-X-

They danced for a few minutes in silence, each in their own world as their bodies performed the steps on autopilot. Penelo was the first to break the quiet, her words dripping with curiosity as the questions that had been floating around her head for a while finally broke free of their restraints.

"Balthier?" She paused for him to acknowledge her, and continued when he grunted to demonstrate she had his attention. "You're not Dalmascan, are you?"

At first he didn't reply; simply tightened his grip and spun her a little faster. She thought he might not reply at all, when at last he muttered just a single word.

"No."

Not to be discouraged by his obvious reluctance, Penelo pressed on. "And you're not... from Nabudis either, are you?"

"I am not."

Penelo nodded to herself. It was as she suspected – he was from a country far richer than her own. Either Rozarria... or Archadia...

And she knew which one she was more inclined to believe, given his accent.

Deciding to leave her prying at that, Penelo changed the subject – after all, she was only just beginning to like Balthier. It would be a shame for their budding relationship to be smothered by her prejudices. Better to leave at least the illusion of other possibilities.

The time passed uneventfully as they danced their journey away, and now that Balthier had pointed it out to her, Penelo realised that she had in fact gotten a bit better. She still had to make a few abrupt trips to the bathroom every now and then, but the longer she danced, the more stable her stomach became – until at last, after an additional hour and a half, her airsickness wasn't even an unpleasant memory. Swept up in the joy of dancing (which she hadn't felt in much too long), Penelo didn't realise she was cured until a smug Balthier pointed it out.

"If my approximations are correct, I would say you are now cured, my dear," he smirked.

Penelo's eyes widened. She paused and dropped Balthier's hand, stepping back and blinking at him in surprise.

Almost as though by design, the Strahl hit yet another unstable pocket of air and bounced violently through the sky like a panicked Giza Rabbit. It was the worst turbulence they'd had yet, probably caused – if she had to venture a guess – by their increasing proximity to the Jagd Yensa...

But aside from becoming slightly unbalanced, Penelo barely reacted at all. She felt no onset of dizziness, no sudden desperate need to expel the bile and acid from her already abused stomach... Nothing.

Balthier was right. She was cured.

She marched around the room at differing speeds just to be sure; she even jumped up and down, did a cartwheel and then a handstand, but still she felt no need to rush to the bathroom. In her joy she squealed and threw herself at the observing sky pirate, wrapping her arms around his neck and almost knocking him over in her zeal.

"Thank you, Balthier! Thank you so much!" she cried, planting a forceful kiss on his cheek in gratitude.

Balthier – who was, in truth, somewhat surprised by her over-excitement – smirked as she turned red at her own impulsiveness.

"You are quite welcome, sweetheart," he chuckled, crossing his arms and looking down at her complacently.

She thanked him again (several more times, each more energetic than the last ) before running from the room to join the others in the cockpit – they were near the Jagd Yensa after all, which meant it would soon be time to disembark.

Balthier however, remained behind a bit longer.

He touched his cheek where Penelo had unthinkingly kissed him, and gazed after her retreating form with a small ironic smile.

Young Penelo was a fascinating girl – he'd known it the moment he clapped eyes on her. Defiant and vivacious, strong yet kind; she was as unlike most of the women he'd known in his lifetime as it was possible to be. And if there was one thing Balthier would freely admit he had inherited from his father, it was his enjoyment of those things that defied the norms.

"It is as I thought," he mused to himself with a sly grin, leaving his room and heading for the cockpit as well. "she is quite the exquisite dancer."

Because after all – what self-respecting sky pirate did something purely out of the goodness of his heart?

-X-