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One Night
Chapter Four
Balthier’s teeth chattered loudly as his breathing sounded more and more haggard with every step they took. His body felt heavy and drained as he staggered across the deep snow, fighting to remain conscious. “P-Penny,” he leaned in heavily on her shoulders, his breath white in the cold air, “w-we must h-hurry.” His once spotless shirt and vest currently became a magnet for the cold, taking any warmth from his chilled body rapidly. “I-I’m f-freezing…” he gasped as he huddled closer to Penelo, trying to draw body heat from her smaller form.
“I know,” Penelo wrapped her arms tighter around his torso, sharing her cloak with him. “We’re almost there.” Her eyes strained, trying to gain some visibility through the white bellows. Grabbing onto the side of the cliff for support, the blonde pulled their bodies forward. She thought the slope was near here somewhere, so she began groping the rocky surface for any opening with her right hand, while keeping a steady hold on Balthier. Suddenly, her hand fell through, almost causing them to topple over. Pushing aside some dead branches, Penelo smiled in relief as she finally found the cave.
Casting a fire spell in her hand, she cautiously carried Balthier deeper into the cavern using the little flame above her extended palm to light her way in. Not seeing any white wolves or skull knights inside, she gently lowered the sky pirate to the ground next to what appeared to be an old campfire. Quickly she started rearranging the stones to form a tidy circle, gathering dry twigs from around the cave. Bringing the small flame from her palm next to the pit, the twigs suddenly caught fire, immediately casting an orange glow in the darkness. Balthier huddled closer to the heat, drawing his knees up to his chest, still trembling. With the fire started, Penelo quickly searched the cave closer and luckily found an old musky blanket that was still completely dry.
Kneeling next to the sky pirate, the girl draped the blanket around him as she hugged him close once again to her body trying to share her warmth. “Hey Balthier, you’ve got to stay awake. Please try to open your eyes,” her voice pleaded softly. His body continued to shake from the cold as he lifted his head to meet her gaze. Slowly, his eyes opened, but they lacked their usual spark. She knew her heat wasn’t enough; she was barely keeping herself from shaking from the cold. Something more had to be done, she decided, as she glanced down at the sky pirate’s pale face below hers.
“Balthier, I hope you don’t mind, but I need to check something,” she whispered to the half-unconscious man. Unzipping the top of his vest just enough to uncover the ties of his white shirt beneath, Penelo’s fingers lightly grasped the thin string at his collar. She paused her movements to see if she drew any awkward reactions from the hypothermic sky pirate, but he only stared up at her blankly. She slowly continued, pulling loose the tie of the shirt’s collar, exposing his bare chest. Feeling heat rise in her cheeks, Penelo’s hand hesitantly touched his skin and sure enough she found it to be slick with cold sweat and the melted snow.
Trying to ignore the butterflies in the pit of her stomach, the healer knew that in their given situation there was only one way to warm up his body. ‘But is there really no other way?’ she thought to herself desperately, trying to decide if what she had in mind was truly the best and quickest solution. With her current supplies, she didn’t posses anything to rid his chills fast enough. Though she had the thin blanket and her cloak to wrap around him, it would take too long for his body to regain heat if she just positioned him close to the small fire still dressed in his drenched clothes.
Penelo sighed, resigning herself to her only option. She vaguely recalled overhearing at the Temple that the best cure for extreme chills was another’s body heat. “Balthier, your clothes are doing you more harm than good right now. They’re causing you to lose your heat at a faster rate.” She explained, feeling the need to rationalize what she was about to say next. “I-I need to remove them,” her voice barely above a whisper as she watched his body continue to quake, his eyes closing once again. She thought she saw him nod his head, but she couldn’t tell if it truly was a response or if it was just the chills.
Taking the tiny zipper tab in her hand, Penelo slowly tugged it down, the sound of each notch echoing loudly in her ears. She gently pushed it off of his shoulders, then proceeded to further loosen his soaked white shirt. Pulling it over his head, she lowered Balthier’s form carefully on top of the threadbare blanket, keeping her eyes carefully diverted from his bare torso.
Penelo’s hand hovered over the clasp of Balthier’s last article of clothing. Did she really have to do this? Was removing this final piece truly needed? Looking down at the man below her, Penelo sighed guiltily to herself as she saw part of the brownish scar that lay hidden in his hairline. It was her fault that the scar was there; if only she hadn’t been so frightened, none of this would have happened.
Taking in a deep breath as she finally decided, she snapped open his trousers carefully, tugging the tight material over his hips and down his muscled thighs. The shadows from the fire danced around his nude form, playing with her imagination and enticing her to stare at him fully. However, she covered him up quickly, keeping her eyes away where they properly belonged. She edged him closer to the small fire and then brought over his clothing to the hearth to dry as well.
Steeling herself for her final task, the blonde reached for the ribbons in her hair. “You better not be getting the wrong idea here. I’m just doing this to ease your shivering,” she murmured to him, hoping he could hear, but he remained unresponsive as he huddled deeper into the blanket. Though she was doing this to save him like he had her, she still felt ashamed for her girlish giddiness. She had to admit that a small part of her always wondered how it would feel to be close to the sky pirate, but so much more anxiety and worry outweighed it, making her feel uneasy. However, at that moment, she knew it was the right thing to do regardless of her petty crush.
Penelo reached up towards both of her pigtails, undoing the ties that bound her golden plaits and shook her hair free, allowing her wavy locks to tumble just below her shoulders. She clasped the zipper in the front of her jumpsuit and pulled it down, dragging it lower until the zipper stopped just below her navel. Stepping out from her wet clothes, she exposed her pale skin to the cold open air of the cavern.
After placing her clothes near Balthier’s, she knelt down beside his still shivering form. Sitting with her back towards him, Penelo pulled the blanket over herself, wrapping them both closely together. A slight thrill of excitement rushed through her body as she first felt the touch of Balthier’s moist, chilly skin against her bare back; however, she pushed the sensation to the back of her mind, trying to stay focus on the task at hand.
Turning over carefully, Penelo regarded the sky pirate’s face. His breath seemed to begin to slow to a normal rhythm, his shudders ceasing. She lightly stroked his face, still feeling a clammy chill in it. She leaned her body into his, her head resting against the nook of his shoulder. Their bodies were so very close now, closer to one another than she has ever been to anyone else before. She didn’t know how long she was supposed to stay near him, but she felt herself settle into his embrace as his warm breath lightly blew against the top of her hair, lulling her tired body into the comforts of sleep.
Looking up, Penelo’s gray eyes widened in shock as she almost brushed noses with the already awake sky pirate. “Balthier,” she squeaked a little loudly as she found his face inches away from hers. “H-how long have you been awake?”
“Less than an hour, I suppose,” he answered, his voice back to its familiar deep rich tone. “I pleasantly awoke to find you embracing me.”
Her cheeks flushed a bright pink. “I can explain. You seemed hypothermic and you lost so much blood.” She rapidly answered, words stumbling uncontrollably from her lips. “I couldn’t find anyone else. So, I just had to….”
“No, it’s alright,” he interjected, offering her a small smile. “I vaguely recall what happened.”
Drawing her hands near her chin, her nervousness began to dissipate as she felt herself being drawn into his calm green gaze. From the warm glow of the cavern she could tell that some color returned to his complexion, making him just as handsome and charming as she remembered. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“Yes I am,” he responded quietly. “I am eternally indebted to you. Thank you… Penny.” She couldn’t remember the last time anyone called her by that childish nickname. But coming from Balthier with his velvety accent, the name sounded strangely mature and sensual to her ears.
She shook her head, lacing her fingers together. “No Balthier, I owe you my gratitude. If you hadn’t been there when Fafnir attacked, I probably would have been killed,” her voice sincere. “But you really shouldn’t have shielded me from the mountainside though, because now you have that scar.”
“I would do no different, scar or no scar. I did promise to protect you, after all.” The way he stared at her reminded her so much of that moment a couple of nights ago at the Temple; so unreadable, so different from his normal gestures.
Most people were caught off guard by the sky pirate, believing all his cocky smirks were one and the same. Though the differences were so minute, the emotions behind each expression contrasted greatly. Usually with the slightest arch of his brow and the curling of his lips, Penelo could tell whether Balthier was pleased or discontent with someone.
Yet, this was the one and only look she couldn’t quite place. Neither eyebrows were raised, nor did he have the slightest smirk. His visage was very solemn, and it seemed all his feelings were purely expressed through the intensity of his green eyes. Only the sounds from the crackling fire could be heard as they continued to silently gaze at each other. Outside the blizzard still fell with great intensity, blanketing all in icy white. But inside the cave, their world was warm and only consisted with them alone.
She watched, completely enthralled as Balthier tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. He traced her jaw line lightly and before she knew it, he tilted her chin up and pressed a tender soft kiss on her lips. His lips still had a slight mixture of coldness and warmth to them, but the rest of the skin pressed into her own felt very much heated. Heated by the warmth, she realized, that she shared with him.
Penelo began to feel a slight nibble on her bottom lip, as if he was coaxing her to give him entrance. Hesitantly, her lips parted and she felt his tongue gently intertwine with hers, guiding her through this new type of kiss. Following his example, she responded back, allowing him to deepen their embrace, arms drawing each other closer.
She felt an unfamiliar part of her stir awake as all her senses were concentrated solely on every sensation Balthier brought her. Though his touches were feathery and light, to Penelo they were overwhelming. She found herself writhing uncontrollably under his caresses, her fingers drawing lines up and down his muscular physique. Pulling him closer, her body instinctually was seeking something much deeper than what she was experiencing now.
But was this right? Was this heated moment really what she was looking for? From the moment she met him she had always felt some sort of attraction to the sky pirate, spending her idle time fantasizing about various romantic trysts with him like any other girl would. Each involving soft kisses and loving whisperings in her ear very much like now. Yet, as finally one of her dreams came true, she couldn’t help but hesitate. She was still inexperienced in this new type of dance between two lovers. She was only a young seventeen year old orphan girl from Dalmasca, who always dreamt that her first time would be about love between two soul mates. And at this moment, she couldn’t reassure herself enough to let this continue.
Penelo slowly began to steady her movements, no longer grasping tightly to back of Balthier’s neck. Her eyes shyly met his as he looked quietly down at her, his mouth still close to her own. After a couple of seconds, he gave her small smile, lips swollen from their fervent kisses, looking so charming and irresistible above her. But wordlessly he withdrew his heated form away from hers, leaving her a little cold as she was exposed once again to the cavern chilly air. Balthier reached over and wrapped the blanket securely around their forms again, tucking her head underneath his chin. Her heart pounded in her chest, anxious and grateful at the same time that he didn’t question why she stopped.
Suddenly, his voice broke the steady silence. “We certainly have had quite a strange day,” he sighed softly, yet it seemed loud and deafening to her ears. “Hopefully the others are at the Temple like we discussed,” his voice maintained a formal tone. “Goodnight, Penelo.”
Though their bodies still were close, she never felt quite as distant from the sky pirate as she did now. Closing her eyes to hold back the tears she knew were threatening to fall, she tried to find the peaceful lull from earlier. But try as she might, she couldn’t return to that wonderful dream again.
Previously I stated that this fic will be discontinued, but since I've been receiving many messages requesting this fic to continue, I'm considering starting it up again. But as many know, I do not like the way this fic is going. If I were to restart it, I would rewrite the last part of this chapter. However, I'm not sure if you readers would like the change. Perhaps you all want it to continue because of how this chapter ended. Therefore, please pick from the following and let me know which way I should proceed with this fic:
a) Rewrite the last part to something new, posting it as chapter five
b) Keep the last part in chapter four and just proceed with a new chapter five
Feel free to just send me a message through my profile with your choices.
See you all soon with a new chapter five to this fic!
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