Just as a warning, this fic is an experiment with Fran and Balthier's personalities. I apologize if chapter 1 is slow.

FFXII: Random Bits 02

:Setting- Fran has had a very disturbing dream. Stuck aboard the Strahl, the only person available to tell it to is Balthier, unfortunately it's about him.:

CHAPTER 1

Balthier cast a sidelong glance at Fran as the viera took her seat in the cockpit. As a self-proclaimed ladies' man, the dashing young pirate had spent years studying body language of the female persuasion until he could interpret the most subtle of movements. During his partnership with Fran he had learned to read viera almost as well. Being much more reserved than hume females, body language was all he had to go on.

The sky pirate took in the slight backward tilt of his partner's ears, the stiffness of her spine, and the intense interest in the controls which caused her nose to twitch. Something was bothering her. She was less kindly disposed towards him, refused to make eye contact and barely said two words together in reply to his questions, so it definitely had something to do with him. Fran was somewhat laconic to begin with, but now she was hardly speaking to him, so conversation had dropped to almost nil.

Having been raised in a wealthy family, Balthier had been extensively schooled in being socially interesting. This included all the usual courses, like singing, dancing, marksmanship, musical instruments, being up to date on current events, politics, and trivia. He had also been taught to be generally charming, witty, and an excellent conversationalist. This meant he could babble on about the exquisite workmanship of a table leg and make it sound like the most interesting thing in the world.

So far Fran had thwarted all of his attempts at conversation with cold glares and sound consuming silence. She was just about to give in when his nattering turned to past love conquests. The viera's ears tilted back at a severe angle and she fixed him with a glare so searing that it must have broiled his tongue in its own saliva, because he stuttered into silence. Balthier made a show of rising from his seat and stretching. With Fran's eyes burning the back of his neck, he left the cockpit the only way he knew how…at a nonchalant swagger. Sometimes it just didn't pay to make jokes.

Since prying the truth out of his partner would get him nowhere, except the corner of Intense Pain and Severely Maimed, Balthier resorted to the age old technik of Feign Complete Ignorance. When something is bothering a woman, she likes to try and make a man figure it out by dropping subtle clues. When asked outright, they reply 'Oh, its nothing' and heave a sigh. Men are supposed to know that 'nothing' is definitely 'something' and should be apparent.

Men are more direct and will tell you exactly what is bothering them. They don't need to talk about it, but they have figured out that women do…in great detail, but they can't just ask them outright. In order to cut out all the sighing and frustration, now all a guy has to do is pretend that he is completely unaware that there is a problem. After a while the woman will crack under the pressure of self imposed silence and spill her guts about what's bothering her. All Balthier had to do was wait.

Of course, the hume added pressure by always being there. Every time Fran turned around, her partner was there. He was usually performing some innocently routine task like sitting in the captain's chair, walking around, tidying up, or adjusting his cuffs. Fran tried her best to avoid the man, but on a small ship it was practically impossible. She made a full round of the ship and found herself back in the cockpit, pretending to monitor the controls. Moments later she heard her partner approaching.

The man was singing quietly to himself, which the viera found mildly annoying. It wasn't that he was bad at singing, on the contrary Balthier could sing quite beautifully. He had a pure voice, such that might be found in the choir of the most holy of shrines or temples. You just wouldn't find his choice of songs in a holy establishment of any kind.

Balthier sauntered into the cockpit and flowed bonelessly into his seat. He said not a word, but continued singing a song that made Fran's ears burn. He turned to his partner, as if only just noticing that she was there and said,

"Oh, is my singing bothering you? No? Well, if it does, you only need say so."

Fran gave him a stony look.

"What?" He replied, " I wouldn't want you to be troubled by it."

One of Fran's ears drooped sideways. Ah, she was annoyed with him.

"Come now Fran, you're obviously troubled by something and a leading man never leaves a woman in distress."

The viera considered her companion for a moment in silence, eyes boring into him. It always made him uneasy because she kept her thoughts to herself. At the moment she was considering the best course of action. She probably would have to tell him about it. Considering that it was one of those awkward dreams of a romantic nature she was certain that there would be consequences, mostly involving smirking, comments, and inflated ego.

Fran couldn't decide which would be worse, the comments or that haughty smirk. She hated the way he assumed that he was the Occuria's gift to the female population and that all of them should have similar dreams about him. Then again, maybe having to hear "So, did you dream about me again last night?" every morning was a close second. Oh why did he have to be the only other living creature on the ship?

Fran would have gladly told her odd dream to Penelo or possibly even Vaan, but no. By some cruel twist of fate (because the Occuria get bored to an need some entertainment) the only available person was Balthier. Her ponderings were interrupted as her partner chose that moment to take the choice away from her.

"What's the matter? Did you have a risqué dream about me?"

Fran went rigid in the thundering silence that followed. Balthier's eyes darted towards his partner.

"Hit the mark have I? Well, well, well, imagine that. It had to be well beyond risqué then."

The viera fixed her smoldering red eyes on him.

"Let's get serious now." She snapped, which upon later reflection, had been a poor choice of words. The man arched an eyebrow suggestively.

"Oh, so you want to get serious do you?"

The dashing young pirate abruptly fell silent as Fran rose with a disgusted snort and stalked out. He winced and mentally extracted his foot from his mouth. Oh blast. Perhaps he had taken things a bit too far.

Curse his sarcastic tongue! Fran fumed silently as she paced her room. Of all the humes on this planet how did I wind up with the most intolerable, vexing, self-serving, arrogant-!

"Fran?" Balthier knocked tentatively on the door. When she gave no answer, her sensitive ears picked up the sounds of the man settling against the wall to wait. When he spoke again, the viera was surprised by a sudden apology, only because it was Balthier doing the apologizing, it was rather verbose.

"Fran, I apologize. Being the lowly wretch that I am, I wholly deserve your scorn for my lack of sensitivity. It was a horrible way for the leading man to comport himself and I know there is little I can do to redeem myself."

Fran rolled her eyes. She had already prepared a very unflattering retort which compared him to Al Cid, but it looked like she wouldn't get the chance to use it.

"And yet," Balthier continued, "I humbly beg you, upon my knees," A soft scrape outside the door indicated that he had, in fact, gone down on his knees, " to find it in your heart to forgive me."

Embarrassed that he could spout such nonsense so confidently, Fran opened the door. She crossed her arms as the young pirate knelt on the floor doing his very best to look contrite.

"humph." Fran snorted, "Al Cid would have at least had a flower to offer."

There! His shoulders had stiffened at the jibe and a slight frown settled on his face. The rabbit-eared woman found it very satisfying.

"Please," The hume replied smoothly, "You know I don't believe in flamboyant displays. Senseless rubbish. A true gentleman doesn't go 'round spewing cheap flattery and -"

"Do you want to talk to me or not?"

Balthier cleared his throat as he rose from his knees and sketched his partner a bow. "Fran, I would be happy to be a friendly, attentive, and most importantly silent ear for you-."

Fran groaned inwardly. What had he been saying about not believing in flamboyant displays and cheap flattery? An ear drooped sideways. The sky pirate quickly shut his mouth and stepped aside to let her pass as she headed back to the cockpit.

Balthier took a seat and twisted to give her his full attention. He usually avoided prolonged eye contact with her, just in case she took offense or thought he was being hostile. After all most animals viewed direct eye contact as a threat, not that she was an animal…it was just a precaution.

Fran suddenly decided that she didn't like having his undivided attention and had the suspicion that he was doing it on purpose. For a moment she wished for a distraction. Anything would do. Abrupt engine failure, a sudden mountain, spontaneous enemy attacks; but since it was Balthier it would have to be a woman suddenly flying by the window. Seeing as how that was highly unlikely while they were in flight, the viera decided to bite the bullet.

Fran took a deep breath and began.