Kingdom Hearts ~ Hearts and Happenstance - And Then We Sever
Title: And Then We Sever
Prompt: #2 - news; letter (for 30_kisses )
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II
Characters/Pairings: Luxord/Tifa; Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Leon, Merlin, Archimedes (from The Sword in the Stone), Artemecion (from Final Fantasy IX)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2220
Disclaimer: I don’t own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters therein. They belong to Square and Disney, to whom I am eternally grateful for letting me play in their sandbox.
Summary: As the clock ticks down to its final hour, one unlikely couple is given the chance to reconcile.
There's been a change in the air recently; a sudden sense of urgency. Within the last few weeks the Nobodies have redoubled their attacks on the town-- it’s almost as if they understand that the tide could change at any moment. Every member is working overtime to ensure that they can match the Nobodies’ strength and enthusiasm, and although war-weary, they know that the end is potentially in sight. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t squabbles every now and again, as Cid and Merlin are just now demonstrating.
“All I’m saying is don’t wave that stupid stick around when I’m working here!” Cid complains. “You already managed to set one console on fire-- I don’t need you mucking up the rest of ‘em.”
“’Mucking up’?! Now you listen here, I’ve been gathering knowledge since before you were born, and you’d do very well to appreciate--”
“I’d appreciate you buttoning up and letting me do my job,” Cid retorts.
“A fine suggestion that both of you should practice.” The voice comes from a small owl who had stalked out of a birdhouse hanging from Merlin’s ceiling. He glares at them both with large yellow eyes as only a crabby owl can do. “How anyone is expected to get any sleep with you two carrying on like that is beyond me.”
“Now, Archimedes...” Merlin begins to admonish, but Cid interrupts him.
“Ah... can it, ya buzzard!” he snaps. “I get enough flack from the old coot; I don’t have to listen to your lip too.”
Merlin’s eyes flicker dangerously at Cid’s insolence, but whatever he is about to say is immediately drowned out by an outburst from Archimedes.
“B-Buh... BUZZARD?!” he screeches, puffing himself up with rage. “I’ll show you ‘buzzard’! Y-you... you... thick-witted grease monkey!”
“Go ‘head! Just fly down here and try me, ya feathery inflated pile of sh--”
“Cid!” Aerith is aghast.
“Yeah, what of it?” Cid replies, but he at least looks sheepish now. Somewhat. “I just don’t think I should sit here and take that kind of sass from a bird, that’s all.” His voice lowers into an irritated grumble. “’Grease monkey’. Tch. Can’t even insult someone worth a damn.”
Yuffie grins. “I think they might actually be getting better at this,” she remarks to Tifa. The other woman doesn’t say a word. She sits there with her head in her hand, staring blankly into the distance. “Tifaaaaaa...” Yuffie calls, waving her hand in front of her eyes. “Hey! Tifa!”
“Uh?” Tifa jerks in surprise. “Oh. Oh, sure. I think that’s a good idea.”
Yuffie lets out a harsh, impatient sigh. “You weren’t even listening! What the heck’s got you so distracted, huh?”
Tifa shakes her head. “N-no, it’s nothing. I’m sorry.”
Leon’s got that concerned look in his eyes again, the look that causes her heart to clench with guilt. “You sure? You know you can talk to us if anything’s bothering you, right?”
Remember what we talked about? his eyes seem to say. I’m always here to listen.
And for a moment, Tifa is tempted. She is tempted to just lay everything bare, to tell Leon and everyone that she’s been secretly having a liaison with one of their enemies; to tell them that he’d betrayed her, just as a small part of her suspected and feared he would. In the end, though, she merely swallows hard and shakes her head again. She doesn’t know how they’ll react-- it’s better if they don’t know. The darkness under Leon’s eyes speak volumes of sleepless nights spent perfecting strategies, and she doesn’t want to add to his already immense amount of stress. “No, I’m fine. Just... wondering how Sora’s doing, I guess.”
“Mm.” Leon nods. It’s clear that he thinks she’s holding back, but she knows he won’t press the issue. “That kid’s got a lot on his shoulders. We’re all rooting for him too.”
A knock interrupts further conversation. As all heads turn toward the door, a tiny fluting voice is heard on the other side. “Mail’s here!”
“Come on in,” Leon replies, and a white moogle with purple stripes pushes open the door with both paws and enters the room. Yuffie grins.
“Heyyy, Artemecion! What’s going on? Got a letter for me?”
The moogle shakes his head. “Sorry, Yuffie. Not today. Got something for Tifa, though. A guy on the outskirts of town gave this to me. He said it was really important.”
Tifa’s heart knocks against her ribs as she takes the envelope from the moogle’s outstretched paw. It’s completely blank, and the message inside it is brief, written in sweeping longhand:
There isn’t much time. I’ll be waiting for you.
There is no signature, but it doesn’t matter-- Tifa recognizes the handwriting instantly. Yuffie peers over her shoulder at the note. “Weird. Who’d send you something like that?” She blinks in surprise as Tifa abruptly stands up, clenching the note tightly in one hand.
Yuffie catches a glimpse of her hardened, determined look before she darts out of Merlin’s house in a flash of black. “Tifa?!” she cries, jumping to her feet. “Where’re you going?” A sudden hand upon her shoulder prevents her from racing out the door after her.
Aerith’s eyes are grave as she shakes her head slowly and purposefully from side to side. “Let her go,” she says. “This is something she’s got to handle on her own.”
---
Buildings and people pass by in a blur as Tifa runs down the streets of Hollow Bastion. She catches a few curious looks, but doesn’t bother to stop and explain. Her chest is tight; her stomach a bundle of knots.
Once you leave this time, don’t you even think about coming back.
She had been so foolish to say that; so quick to anger. She hadn’t really entertained the possibility that he would be gone one day. Now that the prospect is real and very near, she realizes that beyond the anger, she’s absolutely terrified.
She doesn’t even falter when she approaches the damaged wall, hopping from ledge to ledge until she’s inside the valley. The familiar sound of darkness approaching alerts her senses, and five or six Heartless materialize in front of her. Tifa feels an extraordinary sense of déjà vu.
“I don’t have time for you right now!” she cries, quickly getting into a battle stance. One of the Heartless leaps towards her and finds itself knocked to the ground by a powerful kick to the head. Tifa doesn’t waste any time, spinning around and slamming her fist right through the chest of a second Heartless. The remaining creatures are quick to follow.
Tifa passes their fading bodies without so much as a second look and runs on.
Her muscles are burning by the time she makes it to the crystal caverns. She leans against the wall to catch her breath, a painful stitch in her side.
I’ll be waiting for you.
What if she was too late? What if he had gotten tired of waiting for her, or had been forced to leave?
Ignoring the pain, she pushes herself off of the rock wall and wills herself to keep running. Her heart feels as though it’s pumping liquid fire into her veins, but even more agonizing is the thought of missing him, of not being able to at least say one last goodbye. Her thoughts return to that day the army of Heartless attacked the town; the desperation she felt when she knew that Cloud was near and being unable to reach him before he vanished.
Tifa forces her legs forward. She will not let it happen again.
The cliff seems farther than it has ever been before. Struggling to bring air into her starved lungs, Tifa uses the last bit of her stamina to break into a sprint.
Finally, she makes it to the precipice where they had met so many times before. She rests against a rock wall for support, gasping for breath.
He isn’t there. Fear freezes her heart as she realizes the meaning of this-- she is too late.
No... Please, no...
Not again.
She had lost him. Just like Cloud before him, Luxord had slipped from her grasp before she was even able to say goodbye.
Tifa turns her face to the wall, heartsick and desolate.
It isn’t fair. She couldn’t be so unlucky as to have the same scenario happen twice.
A sudden voice from behind her banishes the tears from her eyes. “Tifa...”
Tifa turns at the sound of her name; watches as Luxord steps forward from behind a small outcropping. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come,” he says softly.
“I wasn’t either,” she replies. She presses her lips together tightly. “That was a stupid thing to do, by the way-- writing me a letter like that. What if someone had gotten suspicious?”
He appears to flinch-- it’s as if her words have physically hurt him. “I’m sorry. It was brash of me, I know, but I just... I had to see you. I needed to see you.” He meets her gaze again and attempts to smile. “It’s... It’s rather funny, isn’t it? How our visits always seem to include an apology?”
In the next moment he is staggering backward under the force of her embrace, wrapping his arms around her as she kisses him fiercely. “You idiot!” she cries. “What were you thinking?! You made me believe that you were... that you’d already--”
“I know. I wasn’t thinking. I’ve been without a heart for so long that I’ve forgotten how unpredictable they are-- how easy it is to injure them. I thought if I could make you angry, it would lessen the pain of my inevitable departure. But...” He holds her face in his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“That doesn’t matter anymore,” she says. “Please, you don’t have to do this. Come with me! I’ll explain to the others-- we’ll find a way to get your heart back--”
“Tifa,” he answers, his voice chiding. “What would you say if I asked you to run away with me, to abandon your comrades and everything you’ve ever known? Would you say yes?”
“I--” She stops. There’s only one answer she can give, and they both know it.
“You know I can't make that choice. As much as I may desire it, as much as it pains whatever part of me that can still feel despair... I can’t run from this. Cowardice cost my Somebody his heart. I don’t intend to make the same mistake.” His eyes are distant, focused on something she can’t see. “If there is such a thing as rebirth for...” he murmurs, almost to himself. Then he shakes his head. “No. I won’t promise you miracles. I can’t. But... Tifa--”
“Don’t say anything. Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.” Her mouth pushes against his again, hungrily; desperately. “I hate this, Luxord.”
The words come out in a rush before she’s able to stop them-- she can’t hold her silence anymore. It seems as though everything that has been bottled up inside her-- everything she’s ever wanted to say to Cloud but held back because of fear and uncertainty-- is suddenly tumbling from her lips. "I thought I was stronger. I thought I could handle this, but I can’t. It hurts too much. I’m scared.” Her chest feels empty; cold. Her entire body is numb. Is this how he feels, every day of his life?
She folds into him and holds him close, as if hoping to take some of his warmth. “I love you.”
“Tifa.” His voice is sharp. “Don’t ever say that again. It’s meaningless to love a divided man. You know that.”
She feels her throat tighten; feels her heart stagger and wrench in her chest. It will break, of that she is quite sure. She can already feel the cracks, like jagged pieces of glass. “Please, Luxord,” she says, and her voice is hoarse. “I don’t want you to die.” Her breath catches on the last word. Two tears make trails down her cheeks.
Something slides in front of his eyes-- some emotion that she’d long since stopped reminding herself that he’s incapable of feeling. “Thank you,” he says softly.
Tifa swallows hard. “For what?”
“That’s quite possibly the greatest wish anyone has ever bestowed upon me.” He reaches over to brush the tears from her face, and she feels the soft press of his lips against her own. The tendrils of darkness curl over his arms and shoulders, preparing to take him back to where his destiny lies. “Take care of yourself, love,” he whispers, cupping her face in his hands. “Live for me. Please.”
The darkness encompasses him and he is gone.
No matter how much she wipes them away, the tears just keep coming. She has to compose herself; has to think of what she can tell her comrades as a proper excuse for her behavior. But all she can think of is the warmth of his lips on hers; the low, quiet timbre of his voice that she swears held a slight hitch.
She knows it is foolish to think this way, but the pet name hadn’t sounded like a simple colloquialism.
For one brief instant, he’d sounded as though he truly meant it.
Prompt: #2 - news; letter (for 30_kisses )
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II
Characters/Pairings: Luxord/Tifa; Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Leon, Merlin, Archimedes (from The Sword in the Stone), Artemecion (from Final Fantasy IX)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2220
Disclaimer: I don’t own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters therein. They belong to Square and Disney, to whom I am eternally grateful for letting me play in their sandbox.
Summary: As the clock ticks down to its final hour, one unlikely couple is given the chance to reconcile.
There's been a change in the air recently; a sudden sense of urgency. Within the last few weeks the Nobodies have redoubled their attacks on the town-- it’s almost as if they understand that the tide could change at any moment. Every member is working overtime to ensure that they can match the Nobodies’ strength and enthusiasm, and although war-weary, they know that the end is potentially in sight. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t squabbles every now and again, as Cid and Merlin are just now demonstrating.
“All I’m saying is don’t wave that stupid stick around when I’m working here!” Cid complains. “You already managed to set one console on fire-- I don’t need you mucking up the rest of ‘em.”
“’Mucking up’?! Now you listen here, I’ve been gathering knowledge since before you were born, and you’d do very well to appreciate--”
“I’d appreciate you buttoning up and letting me do my job,” Cid retorts.
“A fine suggestion that both of you should practice.” The voice comes from a small owl who had stalked out of a birdhouse hanging from Merlin’s ceiling. He glares at them both with large yellow eyes as only a crabby owl can do. “How anyone is expected to get any sleep with you two carrying on like that is beyond me.”
“Now, Archimedes...” Merlin begins to admonish, but Cid interrupts him.
“Ah... can it, ya buzzard!” he snaps. “I get enough flack from the old coot; I don’t have to listen to your lip too.”
Merlin’s eyes flicker dangerously at Cid’s insolence, but whatever he is about to say is immediately drowned out by an outburst from Archimedes.
“B-Buh... BUZZARD?!” he screeches, puffing himself up with rage. “I’ll show you ‘buzzard’! Y-you... you... thick-witted grease monkey!”
“Go ‘head! Just fly down here and try me, ya feathery inflated pile of sh--”
“Cid!” Aerith is aghast.
“Yeah, what of it?” Cid replies, but he at least looks sheepish now. Somewhat. “I just don’t think I should sit here and take that kind of sass from a bird, that’s all.” His voice lowers into an irritated grumble. “’Grease monkey’. Tch. Can’t even insult someone worth a damn.”
Yuffie grins. “I think they might actually be getting better at this,” she remarks to Tifa. The other woman doesn’t say a word. She sits there with her head in her hand, staring blankly into the distance. “Tifaaaaaa...” Yuffie calls, waving her hand in front of her eyes. “Hey! Tifa!”
“Uh?” Tifa jerks in surprise. “Oh. Oh, sure. I think that’s a good idea.”
Yuffie lets out a harsh, impatient sigh. “You weren’t even listening! What the heck’s got you so distracted, huh?”
Tifa shakes her head. “N-no, it’s nothing. I’m sorry.”
Leon’s got that concerned look in his eyes again, the look that causes her heart to clench with guilt. “You sure? You know you can talk to us if anything’s bothering you, right?”
Remember what we talked about? his eyes seem to say. I’m always here to listen.
And for a moment, Tifa is tempted. She is tempted to just lay everything bare, to tell Leon and everyone that she’s been secretly having a liaison with one of their enemies; to tell them that he’d betrayed her, just as a small part of her suspected and feared he would. In the end, though, she merely swallows hard and shakes her head again. She doesn’t know how they’ll react-- it’s better if they don’t know. The darkness under Leon’s eyes speak volumes of sleepless nights spent perfecting strategies, and she doesn’t want to add to his already immense amount of stress. “No, I’m fine. Just... wondering how Sora’s doing, I guess.”
“Mm.” Leon nods. It’s clear that he thinks she’s holding back, but she knows he won’t press the issue. “That kid’s got a lot on his shoulders. We’re all rooting for him too.”
A knock interrupts further conversation. As all heads turn toward the door, a tiny fluting voice is heard on the other side. “Mail’s here!”
“Come on in,” Leon replies, and a white moogle with purple stripes pushes open the door with both paws and enters the room. Yuffie grins.
“Heyyy, Artemecion! What’s going on? Got a letter for me?”
The moogle shakes his head. “Sorry, Yuffie. Not today. Got something for Tifa, though. A guy on the outskirts of town gave this to me. He said it was really important.”
Tifa’s heart knocks against her ribs as she takes the envelope from the moogle’s outstretched paw. It’s completely blank, and the message inside it is brief, written in sweeping longhand:
There isn’t much time. I’ll be waiting for you.
There is no signature, but it doesn’t matter-- Tifa recognizes the handwriting instantly. Yuffie peers over her shoulder at the note. “Weird. Who’d send you something like that?” She blinks in surprise as Tifa abruptly stands up, clenching the note tightly in one hand.
Yuffie catches a glimpse of her hardened, determined look before she darts out of Merlin’s house in a flash of black. “Tifa?!” she cries, jumping to her feet. “Where’re you going?” A sudden hand upon her shoulder prevents her from racing out the door after her.
Aerith’s eyes are grave as she shakes her head slowly and purposefully from side to side. “Let her go,” she says. “This is something she’s got to handle on her own.”
---
Buildings and people pass by in a blur as Tifa runs down the streets of Hollow Bastion. She catches a few curious looks, but doesn’t bother to stop and explain. Her chest is tight; her stomach a bundle of knots.
Once you leave this time, don’t you even think about coming back.
She had been so foolish to say that; so quick to anger. She hadn’t really entertained the possibility that he would be gone one day. Now that the prospect is real and very near, she realizes that beyond the anger, she’s absolutely terrified.
She doesn’t even falter when she approaches the damaged wall, hopping from ledge to ledge until she’s inside the valley. The familiar sound of darkness approaching alerts her senses, and five or six Heartless materialize in front of her. Tifa feels an extraordinary sense of déjà vu.
“I don’t have time for you right now!” she cries, quickly getting into a battle stance. One of the Heartless leaps towards her and finds itself knocked to the ground by a powerful kick to the head. Tifa doesn’t waste any time, spinning around and slamming her fist right through the chest of a second Heartless. The remaining creatures are quick to follow.
Tifa passes their fading bodies without so much as a second look and runs on.
Her muscles are burning by the time she makes it to the crystal caverns. She leans against the wall to catch her breath, a painful stitch in her side.
I’ll be waiting for you.
What if she was too late? What if he had gotten tired of waiting for her, or had been forced to leave?
Ignoring the pain, she pushes herself off of the rock wall and wills herself to keep running. Her heart feels as though it’s pumping liquid fire into her veins, but even more agonizing is the thought of missing him, of not being able to at least say one last goodbye. Her thoughts return to that day the army of Heartless attacked the town; the desperation she felt when she knew that Cloud was near and being unable to reach him before he vanished.
Tifa forces her legs forward. She will not let it happen again.
The cliff seems farther than it has ever been before. Struggling to bring air into her starved lungs, Tifa uses the last bit of her stamina to break into a sprint.
Finally, she makes it to the precipice where they had met so many times before. She rests against a rock wall for support, gasping for breath.
He isn’t there. Fear freezes her heart as she realizes the meaning of this-- she is too late.
No... Please, no...
Not again.
She had lost him. Just like Cloud before him, Luxord had slipped from her grasp before she was even able to say goodbye.
Tifa turns her face to the wall, heartsick and desolate.
It isn’t fair. She couldn’t be so unlucky as to have the same scenario happen twice.
A sudden voice from behind her banishes the tears from her eyes. “Tifa...”
Tifa turns at the sound of her name; watches as Luxord steps forward from behind a small outcropping. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come,” he says softly.
“I wasn’t either,” she replies. She presses her lips together tightly. “That was a stupid thing to do, by the way-- writing me a letter like that. What if someone had gotten suspicious?”
He appears to flinch-- it’s as if her words have physically hurt him. “I’m sorry. It was brash of me, I know, but I just... I had to see you. I needed to see you.” He meets her gaze again and attempts to smile. “It’s... It’s rather funny, isn’t it? How our visits always seem to include an apology?”
In the next moment he is staggering backward under the force of her embrace, wrapping his arms around her as she kisses him fiercely. “You idiot!” she cries. “What were you thinking?! You made me believe that you were... that you’d already--”
“I know. I wasn’t thinking. I’ve been without a heart for so long that I’ve forgotten how unpredictable they are-- how easy it is to injure them. I thought if I could make you angry, it would lessen the pain of my inevitable departure. But...” He holds her face in his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“That doesn’t matter anymore,” she says. “Please, you don’t have to do this. Come with me! I’ll explain to the others-- we’ll find a way to get your heart back--”
“Tifa,” he answers, his voice chiding. “What would you say if I asked you to run away with me, to abandon your comrades and everything you’ve ever known? Would you say yes?”
“I--” She stops. There’s only one answer she can give, and they both know it.
“You know I can't make that choice. As much as I may desire it, as much as it pains whatever part of me that can still feel despair... I can’t run from this. Cowardice cost my Somebody his heart. I don’t intend to make the same mistake.” His eyes are distant, focused on something she can’t see. “If there is such a thing as rebirth for...” he murmurs, almost to himself. Then he shakes his head. “No. I won’t promise you miracles. I can’t. But... Tifa--”
“Don’t say anything. Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.” Her mouth pushes against his again, hungrily; desperately. “I hate this, Luxord.”
The words come out in a rush before she’s able to stop them-- she can’t hold her silence anymore. It seems as though everything that has been bottled up inside her-- everything she’s ever wanted to say to Cloud but held back because of fear and uncertainty-- is suddenly tumbling from her lips. "I thought I was stronger. I thought I could handle this, but I can’t. It hurts too much. I’m scared.” Her chest feels empty; cold. Her entire body is numb. Is this how he feels, every day of his life?
She folds into him and holds him close, as if hoping to take some of his warmth. “I love you.”
“Tifa.” His voice is sharp. “Don’t ever say that again. It’s meaningless to love a divided man. You know that.”
She feels her throat tighten; feels her heart stagger and wrench in her chest. It will break, of that she is quite sure. She can already feel the cracks, like jagged pieces of glass. “Please, Luxord,” she says, and her voice is hoarse. “I don’t want you to die.” Her breath catches on the last word. Two tears make trails down her cheeks.
Something slides in front of his eyes-- some emotion that she’d long since stopped reminding herself that he’s incapable of feeling. “Thank you,” he says softly.
Tifa swallows hard. “For what?”
“That’s quite possibly the greatest wish anyone has ever bestowed upon me.” He reaches over to brush the tears from her face, and she feels the soft press of his lips against her own. The tendrils of darkness curl over his arms and shoulders, preparing to take him back to where his destiny lies. “Take care of yourself, love,” he whispers, cupping her face in his hands. “Live for me. Please.”
The darkness encompasses him and he is gone.
No matter how much she wipes them away, the tears just keep coming. She has to compose herself; has to think of what she can tell her comrades as a proper excuse for her behavior. But all she can think of is the warmth of his lips on hers; the low, quiet timbre of his voice that she swears held a slight hitch.
She knows it is foolish to think this way, but the pet name hadn’t sounded like a simple colloquialism.
For one brief instant, he’d sounded as though he truly meant it.