#i remember the pat he gave them in the black castle XD

[wandering-tides]

And the best dad of the year award goes to... Cale!!

A round of applauses for this man y'all!!

👏 👏 👏

[pocket-luv101]

This is my idea || Ch. 2

I made this post about an AU with the song “This is my Idea” from The Swan Princess (like half a year ago and only posting it now XD). This mini series will have three parts of their relationship throughout three stages.

Kids // (Teenagers) // Adults

“Mahiru, please tell the kitchen to pack a melon with my lunch? I want to have it as a snack when we go to the pond.” Licht asked him as he shoved his textbook to the corner of his desk. While Mahiru was his tutor, they were close friends and he was one of the few people he respected. “The Shit Rat is scheduled to arrive at noon. Can you make cookies before he arrives?”

“I don’t know if I’m your tutor or a servant to you.” Mahiru chuckled, not the least bothered by his tone. He knew that Licht was a good person despite his hard scowl. “But I’m your friend so I’ll bake cookies and cut a melon for your outing. Remember to share them with Hyde when you two go to the pond. I’m sure he will enjoy them as well. It’s sweet how excited you are for his visit.”

“How can you call yourself my friend but not know that demon irritates me beyond belief? You can’t even call us friends. The only reason that demon visits me is because of politics.” Licht reminded him with a frown. He gathered music sheets at random and marched out of the room to escape Mahiru’s knowing smile.

As he walked down the hall, Licht glanced out the window towards the path he knew Hyde would take. He and Hyde were each the heirs to two bordering kingdoms. Ever since they were children, they were forced to spend time together. Licht would visit Hyde’s castle during the summer. Similarly, Hyde would spend his winter with him.

Their guardians hoped that they would become friends to form a strong alliance between their kingdoms. That soon proved to be unlikely because their conflicting personalities only led to fights between the boys. Licht didn’t know why Kranz continued to hope they would be friends after ten years. He simply couldn’t see himself with the demon.

Licht sat in front of his piano and placed his hands on the keys. As he played a song, he started to reminisce about the time they were children. He couldn’t deny that they had a lot of fun adventures together. Hyde loved to show off the scenic places his kingdom had. Not one to be outdone, Licht would show him around his own kingdom.

“Why am I thinking about him so much?” Licht tried to shake Hyde from his mind but he couldn’t. He told himself that the reason was because he would be arriving soon. He sighed and shifted through the music sheets in front of him to find another song to play. Voices in the hall caught his attention and he was slightly surprised when he recognized it.

It sounded like Hyde was outside. The demon would always make a grand entrance whenever he arrived. Licht opened the door slightly and peered into the hall. He spotted Hyde walking with Mahiru and his heart quickened. He was about to call out to him but he stopped when Hyde patted Mahiru’s back and spoke excitedly to him.

“It’s still unbelievable a man like you isn’t promised to anyone. I know a few people who would love to have your hand, Mahiru.” Licht didn’t know why he suddenly felt jealous. It shouldn’t bother him if Hyde was interested in Mahiru or anyone else. Yet, he couldn’t move and he bit his lip. He listened as he went on, “You must be busy as Licht’s tutor. But if you’re interested, my brother—”

“Stop flirting with Mahiru!” The door crashed open and Licht stomped down the hall. He forced his way between the two and faced Hyde. “What are you doing?”

Licht appear so suddenly that they were taken aback. After the shock faded, Hyde laughed. He grinned and leaned down until he could whisper in his ear. “I was playing matchmaker. My brother has a crush on your tutor and I thought I could help them. You didn’t need to get so jealous, Lichtan. You’re certainly cute when you get worked up like this though.”

“Who said I was jealous?” Licht denied but he could feel his ears becoming red. He quickly thought of an excuse for his behaviour and turned away. “I ordered Mahiru to bake cookies for me. He can’t do that when you’re bothering him.”

“If you say so, Angel Cakes.” Hyde tousled his black hair. His fingers lingered over the white strands in his hair but Licht didn’t push his hand away. “I came early to surprise you. I should’ve known you would be the one to surprise me. Now, let’s see if that pond you told me about is as stunning as you are. It’s cold outside so you can borrow my scarf as well.”

“I know better than to take anything offered by a demon. There’s always a trick attached to it.” Licht thought Hyde was a halfhearted flirt so he told himself not to be fooled by his charming smile. He stepped away from him and said, “My coat is in my study. Wait for me by the gates.”

“As you wish, Angel Cakes. I would wait a thousand years for you.” Hyde bowed exaggeratedly. He took Licht’s hand and pressed a kiss onto his fingertips. Licht rolled his eyes and gave Hyde a swift kick. He muttered curses at the demon as he walked away. Since his back was turned to him, Hyde couldn’t see the bright blush Licht had.

“Do you think the ice is thick enough for us to skate? It’s only mid-December.” Hyde pointed out as he looked over the pond. The snow dusting the trees and the clear blue ice blanketing the water was beautiful. In the middle of that beautiful picture was an angel. Licht had already skated to the center of the pond. “Hey, don’t go off without me, Lichtan!”

“Hurry up and get over here.” Licht called back to him but he skated towards him. He stopped in front of him and offered his hand. “It’s safe. I already checked the thickness of the ice earlier today. Also, I’ve been skating here since I was a kid and the ice never cracked once. Why are you hesitating? You were the one who asked me to take you to this pond.”

“Well, you kept boasting about this place while we were fishing. I was curious but we need to be certain the ice is safe. Gil will kill me if something happened to you while we outside of the castle. Remember that time we searched for that snow angel and got sick?” Hyde reminded him but the memory made him laugh. He stepped onto the ice and said, “If anything does happen, I’ll save you.”

“An angel doesn’t need a demon’s protection. If anything, I will be the one to rescue you.” He almost slipped on the ice when Hyde threw his arms around him. With his back pressed against his chest, Licht was able to lean on him to keep himself from falling. He could feel Hyde’s warmth around him and he tilted his head back to look up at him. “What the hell, Shit Rat?”

“I was just really happy when you said you would save me. You’re so cold all the times so I don’t get to see your sweet side as often.” Hyde let go of him and skated around him until they were facing. His teasing smile Licht question if he was being truthful. He could never know with a man like Hyde. With that thought, he pushed off the ice and skated away from him.

Hyde followed him and skated next to him. They glided over ice and spoke idly with each other. Despite how often they fought, it was easy to fall into a pleasant conversation with Hyde. “One of your brothers is interested in Mahiru? He must be incredibly foolish or desperate if he’s going to trust you with his love life. I can’t call any of your siblings those things so I’m guessing you decided to help on your own.”

“As always, you’re right, Lichtan.” He nodded. “Do you want to be my partner in crime and help me set those two up?”

“You must not be busy if you can waste time on someone else’s relationship. I should tell Gil you need more work. It’ll keep you out of trouble.” Licht said in a thoughtful voice. In reaction, Hyde made an exaggerated expression and Licht decided to take pity on him. “As long as you don’t try to drag me into one of your schemes, I’ll keep your secret.”

“You’re a true angel.” His voice was surprisingly warm as he spoke and Licht suddenly felt flustered. Hyde would usually tease him for being an angel. He pulled his hood over his head to hide the blush that appeared on his cheeks. Hopefully, he would mistake it for the cold. He almost tripped when Hyde leaned towards him. “If you continue to be so sweet, I’m going to fall in love with you.”

“I’m wearing ice skates. They’ll hurt much more when I kick you.” Licht reminded him. He pulled away from him and bit his lip. He looked down at their feet and mumbled to himself. “I hate when you tease me like that, Shit Rat.”

“I can’t help it when your reactions are entertaining.” Hyde was prepared to dodge a kick but Licht merely turned his gaze away from him. He briefly saw the lonely expression he had and became worried. “Did I go too far? Tell me and I’ll apologize. I don’t want Gil to yell at me.”

“That’s exactly what I don’t like!” He yelled and turned to kick him. It was difficult to keep his balance on ice skates and he almost fell. Hyde rushed to catch him and caught his hands. Neither of them could find any friction on the ice so they both tumbled to the ground. He fell on top of Licht and they both groaned. After a moment, Hyde pushed himself up slightly and looked down at him.

“Are you hurt, Lichtan?”

“No, I’m not.” He said but Hyde still ran his hand over his head to check for a bump. Licht slapped his hand away. “Didn’t I tell you to stop teasing me like this? I know you don’t like me and the only reason you spend time with me is because Gil forces you to. I don’t understand why you bother with anything if you’re going to be half hearted.”

Hyde was silent for a moment since he didn’t know how to answer him. He was so close to Licht he could see himself in his clear, blue eyes. He thought of the first time he met him. “When we were kids, I played with you because Gil and my siblings insisted I should. But we’re sixteen now. Everyone is telling me I need to court Princess Hime for political reasons.”

“Do you like her?” Licht hated how his voice trembled a little.

“I haven’t sent her a single letter so I wouldn’t know.” He told him as he sat up. “My title doesn’t control me and I can say no to my family. I spend time with you because I enjoy being with you, Licht. I look forward to the summer when you’ll come to my castle.”

“Hyde—” He whispered his name but that was soon drowned out by the sound of footsteps in the snow. Licht realized that someone was approaching them and he shoved Hyde off him. In the distance, he noticed Mahiru walking towards the pond. He stood and fixed his clothes. He couldn’t meet Hyde’s red eyes as he skated to the edge of the pond where their boots were.

Licht waved to his friend. They greeted each other and then Mahiru dangled a basket in front of him. “You two left so quickly I couldn’t give you your lunch. Here you go. I’m sorry to interrupt your little outing. It seems like you two were having a lot of fun together. Bye, Licht.”

Once he handed Licht the basket, Mahiru returned to the castle. He couldn’t correct his friend before he walked away. He sighed heavily and looked down at the basket of warm treats. Licht sensed Hyde move next to him and steal a cookie from the basket. “This taste great. Do you want to return to the castle to have a proper lunch or would you rather eat here?”

“Cookies are best when they’re fresh and warm. Let’s sit under that tree.” Licht gestured to the tree. He shook the snow from his boot before he put them on. He held onto Hyde’s arm for balance as he did so. From the corner of his eyes, he caught Hyde eating a second cookie. “If you keep stealing all the cookies, there won’t be anything else left for me.”

“Do you want to share the next cookie?” Hyde held a cookie in his mouth and leaned towards Licht.

“Didn’t I just tell you to stop teasing me?” He screamed and pushed him into the snow.

Licht is such a tsundere~

[plumedesimili]

Rookie

Summary : When the Organization XIII welcomes their latest member, Number XII, it is Demyx’s job to teach her how missions work. Not that any of them really wanted to team up. Word Count : 1450 Read on FFNet | AO3

Two black figures stepped into the Beast’s Castle, glancing here and there. The silence between the two of them did not last long.

“So, your name is Larxene, is that right? Where are you from?”

She glared at him, but didn’t answer.

“Riiight. I can get that you wouldn’t tell. I mean, you were in such a state when Xemnas brought you… Had a tough life, didn’t you?”

“Listen, rookie, we’re here for a mission. So we do that mission, we come back to the Castle, and meanwhile, you only speak to teach me what I need to know about the specificities of being a Nobody. Got it?”

“Rookie?” He put his hand on his chest in a dramatic way. “You’re the rookie! My name is Demyx, and I will have you know that I’ve been here since…”

“Whatever. Let’s get over with this.”

Demyx sighed, before having a mischievous smirk. “You know what? It’s true that you should learn. How about you take a look inside this castle, while I have a look around it? That way, you won’t have to hear me talk to you.”

She shrugged. “Fine with me.”

He watched her go into the Castle. She had been there for two days only. Hard to forget that haunted look on her face when she was introduced, glancing everywhere as if she was scared, almost jumping when Xigbar gave her a (violent) pat on the shoulder, and putting a knife on Luxord’s throat when he tried to be a bit too familiar with her. Demyx had no idea what her story was, but that didn’t sound really fun. He remembered when he turned into a Nobody, and shivered. He had not slept for a week. But he didn’t worry - soon enough, she’ll feel better.

Making sure she was in the Castle and couldn’t see him, he settled for a nap. He remembered how fast she was with her knives, so there was nothing to worry about. Today’s mission was about doing some reconnaissance inside the Castle, anyway. The rumours had it the Prince living here had a very dark heart, attracting lots of Heartless, so it might be useful for them later on. All she had to do was sneak in, try to find this Prince, see if his heart really was that dark, and that would be the end of the mission.

He dozed off for around twenty minutes. When he opened his eyes, the wind was getting colder, and he sneezed.

“Man, I want to RtC now… Why isn’t she back yet?” With a yawn and a sigh, he decided to see what was going on. Surely, she had not attacked the Prince, had she? That sounded pretty much like something she would do. Demyx always feared she’d slit his throat for no reason.

He carefully pushed the huge door, which luckily didn’t creak. Slowly coming in, wary about any suspicious move, he relaxed when he realised the main hall was empty. He could hear voices from behind some doors, but they were all closed. He was safe.

Looking around, he had no idea where she could have gone. This place was huge, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to look everywhere. He was the lazy one and he had a reputation to keep.

He didn’t even had to push the door to know where she was. The Dancing Hall reeked of Darkness. Whatever was in there - it was bad. It wasn’t a couple of Shadows or other minor Heartless. It was something big. He entered the room, holding his breathe in.

There was a Darkside in the middle of the room. A gigantic Darkside. Demyx scanned the room until he spotted Larxene, sitting against the wall as if she’d been violently thrown against it. The monster prepared its Dark Orbs attacks, and she wouldn’t be able to dodge it.

“DANCE, WATER, DANCE!”

He summoned thirty water clones, distracting the monster and luring its attacks. Demyx dashed to the newbie.

“Larxene, are you okay?”

“Is this… a nightmare?” She groaned. “One you is already too much… So that many…”

He chuckled. “Well, they are saving your sorry life right now, so be a bit more grateful. Can you stand?”

He helped her up, and she staggered. “What is that thing? I threw my knives at it, but it didn’t… Watch out!”

The clones were finally gone, and the monster attacked them instead. Demyx played another few notes on his sitar, summoning waves that attacked the monster.

“Magic works better than physical attacks on them.”

“I don’t know how to use Magic.”

He winked. “Then today’s the best day to learn!” He quickly explained the basics of it. “There are times where magic is the best weapon. I’m specialised in Water-based magic, but here, try different spells!”

He summoned new clones to distract the Darkside while she was trying some spells. She was terrible with water spells, or fire ones. But that Thunder she threw… Demyx let out an appreciative whistle. “Not bad, not bad at all! Electric type, uh? How about we try a little something, then?”

He let all of his clones melt away, so that the heartless was surrounded with water. Larxene, getting his plan, smirked. “Here we go, then!”

Casting her last Thunder spell, she fried the Darkside which finally disappeared into a cloud of Darkness.

“Alright, we’re done there. Let’s RtC. Larxene?” He looked at her and frowned. Exhausted from the fight, and since she wasn’t much used to magic yet, she had collapsed, sitting on the floor.

“Come on. Let’s go back home now. You did well.” He put her arm around his shoulders, lifting her up and helping her to walk. “Here. Take that.” He pulled out a potion from one of his pocket, and she drank it in silence.

“Don’t think that makes us friends.” She finally said, as Demyx had opened up the portal to go back to the Castle.

“Uh?”

“You, helping me. Teaching me. We are not friends. I despise all of you, and I think I despise you the most. So don’t you think we have bonded or anything.”

He shrugged. “That’s fine with me. You are pretentious and arrogant, with too much pride. We are not meant to be friends. Heck, we don’t have a heart, so can we really have friends anyway?” He smiled. “But you still did well today, and I guess I’m glad you are okay. Welcome to the Organization XIII, number XII. Even if you hate me the most, remember that I might be one of the best listeners around… If you ever need to.” He winked, before getting back to his usual bored face. “Alright, let’s go back. I need a nap.”

As soon as they stepped back into the Grey Area, Saïx was there, waiting for them. If he noticed their damaged coats, he did not mention it.

“Demyx, I’ll be awaiting for your report by tomorrow morning. Don’t be late, this time.”

“A report?” Axel snorted from one of the couches behind. “Let me sum up what probably happened. They went there, then Demyx found a stupid reason for them to split up, the rookie did all the work while that lazy guy took a nap! You don’t seriously think he would ever fight, now, do you?”

Demyx shrugged. “Yup, that’s what happened. Since you know it all already, does that mean I don’t have to write that report?”

“What? But…” Larxene frowned, but Demyx smiled at her before interrupting her.

“And she’s pretty good! Found a way to master magic on her own. She even defeated a Darkside by herself. You know, I think you should give her all of my dangerous missions. She’s doing better than I’ll ever do.”

Saïx glared at them. “Report by tomorrow morning. Am I clear?”

Demyx sighed, nodding and pouting. Saïx left.

“Why would you lie about that?” Larxene was angrily whispering. “Don’t you want them to see you as competent?”

Demyx chuckled. “Heck no! Competent means dangerous jobs. I’m cut for reconnaissance. I’ll gladly let you steal all of the spotlight. Enjoy your time here, Twelve!”

She punched him on the shoulder with violence. He winced. “Hey! What was that about?”

“I hate you, and one day, I swear I will kill you. Everything in you annoys me. But… Thanks for today.”

He smiled, shrugging and walking away.

“Whatever. Now you’ll get tough jobs and I can enjoy some more naps. That was just long time investment!’

As he left, Larxene indulged him a smile. Back then, nobody knew how rare these would be… And how ironic she would only give them to the one she had sworn she’d kill.

This is no real surprise to me, but Larxene is confirmed to return in KH3, and I’m super excited. I really don’t dislike her, although I am aware she wasn’t the kindest one around, I still thought she was funny (the mangas might have helped with that). Anyway, the shameful ship is back! (Just kidding I’m not even ashamed of shipping them XD)

[smokingbomber]

wreck / seventeen

@storyofthedoor​ did not just do prompt requests, she actually gave me a FRAME STORY for them, and I died three times before I could finish laughing long enough to start trying to figure out how the hell to pull this off. And then I figured someone would be pulling something either way!

Prompts: 

kendy/skunzite/seventeen,smut ok

kendy/luna/wreck,smut ok

Frame story is CT Kunzite and CT Minako, Luna, Diana, and King Endymion, written by her. XD

Vee sitting up in bed, staring at phone. Kunzite in bed with her, arm around her, laying down. K: quit staring at things that light up I’m asleep. V: Not asleep, you just talked.

He sits up to look at what she’s fixated on. She types gleefully. K: … what? Is that? V: TUMBLR.

He grabs the phone out of her hand and starts typing furiously. K: I GOT YOU ONE BETTER THAN THAT. V: NOOO my phone my ask.

What he types. K: “King Endymion / Luna / Wreck” V: You can’t type stuff like that about your king! K: Anonymous internet I do what I want.

She grabs the phone back and types furiously with her tongue out, he watches what horrible thing she writes. K: That’s not even POSSIBLE… V: It’s the internet. There’s porn of it ESPECIALLY if it can’t exist!

What she types. V: “King Endymion / Silmil Kunzite / Seventeen” K: Not gonna be porn though with that at the end. V: It could be porn in Europe. ^_~

The phone makes a pinging noise. Vee looks down at it. Her face lights up. V: Oh!! That was - fast --

Her face goes horrified. Kunzite’s face lights up. She hands him the phone between thumb and finger, barely holding the dirty dirty corner of it. He gleefully holds out grabby hands. V: …………. It’s for you.

He holds the phone, but they both stare transfixed at the screen.

After the haze of pleasure slowly cleared and he looked down at the beautiful odangoed girl in his arms, catnapping peacefully, Endy realized that he was actually in the middle of a slow-motion trainwreck.

For a moment, his heart froze in terror: for the many, many long years ahead of them, he hoped damn well he'd still be Artemis' drinking buddy and poker night rival. And then it got worse: for the many, many long years behind them, as much as it was the subject of endless jokes about him and cats, he'd never even once considered-- even knowing about the one astrophysicist-- and so, how could he forgive himself? Had she been pining all these years, afraid to ask? Was the famed Joined Court strangely xenophobic or speciesist in its casual polyamory?

Vee recoils from the phone and can’t look anymore. V: AAaauuu how are you still reading? Poor Endy! K: They got the ‘wreck’ part right. K: And seems like Luna enjoyed it. c:

And then the blood drained from his face and took the terror with it, leaving a hollow feeling in his gut. The ultimate potential consequence to his inability to stand strong against the woes of a crying girl that he loved in any way revealed itself to the King of Earth--

Now Kunzite holds the phone away from him and makes a XP face. Vee wasn’t reading but now she wants to know! K: ooh…. V: What?? How did it end??

Small Lady was about a month away. King Endymion really didn’t know if Mauan reproductive biology worked like humans’ or like cats’... and that meant Diana could well be Small Lady’s half-sister.

They both squirm and flail.

V: I should have just stayed away. I see Diana every day I don’t want to think about this. K: …. So bad….

He grins at her and elbows her. K: So worth it.

Outside their room, a little fuzzy black paw pats on the door and begins to push it open.

Both Vee and Kunzite jolt to stare at the door.

Luna pushes the door open, Diana is sitting on her back. Di: Hi!!! C: L: You guys are sleeping in today! I thought we had work to do! I was going to talk to you about-

Vee is traumatized by sudden Luna. O_O Kunzite makes the :| face and throws the phone over his shoulder out the window.

Luna and Diana stop talking. O_o ...

The phone makes the looooong drop out of a high (modernized neo tokyo) castle window. V: aaaAAAAA THAT WAS MY PHONE!!!!

Vee has put a bathrobe on and is shaking Kunzite by the shoulders. V: YOU THREW MY PHONE OUT THE WINDOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS ON THAT PHONE-

K: Ye- NO… V: WE HAVE TO GET IT. BEFORE ANYONE-

Luna and Diana are ready to help!!!! L: We can help you find it! It can’t have gone far!!

Vee and Kunzite, together, launched out of bed and running for the door. V: NO THAT’S ALRIGHT LUNA WE’LL BE RIGHT BACK IT’S TOTALLY OKAY!!!

Meanwhile, outside, strolling around the castle gardens on a nice morning, King Endymion comes across an abandoned phone that looks like Vee’s phone???

He picks it up, and the screen is still unlocked, and it says 'new notification' so of course he checks it out, and his eyes widen.

He woke up in two Elysions simultaneously, and instantly knew he'd misstepped. He hadn't even been aiming for Elysion at all-- he'd just taught his former self how to use Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber in defense of his daughter and the past version of his wife, and had only meant to check and see exactly how well his younger self's psychometry was developed in comparison to what he remembered of the time.

Obviously that hadn't worked, and he reached up to rub his eyes under his mask, and Elysion resolved, collapsing the uncertainty into one reality. Strangely, he could hear people in the background, and picked himself up off the forest floor and crept ahead to see what was going on--

--and came across the outskirts of the little town that had thrived, back in the days of the Golden Kingdom, between the castle and the sacred buildings that housed Helios, the Maenads, and the Great Library of Magic. His eyes widened, and he stepped backwards, only to feel the point of a sword at his back.

He was already calling his strength into his hand for its inevitable attack release when the owner of the sword spoke. "You're trespassing on holy ground," the voice came. "Who--"

That voice. He knew that voice so well: that voice from his past and his present, that voice that belonged to the person he loved so well as a child and an adolescent in the Golden Kingdom, that voice that was raised in frustration so soon before the end, that voice that had haunted the senshi during the days of the Dark Kingdom, that voice that thereafter had come, ghostly and level to advise him from the depths of a stone.

The King turned, tears in his dark ocean-blue eyes behind the white mask, and he let the forming attack disperse. Kunzite was behind him, still threatening with the sword, solid and firm in his ready stance. He sounded young-- he looked so young. "Kunzite..." he barely breathed.

The teenaged Shitennou stared, sword lowering abruptly. "En-- Endymion?" he asked tentatively, then glanced back over his shoulder toward the library, and looked back at the impossible King, the man's bearing and age, and fine but strange attire, bespeaking a future he couldn't possibly know. He knew without asking, but he had to confirm it-- but the fierce pride when looking at him had already settled in his bones. This was the king that his beloved prince would one day become, this king who held every bit of love in his eyes as the boy he protected with the entirety of his body and soul. His king.

King Endymion, smiling with such wistful affection, reached up to undo the ties of the mask behind his black hair, showing so much more clearly the long, long life between himself and the boy prince that Kunzite knew to the depths of his heart, showing the glittering of unshed tears. "I don't know if this is a dream," he said, voice low and uncertain, "so I don't know how much I should tell you-- but I want to tell you so many things..."

Kunzite could only stare, reading more things in that face he could read so effortlessly, in those eyes that clearly held grief and longing, than the King could have said with words. "...oh," he said after a moment, voice so low it was nearly inaudible. The young man swallowed. "Can you-- can you tell me when I... when I made the mistake? No-- no, you can't, you can't change your past."

The King, reaching out to touch Kunzite's young face, smiled with so much pain-- but the contact, the empathic connection, the King's power-- was familiar in the unconditional love and acceptance that the boy had given him since the moment the child Kunzite had come to guard the toddler prince. It's just that the power was so much more overwhelming, a golden flood of centuries of emotion and longing and triumph and grief. Kunzite leaned his face into the touch, then dropped his sword and took the King's hand in both of his, and the King could feel from him the depths to which Kunzite would sink to protect him, the fierce and fiery love he had for him, the desperate desire to know when he could possibly have failed him by dying.

Abruptly, a wild light entered Endymion's eyes, and the rushing golden embrace of his power swept Kunzite up in a sudden, reckless, bright hope. "We're already interfering in the past. Why not again? Why not spare you the heartache, why not give you a chance to fix what happened in my timeline? Why not give another us a chance to live? To live and create another history? It happens when I'm seventeen. Trust me, even if the world tells you I'm under a spell. Trust me, even if everything I say seems to indicate I'm being tricked, being lied to-- trust me and stay by me, and trust that even if everything still goes wrong and everything dies, we'll all come back."

Kunzite's gaze lifted abruptly in surprise, and the hope was infectious, but toward the end, his heart seized in alarm and a growing sense of horror. He hadn't just died, then. The mistake wasn't only one that cost him his own life, and cost the Prince his first guardian.

"We'll all come back," Endymion continued, earnest and strong, "and if you stay by me, if you believe me even when it seems like the world will burn and I'll be lost to you forever, if you keep the others with me-- if you only trust me-- we'll be together again. Don't believe the rumors about the Moon. Don't believe anything you hear about them spying on us, about them intending to invade-- trust me, trust the Moon-- trust Venus. Work with her, once you've met her. Help me, guide me, don't try to prevent the love I'll find-- try to help me find a way to get our people to believe in an alliance with the Silver Millennium. And when the solar storm hits a couple of years from now, after I've met the Princess, ask for the help of the Queen of the Moon. We don't have enough power on our own to ward off the demon that will turn the people of Earth against the Moon... against me. They do. And they will help. They only want to help us thrive. They want to take nothing from us. Believe me. Trust me. You might be able to save everything-- and if the demon overwhelms even the allied planets of the Silver Millennium, and nothing is saved this time except souls-- there will be another time, and we'll find each other again, instead of-- instead of--"

Kunzite reached up to press his fingertips to the King's lips, startled at his own motion but keeping it. "I understand," he said, voice breaking. "I believe you. You're alive in front of me-- and you have the Moon's long lifespan, haven't you? I believe you. I trust you. I won't forget."

The King couldn't help himself. There was only a flicker of warning before he kissed the young man's fingertips, catching his hand in one of his own, and the other hand rose to brush Kunzite's bone-white hair away from his face.

There was a bright laugh from the direction in which Kunzite had glanced back, and the laughter of other boys, familiar but so much younger, and Kunzite and King Endymion both looked that way before glancing back at each other. Time's up, their mutual understanding stated.

And then there was no warning. Endymion leaned forward suddenly, giving the past version of his guardian a fierce, possessive kiss, full and deep. "I won't stop trying to get you back in my own timeline," he said against the young man's lips, voice nearly a growl, and then fading into something achingly hopeful as the thousand-year-old King began to dissipate into golden glimmerings in the air, "but you damned well better make sure there's a better future in yours."

Kunzite watched until there was nothing left, his fingertips pressed to his own lips in incredulity and overwhelming confusion.

And then a thirteen-year-old prince crashed through the underbrush and into Kunzite's side, the impact nearly shaking the wall that was his oldest guardian--

--and Kunzite fell to his knees and captured his prince in a crushingly tight hug.

Prince Endymion squeaked. "What's wrong?" he asked, flustered, even as he hugged back hard.

"Nothing," Kunzite murmured against the boy's hair. "And nothing will be, either."

"Oh god, Venus, what are you even reading..." King Endymion asked the air, breathless and choked up, the heel of his gloved hand coming up to scrub at his eyes and partially crushing his mask. "Who even wrote this..."

He took the long way back around to the palace, pocketing the phone so he could give it back to her once he'd composed himself.