A/N: Thank you so much to Feeny, Drink. Juice, and IH8Abbrieviations for the reviews. :)
Don't ask where this one came from…I haven't a clue. Warnings for lots of fluffy mushiness. ;)
Yay! My tenth prompt! One-fifth of the way done. :D
Prompt #17 - Dance
The inn was like any of a hundred that Vaan had seen in his twenty-one years of life--especially in the four years since leaving Rabanastre to travel around Ivalice. At nighttime, it was dimly lit. Wooden tables covered with drinks or late night meals dotted the room, and chairs were occupied by footsore travelers or people just in for a drink. There were some quiet patrons, and some loud and boisterous--more often than not because they were drunk. On this particular night, in this inn, most everyone had fallen silent, watching the pretty, graceful woman dancing to the beat of the song being played by a traveling bard.
Vaan watched Penelo from a chair at one of the tables, picking at his meal as she spun and twirled. She had been itching to dance as soon as she stepped in and heard the music playing; he had seen it in the way she had held herself, like she was trying to contain her joy. So he hadn't been surprised when she had finally said, "I'm going to dance, okay?" and promptly set about to clearing some floor space. "Besides," she added, "that poor man is playing beautiful music, and he should have some accompaniment, shouldn't he?"
Which was her way of realizing that no one was paying attention to the musician, which meant he wasn't making any gil, and she knew that if she joined him, she would make gil, which could be split between both of them. She was nice like that. Sometimes a little too nice, he thought.
Vaan didn't begrudge Penelo her dancing; it was part of who she was, and always had been. And while he had gone through phases of jealousy when she danced for some particular people, he knew she would dance when she wanted to, or because she needed to, and that was something he couldn't take away from her. Just like he knew, right now, she was dancing because she was tired. It had been a long couple of days, and this would lift her spirits. It always did. Which wasn't to say the stares and whispers from men who watched her didn't bother him. Of course they bothered him, but Penelo didn't dance for them, and he knew that, so it was okay.
It was usually okay. Tonight, for some reason--perhaps because he, too, was tired and had also had a long couple of days--the stares and whispers bothered him more than they normally did. The gawking of some men who were either too drunk to notice the wedding band on her finger, or completely sober and who didn't care about the wedding band on her finger. As he half-watched Penelo and glowered at those who stared a little too much, he found his irritation growing. He was half-tempted to march up onto her dance floor and stop her, but he just knew the fight that would come from that, so he held his seat and clutched his cup tightly with one hand, his food now completely forgotten.
He couldn't sit still, however, when the man sitting at the table next to him leaned over to his companion and said, loudly enough for Vaan to catch every word, "Whoo-hoo, look at that body. Bet she's got some sweet moves in bed, too. I'd like to take a ride on--"
It was as far as he got before Vaan stood up and punched the guy in the face, knocking him out of his chair and into the next table. The music screeched to a halt, and Vaan didn't need to turn around to know that Penelo had stopped dancing. "That's my wife, you pervert," Vaan snapped angrily.
The man jumped up, aiming a punch at Vaan, who deftly dodged. They were quickly stopped when Penelo stepped between them. She held one of her staves up, though it was aimed away from Vaan. "Let's not fight now, boys," she said lightly, but he saw the glint of a threat in her eyes as she looked at the man he'd punched. The man glared at her, but didn't try to hit her.
"Penelo--" Vaan began.
One of the other patrons stared at them. "You're…Penelo?" His eyes widened when he glanced at Vaan. "Are you Vaan?"
Vaan and Penelo were known for a lot of things--their sky pirating, their connections with the rulers of Ivalice, and their defeat of various marks, among other things. At that moment, Vaan had never been happier for that notoriety.
"That's us," Penelo said. She grabbed Vaan's arm before he could say anything else, tugging him toward the stairs. No one tried to stop them; even the innkeeper simply watched them pass. As soon as they reached the room they had rented for the night, Penelo closed the door quietly and turned to him. "Vaan."
He glared at her, though his anger was not directed at her. "I'm not going to apologize. You didn't hear what he was saying."
"I'm not asking you to apologize," she said, stepping close to him and laying a hand on his chest. "Some people are always going to be crude, Vaan."
"I don't care. No one should--no one--" He glowered toward the door.
Penelo moved even closer and folded her arms around him. Without speaking, she pushed to her tiptoes and pressed her mouth softly against his. It wasn't enough for Vaan, who cupped the back of her head with one hand and pulled her closer, kissing her harder, while his other hand tugged on the ties lacing up her top as he maneuvered them toward the bed.
Vaan felt strangely aggressive while they made love, and even when they were finished and he lay holding her, his cheek resting on her shoulder, he didn't feel relaxed or at ease.
Penelo rested one arm around his neck, burying her hand in his hair. "Vaan," she whispered.
"Yeah?"
"You know that you have nothing to worry about. Nothing that anyone says is going to change us."
"Yeah." He shifted onto his elbow, causing her arm to slide off his neck, and he propped himself up so he could see her face. They looked at each other for a long moment. "I just--I hate it," he said abruptly. "I hate other guys looking at you like that. Wanting you."
"I know," she said softly, stroking her fingers down his face. "Vaan…you know that I love you more than anything in the world. If my dancing hurts you--"
"No," he said abruptly. "No." He wouldn't take that from her. "It's not your fault they're like that."
"Still. I don't like the ogling, either, you know. I never have."
"I know."
"I just--I had to learn to ignore it because otherwise I wouldn't have wanted to dance at all."
"I know."
"But I don't want to hurt you," she whispered.
Vaan met her eyes squarely. "You don't. You should be able to dance wherever you want. You dance for you, not for anyone else, and I know that. Sometimes--it just gets the better of me. That's not your fault."
A slow smile spread across Penelo's face, and she scooted over so she could put both her arms back around him, pulling him down to her, where she kissed him again. "I don't always dance for me. Sometimes I dance for you." Then she smiled coyly. "Of course, my private dances are rather different then my public dances, but I don't think you'll object if I keep it that way."
Vaan wrapped both arms around her. "Nope, no objections here." He kissed her neck, then worked his way up her jaw, across her cheek, until he reached her mouth. "Just as long as you know that I reserve the right to punch the people who get out of hand."
Penelo's eyes sparkled at him. "I love it when you defend my honor."
"Good."
"I'm also kind of fond of the heated sex that comes afterward." She grinned wickedly at him, and that was when he finally felt the burning knot of anger in his stomach loosen and begin to fade. "Maybe I should make public dancing appearances more often."
He returned the grin and relaxed against her, his exhaustion finally catching up with him. He closed his eyes and listened to her breathing, and the last remnants of annoyance slipped away. So maybe he had to punch the lights out of a few guys now and then, but he had to remind himself that he'd also seen Penelo cast some pretty interesting spells on women who came onto him. But he was hers and she was his, and it had always been that way.
It would always be that way.