Work Text:
Saphira's breaks almost never overlap with the other SOLDIER members. Whenever the stars align and they finally have a chance to enjoy some free time with each other, they try to find something to do together. Angeal and Saphira offer it as a form of “team bonding” but rarely are more than a pair ever available for bonding at a time.
They took their vacation at Costa de Sol. Too long in the dark grays and gloom of Midgar was starting to weigh on both Saphira and Angeal. It was easy to agree on the resort and the company was willing to pay out for their travel since they were always on call. The rooms, they had to book themselves.
No harm, of course.
"Hey, would you want to get dinner together?" Angeal asked as they wandered down the hall from their rooms, beach towels thrown over their shoulders. Saphira was already in her bathing suit, aiming to go directly to the beach. Angeal was in his own bathing suit, but in addition he had a tee on, not quite comfortable enough to be shirtless everywhere like a certain friend of his.
"Sure, but we'll have to get a reservation. I heard they've been pretty booked lately," Saphira said, pulling out her phone to give the restaurant a call. It rang out to a busy signal each time she tried. Once the pair reached the lobby, she huffed and snapped her phone shut.
"No answer?"
"Nope. So calling in a reservation won't work," she put her phone back in her tote and shook her head. Angeal hummed in thought, pausing just before the doors.
"Hm... I'll go there and get one in person. I'll meet you at the beach later," he decided, offering her a friendly grin. Saphira nodded and waved him off once they went their separate ways.
Saphira found herself a nice spot on the beach and laid out her towel to lay in the sun, bathing in the heat and light while the ocean crashed on the sand with its lovely hush. She could feel her muscles finally relaxing after so long of being on guard. And it almost hurt finally releasing the tension in her shoulders and jaw.
The sunlight melted away her worry and her stress. The song of the ocean filling her ears with occasional seagull cries and the general noise of other resort enjoyers. It was a far cry from the depressed climate of Midgar.
Then the light suddenly vanished. A shadow was cast over her and she huffed in annoyance, opening one eye to find what the source of the shadow was. A man with his hands planted on his hips looked down at her, sunglasses hiding his eyes, but she could feel the awful intention in his gaze. She sat upright.
“Do you mind?” she grumbled. The man laughed, pushing his sunglasses up and refusing to move. Saphira's glare was poisonous.
“You got nice legs, sugar. Good thing too, cuz you're too tall for most guys.”
Smarmy. Disgusting. Very full of himself and his, frankly, horrendous attempt at negging. Saphira rolled her eyes.
”Excuse you?“
He dropped himself to one knee, getting far closer to her than she appreciated. She leaned away and he took that as permission to grab her hair and twirl it in his fingers. If starting a scene wasn't a punishable offense for a SOLDIER, this man would be buried by now.
"You know, no one like muscular women. You're built like a man. No curves at all,” he sighed as if making a hard decision, “I'm willing to make an exception. You may not look like a woman, but you are one where it counts, hm?"
She was speechless, flummoxed even, that someone would walk right up to her, touch her without asking, and say something like that. There was no way she could respond. No way better than punching him in the teeth. At this point, she didn't care about getting in trouble. This man needed to lose an eye.
Saphira got to her feet and the man followed, probably assuming his awful attempt worked. She rolled her shoulder and reeled back for a real heavy swing. But her arm was caught and her strike interrupted.
“I got us our reservation,“ Angeal said as he pulled her away from the man and wrapped a protective arm around her. He cast an extremely disinterested look at the random and looked him over. Inspecting him like he did her. Saphira made an angry huff, but she gave in to the embrace and stewed quietly, glaring.
Angeal's grip tightened around Saphira as he stepped between her and the man, his demeanor shifting from casual to assertive. "She's with me," he declared, his voice firm and commanding. As a SOLDIER, Angeal was quite a large man. Much larger than the average person and a good head taller than Saphira despite her own enhancements.
The man scoffed, sizing up Angeal with a smirk. "Oh yeah? She didn't mention having a bodyguard," he retorted, his arrogance not faltering even in the face of Angeal's imposing presence.
"She doesn't need a bodyguard," Angeal's expression remained stoic, but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes as he squared up to the intruder. "I'm much more than that," he replied evenly, his tone carrying a warning that left no room for negotiation.
Saphira felt a surge of gratitude and relief as Angeal stood his ground, shielding her from the unwanted advances. She shot him a grateful glance, her earlier anger tempered by his reassuring presence by her side. With Angeal's protection, she felt emboldened to face down the creep who had invaded her space.
The man, sensing the shift in dynamics, decided it was best to retreat for now. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he muttered something about not being interested in "chicks with bodyguards" before sauntering off into the crowd.
As the tension eased, Saphira let out a shaky breath, her nerves still on edge from the encounter. Angeal squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
"If you didn't show up, I'd have killed him," she growled, only half joking. Angeal's concerned expression only grew worse at that admission. He picked her towel off the sand and hung it over his arm.
"I'm sure you would've. But any marks on your record would hold you back from being considered for First," he said with a disappointed glance at the crowd. Saphira took her towel from him and wrapped it around herself, folding her arms tightly. It would take a while to dismiss the awfulness she was feeling. Hiding herself was the best she could do until then. The fact she needed someone to come in and help her at all wasn't ideal. But if she lost her chance at First because of some fucking loser she'd feel even worse.
"Thanks for helping me out, Angeal..." she murmured. He clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"Of course. That's what friends are for," he nodded, attempting to reassure her with a smile, "you can always call for me. I'll beat them up next time." Saphira returned his smile weakly, following him to the other end of the beach. Angeal would do so much to help his friends, including do some thinking ahead for them. Stopping a fight was best, but she really did wish she could have broke that guy's arm or something. Well... there's always next time.