A/n: I likes this chappie. It does have something to do with the story! It's not just filler! The usual suspests get thems some thankees and virtual cookies- Lori(that is the best description of Three I've ever heard. .), Beastiewolf('Tis what I'm known for...), Malevalla(I know I'm a horrible speller!Argh!), RoseMage(I'm all evil like that, eh? .), Steeple333(Thankees muchly!), Pilotsolver(My spelling is bad, I know! But thankess fer the complements, I'll check out the ficcie right away!), and my new face, Gelendra(Thankees muchly as well! .).

Disclaimer: Oh please don't say I own something. I don't. Leave me be!

Beautiful Equilibrium

Topaz glass shattered a cracked, the floodgates of crystal tears rushing forth, attempting to push back horrible memories- nightmares! Shadowed slender hands groped dark rainclouds that covered him, forcing the air from his lungs, and he found he couldn't breathe. He managed to scream, to yell out the only word that made sense, that failsafe word that always seemed to rescue him from danger-

"Grandpa!"

He fought the crimson darkness, the suppressing reoccurance; kicked, screamed, lashed out- something grabbed his arms, pushed him down, held him there- a voice was penatrating the thick void-

"Vivi! Damn it- stop! Your havin' a nightmare, wake up!"

Fire- death- screaming- he heard other voices in his head, "Help us, please... we...never wanted to die..."

"VIVI!"

The mage's eyes snapped open, his breath coming rushed to his lungs- it was like he couldn't get enough air in one short gasp, and he had to take four more. Vision darted wildly until it found a face-

Zidane Tribal. Not a day over sixteen, the monkey tailed teen grinned sympatheticly, but one could read the concern in his eyes, the worry wrapped around his words as he spoke.

"Calm down buddy... you were just having a bad dream..."

"...b-bad...dream?"

Vivi repeated the words cautiously, as if they were completely foreign, his voice was small, innocent... childish. The nine year old eventually sat up slowly, with the aid of his friend, shivering from the cold air that latched to tear bathed face, sweat drentched tunic... suddenly, lithe black fingers came to his face, feelings heat build up in his cheeks as he realised what had happened. Such a stupid thing, to scream and cry over a dream! But it... had been so real...

Zidane sighed, wrapping his strong arms around the boy, running a hand though his hair, those feathersoft, beautiful curulean locks... they weren't a secret to him- the teen was the only person, aside from the mages grandfather, who knew what Vivi relaly looked like, the only one the boy really trusted. He waited paiantly as said child cried into his chest, slender fingers gripping weakly to his shirt as if it was the only thing that kept him tied to this world... teal eyes searched the room for any threats, dangers that he had missed when he entered.

The room was small, but that was understandable for the small inn in the Lindblum Business district. The only furnishings were the dresser, the small bed on whitch they now sat, a mirrored vanity. He blnked as backed off as Vivi withdrew, running his arms across his eyes in effort to rid himself of any trace that he was crying- it didn't work. Clothed in only one of Zidane's spare sleeveless tunics, amber eyes slowly joined soft blue as plush words barely met the teens ears.

"...I'm sorry..."

Zidane grinned, shaking his head gently. "You dun't need to be sorry, Vivi." He muttered, comfortingly running his hand across the boys shoulder. "Just a bad dream, 'sall, we all get 'em..."

Vivi looked up hopefully, innocence almost coating him. "Really? E-even you?"

He chuckled, nodding. "Yep, even me. I had one last night, actually."

"About what?" Curiosity couldn't be stifled.

Zidane cocked his head to the side, musing. To anyone else, it would be obvious that he was making this up off the top of his head- but Vivi belived in his friends words. "...wull... somthing was chasing me. I was runnin', tryin' to get away... and all of a sudden, it grabbed me, and I yelled and turned around and saw the most hidious thing I've ever seen in my entire life!"

The boy gasped, his topaz eyes wide in fright. "What was it!"

"Rusty! In clean armour!" Zidane grinned suddenly, winking. Vivi's face contorted into confusion- before he understood it was a joke. He hid his face as he giggled, the blonde nudging him gently with an elbow.

"You okay? You wanna talk about it?"

The mage mulled over that. Talk about it? Would Zidane understand? The most terrifying experiance of his life... for the past few nights, it had been playing over and over in his head, like a broken record that refused to be stopped. Piercing, evil eyes, wind whipping his face, magic, horrible thunder screeching through the sky-

...he swore he felt blood on his hands...

The little figure stared at his ungloved hands, as if studing them... slowly, he spoke, honey eyes stubbornly staying on his palms, those black painted appendages...

"...have you e-ever felt like... you were responsible for something... you couldn't control...?"

The blonde tilted his head. "...Vivi?"

Suddenly, fingers curled into fists, the boy wincing as if the very action as stung him. "...the airship... with that... waltz... I killed him, Z-zidane...murdered him..."

The thief paused, his breath caught in his lungs... let it out slowly, teal eyes pinned to the sheets as he pulled himself to his feet, away from the boy. Vivi didn't seem to notice- perhaps he did, as clear drops of guilt slid from his cheeks, hitting the linin that so starkly contrasted to his eboney skin. He knew he wouldn't understand. He didn't blame him for walking away...

Amber eyes snapped open as he felt arms circle his waist, weight slide onto the matress behind him, his companions hot breath on his cheek as Zidane's chin came to rest on his shoulder. Soft words filled his very being, warming him from the inside, something the started in his chest and spread like a sickness.

"...You did what you thought was right, Vivi." He whispered, his calloused rough hands capturing the boys untouched, soft fists. "You killed him, yes- but there's a diffrence between murder and self defense. He wanted to kill us, and if you hadn't done what you did... he would've succeded. You protected us... your our hero, Vivi."

The warmth reached the ends of his fingertips, the tips of his toes as these words penatrated the cloud that surrounded him. He was... a hero? "...you really think so...?" He blinked, turning his face a bit, searching for those deep blue eyes of his, as if he needed that contanct to finalize this statement.

He found it as Zidane lifted his head slightly, a soft smile locked on his lips. "...I know so." He whispered.

They sat in silence for a moment, just watching each other, studying every detail of the expression the other wore, before Vivi sunk back agasint the teen, smiling contentedly. "...thank you, Zidane..." He whispered, his amber eyes shutting slowly.

Zidane nodded a bit, watching him as he lulled halfway between the worlds of man and make belive, the precipice of sweet dreams. "...you really are beautiful when you smile, Vivi." He muttered, leaning slowly to press his lips to the boys quickly, a sweet embrace, something more parternal than simple lust. No response from the mage- he had drifted to imagination there in his firends secure embrace.

Safe, warm secure. Vivi felt it, lingering on his lips, the last remark not all together lost on him. Beautiful... is that what you do, to those who are beautiful? An embrace, to balance the tides between you, so that niether of you are more beautiful than the other. A kiss for the lovely.

A beautiful equilibrium.

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