Illusory Present

Illusory Present

Pairings: Implied KainxCecil, and Wol+Cecil. I see WoL and Cecil as being total BFFs.

Summary: After the war is over, WoL scorts everybody to their respective worlds, but Cecil refuses to let him leave.

Author's Note: Oddly, I was _not_ drunk when I wrote this…Perhaps I should have been…And I still want Dark Knight CecilxWarrior of Light…

Despite the cold worded message in the letter, Kain could feel Rosa's near despair.

"_He refused to say anything and left. Please look for him."_

Leave? With no explanation, no motives and leaving Baron in near chaos? Kain almost couldn't believe it. That was so unlike Cecil, it was almost ridiculous.

Kain rushed to the outskirts of the forest where a few travelers had seen a white haired man walking alone. There had to be a reason, and knowing Cecil, it had to be something big for him to just up and leave everything behind.

He slowed down as he heard voices in the road in front of him. A soft light shone for a moment, then disappeared.

"I still can't believe it's over" said Cecil's voice, and Kain hid behind a few trees to see who he was talking to. "It feels like an eternity of battling"

"In a certain way, and considering how time behaved, yes it was something like an eternity. But it's easier to see it as just a few lives of battling." The stranger's voice had a cold emotionless tone that put Kain on edge.

Cecil sighed, and then snickered.

"Only you could say that as if it was nothing, Light"

Kain finally got a clear view of the man, and clenched his fists at the white, almost blueish tone of his hair, coming out from a horned helmet.

"The lives we may have lost were nothing compared to what we fought for"

"Yes. That's right" Cecil's voice in those three words carried such absolute _tiredness_ Kain almost jumped out of his hiding place. If he wasn't looking at him at that very moment, he could almost believe Cecil had aged decades in just these past few days.

And yet, _lives lost in battle_. What were they talking about? And who was this stranger who talked to Cecil as if they'd known each other forever.

"You see that your world is intact, and we've fallen into the third day after your departure. Everything is as it should be, so I'll be leaving now"

The stranger turned around, but Cecil held on to his arm

"Wait! Where…where will you go now?"

Kain's body froze, and he could barely breathe. _Wait…_ The word he'd longed to hear. Because if Cecil had said something…anything; then he wouldn't have…

"Back to the battle world. I am still here, so Garland must-"

"He will always be there! He always has! Light…Please. I know that for you, a lifetime is nothing. But could you stay?"

"I cannot interfere in the workings of a world to which I don't belong"

"Where do you belong then?"

A silent moment stretched. With every heartbeat, Kain wanted only to get out and rip that man apart.

"In battle."

"That's not true!"

"I cannot stay here. Or anywhere."

"I know" said Cecil, and pulled off the man's horned helmet. He smiled with a tired warmth that Kain had never seen in him. It was a smile that hovered between calmness and muted mourning. "That's why I want you to stay, even if only for a little time."

"Are you going to hold on to my helmet until I agree with you again? I promise to wash my hair more often"

Cecil laughed, and Kain was sure then; one way or another, he'd aged. Aged more than Kain had imagined at first.

"Light. I just…I just want…I want to apologize, and celebrate, to get angry at you, to forgive you, to…I want…"

"You want time from a world from which you cannot take it, Cecil"

"Light…"

"That is not my name. It'll be easier to forget me if I have no name for you to remember"

"No! I can't take it anymore! I won't let you go back to oblivion. I see now, what it is to lose everything…"

"We all lost so much"

"No. We never lost ourselves. You lost everything Light. Your name, your world, your very being. I can never give you back what you lost, but…If I can give you at least…"

"The illusion of having it all back?"

Cecil nodded. "Every time I…_fell_, I thought; I should have told Rosa I loved her, I should have hugged Rydia one last time, I should have stopped Kain, I should have...so many things. And it went on, and on, and on. No," Cecil stepped backwards, with the helmet held tightly in his hands. "I decided that I would stop doubting and wondering. I am not immortal like you, and I don't know if this will make any difference to you. But I won't let you go until I can at least give you the small illusion I can offer"

Kain held his spear, he was decided to find out what was going on in there, no matter what.

"So, you _are_ going to hold my helmet until I agree with you. Again."

"Yes, dammit! I will! And you haven't bathed in over a week! Gods, I hate you! I hate you for being such a bossy jerk, and a pig, and for writing 'oblivious faggot' in my forehead while I slept!"

"Well, subtleties weren't working on you."

"I'm keeping the helmet."

"I knew I shouldn't trust people with darkness in their hearts."

"That was low."

"I want my helmet" said the man. Neither of them said anything for a moment, then the man sighed.

"I don't know if it will be different either. If asked to do it again, I would leave everything behind without a second thought; family, memories, names…even myself. But…I will take what you offer me, if it will make you happy…And I want my helmet."

Cecil smiled again.

"Only you could have led us in this war, Light. I wish I could repay you with something better than a pretence of a life; after all you've sacrificed" Cecil turned to the path leading out of the forest, and the man followed him. Kain saw his cold blue eyes pass over his hiding place, as if telling him to come out whenever he wanted. "Come, I can't wait until you know my world. You should meet Rosa, and Kain. I have to go look for Kain too! But perhaps I should explain things to Rosa first, or maybe…No, bath first; then everything else"

"Oblivious faggot."

"Stop that."

"It's the truth, and you don't even realize it."

Kain sat on the ground for a few moments, wondering what to do next.

Apart from ripping the blue eyed bastard to shreds, of course.


End file.
