A/N: Wow…everyone liked my poor attempt at KentxSain. You're reviews made me happy… Hmm… I'd say the fic is coming to an end pretty soon. Maybe another 3 or 4 chapter to go? About that, I think. Sorry this took so long… Don't throw things at me, please. (Whimper)
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. (GASP! SHOCK!)
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The Troubles of Matchmaking
Chapter 7
By Amethyst Bubble
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Nino wove her way through the crowd, quietly sneaking up on a certain someone. Reaching up, she tugged on a purple cape that seemed more sloppily draped over the owner's shoulders then usual.
Legault looked down at the green-haired girl, "Hello Nino." He sighed; there was no possible escape from his 'niece'. Damn this crowd.
"Hi, Uncle Legault," She said, her eyes darting from him to the figure next to him, "…Hi Heath. You don't look so good," She observed, looking at his tousled hair and wrinkled clothing.
The wyvern rider and the thief blushed in unison. Legault laughed nervously and Heath looked like he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him alive.
Nino shook her head, her short green locks flying back and forth, "Anyway…isn't this fight horrible?"
"I'll say," Legault grumbled. "It interrupted some very pleasurable things…"
"LEGAULT!" Heath shouted, turning an even brighter shade of crimson.
Nino's eyes grew wide, "Uhh…I'm not sure I want to know…"
Legault opened his mouth to reply but Heath clapped a hand over his mouth before he could say anything.
"Don't you dare!" He hissed.
Legault removed Heath's hand, "I was going to tell her that it's none of her business…You don't trust me much, do you?"
"Can you blame me?" Heath mumbled.
Nino blinked. All of this was giving her a headache. Maybe she should have just stayed with Wil and yelled at him some more. Or better yet, stayed with Rebecca and worried about whether Rath and Raven were really going to kill each other or not.
"Anyway," Heath said with a pointed glare at Legault. "Yes, Nino, this fight is horrible."
"No one seems to know what it's about, either," Legault commented, snaking an arm around Heath's waist. The wyvern rider glared at him again, attempting to shove Legault's arm away.
"Rebecca told me it's over Wil!" Nino piped up.
"Wil?" Heath blinked, "He's that archer, right? The one that won't shut up?"
"A fight over Wil?" Legault raised an eyebrow, "I thought Raven was involved with that blonde monk."
Nino nodded frantically, "He is! I know it! That's why I can't understand why there fighting…I mean, I know Rath likes Wil…well, actually, I don't but I know that Wil likes Rath…"
Legault cut Nino off by putting a finger against her lips, "Say that slower, please."
Nino took a breath, "Raven definitely likes Lucius a lot. I don't really understand why Rath and Raven could be fighting, especially over Wil. I know that Rath likes Wil…at least, I'm pretty certain that he does."
"Since when did you become so well versed in the relationships of this rag-tag army?" Legault asked suspiciously. He had a sneaking suspicion that Nino had been snooping around in everyone's love life ever since she'd tried to set him up.
"Well, it kind of started when I tried to get you a girlfriend…" Nino said meekly, playing the innocent role. She played with a lock of her hair, keeping her eyes focused on the ground so she wouldn't have to look at Legault.
"She tried to get you a girlfriend?" Heath asked, looking rather confused, "When?"
Legault sighed, "The morning she walked in on us."
Heath turned bright red at the memory, "Oh…"
"So, failing to set me up inspired you to mess around with other people's lives?" Legault guessed, staring down at the girl.
Nino nodded, "Well, kind of…see, after that I saw that you were so happy with Heath…How you're always smiling when he's around and I figured that if everyone had that…they'd be happier. And Raven always seems so scary, and I figured that if he got together with Lucius…he might be…happier," She sniffed. Her plans had gone completely wrong. Instead of making Raven happier, her meddling had somehow gotten him into a fight with Rath. How had this happened?
"Hey, don't cry," Heath kneeled before her, petting her hair in a comforting manner.
Legault nodded, "You had a good plan, you know." He admitted, giving her a wry grin, "Things just went wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong."
"Legault, please! Could you try to make her feel better?" Heath frowned, giving Nino an awkward hug. He really did like the little girl, she was just a bit…much…sometimes. And he couldn't stand seeing women or children upset, and Nino was both a woman and a child.
The thief sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Just telling her the truth. She really did have a decent plan, but meddling in other's lives is not a good hobby."
"Legault!" Heath cried again. He loved Legault, he really did, but the man could not speak to children!
"No," Nino spoke up. "Uncle Legault's right, Heath. I shouldn't have done it. I'm going to stop meddling after this, really I will…" She took a deep breath, "But I have to make things right first. I have to make things right and apologize and then I'll stop."
"Nino," Heath said softly.
The green-haired girl grinned, "Got to go now! I'll see you guys later, okay? Don't do anything you can't tell me about!" She laughed, breaking away from Heath and retreating into the crowd.
Heath turned crimson at Nino's last comment, stuttering something incoherent.
Legault chuckled, "The girl's too determined for her own good." He slung an arm over Heath's shoulders as the wyvern rider got back up.
"Should we follow her?" Heath asked, his gaze following a small figure with green hair who expertly wove herself through the maze of people. "In case she gets herself into something?"
"Nah," Legault said. "She can take care of herself."
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Slowly, Guy stood up, leaning against a tree for support. The tree, he noticed. The tree Matthew had been hiding from him in. The tree that he'd climbed into to capture Matthew. The tree he'd gotten stuck in. The tree Matthew had rescued him from. The tree under whose branches Matthew had almost…
He shook his head from side to side, "No no no!" He cried, clapping his hands over his ears.
After a few moments, he lowered one of his hands and brought the other up to his forehead, threading it into his dark green bangs.
"…He wasn't really going to, was he?" Guy asked no one in particular, "He wasn't actually going to…kiss me…" The last part came out as a squeak as he turned a very bright shade of crimson.
Guy let the memory replay over and over in his mind, Matthew pinning him down on the ground, leaning over him…whatever he'd been doing to his neck…and then…then…
"He really was going to kiss me," Guy whispered, moving his hands up to his lips. Briefly, he wondered what Matthew's lips would have felt like against his own. Nice, he thought. Very, very nice. Guy really didn't have much--well, any, really, he'd always been too busy pursuing his dream of being the best swordsmaster in Sacae to have much of a love life-- experience in the matter, but he bet Matthew was a good kisser. A very, very good kisser.
"Ahhh!" He shouted, beating himself over the head with his fists, "Why can't I stop thinking like that?! I do not like Matthew that way! I do not, I do not, I do not! I don't like Matthew any way at all!"
'Sacaeans don't lie,' an annoying little voice in his head reminded him.
"I'm not lying," He told that annoying little voice.
'Sure you aren't,' The voice drawled lazily, reminding him of a certain thief…
"Okay, okay! Maybe I like him a little bit! But just a little! An infinitely small little bit. A really, really little bit. And that's all. Really, that's all," He said in a tone that said that he didn't exactly believe himself. But that's only what it sounded like. He believed himself. He believed that he didn't like Matthew. Really, he did. There wasn't a doubt in his mind. Nope. Not one.
'You're lying again,' The voice said in a sing-song tone.
Okay, maybe there was one. One really annoying little doubt.
…He really wanted to strangle that little doubt right now. Better yet, take his killing edge to it and slice it into itty bitty pieces and then dice those pieces into even smaller pieces and then…well, you get the point, don't you?
"Shut up," Guy said to himself, sliding down the trunk of the tree until he was sitting on the ground again. "Just shut up." He played with the edge of his braid. His braid…he never wore his hair out of it. He hadn't for years. It got in the way when it was down and somehow it always ended up in his eyes. That's why he always kept it braided, with the headband to keep his bangs out of his eyes.
Slowly, his nimble fingers undid the string tied around the end of his braid. Slowly, carefully, he slid his fingers through the neat plait, the long strands of hair flowing around his shoulders and down his back. He picked up a lock, rubbing his fingers against it as he watched the way the sunlight glinted of the dark strands, making them shine a lighter green.
Briefly, he wondered what it would feel like to have Matthew play with his hair, to have Matthew slide his fingers through the long, silky strands. That would feel almost as nice as Matthew kissing on him would.
Briefly, he wished that Serra had not come that moment. That she hadn't dragged Matthew away. Hadn't she seen? Hadn't she noticed that both Matthew and Guy were blushing bright red, that Guy was on the ground in a rather compromising position?
"She probably thought we were just having another fight," Guy sighed. That's what he and Matthew were famous for, right? Fighting. Fighting and only fighting. Guy was famous for challenging Matthew to match after match after match and losing and never giving up. Matthew was famous for endlessly tormenting Guy, tugging on his braid, insulting him, taunting him and luring him into these ridiculous little matches and always emerging victorious, offering to help Guy off the ground with that infuriating smile. And Guy would refuse Matthew's help. Sometimes, he could get off of the ground and walk back to camp on his own. Sometimes, he was so exhausted that Matthew would just pick him up and carry him back, despite Guy's protests.
It felt nice. Having Matthew carry him. He felt…safe. Safe was an unusual feeling for him, especially around Matthew.
Guy had to wonder, what was he to Matthew? Was he simply a plaything that Matthew could discard at any time without a second thought?
He had to find out. He had to ask Matthew what he truly meant to him.
Standing up, he took a deep breath. It was now or never. What had Serra said? That Rath and Raven were having a fight? Serra had probably dragged Matthew over there. So, he'd just have to wander around until he found Matthew. It shouldn't be that hard.
With one last glance at the tree that had caused all of this, Guy wandered out of the clearing.
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"Serra, have you gotten us lost?" Matthew asked, casting a glance at the pig-tailed girl.
"Not exactly," She said with a wicked grin.
Matthew raised an eyebrow. What kind of scheme had Serra cooked up in that evil little brain of hers?
Smiling an evil sort of smile, Serra twirled a few locks of pink hair around her finger, "What exactly was going on back in that clearing, hmmm?" Her eyes narrowed, making her look like the cat that got the canary.
Matthew raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"With that boy…Guy or something. Rather dull name, if you ask me," She said, grinning up at Matthew with an 'I-know-your-secret' kind of look on her face.
A faint blush colored Matthew's cheeks and he looked away, avoiding eye contact with Serra at all costs. "I have no idea what you mean," he said stiffly.
"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport!" She said, pouting, "You were doing something with him, weren't you? Something more then fighting? Oooh…you were trying to ravage him, weren't you? Matthew, you naughty boy!" She laughed, waving a finger in his face.
Matthew blush darkened, "I wouldn't do anything like that to him!" He shouted, glaring at Serra.
"Don't try to deny it!" She giggled, doing a twirl. Tossing her scarf over her shoulder, she winked at Matthew. "You're in love!"
"Shut up, Serra," Matthew growled. Why did she always have to meddle in everyone's business? Nosy bishop.
"Matthew's in love, Matthew's in love," She sang, adding a long sigh. "It's good that you have resisted my charms…"
"What charms?!" Matthew exclaimed. Really, if she didn't shut up soon, Matthew was going to bang his head against a tree until he passed out. Or strangle her. Either one would work. Though strangling Serra would probably be better for him.
"My womanly charms! The ones that make every man fall head over heals in love with me!" Serra sighed dreamily, "Because, honestly Matthew, if you had fallen in love with me it would have been horrible for our friendship."
"What friendship?!"
Serra chose to ignore that comment, waving it off with a gloved hand. "Although, I really don't know what you see in Guy."
Matthew glared at Serra. She was really getting on his nerves now. And what did she mean, what did he see in him? Guy was gorgeous! He would have said something, but then he would be digging himself into a hole. A very deep hole.
Serra wrinkled her nose, "He's so skinny." She said, her tone of voice stating that she thought Guy was no-meat-on-his-bones sort of skinny.
"He's slender," Matthew corrected.
"He's pretty short, too." Serra continued, waving a hand.
"Petite."
"He's got nice hair," Serra admitted. "He probably should condition it a bit more, though."
Matthew sighed. At this rate he was never getting out of here.
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Trying as best as he could not to use his injured arm for fear of re-opening the wound Lucius had so hurriedly closed, Kent pulled his shirt over his head, not bothering with his armor.
Finding Sain was the only thing on his mind. The other Caelin knight had run off in such a hurry. He really was a fool. He could have at least given Kent a chance to answer the sudden confession of love. Wasn't that the point? To find out if the other person felt the same way?
Kent paused. Did he feel the same way? He knew that when Sain was around he felt happy, even if the other cavalier was being extremely irritating. He knew that he got jealous when Sain flirted with the, as he put it, 'fair ladies', endlessly complimenting them. He knew that he had liked the feel of Sain's body next to his that one night at the inn when they hadn't had enough money and he and Sain had had to share a bed.
Shaking his head, Kent cleared his mind of all those thoughts and focused only on finding Sain. Everything else could wait. He'd sort out his feelings for the other once Sain was safe and sound.
Stepping out of the tent, he surveyed the area. It was deserted. The fight must be going on still. Kent hoped that Lucius would be successful in stopping it. Sighing, he wondered where Sain would have gone. Probably not back to the fight, as he seemed too distressed when he'd left to be among a throng of people.
If he were Sain, where would he go? An upset Sain, mind you. A normal Sain would be wherever the women were.
Finally, he decided to check the numerous clearings surrounding their current campsite. They were good to hide in if you wanted some time to think.
After a few minutes of searching the various clearings, Kent was about to give up hope. There were dozens of clearings. He'd need help to find Sain. It was going to get dark soon, and if Sain was lost out there…Kent bit his lip. He couldn't think like that.
He was about to go back to camp to check the clearings on the other side of the tents when a soft noise caught his attention. He walked towards a clearing a little whiles off, and as he got closer he spotted a figure in green armor, hunched over, hugging his knees to his chest.
"Sain?" He said quietly as he approached the figure.
The figured started, looking up from the ground, "Kent!" Sain exclaimed, "You shouldn't have come looking for me…your arm…"
Kent kneeled before Sain, putting a hand on the other's shoulder. "Forget about me, are you all right?" He asked in a worried tone.
Sain stared up at Kent for a moment, "…Kind of," he answered, giving Kent a sad sort of smile. "Kent, about what happened back there…" His eyes darted over in the direction of the tents.
"Sain, I," Kent began but Sain cut him off.
"I'm sorry, I don't what came over me and…" He took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. "If you want to forget that I said anything, its fine with me."
"Sain…" Kent said, brushing a few strands of Sain's hair away from his face.
"It's okay, Kent, really it is. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable and if you want to forget all about it, that's fine, really it is! I mean, it's okay if you don't feel the same way about me, I wasn't really expecting you to and I don't know why I just blurted that out like that…I didn't mean to…" Sain took another deep breath, "Elimine, I feel sick."
"Sain!" Kent grabbed the other cavalier's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Calm down," He instructed. "Breathe."
Sain did as he was told, closing his eyes and breathing, but his breaths were shallow and fast.
Kent sighed and Sain's eyes flew open, a nervous look on his face.
"Kent? You…don't hate me now, do you?" Sain asked hesitantly. The worse thing that could happen was if Kent hated him. Kent was his partner, his best friend…he couldn't imagine life without Kent.
"No," Kent said. "Sain, I don't hate you." The red-head decided just to let his emotions take over. Slowly, his eyes never leaving Sain's, he closed the distance between them and brushed his lips over Sain's.
When he pulled back he smiled at Sain's shocked look.
"I love you too."
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Chapter 7-End
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(BlinkBlink)…I'm really not sure if I liked that ending scene very much. Ah, well…I guess it's all right. Hmm…This chapter turned out better …and longer… then I thought it would. Sorry for the wait, everyone. Eheh…
Oh, in other news, I've been flamed! (Is strangely proud of this fact)
Nari: She yelled at the flamer, too.
Hey! I had to teach him a lesson. It's not nice to flame people just because you're homophobic. Hmmf. Thanks to avi17 for saying that my fics weren't garbage after the flamer did. (Grin) Thanks!
And, as always, please review! And remember, fanfiction inspires the (coughlazycough) authoress. (Smileysmiley)