A/N: Well if you've even gotten this far, kudos to you! I know Tales of Graces isn't the most popular Tales game, not by a long shot, and this dusty little corner of FF-net is pretty much abandoned. So if you are indeed reading this, THANK YOU! Your reading this means so much to me!

I only recently started playing Tales games, and I've been playing them pretty much backwards. So I started with Xillia, then Xillia 2, and then Graces. I didn't realize until about halfway through Xillia 2 that you can miss SO much stuff (mainly skits) if you don't have a guide or haven't played Tales games before. So I really missed the chance to get to know the characters. Hence Graces is the first Tales game where I really got the full experience getting to know and fall in love with the characters. Two characters really became my favorites over time, even though I started off not liking them very much. Yup! You guessed it! Those characters were Hubert and Pascal! And they ended up having such a cute little love story to tell, yet by the end of the game, their story had only just begun (don't get me wrong – I thought they handled their love story VERY well, they just left it at a beginning, and I wanted to finish it). This story is my tribute to them and the game - my first fully-experienced Tales game.

Disclaimer: Tales of Graces and all its characters are owned by Namco and all the people who put so much effort into making the game a reality. I own none of it, I only write as a fan of their hard work and seek to build on top of what they masterfully created. Direct quotes from the game will be in 'single quoted italics' so that it's clear that particular material is not my own. Not to be confused with items that are simply in italics, which I use to denote thoughts when they're in the same sentence as narration.

Chapter 1 – Of Machines and Men*

-P-

"Pascal, you look positively radiant!" Hubert exclaimed, offering the crook of his arm to escort her.

"I feel ridiculous, like all those little spokey-things are gonna go all PATANG! on me if I breathe too hard." Pascal complained, squirming uncomfortably as she adjusted her stance to thread her arm through his.

"Nonsense. My father has selected only the dullest and slowest of music for the night, so you won't have to dance too strenuously anyway." He reassured with his calm and commanding voice, though it didn't serve to ease her nerves like it usually did.

She only nodded in response, unable to speak as she took in the grandeur of the dance hall they had just entered. A part of her wanted to freak out about the architecture and get right to work making a thorough study of it – how DID they manage to rig that shiny lighty thing hanging from the center of the ceiling with so much glitter-glammer!? Was that fire eleth? But no, it definitely LOOKED like water eleth, but it was behaving like fire eleth… Shaking her head to clear her mind and focus on the task at hand, she poured all her energy into making sure she didn't trip and fall walking in these ridiculous shoes Poisson had picked out for her.

It all seemed like a dream; without realizing how she'd gotten to this point, she was suddenly spinning in the center of the dance floor, masterfully led by Hubert's strong arms and sure steps, and he was close, so very close. She'd never danced – not like this, anyway – before, and yet here she was, floating on air and no doubt looking every bit as graceful as Hubert was making her feel. Yes, that had to be fire eleth in the chandelier, for she was suddenly burning up as he drew her closer and she could feel his breath upon her cheek…

"Pascal…" he whispered, and she turned to see cerulean eyes gazing intently into her own, those eyes that always conveyed such conviction and intelligence, now filled with tenderness and coming closer…

CLANG! WHIZ! CRASH!

"PASCAL!" Fourier screamed, barging into the room, but was unable to continue her screams as she began sputtering and coughing as she waved away the smoke. Smoke? Where did that come from?

Blinking once to orient herself, Pascal found herself not in a grand ballroom, but in her room at the Amarcian Enclave, which was looking worse for wear with not only the usual mess, but also her newest project, which right now resembled a smoking hot pile of scrap metal… probably because it was literally smoking.

"Come with me outside this instant!" Fourier demanded, seizing the dazed engineer by the elbow and dragging her outside.

Coming to her senses enough to take in her surroundings, Pascal gasped, "Hey! You broke my door!"

"And YOU broke your promise to never lock your door after you nearly starved to death when you got so wrapped up in your research that you forgot to eat for five days and Poisson couldn't get in to deliver your meals!"

"Heh, whoops… guess I forgot." Pascal confessed with a sheepish grin, clasping her hands behind her head and hoping to calm her sister with her usual lackadaisical charm.

"You're just lucky I had the proper tools to knock your door down, otherwise you could've passed out from all that smoke! Honestly, Pascal, I just don't know what to do with you anymore!" her elder sister huffed, crossing her arms and tapping her foot in frustration. "I'd tell you to go to your room and try to get some rest since you so obviously need it, but thanks to you, that's now out of the question. So why don't you just march over to the inn and get yourself a room for the night until yours can be cleaned up?"

Judging by her harsher-than-usual tone, Pascal guessed it was more of a command than a suggestion, so she just shrugged her shoulders and gave a "Y'okay!", following the order and securing a nice room at the inn with a great view of the chocolate fountain*.

Now alone and without any tech to tinker with, Pascal found herself unable to hold back the flood of thought that had been beating against the dam of distraction for months. Darn this mind of hers, always running a mile a minute. If she didn't focus on keeping her mind busy with projects, it busied itself with memories and feelings that she just didn't want to think about. Though recently even that tactic had begun to buckle under the strain, as evidenced by her daydreaming in her room, those thoughts undeterred by her attempts to distract herself with a little side project she had been hoping would facilitate the Fendalian research her sister was working on.

'My every waking thought is consumed by you…' He'd so brazenly stated back then, and now the same was true of her. It's like speaking those words had caused a virus to spread and it had since consumed her, little by little, 'til she reached her breaking point and could no longer think of anything else. Tired of fighting it, she let her mind wander back to the events of that night, though she knew nothing new would come from yet another analysis of the memory. She'd been through all the permutations; there was no more knowledge or revelation she could glean from it, yet the memory just begged to be revisited time and time again.

- Telos Astue, 1 Year Ago -

'Even now I'm considering an offer of marriage…' Hubert boasted, asserting his age and maturity in the hopes that Pascal would stop addressing him as 'Lil Bro'.

Indeed she had been shocked, for the prospect of Lil' Bro getting married had never occurred to her. To be fair, the prospect of ANY person getting married never really occurred to her until they announced it. Her engineer's mind really only focused on the science-y things, leaving little room for more delicate topics. Nonetheless, if it was Hubert, she'd make the effort to care, even if it wasn't a technical matter. This was a happy occasion for him; she should give it her full support and congratulate him! 'You're getting married, Little Bro? Aw, congratulations!'

'C-congrat… No! That's not… I'm not going to accept!'

That caught her off guard, moreso than his marriage announcement had. Weren't people usually happy to be married? She needed more data to understand what he was telling her – why would he announce his marriage then shoot down her congratulations like that, like he hadn't even considered they would be offered. Hubert – the very definition of social etiquette, now flabbergasted at a completely natural response…? It made no sense. 'Wha? How come?'

'Because I… Because…'

Hubert was rarely at a loss for words, that is, unless he was embarrassed about something. Why would he be embarrassed about turning down a marriage proposal? Was it because he felt inferior to the bridal prospect? No, Little Bro was a man of pride… Perhaps he liked someone else? Plausible… Or perhaps… was he gay? Hm, maybe not… The way he got distracted by Cheria's skirt and his sometimes-shy behavior around herself… no, he was definitely appreciative of the female physique. Maybe he was just intimidated by women in general? Pascal leaned forward in anticipation, excited to discover the truth behind this mystery.

'Because my every waking thought is consumed by you!' He blurted in a single moment of courage, causing Pascal to recoil in sheer shock.

What!? Pascal's mind was suddenly reeling, for that was NOT the answer she'd been anticipating. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks and her heart start to pound, as she nervously twiddled her fingers trying to think of a response. What had he meant by that? Was it possible it meant what she first thought? That Hubert had feelings for her? She –had- noticed all those glances he seemed to steal, the over-protective attitude he'd gradually grown towards her… and she –had- begun to wonder… 'Um, yeah… I guess I kinda figured that…'

'Y-you did?'

Hold up a minute, Pascal… just because your theory fits the evidence doesn't mean that it's the truth, or even the most plausible theory applicable. You may be a genius with machines, but when it comes to people – to men, you're quite clueless. It would be totally embarrassing to assume too much here… are there any other possibilities? Yes, he could be saying that because he likes you… but why would a guy like Hubert be interested in you? You're his complete opposite! So maybe it's because there's something about you that annoys him and would thus plague his thoughts… something that's contradictory to his very nature… His nature being very gentlemanly, proper, orderly, clean… that's it! Your inability to remain clean and orderly no doubt would be a source of distress at a wedding! That seemed like a far more workable theory. Whew, crisis averted. Seems like he's babbling about something or other, better clear this up now before I cause him anymore distress. 'Don't you worry, Little Bro. I promise to take a bath before the ceremony!'

'What!?' He had cried, but it was too late now; Pascal had to explain her conclusion even if now it seemed like it might have not been the right one. If it –was- the other… that wasn't a conversation she wanted to have right now anyway… her mind was already in a state of panic over the prospect that had occurred to her with that first theory. Rushing onward onto other topics, she returned her attention back to her Mecha-Asbel contraption and attempted to start it up. However her mind wasn't really focused on the task and she hit the wrong spot, causing a minor explosion.

That's the moment that started it all. Ever since then, her research had suffered as a result of her mind trying to figure out Hubert and what he meant when he said that… and beyond that, what that meant for her… what he meant –to- her.

All during the next day as they fought battle after battle making their way to Fodra's core, she couldn't help but notice how well the two of them fought together, and after awhile, she began to think she'd like to explore that first theory more. So after their final battle with the Little Queen, she decided that to figure this out, she'd have to run some tests – that's how she usually solved problems, anyway. So when the gang dropped her off in Fendel and Fourier presented the purrfect* opportunity to gauge Hubert's response, she put her best effort into looking all cute and alluring and got… mixed results. So she'd decided to follow up with a new pet name and a couple winks, and was a bit more pleased with the results, but she couldn't know for sure. After all, they'd just been in a life-or-death situation, and the fatigue could have been messing with the test conditions.

- Present Day –

"Ugh, all this analyzing is making my brain go all KER-CHUNK-A-BLOOEY!" the confuzzled Amarcian grumbled as she tousled her hair in the hopes it would clear out all the gunk that was clogging up her brain. "Maybe Fourier is right; maybe I just need a nap…" Now that she mentioned it, she couldn't remember the last time she had slept… Just another side effect of the virus she picked up from Hubert on Telos Astue. Time just seemed to pass so much quicker when she was theorizing on that particular front, and before she knew it, she was missing more meals, naps, and baths than ever, much to Fourier's chagrin. Kicking her shoes off, Pascal flung herself onto the bed with a FWUMP! and was soon sawing logs as her body's need for sleep overpowered her brain's need to figure out the puzzle that was Hubert Oswell.

Footnotes

Story Title – 'To Tame A Stray Cat' is a hats off to the book title 'To Kill a Mockingbird', by Harper Lee. Beyond the title, this story will share no similarities – as least not intentionally. The 'Stray Cat' portion refers to the closing scene of the Lineage and Legacies where the party is dropping off Malik and Pascal in Fendel. To refresh your memory, Pascal's sister (Fourier) calls Pascal a stray cat since she refuses to listen and take a bath, then asks who wants to take care of her, because she is at the end of her rope. She ultimately offers Pascal, who is now acting like a cat, to Hubert, after which Malik takes Hubert aside and wishes him luck, continuing the stray cat analogy and encouraging Hubert to give it time, as he can tame her in time, and then hands him a communicator so he can keep in contact with Pascal.

Chapter Title – 'Of Machines and Men' is a reference to John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", and the title is all that this story will share in similarity. No, I don't plan on continuing this trend of alluding to titles of depressing books set during the depression. To be honest, I haven't even read either of the books I used for parody titles. It's only because they're so famous that they came to mind when I was trying to think of punny titles. If you don't like puns, then get out while you still can.

Chocolate Fountain – Just in case you forgot, the chocolate fountain was the discovery point at the Amarcian Enclave where you can acquire the chocolate resource. The inn desk is directly next to it, so I figure there should be at least a few rooms with a view of the fountain, right?

Purrfect – Yes, I realize that it's supposed to be spelled 'perfect'. I already told you that if you don't like puns you should make like a tree and leaf.