Author's Notes: While I'm stuck here at home, stir-crazy and waiting to have a car again, I figured I'd start on my next short project. Just a few fluffy, treacly one-shots about various rival couples in the series - particularly some that I think don't get enough love/positive focus.
I already have a few ideas in mind, and who I'm going to write about in each one (for the most part), so while I do hope everyone enjoys the stories, I won't be taking requests. It'll be candidates-only, none of the farmers (that goes for Mark and Chelsea, too). And only the actual rival couples in the games that have them - so, no Tale of Two Towns (or anything after it), for example, and no mix-and-match (like Griffin and Celia, or Shea and Witch Princess).
With that out of the way, I hope you all enjoy this little series, though I have no guarantees on when I'll have each one-shot written and posted, or how long it'll be (I'm aiming for five, at most) - feel free to leave a review, if you'd like, and thanks for reading!
BE
The scratch of the pencil floated over the rustling of the grass beneath the wind, and the chirps and twitters of the birds surrounding them - in the trees, or flying high above in lazy circles to enjoy the late Tuesday afternoon breeze beneath the July sun.
Violet eyes periodically flicking upward from her work with a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, Sabrina Regison tucked a stray lock of long, black hair behind her ear and paused to push her large, round glasses back up the bridge of her small nose with the eraser of her pencil, before getting back to work - slowly. Drawing usually came quite swiftly and naturally to her, but she wanted to take her time with this piece. Savor it a little.
Perched on the edge of the mountaintop with one long leg casually dangling over the edge, and the other propped up with his fingers laced over his knee, Vaughn Dalton let his own gaze drift out over the sparkling ocean, enjoying the comfortable silence. He could see a cruise ship out in the distance - and, beyond that, the hazy outline of Archeton Cove, a bustling seaside city on the far shore.
His face pulled into a wry grimace at the sight - only a few more hours before he'd have to turn in early for the night to catch his boat out in the morning. Another five-day work week out on the road, driving from town to town to make deliveries and pickups, negotiating prices with stubborn tightwads, and crashing at inns that... were actually pretty nice, and had decent breakfasts, at least.
Still... that damn summer traffic, he thought, catching Sabrina's understanding smile from the corner of his eye. He shot a wry grin back, uttering a short, light laugh under his breath. "Is it weird that I actually hate Tuesdays more than Wednesdays sometimes?" he asked her, wanting to rub the back of his neck, but not sure if she was still sketching out that area.
Sabrina hummed in response, looking up again and watching as the breeze rustled his long, silver hair slightly, gleaming in the sun in the absence of his black Stetson. A few strands clung to his forehead and the back of his neck with perspiration, and she worked to capture that on the paper as well. "Counting down," she mused aloud, neither accusing or teasing. Still, she smiled, tracing the outline of his lips - the lower one a bit fuller than the upper, slightly parted, with the corner caught between his teeth in that way he had when he was deep in thought.
"It's natural, though... something we look forward to coming up, something we dread, we count down in our heads until it happens... I do it, too, sometimes," she added shyly, pale cheeks coloring with the confession as Vaughn spared her another curious sideways glance, still maintaining his relaxed posture overall. She ducked her head, focusing much more intently on the sketch. "W-well, you know... the hours until your... y-your boat gets back on Sunday nights," she went on, clearing her throat and wondering whether or not to erase the mouth and re-draw it with the slight smile he now wore. On second thought... I'll keep it as is, she decided, instead opting to capture the crinkle at the corner of his eye. "And then... I... I just let myself lose track of time with you..."
Vaughn's own nose and cheeks dusted pink at her words, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. She had the right idea - not focusing on how many hours they had left together before they had to be apart again. Just letting it all... be. As much as her gentle, patient presence calmed his nerves, he tended to find himself dreading the loss of that feeling the closer his work week got back to starting up again. Five days straight without her - sometimes more, depending on how busy things got on the mainland.
"I oughta take a leaf outta your book," he murmured, eyes lazily following a bright blue butterfly that had flapped over from a nearby shrub and was now hovering in front of his face. "...Hey, Bri," he added, his low voice carrying a hint of amusement and causing his girlfriend to look up curiously. "Check it out. Sheesh, gimme a little space, buddy," he added to the butterfly, which continued to flutter back and forth before him as he laid there, stock-still. "You wanna fight?"
Sabrina cracked a small grin at this, which only widened as she quickly stifled a loud giggle - the butterfly had ignored Vaughn's request and perched right on the tip of his long, straight nose, flapping its wings lazily.
"...I'm not gonna repeat what it said to me," he added wryly, only causing Sabrina to laugh harder. "It was real rude, though."
Shaking her head haplessly, Sabrina lifted her glasses and wiped at her eyes, letting out a sigh. "Well, that won't do at all. And I was thinking of adding it to the sketch, too..." Despite her words, her pencil was already deftly tracing out the shape of the pretty insect, trusting Vaughn to remain still long enough to not scare it off. It already said a lot about him that the butterfly had chosen to rest on him to begin with. "...Aren't the bright ones poisonous?" she added aloud, letting her curiosity slip into the air.
"Think so," Vaughn returned quietly, trying not to move his mouth as much - his eyes were almost crossed as he focused on the butterfly now, wanting to see how long it'd decide to perch there and amuse them before finding other things to do. "Generally, yeah, but I think you gotta eat 'em to get poisoned. Good thing you brought those cookies earlier."
Clucking her tongue in amusement, Sabrina added the finishing touches to the rough sketch - his gloves hanging out of his vest pocket, and how loosely his fingers were laced over his knee. "Ahh... there we are," she announced moments later, sounding as satisfied as she looked.
"Can I see?" Vaughn asked, eyes lighting up with curiosity - though he didn't dare turn his head or make any other sudden movements in her direction, with his visitor still hanging out dead-center on his face.
"Hmm..." Tapping her chin in mock-contemplation, Sabrina set the sketchpad and pencil down in the lap of her long, coral-pink dress. "Ohh... but your friend looks so comfortable. What if I scare him off?" She, too, wanted to see how long the butterfly was planning to relax on Vaughn. Suddenly starting to giggle again, she shook her head, getting another sidelong glance, with a silver eyebrow quirked. "...I-I'm sorry," she told him, though her mirthful voice gave her away. "...Just... y-you're like a - a Disney princess right now."
Grimacing, Vaughn pulled a face. "Oh, God, I am," he groaned in mortified realization, nonetheless laughing along with her - meanwhile, the butterfly took that as its cue to finally end its visit, flapping away towards a small cluster of wildflowers growing near the base of the shrub. "Heh. Guess it didn't like princesses, huh?"
"I suppose that's its loss," Sabrina agreed brightly, getting up from the large, flat rock on which she'd been sitting to go sit next to Vaughn - she didn't bother to brush off the back of her dress as she sat back down in the dirt, legs folded up beneath her. Brushing another loose lock of hair back, she slipped the sketchpad into his hands with a small smile, watching him study it and patiently awaiting his feedback.
Vaughn hummed appreciatively as he eyed the drawing, face heating up when he spotted another detail Sabrina had seamlessly drawn in - he was suddenly quite aware of the breeze brushing the skin of his lower back, which had been exposed slightly by his black jeans pulling down a bit when he'd shifted his position a few times. She'd even sketched the visible waistband of his briefs peeking over the top. At least she didn't draw my buttcrack, he thought gratefully. With a self-conscious grunt, he lifted his hips slightly to pull the jeans back up, shooting a wry grin at an equally red-faced Sabrina.
"Bri, you pervert," he chided playfully in spite of his mortification, causing her to turn redder and look away with an embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of her sunburnt neck. "Heh. Didn't know you had it in you."
Sabrina squeaked and shook her head. "Oh! W-well, I, umm... d-didn't mean to... oh, Vaughn!" she huffed defeatedly, nonetheless leaning against him when he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close, pressing his lips to her temple. "...Well, m-maybe I, err... l-liked the... th-the view a-a little bit," she hesitantly admitted moments later, feeling his shoulders shake with laughter.
"Hanging around Julia's gotta be rubbing off on you," he mused, rubbing her bare, pale arm. "...But... it's a great drawing. You're getting a lot better." When she stammered her gratitude to him, he drummed his fingers against her skin, tapping the sketchpad on his knee a few times. Maybe he wouldn't be able to do it tonight - it was getting late, and he needed to go double-check the week's itinerary before bed - but... maybe it'd make the long work weeks more bearable in the future. Even just a little. "Hey, Bri."
"Mmm?" Sabrina's eyes were closing, her body relaxing against his warmth.
He hesitated - he knew she wouldn't mind at all, but he hoped she wouldn't pry into why he was asking. He still wasn't entirely used to being very open about his feelings with other people, including her - even for as far as they'd come in their six months together. Even for something like confessing how he sometimes hated Tuesdays. "You think maybe next time... I could, I dunno... draw one? Of - of you?"
Her face lit up, and she smiled up at him, brushing his long, shaggy bangs back. "Of course! I'd love that. Up here again?"
He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips, pulling back with a matching smile. "Yeah, sure. Maybe we can even ask that butterfly if it'll pose with you, too."
She chuckled softly and relaxed back against him, turning her gaze out to watch the sea and the distant city with him. "I hope it will. Hmm... do you think it would accept a bribe?"
He snorted and shook his head without a response, handing the sketchpad back to her and leaning his head atop hers to watch the world go by, not bothering to count down the hours in his head this time. Just letting the moment be.