AN: er..I really had wanted to post this up on Arial but as some of you may know I've been kind of stuck in a rut with that one. I do have some ideas for it though so it should be up pretty soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this ficlet! *winks* Its a bit of a blankie fic. haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own, I do not own. I only play with the plushies.

All the Small Things

"Achoo!"

Penelo sniffled a few times. She could feel her nose dripping and grimaced, stifling a yawn as she did so. This was the seventh time. When she was sure the tickle had left her nose, she resumed rummaging through the cupboards. Vaan had taken off for the Garamsythe Waterways several hours earlier and Penelo planned to surprise him with a nice warm plate of gimble stalk onion omelette for lunch.

She took the gimble stalks out and laid it on the table. Dimly, Penelo could hear several women outside giggling as they traded the juiciest tidbits from the morning's gossip. And by that, she guessed it was now probably late in the afternoon but when a town is underground time hardly mattered. Most people around here followed an internal clock and none of the vendors she knew closed shop until the nightly Archadian sentries come to lock up the gates.

Penelo sneezed again, lighter and blew her nose before another could come. She stuffed the hankie back into her pockets. Then she took out a stool and stood on her tiptoe to reach the top shelf. A few minutes later, Penelo found what she was looking for, and with a grunt and tug, she pulled out a frying pan and two bowls.

A steady stream of light from a nearby lamp post flooded the kitchen, brightening up the room in spite of the single lantern hanging from the ceiling. Thin wisps of steam curled upwards from the kettle and Penelo batted it away with her hand. The back of her eyes were dry and smarting as is and the more she blinked, the more it seemed to itch. It felt as if someone had dumped a ton of sand into her eyes and had it not been for their dwindling savings, nothing could've stopped her from bolting out the door to buy one or two eye drops from the merchant in South Sprawl.

Penelo bit her lip.

Gil.

Her expression tightened. Almost mechanically, her fingers deftly cracked open the eggs into one of the bowls. She didn't even know how much they had left but she'd wager not much.

Especially not after Kytes fell sick just eleven days ago.

Penelo frowned as she recalled the memory of Kytes lying white faced in her cot, the skin pinched around his mouth. In front of the other orphans Vaan hid his worry behind a smile but Penelo knew. For six days, both she and Vaan had to pull in extras shifts to pay the medical bills but throughout the whole ordeal, Penelo had never once heard him complain. Instead, he had been awfully quiet. But each night, though he'd come home exhausted, Vaan always made a beeline for Kytes and tell the younger boy of all the rats he'd slain, and trinkets he'd found during the course of the day.

And the first time Penelo stumbled upon the two snoring in the tiny bedroom, she was struck by how much Vaan had matured. It was weird. Up until then, she had always thought of him as just Vaan. The first boy who ever pulled her braids and told her her freckles were cute. Who was weird and gave her a bug for a birthday present and got angry when she said she didn't want it. Who laughed when she laughed and cheered her up when she felt down. The boy she grew up with. Her best friend.

Except now he was Vaan.

Her cheeks reddened and she concentrated her energies towards whisking the eggs. It was as if everything was the same but so radically changed as well, she thought. And whether it was for the better, Penelo still didn't know.

A sharp whistle from the kettle signaled the water was near boiling. Penelo had set the bowl down and was reaching for the handle when suddenly she was caught with another sneeze, though this one didn't stop at just one. She clapped her hands over her mouth.

'Ahh..Choo! Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! AhhChoo! Ah..Ahh..Ahhh..Ahhchoo! ACHOO! Ahh-' and then the urge to sneeze stopped, leaving abruptly as it came. Still the feeling remained at the end of her nose, making her want to sneeze but not tickling enough to make her do so.

Sighing, Penelo turned her head and sniffled loudly into her shoulders to get rid of the tickle. Just then she heard the front door swing open, and Vaan stuck his head into the kitchen. "Mhmm! What's cooking Pen? I'm starv-..Penelo?" Vaan caught her wrist. "What happened here?" He touched her forehead worriedly. "You're burning up."

Her stomach erupted into butterflies and she twisted out of his grasp. "D'no, I'b dot. I'b fide."

"No, you're not." Vaan said in a very soft, gentle voice. "Do you even hear yourself talk? And your face is all red." He glanced around the kitchen and took the kettle off the stove. "You should go lie down, Pen. I'll finish up here."

Her heart raced and Penelo could feel her knees going weak as Vaan continued to stare at her face in concern. "But..but..you don't know how to cook?" she finished lamely.

"I know what's edible."

Her chest seized . Then suddenly her vision swam. She felt light headed. And while Vaan was standing right next to her, it was as if she heard the teasing in his voice from some place far off and she couldn't muster enough strength to even glare at him.

Dizzy, Penelo swayed slightly then everything went black. The last thing she saw were Vaan's dark blue eyes.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Several hours later Penelo finally awoke, the stuffiness in her nose had turned into a splitting headache. The room was dim save for two burning candles. Shivering, she craned her neck to see out the open window. It must be night now, she thought sluggishly. "Vaan, what time is it?"

"Dunno." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. "But Old Man Dalan has just walked out and began dousing all the lanterns in the square. Sorry." Vaan dipped a cloth into a wash basin, wringing it out and laying it on Penelo's forehead.

"I don't feel so good" she whined, wishing the room would stop spinning, that her ears would quit ringing. A gust of chilly air washed over her face and arms, causing goose bumps to prickle all over her skin. Again, she shivered and snuggled deeper into the blankets. Penelo couldn't remember the last time she was sick, and she hated the feeling of helplessness.

"Shh..It's okay. Go back to sleep." Vaan's fingers skimmed lightly across her crown, slowly easing away any lingering tension.

Penelo sneezed and leaned happily into his touch. "You're warm."

Vaan looked away, his cheeks pink. '"Are you cold, Pen?" he asked instead and picked up one of her hands.

Her heart skipped a beat. "Kinda."

"Scoot over, then."

Dumbfounded, Penelo watched Vaan push his chair back before climbing into her cot through hazy eyes. Was he serious? Her mind reeled. The last time they shared a bed, they were eight and Reks had been wedged between them. They were fifteen now. Wasn't it considered improper for a boy and girl to share the same bed at this age? And didn't Vaan know the difference? Or did he know already but still volunteered knowing she was cold?

"Penelo."

"…what?"

"Never mind."

There was a comfortable silence between them.

Then. "You're hogging up all the blankets, Pen."

Penelo rolled her eyes. That was typical Vaan speak. She laughed quietly. How could she ever have been nervous? It was just Vaan and having him sleep beside her was just like doing anything else with Vaan; a little scary and a little bit reckless but in the end it still felt familiar. It felt right. "No, I'm not. " she mumbled, clutching the covers closer to herself. "Besides, I'm the one who's sick, remember? I'm still cold."

Grumbling, Vaan tugged unsuccessfully at the sheets a few more times then settled for sliding his arm under her waist. "Better."

They were now jammed so closely together that Penelo could feel Vaan's heartbeat racing, his chest rising and falling. Vaan sighed softly and it didn't seem that there was any awkwardness or uncertainty between them; just warmth and friendship and something so good that it didn't have a name yet.

And when Vaan shifted the few centimeters that separated them and daringly brushed his lips against her brow in a clumsy, messy kind of kiss, it was just another weird thing that Vaan did that really wasn't weird after all.

Fin.