#rielle is so mean i love her sooooo much

[pangolinheart]

FFXIVWrite 2023 DAY 28 - BLUNT

Sid can be a little bit indelicate, but Rielle can be pretty blunt herself.

(I swear I don't want to become "The SidWoL Guy" but I went to a movie tonight so I didn't have a lot of time to brainstorm/write and this was such low-hanging fruit. I swear I'll come up with a better ship eventually. Until then, please enjoy Rielle being smarter than Sid and Rhiki combined. And also a teenager.)

Rating: General Genre: Fluff, humor Characters: Rielle de Caulignont, Sidurgu Orl, Z'rhik Irhi (Warrior of Light) (referenced) Relationships: Sidurgu Orl/Warrior of Light (implied) Word Count: 876 Content Warnings: None

The door to the Forgotten Knight didn’t need a bell – it creaked loudly enough to signal the arrival of any new patrons. Out of the corner of her eye, Rielle saw Sid stiffen, his eyes flying to the open door, only to relax again when he saw the mud-caked laborer slumping through it. She rolled her eyes. This was getting painful to watch. Sid had been jumpy ever since they’d received word that Rhiki would be passing through Ishgard in the next few days. Well, not jumpy, per se – he wasn’t really expressive enough for that to be accurate – but she could tell he was anxious with anticipation.

“I don’t know why you’re so excited about Rhiki visiting,” she complained as he settled back into his beer.

“What? What are you talking about?” He was trying to sound confused, but doing a poor job. She’d come to realize he wasn’t actually very good at lying. Despite the muted quality of his expressions and mannerisms (well, other than the angry ones), he was quite easy to read if you knew what you were looking for.

“I said I don’t know why you’re so excited. You obviously are: you’ve been watching the door like a hawk for the past two days, and you’ve insisted on going out to wander around more than usual.”

He huffed, frowning and trying to play off his unwillingness to meet her gaze as offense rather than embarrassment. “I am not excited. To see Rhiki, or about anything else.”

Ugh. Why did he always have to be so difficult? “You’re just going to say something stupid and make her mad again.” She informed him in annoyance. The two were always bickering over something. They rarely got into real fights anymore, not like they had in the beginning, but they did seem to enjoy their petty arguments. She had no idea why. It was like they didn’t know how to be nice to each other without veiling it behind playful jabs and affectionate pejoratives. Though he tried to hide it behind a scowl, she could tell that Sid secretly liked it when Rhiki teased him. Usually, anyway. But sometimes he still said things so blunt that they actually upset her.

“And even if you don’t end up fighting, you’re just going to stare at her with that look on your face whenever you think she isn’t watching.”

“What look?” Sid demanded, seeming more convincingly annoyed this time. Probably because he was.

Rielle made a face. “That look that you do. Like an abandoned chocobo chick that’s been left out in the cold. I don’t know what you would call it, but it’s sad to look at.”

“Hey!”

She rolled her eyes at him again. She wasn’t telling him anything that wasn’t true. He wasn’t as subtle as he obviously thought he was. She was honestly surprised that Rhiki hadn’t noticed it – she was usually so perceptive about other people’s feelings. Sensitive to them. Not like Sid, who wouldn’t recognize an emotion if it bit him on the arse. It seemed so obvious to her, but Sid seemed to be something of a blind spot for Rhiki.

“You two should just kiss already and get it over with.” She said, giving him a pointed look.

“What?!” The firelight made it hard to tell, but she thought he was blushing. Rhiki was right, it was funny to see him so flustered. No wonder she liked teasing him so much.

Rielle shrugged. “It’s obvious you like her. So, you should just tell her, or kiss her, or… do whatever adults do when they like each other. I mean, I know what normal adults do, but-“

Sid grimaced, still trying to hide his mortification behind a stern expression. “Well, of course I like her. She’s a fellow Dark Knight and a friend and she’s helped us out more than a few- Wait! What’s that supposed to mean?!” He didn't wait for an answer. “You know what, I don’t even want to know.”

He was so stubborn. Or stupid. Or maybe both. It was hard to tell. “Well, suit yourself then,” she relented in exasperation. “Sit there and pine, or whatever you want to call it. See if I care. I just don’t want to watch you sulk when someone else finally gets up the nerve to admit their feelings to her. It’s bound to happen, you know. She’s the Warrior of Light, after all. And she’s fun. And nice. I’m sure she has lots of admirers.”

Sid looked affronted, but also too rattled to form a quick rebuttal. When he had found his words again, all he had to say was: “I don’t know what sort of books you’ve been reading or what’s gotten the idea into your head, but I do not like Rhiki. Well, I like her, of course, but not, you know….”

“Sure, Sid. Whatever you say.” Fine. He could be that way if he liked. He was only hurting himself. And her, a little, by forcing her to watch him brood. If he wanted to suffer, he was welcome to it. Far be it from her to get in the way of his masochism.

She was definitely still going to tease him about it, though.