He doesn't have time to be witty or to protest, and it's a good thing he's still holding her hands because otherwise he'd be tempted to do something stupid like hold her.
"Are you telling me Aerith the wife wouldn't kiss her husband in front of everyone?"
"It's not ladylike," she answers quietly. That's not to say she wouldn't, but after a lifetime spent having the norms of what proper wives should and should not do, it's the only answer she feels right giving.
"And I think wife Aerith would enjoy kissing in a moonlit garden."
So caged she can't even fantasize freely. His heart aches. He knows what that feels like, and it's all the more painful not be able to just lift that weight from her.
"Well husband Balthier would enjoy kissing his wife however she wanted to be kissed." As should any partner she chooses. He gives her one last peck to make his point, but when he breaks he pulls her into a the tight embrace of a good friend, which really, is what she's becoming. "I'm so glad you're free from that place. That's not what life is supposed to be."
no subject
"Are you telling me Aerith the wife wouldn't kiss her husband in front of everyone?"
no subject
"And I think wife Aerith would enjoy kissing in a moonlit garden."
no subject
"Well husband Balthier would enjoy kissing his wife however she wanted to be kissed." As should any partner she chooses. He gives her one last peck to make his point, but when he breaks he pulls her into a the tight embrace of a good friend, which really, is what she's becoming. "I'm so glad you're free from that place. That's not what life is supposed to be."