57. Lunch
The next time they had a meal together, it was Vaan who treated Balthier. The street urchin had casually popped up in the sky pirate's doorway and leaned against it, dangling a small bag of coins from his hands and asking if there was anywhere Balthier wanted to go to eat.
"Where did you get that bag of gil?" Balthier had asked suspiciously, putting down the belt pouch he was restocking.
Vaan flashed a mischievous grin. "Remember when I bumped into that guard a while ago, on our way back?"
The pirate sighed. "You're hardly at a loss for money now, Vaan. Or did you enjoy your trip to the prison so much you want to go back?"
"Relax," said Vaan. "He didn't notice a thing."
"For some reason, I don't feel assured." Balthier grimaced. "But let's not dawdle on such trifle matters. Why don't we decide after we look around? I'm not too familiar with the city of Bhujerba."
"Neither. Sounds like a plan. Come on, let's go!" And with a final swish of the money pouch, the urchin was out the door, his heavy boots thumping on the wooden stairs.
Balthier watched him go and then looked at the supplies on his table. Ideally he had wanted to sort out their loot from today and amply prepare himself for tomorrow's hunt - but there was no denying Vaan, not when he was in an insistent mood like this. With a sigh, he followed.
As they walked down the street, Balthier couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu as Vaan dawdled at every stall and greeted various shopkeepers. How did he even know them? They had barely been in the city a week.
The two walked around a corner and straight into the suspicious gaze of a trio of guards. The one on the right looked at them funnily for a moment, and Balthier watched with a sense of impending doom as the man's beady eyes lit up. "Hey! It's 'im! The brat that took me money pouch!"
"So what was it you were saying about him not noticing a thing?" remarked Balthier as Vaan gave a little yelp. The guards advanced menacingly, arms outstretched to grab hold of him.
"Never mind that – run!" Vaan yelled, grabbing hold of Balthier's arm and pushing his way past their pursuers. One of the guards, surprised, lost his balance and a long string of curses followed them as the others chased after them.
"Hey! Mind the shirt!" the sky pirate said, but it was too late – the street urchin had already started tugging on it. In order to preserve his garments from further damage, he had no choice but to run. And so, he ran. "This is ridiculous," he muttered. "I'm not even involved in this! Why must I escape like some petty thief?"
Vaan must have heard him, because he turned mid-step to grin at Balthier again. "Like it or not, you're an accomplice now," he said. "You agreed to lunch, remember?"
"I didn't realize that would make me some kind of criminal," snarled Balthier, but kept running anyway.
They weaved through the crowd, thankful for the guards' heavy armor. Within a few minutes they could no longer hear the shouting and clanking of their pursuers. Balthier looked around, and pulled Vaan through a nearby door.
"Welcome!" said a pleasant-looking young man. "Please, let me take you to your seats."
The two young men glanced at each other, still sweating and puffing from their sprint. Vaan's head cocked to the side. "You want to have lunch here?"
Balthier swept his arm at their lavish surroundings. "This is one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. I've heard very good things about it, if you must know." He followed the waiter to their table in the corner.
"Yeah, I can tell," said Vaan. "And do you honestly think we can afford to eat here? I took a money pouch, not a sack of gold!"
Balthier raised an eyebrow as he sat down and scanned the menu. "Ah, but you don't expect me to believe that you simply elbowed past the other guards back there, do you?"
The blonde stared at him for a moment before breaking out into a huge smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the three pouches of gil. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's eat!"