Blue Skies #8: Underwater Kiss (Tales of the Abyss)
Title: Best Laid Schemes
Author: L-chan (mellowcandle)
Prompt: #8, underwater kiss
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Anise, Guy, Natalia
Rating & Warnings: K
Word Count: 580
Summary: Anise is always trying to get that first kiss.
Anise knew three things about Guy. Okay, she knew more than three, but there were three that were important to her current plan.
One: He was terrified of touching women.
Two: He was trained in water rescue.
Three: He could overcome his touching fears if a woman needed rescuing.
So it all made sense. If she pretended to drown, he’d be compelled to save her. He’d have to carry her safely to shore and make sure she was all right. And if she remained limp and still and helpless, he’d have to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Maybe it was a dirty way to trick him into kissing her, but nothing else had worked.
After their picnic lunch on the beach, she waded out into the surf. Guy and Natalia remained on the shore, drinking lemonade and talking. Anise frowned, watching them. Natalia’s body was made for a bathing suit, with curves that were only accentuated by the stringy top and clingy bottom. How was Anise, who had all the curves of a tree trunk, supposed to compete with that?
Fine, she was playing dirty, but so did nature.
Once she’d swam enough away from shore to find the current but not so far that he’d take long to reach her, Anise began flailing in panic. “Help!” she cried, arms waving wildly. She thrashed about and ducked below the water to get a good gurgle going. “Help!”
To her credit, she did feel a bit icky about the whole thing. The damsel-in-distress routine was so ridiculous, especially coming from her. But, sexist though it may be, it was also a classic, sure to rouse Guy’s chivalrous instincts.
She took a deep breath and sank below the water’s surface again to wait for her hero. Before too long, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back up. Yep, she’d given an award-worthy performance, and she tried not to grin. She was supposed to be drowning, after all.
“It’s all right, Anise, I’ve got you.”
Ugh, that was Natalia’s voice. She cautiously opened one eye and saw the princess’s concerned face. Guy was nowhere near. Boo. “Go away,” Anise hissed. “I want Guy to save me.”
Natalia looked hurt, then confused, then she nodded. “Oh. Oh, I see,” she said, and a grin of her own appeared. Good, Anise didn’t have to explain that yes, of course princesses were just as heroic and awesome and kickass as any man. They had that unspoken woman-to-woman understanding. “Quick, duck down again.”
With less grace and gentleness than Anise expected from her friend, Natalia shoved her back under the water as she called Guy’s name. She even accidentally kicked Anise as she swam away, but that added some believable panic to the situation.
The wait was longer this time, and Anise hadn’t had the chance to take a breath like she did before. She stayed down like the trouper she was, like the determined, stubborn girl she was, until she couldn’t take it anymore.
She shot up out of the water like a fish on a line, gasping for air. When she pushed her dripping hair out of her face, she found herself quite alone.
Guy was standing on the beach, the vestiges of waves washing over his feet as he watched her with obvious amusement. “Nice try!” he called.
Next to him, Natalia fluttered her fingers in a sarcastic wave.
Mean. She could have drowned pretending to drown. Some friends they were.
Boo. Boooooo.
Author: L-chan (mellowcandle)
Prompt: #8, underwater kiss
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Anise, Guy, Natalia
Rating & Warnings: K
Word Count: 580
Summary: Anise is always trying to get that first kiss.
Anise knew three things about Guy. Okay, she knew more than three, but there were three that were important to her current plan.
One: He was terrified of touching women.
Two: He was trained in water rescue.
Three: He could overcome his touching fears if a woman needed rescuing.
So it all made sense. If she pretended to drown, he’d be compelled to save her. He’d have to carry her safely to shore and make sure she was all right. And if she remained limp and still and helpless, he’d have to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Maybe it was a dirty way to trick him into kissing her, but nothing else had worked.
After their picnic lunch on the beach, she waded out into the surf. Guy and Natalia remained on the shore, drinking lemonade and talking. Anise frowned, watching them. Natalia’s body was made for a bathing suit, with curves that were only accentuated by the stringy top and clingy bottom. How was Anise, who had all the curves of a tree trunk, supposed to compete with that?
Fine, she was playing dirty, but so did nature.
Once she’d swam enough away from shore to find the current but not so far that he’d take long to reach her, Anise began flailing in panic. “Help!” she cried, arms waving wildly. She thrashed about and ducked below the water to get a good gurgle going. “Help!”
To her credit, she did feel a bit icky about the whole thing. The damsel-in-distress routine was so ridiculous, especially coming from her. But, sexist though it may be, it was also a classic, sure to rouse Guy’s chivalrous instincts.
She took a deep breath and sank below the water’s surface again to wait for her hero. Before too long, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back up. Yep, she’d given an award-worthy performance, and she tried not to grin. She was supposed to be drowning, after all.
“It’s all right, Anise, I’ve got you.”
Ugh, that was Natalia’s voice. She cautiously opened one eye and saw the princess’s concerned face. Guy was nowhere near. Boo. “Go away,” Anise hissed. “I want Guy to save me.”
Natalia looked hurt, then confused, then she nodded. “Oh. Oh, I see,” she said, and a grin of her own appeared. Good, Anise didn’t have to explain that yes, of course princesses were just as heroic and awesome and kickass as any man. They had that unspoken woman-to-woman understanding. “Quick, duck down again.”
With less grace and gentleness than Anise expected from her friend, Natalia shoved her back under the water as she called Guy’s name. She even accidentally kicked Anise as she swam away, but that added some believable panic to the situation.
The wait was longer this time, and Anise hadn’t had the chance to take a breath like she did before. She stayed down like the trouper she was, like the determined, stubborn girl she was, until she couldn’t take it anymore.
She shot up out of the water like a fish on a line, gasping for air. When she pushed her dripping hair out of her face, she found herself quite alone.
Guy was standing on the beach, the vestiges of waves washing over his feet as he watched her with obvious amusement. “Nice try!” he called.
Next to him, Natalia fluttered her fingers in a sarcastic wave.
Mean. She could have drowned pretending to drown. Some friends they were.
Boo. Boooooo.