kuja to change in the short amount of time after his defeat. However, in this instance, Zidane was not going to fall back just because he was a little nervous. If anything, it taught him to move forward with a stick. A big stick. Coming back to reality, he didn't have to really think about Kuja's question. It shouldn't have been even asked in the first place- if the mage had brains, anyways. He was a little annoyed actually, and his voice didn't falter at all. In-fact, Zidane empathized just how irritated he actually was with that.
"I beat your sorry ass, and Necron's for a reason. After all the trouble I've gone through, I have no intentions of sitting here to rot in the grave when I haven't even reached my mid-life crisis. I made a promise to someone special to me, and I plan to keep it." He snapped.
This caused the mage to blink curiously into the darkness, not being able to see the blond, but simply imagining the look he was probably getting. He was a bit curious, and simply repeated softly "A promise...?" before continuing to ponder on what the blond was exactly talking about. It only took him a few brief moments to remember the dashing young princess- now queen- who accompanied the thief during their travels.
"Your 'canary'?" the pale man asked.
Zidane would never understand Kuja's speech patterns or why he titled people with such old English pet names. That wasn't any of his business- nor did he care to know either. He simply nodded, unsure of himself if he even considered Garnet 'his' to begin with. He had grown very fond of the young queen during their travels- perhaps even love. However, for some odd reason, it wasn't the kind of romantic love he had hoped for. She was beautiful in his eyes in every way- however... She didn't seem to have what he was looking for. He wanted a place to call home- Sure, Alexandria was a great place, and he wouldn't mind living there. To him, however, it didn't feel right. He didn't know if he would ever end up with Garnet any way. She was a queen, and he.. well.. He was some punk kid who stole shit for a living. He couldn't even imagine himself as a king.
"..Yes?" he replied, shaking the thoughts from his mind. He didn't need to think about this now. He was more concerned with the man beneath him at the current moment.
Kuja sighed with a hint of anger. 'He gave up his only reason for living, to come back to save a man who is already dead. How Ironic...' he thought to himself, furrowing his brows in the darkness as he shifted his body beneath the blond, trying to find a more awkward position, considering he couldn't be upset and be comfortable at the same time.
"Zidane, tell me. Why did you come back for me?" he asked, his tail twitching violently to slap at their heels.
This caused the younger genome to furrow his brows. Kuja was apparently upset about something- what, he wasn't sure of. He didn't even like the question. Mainly because he didn't know. When he thought about it, why the hell DID he come back? Because he thought the older man deserved a second chance? Forgiveness? Perhaps a chance to repent for his crimes? It was only fair, right? He figured so. Kuja did deserve a second chance. Everyone did. That and it was also something Mikioto had mentioned to the blond earlier as well. Something she had told him. One of the secrets behind Garland, the creations of the genomes, and... Kuja.
"I believe you deserve a second chance." He commented simply.
This produced a bitter laugh from the older man, which caused shivers to run up the blonde's spine. "Zidane dear, did you hear nothing Garland said? He said I wasn't going to last much longer- my soul isn't eternal. I'm dieing Zi-!"
"Oh god, do you really believe all that?!" the blond snapped, cutting the older man off. "Yeah, some of the things he said were true... But your not dieing, Kuja." He was starting to feel weary and very uncomfortable, being pressed that close to someone, while knowing an argument was coming.
The older man simply frowned at this. What did Zidane know? Why did he care? Kuja knew his creator more then anyone else. So well, it made him shudder with disgust. He despised the old man. However, it still didn't answer his questions. What did Zidane mean anyways? There was a long silence to follow Zidane's comment, before Kuja simply shook his head and snorted, breaking the awkward silence.
"What do you mean?"
Zidane sighed. "Remember what Garland said before? 'You'd only last until Zidane grew' and 'Your only mortal'. Basically he was saying the obvious: you're a mortal like everyone else and I. And if you haven't noticed, I'm still a teenage punk, Kuja. It'll be awhile before I'm 'full grown'." Zidane hated bringing himself down to a lower level just the cheer the other man up. He was grown up in his own eyes, but to others he was still some punk kid. "I don't think your going to be dieing any time soon." He added, trying to bring an edge of humor to his voice to ease the edges.
"But Garland said I was a defect..." Kuja replied, furrowing his brows some as his eyes slid closed, thinking it over. Zidane had to be wrong. "He said I wouldn't last..."
"No. Mikioto told me something interesting while I was in Bran Bal. (Hope I spelled that right). What Garland meant is that your 'power' wouldn't last. When he said ' you'll be dead soon' he was actually talking about your mage abilities. You're loosing all your mage abilities, Kuja. "Zidane said, knowing Kuja wouldn't digest this well. If he knew Kuja, he knew the other would rather probably die than live without his magic.
Kuja remained silent. He would live, but he'd be weak and vulnerable. Well, Garland did have a way of ruining everybody's fun. Ice blue eyes stared into the darkness, lost in thought. Kuja had a hard time digesting all of this. Was it true? He was having mixed feelings. Perhaps instead of dieing, this would be his punishment. Suddenly, Kuja felt all the guilt inside him begin to boil, as he felt sick to his stomach. He felt a hundred times worse, and his mind was racing a million miles a minute as he thought about everything. He had destroyed his entire home planet, his creator, caused war between nations, brought about chaos onto Gaia, and now just realized that he had done it all and fucked everything up, just because he misinterpreted a few words produced from an old geezer. Kuja sighed, letting his eyes slide closed as he went lax under the blond, his tail going limp beside him. Today was obviously not his day.
Zidane furrowed his brows in the darkness. He could feel the older genome beneath him go limp and a heard sigh. He had hoped he did not upset the older man too much. Then again, that was a lot to digest too. Nobody could be certain for sure. It was something their sister had told him, and a theory that he had put together. Mikioto had told Zidane, that Garland was very metaphorical.
The silence dragged on between them for awhile, and in the back of his mind, Zidane could simply imagine the sound of crickets at that very moment. He didn't know what would happen. Honestly, he hoped Mikioto was right, and that Kuja was not dieing. He wanted Kuja to live- but why? He couldn't seem to figure it out. Hadn't he wanted to kill Kuja not long ago? However, the blonde's thoughts were interrupted when he felt the older man beneath him begin to shiver. Though Kuja had felt like ice most of the time, he could not have grown cold. Not with Zidane lying on top of him. However, what sounded like choked back sobs, caught the thief's attention.
"Kuja?" he asked.
Almost instantly, the other man tensed and choked back his quiet sobs. He went silent for a minute longer, as he calmed himself enough to regain his composure in front of the blonde. He didn't want his former enemy to see him in this mental state of grief and pain. As if Kuja's pride had not been crushed enough.
"You... you should have left me to die..." he said, his voice dripping with bitter grief and agony, as he shuddered his words.
"Are you... Crying?" the blond asked, lifting his head slightly. Kuja? Crying? Those two words did not belong in the same sentence together. Not to Zidane, any way. It just didn't seem to fit. However, how was he to know? He'd never seen any other side to Kuja, other than his elegance and sadistic nature. Still.. The thought of the powerful mage crying was still unnerving.
Kuja sniffed and let out a shuddering sigh. "All the things I've done... For reasons I misunderstood. You have no idea how awful I feel. I'm going to live the rest of my life with the guilt, Zidane. Knowing what I did and that I could have stopped it. That I could have lived differently... Instead, I lived a life seeking revenge against my creator and the world..." He furrowed his brows going silent a bit as he tensed under the younger boy. 'All because of you...'
"So what... you want to die now?" Zidane asked, slightly bewildered.
Kuja choked slightly, shaking his head. "God, Zidane... I should be dead!" He grunted, seeing the ironic state of the whole argument. "I can't believe I'm having this argument with you- of all people." He grumbled, his tail twitching now to lash at his heels again.
"Ever heard of the words 'redemption' and 'forgiveness'?" the blonde asked, using his 'as a matter of fact' tone, his own tail flickering with annoyance
The pale man went silent once more, sniffling ever so often as well as choking back his sobs silently; to savor what dignity and pride he had left, as the guilt continued to stab at him. This had caused Zidane to give up. It was useless to argue with a man who couldn't make up his mind on life and death. After awhile though, Kuja almost immediately stopped crying and froze when he felt the blond on top of him shift his weight, burying his face into the mage's shoulder to nuzzle him affectionately. Obviously, Zidane figured that trying to comfort Kuja would be better then arguing with him- not to mention it helped stop the mage from crying.
'Hey! It worked! He finally shut up'! Zidane mused to himself, beaming to himself in the darkness at his accomplishment. After awhile of this, Kuja began to relax under the youth. It was rare he received such affection, but it was one of his many weaknesses. Reaching up with a weak pale and thin hand, he gently began to run his fingers through the blond hair as he let his ice blue gaze slide shut. Due to the relaxing administrations, the mage let his tail curl around Zidane's in a loving manor. Zidane blushed a bit before relaxing as well, his own tail curling around the other's in response. In their own way they became understanding to one another. To Zidane, it was a miracle to get Kuja to finally relax. To the mage, he was simply content to have Zidane there for him. To know, that someone did care about him.
The mage had so much to hate himself for. So much regret and anger. True, he had been jealous of Zidane when he found out he was to be replaced. However, he never hated the younger genome. He remembered the first time he met Zidane. He remembered he had just gotten back to Terra from a four year exploration and training mission in Gaia. Garland stood waiting for him in Pandemonium with a small child by his side: Zidane. He had noticed the blond right away. 'He was different from the others. He was like me... He had a soul...' Kuja remembered that Garland had wanted Zidane to learn a few things from him, and so the blond was sent off with Kuja for awhile. That had been the perfect chance for him to get rid of the brat. But... when the young child began showing affection towards the older genome, Kuja had gained a soft spot for Zidane. Nobody had ever showed him love before.
It wasn't jealousy that brought Kuja to bring Zidane to Gaia and leave him there... It had been done out of love. He didn't want Zidane ending up like himself, or used by Garland for the old man's own pleasures. He didn't want Zidane to have to experience the same things he experienced. He didn't want Garland putting the boy through the same abuse. He left Zidane in Gaia hoping the boy would turn out better then he had... And he did. All these years later when Zidane showed up again, Kuja had become confused and thought Zidane to be an enemy, but that was not true. Zidane really did care about him. He didn't realize that until now... he owed Zidane so much...
"Thank you, Zidane." The mage whispered.
The blond simply stirred, having fallen asleep some time ago. This caused the pale haired man to smile some, as he studied Zidane's sleeping expressions. Though it was dark and hard to see, he could still figure out the sleeping form's expressions even in the darkness. Zidane still looked the same from when he was a child. Stroking his fingers through the blond boy's hair gently, he let the other know in his slumber that he was protected, before drifting off to sleep himself...
End of chapter 2
Author's comments: Oiiyo!!!!! I am SOOO sorry I haven't updated as fast as some of you would have liked. That's because I have a major lack of motivation as of late- also with the last two weeks, I had been working really hard for my finals. Yeah, work sucks like hell. I've also been really busy with a lot of crap IRL too. Cant really help it though. However, now that it's summer, I'll have a lot more time on my hands hopefully. Though I'll be putting most of my creativity for work, still. I should probably get more things done. However, I still have a billion websites I need to update and work on, write other stories, plus work on emotional relationships! Phew! Life is hard. However- enough about me and my problems. I just want to comment, that the third chapter isn't finished in my notebook. So it's going to be really, really hard for me to find motivation to do the next chapter. Xx though it does get interesting. Still... Please don't be mad with me if It takes me awhile to update again! -OH!!! And I'm tired of getting bull-crap about my spelling. Oo you know... "Dieing" is spelled correctly. A lot of people have told me I'm getting this wrong and say it's "Dyeing" well no. "Dieing" means 'dead' dieing. "Dyeing" means like... to 'dye' your hair, dyeing. Oo that's the difference people. So Yeah. I'm not wrong otherwise Kuja would be like... dyeing his hair or something. And Zidane would be like "Eh? O.o"