FFXII Fic: Embers and Other Words, Chapter 3: Royalty Remixed
With God as my witness, I shall eventually post up all 59 drabbles written during the last fic-bits challenge! But for now, beware much madness, genre mixing and shout-outs to Ashe being effin' awesome in the following below. ♥
Title: Embers and Other Words, Chapter 3: Royalty Remixed
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Series: Embers and Other Words
Characters/Pairings: Ashe/Basch, Ashe/Vaan
Rating: PG to R
Summary: "This is how you handle it," she whispered and her fingers gripped his across the hilt of the blade...
I. Basch/Ashe, Not Quite Yet, for mithrigil
He shies away like a wild yet gentle chocobo whenever she touches him. It matters not whether she reaches out to apply a potion, or check a wound, or even just clasp him about the wrist, as Vossler once had. In fact, it does not even matter if it is she or Penelo or Vaan or any others of their party-- something about Basch seems permanently on the edge of flight, no matter who tries to tend to him.
But she wants to touch him-- god yes does she want that. She wants to press her nails against the edge of his back, wants to trace the scar upon his brow with her cracked lips, wants to chase away the faint, frightened shadows beneath his eyes with whatever gentleness she has left in her. And she is not gentle-- she has never been gentle-- but she wants so much to be for his sake, just to prove that she had forgiven him, just to prove that she can.
But still he shies away, the skin above his muscles shivering more violently whenever she comes near than when he fights the basest of the base in battle.
Not quite yet, she thinks, and her palms dampen with sweat as she thinks of just when.
---
II. Vaan/Ashe: Sword, for ladyassassin
"This is how you handle it," she whispers and her fingers grip his across the hilt of the blade, her cheeks and chest flushing with exertion as her eyes meet his across the top.
Panting himself, Vaan finds his eyes wandering towards the treacherous gap between the hem of her skirt and the top of her boots, that gap in which...
"Yeah," he finally says, hoping like hell she hadn't noticed. "Yeah, Ashe, I'm trying to learn how to--"
And even he doesn't quite know how to adequately finish his sentence.
---
III. Basch/Ashe: The Little Mermaid, for aorin107
In the end, of course, there was no turning back to the sea for the merman, not when the princess held so tight a grip on his shoulder, not when her fist braceleted his surprisingly fine wrists so tightly that he could not break free.
“And even if,” she whispers, resolute eyes narrow and hard into his own startled gaze, “this were a tale wherein our places were changed, where you had the chance to let me go and I to swim away-- and yet still would we find ourselves twined with each other, still placed in this way. Because you-- oh, you might have the strength to let go but I-- but I’d never allow myself to break free.”
---
IV. Basch and Noah: Sleeping Beauty, for aorin107
And why, his younger twin later asked their parents, why would that poor prince go through so much trouble and so many battles just to win a princess so ridiculously boring? But later that night, Basch had sent more than his number of kicks towards Noah in his sleep.
After all, even if Noah wasn't willing to acknowledge it, even princesses who didn't fit the conventional mold sometimes needed saving.
---
V. Basch/Ashe: Uncertain, for _acerbitas_
So this, then, was her father's killer, the man who must have watched her husband crumple beneath a stray arrow with silent satisfaction. This, then, was the man who had let her kingdom fall due to nothing less than his own arrogance, who had upturned her world with little more than his blade. This was the man who had betrayed them, all of them, all who had ever believed in him, and suffered still not enough for it. This was the man she should have been able to kill with nothing more than a laugh...
But his wretched, sleeping face in the darkness seemed no killer's face. And despite her own resolve, the hand around the dagger meant for his throat faltered yet again.
---
VI. Vaan/Ashe: He Never Had A Way With Words, for la_xhal
"--So I mean, like, if you don't, y'know, have other plans or anything else on your mind or nothing to do tomorrow night and no queen-type stuff to go after or places to be or people to wave at or whatever maybe we could, um, y'know, take a ride on my air-ship since I, y'know, I just got a new one and it's got these really cool seats in the back and I thought, god, y'know, who'd like them more than royalty and since the only other royal is kinda with my partner I though, well--"
"Speak slower. More calmly. And for the love of god, more quietly. And then, and maybe then... well, perhaps I'll consider your proposal again."
---
[Just assume that Ashe considers Vaan's proposal in #6 after all!]
VII. Vaan/Ashe: It Doesn't Do Anything! That's The Beauty of It!, for artemischan
"It wasn't designed to do anything but this," the sky pirate between the queen's legs whispers, his fingers already busy with moving his little ivory rod. "And isn't that the very best part?"
And when she orgasms beneath the combination of his toy, tongue and cock, she finds she can't much argue either.
Title: Embers and Other Words, Chapter 3: Royalty Remixed
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Series: Embers and Other Words
Characters/Pairings: Ashe/Basch, Ashe/Vaan
Rating: PG to R
Summary: "This is how you handle it," she whispered and her fingers gripped his across the hilt of the blade...
I. Basch/Ashe, Not Quite Yet, for mithrigil
He shies away like a wild yet gentle chocobo whenever she touches him. It matters not whether she reaches out to apply a potion, or check a wound, or even just clasp him about the wrist, as Vossler once had. In fact, it does not even matter if it is she or Penelo or Vaan or any others of their party-- something about Basch seems permanently on the edge of flight, no matter who tries to tend to him.
But she wants to touch him-- god yes does she want that. She wants to press her nails against the edge of his back, wants to trace the scar upon his brow with her cracked lips, wants to chase away the faint, frightened shadows beneath his eyes with whatever gentleness she has left in her. And she is not gentle-- she has never been gentle-- but she wants so much to be for his sake, just to prove that she had forgiven him, just to prove that she can.
But still he shies away, the skin above his muscles shivering more violently whenever she comes near than when he fights the basest of the base in battle.
Not quite yet, she thinks, and her palms dampen with sweat as she thinks of just when.
---
II. Vaan/Ashe: Sword, for ladyassassin
"This is how you handle it," she whispers and her fingers grip his across the hilt of the blade, her cheeks and chest flushing with exertion as her eyes meet his across the top.
Panting himself, Vaan finds his eyes wandering towards the treacherous gap between the hem of her skirt and the top of her boots, that gap in which...
"Yeah," he finally says, hoping like hell she hadn't noticed. "Yeah, Ashe, I'm trying to learn how to--"
And even he doesn't quite know how to adequately finish his sentence.
---
III. Basch/Ashe: The Little Mermaid, for aorin107
In the end, of course, there was no turning back to the sea for the merman, not when the princess held so tight a grip on his shoulder, not when her fist braceleted his surprisingly fine wrists so tightly that he could not break free.
“And even if,” she whispers, resolute eyes narrow and hard into his own startled gaze, “this were a tale wherein our places were changed, where you had the chance to let me go and I to swim away-- and yet still would we find ourselves twined with each other, still placed in this way. Because you-- oh, you might have the strength to let go but I-- but I’d never allow myself to break free.”
---
IV. Basch and Noah: Sleeping Beauty, for aorin107
And why, his younger twin later asked their parents, why would that poor prince go through so much trouble and so many battles just to win a princess so ridiculously boring? But later that night, Basch had sent more than his number of kicks towards Noah in his sleep.
After all, even if Noah wasn't willing to acknowledge it, even princesses who didn't fit the conventional mold sometimes needed saving.
---
V. Basch/Ashe: Uncertain, for _acerbitas_
So this, then, was her father's killer, the man who must have watched her husband crumple beneath a stray arrow with silent satisfaction. This, then, was the man who had let her kingdom fall due to nothing less than his own arrogance, who had upturned her world with little more than his blade. This was the man who had betrayed them, all of them, all who had ever believed in him, and suffered still not enough for it. This was the man she should have been able to kill with nothing more than a laugh...
But his wretched, sleeping face in the darkness seemed no killer's face. And despite her own resolve, the hand around the dagger meant for his throat faltered yet again.
---
VI. Vaan/Ashe: He Never Had A Way With Words, for la_xhal
"--So I mean, like, if you don't, y'know, have other plans or anything else on your mind or nothing to do tomorrow night and no queen-type stuff to go after or places to be or people to wave at or whatever maybe we could, um, y'know, take a ride on my air-ship since I, y'know, I just got a new one and it's got these really cool seats in the back and I thought, god, y'know, who'd like them more than royalty and since the only other royal is kinda with my partner I though, well--"
"Speak slower. More calmly. And for the love of god, more quietly. And then, and maybe then... well, perhaps I'll consider your proposal again."
---
[Just assume that Ashe considers Vaan's proposal in #6 after all!]
VII. Vaan/Ashe: It Doesn't Do Anything! That's The Beauty of It!, for artemischan
"It wasn't designed to do anything but this," the sky pirate between the queen's legs whispers, his fingers already busy with moving his little ivory rod. "And isn't that the very best part?"
And when she orgasms beneath the combination of his toy, tongue and cock, she finds she can't much argue either.