Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ All the World's a Stage ❯ Left or Right? ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Shakespeare once wrote: All the world's a stage / And men and women merely players. This is a collection of one shots and quick drabbles starring Balthier and Penelo, in various unrelated situations and different acts in their relationship.

Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Comedy / Romance | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 01.07.2007 | Updated On: 01.10.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Work In Progress

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XII and Balthier and Penelo belong to SquareEnix. I only write about them when my muse dictates to do so.

Drabble 1

`Hmm, maybe it's after that right?' Penelo paused in the hall, tapping her right index finger in query against her cheek. Having the sudden urge to use what the Lady Ashe commandeered as the “Ladies' Powder Room,” also meaning “No men allowed,” or rather more explicitly “No Balthiers allowed,” Penelo left the safety of her warm bed and was now lost walking aimlessly in the aircraft's darkness, trying to find her way back to her room.

“Is anyone awake?” Penelo hesitantly called out, not wanting to disturb anybody already asleep, yet only the steady hum of the Strahl's engine answered her call. Clad only in green shorts and a white tank top, the blonde wrapped her arms around herself to gain warmth against the night's chill, fully regretting not taking her light yellow robe with her. But no, she had to reassure herself that it would only be a quick trip. Somehow it was easy finding her way to the bathroom in a half-sleep state, but now she was at a lost of how many left turns she needed before the last right to the women's dormitory hall.

Rounding what she believed to be the last turn, Penelo was met with a hallway of three identical doors. The only difference being the light flickering above the doorway of farthest room. `Hmm, I think that looks familiar.' Silently, she approached the door and gave the door a quick rap. She pressed her ear against the panel, listening intently for an answer. Hearing none, the young girl pushed the door's opening mechanism and swiftly slid in, closing the door after her.

“This looks right,” Penelo smiled brightly to herself as she took survey of the dark room. She skipped her way towards the bed gleefully, twirling her body around in a celebration. The dancer did a quick pirouette as she gracefully fell to the bed's comforting embrace, falling back into a deep blissful slumber soon after.

The next morning, Penelo awoke to the bright beams of the sun cascading on her face. Turning over to avoid the intrusive light, she grabbed the warm pillow next her, wrapping her arms and legs around it.

“This pillow sure smells nice,” the girl sighed contentedly into the soft material, rubbing her left cheek against it.

“Thank you, I'm glad my cologne meets your approval.”

Penelo's eyes quickly fluttered open as she gazed up in shock to see Balthier's grinning face. “Balthier?!” Penelo pulled away suddenly, taking the thin sheet with her as she fell backwards onto the far side of the bed, her face twisting in shock.

“Well, good morning to you too. Your reaction to seeing me first thing in the morning pains me.” The sky pirate feigned a pained expression as he crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Is my face really so repulsive?”

“N-no, of course not,” the young girl stuttered out nervously, dragging her eyes away from the sight of her bedmate. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever expected to wake up in the same bed next to the infamous sky pirate, let alone to see him so unclothed.

“Oh really? So do you find it charming, handsome even?” the man mischievously teased.

“Yes!” Balthier smirked, surprised with Penelo's fast response. “Wait! You know what I mean!” she answered equally quick, feeling her face glow red in embarrassment. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself and to gather back her wits, she looked up and gave the sky pirate her meanest glare she could muster. “What are you doing in my room, anyway?”

However, her glare failed as the recipient remained completely unaffected and in fact drew an amused expression from him instead. “I'm afraid you're mistaken. These are very much my quarters, I assure you,” the sky pirate lifted his left hand and gestured about the room.

Penelo slowly turned around and did indeed see various navigational maps, guns mounted on the walls and men's attire strewn about. “Oh my, I'm so sorry,” she quickly scrambled out of the bed, patting her loose blonde hair in place. “I got lost and saw the light flickering above the doorway. I remembered mine did that too. So I thought…”

“No, it's quite alright. No need for further explanations. I must say, I was surprised to see you in my bed when I retired late last night. I just assumed you fell asleep while waiting for me.” Balthier teased as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back into the wooden headboard. “But truthfully, I enjoyed the company, especially if said company is as lovely as you,” he continued without cease, relishing how uncomfortable the young girl appeared to be with their intimate situation.

Keeping her eyes diverted from Balthier's naked torso, Penelo hastily stumbled towards the door. “Well, um, okay. Thanks for letting me sleep here, I guess. I'm really sorry about the mistake. I better be going now,” keeping her back to him to hide her deepening blush, Penelo fumbled with the panel's buttons briefly before the door finally opened and she swiftly exited the room.

She sighed softly in relief as she placed her hand over her racing heart. Closing her eyes and recalling what just happen, a small smile graced her lips. Now that was something she had to definitely write about in her journal!

“Penelo! What are you doing here?” the young girl yelped in shock as she slowly looked up to meet Vaan's disapproving glare. “Did you just come out of Balthier's room?”

“No, well yes, but it's not what it seems. You see…” she wrung her hands uncomfortably together, butterflies once again invading her stomach as she tried to think of the quickest way to answer before Vaan made a scene.

“What's going on here?” Basch's gruff voice cut her off as his door slid open.

“I just caught Penelo sneaking out of Balthier's room,” Vaan pointed an accusing finger at his friend. Basch cocked an eyebrow in surprise at the girl, making her shrink further back against Balthier's door.

While inside the room, the sky pirate turned over in his bed, drawing the other pillow near. Inhaling the lingering scent, he closed his eyes, trying to drift back to the restful sleep he had last night.

Author's Notes:

Hello again dear readers. I titled this after Shakespeare's quote “All the world's a stage / And men and women merely players” because this story will be a series of quick one shots and drabbles about Penelo and Balthier in random situations. Some will be romantic, others purely platonic. Hope you all enjoyed this lighthearted quickie.

Thanks again to sephlier for all the kind reviews to my other fics. Your kind comments makes me blush. They all help me stay inspired to write more. Until next time!