Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: Edited, because I sucked at writing when I was younger.
The elder wyrm roared in frustration as Balthier chuckled to himself, one more perfectly placed shot in to the great beast's head. Needless to say Balthier was starting to get a bit cocky, and Vaan had noted this as he watched the older sky pirate with great interest.
Every little thing that Balthier did, the way he moved when dodging a fatal blow, how he did that cute squinty thing with his eyes when he was concentrating on his target, oh Vaan loved it all, and worst of all Balthier knew it.
But that didn't mean that it was any easier for the sky pirate in question, just one look at the young boy and Balthier would be thrown into total ecstasy, the way he swung his sword and his muscles would flex, that really adorable look he would give you when he wanted healing and just the plain and simple fact that is attire shall we say is very…well…revealing.
Vaan was starting to get worried, not something he usually does but considering that the rest of the group had been KO'd except for Fran, who had gone to the village for some phoenix downs, he didn't have much choice. Balthier smirked at the large creature before him as he loaded his gun up for one more shot, not noticing that the wyrm was about to unleash its own attack.
"Balthier! Look out!" Vaan screamed, trying desperately to get his attention, but to no avail, it was too late.
The elder wyrm shrieked as it rained spores down on Balthier, who tried his hardest to dodge them as best he could, but one solitary spore landed on the unsuspecting sky pirate, covering him and sealing his fate.
Vaan didn't know what to expect, would it be silence, would he be blind or maybe just covered in oil.. He hoped to the gods that it wasn't oil, he would never hear the end of it. The man was far too proud to take the blame for the ruining of his clothing, so often placed the blame on Vaan for such things.
Balthier turned around and continued to load his gun as if nothing had happened, Vaan narrowed his eyes at Balthier, nothing seemed wrong but he could feel it, something didn't feel right, his heart told him so. There was no such thing as a dud spore, was there?
Balthier finished loading his gun and raised it, he pointed it straight at Vaan, the young thief gasped, Balthier was confused. Of all things, why that one? Considering the thief's current predicament, this was one of the worst effects the spore could have landed.
Time had stopped, nothing was moving except for him and Balthier, his heart was racing, thumping against his chest so hard he thought it was going to break.
"Balthier…please don't…if you can hear me please...I…" Vaan looked into Balthier's eyes only to realize they were empty, cold and barren. A tear ran down Vaan's cheek and he whimpered weakly, his legs felt like lead; Vaan couldn't move out of the way, nor could he attack as a counter. As Balthier pulled the trigger under the influence of the spore's magic, a thunderous bang was heard, and then all fell silent.
The confusion effecting Balthier slowly lifted, he shook his head trying to get to grips with what just happened, his mind drawing a blank. "What just happened? Did I black out?"
He looked around surveying the scene in front of him; time stood still, the individual drops of rain could have been counted. It was a rather beautiful scene he thought, that was until, he looked down, a young motionless boy, blood leaking from his mouth, was lying on the cold hard ground before him.
Terrified, Balthier ran to Vaan and scooped him up in his arms, "Vaan? Vaan!"
There was only the sound of his own broken heart, beating rapidly in his chest as if to punish him. "No, no please Vaan don't do this to me, please, I can't live without you!"
The sky pirate lay his head on the boy's chest, for a small sign that maybe the young boy was still alive, but there was nothing, he was hollow, devoid of life.
Balthier's body trembled as he looked over Vaan's body, but his mind broke down completely when he saw the fresh tears on Vaan's lifeless cheeks.
"It's my fault…I need to make things right." With that Balthier placed Vaan down in a safe place, and wiped the blood from his mouth, he leaned down to Vaan's ear and whispered "I'll be with you soon Vaan, I love you…" he stroked Vaan's cheek, getting the tears off, and leaned down to Vaan's face once again, this time, he met him with a soft and gentle kiss.
The broken sky pirate stood up tall and reached for his gun, he slowly loaded it, the tears streaming down his cheeks hindering his vision; he cocked it and looked over at Vaan one last time. Perhaps it was the confusion previous, that was effecting his decision in this. It was entirely possible. That, linked with the absolute heart break, swayed him to do something he never thought he would.
Fran was in her home village at this point, finding out some supplies for her friends, in quite a hurry to get what she needed and run back to help in the struggle. She stopped mid step, and closed her eyes, the other Viera looked at her in wonder, confused as tears found their way to her face, a loud bang was heard as it echoed threw the jungle, startling some of the others. But not Fran, she knew there and then, her partner was gone.
;; I'd feel bad if I deleted this story, so I just edited it instead.