Chapter 7: The Nth Degree

Hubert nearly tripped over his own feet as he tried not to hasten his pace towards Pascal, currently engaging in small talk with his father and the President. As it turned out, Pascal was a genius in emulation, and by simply telling herself to "do as Fourier would do," she blended perfectly with the crowd. With timed smiles and polite laughter, she played her part to the hilt while dressed in the most stunning gown of dark blue satin and a pale blue chiffon overlay. Tiny blue embroidered roses accented the gown here and there. Shiny silver barrettes tied back small braids in her hair, and silver beaded netting held her unruly locks in place. Hubert found himself speechless as he stood at her elbow.

"Oh, Hubert," said his father happily. "I was just telling the President how lovely your date is tonight." The emphasis on the word date did not go unnoticed.

"Please, father," responded Hubert, finding his voice again and offering his arm to Pascal. She took it gratefully if only to get away from the spotlight and scrutiny of the small crowd that had gathered around them. "Anyone with eyes can see how lovely she is all of the time." He gave a polite bow as the two older gentlemen exchanged glances, and led Pascal away to a quieter portion of the ballroom. Pascal hoped the shadows were covering the hot flush that rose to her cheeks.

"I haven't seen Madic at all. Every stuffed shirt dressed to the nines here looks the same as any other, and any one of these people could be a potential buyer," sighed Hubert. Pascal was grateful he changed then subject and was already in "work mode."

"It's easier to conduct an exchange in a group of people. We can assume that Madic has already negotiated his price to his employer, and that his employer is looking for some thing or things in particular. But we must capture Madic to recover the rest of the schematics," Hubert continued.

"I doubt he'd be carrying all that stuff with him," concluded Pascal. "But he'd most likely book it as soon as he's done here."

"I've already tasked my soldiers to locate where he is staying in the city. They have warrants to search his rooms, but it would be best to find Madic himself and ask him directly. He could have hidden them."

"If I were Madic, where would I be…? asked Pascal to herself. She looked up towards the giant crystal chandeliers above and saw the ballroom had a second level with balconies. "I think I would be somewhere up high, looking down at people. He was always kind of like that."

"Good call," said Hubert, adjusting his glasses. "I see him. He's on the second balcony to the left. "Don't look up," he commanded as she was just about to do it.

"Come with me," he said, leading her onto the ballroom floor. Pascal looked around and noticed something odd.

"Why are people staring at us?" she asked self-consciously. "Some of them look kinda…ticked off."

"They're not staring at you, they're staring at me. I never dance and I think I may have actually refused every eligible lady in this room at some point or another."

"Oh, Hu," she sighed. "And they call me anti-social."

Without another word Hubert held her close by the waist and Pascal tried not to yelp out loud in surprise. Just like that they started to waltz in time with the others, swirling and turning gracefully, while Hubert was maneuvering them towards the staircase that led up to the second level. Flustered, Pascal did her best to keep up with him, though she was hardly as nimble on her feet in dress shoes as he was. With him leading she was able to keep up with the tempo as long as she didn't look down or consciously count in three-quarter time. Pascal kept a steady gaze at Hubert's jawline, and Hubert kept an eye on Madic as they danced.

He happened to look down and noticed her staring. They both blushed and became a little self-conscious.

"W-What is it?" he asked as they neared the end.

"Why are we dancing again?" Pascal asked.

"Because it would be too conspicuous if I simply dragged you across the dance floor," he said matter-of-factly, though his ears were red now. "This is the quickest route to the stairs and the other routes are crowded right now."

"You said you never danced," she recalled.

"Yes, but…" he began, but hesitated. As the waltz ended, Hubert bowed gracefully. Pascal looked around and saw that the ladies were also curtseying to their partners and so hastily did likewise.

"But-?"

"But that was because there was never anyone I wanted to dance with," he responded and loosened his collar a bit. "It seems a little hot in here, doesn't it?"

He extended a gloved hand towards her, "Let's go." Pascal took his hand in his very warm one and felt her heart skip several beats as they hurried up the flight of stairs.

She spotted Madic sipping a glass of wine at a table at the opposite end of the ballroom. Another man approached and sat down next to him. "That must be who he's waiting for. We should split up," said Pascal as the stairs were equal distance to the table where Madic was sitting.

"Split up?" asked Hubert. "But you're unarmed."

"There's always room for a weapon, even in a get-up like this," she laughed. "I packed light." Pascal lifted the hem of her gown and pulled out a silver rod strapped to her lower leg from underneath her ruffled petticoat. With the push of a button, both ends of the rod extended into a lightweight shot staff, with a head that opened like a fan.

"I made a modified version of my usual staff last night," she grinned. Hubert just stared at her blankly.

"Well, I was bored," she shrugged. "I tinker when I'm bored. It's not like I know how to embroider or anything."

Hubert let out a genuine laugh. Her eyes widened as she had never really heard it before.

"This is why I adore you," he smiled. Pascal blinked and looked away, blushing furiously.

"Hu, I think-" she said, but then added, "I have something I need to say to you… So after this is over, before you go back to work again, can you give me a minute?"

Hubert looked at her questioningly. "Of course," he answered.

With that, they parted ways, each headed towards the same place from different directions.

When Hubert approached Madic, Pascal stood behind a pillar and let him do his job. This was, after all, still an official investigation. As expected, Madic tried to run as Hubert arrested the patron who had made the purchase. He called the other guards standing by to stop the thief but Pascal stepped out of the shadows at that moment, and extended her staff, barring the exit.

"P-Pascal," stammered Madic. He did a double-take at what she was wearing. "You're here. You look great."

"Aww, shucks," said Pascal, rubbing the back of her head. "But flattery will get you nowhere. You almost got me killed." Her smiled turned acidic and there was a dangerous glint in her eye. "And here I thought we were friends."

"Now, now, Pascal," said Madic nervously. "I figured since you're such a world traveler and hero and everything you'd be able to fend off the monsters. Besides, as predicted, your boyfriend jumped in right after you and I heard he's quite the capable man. Heh, I knew you'd be fine."

"But I'm not fine," said Pascal between her teeth. "You just stole our heritage and are willing to sell it to the highest bidder, regardless of what they would use it for. How could you be so…heartless?"

"Science has nothing to do with heart," Madic sneered. "Even if you protect the blueprints now, who's to say the President won't use them for something later, like war?"

"That still doesn't make what you're doing right," she insisted.

"Oh come off your high horse for once, Pascal. Are you really as naive as your father? Even when you're gone, who knows who will get their hands on your creations and who will stop them from using your inventions for evil?"

"Sophie will still be here," said Pascal thoughtfully. "And mecha-Sophie is already sentient. I trust in the future and that my legacy won't be death and destruction, because nothing I make is evil." She cocked her weapon. "But I don't really have any problem with violence when it's necessary."

"You're not going to use your weapon in here are you? There are too many people," said Madic smugly.

In a flash Pascal sprinted up to him, twirling her staff in mid-hair and shoving the base into his gut to knock the wind out of him. Madic let out a breath that was halfway between a cough and a wretch just before the other half of the shot staff smacked him across the face, which sent him reeling back. As he landed in a sprawled mass on the floor, Pascal touched the business end of the staff to his leg and a jolt of power coursed through his body, shocking him unconscious. She kicked him once for good measure, just to make sure he was down. At once, Hubert's men put Madic in shackles, then brought a stretcher to transport him to the prison. As other people started gathering, she once again collapsed her weapon to its more portable size.

Hubert was by her side again instantly. "The rest of the schematics were in his room at a local inn. My men brought it back. He was keeping them in a locked chest."

"What will you do with them?" she asked.

"I'm only turning in the one that was sold as evidence at Madic's trial. Otherwise, I was planning to hand the rest back to you."

"Me?" she asked incredulously.

"If anything, you should return them to the Enclave for safe keeping. It's part of the Amarcian heritage, after all. Strahta has no right to keep it."

"Thanks, Hu," said Pascal, her eyes shining gratefully. Hubert nodded curtly and asked that she give him a moment to finish up and she waited.

"That was impressive overall," said Hubert after he giving his final orders to his men. "Nicely done."

"Awww, it was nothin' really," she replied, adding cheerfully as she pounded a fist into an open palm, "I really wanted to pound his face into a bloody pulp." She looked around and saw that several ladies were huddled together and whispering to one another behind their fans. Pascal suddenly felt self-conscious, a rare feeling for her. "I guess this means I blew my cover," she with a disappointed frown.

"It doesn't matter," said Hubert stepping closer to her and taking a hand in his own. "Nothing anyone could say would make me change the way I see you. And I prefer the way you usually are."

"About that, Hu…" she said, her voice trailing.

"Let's not talk here," he said as he pulled her outside to the vacant terrace outside. The bright, full desert moon hovered above them in a cloudless night. The calm, chilled air steadied her nerves a bit as Hubert led her further out and leaned his arms against the stone railing overlooking the rest of the Presidential residence.

"Let me guess," he sighed. "This is where you let me down gently and tell me that you don't feel the same, correct?"

"Huh?" asked Pascal, looking at him strangely.

"I know I told you how I felt before but I don't think you understand. Every time I'm close to you…," he faltered, and started again, "every time I see your radiant smile, I just want to…hold you." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "It doesn't make any sense, and we're as different as any two people could be, but I think about you all the time. When I'm at work, whether I'm here or away, you fill my thoughts involuntarily. The more time I spend apart from you, the more I can't get you out of my head. Except now that I'm with you, I actually feel normal again. I don't have to think of you because you're there, in my father's house, waiting for me." He sighed. "I know that you can't stay here forever. I just can't stop wanting…hoping…."

She waited for him to finish.

"That you'd stay," he said resolutely. "Even if I had to ask the President to hire you for some project or another, I was hoping you'd stay. Even if you couldn't stay long, just a little while longer…that's all I want. Would it be too much to ask?" He paused. "Would it be appropriate to ask how you feel even though I'm actually afraid to know your answer?"

Pascal gave no response but he thought he saw sympathy in her eyes.

"You don't feel the same way about m-" he said, but before he could finish she gently put a gloved finger to his lips.

"Would you shut up for minute, Hu?" she asked. "I told you when it was all over I had something I wanted to say to you. So, please be quiet for bit, okay?"

He nodded silently, dumfounded by her brusque attitude.

"There are so many things I like about you, Hu," she said quietly as she watched the moon above. "You strut around as proud a peacock as any in there, but you actually have the talent to back it up. You can bang-bang-whoosh an enemy blindfolded, all the while strutting in heels more gracefully than I ever could. You conceal a whole mess of things in your heart but you're also painfully honest underneath. Your'e really distant on the outside but inside you care about a lot of things. You're a walking contradiction, just like me."

Hubert waited for her to explain.

"I smile a lot because they tell me I look like my mom, and she always smiled. So when I smile I feel like she's smiling with me. I laugh a lot at everything because I feel like I need to make up for my dad's share, now that he's gone. I gotta balance my sister out 'cause Fourier is as serious as they come," she wrinkled her nose disdainfully. "Fourier calls me a social moron. People actually call me a lot of things, like nerd, girl genius, weirdo, ruins nut, grease monkey…." she stopped there so she could get back to the point. "No one has ever…used any of the fancy words you use to describe me. Nobody has ever called anything of mine 'radiant,' until now. The way you say it," Pascal stopped to let her hand wander to his, and intertwined their pinkies, "makes me feel as if it's true."

"Pascal…" he said in a low voice. "Do you even realize what you're saying?"

"I think I'm saying that I like you, too," she frowned. "Did it come out wrong?"

Hubert's eyes widened and his heart started to pound. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"No," he said gently, holding her hand now firmly in his, and pulling her closer. "I understood perfectly."

"Good," she sighed in relief. "I thought I was totally gonna botch it."

"So you actually like me?" asked Hubert, afraid it was too good to be true.

"Yeah," she said. "When you ask me like that it's embarrassing, but yeah. My heart goes all floopy-loopy when I'm close to you and whenever you do something cool I feel like cheering out loud. I've never felt this way before," she added. "So I think…I might be in love…" Pascal could feel her face turning red and she made a face. "Omigosh, I just said that out loud."

"No matter how you feel about me," he said shyly, "I feel infinitely more towards you."

"You're so competitive, Hu, always trying to top everyone else," she giggled. "But I guess you're saying that you love me...to the nth degree?" Pascal thought about it for a moment with her mathematical mind. "Wow, Hu, that's really romantic."

In that short span of awkward silence that followed, Hubert leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, and when he opened his eyes he saw the shocked expression on her face.

"I'm officially off duty... So it's not inappropriate," he tried to justify.

"You…kissed me," Pascal stated, still perplexed as she brought a finger to her lips.

"Did you not… Shouldn't I have?" he asked tentatively. She suddenly jerked her head up and she looked as though she were about to cry.

"I apologize if that's not what you-" he began, but before he could continue she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back, her teeth nearly crashing into his.

"Wha-" he gasped, his lips still engaged with hers. He managed her name in-between breaths but she would not relent. It was not until he surrendered and closed his eyes as his hands wrapped around her middle that Pascal pulled away and met his gaze.

"That was wonderful, Hubert," she said and leaned her forehead against his. His heart nearly melted at the sound of his name on her lips and he could feel his head grow light enough to almost float away.

Pascal sighed contentedly and felt as though she had finally come home after a long, long journey.

Finis.

Author's notes:

Yes, I made fun of his heels a bit in this chapter but Hubert really is awesome. It's the first time I liked a side character more than the main character-expect for Symphonia, I didn't like any of those characters (sorry, Symphonia fans). Richard was second place of course and Asbel a distant third. But I can safely say that Pascal is my favorite Tales of heroine. She's quirky and fun, and her mecha weapons are just too cool. Together with Hubert, I totally fangirl this couple.

So instead of a short one-shot, I threw in something fun where you could see snippets of what they would think of one another while going through a mini crisis together, and just like with Hubert there's more than meets the eye with Pascal. I tried to do her justice. I hoped you liked it.

Until next time,

-Kero