Gundam 00 Mechaphiles Holiday Fic Exchange: Native Flower
Now that the big reveal has been done, I figured I would post up my Gundam 00 Holiday Fic Exchange piece, just to have it here as well.
Character/Pairing: Setsuna/Marina
Prompt/Scenario: Greenery in the desert.
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Also, thank you to bucket_shot, who did a once-over for me when it was done~ :D <3
Ahaha, even the music is appropriate. I didn't realize. XD;
Native Flower
“Soran, won’t you come here?”
A tousled black head turns toward the sound of Marina’s voice. Although he is older now, and taller, Setsuna’s hair is still unkempt as ever against his olive forehead. He looks caught halfway between a boy and a man.
“My name is Setsuna,” he says, but he comes nonetheless. “Setsuna F. Seiei.”
Marina’s smile is partly amused, partly sad. “Of course,” she says. “Setsuna.”
“What is it?” he asks, coming to stand over her in the desert sand. His shadow falls over her in the dying light as the sun dips toward the horizon, only now just touching it and painting the desert sands behind them a fiery red. They aren’t far from Azadistan now; she’s asked him to stop for a few moments, out here where the desert sands have just begun to give way to the more fertile land of the city. She needs a little time, she thinks, to collect her thoughts, to compose herself. Just a few moments alone with Soran - Setsuna - and then she can return home to do her duty, let him take his leave to do his.
She doesn’t understand why his presence comforts her so - his stoic silence seems to put most people on edge, but not Marina. She likes his silence, likes the fact that when he opens his mouth, there is no question that his words will be important. Setsuna doesn’t speak unless it’s necessary; when he does, he’s worth listening to. Marina wishes, sometimes, that she could command the presence that he does.
“Look at this,” Marina says, moving aside from where she is crouched. The black curtain of her hair falls over her shoulder as she looks up into Setsuna’s eyes. “Look how beautiful.”
Here in the desert, beauty is elusive. Most people think the landscape is barren and dead, but anyone native to this place knows better. At the edges of the city there are clumps of greenery, attesting to the fact that the desert is not as bare as some might think. The Middle East is the most beautiful part of the world, Marina thinks, and she will never feel at home anywhere else.
Here, at her feet, lies a scattering of tulips - they are native to this land, though many think otherwise. Marina picks one carefully, not wanting to hurt the rest of the plant. She smiles, raising the bloom to her face so she can inhale its scent. Every flower in the desert is a thing of beauty, a reminder that harsh conditions beget the most triumphant rewards. She holds the flower up to Setsuna, wanting him to understand as well.
He takes it, the long stem held delicately in his dark fingers. Marina watches his eyes study the bloom, tries to imagine what his thoughts must sound like. But all she can hear is silence, and neither of them move. The moment feels so magical that Marina almost never wants it to end, her and Setsuna and the flower in the desert.
But, like all moments, it must come to a close. For an instant something flashes through his eyes - recognition, Marina thinks, and something else. His mouth is tight and the set of his brows bespeaks something that Marina can’t touch.
This time it’s her turn to ask, “What is it?”
“Nothing.” He looks at her for a long moment, and his eyes are filled with a mix of sadness and hope. “Here,” he says softly, and before she can even realize what’s happening he’s slipped the bloom into her hair, the stem resting behind her ear. He leans back, and his eyes are no longer sad. “It suits you.”
Marina cannot hide the smile that lights her face. She stands carefully as he beckons and her gaze follows his, back to the ship. “We should leave now. You need to get home,” Setsuna says, and Marina agrees. She’s ready. But as she follows him back onto the ship, she fingers the blossom in her hair and wishes, for a just a moment, that Soran could come with her.
--
[ Link to the story on the Mechaphiles Forum, and link to the reveal post. ]
Also, I was apparently mistaken - Setsuna didn't give Marina his actual name when I thought he did, but I just kind of left it in, so I'm sorry if that irks anyone. :x "Kamal" just didn't sound as good. ::fails::
Character/Pairing: Setsuna/Marina
Prompt/Scenario: Greenery in the desert.
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Also, thank you to bucket_shot, who did a once-over for me when it was done~ :D <3
Ahaha, even the music is appropriate. I didn't realize. XD;
Native Flower
“Soran, won’t you come here?”
A tousled black head turns toward the sound of Marina’s voice. Although he is older now, and taller, Setsuna’s hair is still unkempt as ever against his olive forehead. He looks caught halfway between a boy and a man.
“My name is Setsuna,” he says, but he comes nonetheless. “Setsuna F. Seiei.”
Marina’s smile is partly amused, partly sad. “Of course,” she says. “Setsuna.”
“What is it?” he asks, coming to stand over her in the desert sand. His shadow falls over her in the dying light as the sun dips toward the horizon, only now just touching it and painting the desert sands behind them a fiery red. They aren’t far from Azadistan now; she’s asked him to stop for a few moments, out here where the desert sands have just begun to give way to the more fertile land of the city. She needs a little time, she thinks, to collect her thoughts, to compose herself. Just a few moments alone with Soran - Setsuna - and then she can return home to do her duty, let him take his leave to do his.
She doesn’t understand why his presence comforts her so - his stoic silence seems to put most people on edge, but not Marina. She likes his silence, likes the fact that when he opens his mouth, there is no question that his words will be important. Setsuna doesn’t speak unless it’s necessary; when he does, he’s worth listening to. Marina wishes, sometimes, that she could command the presence that he does.
“Look at this,” Marina says, moving aside from where she is crouched. The black curtain of her hair falls over her shoulder as she looks up into Setsuna’s eyes. “Look how beautiful.”
Here in the desert, beauty is elusive. Most people think the landscape is barren and dead, but anyone native to this place knows better. At the edges of the city there are clumps of greenery, attesting to the fact that the desert is not as bare as some might think. The Middle East is the most beautiful part of the world, Marina thinks, and she will never feel at home anywhere else.
Here, at her feet, lies a scattering of tulips - they are native to this land, though many think otherwise. Marina picks one carefully, not wanting to hurt the rest of the plant. She smiles, raising the bloom to her face so she can inhale its scent. Every flower in the desert is a thing of beauty, a reminder that harsh conditions beget the most triumphant rewards. She holds the flower up to Setsuna, wanting him to understand as well.
He takes it, the long stem held delicately in his dark fingers. Marina watches his eyes study the bloom, tries to imagine what his thoughts must sound like. But all she can hear is silence, and neither of them move. The moment feels so magical that Marina almost never wants it to end, her and Setsuna and the flower in the desert.
But, like all moments, it must come to a close. For an instant something flashes through his eyes - recognition, Marina thinks, and something else. His mouth is tight and the set of his brows bespeaks something that Marina can’t touch.
This time it’s her turn to ask, “What is it?”
“Nothing.” He looks at her for a long moment, and his eyes are filled with a mix of sadness and hope. “Here,” he says softly, and before she can even realize what’s happening he’s slipped the bloom into her hair, the stem resting behind her ear. He leans back, and his eyes are no longer sad. “It suits you.”
Marina cannot hide the smile that lights her face. She stands carefully as he beckons and her gaze follows his, back to the ship. “We should leave now. You need to get home,” Setsuna says, and Marina agrees. She’s ready. But as she follows him back onto the ship, she fingers the blossom in her hair and wishes, for a just a moment, that Soran could come with her.
--
[ Link to the story on the Mechaphiles Forum, and link to the reveal post. ]
Also, I was apparently mistaken - Setsuna didn't give Marina his actual name when I thought he did, but I just kind of left it in, so I'm sorry if that irks anyone. :x "Kamal" just didn't sound as good. ::fails::