sincere | Drabble Challenge cuz why not

Need to get cracking on my writing, Crysi made it look tempting, and, heck, I have way too much free time, what with the "can't find a job" thing. Challenge me!

Each person can ask for up to 3 drabbles, and you can ask for 1-3 people in each drabble. All genders and orientations welcome. Pairings are indicated by / and regular interaction with , -- but I'm Le Subtle and your pairing may or may not be nearly invisible.

I'm still on a KH kick, but you may also request: Tales of Symphonia/the Abyss, Suikoden I-III, Warcraft, Lost, Kyou Kara Maou, most of CLAMP, and Final Fantasy VI-XII (minus XI and VIII, although VIII characters may be requested in KH-verse, and plus Tactics). If you're really jonesing on something else, ask and I'll tell you. (In advance, I know nothing of Avatar.)

The format is Character/Character: prompt, as follows:

Luxord, Namine: fortune-telling
Marluxia/Zexion: politics are sexy
Balthier/Fran: the AU where he never took off the Judge costume

You can also request specific storylines, as follows:

Namine, Cid: the tea (AS)
Sora, Roxas, Xemnas: you know nothing (IXIII)

(No requests for NNK canon yet; there isn't enough of it to go around.)

Bonus points if you request at least one pairing that nobody I know writes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Namine and Kairi: sneaking away from the boys in Halloween Town

Balthier/Vaan: lessons

Axel/Roxas, Larxene: first impressions

"You gotta teach me how to be a sky pirate," Vaan said, practically pleading.

Balthier hated pleading. It was embarrassing and demeaning to both parties. He gestured impatiently and drawled, "You don't teach someone to be a sky pirate. Just as you don't teach them to be free-spirited. Or intelligent."

Subtle jab. Right over his head. "I can totally do it! I just, need a little instruction." Vaan rubbed the back of his neck.

It wasn't the first time he'd asked. In the middle of the damn sewers fleeing the guard, there was Vaan, wanting to know what it was like to be a sky pirate. Trying to worm out stories of his exploits. All the whys and hows that more worldly folk would already have known.

Balthier hated needless exposition; it made for bad story-telling. Children so rarely understood complex concepts like that. It wasn't easy to be a truly compelling leading man, and you couldn't do it just by rattling facts off a slate.

"Look, Vaan. Some things can't be taught. I can teach you how to fly an airship." He patted the hull of the Strahl, and the boy's eyes lit up. "I can't teach you to be a sky pirate. It's something that either comes to you, or it doesn't. Like a way with women," he added, modest. That was another of his gifts. He silently invited Vaan to admire his partner, his admirers, the easy way he'd charmed Vaan's girlfriend...

Right. Over his head. "It can't be that hard," Vaan scoffed.

The way with women or the sky pirating business? Balthier entertained himself imagining that it was both. But he pointed out, "There's such a thing as a natural skill. Did anyone have to teach you how to kiss, the first time you swept the lovely Penelo off her feet?"

Vaan stared at him with such wide, blank eyes that it was a moment before Balthier could catch up.

"No," he said, "don't tell me."

He hasn't even kissed that poor girl? Balthier put his head in his hands for a moment. The boy really was utterly hopeless. Couldn't do anything on his own. And here he was, the boy's role model.

Fran would laugh at him if he knew. Balthier looked around both ways to make sure she was nowhere nearby before he leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Come on, then," he said, beckoning Vaan closer with two fingers. "You've got a lot to learn."

*sparkles*

There just isn't enough kick-ass Balthier/Vaan to go around in this silly fandom. Or... Any at all, really. >.>

You rock my proverbial socks.

Another knife slammed thunk into the dartboard in the security room. Larxene readied one to follow it, thinking that perhaps, perhaps even without hearts you could muster up enough remnants of emotions to hate someone. The next life buried itself into the dartboard, into the wall behind it, too deep even to quiver, and Larxene imagined it landing right between Roxas's big blue eyes.

He'd showed up suddenly on Castle Oblivion's doorstep and the whole place suddenly erupts in panic. He's here? But he could ruin everything! What if he finds out about the witch, the keyblade master, the card made from his memories that might agitate the delicate flower of the Organization?

Larxene resented the commotion, resented the attention he got for doing nothing more impressive than existing. He wasn't even interesting.

But Marluxia had pulled out all the stops to distract him from the castle's projects and secrets. The seniors were busily working on innocuous temporary projects like why the castle upset the servants; the witch was locked away; Axel was taking the brat on a tour.

And Larxene was the security guard. It could only have been more insulting if they offered to pay her minimum wage for her efforts.

Another knife into the wall, and she flounced over to throw herself into the chair by the monitors. She hoped almost petulantly for something exciting to happen, like the castle up and moving, so that she had an excuse to take center stage again instead of basically hiding until Roxas was gone.

She flipped on the monitors and paged through them idly. Vexen was being boring, Zexion was being boring, the witch was being boring, Lexaeus was talking with Axel and the wonderboy. There was no sound on the damn monitors so she couldn't even be entertained by whatever they were talking about.

At least Roxas looked bored too. Hopefully, with his first impression of Castle Oblivion so miserable, he wouldn't show his face around here again.

Larxene followed them on the monitors as they went outside, Axel doubtless saying something 'helpful' to disguise his intention to mislead. The kid never seemed to believe him, but also never really seemed to mind the lies. There was something wrong with him.

She turned to hurl another knife at the dartboard with irritation, and something unusual caught her eye when she turned back.

Why-- the little brat was kissing Axel. Had him pinned up against the wall with fists balled in his coat and was kissing him. And Axel, that whore, didn't seem to mind.

Well, that certainly explains why he felt the need to come here and ruin my day. Larxene tilted her head and watched with great interest.

After all, she didn't have anything better to do, and as it turned out, Roxas was not boring.

Drabble Challenge cuz why not

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Balthier/Vaan: "Not on the License Board"

Re: Balthier/Vaan: "Not on the License Board"

Roxas/Axel, Larxene: "Accidental Entertainment"