Disclaimer/Warnings/Notes: Ashton, Dias, Claude, Rena and Celine are all characters in Star Ocean: The Second story...a wonderful game (and manga!) by Enix and other wonderful people who should also be mentioned in the copyright notice ^^;. To be blunt: None of them belong to me, nor will they ever. SO2's a great game (and manga!)...and Ashton's a great character, so go and play it (or read it ^^;) =P There's nothing romantic about this fic, nothing that needs a warning so far as I know. This is the first in a series of random fics (more like individual scenes, than fics) that I started writing this morning. ^^; C&C welcome and encouraged (but please go easy, this is my first fic in recent memory ^^;)
~~~~~
Ashton sat alone in his hotel room. Every time they checked into an inn, someone invariably had a room to his or herself. That was the problem with odd numbers, it always worked out that way. Today, Ashton Anchors was the lucky one. While that may have seemed go against his usual string of bad luck, the fact that Ashton didn't feel very lucky about it made up for that discrepancy. Even though Ashton had the company of two dragons, Gyoro and Ururun, all the time (not hard to imagine, considering they were a permanent addition to his otherwise normal back), the dragons tended to converse more amongst themselves than with him. Sometimes, he could hear them squawking away in the back of his mind, vague whispers he could only half understand. He wasn't surprised; the two dragons had been together long before they'd possessed him. Besides, how could he expect beings he'd once thought of destroying to welcome any conversation with him? So, the unfortunate adventurer was very much alone in his hotel room. He'd given up long ago imagining what the others in his party might be doing in their rooms; he wasn't quite sure he really wanted to know what went on in the rooms of certain of them. Ashton just had to face the fact that he was going to have to amuse himself. Too bad there wasn't a barrel around. Of course, he could have gone into the main area of the inn, where they may have been entertainment of some sort offered, but he knew he would get stares and comments behind his back, due to the blue and red dragons he was companioned by.
When it really came down to it, he wasn't sure what situation he would have preferred to getting the solo room. There was an unmistakable bond that had formed between everyone involved in the adventure they were all embroiled in, but that could be expected of any situation in which a group of people tackled difficult trials and insurmountable obstacles. Ashton regretted that he still didn't feel really close to anyone, not close enough to confide in anyone, at least, but even though he was friendly with everyone, he wasn't good at opening up to anyone. Rena and Claude talked enough to everyone else, but it was obvious the two of them only had eyes for each other, the way they always walked that much closer to each other and talked that much more between themselves. That didn't stop Celine from taking her chances, however, and ever since Ashton had accepted the invitation to go along with them, she had hung off her "Darling" every chance she got. All of this added up to make Ashton feel like the odd man out, especially since his bad luck made him stand out like a sore thumb. Every person who'd joined the adventure since then seemed to fit in better than Ashton, even though he'd been there for longer.
He ran his gloved hands over his robes, smoothing them out despite the fact that they were perfectly wrinkle-free already. It was a useless gesture, but so was staring out the window, which he was also doing. Even when he was alone, Ashton couldn't shake the nervous, self-conscious feeling he always had. He sighed and picked up one of his short swords, setting it down in his lap on the pretext of polishing it. Why was he cursed with such rotten luck? When they'd entered this town, all he'd wanted to do was to not get stuck in the lone room again...and here he was. He tried not to let it get to him, but the consistency of his luck tried his patience sometimes. He knew he was thinking about it too much, but there was no one to stop him from doing just that.
He ran his tongue over his dry lips and contemplated the sword in his lap again. He'd tried teaching Claude how to use short swords, once, but the "Hero of Light" had little patience when he found he wasn't adept at something. Ashton couldn't help but allow himself a smirk at that; there were some things Claude just wasn't the best at, admitting defeat was one of them. He took the soft cloth out of his pack that he used to polish his weapons and armour and then set to work, letting the relaxing rhythm of the daily task take his mind off of other things. He had a feeling this adventure would heat up even more than it had, but he didn't know when that would happen. He hoped it would be soon.
By the time he'd repaired and readied his equipment to his satisfaction, the sun had long since slipped below the horizon. As he slipped into bed, he couldn't help but think of the time he'd roomed with Dias. The silent, morose and reticent swordsman had a very, very amusing quirk: an affinity for Bunny slippers. No wonder the rabbit always came when he called it, even though his whistling skills were terrible. Ashton smiled as he lay his head down on the soft pillows; at least when there wasn't anyone else in the room, there wasn't any snoring to keep him awake.
~~~~~
Ashton sat alone in his hotel room. Every time they checked into an inn, someone invariably had a room to his or herself. That was the problem with odd numbers, it always worked out that way. Today, Ashton Anchors was the lucky one. While that may have seemed go against his usual string of bad luck, the fact that Ashton didn't feel very lucky about it made up for that discrepancy. Even though Ashton had the company of two dragons, Gyoro and Ururun, all the time (not hard to imagine, considering they were a permanent addition to his otherwise normal back), the dragons tended to converse more amongst themselves than with him. Sometimes, he could hear them squawking away in the back of his mind, vague whispers he could only half understand. He wasn't surprised; the two dragons had been together long before they'd possessed him. Besides, how could he expect beings he'd once thought of destroying to welcome any conversation with him? So, the unfortunate adventurer was very much alone in his hotel room. He'd given up long ago imagining what the others in his party might be doing in their rooms; he wasn't quite sure he really wanted to know what went on in the rooms of certain of them. Ashton just had to face the fact that he was going to have to amuse himself. Too bad there wasn't a barrel around. Of course, he could have gone into the main area of the inn, where they may have been entertainment of some sort offered, but he knew he would get stares and comments behind his back, due to the blue and red dragons he was companioned by.
When it really came down to it, he wasn't sure what situation he would have preferred to getting the solo room. There was an unmistakable bond that had formed between everyone involved in the adventure they were all embroiled in, but that could be expected of any situation in which a group of people tackled difficult trials and insurmountable obstacles. Ashton regretted that he still didn't feel really close to anyone, not close enough to confide in anyone, at least, but even though he was friendly with everyone, he wasn't good at opening up to anyone. Rena and Claude talked enough to everyone else, but it was obvious the two of them only had eyes for each other, the way they always walked that much closer to each other and talked that much more between themselves. That didn't stop Celine from taking her chances, however, and ever since Ashton had accepted the invitation to go along with them, she had hung off her "Darling" every chance she got. All of this added up to make Ashton feel like the odd man out, especially since his bad luck made him stand out like a sore thumb. Every person who'd joined the adventure since then seemed to fit in better than Ashton, even though he'd been there for longer.
He ran his gloved hands over his robes, smoothing them out despite the fact that they were perfectly wrinkle-free already. It was a useless gesture, but so was staring out the window, which he was also doing. Even when he was alone, Ashton couldn't shake the nervous, self-conscious feeling he always had. He sighed and picked up one of his short swords, setting it down in his lap on the pretext of polishing it. Why was he cursed with such rotten luck? When they'd entered this town, all he'd wanted to do was to not get stuck in the lone room again...and here he was. He tried not to let it get to him, but the consistency of his luck tried his patience sometimes. He knew he was thinking about it too much, but there was no one to stop him from doing just that.
He ran his tongue over his dry lips and contemplated the sword in his lap again. He'd tried teaching Claude how to use short swords, once, but the "Hero of Light" had little patience when he found he wasn't adept at something. Ashton couldn't help but allow himself a smirk at that; there were some things Claude just wasn't the best at, admitting defeat was one of them. He took the soft cloth out of his pack that he used to polish his weapons and armour and then set to work, letting the relaxing rhythm of the daily task take his mind off of other things. He had a feeling this adventure would heat up even more than it had, but he didn't know when that would happen. He hoped it would be soon.
By the time he'd repaired and readied his equipment to his satisfaction, the sun had long since slipped below the horizon. As he slipped into bed, he couldn't help but think of the time he'd roomed with Dias. The silent, morose and reticent swordsman had a very, very amusing quirk: an affinity for Bunny slippers. No wonder the rabbit always came when he called it, even though his whistling skills were terrible. Ashton smiled as he lay his head down on the soft pillows; at least when there wasn't anyone else in the room, there wasn't any snoring to keep him awake.