Sounds in the Silence
AN: 50 glances at the bookworms, from CSI going all the way into the future that Falcom probably hasn't thought about yet because they're too busy coming up with ways to break our hearts. Expect rampant abuse of dashes and semi-colons! Few notes before starting; #01 and #15 are Sen III references, though they don't spoil anything particularly massive. Also, y'all have no idea how hard it was not to take the low hanging fruit and center #19 around Gaius somehow.
#01 – Comfort
"I'm impressed. You're just as warm and cushy as I heard," Celine commented from her position on the gunman's lap, and the familiar was rewarded by Machias going bright red and Alisa snickering when she heard her brunette passenger start to stutter and squeak.
#02 – Kiss
They've learned to be mindful of public displays of affection; it takes only moments for something soft and chaste to turn into a different animal altogether, reckless and fiery and utterly all-consuming.
#03 – Soft
"You're not as hardened as you like to think, Machias," Emma thought, unable to resist her quiet smile even as he ranted and raved – he had *not* been eavesdropping, not really, so could everyone just kindly drop the matter?!
#04 – Pain
"My head hurts from the wall I keep banging it into every time these two idiots go at it," Fie groused with no small amount of irritation as she watched the noble and the Reformist bicker yet again, and Emma couldn't help but sigh and nod in barely concealed exhaustion; this was hardly an auspicious start to their very first field study!
#05 – Potatoes
She hummed as she peeled, low and pleasant, because it was always the small things he noticed first.
#06 – Rain
"Should we risk it?" Machias asked, watching the torrents that didn't seem to be abating and a clock that inched ever closer to curfew, and when Emma grasped his wrist and whispered a playful 'try and keep up', he simply shook his head and chased after her, his quiet grin cloaked by the furious storm.
#07 – Chocolate
They would never be able to agree on a winner in the eternal war between tea and coffee, but on a cold winter's night hot cocoa was more than a fair compromise.
#08 – Happiness
"It looks good on you," Vita said, sounding as honest as Emma's ever heard her, and next to her husband the brunette smiled and nodded before turning her gaze back down at the sleeping newborn in her arms, wondering how it was at all possible for a heart to be so full.
#09 – Telephone
He was in the middle of reviewing for yet another exam when his ARCUS went off; half-expecting it to be Elliot or Rean, Machias nearly dropped the device when he heard a painfully familiar voice apologize for interrupting his studies, but she had passed by a bookstore earlier and it made her wonder if he'd had time to read anything new…?
#10 – Ears
The sound of rapping on the door made Dorothee look up from her editing, and her eyebrows raised in surprise when Emma laughed and told Machias to come in; "I know his knock by now," the brunette informed the second year, as if that explained everything.
#11 – Name
"You two decide what to call the little munchkin yet?" Celine asked, curled up on her partner's still flat abdomen protectively, and the feline purred when delicate fingers ran their way through her fur, almost missing the happy "we're working on it".
#12 – Sensual
"This isn't fair. This isn't fair. You don't even know what you're doing, do you?" Emma flailed as she watched Machias leisurely enjoying his ice cream cone, her book almost dropping from suddenly nerveless fingers when his tongue flicked out to catch a droplet that fell on his wrist.
#13 – Death
"T-They would have liked you. The both of them," Machias whispered, the pair standing in front of two graves, and Emma squeezed his hand before she bowed in greeting; "Hello. My name is Emma Millstein, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
#14 – Sex
"This is ridiculous!" Celine ranted to Mr. Tiddles, who for his part was content to relax and watch as his companion vented her frustration, "How often do I need to sleep out here? I get that they're both young and healthy and all that stuff, but shouldn't the 'can't keep their hands off each other' phase end at some point?!"
#15 – Touch
"Oh no," Emma intoned with no small amount of amusement, watching out of the corner of her eye as the inspector tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible and grabbing his hand before he slipped away, "you're not getting out of this that easily. Come on, there's room on the dance floor by Kurt and Juna."
#16 – Weakness
Emma with either her hair down or glasses off was something he could handle perfectly fine, thank you very much – when she did both, however…
#17 – Tears
"You know, you could have told him that soaking the onions in cold water before cutting them takes care of the eye irritation," an exasperated Emma informed Celine while Machias blinked his way through a painfully misty haze, and the familiar snickered before replying "Probably, but where's the fun in that?"
#18 – Speed
Class VII had hardly finished bowing before the VP had grabbed his books and left the classroom – he didn't have any time to spare, not if he was truly serious about seizing the top spot from his academic rival!
#19 – Wind
Machias raised his shotgun and fired, desperately buying time for Group A's arts specialist to do what she did best, and he was rewarded when not a second later she caught his eye, mouthed 'thank you', and unleashed an Aerial that sent the monsters flying in a burst of raging emerald.
#20 – Freedom
"What now?" the gunman asked, scarcely able to believe that everything was well and truly over; "We live," Emma answered, slipping her hand into his and letting her weight settle against his side, her sapphire eyes sparkling with the unrestrained joy of impossibilities made possible again.
#21 – Life
"There's more to it than just books and exams," she admonished gently, and though Machias scoffed and muttered that as Thors' leading scorer she had the luxury of taking that stance, the gunman found himself setting his pen down and following the brunette to dinner without protest.
#22 – Jealousy
"Hmm. Interesting, Emma – I didn't think you'd go for the stoic type. He certainly is handsome, though! You have good taste," Vita 'praised' as she leaned in, her half-lidded eyes flicking speculatively at the confused gunman, and as irrational as it was the bespectacled woman felt her fingers curl into tight fists, her gaze cold enough to freeze magma.
#23 – Hands
There was something oddly relaxing about watching the brunette knit, creating something useful from nothing but lengths of yarn and two needles; Machias was a little less charitable when the finished product turned out to be a hat with two fuzzy cat ears on top that Emma happily pulled onto his head, but then he remembered the muffler that Celine wore on cold days and understood that he had been checkmated long before he had sat down to play.
#24 – Taste
"I thought you didn't like your drinks too sweet," Machias commented, staring at the whipped cream topped concoction in her right hand, and he simply gave a long suffering sigh when she giggled and teased "Well, that's for tea. I like the taste of tea. This is coffee, which is a different story entirely."
#25 – Devotion
He asked her one night if she was truly happy here with him instead of with the Hexen, and he would fully understand if she wasn't; she silenced his doubts with a kiss that seared him down to his bones, whispering against his lips that there was no other place she'd have rather been.
#26 – Forever
"They made it sound like such a bad thing," Machias grumbled, more than a little annoyed with the tired jokes that had been passed around the office whenever an engagement was announced, and Emma simply shrugged philosophically and smiled, saying that it was probably a good thing that they weren't getting married then.
#27 – Blood
"She'll be fine. It's not going to be fun for her or anything, but women have been bearing children for Goddess knows how long, remember?" Celine told a tight-lipped, silent Machias, all the while trying to make her sharp ears ignore the pained gasps and her keen nose ignore the telltale scent of copper hanging in the air.
#28 – Sickness
The cool palm left Emma's cheek much too soon, and Machias chuckled a little at the unhappy noise she made in protest before he bent down to kiss her on the forehead, saying that she was still warm, he was going to make soup, and Celine was going to be very unhappy if her partner didn't get enough rest.
#29 – Melody
"You see, sweetheart?" Emma called out mischievously when Machias had finished his soothing lullaby, making the now placated infant laugh and the man holding her groan, "Papa can sing just as well as Mama, and when you're older… well, there's a story about a festival that you'll probably want to hear."
#30 – Star
Emma seemed to think that never having been stargazing was a crime on par with high treason, which went a long way in explaining why they were now sitting out by the Old Schoolhouse on a blanket with Machias craning his head upwards and letting the witch's soothing voice guide his eyes into seeing what had once been unseen.
#31 – Home
"… Sorry. I suppose I'm still not used to having someone here when I open the door," he admitted, his cheeks pinking slightly; "Hehe. You'll adjust, I hope. Welcome back," Emma replied with an amused smile and a warm kiss.
#32 – Confusion
"Let me see if I have this right," a beyond aggrieved and perplexed Celine began, looking between a scowling Machias and a frowning Emma, "After everything that's happened up until now, you two are seriously telling me that your first actual fight is about how to organize your bookshelves?!"
#33 – Fear
"And what we were afraid of most has come to pass," Machias lamented upon seeing their daughter squinting at the book she was reading in a manner that was all too familiar to them both, and Emma simply sighed and shrugged in resignation – having them as parents was too big an obstacle for her eyes to overcome, it seemed.
#34 – Lightning/Thunder
"The storm must be nearby," she drowsily noted, having observed the flash and heard the crack, and Emma smiled against his bare shoulder when she felt his lips ghost over her crown, deciding that being indoors was far more preferable.
#35 – Bonds
Their party heard the encroaching steps of the approaching creatures, and what happened next was almost instinct; they glanced at each other, their ARCUS units flaring with light, and when the gunman and witch turned, they turned as one.
#36 – Market
All things considered, their new living arrangement was quite a good one, Celine thought – it made Emma happy, it made the grump happy, and they always remembered to buy lots of fresh milk during their weekly shopping trips; everyone came out a winner, really.
#37 – Technology
"These new orbments are quite something," the bespectacled girl marveled, turning the device over in her hands, and nearby she saw the green haired boy – Machias? – doing the same thing, and she had to stifle a giggle; he looked like an entirely different person when he wasn't relentlessly picking fights with their blonde classmate.
#38 – Gift
"You told him, didn't you?" Emma accused, looking at the neatly wrapped parcel while trying not to blush, and Celine had simply given her an imperious sniff and strolled away, telling the brunette that if she had time to ask that, then she had time to poke around and figure out when his birthday was.
#39 – Smile
She's learned to catalogue his expressions over the years; there's a polite greeting (a quick upturn of the lips), a confident smirk (usually seen when he was winning a debate or a game of chess), a thin, tight-lipped sneer (the harbinger of sound and fury for their enemies) and finally, the warm, genuine grin that made her heart skip a beat and belonged only to her.
#40 – Innocence
"I think Papa looks best like this," the little girl murmured, looking down at her father in relaxed slumber with his silver glasses off to the side; Emma hummed in agreement, reaching down to run her fingers through his hair before telling her that yes, Mama thought so too.
#41 – Completion
"Stay with me," she felt him whisper into her hair, and Emma knew with every fiber of her being that she was well and truly home.
#42 – Clouds
Neither knew what lay past the mists that obscured the halls of the Reverie Corridor, but the pulse of certainty through their combat link made it equally clear that neither wanted to find out anytime soon.
#43 – Sky
Like everyone else, Machias had taken his turn standing on the deck of the Courageous and watching as the world blew by below them; he didn't even notice Emma next to him until he turned and saw her smiling apologetically, saying that he had looked so peaceful that she hadn't wanted to interrupt.
#44 – Heaven
"Mama! Papa! Tell me a story?" their daughter asked, eagerly clambering onto both their laps with Celine following close behind.
#45 – Hell
Emma watched as Valimar flew off in the distance, praying that Celine and Rean stayed safe, and she turned to face her link partner, nodding when she felt his grim determination to see this through to the inevitable end.
#46 – Sun
He would never forget waking up with her for the first time and seeing perfection nestled atop of him, wrapped in satin and bathed in gold.
#47 – Moon
Some of Emma's most treasured moments were when she caught him reading at dusk, his lean frame looking almost ethereal in the moonlit darkness, and the sight was beautiful enough to steal her breath away.
#48 – Waves
The irritation and frustration were steadily building with each pass his gaze made over the entrance exam scores, but the boy understood that blaming this person – Emma Millstein, he'd remember that if it killed him – was meaningless in the grand scheme of things; he had simply been outworked, and all he had to do was study hard enough to ensure that it didn't happen again.
#49 – Hair
"Mmm, thank you. It gets tangled so easily otherwise," Emma purred into his neck as he gingerly swept her brush through silken chestnut, and he couldn't help but wonder what would come first; the brunette's fall into slumber or his death by cardiac arrest.
#50 – Supernova
There's no doubt she would laugh at him if he ever told her – she, who had channeled and commanded celestial wrath to rain down on their foes – and yet he would absolutely swear this to be true; the light he saw and loved in her eyes shone brighter than anything else under Aidios' heaven, brighter than even the sun, the moon, and all the stars in Her sky.