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MISTLETOE MEME REDUX
the mistletoe meme
you know what to do. whether it's magic compulsion (feat. magical attraction or not), that you're trapped until you kiss, or just tradition and social pressure, you've been caught under the mistletoe and that means you have to kiss.
no subject
I can't help but worry. Someone's got to look after you.
[ not just in battle and on the road, but after Shulk himself. He hardly remembered to eat back in the colony. Besides, taking care of him is... sort of her job. Isn't it? She has no idea what the two of them are, and she's sure he doesn't, either, but it's more than friends. She thinks. (She's afraid to ask. When he says yes, she'll feel even guiltier for trapping him in some tragic romance.) ]
... Can we stay here for a while? It's nice to be able to talk, just the two of us. We're so busy... And everyone's always fussing over both of us. [ a wry smile. ] I don't get you to myself very often. It doesn't feel fair.
cant believe sib is getting fiora MURDERED
He vaguely flails at her expression. She shouldn't have to worry! Reyn doesn't seem to anymore, but Fiora is different...
But she continues, and he blinks, turtling his hands into his sleeves in a way he hopes is subtle.]
...Of course we can. I didn't realize you felt that way...but I suppose we've both been juggling unique responsibilities.
[He returns her wry smile.]
Not that I'm one to complain. I've been so happy to show you all the places we hadn't seen together, this place not least of all.
[They get to share the adventure!!! He's so happy about it.]
fiora will never die
Mmhm. It's like a dream.
[ a strange thing to say, when they're fighting for their lives all the time, but it is to her. It's a second chance. She gets to see the world, and she appreciates it so much more now. Even the little things, like a starry night and the feeling of his sweater on her cheek. ]
I'm happy, too. [ her voice is a little smaller, more genuine. ] Really... Thank you, Shulk. For everything.
[ for not giving up on her - for giving her so much. She feels kind of embarrassed to say it, so she shuts her eyes again, affectionately leaning against him a bit more. ]
NEVER DIE TWICE U MEAN
She's not fussing anymore for the moment, so he's made the right choice it seems.
Also, listen. Their lives have been turned upside down, their pockets emptied of any sense of normalcy from before. This is their new normal...and it's not bad, when so many people have come together to put an end to their frankly awful life from before. No more war. No more suffering.
Fighting for change is a dream worth having!
So when Fiora's tone shifts, just a little, Shulk feels a little heavier. Not from her weight on him, but from just how much is riding on him to lead them forward. He won't lose. He won't lose her, not again.
He puts an arm loosely around her (unconsciously mindful of her drones), almost on reflex.]
Fiora...I've been thinking. There's still so much to be done...
[It's frankly intimidating.]
Enough that I'd forgotten how nice it is to sit and just...be.
[So, he should be thanking her, but he knows better. They'll go in circles, so for now, he'll take her gratitude.]
We both needed this, didn't we?
............ good point
We did. [ we, meaning him, too - something else that makes her happy, and she smiles a little to herself. ] I know you can do it. I'll be with you 'til the end.
[ that much, Fiora is determined to accomplish. Her body might be failing, but she won't let herself fall apart before she knows for sure that Shulk is safe and happy. Of course, she's not about to tell him that. ]
... But it would be nice if we could stay like this.
[ without the worries - if time would stop, and she didn't have to worry about dying, and he didn't have to worry about Zanza and the whole of Bionis. If they could just be normal. And they're not normal, even now, but she can almost believe that they are. When she opens her eyes, it's the same night sky that they looked up at a year ago in Colony 9. ]
Hey. Did you hear what those Nopon were saying, up around where we came in?
no subject
Honestly though, the fact she's a Mechon is of little consequence. Mechon are people...Homs blood just under the surface. They're people. That's one thing Shulk is so certain of that even killing Mumkhar was anathema to this belief.
Her encouragement is also a certainty, but it makes him smile all the same.
He merely hums in acknowledgment initially, enjoying the quiet moment, but her question catches him off guard. Oh no, now she'll know he wasn't paying attention...he's bad about that.
Shulk clears his throat, very subtly (no), before saying:]
Oh...no, no I didn't. What was it?
[He's also deeply curious now, he'll admit.]
(looks up at my previous comment) so that was a lie.mp4
Theoretically. She'd plucked up courage and a bit of determination, hearing his kind words and feeling his reassuring arm around her and thinking about time and regrets and Colony 9; now, looking over his curious expression, she feels whatever machinery's replaced her stomach start to curl up anxiously, and her eyes dart away. ]
Well... er, actually, nevermind. It was silly.
[ and now she's inwardly berating herself for being all shy about this all of a sudden... damn it, Fiora! ]
shameful
He's caught off guard enough he's silent for a stretch, waiting to see if maybe she changes her mind. It can't be that silly!
Then he grunts, in lieu of shaking his head, because he disagrees. Everything Fiora has to say is important!
She would never mince words.]
Well, I won't press if you're sure...but I will admit I'm curious now. And if it's important to you, it's not silly at all.
[But again, he won't push her!!!]
no subject
Well, I wouldn't say it's important, [ she says, a little self-consciously. ] Just... relevant?
[ she looks up at the sky from where her head is resting on his shoulder. The golden crystal at their backs looms overhead, beaming a ray of light out into the darkness alongside hundreds of others, distant spotlights only by the occasional ansel passing by in the distance and the snowflakes still persistently falling. She's grateful she can't feel the cold. It makes it easier to concentrate on the world around her, and that makes it easier to just follow her heart - whatever's left of it. ]
They told me there's a sort of Nopon superstition about this place. If you sit out here underneath an ether crystal on a clear night with someone important to you, the Nopon Sage will charge up the ether and bless you with a happy life together. But there's a catch.
no subject
Anyways, he listens with interest as Fiora offers an initially confusing explanation. Well, until it becomes clear she's referring to a local myth.
Ah, good ol' hearsay.
Where Fiora looks up at the sky, Shulk himself shifts to look at her as best he can without disturbing her from her cozy spot. He'll admit, he is intrigued now, though Fiora's prior hesitation is doubly confusing. What's the harm in believing in a superstition, you know? He's believed stranger things. He's lived stranger things!]
A catch...? What sort of catch?
[He doesn't have anything to offer the mountain...curse his empty pockets.]
no subject
the fact that he reacted to what she just said with -- well, a lack of reaction is a faint relief in its own way. On one hand, it's entirely possible the implications of her words passed through his head completely. On the other... it's also possible that the idea of being with her like that is so natural to him that it didn't give him pause at all, and given everything, she's inclined to believe it's the latter. A few months ago, she never would have had the courage to say anything so incriminating. Now, though, there's a sort of unspoken understanding between them. She's not afraid he'll reject her like she used to be. She knows his feelings - he's acted on them enough that she thinks she must know them.
No, she's just frustrated with his lack of romance, as always - and the nerves are just butterflies in a stomach she no longer has. The fearful things are all external, things in the future, not here yet. Shulk's nothing to worry about. And if he won't be selfish with her, maybe that just means the duty falls to her. ]
For any of it to come true, you've got to share a kiss.
[ so, here she goes, being selfish with him, instead. She practically holds her breath, waiting on his reaction, biting her tongue so she doesn't immediately go "stupid, right?" and save face. ]
no subject
Honestly, if Shulk could listen to Fiora's internal dialogue he'd be...so saddened? To think she would believe he wouldn't want to be happy with her as long as they both live. They deserve it! All of them...they wouldn't be fighting so hard if they didn't.
As for Shulk's sense of romance...it's purely incidental that they're alone in such a beautiful location together, drinking in the sights and bathing in the brilliant light of ether crystals scattered across the land. It just happens to be the most romantic setting the Valak Mountains have to offer.
He's still looking at her, which probably doesn't help Fiora's nerves at all, and, like the intelligent person he is, he simply leans towards her a little more just to make it that much more intimidating!! As if he could ever be, but it's the duress that counts.
If it helps, he doesn't react like she'd shoved peppers up his nose. Rather, he hums thoughtfully, quiet for a beat.
The worst.]
Do you believe it, Fiora?
[Quietly:]
More importantly, do you want that wish to come true? Because you know I'm with you every step of the way. And I know you'd do anything to make what you want a reality.
[Because to have a happy life...is going to be a monumental effort on both their parts. It sours his mood a little to think of what lies ahead, so he shrugs the weight off his shoulders with a short, chuffed laugh.]
When you think about what we've been through so far, and what's to come...sharing a kiss is the easiest thing we could possibly do.
[Like.
Shulk?
Shulk.
He says it without an ounce of irony. He might not even realize it. If Fiora looks at him, he's wearing a profound expression. Also known as his thinking face. He's still looking at her, too, but also a little past her.]