Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IV.
A/N: So I just finished Final Fantasy IV, and I'm well into the After Years, and I absolutely love Rydia. She's awesome. And I sensed some chemistry with her and Kain. However, the relationship between her and Edge is undeniable, and I kinda like them, too, so now I don't know who to choose! So! I didn't :) Who knows where this will go? Anyway, I hope you like!
Hush, Darling
Chapter One
The night was cold on my bare skin, but Edge's hands were warm. My body still burned where he'd seen me, touched me, kissed me. I was the one who came to him this time, a blubbering mess. He sat me down on his bed and listened about how I missed our old friends, how everyone seemed so distant, how I missed the Overworld and the sun and the blue sky and green grass. He said he would take me there, he would take me anywhere I wanted to go. I told him to take me there now.
But our faces were close. His eyes bore into mine, and I knew where this was going. It always ended up like this.
"Not now," he'd whispered, and then his lips were on mine, soft for only a moment before they became hungry. His hand found my thigh, and my hands found his hair, pulling him close. He couldn't take me to the Overworld, and I couldn't go there. I knew it. He was too busy, and I was too afraid. We were cowards, fools. All we did was run away, back into each other's arms.
His lean body was pressed against me, his chest at my back, his breath on my neck. His long fingers tickled the skin at my waist and I shivered. I didn't know how to feel. I depended on him, trusted him even. He was the first person I wanted to talk to when things weren't okay. And I liked the way he comforted me. I really liked it.
I rolled over to face him, studying his face. He was definitely attractive, though you'd never guess when he wore that mask of his. Now, with it off – along with everything else – he was a sight to behold. And he'd chosen me.
He was the last tie I had to the Overworld, to my friends and my old life. And I couldn't let that go.
I propped myself up on my elbow, watching his chest rise and fall with his even breath, then leaned down and pressed my lips softly to his. After a second or two, his soft groan told me he'd woken up.
He looked at me when I pulled away, confusion in his eyes, veiled by tiredness. "Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," I said back, unsmiling.
His eyes narrowed a fraction. "Is something wrong?"
Nothing's changed in the last few hours. The same thing's wrong as before. But I said nothing. I leaned down again, pushing his chin up with my nose and kissing his neck, slowly and deliberately.
His muscles tensed immediately. "Again?" he asked, turning his head to give me better access.
I stopped for a moment. "Don't you want to?"
He fumbled for a quick answer. "O-Of course, I mean. Yeah. But…"
Furrowing my brow, I pushed myself up, moving over so I straddled his waist. I watched him watch me, his eyes traveling along my body like they'd never seen it before. He could never get enough of looking at me. He took in the curve of my neck, my breasts, my waist, all the down to where our hips joined, and he swallowed.
"But?" I prodded, resting my fingers lightly on his chest.
He cleared his throat, and his hands stroked my thighs and waist. "Well, you've never gone twice in one night. You just seem… off tonight." His eyes finally met mine again, and for just a moment he seemed to see more than just the naked woman on top of him – he saw me. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"
I never said nothing was wrong. But I didn't want to talk. I was a coward. "Don't worry about it," I told him, and leaned down to kiss his chest. He was still tense, resisting me, but I pressed my body to his and stroked his arms, and before long he was lost. He pulled me up and kissed me hard, pushing me down onto the mattress and climbing on top of me.
His mouth on my body, his arms encircling my frame, his heavy breath in my ear, his body invading mine and intertwining… I needed this. I needed him more than I needed to breathe.
I couldn't stop it. I could never think straight when he was around. I clutched him tight, my arms around his shoulders, my legs around his waist. "I love you," I said. "I love you. I love you. I love you."
And when we were covered in sweat, breathing hard, hands clasped because we had nothing else to hold on to, he said it back.
"I love you, too."