Balthier glanced towards Fran. She had been tapping her foot and looking out the window of the Strahl for sometime now. Vieras are normally quite, non-fidgety creatures with a contemplative thought always on their mind. She seemed to have a certain troubling thought to contemplate on the way to Rabanastre. He knew her. He has known her since he was a young teen and she was…well…as she is now. Her ear tended to twitch in the tip of her right ear and her hand stood strong to rest her chin. Eyebrows always furrowed with thought and her nose did this inexplicable movement that is not for words to describe.
He placed the ship in a neutral position and grabbed a stick to steady the controls. Oddly enough, the stick was the perfect length to take over where a hand should be. Fran whittled it. The Viera tilted her head towards him and gave an inquisitive eyebrow to the sky pirate. "Alright, Fran. Out with it. What has you ruffled," said Balthier with a cheap grin. She looked back at the sky and found a way to be vague and informative all at once. As always. "I am thinking about our fight two years ago and our time since then."
The twitch increased as the neared Rabanastre. He let out another cheap grin and pointed out her thought. As always. "You are thinking about our protégé, aren't you?" Vieras do not show emotion well. However, when they do…Duck. She looked at him with her fire red eyes and sent a glare that would dampen even the strongest warrior's soul. He leaned back in his seat and loved the glare that captured his soul when he first met her. She turned back towards the window. "Aw. What is it Fran? Anxious?" Balthier teased. She fired back, "Really, Balthier? What of Penelo? What has become of her these past few years?" He smiled at her underhanded trick. He was used to them. He continued, "We write, chit-chat and the like. I do have to say, she is more fire than a flamethrower like I expected. What about Vaan?" Her ear twitched again.
Rabanastre was within sight. The city looked marvelous and as iridescent as the first time they ever laid eyes on the place. The port was just ahead. The Viera became all business. Landing port was an easy task. Her business attire sent the same message she was sending the minute he noticed her twitch: Vaan. The couplings gripped the airship and she powered down with a huff. Ah, the Strahl was beauty and only the beautiful knew. They stepped off of the ship, handed the parking ticket by the stewardess and relieved of the identifiable key chains of heroes. Parking was always free. They were and forever will be the saviors of Ivalice.
Vaan was in the lobby to greet them as well as the Madam Penelo. Balthier smiled and he couldn't stop. The Viera snickered at him and looked towards the two who were there to take their loneliness away. The sky is nice, however sometimes another soul is nicer. Balthier took Penelo's hand and kissed it, as always. The Viera stood back and folded her arms, slighting a smile towards Vaan. He ran up and greeted Fran. As always. "Hi, Fran. Long time, no see, huh?" She nodded and gave a response, "As always." She couldn't help but smile. The young Vaan was no longer the young Vaan. He had grown since they last saw each other, since the final battle, and since they first met. He was now a man. How time has flown.
The Sandsea that night was quiet and less of an uproar since the Imperials had disappeared and the city had returned to normal. Taking a seat at the table on the balcony, Fran couldn't help but sit back and use her nose. Vaan's scent was unlike any other. Of course, but his seemed to be a perfume of hormone and euphoria. His hair had taken on a style relating to Balthier's and his clothing changed to a type of airy tunic. Tight pants and knee-high boots told tales of dust from the Esterlands and mud from the swamps of the Nabreus Deadlands. The pants carried the musk of old coeurl blood and the stains of malboro poison. But ah, the tunic! The shirt carried his scent and his scent alone, wafting it closer to her nose.
Balthier noticed the indescribable movement of her nose and decided it was about time to she some light between the two silent lovers in dreams and friends by day. "Ah, darling. Please, come. I want to show you something," said the sky pirate as he glanced in Fran's direction. Bacchus Wine could not have made her eyes darker. He smiled his handsome smile and left. Vaan and Fran sat at the table quietly, listening to idle conversation and glass clank from other tables. The night sky was gorgeous and the lights were perfect around a city that never slept.
"Would you like to take a walk?" Vaan broke her thoughts and yet repeated them. He held out his hand. She nodded and gave a smooth smile. "That would suit well." She took his hand. Of course, she stood taller than he, however not by much. As they walked through the city, she never once looked at him, yet her ear twitched and she felt her hip move slightly more than usual. The helmet had disappeared for the night and her armor had been removed and left at Penelo's for a pair of breeches and a body wrap. Hair has no longer tied, but braided and the tone physique was relaxed for the first time in years.
"So, Fran…what been happening in Balfonheim?" Vaan finally broke the silence and she looked to the sky. "The people of the port at Balfonheim had elected Rikken to take Reddas' place. They seem pleased. Balthier was to be in the election, but he opted out. He did not seem to think he was fit for the position," Fran always got to the point…normally. Vaan quirked an eyebrow, "Why? Balthier is revered and obviously a good choice." "I know this. However, he is still young, though wise for his age. It would not be right for a travel hungry pirate to take the place of Reddas."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. They stopped briefly to watch a street performer, speak with children, and finally, find home. The place was dark, however the two sets of shoes normally found in the doorway lacked presence. Balthier and Penelo had failed to arrive home before them. They entered anyway, because it was home. Upstairs lay the beds in a line and the desks by which were called nightstands. Light shone from a single candle that was lit by Vaan and Fran let her hair out of the braid that bound it.
He sat by her on her bed and hugged her. Something she was not used to make her ears twitch terribly and her nose make that move no one could describe. Slowly, she lifted a hand and patted his back. "You've been gone for so long, I almost forgot how you looked," Vaan said as he released her. "Sorry. Balthier and I had business that was finalized with the election at Balfonheim." There was a slight silence before Vaan again broke it with a question, "Fran, can I ask you a question?" "Yes." "I have asked this question once before and all the other girls got mad. I wonder if I may ask it n…" "Sixty-eight," she hastily replied, "I am sixty-eight years old."
Then, she felt something she hadn't felt since the saving of Ivalice. She felt a kiss on her cheek. It was warmer and a little better than that of a child. Mothers were more of the imposing type, depressing the skin to leave lip prints. Men were rough with plenty of stubble. This was soft, inviting, and a caress to the Viera. Her ear began to twitch like crazy as soon as her lips were touched with the same caress.
Balthier returned in the morning in slightly more ragged clothes and larger glow about his skin. Penelo had her hair released from those dreadful tails and the both of them had this glitter about them. Perhaps it was the ring that was due to be placed on her finger. Perhaps it was the nightly escapades between the two. Or perhaps it was the sight that beheld them in the morning. Fran and Vaan. Rhymes, don't you think? Ha, not really. As always.