Author's Note: Hey everyone. I got challenged by ElegantCandyCat to write a BalthierXVaan story, so here's the first chapter. The insperation is from a song title- Like A Good Cowboy by Lonestar. The rest of the story has nothing to do with it though. Anyway, enjoy the first installment
Disclaimer: I don't own, otherwise FFXII would be filled with BalthierXVaan yaoiness. Unfortunately, it's not, so Square Enix owns it.
Vaan stared up the dust path ahead of him and sighed. Today was his first day at The Strahl Ranch and he was not looking forward to being known as "The New Kid" for goodness knows who long. Steeling himself for the inevitable, he faced the journey with trepidation and started up the dust path. Far too soon for his liking, he faced the door to the office of what he assumed to belong to his new boss. He could only imagine what horrid beast was laying in wait behind that deceivingly innocent door. And that's when he heard it- a rich, deep laugh coming from inside of the office, much like a rumble of thunder, but much more reassuring to Vaan than anything he'd ever heard. Feeling slightly more relaxed, the blonde knocked on the door.
"Come in!" The voice was distinctly male, but Vaan couldn't help but feel weak at the knees when he realised that his new boss had a beautiful English accent. Summoning the small amount of will power that kept him standing, Vaan entered the office.
It wasn't a big room, but it was large enough to fit in a medium sized, oak desk with a small and rather old-fashioned computer sat upon it. The owner of the office quickly finished up his conversation on the phone and turned to face Vaan. The blonde almost fainted there and then. His new boss was GORGEOUS! He was around 6ft tall, by Vaan's guess and he was blonde. His hair was a harsher shade of blond to Vaan's, but it suited him well, complimenting his tan skin and chocolate eyes; which sparkled with some unknown amusement. Vaan almost didn't hear his new boss apologise and ask for his name because he was too busy staring. When he realised the man was staring back, he realised now was when he was supposed to talk.
"Vaan" he stated simply, hoping it answered his new boss' question. The man's eyes lit up and twinkled with joy.
"Ah! I've been awaiting your arrival. I'm Balthier, I own the ranch. I would have been getting you to work with Penelo, but she's not feeling 100%. Tell me, you have any horse riding experience?" Mr Gorgeous-Who-Now-Had-A-Name asked.
"Yeah, I was brought up on a ranch" Vaan forced out, fighting to keep himself standing tall.
"Ah good. You can help Fran instead then. We're in the process of training some younger horses for riding" Balthier informed the shorter blonde.
"Okay" Vaan nodded, relieved that he would be getting out of there soon.
"I warn you, some are a little tempermental, and we don't want your gorgeous face scuffed up on the floor." Balthier flashed a dazzling smile at Vaan, before ruffling the shorter blonde's hair on his way to the door. "Fran's over at the stables left from this office building. Have fun, young Vaan." The taller blonde winked, then left to do other things.
Vaan blinked and stared in disbelief at the back of his new boss as he walked away. "Did that really just happen?"