Work Text:
The light poured in through the half-open window of her private quarters in the Pendants. She was used to the light, of course. The Light had been everything, always, and forever. At least as long as she’d been alive. It was the night that was new. Strange. But the night was over… barely. As her eyes opened, she couldn’t be sure whether it was night or day. Her brain was still half asleep, trying to make sense of the cacophony nearby.
“Gaia!” the cacophony shouted in a tone that made her eyelids clench with the violence of a woman in desperate need of another twenty minutes sleep, at least.
“GAIA!” the cacophony shouted again. She made a sound, although in her half-unconscious state she couldn’t be sure what it sounded like. There was a blissful moment of silence before a sudden calamity.
“Ahhh!” Gaia cried as she suddenly tumbled to the floor in a flurry of bedsheets and pillows. As her eyes focused, she saw Ryne. Much closer than she would have expected.
“Gaia!” Ryne cried again, her tone inappropriately triumphant in Gaia’s opinion.
“What???” Gaia growled, trying to extricate herself from the tangle of sheets.
“Get up!” Ryne ordered, disentangling herself and hopping to her feet. “I’m taking you on a tour of the Crystarium.”
“….what….?” Gaia repeated with a sudden air of honest confusion.
“Come on!” Ryne urged, pulling on the snarl of sheets. “If we don’t get a move on, they’ll run out of coffee biscuits!”
“Go away,” Gaia groaned, attempting to pull the tangle of sheets back over her head. Ryne’s grip was as iron, to her shock and dismay. She groaned, loud and petulant, but the sad puppy dog eyes looking down at her finally wore down her defenses.
“Oh, are you coming???” Ryne gasped as Gaia began to untangle herself from her own bedding.
Gaia rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I mean, yes, but…” Ryne trailed off. After a moment of silence, her eyes lit up. “Do you like coffee?”
Gaia quirked an eyebrow. “What kind of question is that?”
“Is that…. a yes…?” Ryne ventured timidly.
“Of course it’s a yes,” Gaia replied with a roll of her eyes, walking toward the door. “Where is the coffee in this place?”
“Oh, I can take you there!” Ryne declared with the energy of an excited puppy, much to Gaia’s dismay. She barely had time to react before Ryne grabbed her wrist and all but yanked her out of the security of her room.
Gaia nearly tripped over the grass as Ryne dragged her out of the Pendants. “H-hey, I— ah! Slow down!”
“Oh, sorry…” Ryne replied with a blush. “I forgot you sleep in those platform shoes. That’s really awkward, huh!”
“Look, I was tired,” Gaia grumbled, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly crimson. It was time to change the subject, she decided. “Ryne, isn’t that a bar?”
“Oh, yeah, Thancred said I shouldn’t go there,” Ryne replied with a nod, “but the bar maid seems really nice! She really likes dogs, though.”
Suddenly, Ryne started running north. Gaia reflexively ran after her, huffing and puffing as she focused on not letting her platform shoes spell her untimely demise. “Why are we running?” she finally shouted.
“I dunno!” Ryne returned, not changing her pace. Gaia’s brow furrowed as she kept pace with the other girl, her resentment growing by leaps and bounds with every… bound.
Gaia did her best, running through the market and toward the aetheryte plaza. As they reached the massive crystal, Ryne stopped.
“This is the exit to Lakeland,” Ryne proudly announced, gesturing to her right.
Gaia was silent.
“What…? Ryne asked after a moment.
“I was waiting for you to finish,” Gaia replied flatly.
Ryne frowned. “What do you mean?”
“What do I—” Gaia began before stopping short. She took in a deep, measured breath before finally speaking. “What’s next on your tour?”
Ryne stared for a moment, as if the question had taken her by surprise.
Gaia crossed her arms. “There’s more, isn’t there…?”
“Y-yes, of course!” Ryne finally agreed, an almost imperceptible flush rising in her cheeks. “Um, do you… like animals…?”
The question was asked as if Ryne dreaded the answer.
“What do you think I am, some kind of vampire?” Gaia asked with a heavy sigh.
Ryne just stared.
“What?” Gaia finally asked once the staring became uncomfortable enough.
“I, um….” Ryne began, her cheeks growing pink. “What’s… a vampire…?”
“Oh my god, just show me the animals,” Gaia returned in a huff with an eyeroll strong enough to give her a headache.
With a grin that made Gaia uncomfortable, Ryne grabbed her hand and yanked her westward. Gaia nearly tripped over her own shoes as Ryne dragged her down the stairs and toward the Amaro pens.
“Look at them!” Ryne declared as she hauled Gaia through the gate.
Gaia looked the creatures with an appropriate amount of dismay. “They….” She began.
“….they what?” Ryne asked earnestly.
“They…” Gaia continued, reluctant to answer. But the look Ryne’s eye made it impossible not to continue. “They… they smell.”
Ryne was silent.
Gaia was also silent, unsure how to respond. Had she offended the other girl? Ryne’s face was unreadable, and she wouldn’t say anything. Was this about to get awkward? Gaia’s frown intensified as her friend’s silence continued.
Then, suddenly, Ryne laughed. It was a loud sound, a guffaw even. Gaia was immediately made uncomfortable and unsure how to react.
The amaro itself broke the tension by turning and knocking Gaia into a bale of hay.
“Ack!” Gaia cried as her body flew into the stack. She could hear Ryne trying to hold back her laugher even from within the bale.
“I think she likes you,” Ryne giggled as Gaia extricated herself from the bale of hay.
“You know what—” Gaia began, but stopped herself. After a deep breath, she looked Ryne straight in the eye. “What’s next on this tour of yours?”
“Um….” Ryne began, her cheeks flushing pink. “Are you, um, hungry… or…?”
“You said something about coffee biscuits,” Gaia reminded her, her tone even.
“Oh, yes!” Ryne returned, her eyes lighting up. Much to Gaia’s dismay, Ryne grabbed her hand and once again dragged her in a direction. Which direction, Gaia couldn’t say. She was far too focused on staying on her feet. Finally, Ryne stopped. The sudden change in momentum almost had Gaia tumbling into her companion, but she barely managed to avoid disaster.
“Ryne! What a surprise seeing you here,” the nearby vendor declared with a smile.
“Unlikely,” Gaia breathed under her breath as she steadied herself.
“Hanji-Fae, it’s good to see you!” Ryne said warmly to the vendor. “Do you still have any coffee biscuits…?”
“It’s awfully late in the morning,” Hanji-Fae returned with a serious expression, before breaking into a smile, “but for you, I set aside a batch.”
“Oh, thank you!” Ryne replied with a broad smile that made even Gaia have a feeling.
“Who’s this?” Hanji-Fae asked unexpectedly. Unexpectedly to Gaia, at least.
“Oh, this is, um… my friend…” Ryne replied in a manner that was unconvincing even to Gaia.
“Oh…” Hanji-Fae replied, a grin slowly spreading across her face. “Is she…. Your girlfriend…?”
“Yes,” Gaia replied, flatly and immediately.
“What??” Ryne asked quickly enough that she seemed startled by her own voice. “Are you serious!?”
“I’m serious,” Gaia replied in a tone that was almost believable. “I’m seriously joking.”
“Oh…” Ryne replied. The disappointment in her voice was probably more obvious than she intended, and it made Gaia frown.
“Haha, you guys are cute!” Hanji-Fae laughed. “The coffee biscuits are on the house today.”
“Th-thanks,” Ryne replied with a forced smile. Her gaze turned to Gaia, lingering briefly before returning to their reward.
“Come on, let’s get a table,” Gaia suggested, grabbing the bag of coffee biscuits and heading away from the stand.
The two girls sat at a nearby table, the bag of coffee biscuits sitting between them ominously. Gaia certainly wasn’t going to say anything. But after a while she realized Ryne wasn’t going to either. And that was just awkward.
“So. You like coffee.”
Ryne looked up at her.
“I mean… I assume you do, because…” and Gaia gestured at the coffee biscuits.
Ryne giggled. “I don’t know, they were popular and I don’t hate them…”
“That’s it?” Gaia asked with a frown. “You don’t hate them?”
Ryne frowned too. “Does it need to be more complicated than that?”
It’s a question no one had asked her before. “I… I guess not,” Gaia admitted, looking at the bounty before her.
“Try one,” Ryne urged, pushing one of the biscuits forward. Gaia sighed, then reached a hand forward. She took the biscuit and placed it in her mouth.
“……………..so?” Ryne asked after a lengthy amount of chewing on her companion’s part.
“They’re…. okay,” Gaia finally admitted.
Ryne looked delighted. It was annoying. Gaia hated it. In that ‘I love this’ sort of way that she wouldn’t admit, even to herself.
“You’re annoying,” Gaia finally said with a roll of her eyes. Ryne was unphased.
“You like them,” is all Ryne said. Gaia was annoyed. It was plain on her face.
Ryne was still delighted.
Gaia was still annoyed. But she smiled anyway.