The Summit

Summary: The ins and outs of a romantic relationship are ones meant to be explored. 100 themes challenge fic. Ratings vary. KainxCecil.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Final Fantasy IV. The themes are mine, though.

Theme 3: Revealing

Specific Warnings: None besides the obvious. Canonverse setting, pre-IV. Kain is 18 and Cecil is 17.

Rating: K+

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this, but I guess it's all right. Please enjoy.

For the first time in a while, Kain seriously felt emotionally stuck.

The blond teen kicked his foot against the ground, head downcast and filled with thoughts.

There was nothing too difficult about this. In fact, theoretically, it was rather simple. All he really had to do was say something and take whatever was going to happen next. A very uncomplicated process, if he said so himself.

Although, that did not explain the nervous feeling in his gut. Or why there was so many conflicting arguments going about in his mind.

His foot connected with the ground again, this time dislodging an embedded rock from the dirt. With a sigh, Kain ran his fingers through his hair and fixed his position against one of the stone walls bordering Baron Castle.

His feelings for Cecil just had to make themselves deeper. It was almost cruel. He might as well be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Honestly, if he had been crushing on anyone else, he would not have even considered saying anything at all. Had it been anyone else, the chance of it eventually going away would have been higher. That sort of situation would be easier to deal with.

But Cecil was his friend. Something like this could ruin that in an instant. And he never wanted to say something this badly and yet not want to say it at the same time. He had resolved to confess today, but having second thoughts this far in was not exactly part of the plan. Cecil showing up at his request any minute now was not helping much either. If anything, he was mostly concerned with how to phrase what he wanted to say. The rest he would deal with when it came.

Regardless, Kain could not simply tell Cecil he liked him. Knowing Cecil, he would misinterpret it as being a friendly sort of like, which was partly true. They had been friends for years, and Kain would not have bothered for this long if he did not like Cecil at least a little. And, granted, this form of affection was similar to liking someone but just more complex.

If Kain wanted to back out, he needed to do it now. But he was not one to practice cowardice, which ruled out the option of leaving.

"Kain."

Barely suppressing a surprised flinch, Kain looked up to see Cecil looking expectantly back at him. The young dragoon had not even heard Cecil arrive. Though, now that he was here, the knowledge of what he was about to say hit Kain a little hard, and the nervousness in him built up fast.

Cecil's lips formed a small frown. "Kain...are you all right?"

"Yes."

"But your face is red."

"...No, it isn't."

Cecil chuckled lightly. "Yes, it is."

Kain huffed and jerked his head off to the side. If Cecil knew what he was going to say, he would not be making jokes.

More chuckling. "It's not that bad." After a moment, Cecil managed to calm his laughter. "Now, there was something you wished to tell me?"

Keeping his head turned away with Cecil not in his line of sight, Kain sighed. This anticipation was maddening.

"Cecil, you are my friend, but I'm not sure how long that will last."

"Why is that?"

Kain could hear the confusion in his voice.

He then replied quietly, "Because I want you to be more than that now."

A pause, and the shifting of feet on the ground. The older teen hoped he would not have to spell it out more than that. It already felt like he just dropped something massive.

"Kain, I—"

The blond shook his head to himself. He had made a mistake. He should have listened to the better part of his that wanted to keep quiet. Before he could take anything back, though, he was suddenly taken into an embrace, his companion looking him straight in the eyes.

"I would never want to stop being your friend for anything." Cecil paused, still holding Kain tightly. "And, as far as this goes, I am...willing to try."

Kain would never admit that those words did stun him for a while.

oOo

Later on, while they were sitting together silently in Cecil's room, the younger knight spoke up at random, "You know, I don't believe I've ever seen you blush before."

"Be quiet, Cecil."

Author's Notes: Oh, the awkwardness of teenagers. But it must be weird seeing this with a M rating even though the chapters so far are far from that. We'll be getting into more raunchy things later. It's just that I don't want to keep changing the rating around when I know I'd just end up sticking it with a M rating for good at some point. Anyway, I'm gonna try to update this rather frequently. Got a long way to go before this is anywhere near complete, and me lagging isn't going to help. Can't say how frequently, though. But don't be surprised if I start popping up in your inbox more often. Please Review.

Thank You (Reviewers, Favers, and Alerters): kimeeehhh, Hatemylife68, StraySnake, BlueValkyrieWing