One minute it's love, then suddenly it's a battlefield.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Characters: Garnet and Zidane
Progress: In-Progress
Summary: Garnet and Zidane have been married for almost 3 months now, and the honeymoon is officially over.
Location: Alexandria
Date: August "16" (19th), 1804 (over, and over, and over)
Warnings: TBA

It was a day like any other day. More specifically, it was a day exactly like another day. Garnet had risen from bed that morning in exactly the same way she had the day before, and the day before that. Not just routine, but a literal retracing of her steps. Of course, she wasn't aware of it, just like she wouldn't remember tomorrow that it had already happened, or that she had already done what she was planning to do.

Zidane had been nothing if not loyal and devoted the entire time she was laid up in bed. He'd watched over her, made her rest, ordered her enough flowers to fill the room so it felt like she was sleeping out in the garden. In her half-dazed state, she'd be able to forget all the little things that had been bothering her. She'd been packing, getting ready to re-start her once-failed world-tour, only to find out second-hand that Zidane had run off again. She couldn't really blame him, as apparently he'd gone off to rescue Ruby, but he could have at least told her.

And now -- now -- he was off tinkering with his airship. Again.

She'd had it.

Dressed in her finest riding pants and a loose white blouse, she'd pulled her hair back into a braid, ready to go for a nice long Chocobo ride after she'd confronted him. She knew she'd need the stress relief. She strode down the hallways of the palace with a purpose, heels of her boots clicking loudly, her pendant swinging violently with her every step. Maids shrunk back against the walls, intimidated by her passing form. Little did any of them know, they'd done exactly the same thing for three days in a row.

Finally, Garnet -- Dagger -- arrived at the airship hanger, her husband's new favored hang-out. Schooling herself into a more calm, dignified posture, she strolled along until she found him. And then, she stopped, waiting to see if he would notice her.

Comments

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

Zidane was currently poking his way through the ships exterior engine casing, poking and proding and taking things apart and putting them back together. He wanted to be able to fix things if he needed to, wherever they happened to be. Of course, he wanted to believe nothing would break, either, but he wasn't that foolish.

He should have had it memorized by now, as it was the third time he'd done it (though he didn't realize it). But he didn't, and so he was engrossed in the tinkering...

And didn't notice his wife arriving. Woops.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Dagger stood there for a good five minutes. She crossed her arms, uncrossed them, set her hands on her hips, tapped her toe, any number of physical cues, and all of them going unnoticed. Finally, hands clenching into fists, she stamped one foot in frustration, and finally cleared her throat.

"You're getting to be as bad as Uncle Cid," she cut in without preamble. If this is what Hilda went through, and Cid was as much of a flirt as his reputation suggestion, she didn't blame the Lady for turning her husband into an oglop.

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

Zidane blinked in surprise and grabbed onto the edge of the ship to keep from falling off. He honestly hadn't realized she was there. But then he gave her a grin and a wave. "Oh, hey! I'm just seeing how everything works. I'm not that bad."

Monkey-boy doesn't know he's in trouble.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

He didn't get a smile in reply. That should have been his first clue.

"You've been playing with it every free moment you get," she pointed out, and her tone indicated there was no room for argument, and no changing her perception.

Dagger took a few steps closer, craning her head to look up at Zidane. "And when you're not playing with it, you're using it to run off somewhere else. I don't mind that you went after Ruby -- I'm glad-- but you could have at least left me a note, or called."

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

"Not every-" before he could defend himself, Dagger was already off on another complaint, and Zidane frowned. Okay, what was going on?

He untangled himself from the part of the ship he was looking at and started down the gang-plank towards her. "Hey! I told someone. It was, uh..." He snapped his finger, trying to think of a name. "The guard. The one that won't shut up about being a writer. Uh. Laudo! He was supposed to go and tell you!"

"It's not like there was time for me to go hunt you down. She was in trouble!"

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Her frown deepened, her brow creasing. "I would rather have heard it from you, not Laudo," she replied sharply. Not to mention she would have liked to go along with, and were she of a more rational mind, she'd have seen his point. At that moment, however, she wasn't ready to be reasoned with.

"And it only takes a minute to dial a number and let me know where you've gone! Did you ever think I might worry about you? And Ruby's my friend too, you know! I always have my skyphone with me, you know that."

Slowly, her frown began to look more like a pout.

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

"Well, Laudo was the best I could do." He said with a shake of his head as he stepped off the gang rail and onto the ground. "And I guess I was just preoccupied with getting there, you know?"

It probably should've occured to him to call Dagger...it did, half the time. But he'd forget or something interesting would happen and...well, it's not like he did it on purpose.

"Besides, it was a city full of ghosts, you would have hated it."

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

"Somewhere out there, there's a city of ghosts?" she replied throwing an arm to the side, as if gesturing to said location, or perhaps the world at large. Although his intent may have been to calm her, or dissuade her desire to have accompanied him, it did exactly the opposite.

"Do you see how little I know about what's going on out there? How aggravating it is to know that even what I knew a year ago has changed, and might not be true? I thought we'd talked about this! I thought you got it--"

She stifled her tirade for a moment, clenching her outstretched hand into a fist. She stomped her foot once more for good measure. "I feel like the only time we see each other anymore is in bed!" Not, mind you, that she was complaining about those rendev vous, she just wished they didn't make up the entirety of their time spent together.

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

Zidane winced a bit at the tirade, but didn't back away or down or anything, just staring at her. He couldn't figure out where this was coming from. "Yes, there's a city of ghosts. And you were sick for a month, Dagger! What was I supposed to say? 'Oh, my wife who was bedridden for a month wants to come fight ghosts, I'm totally for it?' Look, I know you can take care of yourself but sometimes we can't do everything!"

He really didn't see how what he said could be all that bad, at least. He did get caught up short by her other complaint though, blinking at her. "Hey, you start that just as often as I do. And it isn't true, anyway. I know we've both been busy but come on."

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Dagger's cheeks colored, whether from anger or embarrassment was hard to discern and not denying his accusation. Even so, it did very little to quell her tirade. She crossed her arms over her chest, brows drawing together. She shot a glance over his shoulder at the docked vessel, and then back to her husband.

"Have you even named the damned thing, yet?" she was uncharacteristically angry.