It's been forever since I've written anything, so I've decided to come back and have my hand at writing a Final Fantasy fic! I do hope everyone will be in character, especially Fran and Balthier considering they are in fact my favorite characters, but they will not be the only featured characters in the story. I wanted to try something different with this storyline, and although this chapter isn't perhaps that grand, I wanted to keep it straight to the point. Anyway, I do hope people enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XII, nor any of the characters within it, but I do have claim on the story itself and any OOCs presented.

"Irreconcilable."

"Irreconcilable?"

He repeated after her, an uneasy smirk insincerely painted upon his lips as he eyed her slightly. The notorious Sky Pirate that had saved Dalmasca had been tending merrily to the controls upon the Strahl when his partner of umpteen years had appeared before him and merely stated the singular adjective to his persons. At first, his mirth was readily present for display, but as his eyes drunk in the Viera, he couldn't help but question just how serious she was being. There was nothing behind her eyes to dispel the stoic expression normally placed upon her features, and her posture was strong and meaningful despite the fact that her clothing was everything except. He inwardly gave a quiet huff of thought as he watched her, she making no action to rebuff the statement he had repeated, and as seconds ticked passed, he was becoming nervous.

"I take my leave, Sky Pirate, there is no longer a place for me upon the Strahl."

He blinked slightly as her raspy voice toyed with his ears, its frankness drawing about a small panic that would sooner become infectious if he made no attempt to cease it. He drew his arms before him, crossing them as he allowed his weight to shift to the back of his pilot's chair, seizing her up as if he was unbothered by her words. During their time nearing death on the Bahamut, he had feared that idea that she would leave him, and with her sudden determination now, he could not help but start returning to that same idea. "Now Fran," His tongue clicked the roof of his mouth lightly, "I'd never think you'd pick up such dramatic traits. I fear your time spent with-"

"Your eyes betray your heart." Her voice interrupted, causing his lips to forget to close as his mind trembled lightly as those familiar words. It was then that the possibility of her being serious truly dawned upon him, but still his pride would not allow the idea that she would just up and leave completely take affect. Not him, not now, and not after all that they had endured over the years! And so, as if a last resort and a finale factor of sorts, he decided that he would began to approach her. If she moves, he thought, even the slightest sort, then everything will be fine. With that newfound confidence, he took a step forward, features still hardened to cover up the turmoil that was bubbling against the texture of his lungs, but much to his heartache, she made no move to retreat.

"Fran-"

"Haven't you best be off?" Once more she repeated something that he had readily wanted to forget, and it was then that his façade came crashing down before him. "Fran!" She paid him no mind, nothing giving away the fact that she had any second thoughts about her decision, that she was feeling any remorse or hurt to suddenly see such vulnerability in her otherwise collectedly coy partner. "That is what a sky pirate does. You fly," She then made a move towards the door, paying little mind to the disbelief and pain etched boldly upon the otherwise handsome features of Balthier. And then, as if to signify the end of a sacred piece of a puzzle the world had never thought of as indestructible, she finished her statement, "don't you?" It was home hitting, and before his brilliant eyes it felt as if his entire world had unexpectedly collapsed and collided into an endless abyss of indescribable throes. He stepped towards her once more, stumbling lightly as he began to choke upon his words, his mind howling as thoughts scrambled about and shrieked with dismay, and his heart threatening to burst and end his life right there.

"P-please.." It was utterly pathetic and shaming for a man such as he to ever be caught stuttering and begging, even if the degrading statements were never quite finished. He had lost his composition so swiftly, a thing that not even he himself thought was imaginable, and yet he could not help but flounder more when the acknowledgement that he was losing perhaps the only other creature he ever felt completely conflicted over save for his father without knowing the reasoning. Screw the reasoning, spat a thought swimming amongst countless others. Had she have been another woman, then he would not have succumb so quickly, he'd had still retained all aspects of himself and not jumped at the first chance to act out of character. But she was not another woman, she was she, and because of such he had simply lost all his wits about him in a snap. Yet he found himself suddenly surprised when time began to slip into something agonizing, for every movement, breath, and sight began to shift barely from second to second, signifying that this moment would prove to defy time itself.

It was then that he was able to focus and notice that Fran was not only facing him, but also had her bow strung and aimed at him, too burdened by the idea of losing her than losing his life to her to care. But the sudden explosion of pain within him did do a number on his murky senses, suddenly straining his sight to the point in whish colors bled together in a swirl of blurs, and making the panicked voices within his head lower drastically in volume until they sounded as whispery as sonnets passed in the wind. Fran, however, had not been affected, and once she had noticed impending danger, she had been swift to act, albeit not swift enough to keep Balthier from injury.

She had been far too focused on leaving and ignoring the ugly that the Sky Pirate was blatantly bestowing upon her, knowing that he would be horrified for such a sight to be her last memory of him, but unknowingly her trying to keep his honor intact may have ultimately cost him his life. She had been alerted of danger far later than normal, but she was well aware that her arrow had struck the offending culprit as soon as the bullet had struck Balthier. It all seemed to parry that of lighting, for she move in a way that far exceeded her normal speed, finding the transaction as normal as breathing, and never flinching as her ears echoed the loud shattering of the Strahl's frontal window was pierced as it sailed down with such a force to ferociously strike the heart of the mongrel that had executed a sneak attack upon them. Yet soon, as the adrenaline of battle wore off, she had all but forgotten herself and rushed forward to catch Balthier who crumbled in her care, bringing them both to the cool of the floor.

"D-don't…l-l..eave!" The crackling of his voice made her thin brows furrow, and the sickening sound of blood trying to drown his lungs made her grit her teeth. There was no doubt that he would need more than her established magicks to keep life upon his breath, for the crimson that soaked the bare of her hand and legs like spilled water from a pot was a reminder. "Speak not, my place is here." Her voice seemed to ease him, for his muscles relaxed beneath her touch and his dazed eyes began to waver upon her lightly. She bit her tongue as she cast healings upon him, shifting his weight so that his head was cradled against the nook her neck, making sure that she had a clean view of the ghastly wound as her free hand tore away at both the vest and shirt that he wore. Both a tedious task and an awkward positioning, Fran was nevertheless diligent at temporarily soothing the fleshy physicality of the wound, but knew from the endless streams of sweat and fast cooling of now garishly paling flesh hinting at the internal damage, she herself could not be trusted to tend to him without killing his hume body.

With a few unintelligent sounds escaping his lips, Fran could feel the slowing of Balthier's heart in contrast to her rapidly beating one, feeling his thick lashes fluttering spastically against the skin of her neck. He clung to her, muttering slightly as his fingers seemed desperate to rip off the fabric of her bodice, trying to blend into her with all his might as he dealt with the excruciating springs that made him feverish. It was clear to Fran that it had been no ordinary bullet, and as she summoned all of her strength to pick both herself and the fading Balthier up, she was aware that her decision certainly had been ill-timed.

Short and simple, I promise the latter chapters will have more promise and description, I simply felt it would take away from the importance of the moment happening between the two. Anyway, please feel free to comment or criticize, reviews are both welcome and encouraged!

Next Time: Balthier's awakening, and the beginning of an epic path unfolds.