A/N: I'm getting so addicted to this site! That's why I'm uploading another story. Taking a big risk here .. it isn't a oneshot Ö
But I really want to improve my writing and all .. and this has been on my computer for quite while now. So I figured, why not ^^;
Anyway, since I'm still writing it, I have no idea how the story will develop. But for now: enjoy!

Main pairing: Balthier/Vaan

Rating: T, just to be sure .. might turn into an M later on, we'll see ..

Disclaimer: Balthier, Vaan and the entire world of FFXII belong to Squeenix.

Chapter i: Playing in the sand
~~~

Balthier dragged himself forward; the dazzling heat of the sun had exhausted him. How long had it been since they had left the City of Rabanastre? The man had lost all track of time. The desert they waded trough seemed to stretch on endlessly. Balthier hated it and he would probably never get used to it. The never-ending heat, the sand that crept everywhere, ...

The man sighed and used the back of his hand to wipe away the little pearls of sweat that had formed on his forehead. He took a quick glance at his Viera companion who was walking at his right side. He knew that Fran wasn't having as much problems as himself. The Viera kept surprising him from time to time. Although they had been together for the past few years, Balthier still wasn't able to fully understand her. Vieras were creatures full of mysteries and to unravel them all would take more time then one man's life.

Balthier focused back on the road ahead. Not that there was a road, just more sand ...

"Marvelous idea there, captain." Balthier said while he wiped away the sweat again. The man he was talking to was walking a bit in front of him.

"You know," Balthier continued, "Us sky pirates have a reason for not crossing the desert on foot, but flying over it instead," he complained.

He wasn't the type of man you could call lazy, but an airship could take you anywhere, and it was a couple of times faster as well. The man -Basch- walking in front of him rolled his eyes because of the sky pirate's muttering.

"We also have a reason of being here on foot," Basch replied, not looking at the pirate. "Training." he concluded.

Balthier sighed again, "Then why can't we train on the Giza Plains? At least it isn't so hot over there," he mumbled trough his teeth.

Fran had heard him 'though, "It is the Rains now in Giza, which would be even more wearying."

"I'd give anything for some refreshing water, so the Rains sound more attractive than this pool of sand," the pirate thought.

Basch had heard Fran's answer and could've easily guessed what question the pirate had asked. "Besides, it's better for the boy here anyway," he added.

"Ah, the boy ..."Balthier said to himself.

This boy, whose name was Vaan, was a street orphan, like so many in the royal city of Rabanastre. Balthier had met him the night the Insurgence assaulted the castle, during the consul's banquet. When they just met, Balthier thought of him as a nosy little brat, but the more time they spent together, the more Balthier's feelings for the boy started to change. It wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.

With his short brown -and always perfectly modeled- hair, his chestnut eyes, his lightly tanned skin, his slender body and fitting clothes, all topped off with a playful smirk dancing around his lips, the sky pirate was eagerly wanted. He was a tease and not afraid of a little adventure. He had fallen in love before, but as a sky pirate he lived for his freedom. The difference this time was that it was him who longed for someone unreachable.

It was Basch who dragged Balthier back to reality: "Where is that kid anyway?" he asked no one in particular.

A little while earlier, Vaan had run off, because he wanted to prove them that he could defend himself well enough on his own and didn't need any further training. As a boy of Rabanastre, Vaan could stand the heat quite well, so he laughingly had taken off. The others had no choice but to follow his trail.

The answer to Basch's question came soon enough when they had conquered another sand dune. The blond haired Rabanastran was standing next to a dead animal. When he caught sight of his followers, he proudly waved at them. When Balthier came nearer and he saw the wide smile on the boy's face, it made him skip a heartbeat.

"I said I could do it, didn't I!?" Vaan said, full of himself. Basch nodded and said something to him.

The sky pirate closely looked at the blonde. On his face little sweatdrops had formed and he was panting softly. Bits and pieces of sand had manifested them on his arms. How badly the pirate wanted to hold him is his arms and tell him that it were these little things that made his feelings for him grow even stronger. Balthier let his eyes dwell over the blonde's face again. It were those typically boyish aspects that made the older one nearly go crazy with desire. How surprised he was when those deep blue pools stared back at him.

Vaan had nearly caught him off guard, but Balthier wasn't that easily overthrown; he always had some sort of answer ready. "It's only a wolf. Besides, who said that he wasn't already dead when you arrived here?" the pirate said while he smirked once again.

It pained him that he had to keep up this attitude, but he also knew -or was it just hope?-that Vaan found his remarks quite funny.

The blonde laughed and crossed his arms, "Well, I haven't seen you killing anything either today. What could that mean?"

Balthier rolled his eyes and straightened his cuffs, "Oh please Vaan, it's too warm to be playing little games."

"That coming from me,"Balthier said to himself. He looked at the Rabanastran, who was still grinning.
"Curse that boy, he's starting to know how to get to me." the sky pirate realized. When challenged, he wasn't one to give up easily.

With faked irritation, he got out his gun and aimed it at one of the various beasts that lived in the area. A cockatrice, standing 10 meters away from them, would do. Balthier took a deep breath and whispered, "Don't let me down Altair." Then he pulled the trigger and the fraction of a second later, the cockatrice fell down. The brunette closed his eyes for a second and thanked that he had such a steady hand. He turned around, putting his gun away and grinned while he looked at Vaan.

"Pretty good ... for an Archadian." the teen replied.

Balthier was indeed born in Archadia, his looks gave him away on that one too. But he wasn't a bit interested in the war that his country was involved in. As longs as he had his wings, nothing could get to him. Just like any other sky pirate, he had a new city to call home: Balfonheim. It was the place where all pirates made port and enjoyed their drinks.

Meanwhile, Fran was looking anxiously around, "The fiends have responded to your challenge, it seems."

Basch nodded in agreement, "We better hurry back to the city."

The boy on the other hand, wasn't agreed with this decision, "Hey! We came here to do some training and if the fiends are handed to us on a silver platter, then we should take use of that!"

"Training also involves knowing when you need to flee." Basch said wisely as he put a hand on Vaan's shoulder, "There'll be time for fighting later." The blonde decided to agree on this one.

The party started to head back to the Royal City of Rabanastre. Balthier closed their ranks, muttering to himself. Basch's hand on the boy's shoulder, that could've -should've-been his hand. He shook his head, why did Vaan make him feel so shy, so weak? It was an aspect of himself that Balthier wasn't familiar with.

The sky pirate would be happy to get out of this giant sandpit.
"I need a shower ... and some Madhu." he mumbled as he felt the sun burning.

A/N: That's it for the first chapter! Not much happened, but I'm still busy getting into the story myself XD;
Review addict! Contructive critique most welcome~

Reviewing is just the same like eating a cake someone baked for you; you tell them what you think of it. It's impolite stuffing it entirely into your mouth and then leaving without saying a word ..
Got it? Got it! ;)