Ann

Title: Forgetting Dreams
Series: Tales of the Abyss
Pairings/Characters: Arietta, Sync, (Ion)
Notes: For Snow. Otherwise, uhh, OMGIMTIRED. Oh, and my first Tales fic! I think...

Only a girl like Arietta could be perfectly content to sleep on the bare ground. Sync would never become used to such a thing (nor did he want to) so this was why he decided to sit up and keep watch. Not that there was much to watch in this barren land. The lowly bandits in the area would be easy enough to deal with, and the monsters prowling the shadows kept their distance. They likely considered Arietta one of their own, and he an extension of that. He snorted. It figured he’d be piggybacking on the influence of even a little girl.

It hardly mattered that she was older than he was. Age didn’t matter to something like him anyway. Everything was artificial, even the amount of years he had spent on this world. His appearance didn’t match with that time. It was all fake.

Arietta was the one who remained vulnerable. Sync could see it now as she lay sprawled on the grass, her arms and body curled around the doll she always carried with her. The position made her look even smaller than she was, her whole body curled up in a near ball. It was hard to imagine that she had lived in the wild for all those years. Of course, she had also had that monster family.

Heh, family. What a joke. If a human girl could find family in a pack of ligers then the whole thing was complete bullshit. Sync hadn’t needed it. That kind of thing was for originals to base their sorry lives off of.

Arietta was making a sound like a whimper now and, as Sync looked back over at her, he could see that her eyebrows were furrowed in their usual way and a harsh frown spread across her face. She must have been having a nightmare.

As a breeze blew across the trees, Sync removed his mask. In the dark of night, even if she woke up, she shouldn’t be able to see his face.

The Commandant had been the one to inform them. He had said in no uncertain terms not to tell Arietta of the death of Ion, the real Ion. He had placed extreme emphasis on Sync. He was to keep his mask on in Arietta’s presence. It wasn’t explicitly said as an order, but no one went against what Commandant Grants said, even in jest. Thing was, The Commandant never joked around, leastwise not with his generals. Largo had also enforced the Commandant’s decree, apparently not wanting any more harm to come to Arietta. He shouldn’t try to replace his daughter with this wild child. She wasn’t his anyway.

Either way, since then Sync had rarely shown his face, not that he really had before. Who would want to show off a face that wasn’t even theirs? He had even tried his best to conceal his voice, raising it up to an even more annoying pitch than the original Fon Master. If only he had hit puberty. Then Sync would have had something better to go on.

Another whimper and Arietta curled up even further, her fingers working nervously into the cloth of her doll. That was when he heard it.

It started quietly, a soft call, before rising to a volume where he could deny its clarity no longer.

“Ion...” Arietta breathed, her eyebrows tightening and loosening as her eyes flickered restlessly beneath her eyelids.

Sync leaned over her, and before he could think about it or ask himself why he was doing it, he was responding.

“I’m here, Arietta.” The voice that left his mouth was distinctly like another person she knew.

With a sharp intake of breath, her whole body tensed before relaxing, her arms loosening from around the doll’s neck. She lifted one hand and reached out into the dark. “Ion, Ion...”

He took it, clasping it tightly between his hands. By this time his mind had begun to move once more. He still couldn’t be sure why he was doing this. Was he doing this just to mess with her, or was there something else to it?

A smile slowly spread across her features. He could see it even in the dark. “You came back,” she said, a few tears streaming down her face, contrasting harshly with the smile still in place there.

It was strange. In the short time that Sync had known her, he couldn’t remember her smiling. He definitely hadn’t smiled at all himself. He might have smiled now if he wasn’t still aware of one thing.

He wasn’t Ion.

It was pure deceit. Sync had his face and voice, but he wasn’t the Ion Arietta knew. As long as he let this go on, he was only toying with her. Her Ion was dead. She didn’t even have that ‘family’ of hers anymore, did she?

They were similar. Much too similar. The only difference was that Sync had already learned to give up on anything in life bringing him happiness. But she still held onto that hope. He could see that from the way the tears still streamed down her cheeks, the way that smile stayed on her face, and the way she was trying to move closer to him.

He didn’t let her go any farther. He removed his hands from hers and shifted away, grabbing his mask as he did so and slipping it on. He did it just in time, for the sun was rising and as soon as the light touched her eyelids, Arietta stirred and woke.

The tears left wet spots against her cheeks, and as she stared up at Sync she began to wipe them away. He stared forward, showing no sign that he even noticed her veiled attempts to be discreet.

He stood up, signaling without words the start of the day. Arietta stood up wordlessly beside him.

“Have a nice dream?” His tone had a hint of sarcasm in it, and one would imagine that he was grinning under that mask of his. But as he hastened forward, his true expression held a small frown.

Arietta looked after him with surprised eyes, her eyebrows furrowing once more. She brought the doll up to hide her face, before running to catch up with Sync, who was a ways down the path now.

He grit his teeth as she caught up to his side. Sneaking a glance at her, he could see that she was crying again, the tears falling silently. Heh, so she had realized it was only a dream.

True happiness wasn’t real. The sooner she realized that, the better off she’d be.

But when he thought of her smile, that smile meant for Ion, a small voice rose from the back of his mind, wondering if that was really true.

He beat it mercilessly back into the recesses of his mind and continued on, the wild girl by his side.

QN - 5 Things that Never Happened in Allupato, Italy

Mine's a bit different gaiz. I love me some 5 Things fic.

1.
Haruhi hated boxes. There were all sizes and shapes. Cardboard and plastic. She kicked one idly, before looking back to where he was kneeling, sorting a box of what looked like comic books.

"It's really over, huh?" she asked wistfully. Kyon raised his head.

"I didn't choose this, Haruhi," he said with a sigh, placing another stack of comics into the box, "My dad got promoted. We have to go back."

"I know. I know that!" Her voice cracked, the strain evident. His head snapped back to her, wearing a look she couldn't quite understand.

"What?" Her voice cracked again. What, was she a boy going through puberty now? This was so annoying. Her face was also very itchy suddenly. That was the only reason why she kept wiping a hand across her eyes. The only reason.

"Haruhi..."

Something strange happened right after that. It took her a moment to comprehend it fully, because Kyon's arms were around her and he was hugging her and that wasn't supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to be packing boxes or saying goodbye or leaving her behind. That wasn't how things were supposed to work.

"I'll go too," she managed finally, returning the hug shakily. "I'll go too."

Kyon was silent for a moment, before pulling her closer to him.

"...Alright."

A week later, all connections to Allupato were cut off.

2.
"It's the perfect costume!" she told him gruffly. How dare he doubt her perfect plan! She applied the makeup carefully, making liberal us of the compact mirror in her hand. She put a little powder for paleness and some circles under the eyes. Last she added the final touch: a pair of fake fangs. They were the good ones, of course. A little expensive, but anything less would have just detracted from the look.

"Don't forget what you're supposed to do," she said, nodding once as she looked in the compact mirror. Complete. "Do you have the number?"

Kyon nodded an affirmative.

"Good!" she said quickly, making sure he wouldn't get the chance to get in a word. She didn't want him trying to change her mind. He hadn't tried to do that yet, but she never trusted him to keep his mouth shut on these things.

"How do I look? Dead enough?" She spun around once, showing off the dark garb and flashing her fake fangs at him.

3.
She didn't say a word when they came for her. She sat on the bed, knees drawn up, eyes glaring out into the void. She saw nothing but her own mess and destruction.

It was her fault. Let them take her.

Her aunt was at her side now, cupping her face and whispering assurances as the officers eased innto the room, slowly, like she was some kind of wild animal.

Maybe she was.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her skin pale, and the contours of bones showed through her thin skin. She glared at them with those bloodshot eyes but didn't move as they wrapped the binding around her.

"Everything will be alright now," her aunt was saying again, "They're going to help you get better."

In a last act of defiance, Haruhi didn't even lift her feet as they dragged her from the room.

4.
"Ling!" the instant she saw him she took off at a run, throwing her arms around him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she blurted out, launching into a series of apologies. He let her ramble on, stroking a hand through her hair as he had done to calm her before he made the deal.

Presently she grew quiet again as Ling continued stroking her hair. She closed her eyes, almost in a wince. Taking a breath, she took a step away from him.

"I'm really, really sorry." The words came out focused, controlled. Warning bells went off in Ling's head at her tone, but by then it was too late.

He opened his mouth in a gasp, a hand moving to his chest to finger the piece of wood now lodged there. He looked at her with disbelief. Haruhi smiled at him sadly.

"I'm sorry, but the hunter... was right."

5.
The sun was rising. Haruhi squinted, shielding her eyes with her hand as she watched it appear, casting a glow of yellow and red over the horizon. She moved her legs off the table, the legs of the chair knocking against the floor as she righted it from its leaned back position. She stood up, stretching stiff limbs.

While her arms were raised high in mid stretch, she turned her gaze toward the computer. Her expression softened a bit when she saw Kyon's sleeping form, his face pressed against the keyboard. What an idiot. That would be imprinted on his face tomorrow. Of course, Haruhi intended to make full use of this and his neglect of his Brigade duties by sleeping.

"Kyon!" She shook him roughly, rousing him from his sleep. He looked up at her with blinking eyes, a bit of drool dripping from his mouth. Disgusting.

"Sleeping during Brigade activities. That's a penalty!" She crossed her arms and looked down at him.

"Oh, and what were you doing?" He snapped back at her, obviously irritated to be so rudely awakened from his slumber.

She reached past his shoulder, tapping her finger once against the esc key. In a flash, the windows on the screen minimized and disappeared. Kyon stared at her in disbelief, slamming a few keys on the keyboard as if it would do any good. The windows did not reappear.

"What was that for?" His tone grew from irritated to outright angry.

"It doesn't matter anymore! Just forget it!"

"You just deleted everything you told me to do! How am I supposed to forget it?"

"Because I told you to!" She stomped out of the clubroom then, snapping out a hand to grab her coat off the chair as she passed. Kyon sighed, pressing the power button and waiting for the whirring of the computer's fan to click off. He leaned back, hands behind his head for support as he watched the rising sun.

Haruhi burst out into the early morning air, its briskness making her wrap her arms around herself and shiver, before she remembered the coat. She pulled it on quickly, trying her best not to stare directly at the sun. She took one step, then another as she made her way home.

There really was nothing out there, was there?

Another fic!

Series: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya x FullMetal Alchemist (Quacte Nocte RP verse)
Pairings/Characters: Kyon, Haruhi, and Ling
Prompt: HaruhiLingKyon; Rice
Notes: Two fics in one night? Holy shit! I am on a roll. Another prompt from Jami here. Now, this is only part one. Because as soon as I got the prompt "Rice" I was like, "RICE PORN." So yes *cough* That's not actually in this installment. Stay tuned till next time, kidlets.
Also, another note. This probably takes place pre-Chrysalis. It's too light for that. I was going to make it after, but Haruhi and Kyon ended up still being humans for this so... Anyway, without further ado!

Kyon loved being reminded of how good a cook Haruhi was. There was a gentleness to the way she prepared the food that made Kyon turn his gaze time and time back to the kitchen, just to watch her work. It was different from her usual brashness, but both were nice.

...Though he had a sneaking suspicion that the vampire next to him was watching her for entirely different reasons. Kyon also found his gaze falling below the tie of her apron as she diligently went about her work. Well, he had enjoyed the chaste image while it lasted.

Haruhi was oblivious to their gaze, focusing on the pans and pots simmering and boiling around her. A rice cooker steamed in the background, and she periodically checked it. The rice was the backbone of the meal. She couldn’t let it get ruined.

Kyon turned around in his seat to face the table again. He wasn’t going to let Ling bait him into staring at Haruhi’s ass any longer. Because, he knew, the second Haruhi turned around Ling would discreetly have shifted his gaze, leaving Kyon alone to take the heat.

Damn that vampire.

Said damn vampire was now staring him in the face, the tinge of a smile on his lips. He seemed to have some kind of sense that let him know when Kyon was thinking about him. To reiterate, damn that vampire.

An impromptu staring match now ensued, Kyon with his mouth set in a firm grimace and Ling smiling back at him. Wait, how was this any kind of a staring match? Ling was cheating already since he kept his eyes closed 98% of the time. It wasn’t fair, damn it!

“I hope you’re not going to eat each other’s faces.” Haruhi had somehow appeared between them, and was now shifting her gaze back and forth at each of them, a look of annoyance plain on her face. So much for the serenity she had in the kitchen.

She stood up fully, brandishing a ladle as she spoke down at them. “It’s almost done, so just hold on a little longer.” She then returned to her post in the kitchen, taking the top off the rice cooker to check it for the nth time. Kyon’s eyes shifted back to Ling. He had one of those looks.

“What?” Kyon asked, speaking for the first time since they had sat down.

“Nothing~” Ling responded, chuckling. Ugh, Kyon could even hear the tilde in his voice. He was definitely planning something, as usual. If it was indeed as usual, then Kyon was pretty sure he had a general idea of what type of activity he was planning.

Kyon sighed. When Haruhi had planned the dinner, Kyon had been expecting that it would be just that: a dinner. But nothing was ever just as he expected with Ling around. It didn’t help that Haruhi went along with pretty much whatever Ling proposed. It was hard for Kyon to resist the both of them at once.

It had gone a little something like this:

“What?!” Haruhi was shocked. Completely shocked. “How long has it been since you’ve had a home cooked meal?”

“A long time,” Ling had replied.

That simply wouldn’t do with Haruhi. She even said as much. “That’s horrible!”

Suddenly, Haruhi had a wonderful (horrible) idea. Kyon could smell it from a mile away. It smelled a little like his friend Taniguchi’s old gym socks.

“I’ll cook you dinner!” Haruhi announced, her face triumphant. Suddenly, the smell of Haruhi’s idea was much more pleasant. He could almost taste the dishes she would make.

“It’s not for you,” Haruhi said to him, as if sensing his thoughts. (Thinking on it now, what was with all these mind readers?!)

Only Ling had saved him from the disappointment of missing out on Haruhi’s food. “Why don’t we all eat dinner together?” Ling asked her. Don’t just invite other people to someone else’s meal! But Kyon did feel grateful when Haruhi quickly agreed to Ling’s suggestion. But even that was soured when Kyon thought about it. Why did she always listen to him?

Back in Kyon’s present state of mind, he was beginning to smell the aroma of the cooking food coming from the kitchen. It looked like Ling had caught the scent well before him, as the vampire’s body was leaning, just slightly, in the direction of the kitchen. In the time they had spent together, Kyon had become well accustomed to Ling’s love of food. Kyon didn’t even try to hide the smile creeping onto his face. Ling was really in for a treat.

He could see now that Haruhi had finished cooking and was now preparing the plates. His stomach grumbled, signaling its intent. Ling turned his gaze back to Kyon, and said in an amused tone, “Maybe you’ll be able to keep up with me tonight.” Like that was possible, you glutton. Kyon decided to ignore the other possible meaning of that sentence.

Haruhi came out of the kitchen now, carrying two plates heaping with rice and vegetables, one of which she set in front of Ling and the other she set across the table from Kyon. She sat down at that one, looking across the table at Kyon’s look of disappointment.

“I’m not a waitress,” she said in response to his gaze, “I can only hold two plates at once. Yours is in the kitchen. Go get it.” The edges of her mouth twitched and she hid it behind her napkin, faking a cough. Yeah, as if I didn’t see that, Kyon thought, but he moved to the kitchen to retrieve his plate anyway.

When he returned he found that Ling was already flattering Haruhi on her cooking. Haruhi seemed to be receiving his compliments gladly. Like they say, never bite the hand that feeds you. Although, Haruhi probably wouldn’t mind that. She was the one who had asked to be bitten in the first place. So, was it do bite the neck the feeds you?

Ling was looking at him again. What, more mind reading? Or it could be the fact that Kyon was standing there like an idiot? Now Haruhi was glaring at him too. He sighed. That confirmed it.

He took his seat next to Ling again. Haruhi still hadn’t taken her eyes off him. It was a bit unnerving. But he caught on quickly enough. She wanted him to taste it.

He picked up his pair of chopsticks and picked up a vegetable, rolling it around in the sauce to get the most possible rice on it, before sticking it in his mouth and chewing it thoughtfully. Haruhi’s glare had turned apprehensive as she watched him eat.

“It’s good,” he said, giving her a genuine smile. Her eyes shone as she smiled back—

“No, it’s perfect,” Ling said now, flashing her a grin and effectively diverting her attention away from Kyon, “Can I have seconds?”

“Of course!” Haruhi said pleasantly, her smile now directed fully at Ling as she took his plate and went back into the kitchen.

Kyon’s mouth opened to make some kind of objection. Did Ling just one-up him? Don’t even try that smile act, you damn vampire. It’s not the same as hers at all.

Then Haruhi was back with another heaping plate. Ling took it gratefully and dug in. By this time Kyon had finished his plate as well. He was just going to test this...

“Hey Haruhi, can I—”

“Get it yourself.”

So that’s how it was. Kyon stood with his plate, dejected. Something made him pause before he went back to the kitchen. Was Ling laughing? Kyon sincerely hoped the bastard choked on his food.

But it was nice to see Haruhi so happy. Thinking back on how she was when they first met, it was really a change. Kyon was glad that he was here to see that change.

As Kyon turned from the kitchen he caught a very peculiar sight. Ling had finished his second plate already, and was leaning across the table towards Haruhi. She was doing the same, and they both talked in low voices.

As Kyon walked into the room, both turned their gaze towards him. It was threatening ...and hungry?

Suddenly Kyon felt very, very afraid.

To be continued!?

WIP

Kyon loved being reminded of how good a cook Haruhi was. There was a gentleness to the way she prepared the food that made Kyon turn his gaze time and time back to the kitchen, just to watch her work. It was different from her usual brashness, but both were nice.

...Though he had a sneaking suspicion that the vampire next to him was watching her for entirely different reasons. Kyon also found his gaze falling below the tie of her apron as she diligently went about her work. Well, he had enjoyed the chaste image while it lasted.

Haruhi was oblivious to their gaze, focusing on the pans and pots simmering and boiling around her. A rice cooker steamed in the background, and she periodically checked it. The rice was the backbone of the meal. She couldn’t let it get ruined.

Kyon turned around in his seat to face the table again. He wasn’t going to let Ling bait him into staring at Haruhi’s ass any longer. Because, he knew, the second Haruhi turned around Ling would discreetly have shifted his gaze, leaving Kyon alone to take the heat.

Damn that vampire.

Said damn vampire was now staring him in the face, the tinge of a smile on his lips. He seemed to have some kind of sense that let him know when Kyon was thinking about him. To reiterate, damn that vampire.

An impromptu staring match now ensued, Kyon with his mouth set in a firm grimace and Ling smiling back at him. Wait, how was this any kind of a staring match? Ling was cheating already since he kept his eyes closed 98% of the time. It wasn’t fair, damn it!

“I hope you’re not going to eat each other’s faces.” Haruhi had somehow appeared between them, and was now shifting her gaze back and forth at each of them, a look of annoyance plain on her face. So much for the serenity she had in the kitchen.

She stood up fully, brandishing a ladle as she spoke down at them. “It’s almost done, so just hold on a little longer.” She then returned to her post in the kitchen, taking the top off the rice cooker to check it for the nth time. Kyon’s eyes shifted back to Ling. He had one of those looks.

“What?” Kyon asked, speaking for the first time since they had sat down.

“Nothing~” Ling responded, chuckling. Ugh, Kyon could even hear the tilde in his voice. He was definitely planning something, as usual. If it was indeed as usual, then Kyon was pretty sure he had a general idea of what type of activity he was planning.

Kyon sighed. When Haruhi had planned the dinner, Kyon had been expecting that it would be just that: a dinner. But nothing was ever just as he expected with Ling around. It didn’t help that Haruhi went along with pretty much whatever Ling proposed. It was hard for Kyon to resist the both of them.

It's fic tiem!

Series: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya x FullMetal Alchemist (Quacte Nocte RP verse)
Pairings/Characters: Kyon, Haruhi, and Ling
Prompt:: HaruhiLingKyon; bed frame
Notes: Jami gave me this prompt. AHAHAHA, I KNOW YOU WANTED PORN. I SPITE YOU. I might take this prompt and do porn later. Or, you know what, Jami? Give me a prompt that you think I could never make porn out of and I'll do it. It'll be a fun challenge.

Sometimes it was best to just sit back and let Haruhi make the decision, a fact Kyon and Ling knew well.

So it was from the sidelines that they watched Haruhi flutter around the furniture store, as she appraised each and every piece on the floor.

“What about this one?” She called back to them, running her hand along one with a great wooden post. “Or maybe this?” She was already running over to another one now, her ADD kicking in. For their part, Kyon and Ling made little response to Haruhi’s constant calling. When she was in this kind of a frenzy, everything she said was automatically rhetorical.

Kyon sat down on a nearby sofa, stifling a yawn. The sun had just gone down not even thirty minutes ago. It was too early to get up. But damn it, Haruhi had wanted to get here with ample time to look around before the place closed.

Ling looked as composed as ever, Kyon noted. Did he ever have an off day? ...And now he was smiling at him. Just what was that damn vampire thinking—

“I found it!” came a call from across the floor, but easily perceivable by all. “It’s perfect!”

Kyon rose sluggishly from the sofa and made his way over to her, by which time Ling was already there. Ling was nodding as Haruhi looked at him expectantly for approval.

“It’s perfect,” he agreed in an amused tone.

“And look at this!” To Kyon’s shock, she was climbing on top of it now and jumping on it. “We should... get the... mattress set... too!” she said in between bounces. “And look there!” she said, pointing.

Yes, Haruhi Suzumiya had picked out the perfect four-poster bed. The posts were tall and the bed frame itself was riddled with holes carved into the wood for aesthetic reasons. But Kyon knew Haruhi had a different use in mind for it.

A grumbling employee was making his way over now, obviously not amused by Haruhi’s little antics. However, a careful glare from Ling sent him scampering away. Then, with encouragement from Haruhi, Ling himself was climbing up on the bed to join her. The both looked down at Kyon as they bounced and bounced.

No. NO. Kyon was not joining them—

But somehow things just happen, and with both Haruhi and Ling involved, sitting back was never an option.

Kyon would have them know that he almost hit his head on the ceiling back there. He also let them know that he was never going shopping with either of them ever again.

...Somehow, he didn’t think they believed him.

Make fun of Kyon Day, part 2!

GO KYONKARP! SPLASH, BITCH!

If you're wondering what this is about, I named my Magikarp Kyon. Good times.

LJ is being a low ass bitch. Thus, I declare this make fun of Kyon time.

KYON BOTTOMS TO ALL. DISCUSS.

Strategically posting while Jami is not online~

My bitch~ Talkin' bout my biiitch~ MY BITCH!

I don't think anything more needs to be said.