FicWad

Kiros was either very drunk, or he was having a sudden Conscience Attack. Either way, I found myself staring at him with what had to be the dumbest expression known to man on my face, gaping and wondering why I was suddenly privy to some very sensitive intel.

"Wait, what?"

"I lied on my enrollment for the academy. You have to be fifteen to enter, you know? I said I was sixteen, almost seventeen."

"How old . . . were you?"

"Almost thirteen."

Four years younger than me. /Four years/. It had taken me long enough to get over the fact that Ward-bigger and stronger than both of us, an Enlisted soldier when we were in our last year-was two years younger than me.

But the guy I'm sleeping with!?

"Does anyone else know?"

"Ward."

. . . he had been /thirteen/.

"Oh fuck/." I buried my face in my hands and flagged down the barman for another strong drink. Stronger than the last one. /Much stronger.

"Laguna-."

"You were thirteen, and I wanted to have sex with you. I was seventeen. You were, what, seventeen when we did start sleeping together?" I groaned into my hands, and peered at him through my fingers. "I'm a fucking cradle-robber."

"I should have told you before . . ." He shook his head a little, and took my drink when the barman brought it. I ordered another one, and let him drink mine. Watching him, I tried to figure out why he'd decided to tell me now of all times.

"Would that really have made it any better?" I asked, only half serious. He shrugged, and took another heavy drink as the barman brought me mine.

"You might've thought about whether it was actually a good idea."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it, hold on one fucking minute/." I made a 'T' with my hands as I set down my drink, and crossed my arms over my chest firmly. "Me and you, we were gonna end up doin' /somethin' because, let's face it, I have no self control. So whether or not you had told me you were /four years younger than me/, I still would've tried to get in your uniform. It just . . . would've taken a bit longer."

He smiled a little at that, shrugging again. The barman was giving us a peculiar look, and I was only too greatful that we were neither in the Deling City Hotel nightclub or in our uniforms.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For not telling you. I should have-."

"Yeah, well." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, not really sure what to do /now/.

After all, this entire little 'date' thing had been to celebrate the anniversary of the first time we'd slept together. I had a big night planted, beyond drinking. I had train tickets out to Dollet so we could see the beach.

. . . He's only eighteen, some annoying little voice reminded me. It suddenly seem quite so odd that he'd suddenly hit a growth spurt and shot passed me in height. In fact, a whole lot of stuff suddenly made sense.

Didn't keep me from feeling like a dirty pedophile. By Galbadian law, you're a child until you reach twenty.

He wasn't even an adult yet.

From the look in his eyes, he knew what I was thinking about. He also looked torn between offering a comforting gesture and just saying something.

I solved that one for him. Grabbed his wrist and pulled him a little closer-idiot was standing between my stool and the next-and hugged him with one arm as I kissed him gently.

"I'm going to burn for eternity because of you, you know that, right?"

"That would mean you'd have to actually die though." There might've been a joke, lurking there. I didn't bother to go looking for it. Wasn't worth it. After another few kisses-and a snobby little cough from the barman-I just grinned at him and stretched as I stood up.

"Train comes in twenty minutes."

"You still-?"

"Me and you time?" I stared at him for a second, as though he'd completely lost his mind. "You could tell me just about anything right now, and I'd still drag you to the beach."

He just smiled and shook his head a little.