Title: "Manners"

Rating: K+

Word Count: 1,184

Characters: Fran and Vaan (and a tiny bit of Balthier). No pairings.

Description: Repetition is said to be good for a young person who is learning. Whoever said so obviously knew what they were talking about.

"I'm sorry!"

Fran turns her head slowly to her right to discover the source of such a desperate apology, and finds Vaan bowing in respect. She raises an eyebrow ever so slightly. She does not recall an occasion where the youth wronged her even in the slightest. To be sure, he is one of the youngest members on the ship, and is therefore worth a shake of the head when it comes to some of his actions, but he hasn't done anything to upset her.

She places her bow down on the table beside her, along with the weapon cleaning supplies in her hands, and rested an arm on the tabletop. "And I will accept your apology, Hume-child, so long as you tell me what it is for."

His cringe is terribly obvious, and she blinks once with a little confusion. Had he done something to wrong her that she wasn't aware of? Or perhaps he had broken something important on the ship? If that was it, then he would be more willing to face her than Balthier, strange as that was. The magnitude of Balthier's love for his ship was no mystery, and if Vaan had done anything to it, the sky pirate would no doubt treat the situation as if Vaan had done another human severe bodily harm.

"Well, I-I..." Vaan began, stuttering.

Fran, although very curious as to why he's standing her, is too old not to know patience. So she gives him a moment, noting with some amusement that the Hume before her looks almost terrified. Perhaps Balthier's influences have reached her at last, if she finds this to be a source of some hilarity.

"I...uh...do you remember that one time we were in Eruyt?" he said, placing a hand behind his hand nervously as he laughed.

She nodded slowly. There's only been "one time" in Eruyt. He cleared his throat, nervously fidgeting, and she continued waiting.

"Well, y-you...uh...well, Balthier told me to come and tell you sorry for what I did back then!"

Fran had an idea of where this was going, but held back from making her guess vocal. "And may I ask what it was that you did?"

Now Vaan just sighed heavily, lifting his eyes to the heavens imploringly as if to ask if he really had to speak further. Then he recovered a bit, bringing his eyes back down to Ivalice but not looking directly at her. "What I had asked you about...before we left..."

A tiny smile passed over the Viera's lips. Her guess was right. This was about when he'd asked what her age was. Honestly, she had taken no great offense to the question. She naturally lived at least three times longer than Humes, and was therefore free of feeling negatively when questions on the subject came up. The only reason she had walked off without speaking a word, her expression stiff as well as her posture, was because she was in a village she had grown up in all her life that did not welcome her any longer, and was eager to leave the memories behind.

She knows very well that she could give him a gracious nod, pardoning him and sending him on his way to pursue his usual daily activities aboard the ship. But again, she remembers that this Hume is indeed quite young, and will not be so lucky with others as he is with her if he does not think before he speaks. It is a tiny lesson to be learned, but it will help in the long run.

"What was it that you had said about me, Hume-child?" she asked, her face blank as if she didn't remember. Vaan whimpered a little, letting his arms hang to his sides, his expression begging her to remember just so he wouldn't have to repeat it. But he was not going to get away with it so easily.

He took in a deep breath, almost closing his eyes as if she were going to unleash some form of fury on him. "I-I had asked you...about your age."

She tapped the tabletop with her fingernails for a moment, as if trying to gather her memory, Vaan messing with the edges of his vest nervously. Then she nodded. "I remember," she said simply.

"Yeah, that's what I came to say sorry for," he said, looking away with some embarrassment. "So, I'm sorry." She looked at him with no harshness, but tilted her head just a little, as a mother would do with her child when she expected him to further explain.

He sighed a little ruefully again, his expression filled with surrender. "I'm sorry I asked you how old you were, it was rude," he said grudgingly, scowling a little as he looked away from her.

And to this, she simply nodded, got up, and picked up her weapon and supplies. "I took no offense to begin with, Hume-child."

He immediately grew surprised. "What? Really?"

She turned her head to look at him, something like a smile playing on her lips as she nodded, and he beamed. Good. He was starting to learn a little more. The Hume before her was growing.

Then she noticed he wasn't moving, looking as if he wanted to ask her something, and she turned around again.

"So...how old are you really?" he asked, and she straightened up a bit in surprise. Again, she took no offense, but had the boy learned anything from what had just transpired? She was tempted to give him a withered look.

As if on cue, Balthier walked in, giving the boy a slight scowl as he smacked him lightly upside the head.

"Are you mad? Did you not learn anything from what I just told you?" the sky pirate said.

"Well she said it was okay!" Vaan cried, rubbing the back of his head slightly.

"Just because she said so doesn't mean you should speak so carelessly," Balthier said, crossing his arms as he looked at Vaan with disbelief. "Really, do you hope to be a sky pirate with manners such as yours?"

"That doesn't have anything to do with it!"

"Of course it does," Balthier said, placing a stern hand on the boy's shoulder and bringing him closer to Fran. "Do you think sky pirates only fly and the come to the ground only to remain silent? Gracious." He nudged his head toward his partner, and Vaan winced a little as he bowed his head.

"...Sorry again," he said, looking up at her through his bangs. Fran nodded again to tell him it was alright. She prepared to leave, but Vaan's voice stopped her. "Um...can I help you with those?" he asked, pointing at the supplies in her arms.

She nodded again, and he smiled as he took the supplies and made for the storage room, obviously glad that he hadn't completely screwed up. Fran caught a glimpse of her partner, who had his eyebrows raised considerably in surprise.

"...He learns," Fran said with a smile, and Balthier shrugged. Maybe he wasn't learning to be polite in the way they expected. But he was learning nonetheless.

A/N: Oh look, I guess I haven't forgotten about this story.

No seriously, it took a while to conjure the inspiration for and interaction for these two. Fran and Vaan don't really communicate during the game, if they ever actually did.

For those of you who still keep up with this, I apologize for the lag. I will try and be prompt with these. Next up should be Ashe and Vaan (mercy) or Penelo and Vaan. Special thanks to bunannza and ZoraAngel for reviews on the previous chapter!

Thank you for reading!