Sabin pounded his fist against the door as best he could, making sure he didn't somehow hit Cyan as he did.
"Gau!" he yelled. "Open the door!"
"No!" Gau's voice filtered through the cracks under the door. "Mr. Thou make good with other friend!"
"Gau..." Sabin mustered up all his lackluster parenting skills and threatened, "If you don't let us out, you'll be grounded! No dessert for a week!"
There was silence for a few moments.
Then—
"GAU! GAU! Uwaooo~" There were scampering footsteps that made it pretty clear that Gau had run off.
Sabin held his breath for a few moments, hoping Gau would come back after realizing that Sabin was serious. Then he left it all out in a huff.
Great. Just great. Somehow, some way, Gau had managed to lock Sabin and Cyan in one of the small closets in Mobliz together. It was cramped, hot, and why did he have to be so close to Cyan?!
"I thinkst thou art out of luck," Cyan noted from Sabin's left. Gau had roughly shoved them in, leaving Cyan smashed to the side while Sabin's wide frame ate up most of the center space.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Sabin murmured dejectedly. He thought for a second. "What should we do? Break the door down?"
"Lady Terra wouldst have thine head!" Cyan protested. "'tis her supply closet! Children should not be allowed in here. With no door, they might eat the supplies!"
"Ugh." Sabin hated time admit it, but Cyan was right. Terra would have a freak out. Then Locke would pull through calming his girlfriend down, but then Sabin and Cyan would owe him one. And then they'd get dragged on an adventure...
No. Just, no. Locke's adventures were more on the seedy side of things. Both Cyan and Sabin preferred a good ol' basic brawl. Nothing on the line. Just some good clean fun.
"Alright," Sabin breathed. He took a deep breath in through his nose, trying not to be distracted by how good Cyan smelled. Trying to think, he asked, "Any way we could jimmy the locked? It's a flip lock, isn't it?"
"Yes!" Cyan wriggled next to him distractingly. "Mayhaps we couldst use my sword?"
"Slip it through the gap?"
Cyan nodded, his mustache tickling against Sabin's shoulder. Agh! Did he have to keep doing those things?! It was a special kind of torture.
Sabin considered it for a few moments before he sighed.
"Okay. It's the best plan we have. Any chance you could slip me your sword?" Sabin asked, trying to shift so he could get a hold of the weapon.
"Katana," Cyan insisted. "I shall try..." He wriggled around some more. Then something hard poked Sabin in the side.
Sabin mind went in a very inappropriate direction. As his face heated up, trying not to imagine what that was, Cyan cried, "Aha! There thou goest."
"Thanks," Sabin said through gritted teeth. He managed to twist his right arm under his chest and grab onto the handle of the sword—er, katana. Pulling, the swo—katana came free of its scabbard. "Alright! Looks like we're in business."
Sabin slowly slid the very sharp—very very sharp—blade under his chest. It came uncomfortably close to him, close enough to cut his pants. Why did Cyan have to take such good care of his s—katana? This was so nerve-wracking...
"Ah!" He finally managed to flip it around so the blade was facing the door. Carefully, he slipped it through the tight gap and tried to lift it up to flip the latch.
As he worked, Cyan shook his head, his mustache again brushing against Sabin. "What dost thou think Gau forced us in here?"
Sabin flushed as he mumbled, "I, ah, have no idea...?"
He could feel Cyan's gaze on him. Damn Sabin's terrible ability to lie!
"What doth thou know?"
"I, ah..." He couldn't admit the truth. How could he? Sabin had thought confessing his feelings to someone would help. Why he thought Gau was the one he wasn't sure. Maybe it was because the three of them were some kind of pseudo family unit. Two parents and a child.
Sabin should've realized Gau wouldn't understand. Gau seemed to think they were fighting when the truth was that there was nothing wrong except for Sabin's feelings.
Why did Sabin have to fall for Cyan? After the trauma of Cyan losing his family, there was no way there was a chance of it working out. But Sabin couldn't deny the feeling in his heart and gut. It was like with Vargas, but more.
Cyan nudged him. "Sir Sabin! Why doest Gau lock us in here?"
"It's nothing." Sabin tried to keep his cool. It was hard; Cyan was so close and touching him...he was having an unfortunate reaction.
Then, like a bright answer to a prayer, the katana finally popped the lock. The two men toppled out in a pile. To Sabin dismay and joy, Cyan fell on top of him.
Crap! Don'tnoticedon'tnoticedon'tnotice—
Cyan brushed his thigh against the one spot he shouldn't, then paused.
"...Sir...Sabin...?" Cyan began to blush. "I...erm..."
Sabin's mouth opened and closed several times. What could he say? How badly Sabin wished magic was still a thing. He would Vanish himself into oblivion if he could.
"...Ha!" Sabin began chuckling as he desperately tried to lie, "I, uh, have a fetish for closed spaces! Oops!"
Cyan watched Sabin, propped up on his hands above him. Slowly, he lowered himself down so he was face-to-face with Sabin. He placed a careful, almost shy, kiss on Sabin's lips. His mustache scratched against Sabin's face, sending a thrill through his body.
Cyan pulled back, face flushed, as he watched for a reaction.
Sabin was frozen. What? What was— Did Cyan just—
Then Cyan hopped to his feet. He brushed himself off as he took the step over to pick up his katana. "I, uhm..." He coughed as he picked up his blade and put it into the scabbard. "I suppose..."
Sabin scrabbled. Soon enough he was standing next to Cyan, thankful for his loose pants. He coughed and mumbled, "So...ah..."
The two of them stood awkwardly.
"You! Mr. Thou!" The two of them turned, startled, as Gau rushed down the stairs. The young boy shouted, "Mr. Thou! Did you make up good?"
Sabin shot Cyan a glance. Even with how red he was, there was a sparkle in his eye that Sabin was certain was for him. For what might happen next.
A cocky, proud smile crossed Sabin's lips. "Yeah. We did."