drabbles
Title: Confidence
Rating: PG-13? T?
Fandom/Pairing/Character: Final Fantasy VII / Rufus x Cloud
For: MeowMeowKy
Word Count: 100
Author’s Notes: I don’t write Cloud well. And this is the first time I’ve tried to write anything with Rufus. This is the shortest one, and the only “real” drabble, but it was also the hardest to write. Mostly I’m just happy it’s done.
“Bleed Like Me” by Trapt is totally the Rufus x Cloud song.
Whenever Cloud wanted to know something about himself, he sought out Rufus. Rufus knew the things that Tifa would never tell him, like who was responsible for the collapse of Sector 7, and who was to blame for Meteor, the things Cloud had always known, deep in that sunken space Tifa called his heart. The things everyone else denied.
Whenever Cloud needed to feel something, Rufus would be ready to make him hurt, and to marvel at the paradox - this weakness in the man who had defeated God-and Cloud, knowing the words were true, would lie there, relishing them.
Title: Untitled
Because I can’t think of anything.
Rating: PG?
Fandom/Pairing/Character: Final Fantasy VII / Tseng
For: MeowMeowKy
Word Count: 261
Author’s Notes: Ah, racism.
I hope the structure of this isn’t too boring/repetitive. It just kinda spilled out after the first drabble. And I’ve had all kinds of issues with the last couple lines.
It was hard, sometimes, being the only Wutain in Midgar. It meant walking down the street with hisses of “those damn Wutes,” and “slanty-eyed bastards” trailing in his wake. Once they saw his dark suit and Shin-Ra lapel pin, knew that he was in service to the Government, it meant handshakes with men who never met his eyes. It meant going to a bar and being asked - casually, over an over-priced beer -why he wasn’t wearing a dress and praising some great-great-grandfather and Leviathan, why he didn’t go back across the border on the next boat to be with the rest of his kind.
It meant thanking whatever gods he no longer believed in for his Turk salary because he was always being overcharged for everything by Midgar natives who thought he wouldn’t notice and he knew better now than to make a scene. It meant “Oh my, and you know the Midgar dialect and everything, how clever!” and jokes about his name, when anyone could pronounce it.
It meant living in two realities, and going to sleep knowing he was dead to everyone he’d ever grown up with.
It meant loving his gun, his boss, and his colleagues more than he loved his mother and father.
But it had also become habit, just like mixing the right amount of artificial sweetener into the bitter break room coffee. It had been so long, Tseng told himself, that their comments didn’t hurt anymore, that it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been during the war. On most days, he believed himself.
Title: Pretty Things
Rating: PG? PG-13/T? What rating system am I even using…?
You know, I’m really not sure. The Remnants belong in a creepy category all their own.
Fandom/Pairing: Final Fantasy VII / Yazoo x Reno
For: Chibi Envy Chan
Word Count: 226
Author’s Notes: Because I just couldn’t figure out where this pairing came from. Then I thought about it for a bit, and decided to… do something. It was ridiculous; as hard as that Rufus x Cloud drabble was to write, this was surprisingly easy.
And I was out of town so I couldn’t check Ky’s Advent Children DVD and figure out the exact scene, so I just worked with what I could remember.
“So the peons aren’t trusted?” Yazoo sneered, tossing silky hair over his shoulder. The red one bristled. Yazoo had seen that look before, on that cat he and his brothers had found. He remembered it well - puffed up and snarling, ready to fight-up until Kadaj, chuckling at the spectacle, broke its neck.
Just like the cat, the red one struck out, followed by his duller-colored, larger companion. Yazoo exchanged a look with his brother. Loz grunted - he’d take the big one. Yazoo gave him a nod - he’d take the red one for himself.
And so they fought. Yazoo liked humans this way best: the red one was lithe and muscular and had a fiery temper that drove him like a second wind. Yazoo coveted that energy, wanted it, needed it for his own. Needed it for Mother.
If the time for the Reunion was not approaching - for he knew that it was, Kadaj told them so, and Mother’s voice pulsed through his very being, stronger and stronger - Yazoo would have liked to play with this little red creature a little longer. It would be almost intoxicating (like it had been with their other playthings, the dark one and the little yellow butterfly-the ones who had almost gotten Mother before these two had stolen her) to see how many ways Kadaj could make it die.
Title: Untitled
Because titles are hard.
Rating: PG
Fandom/Pairing: Final Fantasy VII / Yuffie x Vincent
For: Usada_chan
Word Count: 247
Author’s Notes: Channeling my inner Yuffie was fun and relaxing. Yay for cuteness.
Yuffie couldn’t quite figure out what her deal was with Vincent. She guessed it was just because he was so damn handsome. Fit that whole “tall dark and handsome” bill a bit too well. She’d always been a little goofy over those types ever since she was a kid. He definitely had that whole mysterious thing going for him, sleeping in a coffin for years and years and all that.
Yeah, that had definitely been what had attracted her to him at first: curiosity. And, of course, the handsomeness. Besides, Vincent seemed so much older and wiser, something that was exciting just because it was so different from the rest of Cloud’s little bunch of heroes. So for a while she hung off of every word he muttered from under that red cape, because if Vincent bothered to say something, it had to be at least kind-of important.
Now, though, things were starting to seem a little different. At first, she just loved his whole dark, dramatic aura. But now, sometimes she’d say something, little things like “Hey Vince, how’s it goin’?” and sometimes-if she blinked, she’d miss it-Yuffie could see a little tiny ghost of a smile.
And if she’d loved the dark, brooding Vincent of before, she was absolutely fascinated now. She was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, Vince wasn’t quite as depressed as he always acted. And she was going to use all of her ninja skills to prove it!
Title: Procrastinators Anonymous
Rating: G, unless you wear slash goggles, in which case, that’s up to your imagination.
Fandom/Pairing: Final Fantasy VII / Rude x Reno
For: Chibi Envy Chan
Word Count: 204
Author’s Notes: I just figured, even if it’s cliché, why not? So Rude is going to struggle with one of my own personal vices. And a forewarning, I’m not nearly as practiced in the art of Reno and Rude’s man!flirting as they are. So if it’s bad… yeah.
And I guess this is only really slash if you wear your slash goggles, which is just kinda how Reno x Rude is…
It all started with a phone call. Rude was sitting at his desk, about ready to start on some paperwork because, as much as they all hated it, paperwork was a fact of life, and he was trying not to put it off this time, when he felt his PHS vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open.
“Heya partner,” a familiar voice drawled.
“Reno.”
“Doin’ anything?”
“Paperwork,” Rude grunted, prepared to hang up because at times like these Reno wanted trouble, and the sooner Rude got all this stuff done, the sooner he’d be free to do something else. Like make things go “boom.”
“Well, that’s boring.”
“You should do yours.” Because that way Rude could avoid distractions and his own paperwork might actually get done before the last possible minute for once.
“Aren’t we the busy little worker bee?” Reno purred.
“Only for you, Precious,” Rude scoffed, cradling the receiver against his ear.
“Precious?” Reno laughed. “All right, then, Snugglemuffin,” -- Rude let out a snort - “Mind if I come over there?”
Rude looked down at the packet of papers - mission reports to fill out, damages to assess - and shoved them aside.
They’d always been procrastinators, after all.
Title: Holiday Magic
Rating: G
Fandom/Pairing: Kingdom Hearts / Leon x Cloud
For: `Yes-chan, MeowMeowKy
Word Count: 481
Author’s Notes: The most cliché of the bunch! And also the only holiday-themed one, because what can you write, spur of the moment, that’s holiday themed that’s not totally cliché any more? Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, or something.
It was getting to be that time of year again in Hollow Bastion. Snow was falling, and Perdita and Pongo’s herd of puppies had taken to sliding around on all the sidewalk’s newly-frozen patches. It was cute, Cloud admitted, but kind of a pain all the same. A mob of one hundred and one Dalmatians who kept slipping on ice could hold up a lot of traffic.
Still, holiday cheer abounded. Within days of the first snow, every tree, doorway, window, and lamppost had been strung with covered lights, and the streets were filled with all kinds of joyful noise, some of it the first Hollow Bastion had seen since the Heartless invaded. The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee wanted everyone to enjoy the season, of course, but they also had to make sure none of the revelers got attacked by Heartless. It was a difficult position to be in, Cloud found, having to enforce curfews when all anyone wanted to do was sing carols.
But the Restoration Committee members needn’t have worried. From the first time Aerith decked Merlin’s halls with boughs of holly, there had been a marked decrease in the number of Heartless seen prowling the city. As the days passed, and the holiday decorations grew, the Heartless all but vanished.
Merlin had a theory, which he spouted (loudly) to all who would listen. It was the cheer and good will that people felt during the holiday season that kept the darkness in their hearts at bay. Cid argued that it was all due to improvements in their Heartless-seeking technology. Cloud could see merits in either argument. But whatever the reason, the Restoration Committee members got their chance to celebrate.
Even Cloud found a budding confidence in the light in his own heart, he realized, as he stood in Merlin’s doorway, musing to himself one evening. He watched as Tifa and Aerith took on Yuffie in a heated snowball fight, and even surprised himself with a laugh as they shared a look and turned on Cid, who pretended to be irritated, but looked to be having as much fun as the girls as he took his revenge.
Someone behind Cloud coughed. Cloud turned around. It was Leon, bearing two steaming cups of hot chocolate. He wordlessly handed one to Cloud. Cloud nodded his thanks and took a sip.
“They look like they’re having fun,” Leon noted. Cloud murmured his agreement. They did.
“Wanna join ‘em?” Leon asked.
“Nah. It’s warmer in here.”
Leon nodded, taking a drink from his own mug. Something seemed to catch his eye. He looked up.
“Say… Cloud…” he began, casually.
“Hm?”
“We’re… Well, we’re under mistletoe.”
Cloud looked up from his hot chocolate, following Leon’s gaze to the ceiling. …So they were. In spite of himself, he smiled. Not a big smile, but it was enough.
There truly was something magical about the holidays.