Author's Notes: Sorry, its a long one! Enjoy :]
Crossing the Ozmone Plain proved more difficult than any of them had expected and fights with fiends frequently left them exhausted and injured. Ashe had sustained a nasty wound to the stomach, gored by a mesmenir, and it had taken both Fran and Penelo's white magick skills to heal her.
On their fourth day on the Ozmone Plain, they saw a Garif warrior in the distance, dispatching fiends and followed his tracks to Jahara village.
Penelo was so relieved when they at last reached Jahara, welcomed warily into the village by the Garif. Their war chief had offered the six weary travellers a large tent to use and it was in here that Penelo waited for the others to return. She was feeling a little sorry for herself; Basch had once more returned to awkwardly avoiding her and had resisted all her attempts to spend time alone with him.
"Penelo! It is so good to see you again." She looked up at the sound of the vaguely familiar voice.
Larsa Solidor stood in the entrance to their tent, smiling at Penelo.
"Hi Larsa!" She smiled, getting to her feet and crossing to give him a brief, friendly hug, wondering as she did so if it was proper to hug a future emperor. Larsa readily returned the hug, for slightly longer than Penelo was comfortable with.
"Lady Ashe has agreed to allow me to accompany you to Bur-Omisace." Larsa smiled.
"Bur-Omisace? We're going up the mountain?" Penelo asked, eyes wide. "Why?"
"I rather think that Lady Ashe should explain that to you. Now, tell me, how have you fared since our last meeting?" Larsa smiled at her and she couldn't help but notice the way his eyes flickered briefly as he glanced at her breasts. Penelo frowned, certain that Larsa wasn't simply enquiring out of politeness.
Later that night, the group joined their Garif hosts around a large fire. Penelo had finally managed to shake off Larsa by drawing Balthier into a discussion about the morals of sky piracy and then sneaking away under the guise of needing to fetch something from their tent. Larsa had barely noticed her leave as he argued with Balthier.
She had returned to the tent and sat now just outside its doorway, far away enough from the fire that she was unlikely to be bothered by anyone else, but close enough to still feel its heat. She hugged her knees against her chest, resting her head on her arms and watching with interest as several Garif passed a long pipe between them; its thick blue smoke smelt sweet and exotic. As she observed them, she became aware that someone was standing beside her, and looked up, hoping that it would not be Larsa. She was surprised to see that it was not Larsa, but Basch that stood over her.
"May I?" He asked, gesturing at the ground next to her. Penelo shrugged her shoulders, turning her attention back to the fire. Basch sat, keeping some distance between the two of them. She could smell the sweet smoke of the Garif's pipe more strongly now and suspected he had been sharing a pipe with members of the tribe.
"Lord Larsa certainly seems fond of you." Was that jealousy she could hear in his voice?
Penelo angrily sat upright, letting go of her knees and turning to look at him. She was surprised to see that he had removed the few pieces of armour he normally wore and had apparently divested himself of his axe and sword. He looked half asleep and Penelo wondered what affect the smoke from the Garif's pipe was having on him.
"At least some one is." She replied wearily.
"Penelo, I..." Basch voice trailed off as he looked at her. He looked away again, pulling a wicked looking knife from his belt, scratching at the dirt with it. She looked expectantly at him, waiting for him to speak again, however he said nothing more and simply sat frowning at the fire in front of them.
"Umm..." She looked down at the ground in front of her. "Are we ever going to talk about...you know..." She picked at a pebble as she spoke, heard the creak of Basch's leather vest as he shifted uncomfortably beside her.
"I do not know what there is to say." Basch whispered, conscious that their companions were not far away. "I enjoy your company immensely, but I do not feel it would be wise for us to continue down that path."
"Oh."
"Please understand Penelo, it is not because I do not wish to feel you close to me again. The truth is, I would eagerly welcome another chance to hold you but I do not feel it would be right for me to do so." His voice was still a low whisper and he glanced around him as he spoke, clearly worried that someone would overhear him.
"But what about what I think?" She asked in a small voice; her chest felt empty and cold. She had hoped they would talk, but had not expected him to tell her he was no longer interested.
"Penelo, the facts remain the same. I am more than twice your age, considered by most to be a dead man, a king slayer. I can offer you nothing."
"What if I don't care about any of that? What if I don't want you to offer me anything but yourself?" Penelo asked, turning to face him. "It's not like I have anything to offer you either."
She shuffled slightly nearer to him, her knee brushing against his linen breeches and laid her hand on his thigh. He looked away, uncomfortable.
"Please, Basch."
He rubbed his eyes, sighing.
"Find me at the river's edge shortly." He leant close to her as he whispered these words and stood quickly, pushing her hand from his leg. Penelo watched as he walked away, pausing briefly to exchange words with Fran. She sat in silent contemplation for some time before getting to her feet and walking away from the fire, unnoticed by her companions.
The night air was cool this far from the fire, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she walked to keep warm. This was it then, she thought as she walked, Basch would make it clear to her that he didn't want to continue whatever it was they had between them. She steeled herself, anticipating the rejection, telling herself that she would not cry when it came.
The wide wooden bridge came into view, but she did not cross it, slipping down the narrow path to its left instead. She slowed as he came into view, his back to her. He must have heard her approaching as he turned suddenly. The light of the moon hanging high above the bridge nearby cast shadows on his face, but she could see the brief smile he gave her.
"Let us walk a little further." He suggested, turning away from her again. Penelo followed, a few feet behind him, staring at the ground as she walked.
"This will do." He stopped so abruptly in front of her that she nearly walked into him. They could no longer see the bridge from where they stood and Penelo suspected that they could not be seen from the village either.
"So..." She folded her arms across her chest and stood looking at him, her eyes growing accustomed to the darkness. He ran his hand through his hair, an oddly Vaan-like gesture.
"I know what you're going to say." She stated, glaring at him. "You didn't need to drag me all the way down here."
"And what was it that I was to say?" He asked, taking a step closer to her.
"That I'm too young and you have 'nothing to offer' and blah blah blah." She scowled at him.
"You are young, much younger than I." Basch agreed, taking another step towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. She glanced at it and then back up at him. She could still detect the smell of the Garif's pipe smoke clinging to his hair and clothing and she thought she recognised the look on his face in the darkness; the quiet, still look that passed, in him, for happiness. She tried to ignore the feeling of his hand resting on her shoulder, and concentrated on his face. To her surprise, he moved forward suddenly and kissed her. Her eyes widened in shock, before closing as she returned the kiss. As he gently parted her lips with his, she opened her eyes again and with great effort broke away from his kiss, pushing him from her.
"Don't do that." She snapped. "I can't do this anymore."
"You cannot kiss me?" Basch asked, a note of embarrassment in his voice.
"Not that. This. Whatever this is between us. I can't deal with you kissing me one moment and ignoring me the next. It's too confusing. It hurts."
"Forgive me Penelo, I did not mean to hurt you."
"But you do. How can you go from holding me for hours like you did after you killed that rabbit to barely saying two words to me? Why are you doing this to me?"
"You think this easy for me? That I want to behave this way?" Basch sounded angry now. "You think that this does not hurt me too?"
"How is it hurting you?" She exclaimed.
"I know what you want of me, but I cannot give you what you want. And yet I am weak, for I cannot resist you and I know these moments of weakness hurt you and that hurts me, hurts me more than any torture laid on me in Nalbina."
Penelo stared at her feet; looking him in the eye would have proved too difficult.
"You must not forget, I have an oath-sworn duty to protect Princess Ashe." Basch told her. "I fear any distraction that would keep me from my duty. And you, Penelo, you are most certainly a distraction." He smiled as he said this, and reached out to stroke her cheek.
"I cannot deny that I avoid you. I avoid you because if I were not to, I do not think I could trust myself. I would have you be close to me, regardless of the audience or situation, but alas, I cannot do this, and so I keep my distance." He pulled his hand away from her face and watched her expectantly.
She stepped closer to him, taking hold of his face in her small hands, his beard rough under her fingertips. Standing on tip toes, she gently kissed him, lips brushing his briefly before moving away from him again.
"I'm sorry I distract you so." She smiled. "I want only as much from you as you can give. But please stop avoiding me, I'm sure you'll be able to control yourself!"
"I would not be so sure." Basch gave her a wry smile, pulling her to him and kissing her passionately. After several long moments, he pulled away.
"Is this you exercising control?" Penelo asked, grinning at him. "Or are you going to tell me we should return to the village?"
"You know me well." Basch replied with a low chuckle. They walked back towards the bridge in easy silence. As it came into view, Basch stopped suddenly, holding his arm out to stop Penelo. Looking round his shoulder, she saw figures on the bridge ahead of them. She squinted and realised it was Vaan and Ashe.
"They do not look as though they wish to be disturbed." Basch whispered to her. Penelo moved closer to him, wrapping arms around his waist and kissing the back of his shoulder. He moaned as she ran her fingers over his torso, tracing the outline of his stomach muscles with a fingertip. She continued kissing his shoulder, enjoying how warm and smooth his skin was, save for a scar that crept out from under his leather vest.
"How am I to control myself if you persist in teasing me so?" He asked, his voice light and slightly mocking. He grasped her hands in his, putting an end to her explorations, pulling her close to him.
As they watched, Ashe and Vaan moved from the bridge, returning to the village.
"Time to go." Basch muttered, squeezing her hands briefly. She planted one more kiss on his shoulder before releasing her grip on him.