For Just a Moment

Fandom: Seven Knights

Rating: Pg-13

Genre: Humor/Drama/Romance

Characters/Pairing: Rudy/Kris, brief mention of Knox/Kris, all the Seven Knights

Summary: For Rudy, Kris is precious. He cannot explain the exact reason, maybe as fellow knights, friends and comrades. But he is sure about one thing: Rudy does not want to lose him, not to the darkness and certainly not to other people. And of course he gets a major epiphany about the nature of his feelings when he's in the middle of conversation with the said knight.

Or, in which the summary doesn't really picture the content and Rudy is courting Kris without even realizing it.

Disclaimer: Seven Knights © NetMatble Games

Warning: inconsistency of language (attempting at formal language, which probably fails miserably), sappiness, tooth-rotting fluff, cuteness and general stupidities, attempted romance by oblivious person, heavy persuasion of Rudy/Kris, possible mistypes and grammar errors.

A/N: Hi, Knights! I present you… a new one-shot of Seven Knights fan fiction! Because I'm easily distracted, and this is actually a sort of discarded scene draft from my other one-shot (His Personal Knight of Light), but instead of Knox/Kris, this particular scene is so heavily Rudy/Kris that I had to cut it out from the main fic. It doesn't really feature the main pairing there and I deem it unnecessary to include or the readers might have lost track of the main pairing. But it's a waste to dump it, so… here it is! I made it into a spin off or some short. But of course with a little (as if) background story!

Anyway, the main setting of this fic is in canon or pre-canon for that matter (the same as in His Personal Knight of Light), and also at that time Rudy stays for a few days in Kris home when they come to celebrate Kris' parents anniversary. You might want to read that fic first to understand better, but if you don't want to, that's okay. Honestly, you can still understand the plot just fine even without reading that, since this time here all is in Rudy's POV.

Now, enough with my useless chit-babble. Please proceed!

For Just a Moment—a Seven Knights Fan Fiction

© lunaryu

The first time Rudy met Kris, it went this way.

Rudy was helping around in the tent of Terra Kingdom Knight in Training—polishing armors, oiling the swords and scrubbing the shields— when someone, a young man, probably in the same age as Rudy (fourteen or fifteen?), stumbled inside the currently unoccupied tenth sans him.

Rudy blinked as he glanced at the boy. He had neatly combed dark hair with strands of silver on each side and the middle of his head. His eyes were blue, a shade darker than the color of sky, but lighter than a sapphire. His attire was that of a noble with fine silky dark grey tunic and black breeches. He also wore a shiny black cape with silver clip on each shoulder. His noble family crest was emblazoned on the outer part of his cape in silver threads, forming an image of a crystal snow.

"Hello," Rudy decided to greet him first despite the disparity of their status—he never regarded appropriateness when it came to making acquaintance after all— before the boy could panic, since he already looked rather flustered as he came in.

"Oh, sorry," the boy apologized. "I thought this is the Knight in Training tent?" He made a move, about to get out, probably to double check if he had the right tent, but Rudy spoke before he could proceed with his intention.

"Yes, this is the tent of Knight in Training," he confirmed, standing up from his seat. "May I help you, Sir…?"

"Kris," the boy immediately answered, turning to face Rudy once again. "My name is Kris."

"Sir Kris, I'm Rudy," Rudy bowed slightly, politely, like his father used to teach him to behave in front of a noble when he spoke to one, not bothering to put down the armor he had been polishing before. Instead, he held it close to his chest, not minding the dirt sticking to it and to his own more modest light blue tunic.

"Please, Kris is fine. I believe we are the same age?" Kris' tone was slightly questioning as he offered and Rudy blinked once again, straightening his body in surprise. It was the first time that a noble spoke to him like that, as politely, yet less formally. It seemed that this Kris was rather different from other noble born.

"Alright, Kris it is," Rudy smiled at him, mildly amused, and Kris sent him back a small smile, looking calmer. "May I help you with something then, Kris?" Rudy asked further and Kris snapped, as if he had just remembered something.

"Oh, right. I am supposed to report to the knight in command of The Knight in Training division, that I will be joining their training session starting tomorrow. I have a recommendation letter from Commander Aragon to give to him and to speak of arrangement for me to stay at the trainee quarter," Kris said, reaching the inside pocket of his tunic to retrieve the said letter to show Rudy.

"Oh, in that case, you should be at the west wing of the main castle, since the office chamber for Sir Chancellor is there— ah, Sir Chancellor is the knight in command for Knight in Training division." Rudy informed before he looked at the letter in Kris' hand and nodded, confirming Commander Aragon family seal on the envelope and his neat handwriting. "Here, let me show you the way, Kris."

Rudy decided to help Kris by showing the way directly rather than just giving him direction. The main castle was very large and spacious after all. People that were not used to walk around the maze-like, inner hallways would easily get lost in it! Besides, the commander vouched for Kris with that letter of recommendation. He must have known him well. A friend of Rudy's adoptive father was Rudy's friend. It would be rude not to help a friend in need, wouldn't it?

Rudy put the armor that was in his hold down on the wooden table he sat at earlier and then led Kris out of the tent.

"Eh, but wouldn't I disturb your duty here?" Kris seemed about to protest as he followed Rudy.

"Not a problem. This is not actually my duty. I am just here to cover the squire in duty since he needs rest for a bit. The poor lad had been standing and tending to his superior since early morning and he had neither eaten nor drunk before, so I sent him to rest as I covered his post for him. I can always finish the task later after I bring you to Sir Chancellor," Rudy explained, leading Kris to walk with him side by side, entering the main palace.

"Oh, forgive me. I thought you were a squire. You are not one, then?" Kris looked slightly embarrassed as he asked, his face turning slightly pink.

"Not officially, no. But I help them when I am able to," Rudy chuckled, once again amused. Honestly, Rudy was surprised to find Kris adorable. That was a first. He had never thought that a boy could fit such adjective.

"Oh, then you are…" Kris seemed intrigued and Rudy smiled as he told Kris who he was. "Commander Aragon's adoptive son…" Kris's eyes widened rather comically. "I- I am very sorry. I did not know…" he seemed flustered again and Rudy just chuckled heartily seeing his reaction, finding mirth in how interesting their exchange was.

That was also a first. Rudy was usually a bit self-conscious about his background because people, especially senior knights and noble born, still frowned upon Commander Aragon's decision to adopt Rudy as his son. Rudy was a commoner, an orphan to boot and his fated meeting with his adoptive father was nothing but a fluke, albeit a very strange mix of fortunate and unfortunate event.

Rudy was in the Mystical Woods gathering fruits and edible plantation for food supply for the orphanage he was staying with his adoptive brothers and sisters—fellow orphaned children courtesy of the monster raid on their village— when he met the commander's troops. They were on patrol at the time, and it was dumb luck that they passed by, because Rudy had not paid too much attention when he had been gathering supply and he made a mistake by plucking Ahri, a kind flower sprout monster, which immediately attacked him in its self-defense.

Rudy was surprised of course, and if it was not for his instinct to dodge, he would have been injured severely. Alas, the sudden reflexive backward jump cost him his balance as he landed, and he sprained his ankle when he fell. Luckily the board from the destroyed box he had brought as a cart to put his findings was sturdy enough to use as a shield to defend himself from the second attack and there was a sharp edged stick lying on the ground near where he fell, and Rudy did not think much about what he was doing as he tried his best to defend himself from the monster when he fought it.

Commander Aragon saw this and he came to Rudy's aid immediately, but not before he was impressed with Rudy's tenacity to fight for his life. He decided that he could use Rudy as a squire at first, but then changed his mind and personally trained him in the art of sword fighting for almost two years after he witnessed Rudy independently practice using sword and shield beyond his duty-hours. Furthermore, after much consideration, because Commander Aragon had never married and had no offspring, he decided to adopt Rudy into his family and then officially enrolled him to the Knight in Training division, much to his fellow senior Knights' surprise. The King himself raised his eyebrows because this was such unusual circumstance, yet the commander was adamant that Rudy was worth it, if not for his unusual defensive skill, it was because of his personality.

Commander Aragon seemed to take a liking to Rudy in a very personal level. Rudy himself did not really understand the reason, but his adoptive father often told him that what he saw in Rudy was not merely his skill, but something more fundamental. He refused to elaborate further because he seemed to be amused by Rudy's perplexity.

Remembering that always bemused Rudy a little, but he trusted his adoptive father's judgment and if he deemed Rudy worth the effort, he would do his best not to disappoint the senior knight.

"That is alright, Kris. Many people still do not acknowledge it either," he confided to Kris since he did not react weirdly about the reason, that Rudy was not a noble born at all, but a commoner through and through. "But I am glad that finally someone my age will be joining in the Knight in Training division! It always made me rather self-conscious that I was the youngest in the team," he continued cheerily, genuinely enjoying their interaction and Kris quirked another small smile that lit his deep blue eyes slightly, like he shared Rudy's sentiment.

Then they decided to converse some more about trivial things until they arrived at the intended office.

Rudy knocked on the wooden door of the chamber and waited for Chancellor to open it. After that, he introduced Kris to him and Chancellor to Kris before he left them to talk about the arrangement for Kris' enrollment.

Rudy was skipping with a grin on his face in his way back to the tent, somehow incredibly excited to meet Kris again next time.

~ # ~

Rudy got a chance to meet Kris again the next day, this time in training field. They were paired up to spar as soon as Kris was introduced in front of the other Knights in training, as a mean to assess how good Kris was with his sword-fighting skill. Chancellor had read the recommendation letter and there was no reason to doubt the commander of his evaluation on Kris' skill, of course, but like most people, he preferred to see with his own eyes.

Rudy was thrilled. It was a chance to make a good impression for his new friend. Kris seemed curious as well with Rudy's skill and as soon as they clashed, in proper attire with armors and helmets, swords and shields—though for some reason, Kris chose the smallest and the lightest shield available in the armory— Rudy could see something.

A flash. Images. A silver haired woman with amber eyes. Crying. Screaming.

A memory?

There was also a ringing in his ears… no, more like a shriek. It was so loud that he winced. Kris himself seemed to cringe, and in a closer inspection around them, the other trainees and Chancellor himself seemed to hear it as they widened their eyes and reacted peculiarly.

Both Kris and Rudy immediately dropped their sword and shield respectively with a clang as they connected to the hard ground. They looked at each other's eyes, completely bewildered.

"What was that?" Rudy asked, shaking his head, trying to shake the aftereffect of the images and shriek. Kris shook his head, seemingly befuddled himself.

"I do not know, but…" Kris turned to the others and they still looked at them weirdly. Rudy also noticed this and asked them if they heard or saw something.

"There was… black smoke, coming from Kris' sword," Chancellor said with beads of sweat on his cheek.

Kris blanched. Rudy raised his eyebrows in confusion noticing the color instantly draining from Kris' face. Shock seemed to be an understatement judging by his expression. Kris looked like he was staring at Death in the face.

"Kris?" Rudy was worried now. What could possibly scare Kris that much? Black smoke?

"Also, your shield sparked light just then, Rudy," one of the trainee quipped, distracting Rudy from Kris for a moment to regard the older boy's comment.

Light?—Rudy was confused, but his gaze was once again focused on Kris as he heard the other boy gasp slightly.

Rudy was increasingly concerned because Kris' face was an imitation of a day moon then. He tried to touch Kris' shoulder, but Kris flinched very hard as if Rudy had burned him despite not yet making any physical contact with him.

"Oh, I-," Kris looked upward at Rudy with still pale but very apologetic face. "I am sorry, I should-" he stepped back and he seemed about to move farther away. However, Rudy got a feeling that could not let that happen. He already decided that Kris was his friend and letting him go just like that did not sit right with him. It felt like he would regret it immensely if he let this strange event got in the way in their newfound friendship.

Therefore, Rudy decided, that he would make that halted contact, cementing their physical connection for the first time. Aiming for Kris' wrist, Rudy grabbed Kris' bare hand instead, and upon the contact, he instantly felt it.

Something inside Rudy, deep, deep inside his soul, hummed. It was such a strange sensation that made his body shudder and Kris apparently sensed it too, because he gasped again, more loudly this time, and his knees suddenly buckled in reaction. Instinctively, Rudy reached his other hand to catch the other boy before he could fall and ended up half hugging Kris with one arm circling his waist, while his other hand was still firmly grasping Kris' own.

The hum intensified, especially when Kris looked at Rudy in his eyes and vice versa. There was… something, a whisper. It pulled at Rudy to move forward.

'Connect,' it said.

What?

'Right here,' again, it whispered inside Rudy's head, no, inside his soul. It reverberated over and over, and the repetition was so spellbinding that Rudy almost succumbed to the whisper, not actually knowing what he was about to do, but both he and Kris were frozen-shock as they were forcefully pulled apart from each other by the others.

"What are you doing, Rudy, Kris!?" Chancellor hollered at them and both Rudy and Kris suddenly coughed and hacked hard, as if they were deprived of air just a moment ago and their lungs were desperately trying to make up the lack of it in uncontrollable spasms.

"Are you trying to kill each other?! Why were you strangling each other's necks like that?!" the older man was soundly upset and bewildered. The others looked frenzied and terrified as well, their hands holding both Rudy and Kris' bodies firmly apart.

"What?" Kris croaked, looking horrified.

"We were doing what?!" Rudy was extremely aghast. He did not remember doing that.

"Did you not realize what you were doing?" Chancellor looked very much baffled by this.

"N-no, I just-… heard this hum and-…" Rudy looked at Kris and immediately noticed the slight red mark on Kris' neck, unmistakable hand-prints, and Rudy paled as he turned to his own hands, still not believing what had just transpired without him comprehending it.

"R-Rudy… is it-…? Are you-…?" Kris couldn't seem to say whatever it was he wanted to say and he was still coughing slightly as he tried to calm himself down. He looked at Rudy with a very peculiar expression, as if he knew something but was not allowed to say anything.

Kris?—Rudy wondered if he would tell him something in private.

…

Later, after they were brought to the healer and Chancellor was reluctantly convinced that no, Rudy and Kris were not trying to kill each other and no, they did not have any mutual resentment for the other either since they had only known each other since yesterday and no, they would not try to strangle each other again if they were left alone, Rudy and Kris got to talk more confidentially.

"Are you a Shard bearer, Rudy?" Kris asked, with quiet voice, so quiet that only he and Rudy could possibly hear it.

"What shard?" Rudy tilted his head, half puzzled and half still reeling in the fact that he almost killed his new friend by strangling him without him even noticing his own action.

"So you did not know…" Kris muttered lightly under his breath, too low for Rudy to catch, but before Rudy could ask further, Kris elaborated slowly, carefully. "Rudy, are you aware of the story about the previous great war with the God of Destruction?"

Rudy blinked once and nodded at that. "Yes, Goddess Elena along with Her Knights of Light defeated the God of Destruction," he said. "What about it?"

"Are you aware of this story then? That the Goddess could not completely kill the God of Destruction, so She broke and destroyed His power into thousands of shards and scattered them around the world to be sealed off," he continued.

Rudy blinked once again. "What?" He did not know of this story.

"Only a handful of people know about it beside the Goddess Herself. Her Knights of Light, of course… but almost none of them returned alive after the war. My father and my mentor are among them who know about this fact and are still alive to tell the tale," Kris explained. "Goddess Elena did not tell a soul about where She sealed those shards, but She did choose some living beings to be vassals for these shards. Rudy… I am one of those vassals," he confessed and Rudy widened his eyes at the graveness of it. "And you… I think, you are one as well," then he dropped the more shocking bomb.

"What…?" Rudy could only parrot that one word apparently, because he was too shocked to react otherwise.

"Rudy, that hum and whisper you heard and felt when we touched each other earlier… I think, I think our shards are resonating to each other upon contact and the power those shards have over us when they are in resonance is too much for us to handle," he speculated seriously and Rudy could not help but consider it as the truth, because Kris did not seem like the type to joke about something as awful as that.

"I am… one of the bearers of the Shard of Destruction…?" Rudy clenched on the material on his chest slightly, mulling over this news. "But I had never… There was not any indication…" He widened his eyes then, unable to continue his excuse as a horrible thought attacked and festered in his mind.

The monster raid in my village… The elder said that something had agitated them. Those monsters were not supposed to be in the area. It was unheard of… that a horde of ogres would attack human village without provocation.

That night, the night when those monsters raided my village, I had a dream… a dream that 'I' destroyed the village. Impossible… Did I…?

Rudy covered his mouth with his free palm, his body shook badly, feeling sick to his stomach at the thought that those monsters might have reacted to the calling of the Shard of Destruction from Rudy's soul. Those monsters had to be targeting Rudy. Had his father not hidden Rudy together with other village children in the safety, had he let those monsters have Rudy instead, then maybe… maybe those adults would not have perished that night.

My parents would still be alive if it was not because of me…

"Rudy?" Kris seemed to be alarmed then and did not hesitate when he touched Rudy's shoulder despite what had occurred before. Nothing happened upon their second contact, though. No hum. No shriek or whisper. No images. Still, Rudy's sinking feeling and nausea did not get better in the slightest.

"I-… I think, I was the cause of my village destruction," Rudy confessed then, with quivering voice and quaking body, scared to his bone. "Those monsters raided our village because I was there… With the shard in my soul, I dreamed of devastation and I—"

"Rudy!" Kris grabbed his shoulder more firmly, both of his shoulders even, snapping Rudy out of his dreadful belief to look at Kris' eyes. "It was not your fault," he said, full of conviction. "It was not you. It was the shard trying to get to you," he continued, his deep blue orbs penetrating Rudy's amber ones. "It will never be you. Do you understand?"

Kris looked very much convinced of this and Rudy could not help feeling that Kris might have had a personal experience involving his own nightmare. "Have you ever dreamed-…?"

"All the time, Rudy," Kris cut Rudy's inquiry with immediate answer, his expression somber and slightly sad. "All the time."

"Oh, Kris…" Rudy felt like almost crying.

"But my mentor said that I, we, the bearers of the Shard, were chosen because we have strong minds and bodies to withstand the negative side-effect of the Shard, to stave the corruption, and we have aptitude to use the shards for good," Kris elaborated further. "Sir Knox has never been wrong, so he must have been right as well this time. I trust his word and judgment. We only have to be a good person, to hold onto our principle and to make this a gift rather than a curse."

Kris was so earnest when he spoke and the comforting squeeze on Rudy's shoulders felt like an anchor for him to stay in this reality and not to drown himself in self-guilt and sorrow. It had been several years since that nightmare of an event, and Rudy only remembered the detail scarcely, and yet the hurt and wound remained so fresh like it had been just yesterday and Rudy could not help his tears pooling in his eyes as he began to sob.

Rudy grieved, properly this time, because then he could not possibly be weak for his adoptive brothers and sisters' sake. He was their big brother after all, so he had to be strong for them to rely on him. But now… now though, with Kris—a person, a noble to boot, that he only had known for two days—holding him in his arms, Rudy burying his crying face in Kris' nape, both his hands clenching at the material on Kris back, and Kris whispering kind, comforting words in his ear, stroking his hair and back gently, Rudy could finally let go.

His crying lasted for minutes, maybe hours, Rudy was not sure, but when he calmed down enough and Kris let go of his hold on him, he could not help but feel slightly mortified for showing Kris such thwarting moment. He had only known Kris for two days. Two days! How could he bother Kris with such unsightly side of him? "I am sorry… this is embarrassing," he said awkwardly, flushing slightly. His eyes still felt hot, moist and sore because it had been a while since the last time he had been crying. He remembered it was after his father and his father's comrades' funeral, in silence and secret because he did not want the younger children to see him like that.

"That is quite alright with me." Kris sent him a small smile. He did not seem to judge Rudy at all despite his tears soaking Kris' tunic. Rudy grimaced as he saw the wet patch on the noble's most likely very costly clothes.

"I promise I will fix your tunic," Rudy said, rather frantically. He doubted he had enough money to buy Kris a new tunic, but he could wash it properly for him.

"It is alright, Rudy. You do not have to worry about it," Kris reassured. "Besides, this is training outfit. It is bound to be ruined either way," he continued, patting Rudy's back once again.

Rudy was touched that Kris was so nice to him. "Thank you, Kris," he smiled then, very grateful. "You are such a nice person," he complimented and Kris' face flushed a bit in reaction. He was indeed adorable when he was embarrassed.

Rudy thought he wanted to see it again.

"I try to," Kris mumbled lightly then, averting his gaze from Rudy, sounding shy. So sweet. "My mentor… Sir Knox said that he wanted me to be a good person," he explained slowly, his expression mellowing and buoyant, content.

"He must be a very good person himself then," Rudy softened his smile more, noticing how much Kris valued his mentor's opinion and view.

"He is," Kris confirmed with such confidence as he sent Rudy a sure smile, his eyes lit and expression glowing in happiness and Rudy thought—

Ah… what a fortunate mentor to have such faithful pupil…

Rudy did not find it strange then, that he was a bit envious of Kris' mentor instead of being jealous of Kris for having such a nice mentor.

~ # ~

Later though, when Rudy shared this story to Eileen, she told him he was an idiot for not noticing the oddity of his thought, shaking her head in exasperation.

~ A Seven Knights Fan Fiction~

After that, Rudy and Kris became sort of best friends.

Well, after Commander Aragon summoned them and sat them down together in front of the King and his advisor, actually.

Apparently, the commander was aware of their unusual circumstance as the bearers of the Shard of Destruction and the King and his advisor asked them some personal questions regarding their feelings about it and how they had been coping with sharing space with such vile being inside their souls.

Kris, already knowing the fact since he could understand words, courtesy of his father's truthfulness of the matter, said that he had been alright most of his life, aside from some vivid nightmares and useless whispers inside his head to do bad things. Fortunately, he was immune to it because his principle to be good was superior. Thus as long as he kept calm and cool, the special ability he gained from the Shard could be controlled just fine.

Rudy, though, because he only knew about the Shard existence for just a few days, was still adjusting to control his newly found special ability. The spark that flew out of his shield at the contact with Kris' sword was actually some kind of energy. It created a barrier around Rudy like a dome of pure vitality that could shield him and everything inside its range from any damage, both magical and physical. It was very useful to protect himself and his allies. Even Kris was impressed because his death curse could not touch Rudy when the ability was activated.

Yes, both Rudy and Kris had talked about Kris' special ability in a few days they knew each other. After that Rudy had tempted Kris to spar again outside of their training hours in order for Rudy to learn and discern his own ability further and now Rudy could already activate his special ability without any external prompting. It was amazing how quickly Rudy adapted to his new ability. Well, he was more of a defensive kind of fighter to begin with, so it was not very different from before, but with his energy barrier covering his and his allies' safety, Rudy could actually focus more in polishing his offensive strike. There was a time limit of using the barrier though, and Rudy was still putting much effort to make the barrier last longer than just for a two or three hits.

They answered to the king, reporting all of these, and the King seemed pleased with them. "It seems that Commander Aragon is right. Both of you will be worthy candidates for it," he said with a smile, a glint of something strange flickering in the king's eyes, but it was too fast for Rudy to note further before it disappeared.

Both Rudy and Kris glanced at each other, wondering and mystified. Commander smiled proudly at the compliment, but he explained to neither Kris nor Rudy despite their questioning eyes on him, and both young men were left in puzzlement after.

"I wonder what that was about," Rudy mulled over and Kris shook his head and shrugged in response.

"I hope it is nothing bad," Kris muttered, frowning slightly, seeming to be concerned about it still.

Then, the rumors about Kris and Rudy being picked out as the candidate of Throne of Light began to circulate among the trainees and the knights. Some were met with positive reaction, some neutral, but there was always a small group of opposition that made clear they thought they were better than two children for a position with such heavy responsibility.

Rudy, being Rudy, was always full of smile and positive thoughts when he was dealing with such group.

"It is not decided yet, you know? It can be you guys just as much! As long as you keep being good with other people, I believe the king and his advisor and even the commander will give everyone a chance to inherit the Throne of Light!"

Rudy's opposition group always ended up as his allies at the end of the day. It was a given since he believed in their goodness more and he was sure they wanted to protect Terra Kingdom and its people as much as Rudy did, and they were all knights that loved their kingdom very much.

Rudy also never differentiated his performance toward people, no matter their status. Some nobles might find him rude at times, but Rudy had charming smile and witty tongue to make up for it, and they ended up amused most of the time instead of being offended. The people of Terra also loved him dearly for some reason. They were all nice people that Rudy loved in return, so he vowed to protect them all with all of his might.

As if in contrast with Rudy's –everyone is equal— friendly escapades as a knight in training, Kris was slightly more… subtle and subdued in gaining his fame. Most people seemed to be intimidated by him at first glance and Kris was usually aloof and appeared haughty with his dignity as a noble born, but his easy friendship with Rudy made a stir because there—supposed to be gap— between noble and commoner, seemed to be none-existent when they were together, sparing, conversing, jesting, and sometimes bantering, which made Kris more susceptible to approach. Once they talked to Kris, they knew he was a gentleman. He was polite and full of honor and they respected him for it. Not to mention, both Rudy and Kris were equally excellent in their sword-fighting skill and people tended to turn their heads at them whenever they sparred. Moreover, their looks.

Do not forget our looks.

Rudy was always embarrassed when the ladies, both nobles and commoners alike seemed to giggle in delight after they saw and greeted him. They seemed to like him a bit more than the male population. Kris though… some ladies even fainted in nervousness whenever Kris was in their vicinity. They said he was too handsome and their poor hearts could not handle him when he smiled at them.

Actually, Rudy noticed that it was not just the ladies. Although they were less dramatic when Kris was around them, some noble men gave Kris eyes the same way the ladies did. Kris was polite with them, but he never presented himself interested in that sort of thing, so Rudy did not say anything to him or to those men. Well, it was not surprising despite how controversial it was. Kris was beautiful after all. He said it was because of his half elf heritage.

"Milord, you are such a Casanova," Rudy chose to tease his characteristic instead, once upon an evening meander, when they were walking along the riverbank. Kris shoved him into the river in retaliation.

"Be quiet," Kris huffed, his face blushing quite a bit and Rudy laughed at him despite his tunic, breeches and body soaked to the bone.

"I am jealous. I wish I had your face and smile, then I could admire myself in the mirror every day!" Rudy exclaimed, to Kris' indignant splutter after he pulled the other down into the water as well (in revenge) when he tried to help Rudy up.

~ # ~

Later, after he told Rachel about this, she told him he was oblivious for not noticing sooner.

~ A Seven Knights Fan Fiction~

Along the years of their experience as the Knight in Training, both Rudy and Kris grew up to be splendid knights. It was at their final evaluation into knighthood that their trust on each other was being tested.

They had to hunt down monsters in Mystic Woods. They had to kill as many monsters as they could find and bring part of their carcass as trophies to determine their skill and who was better as a knight. Both Kris and Rudy had beaten the other trainees with a very wide margin, but they always tied with each other and now that the king wanted a number one to be knighted immediately, it was high time for a competition.

Rudy and Kris were all for this competition, but the nature of the competition made Rudy grumble.

"Do we have to kill them?" he dared to question the King, disapproving even, much to the others' (but mostly Kris) horror. How impudent! And yet the king just chuckled and smirked mysteriously and told him he was permitted if he wanted to bow out of this competition.

Of course Rudy did not intend to bow out. He could bring back as many monsters as he could, but taking their lives unnecessarily did not sit right with his principle.

"They are monsters, Rudy." Kris tried to talk some sense into him when they entered the woods to start the evaluation—they chose to go together and look for a nest rather than separately—, but Rudy did not think his belief as senseless.

"But they are also alive like us. What makes we think they deserve to die just by existing?" Rudy asked back, still frowning.

Kris just smiled at him then, meaningfully, which bemused Rudy slightly as he noticed the look. "What?" He could not hold down his curiosity then.

"Nothing," Kris said, but his small, knowing smile remained in his lips.

As it turned out, the test was rather in vain. Oh, they found nests of dumpling monsters, rice cake monsters, mushroom monsters, and flower sprout monsters, but they were all very friendly with Rudy and he would not let Kris harm them because they did not attack them first, much to Kris' frustration.

"Then how are we going to take the trophies if we do not kill them?" Kris asked, crossing his arms on his chest and glaring at Rudy in annoyance.

"I almost certain that that is not the point of this test. The king must have had something else in his mind when he announced the competition," Rudy stubbornly stood his ground, not letting Kris win their argument.

Their bicker and banter continued until one of the rice cake monsters asked what kind of trophies they needed. Kris was no doubt about to say their carcass when Rudy blurted out 'your honey'. Kris sent him a ridiculous expression at his most likely stupid answer, but both of them almost dropped their jaws when the rice cake monsters said they could bring it back to their king, as many as they want.

"Seriously?" Rudy was ecstatic.

"Yes, but in exchange you have to do something for us," the monster said, turning to Kris with hopeful, very meaningful look.

"What?"

Kris raised one of his eyebrow, pointing at himself and Rudy blinked once in wonder as he met Kris bewildered eyes.

~#~

Rudy and Kris brought back gallons of honey from their monster hunting competition, much to the bafflement of the spectators and a mirthful guffaw from their King and a failing suppressed laughter from Commander Aragon.

"I hate them so much," Kris gritted his teeth angrily, crown of vibrant red roses, necklace of daffodils, bracelets of jasmines adorning his person, the surface of his armors littered with pink petals of cherry blossoms and plums. Honestly, he looked rather silly despite the prettiness of the flowery jewels.

Oh, but according to Rudy's personal view, Kris still looked very lovely. Those pretty flowers could not even compare.

Rudy did not appear better though, since similar decoration of flowers were also done to his person and armors, despite the more masculine choice of their species: the crown of purple hydrangea, necklace of dark blue orchids and bracelet of yellow carnation, along with petals of black roses on his armor. Yet, he could not help but laugh with their king and his adoptive father before all the spectators also laughed in the end.

The king was still visibly chuckling as he proceeded to evaluate Rudy and Kris' trophies. "I trust both of you did everything necessary to get these gallons of honey?" he asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty," both Kris and Rudy answered surely, but their appearance kept making the king titter.

"No short cut?" the king asked further, his body still visibly shaking in his supreme effort to appear serious.

"No short cut," they repeated and the king nodded, looking very pleased.

"On your knees, then." He instructed and both Rudy and Kris kneeled. "As for your show of loyalty, effort and bravery in the name of Terra Kingdom, I, King of Terra, hereby shall bestow you tittle of Knight. Congratulation, Knights of Terra. Now you may all enjoy the honey mead as starting from now on, you are of age," the king smiled as he put the tip of Terra Kingdom heirloom sword on top of Rudy's and then Kris' head.

Kris and Rudy stood and glanced at each other before Rudy grinned and Kris chuckled.

"For Terra!" Rudy exclaimed loudly in happiness and Kris followed his example before all the spectators cheered and shouted "For Terra!" as well, drinking and celebrating both Rudy and Kris' knighthood and come of age ceremony.

~ # ~

"So, what did you actually do in exchange of those gallons of honey?" Dellons asked, seemingly intrigued as Rudy told him the story, despite the shrewd and knowing smirk.

"Um," Rudy turned a bit pink and Kris growled and mouthed 'Don't you dare!' at him with a look that could kill if it could be made into a weapon.

"I will leave that to your imagination…" Rudy said meekly, glancing marginally at Kris who harrumphed in crossness, but the intense hue on his cheeks was very telling.

Dellons laughed then, rather heartily, before he whispered conspiratorially near Rudy's ear when Kris was not looking, "If you do not hurry and realize it, I may take him for myself."

Rudy instantly shuddered, feeling alarmed, and yet nonplussed still when the blond just leered and then walked away.

For some reason, Rudy got a bad feeling about it, and there was a dubious dread that attacked his heart when Dellons reached Kris' arm, pulled him closer, and leaned into him to whisper something into his ear.

~ A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~

Then, Kris invited him to his childhood home for the first time, soon after Rudy turned 17.

"I would like to introduce you to my father and mother," Kris said. "Also, I want you to meet Sir Knox, my mentor. Rudy, you are going to like him." Kris seemed happy with the prospect of going home. It had been a while since he did after all.

"I'd love to," Rudy agreed, of course. He would do almost everything to make Kris show him that soft, happy smile in daily basis these days. Rudy himself did not understand the reason, but it always warmed his heart whenever Kris smiled.

Kris rarely smiled. Well, he did when he was being polite to general public, but that smile was different from the smile that he showed Rudy right now. It was not fake, though, but there was nothing under that public smile. However, when he showed Rudy the smile, though… Rudy could also see that he was content and pleased, and that… that was what made Rudy feel happy as well: Kris' happiness.

Rudy did not exactly know what this was, his sheer determination to keep Kris smiling the smile, but since it would make him content as well as long as Kris was, so Rudy did not really bother to think about it more deeply. This feeling was a lot bigger than his need to protect Terra Kingdom and it should be alarming how he could put Kris' existence as more important to him than his duty, but it did not feel strange for Rudy.

Therefore, Rudy went to Kris's home as per his invitation to spend their off duty together and to celebrate Kris' parents' anniversary, and then Kris was sending him the smile again as he introduced Rudy to Lord Ashura and Lady Maria.

Kris' parents were just like the rumor said they were: extremely beautiful. Rudy knew exactly from whom Kris got his looks from. Kris was the spitting image of his father, but there was softness on Kris' feature that was not possessed by his father. It must have come from Lady Maria then.

Rudy was happy when he got to speak to them and he was glad that they seemed to like him. Then, as Rudy was introduced to Sir Knox, Kris' respectable mentor, he could only gush about how he felt that he knew him already, since Kris talked about him all the time, much to Kris' utter embarrassment of the matter. But Kris looked happy then, and that was what mattered most.

Although, there was indeed an accidental awkwardness when Kris' parents found out about Rudy' background in their anniversary dinner, and Kris seemed angry at his parents, especially his father, when Lord Ashura interrogated Rudy about it. Then it went further south after Lord Ashura complained about the secrecy of their King toward his council, and the conversation turned into belligerent politics which was honestly pretty dull in Rudy's opinion, but for some reason both Kris and Lord Ashura were very passionate about it for the sake of the argument itself.

Knox, being a knight under the family could not really help improving the mood despite his long suffering look at this occurrence. When Rudy glanced at him for silent support, he gave the younger man a rueful smile, as if he was apologizing for his lord's rudeness and insensitivity. Rudy could only smile apologetically in return for being the cause of the argument, no matter how indirectly it might have been.

Rudy almost loudly sighed in relief when the worsening mood was saved from total ruin when the dancers came to entertain the lord and his wife. Kris still look pretty moody though, when they retreated from the celebration. Rudy felt like he had to make up to him for making him rather unhappy with his family meeting, so he asked for Kris to show him his childhood home garden and yard to take a breather (and hopefully to calm their nerves).

When they arrived at the pond, Rudy could not help widening his eyes in amazement. "Oh, wow!" he exclaimed, amazed at the beautiful view. The pond was a natural tarn with some floating water lilies on the water surface. A couple of gooses nuzzling and sleeping near the rocks that protruded from the water. It was quite big, shaped in oval and part of its tail seemed to lead to the river outside the gates. There was a fly-over bridge crossing the pond for people to enjoy better view of the calm clear water that seemed to be sparkling now reflecting the moonlight.

"This is amazing! So beautiful!" Rudy was very excited as he hurried to the bridge, only waiting for a moment for Kris to follow before they went together onto it.

"Thank you. I am glad you like it," Kris smiled slightly at Rudy, but it was not the smile, so Rudy knew his heart was not really in it. Rudy mulled over slightly of how to fix this.

"You know, Kris, you really are amazing," he started. Kris turned to look at him with puzzlement in his gaze.

"Good looks, good background, amazing sword-fighting skill, perfect gentleman to boot, and with this killer view as a promised day to day enjoyment, many ladies would be in line to snatch the spot as your future wife," Rudy grinned, teasing Kris slightly.

As predicted, Kris blushed. "Give it a rest with that, please," he grumbled, and even though the reaction was the usual exasperation, it lacked of the mirth which usually accompanied it.

Apparently Rudy had to work harder in fixing Kris' mood this time. "And yet despite all the glorious background and skill you have, you never flaunt it to other people," Rudy continued. "So admirable, Kris. Do you know how much I adore you?"

Kris looked upward at Rudy then, his expression peculiar. "Is this the continuation of the usual jest?" he asked tentatively after that, sounding unsure, which was not what Rudy expected when he complimented him.

"Do I sound like jesting?" Rudy smiled softly at him, staring at Kris' eyes deeply.

Kris averted his gaze after a few seconds longer staying in Rudy's, his face colored a shade darker. "You do often act and behave like you are when it comes to something like this. I put up with your teasing all the time, but I am not in the mood for one right now," Kris answered and Rudy was so very amused at how adorable Kris was. He chuckled slightly and Kris nudged his shoulder with his own in a mock reprisal.

"I think you are more amazing than me, you know?" Kris said after that, his expression soft and sincere. "You have nothing of my glorious background, but people love you because you are you. What I would give to have your gift," he continued, and his gentle, deep blue eyes when he looked Rudy after that made Rudy's heart stutter.

Oh how I adore this person!—Rudy grinned inwardly, so fond, so precious. Then like a thunderstruck, it dawned on Rudy that he really did adore Kris. More than anyone else, more than his duty, and he could not believe that he had been so blind all this time.

Rudy liked Kris.

No, he loved Kris.

He had for a long time. He was not sure because he had never felt like that before. Since the first time he met Kris, Rudy knew he liked him. When their friendship bloomed, Rudy considered Kris precious to him, as best friend, as fellow knights, as family. He thought what he felt for Kris was brotherly in nature. He had never jealous of Kris' admirers, but that only because Kris never thought of them as more than that, admirers, people that Kris had to socialize with; because at the end of that line, Kris always chose to stay together with Rudy the most, training, sparring, or just enjoying break in each other company.

Now that Rudy considered it over more closely, there were times when he thought about something that according to other people was strange to be thought about a mere friend. Rudy often thought of how beautiful Kris was (which was not odd because general population thought about the same thing), but it was accompanied with 'no other people could compare, no one stood beside him would match.' There was also that time when Rudy was envious of Sir Knox despite never meeting the man in person. He was jealous, wasn't he? Because Kris admired him so, regarding his opinion and character so highly, as if Kris had a crush on his mentor, and Rudy wished Kris would think of him as highly. There were also multiple occasions where Rudy wanted to hold Kris' hand for no reason, despite the initial contact between them that caused them almost to kill each other. Also, not to mention that time with the monster hunting competition before their knighthood…

No wonder Rudy felt dreadful when Dellons made such provocative challenge. Dellons was no doubt gorgeous and he was very interesting despite his weird ideas most of the times. He was a reaper, yes, very mysterious and no one could actually predict his action and thinking, but he was also a very respectable knight, older than the rest of humanity yet still looking not over than twenty. That eternal youth and splendor alone could make all the ladies swoon and his gift of speech could make everyone turn obsessed with him at some point, in a bad or in a good way. Rudy must have unconsciously thought that Dellons would be a formidable competition if he had interest in taking Kris' hand.

So… finally it came to this moment of revelation. All of those strange thoughts that he did not understand to be weird at all, led to this conclusion, that Rudy loved Kris, and it was not a platonic kind of love. It involved deep feelings that he did not identify he had for Kris before. He wanted a relationship with Kris. A romantic one. It was kind of bizarre how he did not recognize it previously.

Now though, after Rudy realized it, he had to tell Kris. But, how did he do that?

Rudy reached out to grab Kris' hand, and upon contact, Kris looked upward at Rudy again. "Rudy?" he called, looking curious.

"Would it be hard for you to believe that I do adore you so?" Rudy asked, choosing the easiest, most forward way to convey his feelings and Kris gradually widened his eyes in surprise (that seemed to be an understatement with how slack his jaw was, but Rudy believed that Kris would literally shove Rudy into the pond if he ever dared to mention it).

"What do you mean by that?" Kris asked again with soft voice. There was something in his eyes, a shine of something beautiful and hopeful and Rudy could not believe he had never seen it before, because Kris literally looked at Rudy like that practically every day whenever he gave Rudy the smile.

Eileen was right. Rudy was an idiot.

Rudy lifted Kris' hand to his face and planted a small kiss on the back of his palm. "Like this," he whispered in answer, softening his look even more as Kris seemed to freeze.

"Oh," Kris' face, when he seemed to finally realize what Rudy wanted from him, turned into a color of tomato. "Y-you… why would you…? You are an idiot, you know that, right?" Despite the insult and his forced frown (because Rudy knew perfectly that Kris was not frowning at all, he was trying to hide his embarrassment by acting exasperated, so very cute), Kris did not pull his hand back from Rudy's grasp and he did not put any resistance when Rudy pulled his body closer into his gentle embrace.

"Is this alright, Milord?" Rudy grinned happily, planting a soft kiss on the side if Kris' head. They were almost the same height, Rudy only taller for half an inch.

"And you called me a Casanova?" Kris grumbled, still flushing and sounding annoyed, but when he pulled back a little to look at Rudy's eyes, he did not hesitate to pull Rudy again, to lean into him and kiss him on his lips.

Rudy was surprised at first, but he quickly melted into the kiss and his heart soared, rejoicing in the warm, soft, bubbly feeling he got when they connected and there was something humming inside his soul again, probably their Shards resonating, but he was not afraid of it anymore.

Neither nightmare nor terrible whisper shall ruin this moment for us…

~#~

"I am surprised it took you that long to make a move," Jave commented, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.

"Yeah, well… I did not realize it at first, remember? It is a kind of miracle that Kris even has feelings for me… I mean, look at me. Look at Kris. We are kind of mismatched, right?" Rudy was still on cloud nine then, still very much reeling that his feeling was reciprocated at all.

Jave sent him a pitiful gaze. "The others are right. You are an oblivious idiot."

Rudy did not dignify that with a protest. It was true at some level anyway.

"But, after that though… For some reason, Sir Knox seems to hate me. Why is it…?"

~A Seven Knights Fan Fiction~

Even after being together, it was still hard for Rudy to figure out how to make Kris happy. Kris was, by no any mean, a demanding lover. Despite their troupes being separated and their duties requiring them to be away from each other most of the time, they always could make time for each other no matter how short a time they were.

Rudy was almost deliriously happy and quite satisfied with their sense of togetherness. Stolen kisses here and there, a quiet romantic dinner once in a while, it was like a dream.

Each day, Rudy grew fonder and fonder of Kris, and it might even appear in his expression whenever he ran into Kris or talked about Kris. Even though they tried to hide the relationship, it kind of moot point because Rudy was the type of person that could not hide his feelings very well, especially when it was overflowing, like what he felt for Kris.

Once, when all the Seven Knights were together in their monthly meeting, Spike called him a love-sick idiot and Rudy did not even had a heart to feel annoyed at that. He just smiled dreamily while looking at Kris. Kris just face-palmed while blushing, because everyone in their circle seemed to know about them already, and yet it did not stop Dellons from flirting with him. Eileen and Rachel had come to bet between them which of between Rudy and Kris was the attacker or the receiver. Jave just rolled his eyes and shook his head at them, muttering to Red that he did not get humans at all after all.

All in all, it was rose-colored life in Asgar. At least for just a moment… this precious moment of them together, with each other, with their close-knit friends.

Before the corruption of the Shard of Destruction reared its ugly side effects…

Before the world was thrown into chaos once again…

Before Dellons showed his madness and true color…

Before the massacre began…

Before Kris' damnation…

Before hell broke loose…

Before…

For just a moment, please freeze the time and let them be happy.

End of For Just a Moment

A/N: You know what? F*** it! F*** it all to hell and back. Apparently I'm incapable of writing short story with reasonable word-count. How on earth a supposed to discarded scene turned into 9000-words fan fiction?! And why am I even crying for this s***? Just because in canon plot it doesn't end well for everyone… I just want these babies to be happy! Why am I getting emotional for no reason? This was supposed to be fluff and happiness and funny! Why am I still sad as I end this fic? Am I in a mood swing or what? Oh my god… Sorry about that. Just ignore my rant.

…

I lied. Please don't ignore me. I need a hug. TT

And please tell me what you think of the fic.