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deemoyzaTitle: "Daybreak" (1,496 words) [AO3]
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Rating/Warnings: General Audiences / No warnings apply
Characters: Quistis Trepe, Original Characters
Relationships: Quistis Trepe/Original Character
Summary: An extra-scene ficlet set during the Dawnwatch celebration in "Curious as a Cat." Light on plot, heavy on fluff.
Written in response to Fluffcember prompts on Tumblr. No real plot development here; it is pure cotton candy. Fair warning. ;)
Excerpt below cut.
Quistis hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She’d tried so hard not to, committed as she was to her duty to watch the lantern until sunrise. But, even this far south, the longest night of the year was still very long, and the cocoon she’d fashioned out of blankets so very warm, that sleep eventually crept in and overtook her, despite the cold wind buffeting her face.
She felt a weight on her shoulder through the blankets, and a gentle shaking sensation. She groaned and burrowed deeper into the warmth, eliciting a soft laugh from someone that vibrated through her own body, as well. Perplexed, Quistis opened her eyes, and saw a slanted world beneath a still-dark sky.
A balcony railing, a table, and, on the table, a lantern, glowing softly, the candle inside nearly half-melted. A cold gust sent a shiver through her, and dispelled the last cobwebs of sleep. This was Retta’s balcony, and she was part of the Dawnwatch, an annual Estharian tradition. And the person she leaned against, her patient human pillow, was Argider. They had abandoned their chairs soon after changing out the candle to huddle against the wall to preserve heat, while keeping an eye on the lantern. Quistis blinked and sat up slowly, surreptitiously wiping the corner of her mouth, hoping she hadn’t slept so soundly as to begin drooling.
“Hey there,” Argider said, pulling his own blanket around himself to warm the space Quistis had left. "Good morning.“
“Why did you let me fall asleep?” she asked, fumbling to free her hand from the blankets and squinting at her watch. Throughout the night, they had worked to keep each other awake, each gently nudging the other when they began to drift off, and making conversation to ward off sleep, conversation that became progressively sillier as the night wore on.
“You looked so comfortable.” He grinned. “Besides, curled up and still like that, you kind of became a heater, as well.”
She returned the smile. “In that case, why did you wake me? Unless you’d like to take your turn at a nap, now?”
He shook his head and pulled something out of his jacket pocket. It was the stub of the previous candle, the one he’d encouraged her to wish upon as if it were a birthday candle. "Your wish is coming true. Didn’t want you to miss it.“ He angled his chin to their left and Quistis turned to follow his line of sight. Sure enough, the sky was beginning to lighten near the horizon, shades of blue gradating to a pale pink strip visible through gaps in the city’s skyline.
Daybreak.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Rating/Warnings: General Audiences / No warnings apply
Characters: Quistis Trepe, Original Characters
Relationships: Quistis Trepe/Original Character
Summary: An extra-scene ficlet set during the Dawnwatch celebration in "Curious as a Cat." Light on plot, heavy on fluff.
Written in response to Fluffcember prompts on Tumblr. No real plot development here; it is pure cotton candy. Fair warning. ;)
Excerpt below cut.
Quistis hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She’d tried so hard not to, committed as she was to her duty to watch the lantern until sunrise. But, even this far south, the longest night of the year was still very long, and the cocoon she’d fashioned out of blankets so very warm, that sleep eventually crept in and overtook her, despite the cold wind buffeting her face.
She felt a weight on her shoulder through the blankets, and a gentle shaking sensation. She groaned and burrowed deeper into the warmth, eliciting a soft laugh from someone that vibrated through her own body, as well. Perplexed, Quistis opened her eyes, and saw a slanted world beneath a still-dark sky.
A balcony railing, a table, and, on the table, a lantern, glowing softly, the candle inside nearly half-melted. A cold gust sent a shiver through her, and dispelled the last cobwebs of sleep. This was Retta’s balcony, and she was part of the Dawnwatch, an annual Estharian tradition. And the person she leaned against, her patient human pillow, was Argider. They had abandoned their chairs soon after changing out the candle to huddle against the wall to preserve heat, while keeping an eye on the lantern. Quistis blinked and sat up slowly, surreptitiously wiping the corner of her mouth, hoping she hadn’t slept so soundly as to begin drooling.
“Hey there,” Argider said, pulling his own blanket around himself to warm the space Quistis had left. "Good morning.“
“Why did you let me fall asleep?” she asked, fumbling to free her hand from the blankets and squinting at her watch. Throughout the night, they had worked to keep each other awake, each gently nudging the other when they began to drift off, and making conversation to ward off sleep, conversation that became progressively sillier as the night wore on.
“You looked so comfortable.” He grinned. “Besides, curled up and still like that, you kind of became a heater, as well.”
She returned the smile. “In that case, why did you wake me? Unless you’d like to take your turn at a nap, now?”
He shook his head and pulled something out of his jacket pocket. It was the stub of the previous candle, the one he’d encouraged her to wish upon as if it were a birthday candle. "Your wish is coming true. Didn’t want you to miss it.“ He angled his chin to their left and Quistis turned to follow his line of sight. Sure enough, the sky was beginning to lighten near the horizon, shades of blue gradating to a pale pink strip visible through gaps in the city’s skyline.
Daybreak.
