The Knight's Ball.

I haven't been to one of these since I got married years ago. I received an invitation to come here from Percival and Katalina, but I don't see them anywhere. At least there are already people here. It would be incredibly awkward if the outsider got here first, even if he was formally invited. The floor was nicely decorated, and the lights fluctuated in many warm colors. The men noticed me and shot me dirty looks. However, I ignored them since they've been giving me and Percival death stares since Katalina started traveling with us. I moved toward one of the empty tables but was interrupted by one of the women that were already there.

"Sir Wesley. May I have a dance?"

Not wanting to be rude, I accepted as she led me to the center. The ball theme was a ballroom dance. I haven't participated in this in years, but I found the pocket quick enough where my partner didn't notice.

"You are amazing, Sir Wesley. Were you taught?" the woman inquired.

"I was, by my mother. She told me that I'd be attending many of these when I grew up. I didn't think anything of it at the time," I answered bluntly. This woman was looking around as I continued dancing. Looking where she was, I saw the men giving me death stares. This is surreal.

As the song ended, I bowed to my partner in respect as she curtsied.

"Thank you, Sir Wesley. I enjoyed myself. Have a good night," she expressed her gratitude before walking off.

That wasn't so bad, and she didn't notice I was five years out of practice. It felt like reciting a Fire Spell how quickly I remembered. As I went to sit down, I got to thinking. I saw that woman when I walked with Percival and Katalina in town. She wasn't as bold then after asking me to dance with her. I also noticed some of the single male patrons giving me dirty looks. I brushed it off at the time since they were probably thinking of me as a foreigner. They automatically had negative thoughts. Yet the expressions transferred here and worsened when I was dancing with her.

Are they... jealous of me? No, it can't be. Why would they be jealous of a foreigner? It can't be because of Katalina and Percival? As I considered the possible reasons, I wiped off the dust on my glasses. While doing so, I'm approached by another woman.

"Sir Wesley, I hope you don't mind. But may I have a dance with you?"

I'm getting the feeling that I'll be asked that a lot tonight. Still, not wanting to be rude, I accepted her offer and braced myself mentally for the inevitable repetition. How right I was. I was offered eight more dances before Percival showed up and saved me from another one by pulling me aside.

"My, my. I expected you to be popular, but not to this magnitude," Percival jovially commented. He scanned my outfit, a more formal version of a Druid's robes. "You look good. Katalina's not here yet?"

"I don't think so, Percival. If she is, then I didn't notice," I answered. "Wait, you watched me this whole time?"

The Emperor of Flame laughed heartily at my annoyance. "I truly meant to intervene earlier, but I wasn't expecting you to be such a good ballroom dancer. I was taken away by your skills. Some of the men were giving you contentious looks."

"What's their deal anyway? I also noticed that every woman who asked me to dance was who I saw while we traveled together."

"You couldn't tell? They're jealous."

"That I realized from the second dance I participated in. But what could they be jealous of is what I'm wracking my brain about."

"Of your station."

"The station of a foreigner."

"That makes it arguably worse. In the short time you've been here, you joined the Grandcypher, helped save the Archipelago with Gran and Djeeta. And thanks to Katalina, you were knighted to her rank because of your similarities. Save for your methods of combat and gender, of course. You and I are friends, are we not? That's why the men are jealous of you," Percival masterfully explained. "Katalina getting closer to us during her downtime isn't doing us any favors either. If I were to guess, she's the center of all this jealousy."

"How so?"

"She's almost always the talk of the footsoldiers, commenting on her one-of-a-kind beauty and caring nature. As a result, most deem her unapproachable. Yet here you come. Not only did you strike a conversation with her, but Katalina also displayed a keen interest in you. To them, that might as well be a crime against humanity. As for the women, they look up to Katalina in every conceivable way, though they are too afraid to ask for guidance. It's a sad cycle of laziness and bitterness. I, for one, am glad you showed up in more ways than one. You broke the cycle even if you weren't aware," Percival explained.

"Then there's Lowain and his brothers," I joked as a response.

Percival picked up on it and laughed. "Oh, yes. Like you and I, he's an outlier. Lowain's not interested in her, and the feeling is mutual. So, Wes. What do you think of Katalina?"

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

"Nowhere in particular. This is the first conversation we've had since Katalina joined us on our travels. Getting to pick the brain of an outsider is rare to me."

"Katalina..." I began. "...Is a remarkable woman. She's wise, strong, beautiful. And... she's right behind me, isn't she?"

"Your perception never fails to impress," Katalina voiced before pecking my cheek.

I turned around to see her, and... oh, my. Katalina wore a modest silver dress with sky blue accents, matching heels, and wrist accessories that compliment her warm brown eyes and red earrings. She looked... stunning.

"Wow, Katalina. You look amazing," I said to the Knight.

She blushed at my compliment. "Thank you, Wes. You clean up nicely yourself."

"I know, right? I said the same thing myself," Percival added, gassing me up.

I softly took Katalina's hand to spin her around and see how her dress did a phenomenal at hugging her curves.

"Wes... Would you like to dance with me?" Katalina offered.

Had it been with anyone else, I probably would've respectfully declined. But with how gorgeous Katalina looked, I'd be a madman to decline.

Before I could accept her, Percival answered for me. "He'd love to. I should find a partner myself. Let's meet up afterward, and we'll get dressed to find some food."

Percival then made his way into the ballroom.

"I hope you don't need Percival to answer that, do you?"

"Of course not. I would love to dance with you, Katalina."

She smiled warmly before leading me into the ballroom. The song playing was a lot slower as we reached the floor and didn't go toward the center at my insistence since I've been there ten times already. We found a spot, and I bowed at my partner. Katalina curtsied and embraced me as we found an instant rhythm.

"I'm sorry I took so long. I wanted to impress you since we were getting along so well," Katalina murmured in my ear.

"You didn't have to go out of the way to impress me, Katalina. You would have looked lovely no matter what you decided to show up in."

"Still, when you said that you were a former noble, I felt like I had to step up my game."

"Nonsense. You've done more than enough to gain my attention. You heard what I said when Percival asked me about you. I meant every word that left my mouth."

"You are too kind. Where have you been, Wes?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where have you been all of my life? Why did it have to be an anomaly that brought us together?"

"If something as fortunate as meeting someone as remarkable as yourself is an anomaly, I hope I never face another tragedy again," I replied as a response.

I felt Katalinia's embrace tighten as we danced in silence for a few moments.

"So many eyes are on us. Especially the girls."

"They may have asked me for a dance before you arrived. Percival thinks they're all jealous of me."

"The men certainly are. I see their bitter, awestruck gazes. They all have laid lecherous eyes on me before but dare not act on them."

"And the women?"

"They're jealous of me. You probably didn't notice, but many women from the town were giving you second glances."

"I took note. This isn't my first rodeo when it comes to matters of women."

"Yes, you're a widow. I can't imagine the heartache you went through. But you're ok, right?"

"Don't worry, Katalina. The worst has long since passed. I'm used to having eyes on me, but this is becoming unsettling," I voiced quietly.

Katalina giggled. "Then let us fuel the fire."

"Are you serious?"

"Their opinions aren't going to change regardless. Come on."

She led me to the center, everyone else's eyes momentarily going away. Soon, they were back on us. Katalina suspected this. "Alright, we're the center of attention." She blushed. "Ready?"

"For what, Katalina?" I questioned.

Her blush became heavier. "This."

Katalina then threw all caution to the wind and kissed me. I felt my eyes bulge but pulled her closer to reciprocate the gesture. I've wanted this from the moment I saw Katalina. We separated momentarily and stared longingly at each other, the lighting fluctuating over Katalina's skin. Unanimously, we silently agreed to a second kiss, this one deeper than the last. Katalina's nipples started prodding my chest as she began moaning but low enough so only I could hear. I felt her hand caress my face as I traced my fingers across her spine. She started to dip, and I made sure Katalina didn't fall. We descended and slowly ascended back up, breaking away after standing upright again.

"Wes," Katalina whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too, Katalina," I said. "Let's get out of here."

"But, what of Percival?"

"He can find us later. I don't think we should stick around after what just transpired."

"Agreed."

I led her out of the building. We just kept going until we reached her place and went inside, out of breath since we ran from the Ball to here.

"We should be fine here. Make yourself at home, Wes."

"Thank you," I answered before sitting at the table. "Katalina."

"Yes, Wes?"

"What you said at the Ball. You said that you loved me," I reminded her, and she blushed on reaction. "Did you mean that? Or was that a product of adrenaline?"

"I don't know. If you didn't think it was genuine, why did you say it back?"

I wanted to answer but failed to develop one until I finally found the correct words. "It's just felt right. It didn't feel forced when I said it because I knew I meant it. But that kiss... the second one was unexpected of us."

"Unexpected of you," Katalina corrected. "My mind was made up the moment I invited you to the Knight's Ball to make my play. I just wasn't expecting you to be so forward."

"Katalina, if I may be honest for a moment."

"Of course, Wes."

"I've been enamored with you since we met. But I felt like it wasn't my place since I'm not from here and didn't know how long I would stay. I was content with not pursuing you, yet you kept pushing. I tried to ignore you, and you still found me. I started traveling with Percival before you found and joined us. No matter how hard I tried, you found a way."

"Because I too was struck by the lovebug after our first conversation," Katalina spoke as she sat next to me. "I felt similar in the sense that you may be done and will leave the next day. And... I've never felt like this before, so I had to try." She placed her warm palm on my leg. "And what we did earlier confirmed that what you felt is the same as what I feel for you."

Boldly, Katalina leaned in and kissed my scar. "So to answer your question, yes. I meant it when I said I love you. And I'll say it as many times as needed to get my point across." She leaned in with closed eyes, her lips forming to give me another kiss. "I love you, Wes."

We then shared our third kiss of the night, failing to separate for quite some time. When we did, Katalina's face flushed a dark pink.

"I love you too, Katalina," I repeated.

She sat on my lap and gave me a big hug before kissing over my ear. My spine shivered in excitement.

"I'm glad." Katalina stared into my eyes, a hungry gaze within her irises to show her intentions. "How about you stay with me tonight?"

"If that's what you want, Katalina. I'm sure Percival won't mind if we stick together tonight."

"Good. I finally have you to myself and don't plan on letting you go so easily."

She gave me the deepest kiss while the chair we sat upon almost tipped over. Katalina licked my lip as she breathed heavily. "Take us to my room, Wes."

"As you wish," I acquiesced before lifting her with ease.

A/N: Granblue is a series that's barely touched on FF. There aren't many stories about Katalina, so I decided to write some fluff. Let me know what you think of it with a Review or a PM.

Later.