kh_drabble | (no subject)

Challenge: [089] No Good Deed
Title: Glittering
Words: 274
Spoilers: For later parts in Twilight Town (not really, but kind of)

It is no secret that there are things lurking in the passages beneath Twilight Town. No one speaks of it—-a taboo subject—-but somewhere along the way it’s become less and less common for the windows to be left open overnight or the door to remain unlocked.

And somewhere along the way, it’s become increasingly normal for the shopkeeper to open his doors early morning, long before the rest of the city arises, and have his first customer already waiting. The scene is always casual, but as time passes it becomes more difficult to not notice the slight limp, the hidden bruises, and the barely visible frustration. It becomes easier to avoid meeting those green eyes, always glittering with the foolish refusal to accept defeat. The items the vendor sells will clot blood and knit flesh, but they cannot cure pride.

Then, for a few mornings, the merchant is alone. He sees a new boy running along the streets, one with sapphires for eyes, and with him comes an aura of assured tranquility. For those precious nights, windows are open and doors left alone, long worn habit breaking under the instinctive knowledge that they are safe.

The boy buys a potion before he leaves. “Just in case I need it in the next world,” he says to his companions, grinning as he hands over his munny. “Better safe than sorry, right?”

That night, thoughts wandering, it takes a little longer to restock the shelves. The boy is gone. Tomorrow morning, the shopkeeper knows, he will open and Seifer will be waiting, green eyes—-not blue—-glittering.

He locks the door before closing shop.