Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy XII or it's characters, and I make no money from this.
As Basche left with Ashe to go reserve some rooms for the night at the nearby Inn, Fran took a seat on a nearby bench. Her legs immediately felt relaxed from all of the walking she had been doing that day through the Nalbina Waterpark. She looked out over the rush of different people walking by. She wondered if her feelings for Vaan would end up growing or just become a fling type of deal. So far, the only thing constantly in her mind was her little angel Penelo. The feelings Fran now felt for her was like a warm, enveloping mist in her mind and heart. She still thought about other things, but Penelo was always in her mind shortly after.
Everyone had went their seperate ways once again into the waterpark. After adventuring with eachother for over two years (on and off), they all learned that a little personal time was necessary in order to fend off insanity.
"There you are...Um...am I interrupting anything?" a voice said from behind Fran. It was Vaan. He slowly approached her, hands in pockets, and edged around the bench she was on until he was in sight. Fran sat there, staring blankly into space for a few seconds before she acknowledged him.
"Not at all Vaan. What is your trouble?" Fran said, still in a cloud of deep thoughts while she pulled on her ponytail out of habit.
"Well, um, ...I was wondering if I could talk with you." He said, shrugging.
("He's the most awkward Hume I've ever known...") Fran thought to herself.
She was expecting this sooner or later. She might as well get it over with now. She didn't know what she was going to do... Would she tell him that she was in love with Penelo? She scooted over on the bench so he could sit down.
After a few seconds of listening to the sounds of everyone around them, Vaan broke the ice.
"Fran, I...I need to know how you feel..." He said, looking intently at a patch of grass peeking out of a crack in the concrete by his feet.
"How I...feel?" Fran repeated, perplexed at such a deep question coming from Vaan.
"Yeah, about me." He replied, scratching his head out of nervous habit.
Fran's emotions were flip-flopping in her mind, now that she knew Vaan was pursuing her, to a degree. And to think, Just a few days ago, she was the one doing the pursuing! She just decided to tell him the absolute truth, and hope that that was good enough.
"Vaan, I am going to do something I have never done with another Hume before..." She said, turning towards him, now with a serious face.
Misinterpreting her words, he turned a shade of red.
"I am going to share all of my feelings with you, so that you know how I feel." She said, hesitantly. Vaan sat there, his interest and attention now fully hers. She took a deep breath and began to try opening up to him.
"That night with you and Penelo and I, do you remember it?" She asked. It was a stupid question to ask, but she had to anyway. She was sure it would be burned into his mind until the day he died.
"...Yes, of course." He replied, looking back again to the patch of grass, now feeling more embarassed than ever.
"...And do you remember what happened?" She said, very quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Vaan gulped, then spoke. "Every detail, to be honest."
"I am having trouble putting my emotions into words, Vaan." Fran said in a more serious tone. After thinking for a minute, she tried to explain. "The night I just spoke of; what was different with you and I compared to Penelo and I?" She asked slowly. Vaan looked up into her deep ruby eyes for an answer.
"Vaan, you and I..had sex, but Penelo and I cuddled." Fran said, letting out a small blush as she slightly smirked. She hoped he understood the situation now.
"Oh...I see. Your feelings for me are...only physical?" He said in realization.
Fran sighed "Vaan, I would never want to be your mate for life...I would only want to have fun with you in bed, to put in hume terminology."
"Oh." Vaan repeated again.
"With Penelo...I think I'm falling in love." She said, looking dreamily at the horizon. It was a strange feeling to hear those words come out of her mouth.
Vaan was slightly confused with how he felt, and how Fran felt. He didn't even want to try and figure out how Penelo felt. Agh! There were too many feelings swirling around everywhere!
"Vaan..." Fran said, getting up from the bench, confident the situation was clear to him now.
"Yes?" He said, looking up at her. The sun was setting behind her, giving her an orange, fiery glow.
"If the time comes again where I want to...enjoy your comany, please don't think any less of me." With that, she turned around and began walking down the sidewalk towards the hotel.
Bombarded with too much to think about, Vaan decided to partake of an alcoholic drink for the first time in his life.
Later that evening, the crowds began to thicken in excitement of the mystery band coming to put on a performance. Basche had already reserved three rooms at the Inn with gil from one of their last Marks they all took down together last month. Night had fallen and they all started to meet up again in the same food court square, where tons of hanging lanterns and glowing crystals decorated the walls, giving everything a dreamy moonlight quality.
"All right, the show should be starting in twenty minutes, let's go find good seats, eh?" Basche proposed.
"I think I'll hit the bar first..." Balthier said, eyeing an elegant young lady that just walked by deliberately close to him.
"Come!" Penelo beckoned to Fran, holding out her hand with a warm smile. Fran took it gladly as Ashe giggled and they all started walking towards the wavepool where everything was getting set up.
Balthier had walked back into the bar once again, to which he already knew the names of the owner's kids by now, and ordered 'the usual', which was impressive since today was the first day he'd ever been in there. To his suprise, he saw Vaan slouched over at a wooden table, his head in his hands.
"Aye, what's a kid doin' in here, this institution for hearty men?" He jested, slapping Vaan on the shoulder.
After a pause, Vaan retorted "Women."
"Can't live with em, can't live without em; they always lead to death is the moral of that saying." He said, taking a sip of some mystery rum that was dark mahogany-colored. "So have you- wait WHAT?" Balthier exclaimed, suprised.
"Little Vaan has women? Not only that, he's got women troubles?!"
This seemed to blow his worldview.
"I don't wanna talk about it..." Vaan said, somberly, hiccuping. He sighed and looked up at Balthier, wondering what he'd say if he knew the truth, what was really happening between him and Fran. He REALLY didn't want Balthier, or anyone else for that matter, finding out.
"Well..." Balthier said, sipping from his fancy glass, "If it's lady advice you need, you've come to the right man."
"I didn't come to you, you came to me..."
"Oh someone's in a crab mood, are they? Just tell me who the girl is that broke your heart and I'll have a chat with her, eh?" he said, taking a seat beside him.
"Trust me, you don't wanna know..."
"I suppose if-" Balthier was saying as Fran and Penelo popped in the door.
"There you guys are!" Penelo shouted, holding Fran's hand still and pointing at them with the other one. "Hurry up or we're going to be late to the show!"
Vaan's face went a ghostly pale as he bit his lip.
"There's my ladies! Vaan, why don't you say we join the party and continue this conversation some other time?" Balthier said in his savvy voice, downing the last bit of his drink and getting up.
"Gladly." Vaan thought to himself, getting up and following them out, still trying to make sense of his emotions.
Everyone finally made their way to the wavepool together, where it had become quite packed for the event. They all took a seat in some bleachers set up for the show as it was just starting. The lights went dim and everyone started cheering as a cutout platform started rising from the shallow part of the wavepool.
Out of the depths came none other than Cid clutching a singing mic, accompanied by two backup dancers. He started doing a jig and singing an upbeat pop song. He had on pink tights and a frilly white shirt. Everyone's mouths dropped as they looked at eachother; Fran just stared, twitching her nose, Ashe's face was horrified, Penelo and Vaan were pointing at him, Basche had his head in his hands embarassed, and Balthier had fallen out of his seat and was laughing so hard he was at the point of tears.
Luckily for them, Cid was just the opening act, and the real band, a group called the Chocobros, came out right afterwards and started playing some Rock songs that everyone went crazy for. The night was young, and everyone forgot their troubles and had a good time.
Soon the show was over, and the crowds started to disperse.
"My... that was...uh.." Basche was at a loss for words.
"My thoughts exactly." Echoed fran.
"I'll never let him live that down!" Balthier chimed in, then burst into laughter once again.
They headed down the road for a bit, talking amongst themselves about the day. Vaan was in the back of the group, strolling beside Penelo and staring up at the moon.
"Wasn't today fun?" Penelo said, butt bumping him from the side playfully. "What? Oh, yeah it was." Vaan replied back, still half lost in thought. He was still going over the things Fran spoke with him earlier about. Was it a bad idea to let feelings for her develop? It's not like he could stop that kind of thing from happening, anyway, he concluded.
Penelo looked at him, worried that something was wrong or bothering him, but decided against asking. Time would bring it out of him, she was sure. It most likely had to do with her or Fran, she concluded.
The sound of crickets on the side of the paths let out soothing, ambient rhythms as they kept along the road, passing families and couples headed home for the night. Soon they reached the Inn where they had rooms reserved, and checked in at the front counter.
"Here, go on up to ours, okay?" Basche said, handing Vaan a room key. Vaan took it and headed up to the top floor where the room was. He opened the door and went in, wishing he could have this room alone with Fran, instead of the two guys. As soon as he sat on the bed, he heard a soft knock on the door.
As he opened it, expecting Basche and his man-beard, in popped Ashe of all people.
"Ashe? What- why are you here?" Vaan said, a little suprised.
"Shhh. Keep it quiet." She replied, placing a finger on his lips. "I came to tell you...that if you wish to have a fun time tonight...then come to my room after everyone goes asleep."
He let out a small gasp, caught by suprise and intrigue. "Oh-... Um-... Uh.."
Ashe narrowed her eyes and gave him a seductive smile, then turned away and sauntered down the hallway into the darkness.
Vaan just stood there, taking in what she just said. Was Ashe trying to get in on this now love-square-triangle-oblong shape thing? He just had to wait and find out. Tonight was going to be even more interesting than the night before...
Just like Ashe had told him to do, Vaan waited until later in the night, when Balthier and Basche had fallen sound asleep and were snoring rather loudly. His heartbeat was racing, wondering just what exactly Ashe wanted with him, but he was too far into this game now to quit. He quietly opened the door and snuck out of the bedroom, then made his way down the hall to the room on the end, where Ashe resided. He gave a weak knock twice and waited. After a few minutes, the door cracked open, revealing Ashe standing there in black underwear with bows on the sides and topless. Vaan had a hard time resisting the urge to gasp, and just stood there gazing at her nervously. Ashe said nothing; she just grabbed his arm and pulled him in the room by force, shutting the door behind him.
She pushed him on the large bed that had the thick blankets pushed down to the edge, and he landed on his back. He was having a brain-freeze; all he could think about was how soft her boobs looked in the moonlight from the small window, and the fruity vanilla smell of Ashe's perfume, which clung to the bed and pillow.
Ashe wasted no time getting to the point of this secret meeting. She straddled his lap, pinning his wrists above his head. Vaan looked at her warm panties pressing against him and began to get hard rather quickly. Ashe softly moaned and rubbed against his crotch with hers. Vaan let this go on for a few minutes, enjoying every second, but also felt a little guilty when Fran and his feelings for her popped into the back of his mind. Ashe was still humping him rhythmically when he opened his mouth to say something.
"Ashe, do-" he began to say, when she raised her manicured hand and slapped his face rather roughly. "Do not speak unless spoken to, peasant!"
"OW, what was-" She slapped him again, this time harder, before he could even finish the sentence. "You WILL learn to obey your Queen!" She retorted, her breathing becoming a little more labored.
"Y-yes, milady..." Vaan quietly replied, half expecting another slap to come, but Ashe simply gave a 'hmph'.
She then stood up on the bed and stared down at him. "Take them off." She simply stated. Vaan, not wanting any more abuse, quickly took off his boxers, which was becoming quite a common activity as of late, then laid back down. He was raging hard now, and didn't exactly know what to expect. Ashe took off her underwear and sat back down on his lap and started humping him again. Vaan held in a moan, as Ashe's crotch was bare against his, and even warmer than before.
Ashe's moaning was becoming faster and louder now. After a few more minutes of this going on, with no sounds but her moans, the dead of night, and a nightingale outside, she reached down and grabbed his member, then guided it into her. Vaan closed his eyes and had a brainfreeze again. The pleasure of being deep inside Ashe was overwhelming, and now with his hands free he was rubbing her smooth, thick thighs around his waist. Ashe grabbed the blankets and pulled them over the both of them, then laid down on top of Vaan, with him still inside her. She started to really pound against him now, with beads of sweat forming on her forehead and a determined but pleasured expression on her face.
Vaan tried to push back at her a few times, but she was intent on not letting him move, and would dig her nails into his back, or roughly bite his neck everytime he tried, so he obediently laid there, being rocked up and down by her deceptively strong but smooth body. She started licking his lips and french kissing him as her moans became even louder, and he knew she couldn't hold on much longer, which was the case for him as well. She threw the covers off of them and then got on all fours on the bed. Vaan saw her in this pose and almost lost it right there.
"On my face!" Ashe commanded him sternly. Vaan scooted to a sitting position and looked at her perplexed. Then it made sense, and he stood up on the bed in front of her. She began to stroke him at a fast pace. He was standing there looking down at Ashe's sweaty, naked body, with her hair matted to her face, as she moaned and looked up at him. Vaan couldn't hold it any longer; he saw colors and let himself go all over her soft face and hair. She giggled and licked his quivering member a few times. "Good boy."
Vaan collapsed back onto the bed and was breathing a little heavily. He didn't know what to say to her, so he just laid down and began to pull the covers over him when Ashe gave him a 'sorry' and waved at him, signaling him to leave. He reluctantly put on his boxers and made his way to the door, blushing. Was Ashe really this terse and direct in private with everyone? He wouldn't dare bring up this night ever again, that was for sure. He gave her one last timid smile before exiting the room.
As he got back to his, Balthier, and Bashe's room, his mind was replaying everything that had just happened over and over again. He had now slept with every single girl in their group; he was also a fling to every one of them as well. What was he doing? Why did they all desire him, he wondered as he got back into his bed and pulled the covers to his chin. Maybe he was destined to be without a girlfriend...But the sex! He kept coming back to it in his mind. Those special nights with Fran and Penelo he had, and now with Ashe... Those memories would stay with him for the rest of his life. He wondered what the future had in store for him as he drifted off to sleep to the sound of a nightingale outside.