"You have to help me find Penelo." The pirates barely reacted as I slammed my hands down on the table, gaze jumping frantically between the two.
"Oh? And why should we do that?" The brunette asked, calmly sipping some drink or another.
"Because she got taken by that stupid bounty hunter who is after the both of you. She got taken because you talked to her. It's your fault so you have to help make it right." I insisted, staring hard at the two of them, not backing down at the cold, challenging stare I recieved in return from the man, nor the unreadable, blank look I recieved from the viera.
"If you haven't noticed, girl, we happen to be sky pirates. We're not exactly in the business of doing favors or "righting wrongs" as you so aptly put it. Find the girl yourself, we've no intention of hurrying off to rescue some witless damsel on the orders of a child." I was taken aback by the harsh words, which seemed out of place coming from the brunette's lips. I looked to Fran for help, hoping that she would say something, take my side- "Mates" had to count for something, right?- but found none. I felt myself practically wilt at the cold gaze- though I certainly shouldn't have been affected by it, counting on some foreign concept of soul mates, which could very well have been a lie or a trick for all I know, was something I should never have allowed myself to do, subconciously or no. However, I couldn't just let it end like that- I had to try harder, for Penelo. She deserved more than just me crawling away to lick my wounds after getting my feelings hurt over a petty crush I had managed to develope.
"Please," I hated how it came as little more than a begging wimper, but I cleared my throat and pushed on, "Please, you don't even have to help, just take me and Vaan to Bhujerba. We can do the rest if you'll just get us there, and then you can forget we ever existed and we'll never bother you again." If anything, the cold gaze that I recieved from the woman only hardened, until she finally decided to ignore completely me and drink her madhu, staring blankly past her partner, who was equally unaffected. Finally, a last ditch offer occured to me.
"The- The Nethicite." I breathed, catching their attention. "Do you want the nethicite?" Suddenly, the stare I recieved from the brunette, at least, seemed a lot more interested. "Vaan, he- Penelo, she's our little sister in everything but blood. The three of us, we're the only family each of us have less. If you'll just take us to Bhujerba, Vaan'll hand over the nethicite with a smile. She's my little sister, and I have to protect her. Please, just help us save Penelo..." I trailed off, hoping that my offer would suffice, because seeing as the aerodome wasn't offering flights to Bhujerba for at least a few more weeks, they were the only chance we had.
"What about Penelo?" A familiar voice chimed in, rushing into the conversation at the mention of the blonde. I turned to see Vaan hurrying up the stairs with Captain Basch following behind at a slower pace.
"The bounty hunters took her. They left this note with Migelo- for Balthier-" I hurriedly explained, "They took Penelo to the Lhusu Mines, in Bhujerba." Vaan stilled, taking the information in for a moment, before he became a frenzy of jumbled words, please and frenzied limbs waving haphazardly as he simultaneously pleaded for and demanded passage from the two sky pirates.
"Vaan." I interrupted. "I told them that they could have the nethicite if they take us to Bhujerba." He blinked before quickly pulling it out.
"This?" He asked Balthier. "If you'll take us, it's yours." Balthier stared at the glowing cryst in frustrated contemplation for a moment before sighing.
"Fine. I suppose a trip to the sky city would be worth the blasted nethicite, since you both insist upon it so strongly."
"I shall come too." The captain spoke up, "I have business in Bhujerba as it is, and I must admit, the idea of your friend held captive by these fiends you have spoken of weighs heavily upon my mind."
"A visit with the Marquis, is it?" The brunette asked before sighing heavily, "Well, it would seem I have little choice but to ferry this mismatched entourage. Meet me at the Strahl as soon as you're ready. We'll leave in less than two hours, with or without you all, so you had best settle your affairs and upgrade your equipment in a timely manner." The man drained the last of his Madhu and stood, swaggering out of the Sandsea without another word. The viera sat a moment long, staring at me with an unnervingly intent expression.
"The gods are toying with us." She muttered before rising without finishing her drink, brushing past me as she made her exit, leaving warm spots on my arm from where my bare skin had touched her's. I blinked a moment, rubbed my arm where it felt unnecessarily warm, and shook my head. Penelo had to take priority now. These odd, confusing feelings could wait until later.
TimeSkipCuzWhyNot
Vaan was certainly more enamoured by the airship than I was, but even I could help but feel awe looking at it and stepping inside. Of course, I probably could have been more amazed if most of my attention wasn't focused on the warmth that I could actually feel through my clothes behind me. Vieras, as it turns out, tend to be rather furnace-like, their bodies running several degrees warmer than a hume's. However, they weren't quite hot enough for people farther than maybe a few inches to feel them, so the fact that I could feel warmth quite clearly at my back meant that she certainly had to have been no more than a few inches away from me since Vaan and I, just barely making the time limit, had found our way into the aerodome and found the two pirates and the scorned captain already waiting for us. At once I found myself blushing at the attention and being very confused by it. She had been like this when we first met, but right before we had left the Estersands, Vaan and I had been telling the three, mostly the pirates, a bit about our lives- Migelo, the orphans, our adventures, Penelo- and she had abruptly just... stopped. I had no idea what had changed, or why it had changed back, and it merely increased the anxiety in my chest, giving me something else to worry about in addition to the safety of one of my best friends.
Vaan was bouncing around the ship, looking excitedly at everything and asking Balthier question after question. The crush he had obviously developed was fairly adorable. From the way that the pirate seemed much more relaxed and from the way he patiently answered all the questions and threw in more than a little teasing... Well, he was definitely interested to some extent. When Vaan finally had to basically be forcibly strapped in next to me so that the airship could finally take off, he finally quieted down for a moment, watching the pirates, Balthier mostly, work magic with controls that I was sure I would never begin to understand, I leaned over and finally said what I had been wanting to say for a very long time.
"Balthier and Vaan sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." I sang softly, watching his face turned bright red almost immediately.
"I swear to the gods, I will kill you." He hissed, glaring at me, though the effect was lost due to the current hue of his face.
"Aww, it's so cute when you're all embarrassed over your crush," I teased, "Don't worry, I'll make sure not to tell Balthier all about how dreamy you think he is. Well, not tonight anyway." I winked, "Though there is a chance he might recieve an anonymous tip from a very helpful party- Oh, Mr. Sky Pirate, I just thought I would let you know that if you wanted to, perhaps, kidnap Vaan and keep him tied to your bed, well, he would certainly not be opposed- Or, you know, something like that." I giggled.
"I swear, if you mention a single word of what you just said, I will push you out of the airship." He muttered, red-faced and pouting, though he quickly became distracted by something Balthier was doing to the controls. It was then I noticed that Fran looked... Rather amused as she kept her eyes on the sky, controlling the takeoff excellently despite the ear that was clearly tuned in to our entire conversation. A single amused glanced that she shot back at me proved my point, as she made eye contact with me, and then very pointedly nodded at the two, as if agreeing and giving full support to my plan. I giggled quietly as she turned back, feeling like we had just shared a private joke, further confusing and strengthening the weird mixed feelings I was currently experiencing.
"Aaaand we're clear." Balthier broke the silence, "If you would like, you may unbuckle your seatbelts now. Do try not to touch anything though, I certainly don't trust either of you not manage to crash us with a bookshelf." He clearly meant Vaan and I specifically, though his tone was teasing. Fran stood up from her seat.
"I shall be in my room should you need anything." The Viera said as she gracefully moved past the seats, stopping at mine for a second to just... look at me, before she continued on. I didn't know if that meant that I should follow her, or if it meant nothing at all, but as I noticed Basch was gone already and Vaan was already behind the captain's chair, practically hanging onto Balthier as he asked endless questions... Well, I was certainly not going to sit back and watch as an awkward third wheel, so I carefully unfastened the straps that bound me and followed the viera out of the cabin. She didn't acknowledge my presence more than an occasion twitch of her ears in my direction as she navigated through the halls of the Strahl until she came to a stop in front of a door.
"Why did you follow me?" She asked suddenly without opening the door. I found myself going red as I realised I had probably read too much into that look she gave me earlier.
"Uh... Vaan a-and Balthier, they... Well, I just didn't really want to sit and have to be an awkward third wheel, you know." I laughed, hoping it didn't sound too forced. "I can, uh, go back or... something, if you want me to leave you alone." She didn't reply for several seconds.
"No, it's fine." She said. "You may join me if you would like. There are probably matters which we should not put off discussing any longer than necessary." She opened to door to the room and stepped in. I followed quickly after but found myself in darkness as the door closed behind me. I heard soft footsteps and after a few seconds a lamp turned on.
It was clearly her bedroom. The room was sparsely decorated, with hardly anything sitting out and no decorations or huge "personal touches" to be seen.
"You may sit, if you like." Despite the polite disclaimer at the end, it still felt more like a command than an offer. The only place in the room to sit was the bed itself, where she had already calmly seated herself, waiting for me to do the same.
"I shall not beat around the bush as some are so fond of doing. Are you romantically involved with that Penelo girl, or Vaan, or anyone else for that matter?" I blinked stupidly in confusion, but she continued before I could have answered anyway, "If you are... Well, I suppose I an understand. You humes seem so fond of trying to find love as soon as you can, no matter the consequences. However, I shall be frank. Whether you are attached or not, it matters not so much to me. The Wood tells me that you are my intended, therefore you are. I am merely going to warn you that I have every intention to court you, whether you think you already have a significant other or not, and I also fully intend to be successful in my courtship." I mostly had trouble registering what she was saying because the tone of voice she used was absolutely flat, no trace of joking in it, nor a particular amount of passion that I could detect. It left me floundering for a reply as I stared fixedly down at my hands. After a second, I felt a clawed hand slide carefully underneath my chin and to turn my gaze towards her.
"What say you to this?" She asked, her voice softer and careful as her chocolate eyes bore into my soul. It was then, in her expression, in her eyes, that I realised I could see it. I could see a careful, slow affection towards me that I knew I could only see because she wanted to me to see it. I felt my face grow hot at the thought and the minimal space between us as I stuttered.
"I- uh, I mean, it's not really an issue, I guess. I mean, I wasn't kidding when I said Vaan and Penelo are like family, they really are the brother and sister that I never had, and that's all they are for that matter, and there's certainly not anyone else, so I mean... I don't really see any reason to protest." I let my eyes dart away, unable to maintain such intimate eye contact for so long as I awkwardly gave my assent to this... courtship, as she called it.
"I see." Her tone was less blank, there was a hint of amusement behind it, and a hint of the emotion that she was carefully making known to me a little at a time, "So then I suppose." A gentle tug on my chin got my eyes back on her as her hand slid past my chin to cup my face sweetly, "This will not be completely unacceptable?" And with that, her lips met mine.
The heat radiating from her certainly didn't help my (probably now permanent) blush any, but at the soft touch of her skin, I felt my eyes flutter shut as I unconciously leaned into the warmth. Her lips slowly moved against mine, coaxing my own mouth into softly responding.
And then, just like that, she pulled back and it was over. I blinked at her, more than a little dazed and she smirked as her thumb brushed over my cheek.
"Such a lovely colour on you. I shall look forward to being the cause of it again very soon." And before I could even think to respond, she left, leaving me blushing and dazed on her bed as I considered the sudden turn my life had taken.