(2010) Secret Santa Submissions Part III
Jan. 3rd, 2011 07:17 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
crimsoncookie.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
kh_drabbleLast two! :) Happy New Year, everyone - I hope you had a good holiday!
To:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
breathless_dawn
From:punjab_banks
Title: Similar
Word Count: 545
Rating: G
Spoilers: for KH2
Notes: Happy holidays! thanks for all the options...i ended up choosing riku/naminé and the prompt 'stars.' i hope you like it!!
Riku had changed, she knew, and now he wouldn’t leave. He stayed in the basement, hovering over DiZ’s shoulder, or skulking around the corridors. Naminé didn’t know why seeing him inside upset her, and made her nervous, but it did. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore.
She found him watching DiZ’s monitors again. “Come with me,” she said, aware of the tension in her voice. His hood shifted, she pictured awful, orange eyes on her. She pushed the image away – it wasn’t a problem, it was still Riku - Sora’s friend. Her friend.
“You have to,” she said, when he didn’t move any further. DiZ laughed. “Your act almost sounds desperate, Naminé . Charming.”
She ignored him. “Please,” she added, and she smiled, relieved, when Riku stood.
She led the way, and they were halfway up the stairs when he spoke. “Why?” That voice. But she didn’t wince, didn’t shudder. She knew what is was.
She didn’t look back, but kept climbing to the fake library. “You always went out before. You were never with DiZ. Or me.”
He seemed to hesitate, but she shook her head, just slightly, and smiled to herself. “You shouldn’t be. You’re not like us.”
It was cold upstairs, but absurdly, even in her shift dress and sandals, she had discovered she wasn’t affected. The cold was alright, and it was a good night. You could see the stars.
It was winter and it had snowed. Her feet crunched in the snow, vanishing into it. When she looked up, Riku had put out his hand, caught a snowflake, nearly. When he noticed her, he put down his hand, and shook his head. “I am now.”
It took her a second to realize what he meant, and then she laughed. She took a step backwards, to his side. “Look at the stars,” she said. She didn’t know what he was thinking, if he was thinking. But she thought about the worlds, Oblivion which was destroyed, and the Dark City that was not, and the Islands, somewhere, where her heart was.
He grabbed her hand and her thoughts broke off. She looked at him, but couldn’t see anything but a black figure, face hidden. “All those worlds,” he said. She wasn’t sure, but he sounded as though he was in awe of them. He must have been like this on the island, she thought, when he was with Sora, and Kairi.
They stood still a second. She looked up, at glimmering bright lights. When she tried to drop her hand, he tightened his grip. Just a bit. “Naminé,” he said, hesitatingly. “I am like you. I know there are worlds, now, but all I want to do is go back. “
She nodded. She knew. “We will.” They were looking at each other, and she felt sure that he knew how much she doubted that. But he nodded, too, and she felt better.
He started back to the old mansion, and she followed, not minding that he was still holding her hand. “You should go out again, though,” she said, quietly.
He paused a second, and the hood twitched downwards. She thought, maybe, she saw his face in the shadows. It didn’t scare her. “If you come with me,” he said, “I will.”
To:ceylmallyn
From:iki_teru
Title: I Stand Amazed
Word Count: 1,050
Rating: G
Spoilers: light for Birth by Sleep
Notes: Late fic is late! My sincerest apologies. Here, I gift you with a bonus song to listen to while you read. This story was written with this playing the entire time and I like to believe it kind of sets the mood a little. ALSO, set mostly pre-game. Special huge super duper thanks to Ceci, who has turned this into an actually readable bit of pretty and this little fangirl would be completely lost without her in my life.
She's little more than a spot of soft light (her sleeves, he thinks, her skin. Her heart) where she sits on a blanket, surrounded by the summit's darkness, the lamps overhead dimmed and smelling of magic. She'd crossed the grounds before him, already dancing lazy circles beneath the stars when he'd hurriedly dropped his book to follow. (Required reading from Master Eraqus: The Practical Application of Theories Concerning the Balance of Light and Dark. Long, stodgy, and as clunky as the title.)
"I didn’t expect to see you tonight," she says.
He shrugs wordlessly, willing to let her keep the almost-lie; it's all part of their game, after all - this delicate tip-toeing around each other, the way they feign surprise when they touch, as if they hadn't both been entirely too aware of the other's movement. Maybe he lets his arm brush against hers as he settles down on the blanket beside her, and maybe she shifts so their knees bump together, and maybe they decide to stay that way, almost barely meeting. So what?
"Look at them all, Terra." She gestures up at the sky with her free hand - the one not pretending to not touch Terra’s own. "All those worlds and they’re going to be our responsibility." A happy sigh, like there's no better thought in the whole universe.
There hadn't been any special emphasis on the our, nor extra meaning behind the sigh, he knows this - but for a moment his heart skips a beat and he wonders what it would take to end this charade and woo her correctly. Aqua wasn't one to be impressed with flowers and cheap chocolates and bad poetry... and, really, what more could he offer when they both stand with the stars at their feet?
She nudges him with her shoulder, gives him a concerned look. "You’re being weird tonight. Are you feeling okay?"
He thinks of all the things he could say. I’m just listening to you wouldn't be too bad, maybe. Or do you know, your eyes shine like the stars themselves which would be significantly worse and no way is he saying that out loud. "You’re hogging the blanket, I’m getting dew-damp over here," is the much less eloquent answer he finally gives - and really, it's no surprise when Aqua shoves him fully onto the grass and rolls the edges of the blanket around her shoulders.
------
Sometimes Terra has to wonder if he’s the only one playing their secret game, because nothing seems to affect her the way it does him. He’s constantly aware of her at the worst times, like when they’re sparring and his head is full of inane little facts that he’s only just becoming aware of. Things like the way she always smells of a fresh spring day, or the way she smiles just a little when she thinks she has the upper hand, or the fact that she doesn’t need her keyblade to be scarily good because she’s equally deadly at hand to hand. But just like that, he’s glad that she’s Aqua through and through, nothing like those flitty girls from the market town, because they’re as insubstantial as a breeze (and maybe because he can’t even imagine any of them lighting up happily the way she does when she sets her opponents' toes on fire.)
Of course, letting himself get overwhelmed by her tends to lead to trouble and a short-circuited brain, but that's always the way with crushes (because yes, this is just a crush, and he’ll get over it and he can’t… they can’t, because there is already so much needed of them to do this now. Please, not now) and she’s winning a few matches too many.
She’s breathless, smiling, asking what’s wrong with him today. All he can do is stare up at her from the ground (a place he seems to be ending up more often than not. He has got to stop doing this) and says something stupid like "you’re pretty."
Now she’s flustered, blushing, and looking everywhere but at him - and he realizes, suddenly, just how ill-prepared they are for moments like this, and so finishes, rather lamely, "--sweaty. You’re pretty sweaty."
(She probably sees right through it, but it looks like this gets to be his free pass.)
They head back inside - to walls and structure and the weight of their titles (apprentice), where it's easy to pretend they didn’t brush hands a little longer than necessary as she helped him up. Even if she did punch him afterward.
---------
It gets easier when Ventus arrives. They'd always taken their roles seriously, whether friend or apprentice - or now, sibling. Ven becomes their little brother, someone to focus on, someone who has to relearn so much... and someone who acts as an effective, if well-loved, buffer between them.
Now, when it becomes too much to be alone in the same room, someone (Aqua, normally) will say, "I'll go check on Ven," and the other will nod, as if this was the best idea ever, because he was starting to wonder how well her hand would fit into his own. Or during sparring, when someone (Terra, in these situations) is finding himself too distracted by blue eyes and full lips, he will say, "Hey, Ven, you need more practice," and "Go easy on him, Aqua," and she'll nod, because after all, two is three now. They can’t leave anyone behind.
--------
Eventually Terra manages to train himself to look on things that don’t send his mind reeling into wanting (and lately, he seems to want so much): a lock of hair, the glint of an earring, the angle of her arm, the curve of her shoulder - except no, that last one wasn't such a good idea after all.
He makes a promise to his heart. After this whole debacle with the Unversed is settled, after Master Eraqus has seen his second chance was not wasted, after... after, he’ll stop hiding. He’ll find Aqua again, and they’ll both talk it out, finally standing on even ground.
To:
breathless_dawnFrom:
punjab_banksTitle: Similar
Word Count: 545
Rating: G
Spoilers: for KH2
Notes: Happy holidays! thanks for all the options...i ended up choosing riku/naminé and the prompt 'stars.' i hope you like it!!
Riku had changed, she knew, and now he wouldn’t leave. He stayed in the basement, hovering over DiZ’s shoulder, or skulking around the corridors. Naminé didn’t know why seeing him inside upset her, and made her nervous, but it did. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore.
She found him watching DiZ’s monitors again. “Come with me,” she said, aware of the tension in her voice. His hood shifted, she pictured awful, orange eyes on her. She pushed the image away – it wasn’t a problem, it was still Riku - Sora’s friend. Her friend.
“You have to,” she said, when he didn’t move any further. DiZ laughed. “Your act almost sounds desperate, Naminé . Charming.”
She ignored him. “Please,” she added, and she smiled, relieved, when Riku stood.
She led the way, and they were halfway up the stairs when he spoke. “Why?” That voice. But she didn’t wince, didn’t shudder. She knew what is was.
She didn’t look back, but kept climbing to the fake library. “You always went out before. You were never with DiZ. Or me.”
He seemed to hesitate, but she shook her head, just slightly, and smiled to herself. “You shouldn’t be. You’re not like us.”
It was cold upstairs, but absurdly, even in her shift dress and sandals, she had discovered she wasn’t affected. The cold was alright, and it was a good night. You could see the stars.
It was winter and it had snowed. Her feet crunched in the snow, vanishing into it. When she looked up, Riku had put out his hand, caught a snowflake, nearly. When he noticed her, he put down his hand, and shook his head. “I am now.”
It took her a second to realize what he meant, and then she laughed. She took a step backwards, to his side. “Look at the stars,” she said. She didn’t know what he was thinking, if he was thinking. But she thought about the worlds, Oblivion which was destroyed, and the Dark City that was not, and the Islands, somewhere, where her heart was.
He grabbed her hand and her thoughts broke off. She looked at him, but couldn’t see anything but a black figure, face hidden. “All those worlds,” he said. She wasn’t sure, but he sounded as though he was in awe of them. He must have been like this on the island, she thought, when he was with Sora, and Kairi.
They stood still a second. She looked up, at glimmering bright lights. When she tried to drop her hand, he tightened his grip. Just a bit. “Naminé,” he said, hesitatingly. “I am like you. I know there are worlds, now, but all I want to do is go back. “
She nodded. She knew. “We will.” They were looking at each other, and she felt sure that he knew how much she doubted that. But he nodded, too, and she felt better.
He started back to the old mansion, and she followed, not minding that he was still holding her hand. “You should go out again, though,” she said, quietly.
He paused a second, and the hood twitched downwards. She thought, maybe, she saw his face in the shadows. It didn’t scare her. “If you come with me,” he said, “I will.”
To:
ceylmallynFrom:
iki_teruTitle: I Stand Amazed
Word Count: 1,050
Rating: G
Spoilers: light for Birth by Sleep
Notes: Late fic is late! My sincerest apologies. Here, I gift you with a bonus song to listen to while you read. This story was written with this playing the entire time and I like to believe it kind of sets the mood a little. ALSO, set mostly pre-game. Special huge super duper thanks to Ceci, who has turned this into an actually readable bit of pretty and this little fangirl would be completely lost without her in my life.
She's little more than a spot of soft light (her sleeves, he thinks, her skin. Her heart) where she sits on a blanket, surrounded by the summit's darkness, the lamps overhead dimmed and smelling of magic. She'd crossed the grounds before him, already dancing lazy circles beneath the stars when he'd hurriedly dropped his book to follow. (Required reading from Master Eraqus: The Practical Application of Theories Concerning the Balance of Light and Dark. Long, stodgy, and as clunky as the title.)
"I didn’t expect to see you tonight," she says.
He shrugs wordlessly, willing to let her keep the almost-lie; it's all part of their game, after all - this delicate tip-toeing around each other, the way they feign surprise when they touch, as if they hadn't both been entirely too aware of the other's movement. Maybe he lets his arm brush against hers as he settles down on the blanket beside her, and maybe she shifts so their knees bump together, and maybe they decide to stay that way, almost barely meeting. So what?
"Look at them all, Terra." She gestures up at the sky with her free hand - the one not pretending to not touch Terra’s own. "All those worlds and they’re going to be our responsibility." A happy sigh, like there's no better thought in the whole universe.
There hadn't been any special emphasis on the our, nor extra meaning behind the sigh, he knows this - but for a moment his heart skips a beat and he wonders what it would take to end this charade and woo her correctly. Aqua wasn't one to be impressed with flowers and cheap chocolates and bad poetry... and, really, what more could he offer when they both stand with the stars at their feet?
She nudges him with her shoulder, gives him a concerned look. "You’re being weird tonight. Are you feeling okay?"
He thinks of all the things he could say. I’m just listening to you wouldn't be too bad, maybe. Or do you know, your eyes shine like the stars themselves which would be significantly worse and no way is he saying that out loud. "You’re hogging the blanket, I’m getting dew-damp over here," is the much less eloquent answer he finally gives - and really, it's no surprise when Aqua shoves him fully onto the grass and rolls the edges of the blanket around her shoulders.
------
Sometimes Terra has to wonder if he’s the only one playing their secret game, because nothing seems to affect her the way it does him. He’s constantly aware of her at the worst times, like when they’re sparring and his head is full of inane little facts that he’s only just becoming aware of. Things like the way she always smells of a fresh spring day, or the way she smiles just a little when she thinks she has the upper hand, or the fact that she doesn’t need her keyblade to be scarily good because she’s equally deadly at hand to hand. But just like that, he’s glad that she’s Aqua through and through, nothing like those flitty girls from the market town, because they’re as insubstantial as a breeze (and maybe because he can’t even imagine any of them lighting up happily the way she does when she sets her opponents' toes on fire.)
Of course, letting himself get overwhelmed by her tends to lead to trouble and a short-circuited brain, but that's always the way with crushes (because yes, this is just a crush, and he’ll get over it and he can’t… they can’t, because there is already so much needed of them to do this now. Please, not now) and she’s winning a few matches too many.
She’s breathless, smiling, asking what’s wrong with him today. All he can do is stare up at her from the ground (a place he seems to be ending up more often than not. He has got to stop doing this) and says something stupid like "you’re pretty."
Now she’s flustered, blushing, and looking everywhere but at him - and he realizes, suddenly, just how ill-prepared they are for moments like this, and so finishes, rather lamely, "--sweaty. You’re pretty sweaty."
(She probably sees right through it, but it looks like this gets to be his free pass.)
They head back inside - to walls and structure and the weight of their titles (apprentice), where it's easy to pretend they didn’t brush hands a little longer than necessary as she helped him up. Even if she did punch him afterward.
---------
It gets easier when Ventus arrives. They'd always taken their roles seriously, whether friend or apprentice - or now, sibling. Ven becomes their little brother, someone to focus on, someone who has to relearn so much... and someone who acts as an effective, if well-loved, buffer between them.
Now, when it becomes too much to be alone in the same room, someone (Aqua, normally) will say, "I'll go check on Ven," and the other will nod, as if this was the best idea ever, because he was starting to wonder how well her hand would fit into his own. Or during sparring, when someone (Terra, in these situations) is finding himself too distracted by blue eyes and full lips, he will say, "Hey, Ven, you need more practice," and "Go easy on him, Aqua," and she'll nod, because after all, two is three now. They can’t leave anyone behind.
--------
Eventually Terra manages to train himself to look on things that don’t send his mind reeling into wanting (and lately, he seems to want so much): a lock of hair, the glint of an earring, the angle of her arm, the curve of her shoulder - except no, that last one wasn't such a good idea after all.
He makes a promise to his heart. After this whole debacle with the Unversed is settled, after Master Eraqus has seen his second chance was not wasted, after... after, he’ll stop hiding. He’ll find Aqua again, and they’ll both talk it out, finally standing on even ground.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
To iki_teru
Date: 2011-01-06 10:56 am (UTC)And the ending is so very... achingly bittersweet. Really everything about Terra and Aqua and all that they go through is, but... it makes me hope more than ever for an eventual happy ending for them, someday, somehow. Someday in a future where that unfulfilled awkwardness between them might bloom into something more.
Thank you so much~ I know you had to do this on short notice, and you've done a lovely job with it in spite of that limitation.