"Come now. I can't believe you'd let me get away with that with only banishment to the sofa." His grin is wide and his eyes are bright. If someone cheated on Aerith, he almost pities the fool. Even if he would make their life hell, likely after she'd already gotten to them.
Aerith's eyebrows raise as though he's given her an idea - and indeed, the fact that she's freer than she's ever been means if this wasn't a ruse there would be a way out hasn't crossed her mind. It's not a possibility she's ever had before to entertain when confronted with what marriage is.
"For flirting, the sofa, for more," Aerith shakes her head, stepping closer to him so that she can tip her chin up and look at him defiantly. "Where you go stops being any concern of mine, so long as it's not near me ever again." Good thing he likes her.
"You know most people have this conversation before they start calling one another husband and wife," he says, voice low and a little huskier than he realizes. "But I'm glad to hear you won't suffer selfish idiots."
There's no ignoring that having her so close makes his heart speed up. Surely it's just the thrill of this game, and how he's hardly sure what she'll do next, and not that he enjoys her bossy spirit or the thought of her being possessive over his attention. He certainly isn't thinking of the first day this ruse started, when she stormed off because, presumably, he'd insulted her, but know he wonders through the haze of being buzzed if it wasn't seeing him flirt with someone else.
He's only aware he's reached up to cup her face when his thumb meets her jaw, and he barely recovers it to a tweak of her chin. "You set an impossible task for me though," he says. "I flirt with everyone, sometimes even the furniture. It doesn't mean anything."
"Maybe that's a lesson for you, that you come on much too strongly - matters like these get pushed to the side."
There's a moment when his hand brushes her face that she stills, lips parting as she feels herself fill with anticipation, though she couldn't say for what, or why. Then he's off again, breaking the tension and running his mouth, and though Aerith's relieved, she's not entirely so.
"The furniture too?" Her bright eyes go wide with feigned innocence, speaking while she fights the smirk that threatens to rise to her face. "Does that mean instead of a dresser, you have an undresser?"
He chuckles, as amused by her leaning into their ruse as he is by how far off it is from how he actually is in relationships.
But there's a stupid moment, with his hand brushing her face and her eyes wide on him and her lips parted, that he nearly forgets himself, having the bizarre urge to press his lips to hers, see what she does.
He's tipsy, and it's been a long time since he was with anyone, and he likes flustering her. That's all this is.
Her joke shakes him out of it, and he visibly winces at her pun, even as he fights off a laugh. "You know what, yes, I do, and I drag my victims to my room so I can use its power on them."
"Good to know, I'll keep my distance from your quarters," stepping back, Aerith turns just in time to lift two more glasses off a passing tray, handing one over to Balthier while she sips the other, determined to clear her head and stop looking at him.
Something that's becoming trickier by the second, which she's sure is all the fault of the drinks and the dancing.
"Or I'll wear lots of layers if I ever have to visit."
"No one's allowed in there without my permission anyway," he says, raising an eyebrow at her even as he takes the drink and sips it too. He almost manages to hide his smile at her addendum that she'd just wear a lot of layers.
"Too clever for sorcery. I should retire now. I've found my match."
"I wouldn't think so, if just anyone could get close to the undresser you might walk into an awkward encounter every time you tried to go to bed."
Being called his match makes her laugh lightly, though the smug grin on her face blessedly masks an underlying giddiness that came along with the words.
"I'm going to take a walk in the gardens, I think." Aerith reaches down to give the fuller skirt of the dress she wore a little rustle. "I'm going to see if there's anything worth getting cuttings of."
"I'd better accompany you. You're not accustomed to the fiends here, and they slip in rather often." The excuse comes out smooth as silk, and it's not til after he's said it that he realizes he's having too much fun to let her wander off. "And that will save you time instead of you running back out to give me an armful of your spoils before heading back in."
Initially, she had thought being alone would be best, to stop her from this newfound fondness for standing too close to him while saying completely stupid things but when Balthier speaks up and moves to follow, she's instantly pleased with that choice.
Trying to hide that, Aerith shrugs heavily at him, keeping her gaze trained on the path leading toward the garden. "That's what the big skirt and all the things I have on underneath are for, silly." In spite of herself, she smiles and looks quickly in his direction before turning away again.
"But, I guess since you insist, you can be my lookout. Being caught slipping leaves into my stockings might damage your reputation."
He raises a brow at this explanation. "How many things did you smuggle around in your old life?" Maybe she really was a pirate at heart, long before all this. "And were you successful?"
To the latter, he laughs. "She deigns to let me stay in her presence. I am blessed. Don't worry about my reputation, fair lady, I've done much worse to it."
"Princesses aren't supposed to carry handbags," Aerith rolls her shoulders in a shrug, trying not to smile too much when she looks at Balthier again and feigns exasperation.
"What was I supposed to do? Everyone's got at least a few things they like to keep on their person, and the undergarments they make you wear are full of good spots to keep things." She would not be telling him this without the help of those drinks, but tomorrow she'd be mortified, tonight she's far too pleased with herself to keep these little innovations in stashing things away to herself.
"Ah, is that the real reason for this? Me being your wife will refresh your reputation, and people will know what a respectable sort you are deep down?"
"You mistake my compliment for incredulity. Those are pirate instincts if I've ever seen them. Are you sure I don't compliment you enough, or do you just miss them in your insistence I'm awful?" He's grinning as he says it, absolutely no bite to the push back.
And he roles right into her question without realizing how earnest he's being. "The real reason for you being my wife was to keep you safe with as much freedom as possible. If they do catch you, it should slow them trying to marry you off again. My reputation had nothing to do with it."
Alright, and maybe he is still uncomfortable with people knowing he is the respectable sort, but he suspects by now Aerith has seen through him.
"You could stand to compliment me more," she answers, trying to sound as prim as she can about it even though she looks very pleased with herself - purely because she likes the idea of having pirate instincts, and for no other reason.
"Oh look at those!" As they enter the garden a bed of deep blue flowers pulls Aerith's focus, making her leave his side and put on a burst of speed to head over to examine them.
"Hey!" She says, looking up after a minute. "Come here, be my shield."
The alcohol has definitely loosened his tongue, and he's grinning like a cat as he says, "I'm starting to suspect that you, my dear, just like my attention."
He's spared the urge to ruffle that hair or knock her cocky self off balance by her sudden enthusiasm for something in the garden.
She summons him over and he laughs, coming as she calls and spreading his arms wide, leaning over her as she stoops, not touching her but aware how easy it would be to just pick her up and, and --
"Magic for what?" She scoffs, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial mutter as she crouches enough to lift the hem of her skirt, revealing the straps of the suspenders where they clipped onto her stockings long enough to stash a few sprigs of the blue-flowering plant that she's carefully pinched free.
"Hiding plants in my stockings?" The reality that he's been watching her hike up her skirts only sinks in after Aerith lifts her head to meet his eye, the cheeky look on her face dissolving into something a little more surprised and bashful.
He is watching her hike up her skirt, probably too openly, and honestly not because he wants a glimpse of her legs -- though he's passingly unsurprised that they are strong and shapely -- but because he's fascinated by how clearly routine this system is for her.
"What did you steal at the palace?" he blurts out. "Surely they gave you access to the gardens?"
It's when her familiar cheeky look dissolves, when he sees real bashfulness there that he suddenly becomes self-conscious of how close they are, of how much older he is than her, that he's taller and stronger, and that there's no way to cut this where he's treated her, well, properly. So he does what he always does when he's uncomfortable, and grins, hiding behind the familiar mask of a carefree pirate.
"This," he says. And he puts up a vanish spell, using it to put distance between them and reappearing, safely, out of arm's reach in front of her.
"Not from my palace, but the other places we went to on state visits always had gardens, and always with something growing that was new and different." Her sense of awkwardness has her speaking quickly and straightening abruptly once she's secured her precious cargo.
She's aware she's held his gaze for too long, but instead of relief, Aerith feels a fleeting pang of disappointment at his next move, blinking in surprise when he disappears before greeting his reappearance with a little frown.
"So you could be skulking around anywhere, is that what this means?"
So she had gotten out some. Not that that was anything like freedom, but he was glad for it.
His effort to put distance between them somehow spirals far from his intention and farther from his control. His face drops with genuine distress. "I -- no, I would never violate your privacy like that. The Strahl is spelled against it, besides, but if you don't trust me, there are charms we can get against it."
The last thing he wants is her to feel unsafe. With him.
He takes the accusation so seriously it surprises her, and she feels almost guilty for the remark, shaking her head as she quickly walks over to him and rests a hand on his shoulder.
"I wasn't worried about that, silly. The crew is wonderful, and even though you're horrible, you've never been anything but a gentleman." Before she can second guess herself, Aerith leans up and pecks a quick kiss on his cheek.
The quickness with which she closes the space between them is more comforting than he expects. They squabble so often that he realizes he has no idea how she actually feels, and he's only assumed it's safe enough because she hasn't left, but--
The peck at his cheek is so quick he could almost convince himself he dreamed it. Except she's still this close to him, apologizing.
His usual suave devil-may-care countenance is nowhere to be found. "If you are ever, ever uncomfortable, you tell me, alright?" His hands hover uselessly at his side, one drifting up to brush her shoulder. Realizing what he's doing, he pulls it back, turning away.
"I should give you some space." He isn't actually talking about the garden, or tonight.
Her heart already felt like it had begun to run faster, a sensation that ramps up further when he briefly reaches for her and ghosts a hand over her shoulder. The distinct feeling that she's on the verge of something persists, even when he turns away from her and sends her stomach into knots.
"You don't," it feels like she both does and does not know what she's saying. "Have to." She doesn't want to crowd him, but Aerith steps closer to him anyway, deciding it was her turn to reach for Balthier, touching his shoulder fleetingly as he had hers, leaning into the feeling that even though she can't find the words to suit this, she doesn't want him to give her any space.
Touch and proximity do a lot more to hold him there than words. Words are his tool of choice, and he can bend them to convince himself of anything. But touch--
It's hard to make himself believe this is unwanted when she keeps closing the space between them.
That doesn't soothe the way his stomach twists or the heavy sense of shame that's suddenly gripping him. He feels like he's manipulated her somehow, taken advantage when it wasn't right to. And yet he can't quite force himself to walk away.
"Are you happy here, princess?" It comes out in a tense whisper, but he manages to meet her gaze.
Being called princess like that gives her pause, but she makes a good effort to conceal how perplexed she is when he turns to meet her eye again. "Of course I am. Isn't it obvious?"
Aerith liked to think that once she came to terms with what her new life consisted of, she'd found her place among the crew without too much trouble. She found the idea of beginning a new life as a sky pirate exciting, being able to use the magic she spent so many years studying to help people was more gratifying than anything she's known before it. And Balthier, too, brings her a certain element of happiness as well. She's never had a friend before, at least not one she can be as much of herself as she is with him. The thought of him makes her smile, and it's nice. She doesn't want that to end.
"Being one of the ship's healers makes me really happy, and I like going places with you," she adds quietly after a too-long pause has had time to hang in the air.
He'd -- thought it was obvious too, but for a moment it was like he'd slipped off the deck, plummeting wildly with no idea which way was up. What if he'd read all of this wrong, what if she really still felt like a prisoner?
His thoughts are so slow and heavy that he's just stuck as a dear in the firelight. Her voice pulls him back, and he thinks he knows her well enough by now to know she couldn't fake the sincerity in that statement.
Before he can't think better of it, his hands find hers, holding them together between them. "I like having you along with me. And I enjoy having you on the crew. I--" He barely manages to push down whatever nonsense he was going to say about wanting to see her happy. "Know what it's like to feel caged. I don't want that for you, or for anyone who flies with me."
But his heart is tight in his chest and he can't deny, at some point, it became different with her.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2023-01-11 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-11 11:57 pm (UTC)"For flirting, the sofa, for more," Aerith shakes her head, stepping closer to him so that she can tip her chin up and look at him defiantly. "Where you go stops being any concern of mine, so long as it's not near me ever again." Good thing he likes her.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-12 12:18 am (UTC)There's no ignoring that having her so close makes his heart speed up. Surely it's just the thrill of this game, and how he's hardly sure what she'll do next, and not that he enjoys her bossy spirit or the thought of her being possessive over his attention. He certainly isn't thinking of the first day this ruse started, when she stormed off because, presumably, he'd insulted her, but know he wonders through the haze of being buzzed if it wasn't seeing him flirt with someone else.
He's only aware he's reached up to cup her face when his thumb meets her jaw, and he barely recovers it to a tweak of her chin. "You set an impossible task for me though," he says. "I flirt with everyone, sometimes even the furniture. It doesn't mean anything."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-12 01:05 am (UTC)There's a moment when his hand brushes her face that she stills, lips parting as she feels herself fill with anticipation, though she couldn't say for what, or why. Then he's off again, breaking the tension and running his mouth, and though Aerith's relieved, she's not entirely so.
"The furniture too?" Her bright eyes go wide with feigned innocence, speaking while she fights the smirk that threatens to rise to her face. "Does that mean instead of a dresser, you have an undresser?"
no subject
Date: 2023-01-12 07:31 pm (UTC)But there's a stupid moment, with his hand brushing her face and her eyes wide on him and her lips parted, that he nearly forgets himself, having the bizarre urge to press his lips to hers, see what she does.
He's tipsy, and it's been a long time since he was with anyone, and he likes flustering her. That's all this is.
Her joke shakes him out of it, and he visibly winces at her pun, even as he fights off a laugh. "You know what, yes, I do, and I drag my victims to my room so I can use its power on them."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-12 11:12 pm (UTC)Something that's becoming trickier by the second, which she's sure is all the fault of the drinks and the dancing.
"Or I'll wear lots of layers if I ever have to visit."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-13 01:38 am (UTC)"Too clever for sorcery. I should retire now. I've found my match."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-13 02:11 am (UTC)Being called his match makes her laugh lightly, though the smug grin on her face blessedly masks an underlying giddiness that came along with the words.
"I'm going to take a walk in the gardens, I think." Aerith reaches down to give the fuller skirt of the dress she wore a little rustle. "I'm going to see if there's anything worth getting cuttings of."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-13 02:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-14 03:35 am (UTC)Trying to hide that, Aerith shrugs heavily at him, keeping her gaze trained on the path leading toward the garden. "That's what the big skirt and all the things I have on underneath are for, silly." In spite of herself, she smiles and looks quickly in his direction before turning away again.
"But, I guess since you insist, you can be my lookout. Being caught slipping leaves into my stockings might damage your reputation."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-17 06:35 pm (UTC)To the latter, he laughs. "She deigns to let me stay in her presence. I am blessed. Don't worry about my reputation, fair lady, I've done much worse to it."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-18 05:18 am (UTC)"What was I supposed to do? Everyone's got at least a few things they like to keep on their person, and the undergarments they make you wear are full of good spots to keep things." She would not be telling him this without the help of those drinks, but tomorrow she'd be mortified, tonight she's far too pleased with herself to keep these little innovations in stashing things away to herself.
"Ah, is that the real reason for this? Me being your wife will refresh your reputation, and people will know what a respectable sort you are deep down?"
no subject
Date: 2023-01-19 07:19 pm (UTC)And he roles right into her question without realizing how earnest he's being. "The real reason for you being my wife was to keep you safe with as much freedom as possible. If they do catch you, it should slow them trying to marry you off again. My reputation had nothing to do with it."
Alright, and maybe he is still uncomfortable with people knowing he is the respectable sort, but he suspects by now Aerith has seen through him.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-20 02:38 am (UTC)"Oh look at those!" As they enter the garden a bed of deep blue flowers pulls Aerith's focus, making her leave his side and put on a burst of speed to head over to examine them.
"Hey!" She says, looking up after a minute. "Come here, be my shield."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-20 03:01 am (UTC)He's spared the urge to ruffle that hair or knock her cocky self off balance by her sudden enthusiasm for something in the garden.
She summons him over and he laughs, coming as she calls and spreading his arms wide, leaning over her as she stoops, not touching her but aware how easy it would be to just pick her up and, and --
Not a good idea Balthier.
"You know I also know magic for this."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-20 03:11 am (UTC)"Hiding plants in my stockings?" The reality that he's been watching her hike up her skirts only sinks in after Aerith lifts her head to meet his eye, the cheeky look on her face dissolving into something a little more surprised and bashful.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-20 03:17 am (UTC)"What did you steal at the palace?" he blurts out. "Surely they gave you access to the gardens?"
It's when her familiar cheeky look dissolves, when he sees real bashfulness there that he suddenly becomes self-conscious of how close they are, of how much older he is than her, that he's taller and stronger, and that there's no way to cut this where he's treated her, well, properly. So he does what he always does when he's uncomfortable, and grins, hiding behind the familiar mask of a carefree pirate.
"This," he says. And he puts up a vanish spell, using it to put distance between them and reappearing, safely, out of arm's reach in front of her.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-21 01:46 am (UTC)She's aware she's held his gaze for too long, but instead of relief, Aerith feels a fleeting pang of disappointment at his next move, blinking in surprise when he disappears before greeting his reappearance with a little frown.
"So you could be skulking around anywhere, is that what this means?"
no subject
Date: 2023-01-21 03:42 am (UTC)His effort to put distance between them somehow spirals far from his intention and farther from his control. His face drops with genuine distress. "I -- no, I would never violate your privacy like that. The Strahl is spelled against it, besides, but if you don't trust me, there are charms we can get against it."
The last thing he wants is her to feel unsafe. With him.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-21 03:49 am (UTC)"I wasn't worried about that, silly. The crew is wonderful, and even though you're horrible, you've never been anything but a gentleman." Before she can second guess herself, Aerith leans up and pecks a quick kiss on his cheek.
"I'm sorry."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-21 07:31 pm (UTC)The peck at his cheek is so quick he could almost convince himself he dreamed it. Except she's still this close to him, apologizing.
His usual suave devil-may-care countenance is nowhere to be found. "If you are ever, ever uncomfortable, you tell me, alright?" His hands hover uselessly at his side, one drifting up to brush her shoulder. Realizing what he's doing, he pulls it back, turning away.
"I should give you some space." He isn't actually talking about the garden, or tonight.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-21 11:21 pm (UTC)"You don't," it feels like she both does and does not know what she's saying. "Have to." She doesn't want to crowd him, but Aerith steps closer to him anyway, deciding it was her turn to reach for Balthier, touching his shoulder fleetingly as he had hers, leaning into the feeling that even though she can't find the words to suit this, she doesn't want him to give her any space.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 12:31 am (UTC)It's hard to make himself believe this is unwanted when she keeps closing the space between them.
That doesn't soothe the way his stomach twists or the heavy sense of shame that's suddenly gripping him. He feels like he's manipulated her somehow, taken advantage when it wasn't right to. And yet he can't quite force himself to walk away.
"Are you happy here, princess?" It comes out in a tense whisper, but he manages to meet her gaze.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 01:15 am (UTC)Aerith liked to think that once she came to terms with what her new life consisted of, she'd found her place among the crew without too much trouble. She found the idea of beginning a new life as a sky pirate exciting, being able to use the magic she spent so many years studying to help people was more gratifying than anything she's known before it. And Balthier, too, brings her a certain element of happiness as well. She's never had a friend before, at least not one she can be as much of herself as she is with him. The thought of him makes her smile, and it's nice. She doesn't want that to end.
"Being one of the ship's healers makes me really happy, and I like going places with you," she adds quietly after a too-long pause has had time to hang in the air.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-24 02:01 am (UTC)His thoughts are so slow and heavy that he's just stuck as a dear in the firelight. Her voice pulls him back, and he thinks he knows her well enough by now to know she couldn't fake the sincerity in that statement.
Before he can't think better of it, his hands find hers, holding them together between them. "I like having you along with me. And I enjoy having you on the crew. I--" He barely manages to push down whatever nonsense he was going to say about wanting to see her happy. "Know what it's like to feel caged. I don't want that for you, or for anyone who flies with me."
But his heart is tight in his chest and he can't deny, at some point, it became different with her.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From: