Utopia

Summary : Set after the game. Rosa finally figures out why Cecil won't touch her. Kain/Cecil, one-way Rosa/Cecil

You can completely disregard the following author's notes. I'm just rambling, hoping someone will share my POV XD;. Contains spoilers, although we all see it coming if we've touched the game. Cue rant.

Author's Note- err.. Rant: I'll be the first one to admit it, I AM a Final Fantasy IV fangirl. I'm a sucker for pretty boys with long silver hair and pale complexions who can put up a fight (my OC Shandaar from Take Me Away was based off Cecil Harvey, I can't deny it; “Imitation is the best form of flattery”), and a sucker for yaoi as well.

I've been pairing off Kain and Cecil since I've a little girl of about 8 or 9, even though I had absolutely no idea what the hell “homosexuality” was. So over 15 years after, I stand very, very disappointed at Square-Enix's decision of Cecil and Rosa getting married... and this is a part (yes, a part, I have more stories coming) of my personal revenge against them.

Yeah, sure, I'll pair off Rosa and Cecil. Just that I won't make it work for them. Because whoever knows my work... knows how cruel I am. *cough* TMA *cough* my Tekken fics *cough*. Worse part? I don't even remotely hate Rosa.

Exit rant. Enjoy the fic! ^_^

Utopia

Marriage.

Rosa swallowed hard at the memories of her wedding day. Vivid images invaded her thoughts She could feel Cecil's soft skin and powerful grip on her hand as they stood in front of the cheering crowd. She was wearing a white gown with a pure diamond tiara – a little girl's dream like only fairy tales could offer. She felt safe despite the young man's frail appearance. As much as he had been called a pretty boy during his army days – despite being the Lord Captain of Baron's Red Wings aerial army and the King's personal war strategist – he was a deadly, merciless fighter. Deep inside, she loved this rough and manly side of the young man, who passed, on more than one occasion, for her sister.

And he was now her husband. Husband. The word rang in her ears in such a weird way.

Because Cecil never acted like a husband.

At first, she saw him as a workaholic; long, boring discussions about war, peace, and everything in between; trade and marketing treaties, salary offered to the castle's staff, army members... She was sure if he had known what was waiting for him, he'd have never accepted to be king. He'd have settled for a quieter, happy life. She imagined him coming home from the training grounds with a tired smile on his face, happy to be back after a hard day's work.

But she was wrong, oh so wrong. Utopia described her view so perfectly, it scared her.

There was something more to it than Cecil being a simple workaholic, however. He spent more time in diplomatic relations sessions than with her, and when he wasn't in one of these, he was either at the training grounds or simply away. Very rarely he was with her. Hell, he didn't even sleep with her on a regular basis. They had no intimacy whatsoever, and whereas a regular young man would be driven to insanity without it, he could live with it perfectly fine...

What if he didn't love her?

Why did he marry her then?

What if... what if there was someone else?

No. Such a thing wasn't even remotely possible.

Sitting alone on her bed, Rosa let out a girlish laugh. No. No way Cecil would cheat on her with someone else. He was a friend, a good friend... he could never do that to her, not after what they had gone through. Not after he saved her from a certain death and hugged her so tight that she thought he would break her ribs. Not after she healed his wounds countless times, and spent many nights by his side.

She needed him. She needed him now.

The woman got off her bed and walked out of her quarters, sending a warm, happy smile in her servants' direction. She was a queen, a strong, willing woman able to make her own decisions as well. Not the little girl who wanted to live a life only found in fairy tales. Anyways, not anymore.

I can't let them know how I feel. I have to keep up appearances.

Rosa made her way to his chambers, only to learn he had, once again, wandered off to the training grounds. Once she exited the area, she rolled her eyes. 'This is so like him.'

And same deal at the knight's training grounds. Cecil was not there. According to the other army men present, he had taken a chocobo out of the stable and headed outside the castle, unescorted. But outside the castle meant so much... unless he had headed to their old, personal training grounds. She had been the witness of many friendly fights between Kain and Cecil. She knew he liked spending time there, and he had taken her there alone on several occasions.

The stablemen were slightly shocked at the sight of the queen walking alone in the stable, eyeing the chocobos. She had stopped coming here after she had married, but had not forgotten how to ride one. She saddled a young bird and hopped on it like she had done it all of her life, then rode off, saying she would be back before nightfall – and if she wasn't, that they didn't need to worry.

Riding the chocobo's back brought her more memories – younger, she often rode with Kain or Cecil, who were a few years older than her and more experienced. Later, she had insisted on having her own one, even though she still rode with either every now and then.

It took half an hour only to reach the designated area. Autumn was slowly setting in – the wind was still warm and the skies bright blue, but the tall, green grass had become golden. She remembered how similar in color the grass and Kain's hair were, and always giggled at how the hair was longer than the grass itself.

Rosa got off the chocobo's back, and taking it by the reins, walked in the middle of the field, a large smile on her pretty face. She gazed at the cloudless sky and closed her eyes, losing herself in happier thoughts. Kain, Cecil and her sitting at the base a tree, eating a sandwich; the laughter that ensued when Kain choked on a single grape, attributed to her mimicry of a white-magic teacher she had; falling asleep in Cecil's arms as him and Kain talked about their weapons ('You boys are boring! Wake me up when you're done!'); coming up with silly new constellations in the night when they weren't tired enough to go to sleep...

Quietly, she began walking over to the tree they spent so much time under. She almost expected finding Cecil and Kain sitting under it, rolling their eyes at their respective teachers and trainers. Well that was Kain's department, but Cecil had his share of people he did not like as well. She even could hear Cecil's muffled, girlish laughter echoing in her ears.

She really could.

The blonde woman blinked at how vivid was the memory, and kept on walking, expecting the laughter to die soon. But it did not.

Her eyes settled on a piece of white and purple armor – bracers – on the ground, then another. And the chest plate Cecil wore almost all the time. Curious, she followed the trail of items, leading her to a good ten meters away from their tree. The laughter grew stronger.

Rosa held back a gasp as her foot hit a pile of blue metal, the sound lost in the warm wind. Perplexed, she picked a piece of armor up – obviously Kain's, as it was lighter in weight than Cecil's. She recalled hearing why when she was nothing but a young girl, and she rolled her eyes again. Boys were so boring. It was always about their equipment. Just like she did back then, she crossed her arms on her chest and looked at her surrounding, hopefully mentally killing the incessant babbles on materials and why this one was better than the other.

Her teal eyes settled on a moving form in the grass, a few meters away from the neat pile of armor. The woman squinted for more details... and what she saw made sense. Too much sense. Her eyes widened in surprise as her heart stopped beating for a split second.

Kain was sitting on the ground, holding Cecil in his arms.

Both were naked, their skin glistening under the late summer sun.

The silver-haired man raised a delicate hand in the air and grabbed a lock of golden hair with his fingers, gently pulling it.

“Stop touching my hair...!” Just like the old days. Kain hated when others touched his prized golden brands. And Kain didn't slap. He punched.

The punch landed on Cecil's naked shoulder, making the young king wince. “You bastard!” Then came the laughter.

“Eh, might I remind you my parents were married?”

Cecil laughed in disbelief, standing between being hurt by the comment – he was a bastard in the proper way – and amusement.“That was low, Kain. That was really low.” He then turned around to face the dragoon, pushing him playfully in the grass.

Rosa let go of the reins in her right hand, unable to stop watching.

Cecil laughing girlishly at Kain's mild fear of bats.

Kain lovingly running his hand in Cecil's long, silver hair.

Kain and Cecil throwing mud at each other after the rain.

Cecil teaching Kain how to fight with a sword.

Cecil pulling Kain in a heated kiss.

Kain pushing Cecil on his back, and resuming the kiss.

It had always been about Cecil and Kain.

The chocobo looked at her, tilting its neck in a puzzled way, only to gently nuzzle her. Had it been human, Rosa would have sworn the bird knew how she felt.

She could not pry her teary eyes away from the scene. Now she understood it all. They can't let us know how they feel. They have to keep up appearances.


~


Author's Notes: Yeah, I know very well what Kain does after the game. And as I'm not sure if Cecil's parents were married... well... I just imagined, and I needed an excuse for Cecil to push Kain down XD. To my defense: it's a fic XD. Constructive criticism welcome!