Tales of the Abyss - It Smells Like Home
Title: It Smells Like Home
Author: seta_suzume
Pairings/Characters: Jade/Anise
Prompt: Anise/Jade, warm bedclothes, between the sheets
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
She had grown taller, but not tall enough that reaching to take the last few items from the laundry basket was not a stretch. Jade watched quietly as her scrambling hands produced the freshly washed sheets. When it snowed during the winter in Keterburg it could take weeks to dry such large quantities of cloth after washing them, but the process had been speeded by a judiciously placed fire spell which had not only flash-dried the laundry, but had melted half the yard of its foot-deep layer of snow.
Anise held the sheet to her face, pressing her nose and lips against the soft, white fabric. "Oooh, don't you love the smell of fresh laundry, Colonel?" she sighed.
"In all honesty, I've never paid it much heed," he admitted, still sitting in his chair.
"Why, Colonel, it's the simple pleasures that make each day so sweet!"
"But the rare, expensive, and grandiose ones that make it worth living, correct?" he countered. The simple things might be all some people needed, but Jade knew Anise's desires...
"Of course!" her eyes lit up as her imagination turned to a subject near and dear to her young heart, "Fresh laundry probably smells even better if a maid is putting it on your bed! And better than that if the bed is king-sized and the sheets are made of silk! And best of all if that bed is in a palatial residence!"
"Does it help at all if a certain intelligent, handsome older man is in between those sheets with you?" he questioned further, raising one eyebrow suggestively.
Anise tossed the half-folded bundle of sheets over his head to hide her peach blossom blush. "Now you're talking heaven! -Or something pretty close to it!"
Jade fumbled his way through the sheets until his head was sticking out of their fluffy depths.
Seeing his face poking out like a baby bird waiting for its mother's return to the nest, Anise dipped in to give him a kiss, merely a fluttering brush of the lips, before clambering over the bed to the other side of the room. She giggled mercilessly, eyes twinkling, with a dainty hand held to her lips. Smart as he could be, Jade couldn't have been expecting that!
She was partially right. Jade had not been sure of the approach of the kiss, but he had considered it among hte possible outcomes of the situation. He lingered in the sheets for a moment, feeling, the brush of the still-warm fabric against his face. He waited for Anise to let her gaurd down before throwing the sheets over his shoulders like a cape and vaulting smoothly over the mattress.
"Kyaa!" Anise screamed shrilly as he grabbed her and threw himself backwards, pulling both of them into the mess of the even further entangled sheets. Laughter overwhelming her surprise, Anise let out an unrestrained laugh, louder than her previous girlish giggles.
Jade could feel her chest having as he clasped her to his side. Their noses brushed as he turned his face to meet hers. He smiled. "J-Jade, I can't br-br-breathe!" Anise choked, wracked with laughter. Though he was tempted to tease her further with a mock serious face, Jade turned away instead.
Gradually Anise got her laughter under control. She tugged the sheets over their head. The air heated quickly as it filled with their excited breaths. "This might not be a palace, and the bed's just a double, and I have to wash the sheets myself if I want to see them washed at all in this bachelor pad of yours, but... It'll do." She threaded her fingers between Jade's.
"I see what you mean about the smell of fresh laundry," he remarked. "It smells familiar. I've inhaled this scent many times before without even truly noticing. It smells like comfort and home."
Their breaths slowed as they laid longer silently between the sheets, "I could grow used to this," Jade admitted.
"I already have," Anise squeezed his hand.
Author: seta_suzume
Pairings/Characters: Jade/Anise
Prompt: Anise/Jade, warm bedclothes, between the sheets
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
She had grown taller, but not tall enough that reaching to take the last few items from the laundry basket was not a stretch. Jade watched quietly as her scrambling hands produced the freshly washed sheets. When it snowed during the winter in Keterburg it could take weeks to dry such large quantities of cloth after washing them, but the process had been speeded by a judiciously placed fire spell which had not only flash-dried the laundry, but had melted half the yard of its foot-deep layer of snow.
Anise held the sheet to her face, pressing her nose and lips against the soft, white fabric. "Oooh, don't you love the smell of fresh laundry, Colonel?" she sighed.
"In all honesty, I've never paid it much heed," he admitted, still sitting in his chair.
"Why, Colonel, it's the simple pleasures that make each day so sweet!"
"But the rare, expensive, and grandiose ones that make it worth living, correct?" he countered. The simple things might be all some people needed, but Jade knew Anise's desires...
"Of course!" her eyes lit up as her imagination turned to a subject near and dear to her young heart, "Fresh laundry probably smells even better if a maid is putting it on your bed! And better than that if the bed is king-sized and the sheets are made of silk! And best of all if that bed is in a palatial residence!"
"Does it help at all if a certain intelligent, handsome older man is in between those sheets with you?" he questioned further, raising one eyebrow suggestively.
Anise tossed the half-folded bundle of sheets over his head to hide her peach blossom blush. "Now you're talking heaven! -Or something pretty close to it!"
Jade fumbled his way through the sheets until his head was sticking out of their fluffy depths.
Seeing his face poking out like a baby bird waiting for its mother's return to the nest, Anise dipped in to give him a kiss, merely a fluttering brush of the lips, before clambering over the bed to the other side of the room. She giggled mercilessly, eyes twinkling, with a dainty hand held to her lips. Smart as he could be, Jade couldn't have been expecting that!
She was partially right. Jade had not been sure of the approach of the kiss, but he had considered it among hte possible outcomes of the situation. He lingered in the sheets for a moment, feeling, the brush of the still-warm fabric against his face. He waited for Anise to let her gaurd down before throwing the sheets over his shoulders like a cape and vaulting smoothly over the mattress.
"Kyaa!" Anise screamed shrilly as he grabbed her and threw himself backwards, pulling both of them into the mess of the even further entangled sheets. Laughter overwhelming her surprise, Anise let out an unrestrained laugh, louder than her previous girlish giggles.
Jade could feel her chest having as he clasped her to his side. Their noses brushed as he turned his face to meet hers. He smiled. "J-Jade, I can't br-br-breathe!" Anise choked, wracked with laughter. Though he was tempted to tease her further with a mock serious face, Jade turned away instead.
Gradually Anise got her laughter under control. She tugged the sheets over their head. The air heated quickly as it filled with their excited breaths. "This might not be a palace, and the bed's just a double, and I have to wash the sheets myself if I want to see them washed at all in this bachelor pad of yours, but... It'll do." She threaded her fingers between Jade's.
"I see what you mean about the smell of fresh laundry," he remarked. "It smells familiar. I've inhaled this scent many times before without even truly noticing. It smells like comfort and home."
Their breaths slowed as they laid longer silently between the sheets, "I could grow used to this," Jade admitted.
"I already have," Anise squeezed his hand.