[closed thread]
WHO: Zidane and Kuja.
WHAT: Brotherly reunion! (Sorta.)
WHERE: The docks.
WHEN: Shortly after Kuja's arrival.
( Maybe some part of him was just happy that his older brother was alive after all. )
WHAT: Brotherly reunion! (Sorta.)
WHERE: The docks.
WHEN: Shortly after Kuja's arrival.
( Maybe some part of him was just happy that his older brother was alive after all. )
Comments 21
Yes he had split ends and broken nails, but what he hadn't wanted to reveal in the journal now that he had discovered it wasn't private... Was that he was scared Zidane had replied. Perhaps it was just a cruel joke because a villain like him should never be given hope at all ( ... )
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He shook his head, deciding he was thinking things over too much. This really did seem to be Kuja, and that was all that mattered. Zidane seated himself on the bench beside him to recover from the run, watching as if Kuja might disappear the moment he took his eyes off him.
"Sorry about... you know," he gestured lamely to the journal on his lap, "I was kind of cold before. I didn't know whether to think it was you or not."
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He could feel the heat of his body so close to him. He was real, not the trappings of a frenzied mind trying to fabricate something to cling to. His fingertips twitched and he edged his hand ever so slightly to the left. His pinky lightly bumped Zidane's hand.
Inside, the knot of anxiety slowly unwound itself. Safe.
"So," Kuja smiled weakly, "what's a genome got to do around here before he gets a decent shower and some clothes?"
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Being alone really was a horrible feeling.
"Nothing, actually," he replied, looking a little more at ease and leaning back on the bench. "The Queen of this place told all the locals to hand out stuff for free. You can just go in a shop and help yourself, pretty much, and there are empty houses around you can just walk in and take."
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"I'm hardly in a position to test the boundaries of such charity anyway, so don't answer that." He took a cue from him, leaning back against the bench before tilting his head to gaze up at the sky.
"This place. Everything is so foreign. Everything just happened so fast." He looked at his brother. "How long were you here for before I came?"
He had forgotten everything else for the moment- no split ends or broken nails or tattered clothing. Kuja was next to his brother. That was all that mattered, despite the thousands of questions he fumbled desperately to answer.
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He had to think for a moment at Kuja's second question. "Over a week." He wasn't too sure about the exact number of days, since things had become so normal and routine, but he had a vague idea. "I've been trying to find a way out with other people, but not much luck so far."
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He stopped his ranting, blinking at his brother before tilting his head. "Can I even cast in this place?"
And then a more important question hit him.
"Where am I meant to sleep?"
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He gestured for Kuja to follow him, and set off back towards the city outskirts. "Like I said, there's lots of houses around you can just take for yourself, or you can stay at an inn for free. Or," he glanced over his shoulder, eyes searching Kuja's expression, "I have my own place you could stay at if you wanted." It was probably too presumptious of him, and maybe it sounded a little pathetic and clingy, but right now, Zidane didn't really care.
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He walked beside him, carefully taking in the sights and sounds of this strange world they had both been spirited to. The architecture was beautiful enough, and he fancied the fashion everyone wore.
Kuja tried to hide the spark of enthusiasm in his eyes at the offer. Yes in the morning he'd probably march off and claim a house that would be reasonably beautiful but for now...
"If you've a decent shower at your apartment, I will gladly take you up on that offer."
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Unlike him, however, Zidane seemed to show a bored disinterest for the city and the inhabitants. If he stayed in one place for too long, he simply became restless. He'd always enjoyed his stays in Lindblum with Tantalus, but that was an interesting city, full of life and familiarity, not the dead eyes of the locals here or the irritating Queen.
He studied Kuja's expression closely, as if expecting sarcasm or similiar. He seemed satisfied enough that his response was genuine, because he grinned and said haughtily, "There's a bath, if it's good enough for your highness."
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There were other people milling about looking just as lost as he was. He half wondered how they would fare- he was luckier than most since he had found someone he knew.
The temperature had dropped as the evening began to set in. He quickened his pace, walking briskly to catch up with his brother whilst rubbing his upper arms in an attempt to warm himself.
Without thinking, his tail curled around his brother's.
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"I have not!" He retorted, "It has a mind of its own. You would know that, you've got one too."
It was a weak defence, surely, one that Zidane could easily spot the holes in. Kuja relaxed, looking up at the first few stars that had begun to twinkle.
"I've...I'm not angry anymore. It's nice, you know? There isn't this burning feeling in my chest driving me insane."
He looked at his hands, brows creased.
"A part of me is gone, but I don't miss it. It's left me with a lot of...empty spaces in my heart, but ones I wouldn't mind trying to learn to fill with...with other emotions."
Kuja's high cheekbones were rosy now, and he was cross with himself for being so open with his feelings. Solitude could do that to you, he realized. No one had ever listened to him pour out his heart. No one thought he had one.
"I still can't understand why you've been so nice to me so far. You could've just pretended I wasn't here."
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He noticed they were entering a more familiar area, now, and he was sure it wasn't far to go til they'd reach the apartment. "You say it like I had a choice. I could've, just like I could've ignored you when I realised you were still alive in the Iifa Tree. But I couldn't. I couldn't just leave you there when there was a chance to help you. It's just how I am.
"Look at it like the Black Mages. They did what they were created for, like you. But it doesn't make them any less people. Now they're free, they just want to enjoy what they have, even if they don't always understand life. But they're learning. Me and Vivi... we got lucky. We got away from what we were made for and found our own purposes," Zidane paused, letting what he said sink in before he continued. He looked past Kuja to the fading light of ( ... )
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