Hmm, thinking about Pansa and Vesper <3
I mostly talk about fluffy domestic stuff or Vesper's personality and motivations. Hence, the action tends to kinda fall to the wayside. Still, Vesper's often away from the Citadel (oftentimes he's off planet entirely) handling field missions which can get really dangerous and physically demanding. Thankfully he's got plenty of tech and rations so he doesn't really have to use survivalist skills like hunting or making shelter from scratch, but military field work is still military field work at the end of the day.
That being established, back to fluffy domestic stuff lol: Vesper doing a lot of that real-life (dangerous) hard work is part of why Pansa likes him. Pansa adores spoiling his partners. If that's all he wanted, then he could find thousands of other partners easier to spoil. He and his mother have been presented with an uncountable number of letters and propositions for him to marry dukes, duchesses, princes and princesses, nobility and royalty of all varieties. All beautiful, all who would love being treated to the vast wealth of the Emperor of the ESR. Vesper's not exactly easy to lavish. He gets caught up in roles and ranking. Being the general is considered nobility in the ESR, but Vesper still perceives his role as that of a soldier rather than a bureaucrat. Someone with a lot of important responsibilities, but who will never really be worthy of luxury the way someone born into nobility is. He's a soldier, comes from nothing, one who gets his hands dirty and so would taint any pristine luxury not meant for him. So, he often resists. Insist that he's fine, and that he really doesn't need that much. He rarely asks for things that aren't essential. Hell, even Vesper's more comfortable clothes and pajamas are gifts from Pansa, because before he'd just wear the standard-issue military garments he's always worn. When he does get gifts he reacts reservedly and humbly, not showing off or calling attention to it.
And Pansa likes that about her. A noble partner would be easier to spoil, would show more outward delight at the gifts, but they'd rarely appreciate the value. At least in Pansa's opinion, it's just something they'd expect. He doesn't doubt that they'd appreciate it of course, but his gifts wouldn't be anything very impressive. For other silver-spooners, they'd be par for the course. Vesper is different.
Pansa likes that spoiling Vesper really means something to her. She knows the precious value of his gifts because she knows a life without wealth. He likes knowing that the grime on Vesper's skin is being washed away by expensive soaps, and that those creams and body butters Pansa insists he use are actually doing something for his rough and scarred skin. He likes presenting Vesper with a huge expensive meal after he returns home knowing that it's the first proper meal he's had in weeks. Likes knowing that when Vesper goes to sleep that night it'll be in a huge, plush, comfortable bed that's much larger than he needs, curled up like a little stray kitten that Pansa's brought in from the cold.
Her going out regularly on field missions does worry Pansa. He cares about her safety and will always be nervous about her getting hurt. But he also likes knowing that she's not going to get too used to constant wealth. Even when she could be handed everything on a shining golden platter, she's still determined to keep getting her hands dirty.
