Flowers (Final Fantasy IV, Kain/Rydia, challenge #11)
Title: Flowers
Author/Artist: Katmillia
Pairing: Kain Highwind/Rydia Drake
Fandom: Final Fantasy IV
Theme: #11, gardenia
Disclaimer: I don’t own it, and it all belongs to Square-Enix.
Her mother had been, in addition to many other things, a wonderful gardener, and Rydia remembered all too well the mornings in early spring, when the dew still clung to the grass blades, when her mother would wake her early and take her outside to help plant the seeds and bulbs of all of her favorite flowers. She grew herbs, of course, as no magic-handler would be without, but the flowers were here favorite, and she would plant them in such an expert way that at no matter what time in the season it was, there was always something blooming outside their house.
Rydia always wanted to learn such things, but her mother was a talented white mage in addition to being a Summoner, and the combination of the two happened so rarely that Rydia had begun to suspect that she would never have the affinity with plants that her mother had. Nurturing was in her mother’s nature, not in hers, and although she enjoyed spending the early mornings digging up small tufts of dirt to sow the seeds, she never thought she would be particularly good at it.
It was only later, after she had spent several years in the Land of Summoned Monsters, that she began to feel the pangs of remorse that she would not see the blooming of the flowers in spring, nor the changing of the leaves in autumn. Living below the ground had several advantages, and her magic was chiefly among them, but she felt keenly as if she had lost something rather precious to her, and though it took her awhile to make a decision, she finally settled on leaving the Land and going back to the Upperworld in order to get it back. It was a strange transition to make, and she knew that once she left the Land, she would not be returning, but the second the cool breeze hit her face as she lifted off from Agart on one of the Dwarven Airships, Cecil’s idea no doubt, she knew the decision had been the right one.
She faltered only momentarily upon deciding where to do, but the idea came swiftly and easily to her head to go to Baron. She would be glad to spend the time with Cecil and Rosa, and to see her other comrades again as they filtered into the castle on a somewhat regular basis, and Baron had enough surrounding land that she could easily begin gardening on her own, perhaps even planting some of the flowers her mother had been so fond of.
Cecil and Rosa had been delighted to see her, as she had expected, and Rosa had even helped her find the best area to begin planting seeds, even going so far as to pointing her in the direction of the market where the best wares would be found, and Rydia found herself immensely grateful to the other woman. Rosa was good with things like that, and she rarely needed to be asked for assistance.
It was when she was in the market, relishing the feel of sunlight on her face, hovering amidst the ebb and flow of people on the crowded street, that she first ran into the Dragoon, who she honestly hadn’t expected to see there at all. She was too surprised at first to even react, and she thought perhaps, as an afterthought, that her lack of response may have hurt him.
“It’s good to see you,” he said politely, perhaps too politely, and made to move past her, his blonde hair swinging over his shoulder as he dodged a quick-moving fruit vendor. Rydia was glad that her senses kicked in, even a little late, and she reached out to grab a handful of his shirt, the only real thing she could do in order to stop him from leaving so fast.
“Wait,” she said, though it came out as a bit of a squeak. “Stay. I’m sorry.”
He stopped and looked back at her, raising an eyebrow in question. She felt her cheeks flush and nearly dropped the basket she was holding, which was full of tiny plant buds and parcels of seeds.
“I’m buying things for a garden,” she told him, feeling foolish. “Would you help me?”
“I don’t know much about plants,” he said, though he shifted so that he was facing her rather than the other way, and the constriction in her chest loosened somewhat. “I’m afraid I won’t be much help.”
“I can teach you,” she said, smiling brightly. “You can help me out.”
He looked dubious but nodded slowly, and they spent the rest of the day in the market, choosing healthy looking buds and round, un-split seeds. Rydia gave him the names of all the flowers and herbs, and what they would look like should they blossom, and he helped her carry the baskets and tools she purchased from the merchants, taking all of it back to the castle. He ended up being an enormous help in transport alone, and once he loosened up the conversation kept her lively and animated. He was pleasant to talk to, and she wondered why she had missed that on their earlier journey together. Perhaps the betrayal had been too close in her mind for her to open up to him at all back then. Whatever the case, she asked him to help her plant them all as well.
Despite his misgivings, Kain was actually quite good with plants. Whether he was being gentle with the buds by nature or simply because they were hers she didn’t know, but he was good at setting them in the dirt and patting them in so that they lay flat with the ground and weren’t covered in mud or rocks. She suspected that he rather liked working with the plants, and would even go so far as to say that he liked spending the time with her, and so they worked in the makeshift garden several days a week, pulling weeds and watering the germinating seeds under the blissfully warm sun.
It took awhile for the buds to begin growing, but when they did they grew magnificently, stretching up to the sky and exploding in bursts of color, creating a rainbow of hues across the dirt, and Rydia felt a little bit of her loneliness recede into the distance. She could see her mother in the blossoms, she could smell her past in the scent, and it was comforting to know that she had inherited at least a part of her mother’s favorite gift, and that she could continue the heritage, however small and insignificant it may be, throughout her life. Kain, too, seemed to blossom with the flowers, smiling more and laughing like she had never heard him do, especially on days when the two of them simply sat among the plants, not saying anything but lying on the grass and watching the clouds float by.
It was one of those days out in the field, when Rydia was lying by the gardenias, gazing up at the bright blue sky, feeling relaxed and rested, when Kain sat down next to her.
“What are those?” he asked, indicating the blooms behind her.
“Gardenias,” Rydia said, not needing to turn and see which blossoms he was pointing to. “They were my mother’s favorites.”
“Why is that?” he inquired, and Rydia sat up, brow wrinkling in thought.
“I’m not sure,” she answered. “I don’t think she ever told me. But she would always plant them next to the house so that she could smell them when she was cooking and she had the windows open.”
Kain was silent for a moment, and both turned their chins up to look at the clouds in the sky.
“Do you miss her?” he asked softly.
“Every day,” Rydia replied, and upon seeing the stricken look on his face, she smiled gently and reached over to take his hand. “You don’t have to apologize. It wasn’t your fault.”
His expression indicated that he still thought it was, though, and sensing that she had to fix that particular problem before it festered into something large, as problems tend to do, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek. His skin was warm and smooth, and when she pulled away he smiled back, and he laced his fingers in-between hers, and she didn’t think she would hear any more on the subject.
And the flowers continued to bloom into the autumn, until the first frost came, and Rydia put her tools away to wait until next year, knowing that she would plant more in the spring, and that Kain would be there too, and finding both thoughts comforting.
Author/Artist: Katmillia
Pairing: Kain Highwind/Rydia Drake
Fandom: Final Fantasy IV
Theme: #11, gardenia
Disclaimer: I don’t own it, and it all belongs to Square-Enix.
Her mother had been, in addition to many other things, a wonderful gardener, and Rydia remembered all too well the mornings in early spring, when the dew still clung to the grass blades, when her mother would wake her early and take her outside to help plant the seeds and bulbs of all of her favorite flowers. She grew herbs, of course, as no magic-handler would be without, but the flowers were here favorite, and she would plant them in such an expert way that at no matter what time in the season it was, there was always something blooming outside their house.
Rydia always wanted to learn such things, but her mother was a talented white mage in addition to being a Summoner, and the combination of the two happened so rarely that Rydia had begun to suspect that she would never have the affinity with plants that her mother had. Nurturing was in her mother’s nature, not in hers, and although she enjoyed spending the early mornings digging up small tufts of dirt to sow the seeds, she never thought she would be particularly good at it.
It was only later, after she had spent several years in the Land of Summoned Monsters, that she began to feel the pangs of remorse that she would not see the blooming of the flowers in spring, nor the changing of the leaves in autumn. Living below the ground had several advantages, and her magic was chiefly among them, but she felt keenly as if she had lost something rather precious to her, and though it took her awhile to make a decision, she finally settled on leaving the Land and going back to the Upperworld in order to get it back. It was a strange transition to make, and she knew that once she left the Land, she would not be returning, but the second the cool breeze hit her face as she lifted off from Agart on one of the Dwarven Airships, Cecil’s idea no doubt, she knew the decision had been the right one.
She faltered only momentarily upon deciding where to do, but the idea came swiftly and easily to her head to go to Baron. She would be glad to spend the time with Cecil and Rosa, and to see her other comrades again as they filtered into the castle on a somewhat regular basis, and Baron had enough surrounding land that she could easily begin gardening on her own, perhaps even planting some of the flowers her mother had been so fond of.
Cecil and Rosa had been delighted to see her, as she had expected, and Rosa had even helped her find the best area to begin planting seeds, even going so far as to pointing her in the direction of the market where the best wares would be found, and Rydia found herself immensely grateful to the other woman. Rosa was good with things like that, and she rarely needed to be asked for assistance.
It was when she was in the market, relishing the feel of sunlight on her face, hovering amidst the ebb and flow of people on the crowded street, that she first ran into the Dragoon, who she honestly hadn’t expected to see there at all. She was too surprised at first to even react, and she thought perhaps, as an afterthought, that her lack of response may have hurt him.
“It’s good to see you,” he said politely, perhaps too politely, and made to move past her, his blonde hair swinging over his shoulder as he dodged a quick-moving fruit vendor. Rydia was glad that her senses kicked in, even a little late, and she reached out to grab a handful of his shirt, the only real thing she could do in order to stop him from leaving so fast.
“Wait,” she said, though it came out as a bit of a squeak. “Stay. I’m sorry.”
He stopped and looked back at her, raising an eyebrow in question. She felt her cheeks flush and nearly dropped the basket she was holding, which was full of tiny plant buds and parcels of seeds.
“I’m buying things for a garden,” she told him, feeling foolish. “Would you help me?”
“I don’t know much about plants,” he said, though he shifted so that he was facing her rather than the other way, and the constriction in her chest loosened somewhat. “I’m afraid I won’t be much help.”
“I can teach you,” she said, smiling brightly. “You can help me out.”
He looked dubious but nodded slowly, and they spent the rest of the day in the market, choosing healthy looking buds and round, un-split seeds. Rydia gave him the names of all the flowers and herbs, and what they would look like should they blossom, and he helped her carry the baskets and tools she purchased from the merchants, taking all of it back to the castle. He ended up being an enormous help in transport alone, and once he loosened up the conversation kept her lively and animated. He was pleasant to talk to, and she wondered why she had missed that on their earlier journey together. Perhaps the betrayal had been too close in her mind for her to open up to him at all back then. Whatever the case, she asked him to help her plant them all as well.
Despite his misgivings, Kain was actually quite good with plants. Whether he was being gentle with the buds by nature or simply because they were hers she didn’t know, but he was good at setting them in the dirt and patting them in so that they lay flat with the ground and weren’t covered in mud or rocks. She suspected that he rather liked working with the plants, and would even go so far as to say that he liked spending the time with her, and so they worked in the makeshift garden several days a week, pulling weeds and watering the germinating seeds under the blissfully warm sun.
It took awhile for the buds to begin growing, but when they did they grew magnificently, stretching up to the sky and exploding in bursts of color, creating a rainbow of hues across the dirt, and Rydia felt a little bit of her loneliness recede into the distance. She could see her mother in the blossoms, she could smell her past in the scent, and it was comforting to know that she had inherited at least a part of her mother’s favorite gift, and that she could continue the heritage, however small and insignificant it may be, throughout her life. Kain, too, seemed to blossom with the flowers, smiling more and laughing like she had never heard him do, especially on days when the two of them simply sat among the plants, not saying anything but lying on the grass and watching the clouds float by.
It was one of those days out in the field, when Rydia was lying by the gardenias, gazing up at the bright blue sky, feeling relaxed and rested, when Kain sat down next to her.
“What are those?” he asked, indicating the blooms behind her.
“Gardenias,” Rydia said, not needing to turn and see which blossoms he was pointing to. “They were my mother’s favorites.”
“Why is that?” he inquired, and Rydia sat up, brow wrinkling in thought.
“I’m not sure,” she answered. “I don’t think she ever told me. But she would always plant them next to the house so that she could smell them when she was cooking and she had the windows open.”
Kain was silent for a moment, and both turned their chins up to look at the clouds in the sky.
“Do you miss her?” he asked softly.
“Every day,” Rydia replied, and upon seeing the stricken look on his face, she smiled gently and reached over to take his hand. “You don’t have to apologize. It wasn’t your fault.”
His expression indicated that he still thought it was, though, and sensing that she had to fix that particular problem before it festered into something large, as problems tend to do, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek. His skin was warm and smooth, and when she pulled away he smiled back, and he laced his fingers in-between hers, and she didn’t think she would hear any more on the subject.
And the flowers continued to bloom into the autumn, until the first frost came, and Rydia put her tools away to wait until next year, knowing that she would plant more in the spring, and that Kain would be there too, and finding both thoughts comforting.