Lore:Ought

Ought is a one-shot, canon story in the Clouded Horizons series' Eighth Realm. It takes place several days after the events portrayed in A Question of Honor - before the marriage between Yuna Kaname and Liam Bayloh. It is written by guest author LovlyRita.

Story

She was absolutely magnificent, this much he was sure of. Obscured from her view, he stood in the corner of the room, drinking in her subtly adorable mannerisms; the way her brows furrowed when she was immersed in work, the way she chewed absently on her bottom lip as she concentrated. Dark hair hung like silky sheets in front of her eyes, and she pushed it away in frustration, dropping her head closer to the table to focus more intently on the object before her.

Yuna Kaname was quite possibly the most important person in his life, and Angel had no qualms with watching his fiancée persevere through her task. But watching her was only half the fun; it was picking her brain and engaging her in lively conversation that had really done it for him in the first place. He moved from the shadows toward her, but she did not hear him approach. Smiling crookedly, he pulled a chair out from the table, flipped it around, and leaned his muscular arms against the back as he straddled it. She paid little attention.

“Yuna…” he said quietly, reaching out to remove a stubborn piece of hair from her eyes.

“Mmmm,” she replied distractedly, not bothering to look up from her work.

“You seem awfully preoccupied. Working on an assignment?”

She mumbled something in return, and Angel laughed quietly to himself, amused with her response.

“Well, there are a lot of things I can do well, Love, but reading lips isn’t one of them.”

“I need a five letter word for “word of obligation,” she murmured.

“You’re concentrating this hard on a crossword puzzle?” Angel asked incredulously, finally taking the time to read the contents of the page.

“Yes,” she quietly replied, scrubbing the eraser against the fragile paper.

“A five letter word for “word of obligation,” eh?” he inquired, pushing the chair closer to the table.

“Starts with O…I think I’ve been doing this for too long…I can’t think of any words that start with O except…octopus…and olive…orange, otter...”

“Oblivious,” Angel offered. Yuna raised her eyes, shooting a glare Angel’s way. He smiled and laughed out loud, appreciating her dedication to even the most mundane of tasks.

“Helpful.”

“Ah, but that starts with an H.” He dodged the punch that followed his glib comment, knowing that when Yuna decided to act with her hands, the result was usually painful. “Fine, fine…O…let’s see. Are you sure you ought to be doing this? Maybe you ought to be checking with Katanas to see if he needs anything?”

“What? Why would I do that? Is there something new that I need to be worried about?” Yuna’s disposition changed immediately with the mention of her work as a SeeD.

“No, no no, nothing like that, I just thought you ought to make sure you had all your ducks in a row, that’s all.”

“Did you just say…have all my ducks in a row?” she raised an eyebrow at him in such a way that made him weak in the knees, though he’d never show it to anyone but her.

“I guess I did, didn’t I? I ought to be more careful about the things that I say.”

“You…”

“I really ought to go, I think I’ve got some things I need to work on in my room. You ought to stop by after you’re finished with this. Sorry I couldn’t help you with that five letter word. I ought to read the dictionary more often.”

He stood quickly, leaving her completely bewildered by the exchange that had just occurred. Giving her a quick kiss on the lips and a wink, he turned and left, leaving her to peruse the puzzle once more. It was nearly twenty seconds after he’d left before he heard her shriek “Ought! The word is ought!!”

Forty seconds later, she had caught up with him, quickly noticing the smug grin plastered across his face.

“I bet you think you’re really smart, Angel,” she said, smiling at him through her sarcasm.

“Not as smart as you, my dear,” he replied. “I don’t have the patience to do those ridiculous things anyway.”

“And yet you have the time to sit there and laugh at me while I try.”

“Only because I love you.” He twirled her into the doorway of her SeeD dorm, and she smiled up at him as he kissed her warmly and made her forget all previous annoyances.