Bring Me Home
by tir-synni
Chapter VII: A Lock of Silver
"Since
that didn't answer your question, I'll continue on. Don't fret!
I'll get there shortly. After
we--well, I, anyway--said good-bye to the moogles, Kuja teleported up the
entrance of the
"Mikoto
was the first to notice us. She was at
the entrance anyway, just kinda checking out the place. We walked in when she was facing us. Great thing about Mikoto. She makes such a big deal out of everythin'!
"
'Zidane,' she greeted calmly. It was a
wonderful feeling to know she had been so worried. Then she looked at Kuja and just raised an
eyebrow. 'Hello, Kuja.'
"Heh. Well, Kuja's reaction more than made up for
hers. I'll never get sick and tired of
seeing Kuja shocked. I don't think he's
used to being surprised. He was making
up for lost time.
"I jumped
in. 'Kuja, this is Mikoto,' I
introduced. 'She's the third and last
Angel of Death. So far, she's the only
one who never told
"I swear
Mikoto's lips twitched in small smile.
'Everyone knows you, Kuja,' she said softly. 'Both you and Zidane are legendary among the
Genome and Black Mages.'
"I swear,
Blank, I didn't know that part! 'Huh?' I
gasped.
"Kuja,
that bastard, smirked. 'It's nice to
meet you, Mikoto,' he greeted politely.
While he no longer looked at other Genomes with disgust, he still seemed
wary. So, I took over again.
" 'I'm
going to show Kuja around the village, introduce him to B.C.,' I told Mikoto,
grabbing Kuja's hand again. 'Come
on! Let's go!'
"I wonder
if Kuja minded me dragging him around like I did. He never complained, so I continued on to my
heart's content. Unlike Kuja's fears, no
one hated him. They just kinda accepted
him, just like they do with everyone else.
And moreover, they didn't seem real shocked that we had survived. At the time, their reactions surprised
me. I had expected the Genomes to act
like that, yeah, but despite what I had told Kuja, I really wasn't expecting
the Mages to. I was just tryin' to get
him there, then win over the Black Mages with my charming personality...Get
that damned smirk off your face, Blank.
But no, they had no problem either.
Hey, I wasn't going to bring that up, especially in front of Kuja, so I
just grinned and kept going. You should
have seen him when he met Bobby Corwen; he got a kick out of it.
"By the
end of the day, Kuja was in a great mood, if a little pooped. Hell, I was tired, too. After the tour, a Black Mage looked us over,
gave us a Hi-potion each, and sent us to sleep in the inn.
"Again, I
slept in Kuja's arms that night. Another
Genome, one who had yet to figure out a name for herself, showed us to one of
the bigger rooms in the inn. Looking
around, I didn't see many Genomes sleeping alone. It was a revelation to Kuja and me. I guess we had figured it was only us. Stupid, ne?
That was why the girl had led us to a single bed. She expected us to sleep together, too. We didn't disappoint her.
"Kuja
held me close, and I cuddled against him.
Our tails intertwined, and again, he started petting my head. Why does everyone do that, anyway? All this time I thought it was my eyes that
attracted the ladies. For once, I guess
I was wrong.
"Kuja
kissed my forehead after a couple of moments.
'Thank you,' he said quietly.
'For everything, Zidane. I don't
know....'
"Kuja
trailed off, and his arms tightened around me.
It was like he was reassuring himself that I was there. I didn't mind. I just rested my head on his chest and
listened to his heartbeat. It was really
soothing.
" 'The
inn's gotten bigger since I last saw it,' I muttered.
" 'Many
people live here now,' Kuja pointed out, his hand lowering from my head to my
waist. I wasn't protesting. His hand grazed up my back, then back down my
waist, petting me like before. I looked
up at him and was surprised to see that funny look on his face again.
"
'Zidane,' he started, looking a little worried.
Then he shook his head.
'Never...never mind.
"I
clutched him. 'No!' I denied viciously,
but Kuja silenced me with a kiss before I could say more. He kissed me long and deep, and when he
pulled away, I was too senseless to argue more.
"Kuja
didn't make a move to further it, only stared silently at me. When he spoke again, it made no sense to me.
" 'You
have taught me so much, Zidane,' he whispered to me. 'And I know you will teach me much more. But there's one lesson you taught me that I'm
not sure you yourself have learned.
Before I die, I'm going to teach it to you.'
"Oh,
yeah, that peaked my interest. Before I
could ask--by the way, I don't mind being interrupted this way--he kissed me
again, pushing me down onto the bed. I
threw a leg around his hips, twined our tails, and parted my lips. He thrust his hips against mine, and even
clothed, it felt pretty damn good. I
moaned into the kiss, moving my hips. He
was so fucking hard against me. He kept
panting my name. If he had panted
someone else's, good or not, I would've nailed him.
" 'I did
not realize members of the same gender procreate,' Mikoto's voice
interrupted. Kuja froze--embarrassed
again!--but I didn't mind. I was used to
Marcus walking in, and at least Mikoto didn't point and laugh.
" 'We do
it for the pleasure, not to produce a child,' I informed her wryly, pulling
away from Kuja. I didn't think he was
real happy with it, but I wasn't going to be the one who taught Mikoto about
same gender sex. 'It feels good.'
"Mikoto
looked at us like we were nuts--she looks at everyone like that, so I didn't
mind--and nodded. 'I wished to bid you
goodnight,' she said formally.
"I rolled
my eyes. The mood was good and
dead. 'Goodnight.'
"
'Goodnight,' Kuja echoed, though he looked baffled saying it. Since Mikoto knew the saying and Kuja didn't,
I guess she had learned it in the
"After
Mikoto had left again, Kuja sighed and rolled over. He picked me up easily and settled me on his
chest. I wasn't horny anymore, but it
was still nice to be close to him.
"Some of
his hair fell on me, and I started toying with it. My hair hadn't been in its ponytail for a
long time, so the strands mixed. It
looked so eerie, the gold and silver like that.
Every other Genome I had met had blond hair like me. Kuja was the only one I had seen with silver
hair.
" 'Kuja,'
I asked, wrapping it around my fingers, 'why do you have silver hair?' Hey, I've always been straightforward. Good habit to have.
"Kuja
shrugged. 'It used to be gold. Before I left to Gaia, I suffered a long
sickness. At the final stages, my hair
started turning silver. Then
"I
frowned. How could one's hair change
color like that? I wondered. I thought
it might have had something to do with Kuja being such a powerful mage. Most mages you see have gray hair, so I
thought...Anyway, I was wrong, so it didn't matter. Kuja kinda knew, but he didn't put the pieces
together, and he couldn't bring himself to think it, so it didn't matter.
" 'Has
there been any other Genome with silver hair?' I asked. Most of the Genomes had skills like Kuja and
me, with Mikoto leaning towards Kuja's powers, so the question made sense to
me.
"Kuja's
arms went real tight around me, and he started shivering. I didn't understand why he was so upset, but
I tried to reassure him anyway. I
snuggled against him and purred, petting him like everyone likes to pet
me. I was so proud. I got to finally return the favor to someone,
and dammit, it worked! Hey, don't stop
petting.
"Kuja
sighed and relaxed under me. I kept
petting him, and it was only when I knew that he was asleep that I let myself
fall asleep too.
"It still bothered me all night, though. Even in my dreams."