AN: This is just a oneshot I wrote on a whim. Not much effort went into it so please don't base my writing style off of this. Enjoy.

For the Time Being...

He mused silently. He didn't have many other options since it was his companion who was speaking, and Lea never seemed to shut up - thus not permitting anyone else to get a word in edgewise. But unbeknownst to Isa, Lea had shut up. He too had fallen into musing – or more accurately – fuming at his own failure.

However, having a short attention span, Lea soon noticed someone standing beside them at the kiosk. He was waving a pair of ice-cream bars in the air in an obvious attempt to sell them off to any random passerby. Lea addressed the vendor and handed him a small sum on munni in exchange for the treats.

Turning to Isa, Lea handed him the ice cream, and Isa silently took it from his friend's hand. They ate quietly together, not sure what to say.

Eventually, it appeared that something occurred spontaneously to Lea, and he shook his head in mild confusion, disappointment and self-pity written across his face.

"I'm a lousy friend."

Isa turned to Lea in slight surprise. Not because of the abruptness of which he spoke, but because it was rare of him to say things in such a serious manner. "It's fine," Isa reassured Lea. "To be truthful, I felt we were going to fail from the start."

Lea laughed hollowly. "Nice optimism," he commented. "But... that's not what I meant."

"Oh?" Isa asked, as he took another bite from his ice cream.

"It feels..." Lea stuttered. "I feel like I should be eating this with someone else... with another friend."

Isa paused and examined Lea. He was acting strange. Knowing from experience that he was unlikely to get a clear explanation from his friend and that they would just end up talking in circles, he decided it best to lighten the mood.

"Well..." Isa said nonchalantly. "As long as you don't dump me for Myde, I think I'll be okay."

At this, Lea truly laughed. "As if!" he protested with a smile. "That kid is just weird! He stays inside all day. Talk about lazy! Shouldn't he be out and about playing or something?"

"Lazy?" Isa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but were you not the one who commented just yesterday that you'd nap six times a day if I'd let you?"

Lea chuckled. "You got me there." But the brief moment of distraction had vanished, and Lea's thoughts turned back to those conflicting him previously.

The duo returned to finishing their ice cream. Isa wasn't one to talk a lot, and Lea was clearly vulnerable to the bad mood lingering over him like a raincloud. He wasn't his normal, chatty self. To Isa's secret amusement, he watched as Lea devoured his ice cream as if it had done him a personal wrong. He paused briefly in between bites to glance up and throw a dirty look at the castle in the distance.

Lea took a bite...

...and glared at the castle...

...Bite...

...Glare...

...Bite...

...Glare...

...Bite...

"WE'RE NOT EVEN THAT YOUNG!" Lea suddenly shouted, a look of over-exaggerated outrage on his face. Isa startled yet quickly regained his composure. "I mean..." Lea continued to rant. "... ya, we're not adults or anything – not yet – but we're totally old enough to become apprentices! For crying out loud, they have a kid in there! If he's an apprentice why the hell aren't we?"

Lea leaned against the wall of the shop in a great huff. However, two seconds later he was laughing.

"Ah, Isa, this isn't over. Not by a long shot."

Isa finished his ice cream and tossed the stick. No winners today. "You still want to stick to the plan?"

Lea grinned. "Of course I do. Just watch. Someday, I'm going to be a member of their little club."

"Well... for the time being..." Isa said. "Let's just enjoy the moment." He turned to face Lea and expressed one of those oh-so-rare smiles. Lea smiled back, realizing that sulking was pointless.

"Ya... after all, we're friends."

What were you really after, Lea? We joined the Organization at the same time, and formulated our plan. At this point, it's just an idle fantasy. Everything changed. You, and me.

Saïx lifted the pen from paper and reflected on the situation. All traces of their make-believe friendship had vanished. They really had changed. They probably didn't even think the same anymore. Saïx sighed in exasperation and looked down at his desk. "How did this happen?"