Me Without You - Prompt #44 Vaan/Penelo
Title: Me Without You
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Characters: Vaan and Penelo
Prompt: #44 - Couple
Word Count: 1,883
Rating: PG
Summary: He had no idea what he'd done this time.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XII belongs to Square Enix.
Table of Prompts: Qwi_Xux's Prompts
Prompt #44 - Couple
"Penelo!" Vaan followed her across the room, deftly ducking and weaving through the crowds of chatting guests, annoyed and baffled. "What's up with you?"
Penelo stopped mid-stride and shot him her own look of frustration. "If you need me to tell you, then you're missing the point entirely!" She whirled again, her dress twisting emphatically around her, and slipped around two women who shot Vaan a look like he had done something entirely wrong.
"What point?" Vaan exclaimed.
Penelo only shook her head and swiftly disappeared into a group of nobles. Vaan gritted his teeth and threw himself in the nearest chair. He drummed his fingers on the table and looked around. This was a wedding; weren't people supposed to be happy at weddings? What had he done to make Penelo so upset?
It wasn't like he had wanted to come anyway. So Al-Cid was getting married; it wasn't like Al-Cid was a close friend. But all the fancy nobles and royalty were in attendance and they had been invited, so Penelo had insisted they come.
He could see her now, standing a little way across the room, talking with Larsa. Talking and smiling. Great. That was just great. She could be happy with Larsa but she wouldn’t even tell Vaan what he had done that was so horrible. And since when had Larsa gotten so tall anyway? It seemed like just the other day that he had been a head shorter than Penelo, and now he was much taller.
Vaan reminded himself that Larsa was seventeen, but that, for some reason, made him even grumpier. He folded his arms on the table and buried his face in them, then jumped, startled, when a hand clapped him on the shoulder. He straightened and found himself staring at an armored Basch. He blinked and asked the question that came to mind. "Where's your helmet?"
Basch was unfazed by the greeting. "The Rozarrians prefer not to have masks, judges' or otherwise, at their wedding."
"Oh." Vaan's eyes wandered back to Penelo and Larsa, and he slumped down in his chair. Basch didn't say anything; he simply stood there and looked between him and Penelo, and Vaan found himself blurting, "She's mad at me."
"So I noticed," Basch said dryly. "What, pray tell, did you do to earn her wrath this time?"
Vaan threw up his hands. "I don't know! She was fine this morning but then all of a sudden we got here and she stormed off our airship, and she won't even tell me what I did that's so bad. She thinks I should know!"
"Hmmm…" Basch raised one eyebrow. "Did you say anything to her on the way here?"
"I’m sure I did! I don't know what I would have said that would have put her in that state, though."
Basch muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "That doesn't surprise me."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Vaan demanded. Without waiting for a reply, he plunged on. "Look, Basch, I didn't exactly want to come here. Weddings are stupid and boring."
"You said that to her?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, who really wants to go to a wedding?" Vaan leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. "Glad I don't have to be in one; all that ceremony stuff is just--"
Basch cut him off. "And you don't know why she's so mad?" There was an ironic tone to his voice that Vaan couldn't help but catch.
"What? You do?"
Basch sighed. "Vaan, sometimes you astound me."
Vaan glowered at Basch. "Look, can you just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it? She's really hard to deal with when she's like this." He waved at her, irritated to discover that now she was laughing at something Larsa had said.
"I don't think she's as mad as she is hurt, Vaan."
"What?"
"Do you think," Basch said very patiently, "that your comments about weddings upset her because she, perhaps, wishes to have a wedding of her own?"
"What?" Vaan snapped up straight and stared over at Penelo. "She wants to get married? Have you been talking to her? Wait…have you been talking to Larsa? Is--" Vaan jumped to his feet and took off across the room, ignoring Basch when he called his name.
He shoved through several nobles, making straight for Penelo, and pushed in between her and Larsa.
"Vaan!" Penelo narrowed her eyes.
There was a strange panic fluttering around inside of him, panic and anger. "Penelo! What do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm having a talk with a friend, if you don't mind! What are you doing?"
Larsa was looking between the two of them questioningly, and Vaan was further annoyed to realize that Larsa was actually taller than he was. "A friend? Ha! And you--" He jabbed a finger into Larsa's chest, and he noted Basch, ever the bodyguard, coming to a stop right beside his Emperor. "You can just forget about it!"
Larsa opened his mouth to speak, but Penelo beat him to it. "Forget about what?" she asked.
"Penelo!" Vaan's anger was being taken over increasingly by panic, but he still had to fight down the urge to shake her. "You can't marry him!" There was a sort of frantic whine to the end of his declaration that he didn't like.
He noted that silence had fallen in the immediate vicinity, and that many of the wedding guests were staring at them. As soon as he spoke, they started whispering to each other. Larsa's eyes widened and Penelo drained of all color. She grabbed Vaan's arm, managed an, "Excuse us," to Larsa, and dug her fingers into Vaan's arm, preparing to pull him away.
He shook her off. "Uh-uh. I'm not through talking to his Emperorness."
Penelo squeezed her eyes shut tightly and Basch let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Vaan, what are you talking about?" she hissed in a low voice, opening her eyes and staring at him. "I'm not--" Her face then flamed, and she looked at Larsa like she just wanted to curl up and die of embarrassment.
Vaan couldn’t tell what Larsa was thinking; he was wearing an impassive expression on his face, and he simply turned to Penelo. "I shall take my leave. Perhaps we can speak later?" With a backwards glance, he walked calmly away, and only Penelo grabbing Vaan's arm again prevented him from following the sneaky, conniving, Penelo-stealing Emperor. Who did he think he was anyway? So what if he was the ruler of Archadia? And rich? And spoke with fancy words and wore expensive clothes and was taller than Vaan? They were supposed to be friends, and if there was something--
"What in the name of all that is holy do you think you're doing?" Penelo's fingernails were digging painfully into his arm and she looked even more upset than she had earlier. "I'm not marrying Larsa! What would give you that idea? What would possibly make you even think I would--ugh!" She dropped his arm and hurried away.
Basch, still standing close by, had his face buried in one hand. He looked up at Vaan, shook his head, and said, "I have no words."
"What is going on?" Vaan asked.
"You had best go speak with Penelo, Vaan."
Now more confused than ever, Vaan followed Penelo. She didn't stop until she was standing outside on a small balcony, with only a few guests loitering about. She whirled on Vaan as soon as she saw him and hit him on the arm. "What were you thinking?"
"Basch said--"
"What did Basch say?"
"He said you were mad at me because you wanted to get married and you were happy talking to Larsa and--" The panic was back, now, and he grabbed her by the shoulders. "And you can't marry him; why wouldn't you tell me something like this? Why wouldn't you tell me you lo-lo-"
Penelo seemed perfectly calm now, and she said, "Why wouldn't I tell you I loved him?"
Vaan wanted to plug his ears and not hear that. No, he wanted to go backwards in time so he could start this day over and tell Penelo no way were they going to this wedding, or anywhere near where Larsa was going to be ever again. He couldn't even begin to describe the despair and terror rising up inside him. There was a faint ringing in his ears and he seriously thought for a moment that he might throw up. "Penelo, you can't love him," he said in a very small voice, his hands still tight on her shoulders.
"Oh? And why not?"
"Because--because I love you. And you love me. And…you do. I know you do. You--I--we--please…" His voice was a whisper now. "You never told me--why wouldn't you tell me? It was the letters, wasn't it? All those letters! On paper I bought you!"
To his fury, Penelo burst out laughing. She doubled over, giggling so hard that there were tears in her eyes, and then he did shake her. "This isn't funny!"
"Oh, Vaan. Basch was right; I would, you know, maybe like to get married, but not to Larsa."
By now Vaan was feeling so upset and sick that he could only manage an angry, "Then to who?"
"To you, you idiot!"
There was a long, heavy silence as Vaan stared at her and everything clicked into place. All he could say was, "Oh." He felt an odd mixture of utter relief, elation, and a bit of embarrassment. "Um…oh. I guess--" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess maybe I should apologize to Larsa."
"And?"
"Um, and to you. I'm sorry, Penelo. I just--"
"And?" Penelo was still waiting expectantly, and Vaan stared at her for a moment before realizing what she was waiting for.
"Oh, oh, right. Penelo, do you wanna marry me? Oh, wait. I'm supposed to get down on my knees or something, aren't I? Or have a ring? Or--"
"Oh, Vaan, just shut up and kiss me, okay?"
When Vaan happily complied, Penelo hugged him tightly and said, "Yes, I want to marry you." She kissed him again and smiled at him, and then gave him another slap on the arm. "How could you think I'd marry anyone else? After all this time? After everything--you make me so mad sometimes."
"Well, if you had just said that's what you wanted in the first place--"
"Vaan, that wasn't--"
"--the point. Yeah, yeah, I know. Well, I think I've got the point now."
"Good." Penelo's smile widened and she brushed her thumb down his cheek. "I love you so much. I want to strangle you sometimes, but I love you."
It was funny, Vaan thought, how obvious something could be, how natural and always there that you didn't really give it much thought until it slapped you in the face. He had Penelo. He'd always had Penelo. He always would have Penelo. He'd only had to yell at an Emperor to realize it.
Hm. He probably needed to come up with a better way of figuring these things out.
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Characters: Vaan and Penelo
Prompt: #44 - Couple
Word Count: 1,883
Rating: PG
Summary: He had no idea what he'd done this time.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XII belongs to Square Enix.
Table of Prompts: Qwi_Xux's Prompts
Prompt #44 - Couple
"Penelo!" Vaan followed her across the room, deftly ducking and weaving through the crowds of chatting guests, annoyed and baffled. "What's up with you?"
Penelo stopped mid-stride and shot him her own look of frustration. "If you need me to tell you, then you're missing the point entirely!" She whirled again, her dress twisting emphatically around her, and slipped around two women who shot Vaan a look like he had done something entirely wrong.
"What point?" Vaan exclaimed.
Penelo only shook her head and swiftly disappeared into a group of nobles. Vaan gritted his teeth and threw himself in the nearest chair. He drummed his fingers on the table and looked around. This was a wedding; weren't people supposed to be happy at weddings? What had he done to make Penelo so upset?
It wasn't like he had wanted to come anyway. So Al-Cid was getting married; it wasn't like Al-Cid was a close friend. But all the fancy nobles and royalty were in attendance and they had been invited, so Penelo had insisted they come.
He could see her now, standing a little way across the room, talking with Larsa. Talking and smiling. Great. That was just great. She could be happy with Larsa but she wouldn’t even tell Vaan what he had done that was so horrible. And since when had Larsa gotten so tall anyway? It seemed like just the other day that he had been a head shorter than Penelo, and now he was much taller.
Vaan reminded himself that Larsa was seventeen, but that, for some reason, made him even grumpier. He folded his arms on the table and buried his face in them, then jumped, startled, when a hand clapped him on the shoulder. He straightened and found himself staring at an armored Basch. He blinked and asked the question that came to mind. "Where's your helmet?"
Basch was unfazed by the greeting. "The Rozarrians prefer not to have masks, judges' or otherwise, at their wedding."
"Oh." Vaan's eyes wandered back to Penelo and Larsa, and he slumped down in his chair. Basch didn't say anything; he simply stood there and looked between him and Penelo, and Vaan found himself blurting, "She's mad at me."
"So I noticed," Basch said dryly. "What, pray tell, did you do to earn her wrath this time?"
Vaan threw up his hands. "I don't know! She was fine this morning but then all of a sudden we got here and she stormed off our airship, and she won't even tell me what I did that's so bad. She thinks I should know!"
"Hmmm…" Basch raised one eyebrow. "Did you say anything to her on the way here?"
"I’m sure I did! I don't know what I would have said that would have put her in that state, though."
Basch muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "That doesn't surprise me."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Vaan demanded. Without waiting for a reply, he plunged on. "Look, Basch, I didn't exactly want to come here. Weddings are stupid and boring."
"You said that to her?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, who really wants to go to a wedding?" Vaan leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. "Glad I don't have to be in one; all that ceremony stuff is just--"
Basch cut him off. "And you don't know why she's so mad?" There was an ironic tone to his voice that Vaan couldn't help but catch.
"What? You do?"
Basch sighed. "Vaan, sometimes you astound me."
Vaan glowered at Basch. "Look, can you just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it? She's really hard to deal with when she's like this." He waved at her, irritated to discover that now she was laughing at something Larsa had said.
"I don't think she's as mad as she is hurt, Vaan."
"What?"
"Do you think," Basch said very patiently, "that your comments about weddings upset her because she, perhaps, wishes to have a wedding of her own?"
"What?" Vaan snapped up straight and stared over at Penelo. "She wants to get married? Have you been talking to her? Wait…have you been talking to Larsa? Is--" Vaan jumped to his feet and took off across the room, ignoring Basch when he called his name.
He shoved through several nobles, making straight for Penelo, and pushed in between her and Larsa.
"Vaan!" Penelo narrowed her eyes.
There was a strange panic fluttering around inside of him, panic and anger. "Penelo! What do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm having a talk with a friend, if you don't mind! What are you doing?"
Larsa was looking between the two of them questioningly, and Vaan was further annoyed to realize that Larsa was actually taller than he was. "A friend? Ha! And you--" He jabbed a finger into Larsa's chest, and he noted Basch, ever the bodyguard, coming to a stop right beside his Emperor. "You can just forget about it!"
Larsa opened his mouth to speak, but Penelo beat him to it. "Forget about what?" she asked.
"Penelo!" Vaan's anger was being taken over increasingly by panic, but he still had to fight down the urge to shake her. "You can't marry him!" There was a sort of frantic whine to the end of his declaration that he didn't like.
He noted that silence had fallen in the immediate vicinity, and that many of the wedding guests were staring at them. As soon as he spoke, they started whispering to each other. Larsa's eyes widened and Penelo drained of all color. She grabbed Vaan's arm, managed an, "Excuse us," to Larsa, and dug her fingers into Vaan's arm, preparing to pull him away.
He shook her off. "Uh-uh. I'm not through talking to his Emperorness."
Penelo squeezed her eyes shut tightly and Basch let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Vaan, what are you talking about?" she hissed in a low voice, opening her eyes and staring at him. "I'm not--" Her face then flamed, and she looked at Larsa like she just wanted to curl up and die of embarrassment.
Vaan couldn’t tell what Larsa was thinking; he was wearing an impassive expression on his face, and he simply turned to Penelo. "I shall take my leave. Perhaps we can speak later?" With a backwards glance, he walked calmly away, and only Penelo grabbing Vaan's arm again prevented him from following the sneaky, conniving, Penelo-stealing Emperor. Who did he think he was anyway? So what if he was the ruler of Archadia? And rich? And spoke with fancy words and wore expensive clothes and was taller than Vaan? They were supposed to be friends, and if there was something--
"What in the name of all that is holy do you think you're doing?" Penelo's fingernails were digging painfully into his arm and she looked even more upset than she had earlier. "I'm not marrying Larsa! What would give you that idea? What would possibly make you even think I would--ugh!" She dropped his arm and hurried away.
Basch, still standing close by, had his face buried in one hand. He looked up at Vaan, shook his head, and said, "I have no words."
"What is going on?" Vaan asked.
"You had best go speak with Penelo, Vaan."
Now more confused than ever, Vaan followed Penelo. She didn't stop until she was standing outside on a small balcony, with only a few guests loitering about. She whirled on Vaan as soon as she saw him and hit him on the arm. "What were you thinking?"
"Basch said--"
"What did Basch say?"
"He said you were mad at me because you wanted to get married and you were happy talking to Larsa and--" The panic was back, now, and he grabbed her by the shoulders. "And you can't marry him; why wouldn't you tell me something like this? Why wouldn't you tell me you lo-lo-"
Penelo seemed perfectly calm now, and she said, "Why wouldn't I tell you I loved him?"
Vaan wanted to plug his ears and not hear that. No, he wanted to go backwards in time so he could start this day over and tell Penelo no way were they going to this wedding, or anywhere near where Larsa was going to be ever again. He couldn't even begin to describe the despair and terror rising up inside him. There was a faint ringing in his ears and he seriously thought for a moment that he might throw up. "Penelo, you can't love him," he said in a very small voice, his hands still tight on her shoulders.
"Oh? And why not?"
"Because--because I love you. And you love me. And…you do. I know you do. You--I--we--please…" His voice was a whisper now. "You never told me--why wouldn't you tell me? It was the letters, wasn't it? All those letters! On paper I bought you!"
To his fury, Penelo burst out laughing. She doubled over, giggling so hard that there were tears in her eyes, and then he did shake her. "This isn't funny!"
"Oh, Vaan. Basch was right; I would, you know, maybe like to get married, but not to Larsa."
By now Vaan was feeling so upset and sick that he could only manage an angry, "Then to who?"
"To you, you idiot!"
There was a long, heavy silence as Vaan stared at her and everything clicked into place. All he could say was, "Oh." He felt an odd mixture of utter relief, elation, and a bit of embarrassment. "Um…oh. I guess--" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess maybe I should apologize to Larsa."
"And?"
"Um, and to you. I'm sorry, Penelo. I just--"
"And?" Penelo was still waiting expectantly, and Vaan stared at her for a moment before realizing what she was waiting for.
"Oh, oh, right. Penelo, do you wanna marry me? Oh, wait. I'm supposed to get down on my knees or something, aren't I? Or have a ring? Or--"
"Oh, Vaan, just shut up and kiss me, okay?"
When Vaan happily complied, Penelo hugged him tightly and said, "Yes, I want to marry you." She kissed him again and smiled at him, and then gave him another slap on the arm. "How could you think I'd marry anyone else? After all this time? After everything--you make me so mad sometimes."
"Well, if you had just said that's what you wanted in the first place--"
"Vaan, that wasn't--"
"--the point. Yeah, yeah, I know. Well, I think I've got the point now."
"Good." Penelo's smile widened and she brushed her thumb down his cheek. "I love you so much. I want to strangle you sometimes, but I love you."
It was funny, Vaan thought, how obvious something could be, how natural and always there that you didn't really give it much thought until it slapped you in the face. He had Penelo. He'd always had Penelo. He always would have Penelo. He'd only had to yell at an Emperor to realize it.
Hm. He probably needed to come up with a better way of figuring these things out.