2-2-16
Smile:
When they had first met, Lugina could have cared less about the new, promising summoner that appeared at the Akras Smmoner's Hall.
However, after realizing that she was the only one patient enough to accompany him on his many missions, he would start to notice, over time, things that he didn't notice before.
He noticed…
That her eyes were as comforting as the dark mahogany of a secluded loft in the midst of an unfathomable forest.
That her short hair was as black and brilliant as obsidian.
That her skin was as pale and soft as freshly fallen snow.
And her hands were weighted with scars but as gentle as the moonlit ocean caressing the land when it came to those she cared for.
None of this caught his attention.
What caught his attention was her smile.
There are many people who are part of the Akras Summoner's Hall; very much like himself.
Even more so within the entirety of Randall.
And you can find all kinds of colors, textures and shades.
And yet…
It was something else about that gesture that made him curious.
For it held many forms.
It appeared, wide and accompanied with laughter, every time she found something funny,
or, brimming with genuine excitement and embarrassment, when she found herself rambling about the things she enjoyed,
or, proud and confident, whenever she displayed her prowess and speed on the battlefield,
or, soft yet genuine, whenever she talked about her heroic spirits and friends, which included him, much to his dismay.
The smile that she graced him with, no matter what insults he threw at her and, pestered with annoyance, made him look the other way.
That smile he called "stupid".
For a while, he searched for that same expression among the other women in Randall.
He even searched among the ones he called "dumb broad" and the "archaeological nerd".
Still…
He couldn't find anyone who could replicate the gesture like she could.
It was as if it belonged to her and her alone.
People…
Their smiles take different forms,
however, those of higher power smile with pride and greed.
They laugh with malice and cruelty as they look down on those they feel to be beneath them.
Those that smile with joy and happiness,
he feels that their smiles don't possess the same honesty as the summoner he finds himself watching over.
They were a plagiary, he concludes.
Her smiles were the kind that couldn't be matched.
What he learns a few days later is that he hasn't seen all of the smiles that she has to offer him.
It comes one day after they have completed a particularly difficult mission.
They are both tired, bruises and small wounds covering their skin.
Scrapes evident on his armor and small tears along her clothes.
He doesn't mean to voice it out loud.
After all, he's tired and wants to rest
but, it slips out of his mouth unwillingly.
"You did well."
The compliment is short and simple but he finds himself gritting his teeth as he catches his error, his eyes meeting hers.
They are wide, pupils dilated in a state of shock.
As if she can't believe what she had just heard.
His mind screams at him to take the compliment back,
to quickly follow up with an insult before she starts to think that he's "gone soft".
However,
before he could do so, that gesture appears once more.
Her cheeks are flushed a light shade of pink as her lips spread into an exquisite smile.
The pearly, white surface of her flawless teeth were fit together so perfectly like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and were displayed like jewels by her soft, rosy lips.
Her eyes sparkled like the stars and her face brightened in such a way that it could light up an entire room.
Any insults died in his throat as his emerald eyes widened at the sight before him.
It was unlike anything he had ever seen.
Nothing could match this particular smile, with the form and radiance of a crescent moon.
Not even her other smiles.
In the end, he decided that this most beautifully authentic smile…
Was his favorite one of all.
A fairly short oneshot on my part, I wanted to show that the big lug might actually have a heart underneath that foul mouth of his. I have to say, out of all the story characters in Brave Frontier, his character development is my absolute favorite. When we first met him, I hated his guts. He was rude and it looked like he was being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole and making your blood boil. As we get to know him, especially after his transition to Ishgria, he actually does have a heart and acts more like an asshole to hide the fact that he actually does care about his friends. Not only that, but his scenes are actually quite humorous at some points (*cough* gettingstuckbetweenrocks *cough*) which shows that he actually does have a lighter side to his otherwise aggressive nature. Not only that but he also is no longer as easily provoked as he once was and notices details more closely for the sake of protecting his comrades, like he protected Karl and his squad. Hence, I wrote this. I feel like when it comes to someone he likes, he wouldn't voice it. He would notice small details that would become more significant as time went on. He would use his aggressive nature to push her back so as not to appear so obvious but show his affections in very subtle ways. I don't really know lol. Perhaps that's just me but I feel like Lugi deserves a little more love than what he's given credit for. Those are just my rambling so until next time! Take care guys!