*Queue Disclaimer*

Hey, this is Jax! I don't own the characters! That is all. Please enjoy this little oneshot and review if you'd like. (but I'd totally love it if you did)

Snow

"Penelo, wake up." Vaan's voice chimed in my ears as I opened my eyes.

He welcomed me with his smiling face, propped up on our bed by an elbow. His eyes, turned hollow by "the incident", have began to brighten again. Slowly, but he's coming around.

I sat up and stretched as Vaan watched my every move.

"You might want to put on your scarf today, Penelo." Vaan sounded cheery about that, which didn't sound very Vaan-like.

"Why?" I blinked to him.

"I heard word from Old Dalan that heavy snow fell overnight." He grinned childishly, and I couldn't help but mimic it myself. Snow didn't come often, and when it did, it stuck around for a while.

"Snow? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

We haven't had snow in a while, and last time we had it, Rex played with us in it. I'm surprised Vaan would even mention it. I guess some aspects of him would always stay the same- even through tragedy.

I grabbed my favorite yellow, wool scarf and hugged it. I could catch the smell of her perfume on the fabric, and it brought back memories- her hugs, her kisses on my cuts and bruises, and her lemonade. If I could... could just see her one more time...

"Penelo?"

I snapped back into reality, realizing she wasn't there. Of course she wasn't... Mom wasn't coming back- neither was Rex. For a moment, I wondered if Vaan was ever struck with memories like that. I looked to him, and I could only guess by the look in his eye that he knew what I was thinking about. He didn't dare bring it up, though.

We never brought anything like that up around each other. It meant the past. And with the past comes mourning and regret and memories. All of which we had a silent agreement to never touch base on.

He smiled weakly, "Don't forget your sweater."

Live in the present. Survive. That was our new motto. Support one another and keep breathing. Do odd jobs on top of what we already do to make enough coin to scrape by. Yet Vaan always seemed able to scramble up enough coin to afford a luxury now and again.

Like the aforementioned sweater.

I shuffled through the barren closet to grab the black garment, a birthday gift from him, no less, and slipped it over my usual uniform. I glanced over at Vaan's progress of getting dressed.

He'd put on a white shirt and leather gloves. He slipped back on the metal chest jewelry he always donned above it.

"Ready to go, Penelo?" He smiled to me. Sometimes I think that smile is really the only thing keeping me here in Rabanastre. I could run from this situation, from my past, from this city- yet I stay. And, deep inside, I like to think that my smile is keeping him here, too.

"I'm all set."

I grabbed the keys to our apartment and locked the door back as we walked into Lowtown.

There was a buzz among us as we walked, though neither of us spoke. Vaan stretched his hand out to cover over mine. He slipped his fingers into the spaces, as comfort for earlier. It was unspoken, but we both knew it was the reason. It was always for that reason. It was the reason we held each other during our rough nights plagued with nightmares, the reason we hugged, and the reason we fell asleep together with held hands under the sheets.

We were both broken. We missed the people who comforted us and kept us whole, and what was better to do than to fill each other's missing spots.

We both knew it wasn't the same- and it never would be. But it kept us alive and sane, and it was better than being alone. Much better.

We approched the Southgate together, the silence still lingering. Our hands parted. Vaan stepped forward and touched the door with just his fingertips, the mechanism shifting.

It's amazing how a gentle touch can put things in motion.

As the light hit my eyes and they adjusted, I saw the snow. The large flakes were falling heavily, and what was already on the stone pavement went past my ankles.

"Amazing, isn't it Vaan?" I took everything around me in at once.

Including a snowball. It hit the bare part of my neck not covered by my yellow scarf, and the immediate cold sent shivers down my spine.

"Wha...?" I brushed off the remains on my neck.

As I turned to glare to the only person who would do it, he greeted me with yet another snowball, this time to the face.

I wiped my eyes and hissed. "What was that for?!"

"Can't take a little snow?" Vaan teased.

"... Very funny." I sought revenge and packed a handful of the stuff, hurling it toward his forehead. Of course, I missed and hit a chocobo.

"Kweh!" The yellow bird squawked in surprise. He flapped his wings and ran in circles, trying to escape his attacker. Soon other chocobos followed its example and the coop was out of order.

"Watch it!" Gurdy scolded us, trying to console the birds.

By this time, Vaan was rolling in the snow, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. "Were you aiming for me...?! You're such an awful shot!" I ignored his words and rolled my eyes to the boy.

"Sorry, Gurdy...!" I said as I kicked Vaan in the side.

I didn't miss this time.

Author's Note: I know it's a bit odd to imagine snow in a desert like environment, but I imagine Rabanastre wouldn't be quite like a normal desert. I imagine the area would actually have sudden and dramatic seasons, with summer being the longest one.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading. It means a lot.

-bandluvr06, out!