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

One Night

It was strange how it happened. How any of it even began. She was only a young seventeen year old orphan girl and he was the self-proclaimed leading man with an already beautiful leading lady as his partner. But somehow, in a weird twist of fate it did. She tried to examine every little moment, and ease her self-doubts and insecurities. Was it because of the heavy blizzard? Maybe it was because Vaan accepted to hunt that particular mark? Perhaps, he had been too wrapped up in the moment they were sharing? No, she felt it began long before any of those things occurred, at least on her side. Perchance, Fate had decided that the moment he handed her his handkerchief that they would wind up alone together in that cave.

She admitted to herself that ever since he entrusted her with his handkerchief, a little spark of attraction was ignited towards him. Even though she barely just met him, she clutched the small piece of cloth tightly in her hands, feeling safer throughout the time she was kidnapped. When she heard he was on his way to save her, she blushed shyly in surprise and confusion. Of course she realized he came probably because of Vaan, but a little part of her hoped that not all of it was.

Penelo chanced a glance at the sky pirate up ahead of her. As usual, he was walking next to Fran, talking amiably about something she couldn't overhear. She continued to watch him and the tall viera walking comfortably side by side, causing her doubts to come rushing back through her mind. Nodding absentmindedly to something Vaan was telling her, her thoughts shifted back to the beginning.

Three days ago…

"You agreed to another mark, Vaan? Don't we have better things to do than to be hunters for hire?" Ashe asked with a slight tinge of irritation evident in her voice.

"Well, how else are we to make money?" Vaan turned and asked the princess. Ashe crossed her arms over her chest, unable to answer.

"Anyhow, we have to wait it out a bit here at the Temple for a blizzard. According to Relj, the mark only appears when it snows heavily in the Silverflow's End," replied Vaan as he pulled out an apple from his pouch and examined the skin. "Besides, I know we can handle this hunt easily," Vaan paused as he took a bite of his apple. "I mean, it's just a wyrm."

"A wyrm! Are you aware of how notoriously dangerous those beasts are? Not only are they physically powerful, but are able to cast an array of spells," Ashe shot back.

Balthier stood up from the wall that he was casually leaning against and gently placed a hand on the irate princess's shoulder. "Well then, we better go to battle well prepared and rested, and get this mark out of the way. The sooner we do, the sooner you'll be back on the throne, princess." Ashe sighed but nodded contentedly in response and started towards the Temple, with Basch following close behind.

"Vaan, you know that the Lady Ashe is in a hurry to find the Sun-Cryst in Ridorana. You just want another excuse to play around with your new toy," Penelo playfully nudged Vaan.

"Well, we do need the money. And I know that with this," Vaan pulled out his Zodiac Spear from his holster on his back and twirled it around, "the hunt will be easy."

"Careful with that. We wouldn't want to accidentally hurt anyone around the Temple," Fran said as she breezed by the two and up the steps.

"And if that's not enough, I'll be there to save you. After all, the leading man must always save the beautiful damsel in distress," Balthier winked at Penelo before he followed after his partner.

Penelo couldn't help but blush as her gaze followed the sky pirate's form up the stairwell.

"Um, Penelo, I hope you're not really falling for Balthier's lines. I mean, you do realize that he is just teasing you, right?"

"No, of course I'm not!" Penelo replied hastily, snapping her eyes back to meet Vaan's.

"Good, because you know, he's one of those types of guys with a silver tongue. He can make any woman feel special. Look at how he easily appeases Ashe and gets along with Fran," Vaan chuckled lightly. "Balthier sure is talented with the ladies. But just don't fall for it too, Penelo. I don't want you to get your hopes up and get hurt by him. Okay?"

"Yeah…okay, I know." Vaan patted her on the shoulder and nodded towards the temple. "Uh, I'll be there in a bit. I need to go back and stock up on some remedies."

"Okay then. Don't take too long," Vaan replied before he raced up the steps to catch up with the rest of the party.

'Yes, Balthier is just teasing me," she thought to herself. She turned and began heading down the stairs. 'Why would a leading man ever want an errand girl?'

Penelo finally arrived at the Temple when it was dark. She passed by the others as they were eating their dinner, but declined joining them saying she had a bit of a headache and wanted to rest. However, the truth was she didn't want to be around him.

Usually dinnertime was her favorite time of the day. Not because they all actually had a chance to rest and eat, but because she loved listening to his deep smooth voice as he recounted one of his many various sky pirating adventures, which he often did during the meal. Many times she would find herself and everyone laughing, except for Fran since she was the one that had experienced it with him. 'To hear the story is one thing, but to actually have to go through it was another' Fran had said.

Though these times they spent together were her favorite, she just couldn't tonight. Lately, she had been feeling herself blushing and needing to steal glances at the sky pirate more and more. But she knew that her silly crush must stop. She knew Vaan was right; Balthier was a flirt with all the ladies.

Penelo sighed and began to untie the bows at the end of her pigtails. Sifting through her pack, she found her brush and sat back down on the bed facing the window. Ashe had asked her before why she keeps her hair up in pigtails all the time. She answered saying that it was the easiest way to keep it out of her face when she was running errands in Rabanastre. Actually, it was how her mother did her hair before she died. She knew it made her look a bit childish compared to other girls her age, but it was a way of keeping a little momento of her mother with her daily and remember how life was before the war. Closing her eyes, she quietly started to hum a melody to fill the silence of the room as she began to brush through her golden strands.

"Hope I'm not disturbing you." A deep masculine voice quietly said. Penelo didn't need to open her eyes to see who it was, his voice was enough, but she was still surprised.

"No, not at all Balthier," she stood up from the bed to see him leaning against the doorframe of the room.

"I brought you some dinner," Balthier revealed a plate filled various fruits, cheese and bread. "You should eat something. I'm sure it will help to alleviate your headache."

"Oh thank you, but you really shouldn't have," Penelo reached out and grabbed the plate from him. Her eyes shyly met his before looking back down to the floor.

"No problem at all. In fact, it's a pleasure, especially since my troubles are rewarded with the vision of you with your hair down."

"What?" Penelo looked up quickly to see Balthier looking down smiling warmly at her.

"You know, you really should wear your hair down more often," he stepped a little closer to her.

"Well, I usually put my hair down whenever I sleep. You just haven't noticed before," Penelo replied, a deep blush staining her cheeks once again.

"Hmm, really? I'm surprised I haven't," Balthier gestured towards a lock of blonde hair that hung over her left shoulder. "May I?" She nodded and he gazed at her with an unreadable expression before running his fingers through her hair and tucking it behind her ear. "You're even lovelier when you're blushing"

Embarrassed, Penelo tilted her head down to floor, trying to hide her reddened cheeks. After a long moment of silence, Balthier let out a heavy sigh and walked towards the door.

"It seems there will be blizzard in the area, lucky us. So get a good night's rest for tomorrow." He gave her his usual smirk before he turned to go down the hall.

She sat back down on the bed beside her forgotten dinner, idly twisting the golden strand of hair around her finger, trying to decipher his gaze.

Author's Notes:

Hello my dear readers. Thank you for taking the time to read my little fic. I love balthier/penelo fics and haven't seen many on here. So this is my addition to this fandom. Anyhow, this fic is inspired by the handkerchief scene, as well as the hunt for Fafnir. I personally haven't fought the creature yet, well because I can't find it!!! It never snows hard enough in that area. So this fic is a combination of my love of the pair and my irritation with this hunt.

Sorry if anyone seems ooc. This is just a little sampling. Let me know if you me to continue with a kind review. I wouldn't want to waste time writing a fic that no one is enjoying.

Take care all and happy holidays!