This was an idea I had when my friends and I were at an anime convention in September. And now, after weeks of editing, I finally think it's decent enough for the public to view. Also, if you have any criticism, that's fine, as long as it's not about the OOC-ness; I know about it already, so there's no need to bug me about it.

Disclaimer: I don't own FF9. All I own is my Zidane cosplay outift.


"It's frigging freezing up here…!"

The blonde-haired boy had been holding back this statement for quite some time, so it had to be said. At this point, Zidane really didn't know why he had agreed to come up to the deck of the Hilda Garde 3 to watch the stars, even if it was per the request of his favorite White Mage. True, the view from the airship was quite pretty, but it was cold, and he had been hoping to go to bed early instead of standing out in the freezing wind until almost midnight.

Dagger was jolted out of her dreamy state by Zidane's exclamation of discomfort. "What are you talking about?" she said, a bit irritated at him for disturbing the peaceful silence. "I think it's quite pleasant." As if to prove her point, a gust of cold air chose that moment to blow through her hair, and she smiled, contentedly.

Zidane scoffed, rubbing his arms in a futile attempt to keep warm. "Easy for you to say," he said through chattering teeth. "You have long sleeves. I, on the other hand, have no sleeves." He turned away. "Look…" he muttered as he felt two eyes boring into the back of his head, "I'm tired, I'm cold, and I just want to go to bed. Yes, it's pretty out here, but I'm just not up to it right now. We've got a long day ahead of us, and--"

He stopped mid-sentence as he felt two arms wrap themselves around him and a warm body pressing against his back. A light weight fell on his shoulder, and several strands of dark brown hair blew into his face, tickling his cheek.

"Is that any better?" a soft voice spoke into his ear.

Zidane was quite taken aback by Dagger's advance. He felt weird, like a big rock had just been dropped into his stomach. Had the cold air gone to her head? Dagger never did stuff like this! He did! But he did feel warmer… And he definitely wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like this. He reached up and held the two hands grasped around his chest.

Still entwined with one another, the two slowly made their way to a bench that was situated next to one of the many rooms on the massive airship and sat down, watching the stars flying slowly past, twinkling at them like glistening eyes. They looked at each other for a moment, then looked back up at the sky with contented grins on each of their faces.

"They really are pretty," Zidane said, but he and Dagger both knew that he was referring to two completely different eyes than those that were shining down on them.

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Freya looked out over the edge of the railing and let out a contented sigh. There was certainly no better cure for insomnia than the hypnotic sight of innumerable stars floating in the night sky. As she turned back towards the cabin, the sound of soft breathing drifted into her sensitive ears. She whirled around, wondering who, or what, was on the deck with her.

She certainly wasn't expecting to see Zidane and Dagger asleep on a bench, held tightly in each other's arms.

With a soft chuckle, she removed her jacket and gently draped it over the two travelers, then stole one last glance at the sky before heading back to her bunk to escape the cold.


Want to know the story behind this? Well, at the convention mentioned earlier, my friend Li-Chama and I were cosplaying Dagger and Zidane. At one point we were all sitting down to rest, and there was a vent above us blasting cold air down. And, unlike my friends' costumes, mine had no sleeves, so I was really cold (duh). I commented on this, then Li-Chama leaned over and hugged me and made me warm. -insert group "Awww" here And then I said, "ZOMG, Fanfiction plot!!!1!!111!!"

And that's what happened. Also, if you want to see pictures of our cosplay, look up Xanthera on deviantART. Thanks for reading, and PLEASE review! But, once again, I ask you not to comment on the OOC-ness.