Okeh, total Vaan/Penelo fluff in this. I'd like to thank Hito my beta for editing this and Maudiebeans, because I wouldn't have come up with this idea if not talking about Vaan and dancing is a PM to her.

Hope you enjoy!

"Vaan?! Vaan wake up!"

Vaan opened an eye groggily as Penelo's hand violently shaking his shoulder forced him awake prematurely. His neck hurt, and his back...and more or less his entire body, all of which was the outcome of falling asleep at the wheel of his airship;

Galbana.

"Huuh?!" He said drowsily, lifting his head from the ship's console. He grimaced, finding that his forehead didn't come off the console as quickly as he wanted.

He glanced down to find the area a little damp. Had he drooled during his slumber...?

Again?

"There's a meteor shower!" Penelo exclaimed, grabbing his bicep and tugging him from his seat. Vaan nearly tripped as the girl tried to get him to stand.

Seeing as Penelo had no intention of letting him go back to sleep, he shook his head in an attempt to dispel the remains of his grogginess. "There is?" A small bubble of excitement bloomed in Vaan stomach as Penelo's words started to take root in his mind.

"Yes! Now hurry up!" Penelo commanded, unceremoniously dragging Vaan out of the cockpit causing him to yelp in surprise.

"Aright, aright! You don't have to drag me. I can walk on my own!"

Penelo ignored him, her grip still firm on Vaan's arm as she dragged him up the small cramped staircase that led to the roof of the ship. The doors opened with a loud creak.

Vaan made a mental note to oil them later.

The night air rushed in to greet them and Vaan shivered slightly. He was going to have to get a proper shirt soon…

Penelo released Vaan's arm, bounced on her toes lightly, as the area on Galbaba's roof didn't offer much room to express physical excitement.

She tilted her head back, and her gentle blonde hair slid off her shoulders as she gazed at the dazzling night sky.

Vaan too looked at the amazing display. He let out a small gasp. The light show was truly mesmerizing. He'd have to put this as one of the most beautiful spectacles he'd ever seen in his life.

Streaks of blue, white and green flashed across the night sky with the occasional burst of brilliant yellow mixing in.

"It's so pretty, isn't it?" Penelo breathed, turning to face him.

Vaan nodded, not taking his eyes off the sky, and he slowly walked to her left side. His face revealed quite clearly what he felt.

Penelo smiled, and wrapped her arms around his muscled right arm, her head resting on his shoulder.

The two were quiet for a time, which under any other circumstance would have bothered the blonde duo. It was also rather chilly, which caused the couple to shift unconsciously closer.

The shower came to a sudden end, leaving the stationary stars to reclaim the sky. The celestial show was much too short for Vaan's taste and the corners of his mouth bent down in a disappointed grimace.

Penelo shifted her gaze to Vaan and laughed.

"What's so funny?!" Vaan asked indignantly, removing his arm from her waist. A part of him wanted to know when he'd managed to get his arm there, but he didn't dwell on it too long.

Penelo manage to contain her laughter and let out an amused sound "You were pouting."

Vaan eyebrows knitted together in slight annoyance. "Was not…"

When he began what he thought would have been a menacing glare, he felt his body betray him as his lower lip jutted out. It was too late to fix it, as Penelo had already seen.

As Penelo delved into another laughing fit, Vaan turned beet red.

"Argh! I'm going back to sleep!" Vaan started to stalked off. He'd had enough.

"No wait…haha…Wait!" Penelo lightly caught his wrist and wiped tear of mirth from her eyes. "Erm…" She shifted her feet, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious.

Vaan raised an eyebrow in confusing from her sudden mood change.

"I was eh…well…would you…I mean…it's kind of a nice evening…would um…please er…" Penelo turned her head away, a furious blush that rivalled Vaan's from before appeared across her cheeks. "Would you dance with me?"

"WHAT?!" Vaan looked horrified.

Penelo dropped her arms to her sides and looked at her feet. "I'll take

that as a no…" her tone was disappointed.

Vaan immediately felt guilty. "No, don't er…uh" He took a breath, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Don't act so depressed Pen, it just took me by surprise and…"

Penelo looked up through her lasses expectantly; an impish gleam was evident in them.

Vaan would have glared, but he felt his bottom lip start to stick out at every attempt, and there was no way he was letting her laugh at his pout.

"Well?" She asked, sliding up to him, moving her face inches from his.

He decided to do his pout and glare combo then.

She smirked.

"Just don't moan when I step on your feet… which I will. Trust me, Pen,

I'll step on your feet and make it hu" Vaan was cut off with Penelo's

squeal of triumph and excitement. She snatched up his hands.

"Hey!" Vaan called out indignantly.

Penelo ignored his protests and placed his right arm around her waist and placed her left hand on the nape of his neck, bringing them very close together.

Very, very close.

Vaan felt his face heat up.

She interlocked their free hands and pointed them adjacent to their bodies

before moving them slowly in that direction.

Vaan feet where clumsy, and he stepped on Penelo's feet a lot at first (which, where honest mistakes…not on purpose like he had promised seconds ago) but, he was slowly getting the hang of it. The two were slowly dancing in circles, and Vaan thought he might start enjoying this.

Penelo pushed away gently, still holding Vaan's hand and twirled. Then,

she molded her body to his.

"You're actually quite good at dancing, Vaan. You should do it more often!"

Penelo teased, resting her check on his chest.

"Hmmph!" Vaan pouted.

Damn! Why couldn't he stop pouting?!

He glared at the top of her head halfheartedly.

They continued their slow dance for awhile. They didn't know how much time had passed. It was the red glow the sunrise brought that started to hide the

Stars, that the two realized what time it was.

Penelo pulled away and smiled at him. "Vaan?"

"Yeah?"

"…Thank you," she whispered, and gave Vaan a quick kiss on his cheek before walking up to the door that led back to into the ship.

Vaan was quite taken. He watched her retreating form, and something in the back of his mind told him to call out to her. He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't want the time…this special time between the two of them to end just yet.

"Penelo!"

She stopped, and looked over her shoulder in slight surprise. "Yeah?"

He had to say something! Anything! Anything to make her stay up here with him.

He said the first thing that came to his head

"Um…there's something in your eye!"

Vaan mentally kicked himself. She wasn't going to believe that. She was too far away from him to see their brilliant blue color, much less see if there was something in one of them.

Penelo gave him a skeptical look, before smirking and walking back over to him.

"This better be good, Vaan, I'm really tired and I'm this close to paMmph!"

Neither of the two knew how it happened, but Vaan had pressed his lips to

Penelo's and was kissing her sweetly.

Penelo was too shocked to react. Her body was frozen, and her eyes were wide.

After a few moments when Vaan realized Penelo wasn't responding, he pulled away.

Penelo blinked "W-what?!" Her cheeks had taken on a red hue.

"I don't know," Vaan said, staring down at his feet, "I'm…sorry, I—it was just an impulse…I didn't…I'll just…go to sleep now."

He began to shuffle away slowly.

He was five paces away when Penelo called out his name. As he turned to answer, Penelo ran to him, and pressed her lips to his.

Her hands slid around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist (a little too close to her behind, but she'd slap him later). The kiss deepened.

He was clumsy as he explored her mouth with his tongue, but so was she. It was far from being a good kiss by any definition, but to the two of them, it was something amazing.

Moments later, they fell to floor, from lack of air. They broke apart for a second, breathing in as much oxygen as they could, before slamming their lips

amateurishly together again in a typical inexperienced manner.

The first true ray of sun revealed itself from the horizon, bringing light to the couple's faces. They ended their (clumsy) kiss, and gazed into each other eyes.

Penelo's face… her smiling face, and eyes full of devotion with the sun's rays kissing her skin, was indisputably one of the most beautiful things Vaan had ever seen in his life.