Shadow Hearts: Johnny/Shania: Delta
Fandom: Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Title: Love's Novelties
Pairing: Johnny/Shania
Theme set: Delta
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mention of sex and spoilers for Shadow Hearts: From the New World.
Notes: Some were arranged into mini-stories, but most of these aren't in chronological order.
#01 - Air
When the glass shattered, a gust of wind spilled over Johnny, carrying with it an angel--except she didn't have the thin, delicate wings he'd always seen in paintings, but the sturdy wings of a bird.
#02 - Apples
Shania's stomach growled and Johnny immediately reached in his backpack for an apple, neatly slicing it in two before tossing one half to her; her hand snagged the fruit in midair and brought it to her smiling lips.
#03 - Beginning
She wished she could borrow her companion's energy, because while he faced the beginning of a journey with all eagerness, she was desperate for the conclusion of her own.
#04 - Bugs
Johnny didn't exactly want to get bitten by a tick, but he was kind of glad the insects were a concern when Shania's fingers and eyes skimmed over his skin, searching for anything out of place.
#05 - Coffee
Shania tolerated no slacking: Johnny discovered, when he rubbed his eyes and complained he wasn't awake until he drank his coffee, that a cup of ice cold water applied to the face could be just as invigorating.
#06 - Dark
Maybe it was only the darkness of the night softening Shania's customary frown, but Johnny wanted to say that she was really smiling as he and Frank competed to see who was the better (or perhaps that was worse?) punster.
#07 - Despair
He realized after one battle that Shania eyed the glowing dagger in his hands with something akin to--fear--and his thoughts tumbled with his stomach: she can't be afraid and what did I do and why, why, why?
#08 - Doors
But when he asked her, Shania firmly denied any misgivings she might have about him; Johnny had heard that eyes were the windows to the soul, but sometimes hers seemed more like the doors to a condemned house, closed and locked and boarded up.
#09 - Drink
Mao had warned him not to drink too much, but despite the slight burning of alcohol on his tongue, it seemed to only fill him with warmth and dreamy thoughts and Johnny hardly noticed anything was wrong even when Shania yanked his shoulder, spinning him around on his seat, and told him, "you're glowing, idiot."
#10 - Duty
Shania hardly considered herself Johnny's babysitter, but thinking of how Natan's wisdom had helped her, she sometimes felt a duty to make sure the boy's naivete didn't get him into too much trouble--so when Hilda came up to their room in the inn, laughing about how the boy could definitely hold his liquor despite looking a lightweight, she immediately headed to the bar to check on him, and was alarmed at the state she found him in.
#11 - Earth
Johnny chuckled, amused, when she pointed out the faint flicker of Malice along his fingers, so she had him stand and walk to try and prove to him that he was plastered; to her surprise, he was steady as a rock, more nimble drunk than sober, and the alcohol showed only in his altered behavior, how easily he laughed at her and how daringly he traced her bottom lip with his fingertip.
#12 - End
Her patience ended when she felt the first flare of Malice arc towards her mouth; with a fistful of Johnny's jacket she hauled him outside of the bar, and once they were alone she made her displeasure known by using La Sirene's abilities to leave the boy gasping and dripping wet--if not sober, then at least fully aware he was playing the fool.
#13 - Fall
What struck Shania within the Gate was the thought that the Malice seemed to be entering its autumn: the red sky and dry brown earth, the dead, bare trees and the skeletal monsters....she couldn't stop herself from looking back at Johnny again and again, checking to see that he was still young and fresh-skinned, full of life, and not withering away with the strange world.
#14 - Fire
Johnny panicked when he found Shania still in bed and burning with fever; her giddy, near delirious euphoria as she told him through trembling lips that Tirawa was purging the Malice from her convinced him that soon, everything would either be perfect or a perfect tragedy.
#15 - Flexible
"I am trying to be flexible, Shania," Johnny said, astounded by how different their mindsets could be sometimes, "but what you're saying just doesn't make sense to me."
#16 - Flying
Shania sometimes wished she could let Johnny fly the way she did with Thunderbird, because she was sure the delight on his face would be priceless.
#17 - Food
Johnny balked at the tasteless food, but he knew well that there'd be few alternatives out here in the middle of nowhere, and with Shania watching he tucked in with as much gusto as he could muster.
#18 - Foot
"Hey, I'm taller than you now," Johnny commented, grinning, after he'd stuffed his feet into Shania's high heels in a fit of curiosity; Shania only rolled her eyes and held out her hands, waiting for him to return the pair.
#19 - Grave
When they visited the graves of Johnny's family, Shania felt the old hatred rekindle--but this time it was duller, a drop of anger in a cup of sorrow, and she knew that even if she hadn't forgiven Lady completely, she was making progress, for Johnny and Grace and herself.
#20 - Green
Johnny's eyes are green as fresh grass, but Awaker's are blue like the ocean, clear and blank and threatening to smother Shania in their vastness when he stares at her.
#21 - Head
As the weeks turned into months, it grew harder and harder for everyone to tell who the true leader of their motley band was: Shania was always at the head to direct, but Johnny was the one who resolved arguments and kept everyone motivated.
#22 - Hollow
The longer Johnny slept, the more Shania feared that Uyuni's altar had purged not just the Malice, but everything--that the red light had been too deeply rooted within him and the Will turned his body into a shell, devoid of evil but incapable of good.
#23 - Honor
Sometimes Johnny worried that Shania stayed in New York City not because she wanted to live there, but because she felt it necessary to honor the promise she'd made: that she would stop him if he lost control to the Malice.
#24 - Hope
Shania wasn't sure yet what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, but she felt confident that she would figure it out, with Johnny's help, and yet the longer she stayed, the less she felt the urge to move on and begin her "new life".
#25 - Light
There were so many different kinds of light--the midday sun, the dusk and the dawn, the yellow lighting of Johnny's office and the many-colored city lights--but the light Shania enjoyed most was starlight, and she frequently headed out to the countryside with Johnny to bask in the quiet glow of the moon and stars.
#26 - Lost
"Another lost cat?" Shania asked, disbelieving, and Johnny turned red with embarrassment, wishing they'd get a real mystery to solve soon.
#27 - Metal
When Shania saw the steel piercing Johnny's chest, it seemed as though her own heart had stopped in sympathy, even before he fell.
#28 - New
The first time they went shopping for new clothes for Shania, she mistakenly headed for the lingerie section; though Lenny started to correct her, Johnny quickly stopped him, saying, "hold on, let her pick something out first."
#29 - Old
Shania distrusted the crumbling Garland estate, and when Johnny said he wanted to check a painting she worried it'd prove to be more than that; she stuck close to him and was there to catch him when he stared up at the strange landscape and then fainted, the unopened bottle of holy water falling out of his hand and shattering on the floor.
#30 - Peace
Johnny thought ruefully that Shania never did quite adjust to living in peace; she insisted on them sparring regularly, making sure they both were in fighting condition--in case anything should happen.
#31 - Poison
The temptation to kiss Shania was powerful, but just as strong was the fear that his kisses might be like Lady's, poison to the soul.
#32 - Pretty
"You're really--" lovely, beautiful, gorgeous "--pretty," Johnny said, feeling his cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
#33 - Rain
The sudden burst of rain surprised all of them, but Shania was even more startled when, as her clothes began to stick to her skin and make her feel miserable, Johnny offered his jacket and said, "you can have it--I never get sick anyways."
#34 - Regret
Shania was surprised to find that she felt little regret or guilt about returning Zonda's ring--it had been a difficult decision, but she'd finally reached the conclusion that a marriage would make neither of them happy, especially not now that Johnny had shown her there were thousands of possibilities for her.
#35 - Roses
The first flower Johnny gave Shania was a white rose; she took it gingerly between her fingers, and wondered how to respond to this new display of feelings.
#36 - Secret
He always seemed reluctant to do anything more than hold hands, and she understood his reasons--all too well--but she was confident that he was different and her curiosity would not relent, so that one morning, when Johnny refused to even stir to her idle threats and cajoling, a whim led her to lean down and kiss him softly on the lips.
#37 - Snakes
Shania could not help but notice how when Awaker darted through battle, his long hair caught the glint of the light, giving an illusion of a striking snake that was both appalling and strangely fascinating.
#38 - Snow
"Merry Christmas, Shania," said Johnny, an odd sight with snow covering his hair and shoulders, a deep blush warming his cheeks and ears, and a small, wrapped package grasped in his stiff fingers.
#39 - Solid
When Shania agreed to stay at the detective agency, it was the first solid indication that she liked Johnny as more than just a friend, and Lenny could not figure out just what had cheered the boy so much.
#40 - Spring
Johnny knew Shania was apt at springing surprises, but he was still startled when, while he was fighting down the urge to kiss her, she whispered, "it's okay, I've already done it once," and brought her lips to his.
#41 - Stable
Despite their differences in personality, Johnny and Shania found that they could have a fairly stable relationship--with some help from Lenny as a mediator ("I can't believe he still wants to see my grandkid," Johnny told Shania, after they'd both calmed down from a rather explosive quarrel).
#42 - Strange
Shania's fusion spirits often talked to her--and on rare occasions, they also spoke through her, which resulted in the strangest answer to a marriage proposal Johnny had ever heard (apparently all four spirits had different ideas on if and who she should marry).
#43 - Summer
Shania found it baffling when Johnny started talking about going to England and France; she asked if he had some sort of important business that he wanted to cross the ocean, and Johnny replied that no, he just thought it'd be nice for a summer vacation.
#44 - Taboo
They never talk about the first time they tried having sex, or about how Shania froze and pulled away from Johnny without offering any explanation, taking with her the warmth, security and love.
#45 - Ugly
Shania wants to tell him that what she did wasn't because of him--it was because she'd happened seen her skin alongside his--and while hers was crisscrossed by faint scars, his was whole, unmarked, so flawlessly beautiful that it was unnatural and ugly--and the realization struck her with the force of Ta Tanka's fist that while she fell in love with the boy, his body had grown and matured until there was no difference in features between him and Awaker--but how can she say this, she wonders, and tell him it's not because of him but the Malice when his very existence is tied to his Malice?
#46 - War
Instead of words, she offered actions: after his trust warred and won out over his hurt, they tried a second time, and she made sure to focus her attention not on his body, but his movements--because while his form might have been crafted by Malice, she knew no monster would ever be able to imitate the way his fingers tenderly explored her body, or how gently he kissed her, or the way he looked at her, almost laughing, when she pinned him beneath her and nibbled on his neck.
#47 - Water
Johnny liked Shania's cocktail dress, the way the cream-colored silk rippled and shimmered when draped on her figure.
#48 - Welcome
"Heh...you're welcome, Johnny," Shania said, smirking at how much he'd blushed from a simple compliment.
#49 - Winter
When even the house became cold in the dead of winter, Shania started using Johnny as a heater, snuggling up close to him on the couch--not that he ever complained (unless she tried hiding her ice-cold feet under him).
#50 - Wood
When the gnarled trees inside the Gate snagged Thunderbird with their twisting branches, Johnny immediately reacted, calling a warning to Natan before he transformed into Awaker.
Title: Love's Novelties
Pairing: Johnny/Shania
Theme set: Delta
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mention of sex and spoilers for Shadow Hearts: From the New World.
Notes: Some were arranged into mini-stories, but most of these aren't in chronological order.
#01 - Air
When the glass shattered, a gust of wind spilled over Johnny, carrying with it an angel--except she didn't have the thin, delicate wings he'd always seen in paintings, but the sturdy wings of a bird.
#02 - Apples
Shania's stomach growled and Johnny immediately reached in his backpack for an apple, neatly slicing it in two before tossing one half to her; her hand snagged the fruit in midair and brought it to her smiling lips.
#03 - Beginning
She wished she could borrow her companion's energy, because while he faced the beginning of a journey with all eagerness, she was desperate for the conclusion of her own.
#04 - Bugs
Johnny didn't exactly want to get bitten by a tick, but he was kind of glad the insects were a concern when Shania's fingers and eyes skimmed over his skin, searching for anything out of place.
#05 - Coffee
Shania tolerated no slacking: Johnny discovered, when he rubbed his eyes and complained he wasn't awake until he drank his coffee, that a cup of ice cold water applied to the face could be just as invigorating.
#06 - Dark
Maybe it was only the darkness of the night softening Shania's customary frown, but Johnny wanted to say that she was really smiling as he and Frank competed to see who was the better (or perhaps that was worse?) punster.
#07 - Despair
He realized after one battle that Shania eyed the glowing dagger in his hands with something akin to--fear--and his thoughts tumbled with his stomach: she can't be afraid and what did I do and why, why, why?
#08 - Doors
But when he asked her, Shania firmly denied any misgivings she might have about him; Johnny had heard that eyes were the windows to the soul, but sometimes hers seemed more like the doors to a condemned house, closed and locked and boarded up.
#09 - Drink
Mao had warned him not to drink too much, but despite the slight burning of alcohol on his tongue, it seemed to only fill him with warmth and dreamy thoughts and Johnny hardly noticed anything was wrong even when Shania yanked his shoulder, spinning him around on his seat, and told him, "you're glowing, idiot."
#10 - Duty
Shania hardly considered herself Johnny's babysitter, but thinking of how Natan's wisdom had helped her, she sometimes felt a duty to make sure the boy's naivete didn't get him into too much trouble--so when Hilda came up to their room in the inn, laughing about how the boy could definitely hold his liquor despite looking a lightweight, she immediately headed to the bar to check on him, and was alarmed at the state she found him in.
#11 - Earth
Johnny chuckled, amused, when she pointed out the faint flicker of Malice along his fingers, so she had him stand and walk to try and prove to him that he was plastered; to her surprise, he was steady as a rock, more nimble drunk than sober, and the alcohol showed only in his altered behavior, how easily he laughed at her and how daringly he traced her bottom lip with his fingertip.
#12 - End
Her patience ended when she felt the first flare of Malice arc towards her mouth; with a fistful of Johnny's jacket she hauled him outside of the bar, and once they were alone she made her displeasure known by using La Sirene's abilities to leave the boy gasping and dripping wet--if not sober, then at least fully aware he was playing the fool.
#13 - Fall
What struck Shania within the Gate was the thought that the Malice seemed to be entering its autumn: the red sky and dry brown earth, the dead, bare trees and the skeletal monsters....she couldn't stop herself from looking back at Johnny again and again, checking to see that he was still young and fresh-skinned, full of life, and not withering away with the strange world.
#14 - Fire
Johnny panicked when he found Shania still in bed and burning with fever; her giddy, near delirious euphoria as she told him through trembling lips that Tirawa was purging the Malice from her convinced him that soon, everything would either be perfect or a perfect tragedy.
#15 - Flexible
"I am trying to be flexible, Shania," Johnny said, astounded by how different their mindsets could be sometimes, "but what you're saying just doesn't make sense to me."
#16 - Flying
Shania sometimes wished she could let Johnny fly the way she did with Thunderbird, because she was sure the delight on his face would be priceless.
#17 - Food
Johnny balked at the tasteless food, but he knew well that there'd be few alternatives out here in the middle of nowhere, and with Shania watching he tucked in with as much gusto as he could muster.
#18 - Foot
"Hey, I'm taller than you now," Johnny commented, grinning, after he'd stuffed his feet into Shania's high heels in a fit of curiosity; Shania only rolled her eyes and held out her hands, waiting for him to return the pair.
#19 - Grave
When they visited the graves of Johnny's family, Shania felt the old hatred rekindle--but this time it was duller, a drop of anger in a cup of sorrow, and she knew that even if she hadn't forgiven Lady completely, she was making progress, for Johnny and Grace and herself.
#20 - Green
Johnny's eyes are green as fresh grass, but Awaker's are blue like the ocean, clear and blank and threatening to smother Shania in their vastness when he stares at her.
#21 - Head
As the weeks turned into months, it grew harder and harder for everyone to tell who the true leader of their motley band was: Shania was always at the head to direct, but Johnny was the one who resolved arguments and kept everyone motivated.
#22 - Hollow
The longer Johnny slept, the more Shania feared that Uyuni's altar had purged not just the Malice, but everything--that the red light had been too deeply rooted within him and the Will turned his body into a shell, devoid of evil but incapable of good.
#23 - Honor
Sometimes Johnny worried that Shania stayed in New York City not because she wanted to live there, but because she felt it necessary to honor the promise she'd made: that she would stop him if he lost control to the Malice.
#24 - Hope
Shania wasn't sure yet what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, but she felt confident that she would figure it out, with Johnny's help, and yet the longer she stayed, the less she felt the urge to move on and begin her "new life".
#25 - Light
There were so many different kinds of light--the midday sun, the dusk and the dawn, the yellow lighting of Johnny's office and the many-colored city lights--but the light Shania enjoyed most was starlight, and she frequently headed out to the countryside with Johnny to bask in the quiet glow of the moon and stars.
#26 - Lost
"Another lost cat?" Shania asked, disbelieving, and Johnny turned red with embarrassment, wishing they'd get a real mystery to solve soon.
#27 - Metal
When Shania saw the steel piercing Johnny's chest, it seemed as though her own heart had stopped in sympathy, even before he fell.
#28 - New
The first time they went shopping for new clothes for Shania, she mistakenly headed for the lingerie section; though Lenny started to correct her, Johnny quickly stopped him, saying, "hold on, let her pick something out first."
#29 - Old
Shania distrusted the crumbling Garland estate, and when Johnny said he wanted to check a painting she worried it'd prove to be more than that; she stuck close to him and was there to catch him when he stared up at the strange landscape and then fainted, the unopened bottle of holy water falling out of his hand and shattering on the floor.
#30 - Peace
Johnny thought ruefully that Shania never did quite adjust to living in peace; she insisted on them sparring regularly, making sure they both were in fighting condition--in case anything should happen.
#31 - Poison
The temptation to kiss Shania was powerful, but just as strong was the fear that his kisses might be like Lady's, poison to the soul.
#32 - Pretty
"You're really--" lovely, beautiful, gorgeous "--pretty," Johnny said, feeling his cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
#33 - Rain
The sudden burst of rain surprised all of them, but Shania was even more startled when, as her clothes began to stick to her skin and make her feel miserable, Johnny offered his jacket and said, "you can have it--I never get sick anyways."
#34 - Regret
Shania was surprised to find that she felt little regret or guilt about returning Zonda's ring--it had been a difficult decision, but she'd finally reached the conclusion that a marriage would make neither of them happy, especially not now that Johnny had shown her there were thousands of possibilities for her.
#35 - Roses
The first flower Johnny gave Shania was a white rose; she took it gingerly between her fingers, and wondered how to respond to this new display of feelings.
#36 - Secret
He always seemed reluctant to do anything more than hold hands, and she understood his reasons--all too well--but she was confident that he was different and her curiosity would not relent, so that one morning, when Johnny refused to even stir to her idle threats and cajoling, a whim led her to lean down and kiss him softly on the lips.
#37 - Snakes
Shania could not help but notice how when Awaker darted through battle, his long hair caught the glint of the light, giving an illusion of a striking snake that was both appalling and strangely fascinating.
#38 - Snow
"Merry Christmas, Shania," said Johnny, an odd sight with snow covering his hair and shoulders, a deep blush warming his cheeks and ears, and a small, wrapped package grasped in his stiff fingers.
#39 - Solid
When Shania agreed to stay at the detective agency, it was the first solid indication that she liked Johnny as more than just a friend, and Lenny could not figure out just what had cheered the boy so much.
#40 - Spring
Johnny knew Shania was apt at springing surprises, but he was still startled when, while he was fighting down the urge to kiss her, she whispered, "it's okay, I've already done it once," and brought her lips to his.
#41 - Stable
Despite their differences in personality, Johnny and Shania found that they could have a fairly stable relationship--with some help from Lenny as a mediator ("I can't believe he still wants to see my grandkid," Johnny told Shania, after they'd both calmed down from a rather explosive quarrel).
#42 - Strange
Shania's fusion spirits often talked to her--and on rare occasions, they also spoke through her, which resulted in the strangest answer to a marriage proposal Johnny had ever heard (apparently all four spirits had different ideas on if and who she should marry).
#43 - Summer
Shania found it baffling when Johnny started talking about going to England and France; she asked if he had some sort of important business that he wanted to cross the ocean, and Johnny replied that no, he just thought it'd be nice for a summer vacation.
#44 - Taboo
They never talk about the first time they tried having sex, or about how Shania froze and pulled away from Johnny without offering any explanation, taking with her the warmth, security and love.
#45 - Ugly
Shania wants to tell him that what she did wasn't because of him--it was because she'd happened seen her skin alongside his--and while hers was crisscrossed by faint scars, his was whole, unmarked, so flawlessly beautiful that it was unnatural and ugly--and the realization struck her with the force of Ta Tanka's fist that while she fell in love with the boy, his body had grown and matured until there was no difference in features between him and Awaker--but how can she say this, she wonders, and tell him it's not because of him but the Malice when his very existence is tied to his Malice?
#46 - War
Instead of words, she offered actions: after his trust warred and won out over his hurt, they tried a second time, and she made sure to focus her attention not on his body, but his movements--because while his form might have been crafted by Malice, she knew no monster would ever be able to imitate the way his fingers tenderly explored her body, or how gently he kissed her, or the way he looked at her, almost laughing, when she pinned him beneath her and nibbled on his neck.
#47 - Water
Johnny liked Shania's cocktail dress, the way the cream-colored silk rippled and shimmered when draped on her figure.
#48 - Welcome
"Heh...you're welcome, Johnny," Shania said, smirking at how much he'd blushed from a simple compliment.
#49 - Winter
When even the house became cold in the dead of winter, Shania started using Johnny as a heater, snuggling up close to him on the couch--not that he ever complained (unless she tried hiding her ice-cold feet under him).
#50 - Wood
When the gnarled trees inside the Gate snagged Thunderbird with their twisting branches, Johnny immediately reacted, calling a warning to Natan before he transformed into Awaker.