Fanfiction: "Sunrise" (Fluffcember Ficlet)

[deemoyza]

Title: "Sunrise" (725 words)
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Rating/Warnings: General Audiences / No warnings apply
Characters: Raine Loire, Laguna Loire, Ellone

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The garden gate squealed when Raine pushed it open, and she instinctively shushed it as she squeezed past and closed it behind her. Laguna could sleep through a train wreck, but it wouldn't surprise her if a squeaky hinge jolted him awake. As for Ellone, her responses to sound seemed random: some days, she napped straight through the afternoon bustle in the pub; others, she woke before dawn because a stray animal overturned a watering can in the garden.

Raine thought it best not to take chances.

She wasn't running away; just stealing a few moments of solitude before the rest of the world awoke. She'd gotten used to being alone, in the years since she'd left home and opened her pub in Winhill, and she sometimes still craved the silence and tranquility of the single life. But those cravings were rare, and easily satisfied by an early-morning stroll. And they were becoming rarer still, fading in the warmth of Ellone's smile and the comfort of Laguna's arms.

Raine breathed in the cool morning air, and followed the path from the pub to the fields beyond. She stepped into the tall grass, dew seeping cold into the legs of her jeans, invigorating her. She walked to the middle of the field and stopped, turning round and taking in a world swathed in shades of lavender, a world which seemed to be standing still. Night had not yet given way to day, and the creatures of both now slumbered, just slipping into sleep, or blinking the dreams from their eyes.

Almost imperceptibly, the world warmed around her, colors fading into view as the sun climbed the mountains to the east. It announced its arrival in grand fashion, as a spear of golden light cutting through the mist, washing everything in its glow. Raine smiled as life resumed around her -- birds flying overhead, insects buzzing among plants, small animals skittering through the grass. She wanted to catch this light, this feeling, wanted to bottle it up and take it back home and share it with Laguna and Ellone.

That being impossible, she settled for the next best thing. She fished a small camera from her pocket, a gift from a friend when she’d officially adopted Ellone, and began framing the perfect shot. One that encapsulated the warmth, the tranquility, the hope of a new day. One that could bring all of that into her home, to her little family.

She snapped away, photographing the mountains, the trees, the birds. She knelt among the flowers and took close-up photos of them. She worked until the golden light faded into a clear blue sky, then sighed and rose and started back toward her house.

Laguna and Ellone were already awake when she returned. Laguna stood in the kitchen, one of Raine's aprons tied around his waist, vigorously stirring something in a bowl. Ellone sat at the table, tiny legs dangling from her chair, chanting "Pancakes, pancakes!" in time with Laguna's stirring.

Laguna looked up when Raine entered, and nearly dropped the bowl.

"Oh, hey, good mornin'!" he said, grinning sheepishly. "Looks like you caught us. Me an' Elle were gonna surprise you, but –"

"Surprise!" Ellone yelled. "Uncle Laguna's makin' pancakes! You're surprised, right Raine? Right?"

Raine laughed and set aside her camera. "Very surprised. Thank you!" She peered into the bowl, then up at Laguna. "How many eggs have you put in?"

"Gah! I knew I forgot somethin'!" Laguna jogged to the refrigerator, and balanced the bowl against his chest while he pulled out the carton of eggs. Raine shook her head and pulled on a clean apron.

"Here," she said, "let me help. Ellone will help, too. We can do this together!"

Together. Yes, together was loud, and sometimes chaotic, but Raine wouldn't trade it for all the world's treasure. She'd been content in her solitude, but not quite awake, like the field in the predawn mist. Ellone and Laguna were her golden lights, bringing color into her world, life into her heart, and a delicious unpredictability to her days.

She didn't need to capture that feeling in the field, after all. It was here, already; it had found her. Twice, in just a few short years, it had found her.

It was love. Noisy, messy, heart-filling love.

 

And she was forever grateful for it all.