A/N - Just a short, little introspective chapter based on something cute that happened in my game.
Little Things
Penelo knows that she never really had much of a chance, it's just that...when she had his handkerchief, it was almost like...
"Almost like what?" she asks herself quietly.
She sighs. She is a fair-minded girl, and they had been partners well before she came on the scene. If Balthier and Fran took such happiness in one another's company, then who was she to come between them?
Well of course, she still isn't entirely sure if they are together. She and Vaan sometimes speculate about the exact nature of their relationship, but neither of them has ever actually seen them kiss [which Vaan assures her is the safest way to tell].
One time, she was passing Fran's cabin on her way to the bathroom, and saw Balthier in there brushing her hair. They weren't speaking or anything, but instead of awkward it felt entirely natural. Penelo felt like she shouldn't really be looking, so she quickly moved on, not that the two would have noticed.
Another time Vaan claimed that Fran and Balthier were holding hands on the bridge, but Penelo told him not to be an idiot. Obviously, they would be concentrating on flying the ship on the bridge. Penelo wasn't going to give much credence to a person who took over an hour to find her [in her own cabin] on a relatively small airship anyway.
Even so, Penelo knows that she will never be more than a friend to Balthier. There is no need for evidence, because all the proof she needs is in the little things, the little words and actions and expressions that are often easily missed.
Such as the way that, in the heat of battle, they will cast a healing spell at each other at exactly the same time. The way Balthier chatters away at some length about some strategy he has, and Fran sums him up in three words.
Or the way one of them seems diminished without the other.
Penelo tries to picture her and Vaan like that, but it doesn't quite work. She'll tease him and then they'll argue and then they'll be fine again somehow but Vaan will do something stupid but Penelo will eventually forgive him because they've known each other all their lives and they're friends, and that's what friends do, right?
Take today for example. Vaan swore he saw Fran leaving the captain's cabin early in the morning wearing Balthier's bathrobe, but obviously he doesn't know what he's talking about. There aren't any baths on the Strahl, so why would Bathier have a bathrobe onboard?
Once again, Vaan isn't making any sense, and she won't let him get away with it.