It's Just Cuddling

The Figaro twins never thought they'd see the day again—that they'd be in the same room, sharing the same bed.

It was their third evening together in the post-apocalyptic world, after the cataclysm had separated them for well over a year. But sharing the bed was something that went back to their childhood days. Young Sabin would always sneak into Edgar's room and snuggle up in his bed, and Edgar would sometimes return the favor on nights where he felt lonely or couldn't fall asleep. They would often ask their father to merge their rooms into one so they wouldn't have to walk so far to get into each other's beds.

Two decades later, on this very evening, the twins found themselves in the same situation. There were multiple beds in the room they had booked at Kohlingen Inn, but for now, only one was needed. As usual, Edgar was on the left side after Sabin, who now took up three-quarters of the bed, had jumped in from the right. Since it was still early in the night, the twins were not cuddled up to sleep, but rather, to talk and catch up on what they'd been through in the year they'd been apart.

Edgar was mostly here to pry, however. He wanted to talk about Celes, the woman who apparently sparked new hope into Sabin's life. In the short time he had been with them, he believed he had seen something he would never have expected to see in a million years.

"I want to ask you something about Celes," he began, facing his brother with curious eyes. "How long were you with her before you found me?"

"Not very long," Sabin replied, "A month, maybe?"

"I see..."

"Yup."

Edgar knew they had something going on behind the scenes, but what he didn't know was the details. And he wasn't planning to wait to find out. Before the world ended, he'd almost never seen them interact with one another. Most of Celes' attention had been directed towards Locke, while Sabin had always been by Edgar's side or getting involved in Cyan and Gau's troubles. But now, with all their friends gone, the two had turned to each other, forming a close, perhaps intimate bond. When Edgar saw them together in Nikeah, he'd nearly crapped himself and thrown away his disguise, just like that. "You two have gotten close," he said.

"Well—" Sabin paused. He took a moment to process his words, and responded, "It's because everyone else has gone missing, and—"

"Just how close did you two get?" Edgar cut in to keep him from going off-topic.

"What are you getting at?"

"You weren't in your room at the castle last night," he said with a smile, "Which can only mean, you went off to the guest bedroom, where—"

"Okay, fine. Physically, we were as close as you and I are right now," Sabin finally confessed, and his brother's eyes lit with wonder. "It was just one time, though! You know full well that the heaters weren't running last night, and we needed some way to generate body heat..."

Edgar burst out laughing. It couldn't have been just "one time", but his confession was nevertheless genuine and wholesome. As Gerad, however, he had spied on them briefly and suspected they had done more than just cuddling. "No need to get all flustered, dear brother! I understand. It was just cuddling to generate body heat, nothing more."

"We both needed comfort," Sabin sighed. "She's done so much for me, and... if it weren't for her, who knows if I would've ever left Tzen." He had always meant to come back to Edgar and stand at his side again, but the end of the world had caused him to lose sight of his motivation. He owed everything to Celes for helping him get his life back on track. "We are each other's hope, and until we find all our friends, smash Kefka, and take back this world, we need each other's comfort. It's not much different from what you and I are doing right now!"

"Oh really?" Edgar snorted. "But what about the sleeping part?"

"I never, like, slept with her, if that's what you mean," Sabin explained, hoping to wipe the smirk off of Edgar's face. "Don't get the wrong idea. She loves Locke."

"Ah, of course. What do you think she's outside doing now?"

It didn't surprise Edgar that Celes had gone out on her own as soon as they had checked in at Kohlingen Inn, leaving the brothers to themselves. Although she didn't say where she was headed, he predicted that she had gone to the house where Rachel's body had been resting, hoping to find clues as to Locke's whereabouts. Left behind, Edgar and Sabin went for dinner before returning to Kohlingen Inn, where they now found themselves, sharing the bed.

"Speaking of body heat..." Sabin ignored his question as he squirmed under the sheets, "Just me, or is it starting to get really hot in here?"

"I feel it too," Edgar agreed. "There's a shortage of blankets around the world, but Kohlingen still makes them nice and thick." He too wriggled around in the crammed space, his left shoulder rubbing against Sabin's right. "But I think that mass of yours is the main cause of this sudden discomfort. Can you, like, move over a bit?"

"Can't. My arm's already at the edge—hey!" Sabin yelped as Edgar pushed him with great force, causing him to roll to the side. "What was that for?!"

As strong as his push was, it wasn't enough to get the big man off the bed. "Damn, you're heavy."

"If you can push me off, I'll go ahead and hit the showers," he challenged him.

Edgar didn't want his brother to leave, so instead of pushing, he playfully punched him in the back. "How'd this shrimp of a boy grow into a whopping lobster in just a few years?"

"Few years...?" Sabin mumbled, and Edgar punched him again. "Ow!"

"Look at all the meat on this lobster! Just look at—"

The door burst open with a loud thud, and the twins, at the same time, popped their heads out from under the sheets.

"It's not even seven yet, and you guys are already—" Celes froze, staring wide-eyed at the sight before her.

"Celes!" Edgar greeted. "Your time in the shower was a most pleasant one, I hope?"

Sabin rolled his eyes. "She was outside, not in the shower..."

Celes stayed silent for another moment, before shaking her head to clear her mind. "Sabin, you weren't kidding when you said you cuddled with your brother," she said. "But didn't you say that was back then? I didn't expect you guys, two grown men, doing this now."

"We're just a couple of fun-loving twin brothers who love to cuddle," Edgar explained in a sarcastic voice.

"There used to be more room back then, that's for sure. Now, there's hardly—" Sabin stopped mid-sentence, realizing the error in his words. And then, with a naughty smile, he wiggled a few inches to the right. "Actually, there's plenty of room for one more person."

"Of course!" Edgar cheered along as he wiggled an inch to the left. "Come on in, Celes. We don't have enough body heat in here."

"Sabin..." Celes frowned. "You told him, didn't you?"

"Told him what?"

"That we cuddled."

"That—oh, right!" Sabin stuttered awkwardly. "That one time... but—"

"It was more than one time," Celes corrected him.

"More than one time? Sabin!" Edgar barked at his twin. He knew it! "What else did you do?"

"We—"

"Shut up!" Celes cut them both off. "There's three beds here. No way I'm joining you guys."

With that, she walked over to the vacant bed on the opposite side of the room. As she sat down, silence fell over the room and Edgar grunted in disappointment. She was still cold towards him, he realized, despite everything he had done to help her. Maybe if he left, she'd waste no time getting into bed with Sabin.

The next sound they heard was Sabin slithering in the sheets as he rolled over, once again turning his back to his brother. "Punch me again. That felt good."

Edgar grinned as he readied himself. "As you wish."

"Yes—ow! Ah..."

"Again?"

"Ow! That was a slap, not a punch, you dunce!"

Joyous laughter filled the room once more as Edgar continued to punch his brother in obscure ways. Their laughter didn't stop until Celes jumped off the bed she was on and spoke up, "Sabin, does your back still hurt?"

Edgar pulled back his punches for a moment, allowing Sabin to reply, "Did you say something?"

"Does your back still hurt?"

"Oh! A little, yeah."

His back had been nagging him since the day he and Celes reunited in Tzen. He had spotted her during an emergency, holding up a crumbling house to prevent a child inside from getting crushed. After Celes had saved the child, his back gave out and he managed to jump out at the last moment. Unfortunately, the slight pain in his upper back had neither improved nor worsened since that incident.

"Remember that time when a squirrel bit your finger?" Edgar asked, resuming their little game as he pinched him. "It's biting your back right now."

"That cursed squirrel bit me way harder than that!" he replied with a loud snort. Edgar's pinches, however, did hurt a little, forcing Sabin to roll counterclockwise and lie flat on his stomach.

"How are you still scared of squirrels?"

"I'm not scared! I'm a whopping lobster now! You think a lobster would be scared of—" He paused, twitching as he suddenly felt one-twenty-some pounds weigh down on his lower back, and two warm hands touch his upper back. "Huh?"

"Relax, it's just a back rub," Celes purred, rubbing him in soothing circles. "A full massage would be better, but that would be painful." She smiled as Sabin let out a relaxed sigh, and briefly moved her fingers up and down his neck.

After a minute had passed, Edgar lied on his stomach and said, "Celes? My back's been hurting too. You know... from all that manual labor, getting the castle engines running again..."

"If you insist." She granted his wish and moved over. Edgar, being significantly lighter than Sabin but still forty-some pounds heavier than Celes, let out a squeak as her weight pressed down on his back. She rubbed him with a lot more force and pressure, smirking devilishly as he began to writhe with discomfort.

"Oi, what are you doing?!" Edgar shrieked, but the painful sensation also made him laugh uncontrollably. "It—hey—it hurts!"

"Damn it, your muscles are tight. Tighter than your brother's."

After her hands had tired of rubbing (and her ears had tired of his obnoxious laughter), Celes gave into the urge and slid herself under the sheets between the twins. Somehow, she did so without much of a struggle despite the extraordinarily tight space in there. Resting face up, she let out a contented sigh as the warmth from her companions seeped into her body.

"So did you find anything about Locke?" Edgar asked, satisfied as their shoulders nudged each other. He had never been this close to her—physically, at least—barring the hug she gave him when they reclaimed the castle.

"He's searching for the fabled treasure," Celes replied after a pause. "Do you know where or what that might be?"

"I've heard rumors of one, but shouldn't you know this more than me?"

"What do you mean?"

He tilted his head to face her. "Supposedly, the Empire had possession of this treasure."

"The Empire? Oh... that treasure," she slowly remembered. "That's just a legend, though."

"A legend won't stop Locke from looking for it, as long as it's treasure."

"But Edgar—" Celes cut off with a grumble. "Forget it. Let's worry about it tomorrow. We'll explore the town—see what we can find."

After another short pause, Edgar said, "Maybe we'll find someone else. Many people have taken refuge in Kohlingen."

"If we find Setzer, he might be able to get us airborne... and maybe we can infiltrate Kefka's playground from above."

"You know what I noticed?" Sabin spoke after being uncharacteristically silent for the last little while. "Celes has blonde hair and blue eyes. Edgar and I also have blonde hair and blue eyes. I bet she could pass off as a..."

"Triplet?" Edgar finished for him, grinning. "Figaro triplets?"

"Yeah!"

"I'm nine years younger than you two," Celes pointed out.

Edgar raised a brow. "Is that so, princess? You don't look nineteen."

"Yeah, and I don't look twenty-eight—at least, not without my beard," Sabin added, laughing mostly to himself. "I'd say we're pretty close, appearance-wise!"

"Oh?" Edgar made a curious sound. "I still haven't seen your beard."

"Should I start growing it? Just for you, dear brother?"

"Okay," Celes interrupted their banter with an announcement, "It's getting way too hot in here. I'm out."

"It hasn't even been five minutes," Edgar argued.

She tried squirming her way out of the sheets, but Sabin held her in place. "No, you can't leave yet."

"Sabin—" Celes yelped and giggled as Edgar poked her side—the tender spot below her ribs.

"Ticklish?" He grinned evilly and poked her again. "The fearsome ex-general has a weakness?"

"Interesting!" Sabin joined in and tickled her other side.

Celes jerked forward, only to crumple helplessly as the tickling persisted, thrashing and squealing with hysterical laughter. "Stop—stop—" She cried out, "I can't take it!"

"So ticklish! Who would have thought?" Edgar laughed along as he pulled his hands away. "It works on Sabin too. Or does his muscle make him resistant?"

Celes, still catching her breath, did not wait to test that out. She sat up and wriggled her fingers against his ribs, hoping to trigger a similar reaction. Sabin managed a straight face for a moment... then grabbed her wrist with both hands in a defensive act, snickering as he pulled away. "Dammit!"

"Told you," the king cackled in amusement. But his smirk quickly faded as he saw Celes and Sabin look at each other before turning to him. "Well," he gulped, "Now it's my turn to be punished."

Edgar's face turned bright pink with laughter as the two cuddlers went after him, a full-blown assault breaking out on the bed. Unlike Sabin, he didn't fight back or defend himself—he simply took it and laughed and laughed, almost as if he was enjoying it. But since Celes was in the middle, and apparently the most sensitive, it didn't take long before Sabin turned against her and attacked her from behind. He pinned her down with her arms over her head while Edgar tickled her ribs and armpits, and they didn't stop until she was breathless and had tears coming out of her eyes.

"You're... ruthless..." she panted, still giggling even after they had stopped. She was so extremely ticklish, she couldn't believe it herself.

"You have a nice laugh," Sabin complimented her with a chuckle. Celes, however, was clearly not pleased as she got up and lightly slapped him across the cheek. "Whoa! Hey, that was a compliment!"

"You have a nice body," Edgar said drunkenly, and he, too, received a slap from her. "Hey—"

She then grabbed the side of his neck, pulled him close to her, and pecked his lips. Edgar froze, hesitant to react at first... and she pecked him again, and again, and again. They were slightly off-balance, slightly awkward in their movements as he held onto her waist to keep her from falling over. When she drew away, she straightened out her messy hair and smiled. Edgar's eyes were wide with shock.

"It's just a kiss..." Celes murmured, and then turned to kiss Sabin. "Nothing more."

"Nothing more," Sabin whispered.

Edgar smiled to himself. So this was what he had suspected was going on between the two. And now he was a part of it—this whole cuddle business. It was a strange feeling... and yet, he'd be lying if he said he didn't like it. "For a moment, I thought you had finally fallen for my charms," he joked.

"Not quite," she said, harshly but tenderly. She held his hand, and then Sabin's hand, and gently caressed them. "I'm just happy we have each other."

It was just as his brother had said: they needed each other. They were each other's hope in this ruined world, and until they find the rest of their friends and stop Kefka, they needed comfort. And cuddling was one way to find this comfort—together.

"Okay, now will you let me go?" Celes begged, remembering how uncomfortably hot she was. "Let me go, or I'll freeze up this bed."