After Midnight

Chapter 1

by Rena-Chan44

Story Name: After Midnight

Author: Rena-Chan44

Summary: From the moment I met him, I had always tried to tell myself it was just a petty little crush. Boy, was I ever wrong. PeneloxBalthier

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasty XII, or any of its characters. Square Enix, does. So please don't sue. Only the plot of this story is mine.

X-X-X-X

I wiped my sweaty brow in exhaustion, smearing more dirt across my forehead. We were traveling through the Estersands, and boy, was it hot. We had been walking through the sands for so long I couldn't even remember why we were on this journey. Yeah, the heat was defiantly getting to me if I couldn't even remember something as simple as that. Typical Penelo behavior, I told myself.

I looked around at my comrades, to see if they were even showing any signs of exhaustion. If they were, maybe we could stop to rest.

A little to my left was Vaan. Thankfully, he was looking just as worn as I was feeling. It was slightly reassuring to know that I wasn't the only one who was about to pass out. But, then again, Vaan and I were labeled the 'children' of the group. Perhaps that was why we were so tired.

I decided to take a look at the rest of the group. Directly behind me was Lady Ashe. She was also panting slightly, but did not look as tired as I. She had once told me that she had to remain strong at all times, regardless of how she was feeling. I looked up to her for that. She was still young but had such a burden to carry on her shoulders, yet carried on with courage and determination. I hope I can be as great as her, someday.

Basch was trudging to her right. He didn't look a bit tired. I honestly didn't know how he could do it. He was clearly one of the oldest here, yet he could keep walking and walking for hours on end, without showing any signs of weakness. But it was obvious he had been through many hardships in his life. I shouldn't even be complaining.

Fran and Balthier were walking side-by-side in the front of the group, as usual.

The white-haired viera was walking with a trudge, like the rest of us. She too, liked to remain strong, but I think she would soon look like the rest of us. Exhausted, that is. She carried her cross-bow in such of fashion, should a fiend attack, she would be ready. But there had not been any fiends for quite some time. And for that, I was glad.

I didn't even bother to fight the blush that came across my face when I looked over at Balthier, because I was so hot that my face was already tinted red. The first time I had met him, when I was trying to save Vaan from the soldiers, I thought that he was cruel for not letting me see Vaan. But, when I had been captured in the mines, and my captors had told me he was coming for me, I couldn't help but to like him even more. And as the time passed, I found myself having a crush on the sky pirate. From the moment I met him, I had always tried to tell myself it was just a petty little crush. Boy, was I ever wrong. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to not like him. But, my pathetic attempts were obviously futile, because I found that I would practically swoon at his every word. I tried not to show it, of course.

I sighed. There was no way that the charming sky pirate would ever even consider being interested in a lowly street orphan like me. Especially when there was people like brave Princess Ashe and the beautiful Fran around.

This crush was completely unreasonable. For as long as I could remember, I had always had a little crush on my friend Vaan, even if I knew he was never interested. I would always be his best friend, not his girlfriend. I knew that it would never happen...and that I would have to stop and just move on. I could never bring myself to actually do it--until I met Balthier. He was so brave, handsome and charming that almost all of the feelings I had for Vaan were whisked away. Yeah, he had that affect on me, apparently, I mused.

The sound of Vaan's voice broke me out of my little reverie.

"Hey!! Penelo? You there?" He called, waving a hand in front of my face.

I jumped a little. "Oh! Yeah, what is it?"

"Everyone's decided that we are going to take a break soon...it's almost dark, see?" he replied, motioning to the sky. The sun was indeed starting to set. Thank goodness. That would mean the heat would go down.

I nodded, and then followed my allies to a small cave. I was surprised. Caves were rare in the Estersand. I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky.

"Hey, Vaan?" I asked the blond.

He turned towards me again, "Yeah?"

"How did we find a cave?" I inquired.

He let out a laugh. "You were really out of it, weren't you? He motioned towards the tall viera who was already right by the entrance to the cave, along with Balthier. "Fran, of course."

I nodded again in understanding, and Vaan and I made our way over and into the cave. We were the last of the group to enter. Lady Ashe was setting up the mats for us to sleep. I quickly ran over to give her a hand.

When we were done, she smiled politely and said, "Thank you, Penelo." After that, she got up and went to sit beside Basch on the log near the fire pit that Vaan and Fran were making.

I followed her and walked over to see Fran and Vaan. They seemed to be having trouble making the pit. They had dug a small ditch, but that was it.

"Hey, Penelo?" Vaan asked when I stood beside him, "Do you think you could go help Balthier get some rocks and some sort of wood? I know it'll be hard to find wood in the desert, but there should be something..."

I blushed slightly when Vaan mentioned his name. But I hoped I could still easily write it off as the 'heat'. I replied quickly, "Of course. Where...is he?"

Fran looked around and answered for him. "It would seem that he is still waiting by the entrance..."

"Humph!" Vaan laughed, "I looks like he's waiting for you to hurry up, Penelo!"

"Huh?" I asked, "Oh!"

Not wanting to keep him waiting, I ran over to the entrance where he was still standing, arms folded at his chest. "Are you ready?" the sky pirate asked me, when I reached his side.

I looked at the ground, suddenly interested by the pebble there. I kicked it with the toe of my boot. I could never really look him in the eye while I talked to him.

"Yes." I told him, keeping my gaze low.

"Alright. Let's go, then." he walked out of the cave and towards on of the little bunches of trees in the Estersands. I followed him quietly, trying to compose myself. Suddenly the heat barely bothered me.

The entire time that we gathered rocks and sticks, all I could do was concentrate on not tripping over my own two feet or blurting out something completely unreasonable. But of course, me being who I am just had to blow it.

It all started when I was reaching for a particularly high branch on one of the palm trees. I couldn't reach, so I climbed up to the top and tried to pull it off. But, suddenly, my foot somehow got stuck on something and I slipped and fell off the tree. I yelped and closed my eyes, expecting to hit the ground. But instead, I felt a strong pair of arms catch my fall.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I gasped. Great. Just great. This couldn't get anymore embarrassing. None the less, I opened my eyes.

"I'm fine." I managed to choke out, "You can put me down, now." Not that I wanted him too, but I knew if he didn't let me go soon I'd probably go insane. That was most definitely the last thing I needed to happen.

He put me down. As I brushed the dirt off of my clothes, I felt his gaze on me. My face burned. I did not dare to look up. It would only make it worse.

I heard him chuckle lightly. "Perhaps, it would help," he started, "If you did not blush so easily."

I let out a little startled squeak the second those words left his lips. Now, I was determined to keep my eyes on the ground.

I could practically feel him smiling cockily. "It's nothing to be ashamed of," he told me, "I find it quite captivating."

And with that, he gathered the rocks and wood that he had collected, and said, "Well, one would think that we have enough firewood by now. Let's bring it back to Vaan and Fran, yes?"

All I could do was nod, and follow him back to the cave, keeping a few feet away at all times. How could he just say things like that and walk away as if it was nothing--and that he said things like that all the time? Wait, he probably did. I suppose I was over-reacting.

By the time that Balthier and I had made it back to our home for the night, it was already dark. So dark, in fact, that I had trouble making my way through the entrance of the cave. I stopped walking and squinted my eyes. I had never really had that great eyesight--I guess I would have to hope for the best and try not to crash into anything. Or worse, anyone.

But then, I felt someone grasp my elbow and lead me towards the center of the cave. Or what I thought was the center.

"Okay, we have the firewood." I heard the sky pirate say from beside me. So, it was him who helped me in here. I couldn't help but to grin stupidly.

I noticed, however, that, once in the middle of the cave, it was a little easier to see everyone. Vaan and Fran had already finished setting up the fire pit.

"Stand back." I heard the viera say. I quickly obeyed, not wanting to end up catching on fire. She muttered a quick 'fire', and soon the entire cave was lit by a soft, warm glow. And I was glad that I could finally have regular vision.

I took a seat on one of the many rocks that were placed around the fire. Vaan came over and sat beside me. Ashe and Fran sat directly across from us, and Balthier and Basch took the last one to my right.

Because it was time for us to eat, everyone was silent, for the most part, except for Vaan's usual chattering and the occasional comment made by me, Basch, or Balthier. After that, when we were done, a few of my comrades decided to go rest for a while.

This eventually led to Vaan arguing pointlessly with certain members of the group, because he simply decided he did not want to take the first watch. I really don't know why he was complaining. It was ritual to us now, and we had developed a system so everyone would get a chance to sleep, and one turn to watch.

"Vaan." Fran said irritably, "It is your turn. Just take your shift." And with that, she left and went over to the sleeping area.

"Ugh." he said, "Fine."

"Vaan?" I asked. I couldn't help but to feel bad. I was just like that. "I'll take your shift, if you want."

He whipped his head around. "Really? Yes! You're the best Penelo!" he shouted. He hugged me quickly and ran over to the mats as well, laying down. I knew he'd be out cold in a matter of minutes.

I laughed good-naturedly and walked back to the fire pit. I pulled out my dagger and a couple of protective spells and set the items on the floor beside me. I watched silently as my friends lay down to sleep. Just watching them made me tired. I tried to think about something else, to keep myself from falling asleep. And, as expected, Balthier's words nudged their way back into my brain--they'd been doing so for the past hour.

It's nothing to be ashamed of, Penelo. I find it quite captivating.

What was wrong with him? Who just said things like that, and walked away as if it was completely normal? Did he not notice? I remember when I first meet the sky pirate, when I was trying to get to Vaan, he had given me his handkerchief to hold on to until I saw him again. I remember being very careful not to loose it. Then, when I had given it back in Bhujerba, I had practically fallen over at the words that came out of his mouth.

Thank you. I'll keep it close to my heart.

I supposed Balthier was just that kind of person. That he said things like that to all the women he met. I couldn't help but to hope that maybe, he was even slightly attracted to me, because I don't recall him ever saying things like that to Fran...or even Ashe. But maybe, that was because Fran would probably get really mad at him...and that well, Ashe was technically a princess, so he knew that she was off-limits.

I decided that I should just stop thinking all together. The only things my mind could think about in it's tired state was sleep...and Balthier. Suddenly, I couldn't wait until my shift was over. It was a bad idea for me to take over Vaan's shift.

So, I just sat in silence, thinking about every other little thing that wasn't about sleep or a certain sky pirate. It was a pretty tough job. I almost had to resort to singing random songs in my head so I wouldn't think about it. But then, before I could start the first verse, I saw something move and sit beside me out of the corner of my eye.

I froze. The very person I had been trying so hard not to think about had just sat beside me.

I turned slowly. He was sitting right beside me, clearly pretending it was completely normal for him to be here.

"Uh..." was all I said.

He turned. "Oh, hello, Penelo."

I laughed inwardly. As if he didn't know I was here.

I just stared.

"I suppose you are wondering why I am here on this very fine night. Or should I say morning. It is after midnight." he continued.

I nodded dumbly.

"It seemed as if you were rather bored, and I could not fall asleep, so I decided to come keep you company. You do not mind, do you?" he explained.

I did mind, I minded a lot, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. "Sure. I don't mind."

I racked my brain for something to say. Nothing came. I snuck a look at him. He was staring into the fire, deep in thought. I guess he was content with the silence.

My eyes closed slightly. I was exhausted. My shift wasn't over for another hour, and I don't think I could've lasted that long.

Soon, it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. I lost. I subconsciously leaned on the object nearest to me. Which happened to be Balthier. I barely realized what I was doing.

I was sure I drifted into sleep then, even if it was just for a few minutes. I wasn't even that sure. If I woke up, or when I did, I finally realized what I had done.

I immediately gasped and shifted my weight so I was no longer leaning against him.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, a blush finding its way to my cheeks again.

He smiled. "It's alright, Penelo. I don't mind. Feel free to continue."

I nearly fainted right there. After composing myself, I resumed my previous position. At first, it felt a little awkward, but after I while, I fell asleep again.

I think it was safe to say, my dreams were pleasant that night.

X-X-X-X

a/n: Hello! This was my first Final Fantasy fanfic. Woo! I know some of you might think that the Penelo/Balthier pairing is a little weird, but, I don't know, the second I saw the 'handkerchief' scene, I couldn't help but to absolutely love this pairing. Even if it's obvious that there is chemistry between Vaan and Penelo, it's still possible for Penelo to have a little crush on Balthier.

I was trying to find some screenshots of that scene for an icon/banner but I haven't had very much luck yet. If any one knows where I could find some, could you please let me know?

And should I continue this fic? Not sure...

Please Review!!