One-shot written for livejournal's ff_kissbattle, for valeria_15's prompt "Gabranth/Penelo, don't let me down."
DON'T LET ME DOWN
In game, immediately after the second Gabranth vs party fight...
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After their last fight, Penelo feels sorry for Gabranth. Really sorry. It's not a rush of sympathy over a sudden misfortune kind of sorry. Nor is it an 'oh my god, how can he possibly be this thickheaded' type of sorry. No, it's something else, and with this realization, Penelo finally understands why she and Basch have always gotten along like two old friends who've known each other since forever. Basch grew up with his brother just like she grew up with Vaan, and even though she always thought Vaan was bad, wow, Basch's brother is much, much worse.
She thinks this while watching Gabranth. Everyone else is ignoring him while he crouches in the corner of the freight elevator, sulking inside his suit of armor. With his shoulders slumped and head hanging forward, he looks sort of ridiculous: a big, mopey wannabe badass. No wonder Basch is ignoring him.
Basch just motioned Vaan over to the elevator's controls, which Vaan is currently working, raising them all to the Bahamut's upper deck. As the elevator slowly raises, everyone else is looking up at where the platform will dock, Ashe standing stiff shouldered, Fran shifting the straps of her quiver, Basch down one one knee tightening his bootlaces by feel, Balthier tapping his foot.
Penelo is standing close enough to Gabranth to hear his breath rattling through his helm's mask, and he sounds rather suspiciously like he's crying. Of course, that would explain why he's hiding behind his helm right now. Vaan would've done the same -- hide his face -- because there is absolutely no way Vaan would ever let anyone else see him cry. But, actually, there really is a pretty big difference between people like Gabranth and like Vaan. That difference is purpose.
After Vaan's parents died, Vaan did one stupid thing after another, strutting around, head filled with big ideas, and then he'd lash out when nothing went as he planned. Vaan went through a phase where he was always kicking over trash cans in the alleyways. He probably just liked liked all the noise and the mess they made when falling over. Then he'd run as fast as he could, thinking no one saw him do it. Of course, they knew. Penelo always hunted him down, tugging his arm and yelling at him, telling him to go back and help, but the harder she tried to pull Vaan back into the alley, the more he shouted at her and fought back. Eventually he'd win -- or he'd think he had won -- and then he'd go running off into the market to steal something from one of the vendors, and get himself in real trouble.
That's the difference between Vaan and Gabranth. Once Vaan started following Ashe, Vaan realized he could finally do something that mattered. But Gabranth? Even though he's twice Vaan's age, he's still kicking over trash cans in alleyways. Yet, for someone in his position, that poses a serious problem. People like Larsa count on Gabranth, but Gabranth doesn't seem to care.
When the freight elevator nears the top level of the Bahamut, everyone else falls into formation. Penelo skips over to Vaan.
"Don't worry about me," she says. "I'll catch up in a minute."
"Hey, you aren't chickening out, are you? Cause this time we're actually gonna need your help."
"Thanks a lot, Vaan. I just need to do something quickly before I'll join you."
The elevator jolts to a halt, and Vaan shrugs before running ahead with everyone else. Penelo sprints to the back of the freight elevator, right to where Gabranth still sits on the floor. "Helmet off," she commands. She kneels next to him, opens her chemistry bag, and grabs three of the strongest potions she has.
Gabranth ignores her. She's not surprised. She waves one of the potions right in front of his masked face. "I'm not wasting this by squirting it through your mouth guard," she says. "And we don't have time to argue because Larsa needs help right now."
Penelo silently counts to three. Gabranth doesn't move. She grabs his gloved hand and shoves the phial between lax fingers.
Nothing.
Well, if that's how he's going to be, she'll just have to do as she must. She yanks the helm from Gabranth's head, and she knows the moment she sees his face that this was the right thing to do. His eyes are puffy and red. Dirty trails of tears line his cheeks. In that instant, Penelo thinks it's funny that even though Gabranth has all the same features as his twin, somehow he looks nothing like Basch, especially when he's scowling at the ground like an angry overgrown child who wants to kick the world in the teeth so he can get even.
Penelo snatches the phial back from his hand, uncorking it with her thumb. "You're leaving me no other choice." She pops its glass mouth between his lips. "Drink up! You've got two more coming."
He silently swallows all the liquid in the first, then she starts him on the second. Penelo splashes water from her canteen on a mostly clean handkerchief. Once he starts on the third, she washes his face.
Never, not even once, does Gabranth look at her.
Even when she drops both of the hands on his shoulders, he still doesn't look up. He's really making a point of being stubborn, Penelo thinks, but she knows that fighting with him will only entrench him further. "Larsa talked a lot about you. He told me that of all the Magisters, you're the one he trusts the most. You know why? He said that you treat him with respect, rather than thinking he's some burden dropped in your lap."
Gabranth pouts in response to her words, still sitting, looking defeated, shoulders curled inward, eyes looking down.
So, if that's how he's going to be, she'll just have to treat him like he deserves.
Penelo kisses him, kissing him just like a child, first on the left cheek, then a big loud smacker on the right. He still doesn't do anything, not even blush the way his brother often does. She shakes his shoulders, softly at first, then hard enough to make his head snap. That's when he finally looks up. It's the damnedest strange look Penelo has ever seen: his eyes coolly narrowed, his lips twisted half way between a smirk and a sneer, sort of like he's simultaneously thinking 'what the hell was that?' mixed with 'what do you plan to do to me next?"
If ever she has seen an invitation to just barge right in through a door, this was it.
And that's how Penelo ended up kneeling between Gabranth's out-turned knees, tips of her fingers against his cheeks, both of them kissing on the lips. No tongue. None of that rude groping that certain people -- people like Tomaj -- automatically think they have license to do. Actually, Penelo would have been surprised if Gabranth started feeling her up. She knew his type. Gabranth's the sort who has to act tough, always making big showy fuss over the slightest offense, but when kissed like this, he knows nothing beyond his lips firmly pressed against hers, him slowly taking in her breath as if its the last air left in the room.
When she pulls back, Gabranth wears a theatrical frown.
"You better not let me down," she says. She stands up. "And you definitely better not let Larsa down either, or else."
He's looking at her, smug, jaw set, eyes glaring a prideful challenge. Good.
"I'll see out on the bridge, right?" She buckles her chemistry bag to her hip, and then she turns and runs to the bridge without looking back.
Whether or not Basch or Vaan saw any of it, she couldn't tell, but Fran is looking over her shoulder when Penelo runs forward.
"I was just making sure Gabranth knows he's supposed to be helping," Penelo whispers.
Fran nods, sort of like she's thinking 'of course,' like all of it was no big deal. Because it wasn't. Or, maybe, because it was. Because the real deal is making sure that Larsa is okay when everything inevitably goes to hell. And it will.
Even though Penelo doesn't hear Gabranth's armor clanking up behind them yet, she knows he'll come. He's wait first, waiting for a moment when it seems like he is stepping in to turn the tides, but she knows he is going to help, and right now that is all that matters.