#this is a pairing that i only thought about in the context of w/ gorgug and then got attached. which is very on brand for me

[pricemarshfield]

oh, captain, let’s make a deal

A Fabian/Zelda (Donocaster? i don’t know) sparring fic. No shippy stuff, could be interpreted as platonic. Read on AO3 here.

Zelda's had a lot of practice fighting one-on-one with enemies that are taller than her. Fabian's faster than Porter is, though, better at dodging, taking the momentum of her attacks and using it against her. He's also got magic for an added layer of unpredictability.

It's kind of exhilarating; she can fully focus on the fight without Porter's commentary on what she needs to do next time, without worrying about her rage shredding anyone. (The room's got a static gentle repose effect built into it, and Ostentatia's got plenty of revivify diamonds if the worst happens. They've had this place set up since Yelle's foraging-gone-wrong.)

Zelda doesn't go to the Academy anymore, but it's no excuse to let up on training, so when Fabian takes one of her strikes and parries it to brush a blow against her shoulder, she lets it fuel her rage, leaps into the air, and kicks off one of the walls to launch herself at him, both daggers first.

He's fast, but she's faster, and she knows the fight's won when Fabian drops his sword.

Zelda drops out of rage and takes a few steps back. "Sorry."

"Part of sparring!" Fabian says, waving it off. "I have a health potion. Do you need one?"

Zelda assesses herself. "Not really?"

The Fabian she'd ever-so-briefly interacted with before their spring break would've taken offense at that, but he just laughs and downs the potion, wounds closing. "How do you get that fast? Do you have a haste enchantment?"

"Uh, eagle totem," she says, gesturing to a little eagle charm her mom had gotten her. He nods. "Sort of a, uh, spiritual thing?" It comes out like a question when she hadn't intended for it to, but this is still more than she'd expected to be speaking post-fight.

"I wasn't prepared for it," he says.

"Well, your magic sword was a surprise," she says. "I barely dodged the fire because I was only looking to avoid the blade. You should--" Her mouth shuts with an audible click. What, she's gonna give advice to him? They didn't even have any classes together, he's not even a barbarian. "Never mind. Sorry."

"No, tell me," he says. It doesn't sound confrontational, but outside of her rage, him having more than a foot on her has gone from something she needs to account for and possibly exploit to intimidating. "You beat me, I might as well learn."

He's not meeting her eyes when he says it. That makes it easier to speak up again. "You fight in a way that's really, like. Showy. Like a dance. It would probably benefit you to use that as a distraction and then attack, quick and fast and with as much behind it as possible. They probably won't be ready for that."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Fabian says. "Thank you. Do people with the eagle totem fly, or am I misremembering that?"

"Not yet," she says. Sometimes when she jumps into the air she feels like she'll stay there if she just tries, but she knows if she gets ahead of herself, the rage will start to burn her up from the inside out. Also, falling would be super embarrassing and she'd have to run away into the woods to never be seen again. "One day. I think."

Fabian doesn't push her to talk further, which is good. She puts in one headphone to see if he'll add anything else or if she's good to go. She didn't have a bad time or anything, sparring's always fun, it's just--social interaction. And all.

"Same time next week?" Fabian asks. "You're a far better sparring partner than Gorgug. I know him too well."

"Oh!" Zelda says. She actually really likes sparring with all the other Maidens, but...yeah, this is more unexpected. Actual learning opportunity. She's still learning new moves, not just practicing the ones she already knows. "Sure. Maybe. We might be out of Spyre."

"You mean Solace?"

"No," she says, staring down at her hooves until she catches herself doing it and looks back up. "Interplanar stuff."

Fabian looks impressed and jealous in equal measure; she hits play on her music, even with only the one headphone in. "I think I might ask the Bad Kids to do our GED, then, sounds exciting."

Their parties are still rivals, technically, and she knows her girls will hype her up no matter how much what this is does freak her out, so she adds, "Well, we still did it first." She follows up by bolting out of there as fast as she physically can, even jumping up to the rooftops to get a little more distance, but it's not a terrible line? Probably?

When she glances back, he's smiling.