Ironman Week 3
Sep. 9th, 2007 06:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laneroseRomance/Fluff Week! ^___^ Also, apparently, Final Fantasy week for me. XDD Every other fic is from a Final Fantasy game (XII, then VII, then X) with Rurouni Kenshin and Angelic Layer to finish things out. Some Most of these are more romance than fluff, since my writing's been kinda bitter-sweet lately, but the last three - and particularly the FFX ficlet - are fluffy enough to make up for the rest of the week, I think. ^.^;;; Anyways... same set up as before, sort of.
Viera Do Not Question
A Final Fantasy XII, Fran/Balthier Ficlet
"On the continent of your skin, wandering, wondering, I could spend my life traveling the length of your body each night."
Fran did not need to ask Balthier why they had not, as he had once suggested, gone their separate ways immediately upon arrival at the next godforsaken town. She did not need to ask him why on Ivalice he wasted so much time wandering around with a viera of all creatures, though he had once asked the question aloud every day. She did not even need to ask why the only scents he carried around him were the same that she had known since their first meeting, changed only by a little more or less dirt depending on when they had last had time to bathe.
"You're beautiful, Fran," he would say to her tonight, as he did every night, when the fire burns low and their companions have gone before them to their nightly rest.
"Only because you see me as such," she would reply, before they became as close as mortals may. She spoke only truth – beauty was where one found it. She did not regret that he found it in her. How could she, when she saw so much beauty in him?
Fran did not need to ask why Balthier remained by her side.
Viera do not question that which they already know.
Water Over Stones
A Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin/Tomoe Ficlet
"In the garden of simple, where all of us are nameless, you were never anything but beautiful to me."
She comes to him, when the nights have been particularly cold and dark, and he does not know how much longer he can go on. She dresses in the blue-violet kimono she always wore, her hair floating freely down her back, and he does not know if she does this because she has always done it or because the familiarity of it comforts him like water smoothing roughened stones. She has never told him, and he doesn't care to ask, as though afraid the question would somehow change these few moments they get together.
"Come," she says to him as she sits on the grass near him, and she holds her hand out to him until he takes it. She pulls him closer with it, puts his head in her lap and unbinds his hair. He wraps his arms around her waist and closes his eyes as her strong fingers slide easily through his hair, her hand a comforting weight atop his head.
He sighs, and she breaks free of his embrace as she bends forward to cover him with her torso. He feels, sometimes, as though there is a memory that calls to him when she does this, but whatever it is cannot come to him while she is there.
"I –" he begins, but she shakes her head, burying her face against him.
"Rest," she whispers to him, her warmth all around him. She is his shield, his sheath, his home, and he questions it no longer while she is there. "Rest. I will be here."
He asks no more questions, but simply lies with his head in her lap, and drifts into a deep and dreamless sleep. When morning arrives, her white plum perfume lingers around him. He smiles, and rises to greet the day with renewed strength.
They will meet again.
Chores
A Final Fantasy VII, Zack/Aerith Ficlet
"Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again."
"And the bike better still be in good condition when you get back this time, or you're gonna be licking the mud off it!" The guard at the carpool shouted from the guardhouse as Zack waited for him to open the gate.
"Sure thing!" Zack waved, then revved the bike's engine. He shot off into the latest grey Midgar morning, kicking up dust as he went. Midgar was always grey, except at night, when it was a black-ish grey with pin pricks of light. Then it looked almost like the sky over Gongaga.
Only one road went down below the plate. Shinra kept it guarded, and it did make life above the plate easier, even if it was harder to get to and from the plate. Shipping trucks with different labels were passing on their way up, delivering shipments from all over the world to the Shinra headquarters. Zack ignored them all, accelerating further down the ever broader curves.
The roads through the slums were more fun, not just because there were more of them, but because some of them weren't really roads at all. Like in Sector 5, where he got to do ramp tricks and dodge monsters. Zack spun away from a Hell House and roared on. He stopped at last outside a white clapboard building, jumping off the bike to open the door.
"You again!" Aerith stood with her hands on her hips in the center of her flower bed, shaking her head at him as he wheeled the motorcycle inside. "Geez. I thought I told you never to come back here again."
"Sorry," Zack said as he put the kickstand down and turned towards her, "got lost again. Besides, I'm still supposed to fix your roof, aren't I? How could I do that if I never came back here?"
"Hmph." She crossed her arms and turned away from him. Zack walked down the aisle slowly, deliberately, until he stood right behind her. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close to him as he leaned down to inhale her scent – the strength and coldness of metal with the softness and warmth of flowers all mixed in a whirling blur.
"I missed you," he whispered, kissing her neck, and her whole body relaxed against him as she turned her head to steal a kiss. Her lips were soft and sweet beneath his, responsive to him as she sighed. His hand let go of hers to slide up under her shirt –
"Ah – ah – ah, not yet," she slipped from his grasp and moved gracefully across the room as his appreciating eyes watched her go. She stopped and pointed up. Zack followed her finger and sighed.
"Roof first?"
"Roof first," Aerith said, nodding. He shook his head as he walked past her towards the stairs. As he went, she grabbed his arm. Zack stopped, turned back to look at her. She grinned up at him. "Sex after."
Aerith's roof was repaired in record time.
Thump
An Angelic Layer, Ichiro/Shuuko Ficlet
"My heart can't beat faster, every time I hear your name or your laughter."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Ichiro's shoes slapped against the pavement as he walked down the hall. The week had been long and frustrating, with little to no progress on the development of the dolls. He had watched as Shuuko's face slowly grew tighter and tighter with each hour that passed, as they struggled to get the dolls limbs to do more than basic movement on command. Ichiro reached the door at the end of the hall and opened it.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"Icchan, come here, you've got to see this!" She called to him as the door swung inwards. He hurried in. There, on the Layer, was their first Angel. It hopped to the right, bouncing in a one-two, one-two combination as the right foot landed, the left foot came down beside, and then both went into the air again. Shuuko looked up.
Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Shuuko smiled at him.
"Wonderful? It's fantastic!" Ichiro jumped up and down as he hurried to her side. "With this data we'll finally be able to move onto the next step of the project! It shouldn't be too much longer before we having a working product!"
Without thinking about it, he scooped Shuuko out of her chair and swung her around. She laughed, high and light and more relaxed than he'd heard her in ages.
Thump.
Ichiro set Shuuko down on her feet, supporting her weight with his arms. Their foreheads leaned together. Ichiro closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her silk blouse beneath his hands, her skin warm against his, her light perfume filling his nose, her lips gently against –
Her lips against his. Ichiro's eyes flew open.
"We should get back to work," Shuuko said, smiling and not quite meeting his eyes.
"Right," Ichiro blushed as he placed her back on the chair. She put the mask back on, but smiled at him again before flipping the visor down. "Let's get to work!"
Journey's End
A Final Fantasy X, Tidus/Yuna Ficlet
"They said our love would fade, but it gets stronger every day. They say that beauty fades, well, you're more beautiful than ever."
When Sin was defeated, and the journey over, all that Yuna could think about was returning home to Besaid. Or at least, that was all that she allowed herself to think about. She could smile when thinking about Besaid, and how happy the people would be to hear that she had not only defeated Sin but also managed to return to them. Yuna surrounded herself with people all the time, preferably the people who she knew the least.
"You don't have to be Spira's hope any more," Lulu said on one occasion when the sudden departure of one of the Al Bhed left them alone on the deck. The older woman stretched a hand out to Yuna and rested it against her cheek, adding, "You've already fulfilled their wish. It's time to think about what will make you happy, now."
"I know," Yuna replied, a bright smile coming to her face even as her eyes glistened brightly. "I will be happy when we have told all of Besaid about what has come to pass."
"Yuna…"
The summoner got to her feet, pulling away from that hand, and headed over to talk to some Al Bhed who were practicing for blitzball at the far end of the ship.
"I'm worried about her," Yuna overheard Lulu say to Wakka and Kimihari that night. The Ronso grunted, and Yuna couldn't see him enough to tell if it was meant in a good way or a bad one.
"She'll be all right, yah? Just give her some time," Wakka said, but the tone of his voice wasn't as cheerful as she remembered it. Yuna wondered if there was something she could do to help Rikku, since the others were so worried about her, so she made time to wash the dishes with her cousin that night.
"It's okay to cry, you know, Yunie?" Rikku commented as she toweled off another plate and stuck it in the cabinet.
"What is there to cry about?" she asked, focusing more intently on the dish in her hands and scrubbing at a particularly stubborn spot. "We defeated Sin. Now is the time to rejoice."
Rikku sighed, but didn't say anything as Yuna handed her the last dish to dry and left the galley.
The days passed slowly as Besaid grew nearer. At last, a week after they had set out, the shout went up that the island had been spotted on the horizon, and Yuna's smile grew even as she remained below deck. Yuna was waiting by the hatch when the ship finally came to a stop. She jumped into the shallow water and turned to the shore. It was just as she remembered it – wide sandy beaches sloping to meet the forest, and a silly boy in a bright yellow shirt waving at her and whistling.
Her heart skipped a beat, and then she was running, running up the sand and into Tidus's arms.
"Yuna! You remembered!" Tidus said as he wrapped his arms around her. "I whistled, and you came running, just like you said."
"I thought…" Yuna began, but the words stuck in her throat and she couldn't quite force them out. She drew back, her eyes drinking in the sight of his beautiful laughing eyes and smile as she forced air back into her lungs. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Who, me?" Tidus pulled back from her to point at himself. He shook his head and waved his arms in denial. "You didn't seriously think you could get rid of me that easy, did you?"
Yuna laughed even as tears fell down her cheeks. "No, I suppose not."
She threw her arms around him again. Tidus held her close, the sound of his heart beating steadily in her ear, until at last she believed he wouldn't vanish the instant she let go of him once again and she stepped back, blushing. He looked at her, and smiled.
"So," Tidus said, winking at her and offering his arm, "I hear there's supposed to be a huge party tonight in honor of some local summoner who defeated Sin. Wanna be my date?"
"It would be my honor." She laced her arm through his, and together, with their friends all behind them, they finished their journey home.
A Final Fantasy XII, Fran/Balthier Ficlet
"On the continent of your skin, wandering, wondering, I could spend my life traveling the length of your body each night."
Fran did not need to ask Balthier why they had not, as he had once suggested, gone their separate ways immediately upon arrival at the next godforsaken town. She did not need to ask him why on Ivalice he wasted so much time wandering around with a viera of all creatures, though he had once asked the question aloud every day. She did not even need to ask why the only scents he carried around him were the same that she had known since their first meeting, changed only by a little more or less dirt depending on when they had last had time to bathe.
"You're beautiful, Fran," he would say to her tonight, as he did every night, when the fire burns low and their companions have gone before them to their nightly rest.
"Only because you see me as such," she would reply, before they became as close as mortals may. She spoke only truth – beauty was where one found it. She did not regret that he found it in her. How could she, when she saw so much beauty in him?
Fran did not need to ask why Balthier remained by her side.
Viera do not question that which they already know.
A Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin/Tomoe Ficlet
"In the garden of simple, where all of us are nameless, you were never anything but beautiful to me."
She comes to him, when the nights have been particularly cold and dark, and he does not know how much longer he can go on. She dresses in the blue-violet kimono she always wore, her hair floating freely down her back, and he does not know if she does this because she has always done it or because the familiarity of it comforts him like water smoothing roughened stones. She has never told him, and he doesn't care to ask, as though afraid the question would somehow change these few moments they get together.
"Come," she says to him as she sits on the grass near him, and she holds her hand out to him until he takes it. She pulls him closer with it, puts his head in her lap and unbinds his hair. He wraps his arms around her waist and closes his eyes as her strong fingers slide easily through his hair, her hand a comforting weight atop his head.
He sighs, and she breaks free of his embrace as she bends forward to cover him with her torso. He feels, sometimes, as though there is a memory that calls to him when she does this, but whatever it is cannot come to him while she is there.
"I –" he begins, but she shakes her head, burying her face against him.
"Rest," she whispers to him, her warmth all around him. She is his shield, his sheath, his home, and he questions it no longer while she is there. "Rest. I will be here."
He asks no more questions, but simply lies with his head in her lap, and drifts into a deep and dreamless sleep. When morning arrives, her white plum perfume lingers around him. He smiles, and rises to greet the day with renewed strength.
They will meet again.
A Final Fantasy VII, Zack/Aerith Ficlet
"Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again."
"And the bike better still be in good condition when you get back this time, or you're gonna be licking the mud off it!" The guard at the carpool shouted from the guardhouse as Zack waited for him to open the gate.
"Sure thing!" Zack waved, then revved the bike's engine. He shot off into the latest grey Midgar morning, kicking up dust as he went. Midgar was always grey, except at night, when it was a black-ish grey with pin pricks of light. Then it looked almost like the sky over Gongaga.
Only one road went down below the plate. Shinra kept it guarded, and it did make life above the plate easier, even if it was harder to get to and from the plate. Shipping trucks with different labels were passing on their way up, delivering shipments from all over the world to the Shinra headquarters. Zack ignored them all, accelerating further down the ever broader curves.
The roads through the slums were more fun, not just because there were more of them, but because some of them weren't really roads at all. Like in Sector 5, where he got to do ramp tricks and dodge monsters. Zack spun away from a Hell House and roared on. He stopped at last outside a white clapboard building, jumping off the bike to open the door.
"You again!" Aerith stood with her hands on her hips in the center of her flower bed, shaking her head at him as he wheeled the motorcycle inside. "Geez. I thought I told you never to come back here again."
"Sorry," Zack said as he put the kickstand down and turned towards her, "got lost again. Besides, I'm still supposed to fix your roof, aren't I? How could I do that if I never came back here?"
"Hmph." She crossed her arms and turned away from him. Zack walked down the aisle slowly, deliberately, until he stood right behind her. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close to him as he leaned down to inhale her scent – the strength and coldness of metal with the softness and warmth of flowers all mixed in a whirling blur.
"I missed you," he whispered, kissing her neck, and her whole body relaxed against him as she turned her head to steal a kiss. Her lips were soft and sweet beneath his, responsive to him as she sighed. His hand let go of hers to slide up under her shirt –
"Ah – ah – ah, not yet," she slipped from his grasp and moved gracefully across the room as his appreciating eyes watched her go. She stopped and pointed up. Zack followed her finger and sighed.
"Roof first?"
"Roof first," Aerith said, nodding. He shook his head as he walked past her towards the stairs. As he went, she grabbed his arm. Zack stopped, turned back to look at her. She grinned up at him. "Sex after."
Aerith's roof was repaired in record time.
An Angelic Layer, Ichiro/Shuuko Ficlet
"My heart can't beat faster, every time I hear your name or your laughter."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Ichiro's shoes slapped against the pavement as he walked down the hall. The week had been long and frustrating, with little to no progress on the development of the dolls. He had watched as Shuuko's face slowly grew tighter and tighter with each hour that passed, as they struggled to get the dolls limbs to do more than basic movement on command. Ichiro reached the door at the end of the hall and opened it.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"Icchan, come here, you've got to see this!" She called to him as the door swung inwards. He hurried in. There, on the Layer, was their first Angel. It hopped to the right, bouncing in a one-two, one-two combination as the right foot landed, the left foot came down beside, and then both went into the air again. Shuuko looked up.
Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Shuuko smiled at him.
"Wonderful? It's fantastic!" Ichiro jumped up and down as he hurried to her side. "With this data we'll finally be able to move onto the next step of the project! It shouldn't be too much longer before we having a working product!"
Without thinking about it, he scooped Shuuko out of her chair and swung her around. She laughed, high and light and more relaxed than he'd heard her in ages.
Thump.
Ichiro set Shuuko down on her feet, supporting her weight with his arms. Their foreheads leaned together. Ichiro closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her silk blouse beneath his hands, her skin warm against his, her light perfume filling his nose, her lips gently against –
Her lips against his. Ichiro's eyes flew open.
"We should get back to work," Shuuko said, smiling and not quite meeting his eyes.
"Right," Ichiro blushed as he placed her back on the chair. She put the mask back on, but smiled at him again before flipping the visor down. "Let's get to work!"
A Final Fantasy X, Tidus/Yuna Ficlet
"They said our love would fade, but it gets stronger every day. They say that beauty fades, well, you're more beautiful than ever."
When Sin was defeated, and the journey over, all that Yuna could think about was returning home to Besaid. Or at least, that was all that she allowed herself to think about. She could smile when thinking about Besaid, and how happy the people would be to hear that she had not only defeated Sin but also managed to return to them. Yuna surrounded herself with people all the time, preferably the people who she knew the least.
"You don't have to be Spira's hope any more," Lulu said on one occasion when the sudden departure of one of the Al Bhed left them alone on the deck. The older woman stretched a hand out to Yuna and rested it against her cheek, adding, "You've already fulfilled their wish. It's time to think about what will make you happy, now."
"I know," Yuna replied, a bright smile coming to her face even as her eyes glistened brightly. "I will be happy when we have told all of Besaid about what has come to pass."
"Yuna…"
The summoner got to her feet, pulling away from that hand, and headed over to talk to some Al Bhed who were practicing for blitzball at the far end of the ship.
"I'm worried about her," Yuna overheard Lulu say to Wakka and Kimihari that night. The Ronso grunted, and Yuna couldn't see him enough to tell if it was meant in a good way or a bad one.
"She'll be all right, yah? Just give her some time," Wakka said, but the tone of his voice wasn't as cheerful as she remembered it. Yuna wondered if there was something she could do to help Rikku, since the others were so worried about her, so she made time to wash the dishes with her cousin that night.
"It's okay to cry, you know, Yunie?" Rikku commented as she toweled off another plate and stuck it in the cabinet.
"What is there to cry about?" she asked, focusing more intently on the dish in her hands and scrubbing at a particularly stubborn spot. "We defeated Sin. Now is the time to rejoice."
Rikku sighed, but didn't say anything as Yuna handed her the last dish to dry and left the galley.
The days passed slowly as Besaid grew nearer. At last, a week after they had set out, the shout went up that the island had been spotted on the horizon, and Yuna's smile grew even as she remained below deck. Yuna was waiting by the hatch when the ship finally came to a stop. She jumped into the shallow water and turned to the shore. It was just as she remembered it – wide sandy beaches sloping to meet the forest, and a silly boy in a bright yellow shirt waving at her and whistling.
Her heart skipped a beat, and then she was running, running up the sand and into Tidus's arms.
"Yuna! You remembered!" Tidus said as he wrapped his arms around her. "I whistled, and you came running, just like you said."
"I thought…" Yuna began, but the words stuck in her throat and she couldn't quite force them out. She drew back, her eyes drinking in the sight of his beautiful laughing eyes and smile as she forced air back into her lungs. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Who, me?" Tidus pulled back from her to point at himself. He shook his head and waved his arms in denial. "You didn't seriously think you could get rid of me that easy, did you?"
Yuna laughed even as tears fell down her cheeks. "No, I suppose not."
She threw her arms around him again. Tidus held her close, the sound of his heart beating steadily in her ear, until at last she believed he wouldn't vanish the instant she let go of him once again and she stepped back, blushing. He looked at her, and smiled.
"So," Tidus said, winking at her and offering his arm, "I hear there's supposed to be a huge party tonight in honor of some local summoner who defeated Sin. Wanna be my date?"
"It would be my honor." She laced her arm through his, and together, with their friends all behind them, they finished their journey home.
