Untold Stories, Unsung Words
Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.
8. Reyn, Sharla - Reawakened Passion
Summary: Based on and takes place before the Heart-to-Heart Reawakened Memories. After the revelation of Jade Face, Reyn is getting restless with his feelings for Sharla. Who else to ask but the Heir to the Monado for advice? (Takes place after the events of Agniratha, before the events of Mechonis Core.)
Pairings: Reyn x Sharla, Shulk x Fiora (minor)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Frontier Village late at night is such a pleasant place to be. After the bustling of the busy Nopon from dawn to dusk, things quiet down at the village. Only the sound of crickets, the Makna breeze, and the Nopon working at night shifts fill the air (which isn't that bad).
After the reawakening of Mechonis, the party needed to gather their thoughts and strength for the upcoming struggle against Egil. Everyone believed Dunban when he stated that they'd had to get his hands dirty with him, hence some rest before their confrontation. With the bustling from all other places such as the Alcamoth, Colony 6 and 9, and the Machina Village, it was everyone's agreement to rest at Frontier Village. On the way to the village though, Reyn was somewhat quiet, to everyone's concern. The party along the journey to Riki's village asked him periodically if something was bothering him. He only responded with a "Nothin'" or "Just getting myself ready to turn Egil into scrap."
Reyn sat at the edge of a long plank across the Mysterious Sanctuary entrance, head down and fists on his lap. He was troubled so much to point that the time he passed by the sanctuary, he wasn't baffled at the physics of Apex Lake (which he always questions out loud every time he went by it.) He stared down at the water beneath him. It seemed so small, considering how high up he was.
"Of all the places to be, of course you'd be here, Reyn."
"…Gr… can it, Shulk…"
Shulk let go of his hand on Reyn's right shoulder and took a seat to his right. He carefully and slowly sat down to prevent slipping and falling, which would have been an embarrassing feat. As soon as he settled on his position, he sighed and looked up at the starry sky and the water beyond, which was Eryth Sea. Sparkling stars admist the ocean water above was some sight to behold, as it could never be seen anywhere else on Bionis. "Looks amazing, huh?"
"Yeah… whatever man…" Reyn muttered still staring down at the reservoir below.
The Heir to the Monado groaned in disappointment. Reyn was the type to admire scenery (though he may not look like it), and him not staring up in the sky was another giveaway on how down his best friend is. Fortunately, he was really easy to read.
"It's about Sharla, isn't it?"
"Nothin' gets past you, mate." Reyn finally lifted his head. He faced Shulk, slightly frowning. Shulk was taken aback by his friend's expression. "You know… I kinda envy you. You and Fiora…"
"Wh-Wh… what do you mean?" Shulk turned red at Reyn's confession.
Reyn took a short breath and sighed. After a few seconds of silence to gather up his will to confess, he finally answers, "Ever since we found out Gadolt's alive… More like, ever since we met her, Sharla's been chasing Gadolt all over, kinda like you going after Fiora after we found out she's alive. That's pretty admirable, you know? No wonder Fiora's smitten by you and… well me to Sharla. Fiora knows you like her."
"Reyn…"
Shulk lost words after Reyn answered him. There were many things Reyn admitted he was jealous of him for and vice versa, but this was certainly something he didn't expect.
He continued, saying, "Once this is all over, I dunno what Sharla's going to do. Highly doubt she'll fall for me. Her heart's with Gadolt after all… I'm left in the dust… Shulk this…"
Reyn's voice was beginning to crack slightly. "This is the first time I ever fell for a girl, you know? Fiora had always been a best friend to me, the rest of the Colony 9 girls were just mates. Sharla's just… she's… ughh… I can't even begin to describe her!"
Reyn lowered his head in defeat, staring at his hands that were no longer forming fists. They were red from the tight clenches he held the entire time. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his right leg. Shulk was looking up to him, smiling slightly.
"Does this mean you'll give up? This isn't the Reyn I know."
"S-Sh-"
"I'm not finished." Shulk crossed his arms. "Because of what happened to Gadolt, you and Juju are all Sharla ever have to lean on. You have to be there for her, but at the same time, give her space. In due time, she'll be able to move on. The only thing you can do is make her smile."
Reyn felt something pull on his chest, but it was relieving. He grinned widely. Nothing can get past his best friend, let alone who better to ask for such advice.
"Make her smile, huh…"
Reyn was smiling even more widely, but he had a cocky look too with his eyebrows curling downwards. Shulk felt a lump on his throat. That feeling along with seeing Reyn's grin always meant one thing…
"R-Reyn… what are you-"
"Hey Shulk, I got a question for you: remember back in Galahad Fortress, you being a nutcase jumping off to save Fiora?"
Shulk scratched his head at the question. How could he forget that, along with what is with this question having to do with anything relevant? "Y-Yes…? And no, I'm not a nutcase! You'd do the same thing if it was Sharla, right?!"
"Hm… good point…" Reyn muttered, then quickly shaking his head. "Okay, continuing! Riki told me that jumping from plank here down to the water below shows someone's love for someone. If I jump off this plank here and Sharla sees it from the reservoir down there, then Sharla will definitely be awed by it!"
"Now wait a minute!" Shulk stood up carefully and then looked down at Reyn, now frowning. "Considering Sharla, I'm sure she's going to yell at you for this, despite the Nopon custom! You're going to get hurt from the fall! And trust me, it hurts a lot! You have no idea how awful it felt falling from Galahad Fortress! I really thought I was going to die after I hit the water!"
Shulk recalled that awful feeling about a week ago, really believing he was going to die as well as Fiora from the impact. Even though the scale of the fall from the plank to reservoir was nowhere near close from the Mechonis' Sword to the ocean below, it was going to hurt…
"We aren't in Galahad Fortress, man! This'll be like when I pushed you off the bridge near Dunban's house and vice versa many times!"
"It still hurt! And no, this height is far greater th-"
Reyn noticed two shadows at the corner of his left eye below him. He leaned forward a bit to get a closer and look. Luckily, it was the two people he wanted to see.
"Reyn, you-!"
—
Below near the reservoir, Sharla and Fiora strolled at the water's edge. After a nice meal cooked by Melia, Riki, and Dunban, they needed to walk off the ingested calories. It was cool night, so by Sharla's recommendation, she suggested to hang around the reservoir. Sharla stretched her arms out and laid her rifle down at the grass in front of the water's edge.
"Ah, Riki, Melia, and Dunban's cooking are simply the best!"
"Totally. They have to teach me some recipes, so I can try making them at home." Fiora didn't get to eat much as she had no appetite for being a half Machina, but her taste buds didn't change at least.
"Going to top them, huh? I have to watch out for you, master chef. I can see why."
"H-Hey…" Fiora blushed. "What do you me-"
Fiora was interrupted by the sound of... hollering and screaming. And it was hollering and screaming from the two most familiar voices she heard in her life. And it was coming from above to her left. Sharla was also startled and turned to see what the fuss was about it. It only took a second to realize who the voices were, and Sharla groaned, slapping her forehead with her left hand.
"Those knuckleheads...!"
As soon as she growled, two loud splashes came about to the girls' left. The impact was so strong that even Fiora and Sharla got splattered a little by the reservoir water. The sniper and the hybrid Machina shielded themselves with their arms, trying to cover their heads from the water, but they got a little wet with some sprinkles.
"Goodness gracious! Reyn! Shulk!" Fiora called out loud, cuffing her mechanical hands around her mouth to project her voice more loudly as they were submerged into the water.
Sharla sighed, crossing her arms and frowning. "What on earth were they thinking...?"
"BWAHHH-!" "Ahh!"
Sharla and Fiora saw the two boys appear on the reservoir's surface, gasping for air. As soon as they caught their breath, they began a flurry of loud yelling.
"Reyn! Why'd you have to push me?!"
"You were going to chicken out!"
"I never wanted to do this in the first place!"
"Yeah right!"
"I didn't!"
Sharla had enough with the bickering. She placed her hands on her hips and yelled out to the boys, "Reyn! Shulk! Come here! NOW!"
Reyn and Shulk grew quiet and faced Sharla, glaring daggers at them. Reyn sunk himself lower in the water up to his chin, anxious. "Oh man... She's furious!"
"See! What did I tell you!"
Shulk noticed Fiora crossing her arms and slightly frowning, but not as much of a degree compared to Sharla. Still, he knew Fiora hated Shulk doing silly stunts with Reyn. He was going to get a nice long lecture from her. "Great... I'm going to get an earful from her. Thanks a bunch Reyn..."
—
After swimming back to shore and a slap to the face and ear pulling by Sharla and a frown from Fiora, Reyn went off to dry himself off and get a new change of clothes. Now wearing a variant of his usual Defense Force clothes colored green as opposed to orange, Reyn stood waiting at the Nopon Tower in front of Frontier Village. Shulk believed it would be better to explain their stunt separately so Reyn could get some time alone with Sharla, hopefully for a chance to say what was in his heart. (He would also do the same for Fiora, Reyn obviously knew that wasn't going to happen.)
He didn't have to wait long as he heard Sharla's footsteps behind him. She approached him cross armed and frowning. "You dolt. You got some explaining to do. And I want the truth."
Reyn flinched as he saw Sharla's frowning face. He scratched his head. "The truth? Well... It's like this..." Reyn took a deep breath and sighed.
"You know about the plank up there in the tree? Where Nopon jumped off to show their devotion to another? I uh... saw you down there in the reservoir and I jumped!"
Sharla groaned, unfolding her arms. "Reyn... you do realize there was more to that stunt?"
Reyn raised an eyebrow. "What? There's more?!"
"Yes! The Nopon below had to catch the one that jumped from the plank!"
Reyn felt as if the platform he stood on fell apart. How idiotic he felt now! But at the same time, a certain Heropon didn't elaborate more on that custom when he asked about it earlier... "Riki...! That furball didn't tell me everything to that tradition!"
Reyn also had a picture on his mind about the additional information. Sharla catching him at the bottom? "She would simply watch me fall..." Reyn sighed again. "D-Darn... then, all it was a stupid jump... and I pushed Shulk too..."
The sharpshooter shook her head. "You better give Shulk an apology later. And Reyn! You know how dangerous it is to fall from such heights!"
"I know..."
Sharla shook her head, knowing this isn't going to get far, considering all the other bickering debates they had over the past few weeks. She looked up at the night sky, seeing the stars grow brighter and brighter. It was past midnight, and it was pointless to stay up. "Look, it's getting late. We should rest up for tomorrow."
"Uh... yeah." Reyn was feeling drowsy too, even though he had a splash earlier.
"I'll see you in the morning, Reyn. Remember, I don't want you doing these things again, you hear me?"
"I hear ya..." Reyn replied quietly. He slightly turned to the side, trying to hide his look of disappointment. Sharla was too upset with him that he couldn't even tell her straight about how he truly felt... "I guess another time then... And I won't give up." Reyn made a fist with his right hand, grinning.
Sharla began to head inside the village to join Melia and Fiora, taking a last glance at the big knucklehead who simply shrugged as he watched her. As she turned to face forward, she felt her cheeks go red. "But, the thought of jumping at the sight of me... and for me too, just like in Galahad Fortress. Reyn... you..."
She rubbed her cheeks lightly. Sharla couldn't let Fiora and Melia see her like this, or else, she wouldn't hear the end of it.
Headcanons:
1. Reyn is secretly envious of Shulk with his relationship with Fiora, as it isn't as simple as his relationship with Sharla because of her eyes set on Gadolt.
2. Reyn and Shulk fell off the plank in Frontier Village by pushing each other off when they saw Sharla and Fiora at the edge of the reservoir. Fiora was a little angry but mostly charmed by their stunt. Sharla was not amused, but secretly flattered by it.
3. Reyn and Shulk pushed each other off the bridge in front of Dunban's house often when they were kids.
A/N: I know the game's physics is that falling off any height into water does not yield any HP loss… But come on… the fall from Galahad Fortress must have been something, right?
That heart-to-heart between Fiora and Sharla was so cute, so I wondered if Shulk and Reyn had something similar to it with the same context… then this came about. Reyn is such an adorable nut!
This is was definitely not my best one-shot. Even though it was more straight to the point, it wasn't as deep as I wanted it to be. I haven't gotten much inspiration lately, let alone my summer being so busy. Oh well.
The following one-shots are in development:
-Reyn, Fiora, Shulk - Unbreakable Bond / Summary: Based on the oneshots Rebirth and Necklaces. Reyn and Fiora were close friends. And now a shy four year old moves into Colony 9 from Colony 1. From his scared and sorrowful eyes and the pain he endured, there was only one thing the two could do: to be by his side.
-Dunban, Fiora - All That Remains / Summary: Based on the heart-to-heart Revisiting the Past. It's a big brother's duty to make sure to not make his little sister sad, even at the cost of his own safety. But the payoff lasts a lifetime: strengthening the bond of siblings that can never break.
-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...
The first was made at the advice of a reviewer and the second is something I couldn't pass up. It'll take some time though. Hopefully my creativity won't wear out.
Until then, I appreciate all reviews and criticism.