Status elements were something that they had to grow accustomed to. How to avoid, how to cure, how to manage... For the most part, Agnès was quick to cast some white magic to fix the problem or someone else would have an item handy to use. They could stomach poison for a while and learned how to cover for a paralyzed ally, but nothing had prepared them for their encounter with Red Mage DeRosa and his ability to charm. No one had expected Edea to turn on her partners when they came to her rescue, and they were even more surprised to see the nasty punch she delivered to Tiz.
"Why do you hold back with enemies but give me the full impact?" Tiz had cried as he clutched his stomach.
She had snapped out of it after a while, thankfully, but the whole ordeal left everyone thinking. Charmed and dangerous was right. It was one of those things that would best be avoided entirely, so the team raked their brains to think of a solution.
One day, Tiz had walked into the inn they were staying at, looking very please with himself, a few boxes in tow. He tossed one to Ringabel, who was lounging on a couch, and one to Agnès and Edea, who were chatting at a table with some tea. Tiz held on to one box himself, and he smiled brightly towards his friends.
"What's this all about?" Edea asked. She shook her box lightly. Agnès had opened her box, and her face lit up when she saw its contents. She gently lifted a silver, heart shaped locket out of the box, the chain dangling delicately over her fingers.
"Tiz, it's beautiful!" She breathed.
"Trying to win her over with jewelry, eh?" Ringabel opened his own box, and he also picked up a locket. "I hate to break it to you, but it won't have the same effect on me."
"I'm not trying to win anyone over!" Tiz shouted. "I'm trying to save you guys!"
"This doesn't look very sturdy." Edea fingered her own locket, admiring the shine. "It is very pretty, though."
Tiz took a seat between Agnès and Edea and sighed. "It's called a Rebuff Locket, and it's meant to protect you from being charmed. I thought we should all have one!"
Agnès looked a bit crestfallen when she saw everyone had one, but she tried her best to smile. "That's very thoughtful of you. How does it work, though?"
"The shopkeeper told me that you put a picture of someone you care about inside, and when you feel the charm setting in, you look at the picture. It should snap you out of the trance in no time!" Tiz patted a camera that hung around his neck. "She lent me a camera to use as well, because I told her-"
He stopped short and looked down. "Uh, never mind."
"You must have said something about one of us!" Ringabel smirked. "Oh Tiz, so subtle."
"I-I got it for you, Ringabel!" Tiz scrambled to get the camera off his neck and tossed it at Ringabel. He caught it with one hand and examined it. "I know you'd want a picture of Edea, so I thought I'd help you out a little!"
"Wait, what?" Edea's mouth hung open a bit as she watched the scene unfold before her. "No one's getting a picture of me!"
"But Edea, my love, what will become of me if I am charmed? Actually, gazing at your portrait may charm me further, so I see your point." Ringabel shrugged. "Very well. Tiz, Agnès, allow me to snap your pictures. One of each, right? For each other?"
The two brown haired travelers blushed and tried to look away from the other. Neither of them denied wanting the others image though, so Ringabel got right to work with his photo shoot.
Edea laughed. How sweet. Those two should have already gotten their painfully awkward flirting over with and just sealed the deal. After much giggling from both parties, Ringabel presented them with two pictures.
"You might need to trim them down a bit, but there you are. Don't do anything naughty with those." Ringabel winked, earning a slap in the arm from Agnès. He then turned his attention to Edea, and she rolled her eyes.
"Edea, I know you have protested against it, but may I have the honor of taking your picture? It's for the good of the team. I promise."
"Let's get it over with." She adjusted her bow and smiled her sweetest smile. If he wanted a picture, then he was going to capture her at her best. There was no way she'd let him get a hold of a bad portrait.
"Ah! Absolutely lovely!" Ringabel snapped a couple of photos and shook them dry after the camera spit them out. "I may have to keep one of these in my purse."
"Don't do anything naughty with it." Edea mocked the warning he gave to Tiz and Agnès, and tried to ignore the heat she felt on her cheeks.
"You needn't worry. These pictures are to be used for purely innocent purposes only. Now," he held up the camera. "Who do you wish to put in your locket?"
Edea shrugged in an attempt to act casual. "I haven't decided yet."
"Come now, Edea, there must be one person that is the light at the end of your tunnel. The one to pull you back from the brink. The one who will-"
"Can it, Ringabel." Edea stood up from her seat and smoothed out her dress. "Now, excuse me. There are sweets that need to be eaten. Somewhere. Away from here."
"Very well. But remember, if you need a picture of me, I'm always available."
Edea decided not to humor him with a response. Instead she left the lobby of then inn and went to find Tiz. He wasn't far from the inn. He was standing by a food car, staring at the confectioneries with great concentration.
"Tiz!" Edea waved to her friend and jogged over to him. He smiled and returned the wave, then pointed to the cart.
"Hey Edea! Say, do you remember which candies Agnès said she liked?"
"Never mind that. I have a favor to ask you." Edea grabbed his arm and lead him down the street. With one sorrowful look back towards the cart, Tiz frowned.
"You're not going to drag me on one of your shopping trips, are you?" A tinge of concern sounded in his voice, and Edea shook her head and laughed.
"Not today. I need you to do some... stealth for me."
"Stealth? Like sneak around?"
"Exactly! Oh, and I hope you are a decent photographer."
"Is this about your locket?" Tiz guessed. Edea froze for a split second, and Tiz was sure he nailed it. "It is!"
"Shh!" Edea hissed as she cupped her hand over his mouth. "Don't be so loud!"
Tiz batted her hand away. "Who do you want a picture of? And why does it have to be a secret?"
"Because I can't let Ringabel have the satisfaction of being right! He's so smug I can't stand it sometimes! This would just send his ego out of control."
"Oooh, Ringabel, huh? You like him?"
"Shut UP!" Edea flat out slugged him in the arm this time. "I told you to keep it down!"
"Ouch! Sorry I said anything!" Tiz cradled his arm and sighed. "What do you want me to do then? Since just asking like a normal person is out of the question, how am I supposed to get a decent picture?"
"That's for you to figure out!" Edea slapped him on the back. "If you can do this little favor for me, I'll help you out too. I'll set you and Agnès up on a date or something."
"A d-date?"
"Yes! Now, get going!" Edea pushed him towards the inn. "And don't get caught!"
-.-.-
Evening soon fell over the town, and Edea had done a whole lot of waiting and worrying. These few hours had truly tested her patience, and when Tiz finally showed his face again, Edea nearly jumped him.
"Did you get it?" she asked. She had a firm hold on Tiz's shirt, and her smile could have blinded him.
Tiz shrugged off the camera and shook his head. "Sorry. I just couldn't get a good shot! His back was always to me or some girl was in the way. It's hard being sneaky, Edea!"
Edea grabbed the camera from him with a sigh. "Thanks anyway, Tiz."
"Sorry I couldn't help more." Tiz sounded genuinely sorry, and he put a hand on her shoulder in an act of sympathy.
"It's alright. I'll figure something out."
"You could just talk to him and ask. That's always an easier, more sane option."
"Are you crazy?" Edea said. She turned and fiddled with the camera. "That's completely out of the question." With that, she headed for the stairs and left Tiz in the lobby.
Now how to get the picture? She was a smart girl. She should be able to come up with something! Normally, if it were any other boy, she would have been all over asking him. She'd even pose along side him. But Ringabel was different. His way with words left her angry and confused most of the time, yet ever compliment, no matter how incredibly cheesy, left her stomach doing flips. His attitude was frustrating yet charming, and his face...
His stupid face... that was the cause of all her problems! Looking at it would probably leave her in a fit of rage.
"Stupid Ringabel, stupid locket, stupid camera..." Edea mumbled as she climbed up the stairs to her room. She searched her mind for one last, brilliant idea, and...
"I got it!" She looked at the door to her room, then to the door directly across from it, which belonged to Ringabel and Tiz. Edea knew he wasn't going to get lucky with any of the ladies here, so he would have to come back here and go to bed, right?
Edea kicked her door open, waking up Agnès in the process. "Edea! Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, go back to sleep." Edea almost closed the door, and she crouched down and poked the camera through the tiny opening. Now all that was left to do was wait...
"What are you doing? You look silly!"
"Agnès, hush! I'm trying to save you!"
"How is sticking your rear out like that going to save anybody?"
Edea scowled and glared at the vestal. "Agnès, seriously! I told you to-"
"Yes, Edea, why are you hunched over like that?"
As soon as she heard that voice, Edea froze, the camera still extended ahead of her, her backside still sticking out at a weird angle.
"R-Ringabel... how did you..."
Ringabel opened the door wider now, looking down at Edea in all of her glory. "I heard you bickering with Agnès and decided it would be best to intervene."
Edea felt her face burn, yet she couldn't find it in her to move. "I-"
"Now, Edea, remember what I said earlier? If you wanted a picture, honestly." he wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her back into a standing position. He grabbed the camera from her and brought his face closer to hers, their cheeks touching. "You should have just asked."
Ringabel flashed a smile and held the camera out enough to capture both of their faces. After he snapped the picture, he took the photo between his fingers and extended it towards Edea.
"There you are. Careful, it's still wet. Now, I'm going to give Tiz the camera back, since it seems we're all through with it. Have a good night, ladies." With a wink aimed at Edea, he left her, still in quite a bit of shock and with a picture in her palm.
"What was that all about?" Agnès asked. The poor girl sounded so confused about everything she just witnessed.
Edea had a hard time finding words. She was just as surprised as Agnès was. How embarrassing of him to catch her spying on him, and even worse, he had proven to be right in the end anyway. She could practically see the satisfaction dripping from his words, coupled with that stupid smirk of his.
Her waist still felt warm where he had grabbed her, and she was honestly surprised her face didn't melt off by now. Edea stumbled over to her bed and flopped down, face first into the pillow.
Agnès rolled over and plucked the picture from Edea's grip. "Aw, that's a cute photo. Is it for your-"
"Yes." Edea's voice was muffled by the pillow, yet her annoyance resonated unfiltered.
Agnès laughed and set the picture on the night stand between their beds. "You two are too funny."
In response Edea groaned. She had tried to get the image of her and Ringabel, faces touching, his so infuriatingly cocky and hers so embarrassingly red and flustered, out of her mind. No matter how hard she tried, though, she knew it would plague her dreams.
No, plague wasn't the right word for it. Improved fit better, as much as she wanted to deny it.
.-.-.
AN
First time writing for Bravely Default! I found the 7 rainbow prompts on livejournal and Ringabel and Edea get yellow! This will be a collection of unrelated oneshots focusing on Ringabel/Edea, and future chapters may contain spoilers. I'll be sure to mark them at the beginning of the fic if they do contain anything. I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to more!
R&R
Icee Suicune