FFVIII: Worthy
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Pairing: None
Warnings: Angst
Rating: G
Summary: Rinoa is stronger than Fujin, in her own way. For fated_children.
"Where're Fujin and Raijin?"
She forgot to say hello, but hey, he's not one to lecture about being polite. He looked up at her, at her hair, damp from a shower and a little fluffy, and her little smile. She never really did care what people thought. He wondered, though, why exactly she came to find him. She only skips the hellos when she has something to say.
"They're... they went out for a day," he said, and he tried not to let the hurt shine through, thick and heavy though it was, because all of a sudden they weren't friends because they were both following him, they were friends and more because they were together, and though he should've been happy for them it was kind of hard, because it all used to be for him, and it's like when he fell from grace (or fell further, anyway) he lost that.
"You seemed lonely."
"Huh?"
Rinoa sat down next to him, bringing her legs up, heels on the bench, arms around her knees. "I've been... playing with my sorceress power. I just... let myself drift over Garden, and I found your mind, and... are you okay?"
"It isn't a toy."
Violated. He'd hated that when he'd been with Ultimecia. She'd just swept into his mind, arranged things as she saw fit, punished his daily betrayals (and oh, how many of them she found or made up on the spot) and left again, leaving him less than he'd been.
"I'm sorry," she said, quickly. She put a hand on his arm. "I didn't read your thoughts. It's not like that. It's just... feeling. Like reading body language only, I don't know, auras or something. I just knew you were lonely."
He looked up at her, into her sincere eyes, and let out a sigh that was regret and depression and loneliness and remnants of a summer love. "Sorry I snapped," he mumbled.
"It's okay," she said, and offered a smile. "I know what it's like to be lonely."
He looked at her, at the curve of her back and her relaxed muscles and her tiny smile. She wasn't like Fujin. Fujin always got straighter and taller and stiffer when she was lonely, when she was sad.
It occured to him that maybe Rinoa was the stronger one, a sorceress in a world that hated sorceresses, a young naïve woman in a Garden of jaded mercenaries, the one who coaxed Squall Leonhart out of his shell.
Stronger, and more worthy of his friendship, maybe.
Pairing: None
Warnings: Angst
Rating: G
Summary: Rinoa is stronger than Fujin, in her own way. For fated_children.
"Where're Fujin and Raijin?"
She forgot to say hello, but hey, he's not one to lecture about being polite. He looked up at her, at her hair, damp from a shower and a little fluffy, and her little smile. She never really did care what people thought. He wondered, though, why exactly she came to find him. She only skips the hellos when she has something to say.
"They're... they went out for a day," he said, and he tried not to let the hurt shine through, thick and heavy though it was, because all of a sudden they weren't friends because they were both following him, they were friends and more because they were together, and though he should've been happy for them it was kind of hard, because it all used to be for him, and it's like when he fell from grace (or fell further, anyway) he lost that.
"You seemed lonely."
"Huh?"
Rinoa sat down next to him, bringing her legs up, heels on the bench, arms around her knees. "I've been... playing with my sorceress power. I just... let myself drift over Garden, and I found your mind, and... are you okay?"
"It isn't a toy."
Violated. He'd hated that when he'd been with Ultimecia. She'd just swept into his mind, arranged things as she saw fit, punished his daily betrayals (and oh, how many of them she found or made up on the spot) and left again, leaving him less than he'd been.
"I'm sorry," she said, quickly. She put a hand on his arm. "I didn't read your thoughts. It's not like that. It's just... feeling. Like reading body language only, I don't know, auras or something. I just knew you were lonely."
He looked up at her, into her sincere eyes, and let out a sigh that was regret and depression and loneliness and remnants of a summer love. "Sorry I snapped," he mumbled.
"It's okay," she said, and offered a smile. "I know what it's like to be lonely."
He looked at her, at the curve of her back and her relaxed muscles and her tiny smile. She wasn't like Fujin. Fujin always got straighter and taller and stiffer when she was lonely, when she was sad.
It occured to him that maybe Rinoa was the stronger one, a sorceress in a world that hated sorceresses, a young naïve woman in a Garden of jaded mercenaries, the one who coaxed Squall Leonhart out of his shell.
Stronger, and more worthy of his friendship, maybe.