Disclaimer: I do not own Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII, nor am I making any money off this fanfiction.

-o-o-

An Offer From a Pirate

Chapter Four

The Accused

-o-o-

There was a roar, furious and eardrum-shattering, and it took Vaan several moments to realize it was coming from himself. He was pummeling his fists into Balthier unrelentingly, as fast and as hard as he could. It didn't register that Balthier wasn't fighting him back. All he cared about was the satisfying crunch whenever he managed to get a good hit on the older man.

Balthier was slammed into the co-pilot's seat. His head smacked into the upholstery of it. Only now did he raise a hand to his bloody nose. Quick as a powerful lightning spell Penelo liked to cast, Vaan hit him again—and again—and again…

They toppled to the floor. Vaan seized Balthier's poet shirt, stained red with the blood from his broken nose, his other fist raising into the air behind him. Breathing heavily, he glared down at the man who had just helped to destroy his life. The urge to punch him again was rising strongly, and Vaan's fingers twitched in preparation. It would be so easy, just to beat that face into something unrecognizable by all the pretty girls that liked to flock to the Archadian sky pirate.

"Why?" Vaan hissed. To his great shame, his eyes felt hot. He ignored it. He wouldn't show Balthier how much he was hurting. "Why would you do something like that? Don't you have a heart at all?! What me and Penelo had was—"

"Weakening," Balthier said thickly. "Strained so much that it was about to snap."

"No, it wasn't!"

"It was, or have you forgotten the fact that Larsa is likely the first person she ran off to?" Balthier's deep brown eyes blazed up at him, now lit with their own fire, any passiveness they had displayed earlier evaporated, gone. What was he so upset about? Who cared? What was it to him? This was Vaan's relationship, his own problem! Well, and Penelo's. Either way, it didn't involve Balthier at all, and he'd gone and butted in!

It took Vaan a moment to realize that Balthier wasn't upset for Vaan. It was Vaan who he was upset at.

Vaan released him, staggering to his feet and staring down at Balthier in a mixture of awe and disbelief. He would never understand what went on in that guy's head. "And what are you so mad at me about, huh? Other than the…" He gestured to his face. Balthier's was mostly hidden behind the fountain of blood that kept pouring from his nose.

Balthier spat to the side. More blood came out, splattering to the floor. At least a tooth wasn't involved. Balthier would never have forgiven him for that.

"You are ridiculously naïve when it conveniences you, Vaan." The older pirate pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to his nose. He occupied himself with that for several moments, closing his eyes and inhaling wetly through his nose on the occasion. Must not have been a regular mouth-breather.

Vaan bristled at the insult. "Yeah? Well, at least I'm not going behind my friends' backs and driving off their girlfriends!"

A short, bitter laugh left Balthier in the form of a, "Ha." It managed to say everything and nothing at once. Balthier continued regardless, "She hasn't been yours for months, or hadn't you noticed?" Balthier settled himself down into the pilot's seat and crossed his ankle over his knee. From there, he tilted his head back into the headrest and groaned quietly beneath his breath around his hankie. Rainbow ring-bedecked fingers flicked in his direction dismissively. "Larsa's had her. Everyone knows it but you, it seems."

Vaan swallowed down a lump in his throat the size of a small ball. In his mind's eye, he could still see the pearls draped around Penelo's neck. He didn't think he'd be forgetting it anytime soon.

"Our Queen has even invited them to host their engagement party in Rabanastre," Balthier sighed. Since his eyes were closed again, he failed to see Vaan tensing in surprise. "It's said that Penelo laughed and quickly corrected her, much to fair Ashelia's embarrassment."

"See, there you go," Vaan said, unable to help feeling a bit smug. "Penelo—"

"It's only a matter of time," Balthier went on, talking over Vaan as though he hadn't said anything at all. "Their engagement, I mean. Now that she's fled back to Archades, I doubt there will be any reason for her to say no."

Vaan went cold all over. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, hadn't you heard?" Balthier lowered his crimson-soaked handkerchief, his expression one of bemusement. His other hand came to settle over his raised ankle. "Larsa proposed to her some odd weeks ago."

There were several moments where Vaan only saw the color red. It was vivid—deeper than the handkerchief Balthier was clutching—vivid and nearly frightening. He didn't think he'd ever been so angry in his life, not even during the war when there were some days where he'd wanted to rip the imperials to shreds for occupying his beloved home city. He didn't think he'd ever felt so betrayed, either. And not betrayed just by one person, but by two. It hurt—quite a good bit.

Never mind that Vaan had just spent the night with Balthier and some whores, as the elder pirate had said. Never mind—

The pain in his heart was terrible. It was clawing him from the inside out. He actually took a step back and clutched his hand over it, blinking furiously at the floor. The control panels of the cockpit dug into his waist.

"Now, now, there's no need to get teary-eyed over it, Vaan. Surely you saw it coming?"

Vaan didn't have the energy to make a proper retort. He didn't even bother to cast Balthier a glare as he lowered himself carefully to the floor. He was fairly certain that if he made one wrong move, he'd shatter to pieces.

The world had nearly ended for him when he'd lost his parents. When Rabanastre had been invaded, the world just wasn't a very fun place to be anymore. There had been some days where he'd thought that maybe they'd be trapped beneath the weight of the empire forever. Never had he felt so alone. But—through it all—there had been Penelo. Yes, they'd had arguments, ones that were epic at times. Sometimes Penelo did nothing more than nag at him as though she was his mother. That didn't change anything at the end of the day… Penelo meant more to him… than… than anything…

She kept him going. She—

Balthier rose his feet. "Should I give you a moment?"

"Just—tell me why, Balthier…" The words came from him slowly, and Vaan lifted his head so that he could get a good look at the man who had pushed things from a teetering situation to overboard. "Her note said that she saw us. Did you make it easy to find?"

"I might have." Balthier returned his gaze unfalteringly, battered face and all.

Vaan put a hand behind him on the control panel and used it to haul himself to his feet. He swayed on the spot, wetted his lips. "Why?" It was the only thing he could think of to say that wouldn't result in anymore blistering anger being thrown Balthier's way. He had enough of it for Larsa at the moment, and Balthier had just been pummeled bloody. He could get a break. Just for a moment. At least until Vaan dealt with Larsa.

"Why?"

"Why…" Vaan flung an arm in his direction. A headache was pounding behind his eyes, and he closed them. "Why are you on their side? Why did you—do this? Make it worse?" But another thought had just occurred to him, through the immense amount of grief taking him. "Can he—do that?"

"Do what?"

Vaan found that he had more than enough strength to shoot Balthier a dirty look now. Balthier knew exactly what he was talking about. What was all this playing dumb crap? "Propose!"

Balthier folded one arm along his chest. The other hand was supporting his nose with the handkerchief again. Now that Vaan looked closely, he saw that it was embroidered. Vain prat. "…Well." One of Balthier's eyebrows rose, and Vaan couldn't remember a time that gesture had been so condescending. "He did, did he not?"

"No—I mean—well, yes—but… I mean…" Vaan sputtered for words, a bit taken aback. That was it? That was all Balthier had to say? Didn't he get the—wrongness of this situation? Didn't he see what had happened here? Or was he just toying with Vaan? "She's… not a noble."

"I stand by what I said before." Balthier pulled the hanky away to examine it. It was thoroughly soaked, but his nose wasn't bleeding as much anymore.

Since he wasn't getting any help from Balthier in answering his question, Vaan scowled down at the controls beneath his palm. Penelo wasn't a noble. The people of Archadia would never let her marry Larsa. Didn't they have laws against it? Blue blood and all of that. The same worked for mostly any foreign country. Granted, Larsa was "elected" as emperor, but everyone knew how that really worked; it had been two centuries that the Solidor household held the throne. Vaan knew some of the history.

But then—it all… sort of sunk in.

The long visits to Archades. The ambassador-like position. The grooming.

"Oh, gods… I thought… I thought it was really—you know—just…!" Vaan put a hand to his forehead, slumping back against the controls. This was too much for him to handle all at once. He was having the worst day of his life, and now he had come to discover what the last year had meant. "Just to help our countries! So people would trust Penelo as an ambassador more! But—but—this whole time—it has been building her reputation more—so that—so that Larsa can marry her!" There had never been a clearer moment in his entire life. It was as if the world finally made some damn sense.

A broken laugh trailed from him, borderline disbelief. "Gods! And here I thought it was really for the greater good for our two countries! But it wasn't! It was—so carefully thought out… I…"

Balthier sniffed in disdain. It sounded wheezier than the norm. "Please have your mental breakdown somewhere else, my head hurts, and I am trying to relax."

Vaan rounded on him. How dare he make demands? After all he had helped Larsa with, the reasons for it still unknown? "Fuck you, Balthier!" The words burst from him in a fresh surge of anger. He didn't like to be so vulgar, at least not on good days—not that this was a good day… Still.

"I did," Balthier returned. "Twice."

It took Vaan a moment to recover from this remark. He kept forgetting what had transpired between them—it wasn't on his list of priorities at the moment, and he didn't think he was very prepared to handle it when it was. "…Couldn't you be more—I don't know—a little more caring?" Vaan continued to stare at him. How the hell did that man have the decency to stay so unruffled, even after the beating he had taken?

"What do you mean?" Balthier settled back into the chair he'd been occupying. "I'm being very caring."

Vaan snorted.

"I am." The Archadian blinked up at him. "I sent the two a letter of congratulations—prematurely, of course, but it's the thought that counts, or so I hear."

If Vaan's mouth opened any wider, it would be catching flies. "Whose side are you on?!" he demanded, advancing toward the taller man. He couldn't take anymore of this flippant demeanor! Balthier had better start taking this seriously or else—or else what? Vaan was going to punch his face in? He'd already done that.

"My own, as always."

Enough was enough. It was time to return to the question that Vaan had initially asked. Now he did it with crossed arms and an intent expression on his face. Not that it would matter in the end, or so it seemed—Balthier was too unruffled by this.

"Why are you sticking up for them? Don't you hate Larsa?" At least, he doesn't like you.

"It's true, I've never really tried to hide it," Balthier replied. "But I thought the answer was rather obvious, given what transpired this past night."

Vaan set his jaw. "Which is?" Couldn't Balthier just get to the point already? Vaan knew he wasn't always ahead of the game. That stood true now, as well as any time.

"You still don't have it?" Balthier rubbed his chin in thought and rolled his shoulders back into the chair before he placed his hands over its arms. His ankle had resumed its previous position on his knee.

Vaan thought he might like to look at the ground better than meet that unnerving stare, so he did. Still, he could feel it burning holes into his forehead. Balthier was good at that. Vaan idly wondered how often Balthier might have stared someone into submission.

But…

But—

Wait a minute.

Vaan gasped, jerking his head up so that he could stare at Balthier again.

No, it couldn't be! But—

"Me?" he said weakly.

"The one and the same," Balthier replied. How could he look so—straight-faced? How could he look him in the eye after admitting something like that?

Vaan couldn't do this right now. He had places to be, people to see. He could worry about Balthier once he got back, that was all there was to it. If he thought too much about it now, he was going to lose every bit of his nerves, and then where would he be? Not in a good place, that was where.

He turned and started to turn various controls on. Balthier could come along if he liked. Right now, Vaan needed to borrow the Strahl.

"Where do you think you're going?" Balthier's hand caught around Vaan's elbow and tugged. Vaan threw him off.

"To Archades. I've got to talk to Larsa." What did he care?

"Vaan—you're only one man."

"So is he!" Vaan all but snarled the words. Was Balthier seriously going to argue with him on this, after everything that had just happened? Balthier had admitted he hated Larsa—so then why was he preventing Vaan from bashing the boy's lights out?

Contrary to at least the semi-look of agreement he'd expected from Balthier at that moment, all he got was a stare of disbelief. Balthier was looking at Vaan as though he were the stupidest man to inhabit Ivalice.

It rankled. "What?"

Balthier grabbed onto Vaan's elbow yet again. He didn't yet move to pull him away, however. "The emperor is never one man, Vaan—he is his empire. If you go to him now, like this… Well, I dare say that I might be left to pick up your pieces, if there are any left."

"WHAT DO YOU CARE?!" Vaan exploded before he could stop himself—and if he was being truthful, he didn't want to. All the rage had finally reached its peak. He hadn't wanted to take it out on Balthier completely. Now he had no choice. If he held it in any longer…

"Well, for one, this is my ship, and I'll not have you ruining it because you're upset with Larsa."

"FINE!" Vaan whirled from him. "It's not like I don't have my own ship!" Using the Strahl would have been more convenient.

This time when Balthier snatched at his arm, he didn't let go. His fingers dug in to stop Vaan from getting any further, and his hold was remarkably strong for someone leaner than him. "No you don't."

"Yes, I do!" Vaan snapped. "It's at the aerodo—"

"No, you idiot!" Balthier shoved him into the co-pilot's seat. The air was knocked out of Vaan's lungs, and he gripped a hold of its arms to catch himself from slamming into the thing too heavily. "I'm not allowing you to run off and attack that brat like this! I won't allow it!"

"YOU'RE NOT IN CHARGE OF ME!" Vaan roared.

"I might as well be, seeing as how you don't have the common sense to stay put until you've calmed down!"

Vaan didn't think he had ever seen Balthier so very angry. He was usually just so composed, and he had been up until now. What the hell?

They glared at each other in silence. Vaan's breathing was heavier, louder, but Balthier's wasn't even, either. Vaan swallowed. His heart pounded from the adrenaline still rushing through him. It wanted to take charge—bull Balthier out of the way so that he could run from the ship and back down to Balfonheim. He didn't want to deal with this, any of it. After he'd taken care of Larsa, he'd win Penelo back and then disappear for a while. He'd make her see what was right, what…

Vaan let out a strangled noise and closed his eyes as he thunked his head back against the chair. He didn't want to admit it—but Balthier was right… Running after Larsa in this state… Doing him in… Penelo would never forgive him, for one. She'd always hated when Vaan acted rashly. This would just be the worst…

"I'm glad you're coming to your senses at last." The heat in Balthier's eyes hadn't lessened in the least. Vaan set his jaw again, refusing to look at him lest the rage inside of him bubble over again. "Now stay here. I'll just be a moment." Balthier turned and walked out of the cockpit. Vaan heard his footsteps until they faded.

He clenched his fist and brought it down hard against the arm of his chair.

Damn it!

-o-o-

Balthier was busy for several moments, doing whatever it was he'd walked off for. Vaan wasn't sure what that was, seeing as how he hadn't left his chair yet, until he heard an unmistakable crack of bones, and then Balthier's cry of pain.

Vaan debated with himself—see what was wrong, or let the bastard suffer on his own? The latter was such a tempting option, after everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and Vaan hadn't exactly been fond of Balthier lately to begin with… Really, that guy deserved everything he got…

In the end, he knew he was too soft to just sit there and do nothing, so he climbed to his feet and headed out of the cockpit. A few quick glances around revealed no trace of Balthier until he reached the tiny bedroom they'd inhabited together earlier. As Vaan watched, the man's nose began to heal, probably courtesy of the empty vial in his hand. His nose finished righting itself, no longer crooked. The effect made Vaan a little queasy, but he'd seen worse.

"Better?" Vaan asked. He wouldn't apologize.

"Much," Balthier agreed. The pirate glanced down at his bloodied poet's shirt, seemed to deem it too dirty to wear anywhere, and then began to rummage through a pack at the foot of the bed. Several seconds later, he pulled free a new shirt, slightly wrinkled. Must have been a spare for something like this happening. Balthier never went anywhere wrinkled.

"…So, if you're not going to let me go—what are we doing…?" The question was slow. Vaan wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. At the moment, he really didn't want anything to do with Balthier; he could see, though, that it would take another struggle to be free of him at the moment, and he was tired of fighting. No, he was just tired. He'd only been awake for a handful of hours, and already he wanted to collapse. That bed was looking pretty comfy…

Balthier's shoulders moved into one of his casual shrugs. "I figured we might go to the bath house, get cleaned up."

Sighing, Vaan leaned against the frame of the door and crossed his arms. "…We could just take a bath at my house, you know. I do have one."

"Not the same," Balthier said with a shake of his head. "Not for what I have in mind."

Vaan's brows rose. What he "had in mind"?

-o-o-

Blessedly, the clientele Vaan had feared would occupy the bath house were notably absent. No grungy pirates with missing teeth in particular. There was just something about a man leering at you just because he could and having some yellowed, crooked teeth—well, it wasn't pleasant. Not that Vaan could spare a lot of thought for that sort of thing right now. No, he was much more focused on what he was going to do about Penelo.

He had to win her back—didn't he? It slightly worried him that he was questioning himself… On the one hand, Penelo was—or was she?—his girlfriend. It was his duty to take her back from the hands of Larsa and prove to her that it was Vaan she wanted. On the other hand… Maybe she—maybe she really wasn't happy with her relationship with Vaan anymore… Larsa had probably offered her loads of stuff she could want—a stable life, hand maidens, whatever noble ladies got. Not to mention the mountain of boxes that had awaited her on her recent return (though maybe this had something to do with the proposal).

What could Vaan offer her? A life of pirating, never knowing if they were going to live from one mission to the next? Vaan enjoyed the thrill of it, of that there was no doubt. A battle of life and death? What could be a greater adventure?

Though… Penelo hadn't always wanted to be a pirate, and sometimes she was reluctant about it, especially lately. Maybe it just didn't hold anything for her anymore? Maybe she felt safer as an ambassador-type person? Maybe… Maybe she was tired of… well… keeping Vaan out of trouble all the time. It had been something she frequently complained about, not that Vaan could blame her. He'd always been pretty reckless.

Maybe she just—…wasn't attracted to him anymore, either?

The thought made his heart twist in his chest. He liked to think he was decent-looking, enough to keep Penelo's eyes on him, at least. Was he wrong? Had the passing years taken away his youthful cuteness, as Penelo had once put it?

He groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Currently he was perched on the edge of the bath. It was large, enough to hold possibly twenty men in it at a time, and deep in the ground. When one was standing in it, their feet barely touched the floor. He knew it was operated by fire magicite to keep the water charmed to be heated constantly, he just didn't know the exact mechanics of it. Soaps of all different sorts lined the rims of the bath, from base-scented to lavender. Steam rose through the room in great clouds, keeping up a thin veil of privacy for those who cared for it.

It really was nice, nicer than most people's baths at home, or so Vaan figured. They kept the house open for one hour intervals at a time, and then they would close the bath down briefly enough to switch the water out. It wasn't too costly to get in, either, although Balthier had covered Vaan's expense.

No one was around but the two of them. Vaan thought this was mighty convenient and wondered if that was what had been going on when Balthier had slipped the lady in charge some extra Gil. Not to mention that wait… Clearing out all the bathers? Seemed likely.

Vaan cast a sullen frown his way, swooshing his feet through the water. They were nicely pruned from sitting in it for fifteen minutes, and his skin had turned a delicate shade of red. Just below him, treading the water with his head tilted back against the wall, was Balthier. He closed his eyes as Vaan watched and let out a long, content sigh. The only change to his tanned complexion was a pink tinge mixing in with it.

"What?" Balthier said after a moment in which Vaan only glared at him. "Had enough of speaking about Penelo? It's all you've gone on about since we arrived."

Vaan pursed his lips and let his gaze dart away. "…Yeah, well—my head hurts."

Balthier dipped under the water with a quiet breath. He submerged several moments later, pushing his hands through his sodden hair and blinking the water free from his lashes. Steam rose off his skin, which wasn't wrinkled at all. How the hell hadn't he pruned yet? Did he have some mysterious pretty boy skin that enabled him to look attractive around the clock, or was Vaan just unfortunate enough to prune easily? He deeply suspected it was the former.

Quiet passed between them, and so Vaan let his thoughts wander.

Why did Balthier want him, of all people? It just didn't make any sense. Vaan was only terse with him of late at the best of times, and it would have taken a blind man not to notice. The more he was around Balthier, the more the man grated on him. Yet… according to Balthier, they had slept together, and evidence enough of that was not only because he had woken up in Balthier's bed, but also the ache persisting at the small of his back that he'd been mostly able to ignore.

Obviously he'd drunk enough that he couldn't remember the night before very well… But had that included being out of his mind? …Having sex with Balthier, it was just… so far-fetched… What had he been thinking?

With a faint frown forming anew on his mouth, Vaan studied the older man. Balthier was twenty-seven now, though he didn't really look it—in fact, he hadn't really aged much at all in the last five years. It was sort of remarkable. Then again, considering Balthier's uncanny habit of appearing nothing short of perfect, maybe it wasn't.

He could have all the ladies he wanted… So why, then, had he settled on Vaan?

Noticing his gaze, Balthier glanced back up at him. "Yes?"

Vaan let out a short breath. Well—now or never…

"Did we really…?" He gestured between the two of them, not quite ready to state exactly what they had done out loud. "…You know."

A chuckle left Balthier's lips, and the man shook his head. "No longer much concerned about the future empress, I take it?"

Vaan found himself scowling again. "Can we not talk about that?"

"I don't see why not." Balthier inclined his head. "You were so keen on it a moment ago."

Quite tired of Balthier's snarkiness, Vaan allowed himself a childish moment and kicked his foot outward. Water sprayed in an arc and hit Balthier directly in the face.

The man sputtered. "Very mature, Vaan."

"Yeah, like you are!" Vaan shot back. "Being all—mysterious and crap all day. Why don't you just answer the question, huh? I'm tired of the mind games!"

"There's nothing to answer," Balthier said. He continued to tread the water, arms keeping pace in front of him. "I do believe I've remarked upon the subject several times already, and really do not feel the need to do so again."

Well—he did have a point.

"Fine," Vaan bit off, "then why don't you tell me if I enjoyed it or not?" His face flamed red after he asked this particular question, but he couldn't let it slide anymore without possibly knowing. Would Balthier tell the truth? He couldn't be sure.

Had he enjoyed it? Had he been forced into it? If only his memories hadn't abandoned him!

"Well now," Balthier murmured. "That is an interesting question."

He lapsed into silence. Vaan watched him, waiting. Several more moments passed without a word.

Just when Vaan's patience was about to snap and he was going to start demanding answers, Balthier spoke again. "I think it would be best for you to remember yourself… After all, I'm quite liable to say nearly anything, aren't I, to get what I want?"

Vaan was fairly certain that if he had a mirror in front of him right now, he would see a murderous gleam in his eyes. "That's it?" he said coolly.

Balthier sighed and shifted until he could float on his back. "That's what?"

"You're just not going to tell me anything?"

"No." And the one word was very final.

Damn it all to hell, but Vaan was growing tired of being in the dark. He would really appreciate for someone to come along and shine a bit of light on him. It would do wonders to improve his life at the moment. He was sure of it.

-o-o-

Unchecked amounts of time passed. It seemed as though it were hours—in reality? Probably close to ten minutes. Balthier was mum on the subject, Vaan couldn't wriggle anything out of him, but then, he hadn't tried. Not that he had seen a real point. If Balthier wanted to talk, he would talk. Until then, Vaan would just have to wait. Unless… Well, unless he decided he wasn't sticking around for this anymore…

Balthier was in the water. Vaan was not. Vaan could, most definitely, escape and get to some freedom. From there, he could head to Archades. Sure, he wouldn't jump Larsa—he could see now that that would be a very, very bad idea. They could talk, though, couldn't they? Man to man? He could even demand some answers from Larsa—Larsa would give him that much, wouldn't he? The bastard had to, if he had any sense of honor.

Vaan rose to his feet without a word.

He was just turning to go when a wet hand snagged his ankle and jerked him bodily into the bath.

Flailing, choking on the water that had just infused his lungs, Vaan kicked for the surface. He gasped in a great gulp of air, and it was several moments before he could breathe without a rattling noise in his throat again. Great gods above! Had Balthier not been careful, Vaan could have cracked his head on the edge of the bath!

"Just what the hell are you doing?!" he shouted. His voice echoed off the walls, but didn't penetrate the thick layers of steam that swirled pleasantly around them.

"Saving your life," Balthier replied. "I take it you thought to leave while I was unaware? Be careful, Vaan—you may only be a handful of years younger than me, but that can make quite a difference in this life you've chosen to lead."

"I'll be fine! I'm not heading in there all riled up now, okay?! I just want to talk to him!"

Balthier neared him in the water. Vaan forced himself to stay put. A part of him wanted to run away, and not just to Archades. More and more, it was sinking in that Balthier and he had actually had… sex. It was also sinking in that the thought wasn't making him as squeamish as he wanted to be. Maybe it was because he couldn't remember what had happened, and so therefore couldn't get a real idea?

"…I've decided that I'll help you," Balthier murmured, and his lashes lowered over darkening brown irises. He was very close now. Their noses were almost touching. Vaan was too frozen to move; he could only stare up at the pirate. "Attempt to jog your memory a bit."

Vaan swallowed so loudly it was audible. "…Huh?"

"You wanted to know, didn't you? About last night?"

Balthier inclined his head, one of his hands coming up to cup Vaan's throat to pull him closer—

Vaan ducked under the water, and he didn't resurface again until he was by the stone steps that led out of the bath. His face red from more than the heat of the water, he sat down some feet away with his back facing the room at large.

Balthier harrumphed softly from somewhere behind him.

"Suit yourself."