Disclaimer: I do not own FFIV or any related aspects, which belong to their respective owners. No money made.

Summary: Kain confesses to Cecil. Their friendship takes the brunt of the attack, so to speak.

Rating: K+

Warnings: Screwing with canon, shounen-ai, character death.

[FFIV] Tension [Kain/Cecil, Cecil/Rosa]

Kain's not the same anymore.

Cecil thinks this while eating together, with everyone else in the party. It's peaceful, for once. Rosa sits to his right. She smiles at him when he looks her way. He smiles back. To his left is Rydia, trying her best to avoid Edge's occasional glances. Cecil chuckles a little, inwardly. He's sure they would make an interesting pair. In a few years, perhaps, he muses.

Sitting immediately in front of Cecil is… Kain.

Cecil hasn't looked at him the whole night. Kain has returned the favor.

It's awkward now.

It has been, ever since Kain said… those words to Cecil.

Cecil shuts the thoughts out and turns back to his dinner.

Kain's not the same anymore.

They're fighting against another relentless wave of monsters when Cecil realizes this. The two of them are providing the brute strength while Rydia and Rosa keep them healthy and stable. It feels a little like old times. Not that'd Cecil wants to go back there, but the thrill of battle still makes him remember those days… back when he first met Rydia and Edge, back when he fought to save Rosa's life…

Rosa. His wife.

It's been three months since his marriage ceremony. Those were the best months he'd ever spent with her… or they would have been, if not for Kain.

Kain looks at him now.

And every time that happens, Cecil feels like he's been stabbed.

Kain looks at Rosa, too.

Every time that happens, Cecil thinks that, if looks could kill…

Cecil shuts the thoughts out and strikes another blow.

Kain's not the same anymore.

He stands there, in Cecil's room. It's the night after Rosa's funeral and Cecil has been crying. Kain notices how red Cecil's eyes are. He sits down on the bed next to Cecil. The mattress shifts and sinks under his weight. All of a sudden Cecil feels like a teenager again, young and naïve and with Kain again, as friends.

He fools himself for about two seconds.

Kain asks if Cecil is alright. It's a stupid question, considering that they both know the answer, but Cecil lies to him anyway.

To be honest, Cecil hasn't been alright since the last time Kain was in here. Not since the night that Kain confessed to him.

The two men are silent for a while. Kain brushes blond hair back from his face, fiddles with the edge of the bedspread. Finally they look at each other.

Kain has aged. It's barely perceptible, but since he's someone Cecil has known all his life, the wrinkles along Kain's eyes don't escape his notice. But aside from that and the tiredness in Kain's movements, there's that look in his eyes. It's changed.

He looks… dead.

Cecil worries for a second that he looks that way too.

He sobs out Kain's name. Then he does it again. Then suddenly it's as if something has broken inside of him. A flood of emotion drowns him as he cries into the dragoon's shoulder. He doesn't know how he got there.

Kain holds him tightly, chin on his head. He tells Cecil that it's alright.

For a few moments, Cecil thinks that he loves him.

Cecil shuts the thoughts out and eventually falls asleep in Kain's arms.

[A/N] This work used to be written in 2nd-person, from the perspective of Cecil. Annoyingly, this site does not allow 2nd-person content so I had to rewrite it. The original is better and can be found here: (http: // meifl0wer . deviantart . com/art/FFIV-Tension-147094171) without spaces

Because the story had to be rewritten, it became more confusing because Cecil and Kain are the same gender. Sorry about this, but it was sort of unavoidable when you realize that I wanted to do as little alteration to the story as possible. Again, I apologize. Please read the original version.

This pairing... I don't know, I'm sort of fond of it, despite Cecil/Rosa being game canon. But I can help but feel that Kain and Cecil have a sort of bond, as well. But I'm pretty sure Kain would be the aggressor. The seme. Whatever.

The whole second-person You = Cecil thing... I kind of liked it. I've never really written that way before and it's something I want to explore further.

Thank you very much for reading.