Multiamory March: Drabbles (6-10)

[wallwalker]

Continuing from yesterday.

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#6: Fight
(Tony/Pepper/Rhodey, MCU)

They’re bickering again.

Pepper can’t dignify it by calling it arguing. She can’t tell what they’re saying, but she can hear the emotional flourishes in Tony’s voice and the ever-louder flat cadence of Rhodey’s responses, each layered over the other again and again.

She finishes writing a memo - something that Jarvis could’ve done, but she likes giving her work a personal touch - and pulls up a document marked for immediate review. She’s not going to ask; they’d expect her to mediate, and she’s busy running the company.

She’ll give them fifteen minutes, unless any suits start powering up.

#7: Hide
(Cecil/Rosa/Edward, FFIV)

“I was never as brave as you both,” Edward admitted, resting with the King and Queen of Baron. “All I did was hide.”

Cecil patted him on the shoulder before sitting, carafe in hand. “Not so. Remember, Edward, you saved our lives.”

Rosa nodded and smiled, extending her cup for a drink. “Besides, Cecil and I were both trained in arts of war since childhood. Damcyan was not nearly so martial-minded.”

“I know,” he said, holding out his own cup. “But I wonder, could I have done more?”

“You still can,” Cecil answered, and Rosa beamed.

Edward smiled back, reassured.

#8: Left Out
(Cecil/Rosa/Kain, FFIV)

Kain was alone by his own volition. Cecil and Rosa had done everything they could to include him; it was his own fear that had held him back, even when they’d risked so much to reach out.

(If he stopped to think, he would go back. It was best, then, not to stop.)

He’ll return someday. He can’t imagine dying anywhere but by their sides. But if he could not overcome his fears, what kind of love could he offer them? A heart polluted by darkness was no gift at all.

(Sometimes, he wonders how he’ll know when he’s ready.)

#9: Moments
(Squall/Rinoa/Quistis, FFVIII)

Sometimes Rinoa still feels like she’s going to be left behind. There are just these moments when Squall and Quistis are fighting side-by-side, guarding each other’s backs, moving as if combat were a dance and they were the choreographers. And Rinoa - who had only taken a few self-defense classes before starting her personal rebellion - is the stumbling amateur, and she can’t hope to keep up with the masters.

But the moments never last. They both come back for her when she needs help - one to fight off the monsters, the other to lead them all to safety.

#10: Dream
(Cloud/Zack/Aeris, FFVII)

“Hey, Cloud.”

You blink. You’re standing in the yellow meadow again, and Zack is smiling at you.

Aeris is beside you, one hand on your back. “He might need time to understand this,” she says. “He did last time.”

Zack’s grin widens. “Not too long, I hope.”

“Don’t be so impatient!” she shoots back.

“I’m dreaming,” you manage. You have to be, right?

“So what?” Zack replies. Aeris giggles.

You start to say more, but then Aeris’s arms are around your waist and Zack’s hands are holding your face, and if you’re dreaming, you don’t want to stop right now.