Final Fantasy [Begins]

[Samchu]

Markus
~~~~~

In the course of his life there were a few things Markus never expected to happen. Becoming a doomed l'cie was certainly on that list but it would never have been number. No, that honour went to the situation he found himself in that morning; stark naked and cuddling an equally exposed Eden.


His first reaction was panic. Somehow this had been his fault and when she woke up she was going to make him well aware of that fact; with the sharp end of her sword, if he was lucky. But as the fog of sleep began to fade, the events that had unfolded between the two of them became clearer. She had been the one to instigate it, not him. For all his faults and weaknesses he had kept himself from making the first move. Eden had been the one to suggest it – well, more like order it.


He should have been happy. How many nights had been spent dreaming of this? Wasn't this what he had always wanted, to have Eden, to experience the depths of her that few, if any, had ever seen? But it hadn't been as he'd expected. There was no confession, no hint of an admission of feelings and even at the height of their passions she had still managed to remain somewhat distant, as if the walls she put around herself had not allowed him past, only drawn closer to her, shrinking her bubble of protection. The girl he'd met with briefly in the garden, the one who blamed herself for her friend's falling, was not the same woman he'd slept with last night.


So what was that? A reward for all the years of putting up with the distant Eden? Thanks for not taking advantage of her vulnerability? Or was I just an escape? The thought left him feeling unclean. He had given her a part of his soul last night, whether she was aware of it or not, and in return she had left him more of a mess than he had been before. He was no closer to sussing out her feelings for him – or learning if she even had any for him. Somehow, getting what he wanted had just made things worse.


Eden shifted beside him, snuggling deeper into the warmth of his chest. His body tingled, sensitive to the feel of her skin against his. He couldn't help but smile a little. Confused though he was, it was not enough to stop him from loving her. They would have to talk at some point, put everything out in the open, but it wouldn't happen today. No, there were far more pressing matters to attend to first. Like meeting with Kara. He shuddered at the thought of seeing that woman again. He had met her twice before, only briefly but still long enough to leave a last impression. He'd been excited by the prospect of meeting Eden's well-respected sister. The few times she had mentioned her, Eden had always spoken fondly of Kara. Markus couldn't see any reason why he wouldn't like the other woman of Myst, even the traits that Eden had warned him of, Kara's stern nature, were traits that he, as a soldier could admire.


But it was Kara who had taken fault with him. She had made it clear upon their first meeting that she disapproved of the way he looked at her sister. That everything about him was unsuitable and that even as a human being he was unworthy. All this she told him without ever opening her mouth. He prayed silently to whichever of the gods would listen that she wouldn't suss out what had transpired between him and Eden that night. Her wrath would not be like Nova's. Hers would come silently, in the night, by untraceable hands. There would be no words, no opportunity for forgiveness, just the remnants of his body in a ditch somewhere. That was the fate he imagined Kara would have install for him if she ever found out that he had defiled her sister.


He rubbed his face with the hand that Eden hadn't trapped. I need to get something to drink. He looked down at the sleeping woman. He feared waking her but at the same time he didn't want to be there when she awoke. He preferred not to die just yet. Gently as he could, he freed himself from her bed. She frowned in her sleep and made a grumble of disapproval before cocooning herself in the blankets. He had to stop himself from lingering to watch her. Who knew if he would ever get the chance to do so again.


He dressed only as much as he dared, pulling on his pants and deciding to brave the corridor without anything else. Somehow the thought of trying to leave when she awoke was worse than the thought of being beside her. For the sake of safety, he opted not to be there at all. He gathered the last of his clothes into his arms and slipped out of the room. In the hallway, he paused briefly to look back at her, still sound asleep, then closed the door completely.


“You son of a bitch!”


The hit came from the side, catching him off guard. He managed to brace himself somewhat as he landed, the bruise from Kite's hammer screaming in protest as he landed in a crouch. He took a moment to compose himself. “Nova-”


“I told you not to go in there. I told you to leave her alone. And not only did you ignore me, you fucking slept with her you damn son of a bitch.” He went to hit Markus again but he was ready this time and caught the younger boy's arm.


Markus stood. “Nova just listen -”


“You couldn't keep it in your pants could you?” He shouted, trying to twist out of Markus' grip. “She lost her best friend and you thought that was the time to go and put the moves on my sister?” He kicked out at Markus and Markus let go of his arm to widen the gap between them. “You make me sick! I can't believe I was going to apologise to you and forgive you for all that shit you pulled with the fal'cie!”


Nova's anger had drawn the curiosity of most of their party. A sleepy Alex appeared in her doorway. “What's going on,” she asked, yawning.


“He slept with my sister,” Nova growled.


Alex looked between them. “Was that not okay? But you slept with me last night so why couldn't he-”


“You slept with Alex?” Now it was Kite's turn to get angry.


“No – yes. I spent the night with her but it was innocent. I didn't have sex with her.”


“Whatever you say, Nova.”


Markus saw Kite leave but he didn't see where he went.


“So when you say he slept with your sister...” It was then that Alex apparently realised just how little Markus was wearing. A little colour flushed to her cheeks and she looked away.


“Yes, I mean he fucked her,” replied an exasperated Nova. “And now, thanks to him, I have to go and patch things up with Kite again.” He looked Markus in the eyes and frowned. “I wish that fal'cie had turned you instead.” He turned and went after Kite.


Alex, embarrassed by her part in the argument, returned to her room and closed the door, leaving only Markus and a lingering Jin behind.


Markus sighed and leaned back against the wall beside Eden's doorway, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Well, that went well.”

[Crystal Tears]

Alex and Eden

It wasn’t like Eden to hide from anything – but this… this particular scenario was one of those rare moments where she had chosen to hide.

Well, not so much hide as to pretend to still be asleep while the violence outside ensued. When everything quieted down, she slipped out of bed and was quick to get dressed into her pj bottoms and a tank top. Stepping outside her room, she nearly bumped into Markus and noted the red mark quickly making an appearance.

That was going to bruise.

Jin stood there, silently watching the duo. Eden glared at him.

“Don’t you have something better to do?”

Jin shifted his weight, he was uncomfortable under her stern gaze and quickly vacated downstairs.

Eden touched Markus cheek and turned his face roughly to look at the welt. “Have Alex heal it.” She stated, unaffected by his lack of clothes. “And get dressed,” she gave him a frown that was common from her. “You could’ve gotten dressed in my room.”

“I…” He faltered. “Thought it was better I go back to my room.”

“Yeah, that worked out great for you.”

“It did.” Markus snorted, “You know, besides the-running-into-your-brother-fiasco.”

“He knocked you on your ass.” Despite managing not to smile, Eden couldn’t hide her bemusement at that particular fact.

“Don’t start.” He clearly wasn’t in the mood.

“Have Alex look at your hammer wound too.” Eden added on, catching a confused gaze from her partner. She shrugged. “It acted up a bit,” she paused, trying to put it delicately. “Last night, when…”

He couldn’t hide the little smile on his face, in light of that fact, Markus pivoted and went back into the huntress’s room, promptly kicking the door shut. “I’m getting dressed – go stop your brother from plotting my demise.”

Eden paused in the hall, shaking her head for a second before she promptly knocked on Alex’s door. Slowly it opened, revealing a bashful, nervous songstress.

“When he’s dressed, fix his face.” She looked back at her own door. “Try helping his back too.”

Alex blinked. “What’s wrong with his back?” Then she began to turn a shade close to a tomato. “Oh! Gods, nevermind! I didn’t mean to pry… I’ll fix it-“

“It’s not like that.” The huntress scowled. “He landed on Kite’s hammer back at the fal’Cie temple.”

“Oh!” Suddenly the younger girl felt entirely stupid. She bowed her head. “Sorry! I… well… I’ll just be quiet now.”

Eden’s scowl lightened to something close to a smile. “Don’t worry too much about it, just don’t mention it to anyone.” The huntress crossed her arms; even in her comfort clothes she looked intimidating. “I don’t need people jumping to conclusions.”

“Right.” Alex nodded.

* * *

Downstairs was all sorts of awkward Eden didn’t want to deal with.

Coffee… She thought dully, ignoring the looks she got from Jin, Kite, and the complete lack of a greeting she received from her brother. She went straight for the automated brewing machine and poured herself a cup, put in a tiny amount of milk in it. Stirring it gently, her eyes flicked to her brother, he was facing the window – hunched over, probably thinking.

Great… Eden’s mental frown transferred to her face as she took a sip of her drink and approached him.

Nova didn’t grace her with even a glance as she stepped up beside her.

She glared at the other two.

Knowing what it meant, they vacated the area. Jin ran back upstairs and Kite slunk out of sight.

“I need to talk to you.”

Nova didn’t speak a word, just headed outside to the garden. Eden followed, her irritation growing into frustration.

“Nova…”

He didn’t reply; he was intent on ignoring her.

“Nova-”

“I don’t want to talk.”

Eden’s brow furrowed, and with her free hand she grabbed his shoulder and roughly threw him to the ground. The boy groaned, eyes slowly opening to see a rather cool woman standing over him, sipping her coffee.

“I don’t recall making it an option.”

He looked, well, pissed. “Fuc-ARGHgrghh…”

Eden had no intention of killing her brother, but she was a Command Huntress. She wasn’t going to allow some brat, even a brat related to her – talk to her in that manner. She pressed her bare foot to his neck, threatening to cut off his air supply. He struggled against her, panic and anger making him forget his training. Calmly, she took another sip before she spoke.

“It’s a wonder how Alex finds you at all appealing,” Eden noted, glancing down at her squirming brother. “As adorable as it was for you to defend my honour, it’s not up to you who I sleep with.” She took another drink. “He didn’t take advantage of me Nova, so please stop attacking Markus.”

As she lightened the pressure a little, her baby brother looked up at her and choked out words. “You… could do better.”

“And you could be a law-abiding citizen, but we all have our flaws.” The huntress shrugged. “Leave it alone Nova, I don’t care if you don’t like him but right now in our situation he’s one of the few allies we have.” She paused, “and don’t you dare mention this to Kara.”

Nova huffed as Eden stepped back and released him from the very odd hold. “I’ll leave it alone, for now. At least until this mess is sorted.”

Her heart panged with a bit of guilt at that statement and she moved away.

There is no happy ending Nova. She didn’t have the stomach to say that to him, so she just continued on her little garden stroll to the tree she had sat under last night.

“Sis?”

Eden slowly looked over at her brother, who was rubbing his neck as she approached her. He didn’t look like the rebellious young man that had caused her so much grief, no… now he more resembled the little boy that had just lost his parents. The huntress put her coffee down next to her and watched him slump down on the patio in front of the bench.

“Hm?”

“Can we change our fate?”

No.

“… Yes.” Eden finally answered. “If you fight hard enough, you can change anything.”