Forgetting How To Breathe
Title: Forgetting How To Breathe
Fandom: Pre-FFX-2
Characters: Paine, Rikku
Rating: PG
Format: One-Shot
Status: Complete, polished, spellchecked.
Words: 1515
Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership of characters or games, only themes within.
Author's Notes:
Forgetting How To Breathe
“How many blades of grass does the Calmland hold?” Rikku asked, shading her eyes as the toes of her boots shifted and scuffed on the dirt beneath them. She was always out with those questions, the kind without answers, and Paine just shook her head.
“Ah... that is a stupid question, Rikku,” Brother started slow and then snapped out her name. Rikku's eyes flashed with anger at him, and her tongue stuck out, rebellious and pink. Her fingers twitched and she combed them through her braids, sweeping bangs out of her eyes. She was like shattered glassworks, Paine thought, one of those big coloured monstrosities they used to erect in temple walls. Except she'd fallen and rained down on the ground instead of standing for a few hundred years as a testament to Yevonite faith. Well, Paine figured, the Yevons had her cousin for that anyway.
“Never a stupid question,” Buddy cut in before the siblings could come to blows, “but puzzles don't pay off. You two gonna get going?” Light green eyes slid behind opaque frames, and Paine shifted her weight to the other knee, pulling out a polishing cloth to swipe down the arc of her sword once more before sheathing it.
“Paine's wasting time as usual,” Rikku said, a plaintive whine in her voice as she turned, crushing a wilting flower under the heel of her foot, but Paine was already ten paces away. “Hey, wait!”
So you can insult me? Paine asked herself, and she heard the huffing behind her come closer before a thin arm wrapped around her waist. She had to struggle to untangle herself from the younger girl.
“I didn't mean it, about the wasting time thing,” Rikku said as Paine foiled every single of her nine attempts to get into her belt pouch.
“Mmm,” Paine replied, looking upwards at the steady incline. A sweat was beginning to break out at her temples, and in the short hair that feathered down the back of her neck. The rocks of the hill-coming-on-mountain-side they were climbing shifted under their feet.
“I mean, you do sorta waste time, but hey, it's sorta useful time-wasting!! Brother doesn't complain nearly so much since you came on board, y'know?”
“I know,” Paine said, if anything wanting to break up the little monologue before Rikku got enough steam together to really launch into a speech about whatever was important to Rikku at the moment. Which could have been something like world politics, or whether or not Buddy had skimped on the sugar for her grapefruit that morning. Rikku was like the weather, obnoxiously unpredictably predictable. Even the words do you never shut up said acidly on their first real day of work together hadn't daunted the cheerful blonde, and Paine had been worn down over the course of those harrowing 24 hours. To be fair, that hadn't been her fault, there had been that really disgusting onion creature, and being covered in onion bilge really tended to lower your resistance to, well, everything.
“I think I see the top!! I think I see it!” A blur unsettled Paine as Rikku rushed on by, kicking up pebbles and dust. Paine covered her eyes and coughed, turning her head to look back down where the airship was parked. She could barely discern the festive mohawk that bedecked Brother's crown. Up ahead Rikku had vanished over a crest, though Paine could still hear her scrabbling along the rocks.
“Slow and steady,” she muttered to herself, as if the adage would make her own feet cling tighter to the shifting rock.
“C'mon already, you're doing that whole wasting time thing again,” Rikku's voice echoed down to her. Paine growled under her breath, sweat-soaked bangs flicking in her eyes as she bent over, the rock face too steep to stand upright, and clung on as she began to climb faster. The thought of wrapping her rock-bruised hands around Rikku's neck propelled her on further, her legs burning along with her lungs. Her hand reached up, and a tanned arm shot out, fingers wrapping around her wrist.
“I'm coming,” she said, irritated at having to be pulled up by the spider monkey her sphere hunting partner had turned into, and yanked her hand away. A rock slid out from under her boot at the change in her weight, and for a painful second her body wrenched backwards and her arms windmilled. The weight of her sword dragged her back, and the panicked squeal from Rikku barely registered until the Al Bhed's face was inches from hers, small clever fingers tangled in the front of her shirt, clinging to the metal buckles and straps.
They shared slowing, panicked breaths for a minute, staring at one another before Rikku shifted back, slithering on her stomach and Paine followed, her heart thumping angrily in her chest. Her back felt bruised, and her spine throbbed as if she'd yanked it, which she had. She stood, taking care not to hurt herself further, and managed to drag herself away from the edge she'd come over.
Rikku sat, hunched over, legs bent and flat against the ground, propped up on one arm. Her fingers moved, but Paine was there, and the older woman brushed the sweaty bangs out of her face. Rikku looked up and tried to smile, but it wiggled a little and turned down into a frown, glassy tears clinging to her lashes.
“Don't do that again,” Rikku said, and then grabbed her close. Paine's eyes widened for a moment, caught of guard again and feeling that cold, drenched in ice feeling all over, the same as she had on the cliff. Rikku's nose pressed hard into her throat and Paine made a noise of protest, pushing the girl off and away from her.
“We've got work to do,” she said, dusting herself off, not looking back as she continued walking, keeping an eye out for fiends, glad to put the cliff edge behind her. One more close call, although this one hadn't been as knife-edge slim as the ones that piled up behind it on her list of events never to relive ever again.
She heard muttering and the scuffing of feet, but that was fairly usual for Rikku, but the hand grabbing her arm and whirling her around was not. She was face to face with Rikku again, and her eyes narrowed.
“I said, we've got-”
“Stop it,” Rikku cut her off and then leaned up and kissed her hard, smooth against her mouth, crushing against her as if she was actually afraid, or actually cared. Paine felt cold and hot, fingers reaching up and curling in Rikku's hair for a moment before yanking away as hard as she could.
Her hand cracked across Rikku's cheek.
“Don't you ever do that again without permission,” she said, voice ragged even to her ears, and she stormed off towards where the sphere was supposedly located. The logical side of her asked her why she was offering Rikku a half-open door, but the rest of her spurned it as hard as she'd spurned the kiss.
Her comm crackled into life, and Buddy's voice erupted from it;
“You guys alright? We saw some wings flapping, and it didn't look like birds.”
“We're fine,” she buzzed back, “I'm at the cave mouth now, we'll be down ASAP. Keep the engines running hot.”
Her fingers left the button on her comm and she walked into the cool cave, the dark washing over her for a few steps before she turned the corner and the light of the sphere caught her eye. She reached out to take it, but Rikku's hand was in the way, grabbing it before her.
“You lost your right for first dibs when you nearly messed up the job,” Rikku said, one hip jutting out, hands occupied with holding the sphere and resting on her hips at the same time. The red mark stood out on her face, a clear outline of Paine's fingers, and she felt a sudden impulse to smooth it with her hand, try and make it go away.
“Buddy, can we get a pick up? I don't think butterfingers is capable of making it back down again,” Rikku said into her comm. Paine glared at her as Buddy's laughter echoed back to them along with a casual affirmative that he'd be up as soon as Brother finished reliving himself.
Tight spirals looked at her, turning in on themselves, before Rikku turned, sphere slipping into her pocket as she left the cave. An uncomfortable feeling of lead turned over inside Paine's stomach. Rikku stopped at the entrance, hesitating, and looked back at Paine, wondering, hurt, before she shook her head and walked back out into the sunlight.
You keep biting that hand that feeds you, girl... one day there won't be a hand to feed you any more. And that's all they'll ever remember of you; the dust in your eyes is what makes you cry, right? Right.
Fandom: Pre-FFX-2
Characters: Paine, Rikku
Rating: PG
Format: One-Shot
Status: Complete, polished, spellchecked.
Words: 1515
Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership of characters or games, only themes within.
Author's Notes:
Forgetting How To Breathe
“How many blades of grass does the Calmland hold?” Rikku asked, shading her eyes as the toes of her boots shifted and scuffed on the dirt beneath them. She was always out with those questions, the kind without answers, and Paine just shook her head.
“Ah... that is a stupid question, Rikku,” Brother started slow and then snapped out her name. Rikku's eyes flashed with anger at him, and her tongue stuck out, rebellious and pink. Her fingers twitched and she combed them through her braids, sweeping bangs out of her eyes. She was like shattered glassworks, Paine thought, one of those big coloured monstrosities they used to erect in temple walls. Except she'd fallen and rained down on the ground instead of standing for a few hundred years as a testament to Yevonite faith. Well, Paine figured, the Yevons had her cousin for that anyway.
“Never a stupid question,” Buddy cut in before the siblings could come to blows, “but puzzles don't pay off. You two gonna get going?” Light green eyes slid behind opaque frames, and Paine shifted her weight to the other knee, pulling out a polishing cloth to swipe down the arc of her sword once more before sheathing it.
“Paine's wasting time as usual,” Rikku said, a plaintive whine in her voice as she turned, crushing a wilting flower under the heel of her foot, but Paine was already ten paces away. “Hey, wait!”
So you can insult me? Paine asked herself, and she heard the huffing behind her come closer before a thin arm wrapped around her waist. She had to struggle to untangle herself from the younger girl.
“I didn't mean it, about the wasting time thing,” Rikku said as Paine foiled every single of her nine attempts to get into her belt pouch.
“Mmm,” Paine replied, looking upwards at the steady incline. A sweat was beginning to break out at her temples, and in the short hair that feathered down the back of her neck. The rocks of the hill-coming-on-mountain-side they were climbing shifted under their feet.
“I mean, you do sorta waste time, but hey, it's sorta useful time-wasting!! Brother doesn't complain nearly so much since you came on board, y'know?”
“I know,” Paine said, if anything wanting to break up the little monologue before Rikku got enough steam together to really launch into a speech about whatever was important to Rikku at the moment. Which could have been something like world politics, or whether or not Buddy had skimped on the sugar for her grapefruit that morning. Rikku was like the weather, obnoxiously unpredictably predictable. Even the words do you never shut up said acidly on their first real day of work together hadn't daunted the cheerful blonde, and Paine had been worn down over the course of those harrowing 24 hours. To be fair, that hadn't been her fault, there had been that really disgusting onion creature, and being covered in onion bilge really tended to lower your resistance to, well, everything.
“I think I see the top!! I think I see it!” A blur unsettled Paine as Rikku rushed on by, kicking up pebbles and dust. Paine covered her eyes and coughed, turning her head to look back down where the airship was parked. She could barely discern the festive mohawk that bedecked Brother's crown. Up ahead Rikku had vanished over a crest, though Paine could still hear her scrabbling along the rocks.
“Slow and steady,” she muttered to herself, as if the adage would make her own feet cling tighter to the shifting rock.
“C'mon already, you're doing that whole wasting time thing again,” Rikku's voice echoed down to her. Paine growled under her breath, sweat-soaked bangs flicking in her eyes as she bent over, the rock face too steep to stand upright, and clung on as she began to climb faster. The thought of wrapping her rock-bruised hands around Rikku's neck propelled her on further, her legs burning along with her lungs. Her hand reached up, and a tanned arm shot out, fingers wrapping around her wrist.
“I'm coming,” she said, irritated at having to be pulled up by the spider monkey her sphere hunting partner had turned into, and yanked her hand away. A rock slid out from under her boot at the change in her weight, and for a painful second her body wrenched backwards and her arms windmilled. The weight of her sword dragged her back, and the panicked squeal from Rikku barely registered until the Al Bhed's face was inches from hers, small clever fingers tangled in the front of her shirt, clinging to the metal buckles and straps.
They shared slowing, panicked breaths for a minute, staring at one another before Rikku shifted back, slithering on her stomach and Paine followed, her heart thumping angrily in her chest. Her back felt bruised, and her spine throbbed as if she'd yanked it, which she had. She stood, taking care not to hurt herself further, and managed to drag herself away from the edge she'd come over.
Rikku sat, hunched over, legs bent and flat against the ground, propped up on one arm. Her fingers moved, but Paine was there, and the older woman brushed the sweaty bangs out of her face. Rikku looked up and tried to smile, but it wiggled a little and turned down into a frown, glassy tears clinging to her lashes.
“Don't do that again,” Rikku said, and then grabbed her close. Paine's eyes widened for a moment, caught of guard again and feeling that cold, drenched in ice feeling all over, the same as she had on the cliff. Rikku's nose pressed hard into her throat and Paine made a noise of protest, pushing the girl off and away from her.
“We've got work to do,” she said, dusting herself off, not looking back as she continued walking, keeping an eye out for fiends, glad to put the cliff edge behind her. One more close call, although this one hadn't been as knife-edge slim as the ones that piled up behind it on her list of events never to relive ever again.
She heard muttering and the scuffing of feet, but that was fairly usual for Rikku, but the hand grabbing her arm and whirling her around was not. She was face to face with Rikku again, and her eyes narrowed.
“I said, we've got-”
“Stop it,” Rikku cut her off and then leaned up and kissed her hard, smooth against her mouth, crushing against her as if she was actually afraid, or actually cared. Paine felt cold and hot, fingers reaching up and curling in Rikku's hair for a moment before yanking away as hard as she could.
Her hand cracked across Rikku's cheek.
“Don't you ever do that again without permission,” she said, voice ragged even to her ears, and she stormed off towards where the sphere was supposedly located. The logical side of her asked her why she was offering Rikku a half-open door, but the rest of her spurned it as hard as she'd spurned the kiss.
Her comm crackled into life, and Buddy's voice erupted from it;
“You guys alright? We saw some wings flapping, and it didn't look like birds.”
“We're fine,” she buzzed back, “I'm at the cave mouth now, we'll be down ASAP. Keep the engines running hot.”
Her fingers left the button on her comm and she walked into the cool cave, the dark washing over her for a few steps before she turned the corner and the light of the sphere caught her eye. She reached out to take it, but Rikku's hand was in the way, grabbing it before her.
“You lost your right for first dibs when you nearly messed up the job,” Rikku said, one hip jutting out, hands occupied with holding the sphere and resting on her hips at the same time. The red mark stood out on her face, a clear outline of Paine's fingers, and she felt a sudden impulse to smooth it with her hand, try and make it go away.
“Buddy, can we get a pick up? I don't think butterfingers is capable of making it back down again,” Rikku said into her comm. Paine glared at her as Buddy's laughter echoed back to them along with a casual affirmative that he'd be up as soon as Brother finished reliving himself.
Tight spirals looked at her, turning in on themselves, before Rikku turned, sphere slipping into her pocket as she left the cave. An uncomfortable feeling of lead turned over inside Paine's stomach. Rikku stopped at the entrance, hesitating, and looked back at Paine, wondering, hurt, before she shook her head and walked back out into the sunlight.
You keep biting that hand that feeds you, girl... one day there won't be a hand to feed you any more. And that's all they'll ever remember of you; the dust in your eyes is what makes you cry, right? Right.