Air Wave

II : disparity

His black boots made a barely audible sound as they pressed against the well polished wood floor. He closed the door behind him carefully as his trained eyes traveled around the dim lit lobby warily, trying to figure out where the right path leading to his room was. Well, not exactly 'his room', because he had to share it with Fran. Damn this hotel for lacking of rooms, he mentally cursed. What kept him composed was that the room had separate beds, so he didn't really mind.

As his figure passed, not even a single person looked at him and he thanked God for that. Sometimes he just loathed those suspicious looks he was always given. But now as he stared at them from the corner of his eye, they didn't seem to care, not even the slightest. His presence was no more than a sweeping breeze in their eyes. Turning his head and fixing his look on the corridor ahead, he exhaled before resuming walking, this time with steady paces.

The dim lights, the wall, and the doors were reflected in his brown eyes. The reflections were so vivid that they even competed with the real ones. As lights sprayed dancing gleam across his face, he faced a door and soon turned its doorknob, carefully and silently. A second after that the door creaked open, only to expose a room with two beds. On one of them there slept soundly a Viera, his partner Fran. He walked over to her, trying not to wake her up as he did so.

Her black helmet had been taken off and he couldn't help but stare at her. Now that he was looking at her like this… Memories deluged his mind.

"Why did you use that black helmet?"

"Why? This is useful to protect my head, Balthier. I assume you are aware of the fact that even though I have longer life than Humes, I still try to avoid death at all costs. Eluding myself from it. So in other words, you have no objection to ask, nor complain."

"But! …You know, you look prettier without that… thing."

"…Pardon me?"

"But I guess… if this means to keep you safe, I won't complain."

"…"

"Yes. Now let's be off. The sky is waiting, m'lady."

A smirk adorned his face. How they'd met and become partners was still like a dream to him. A wonderful dream. And he wanted to keep that forever. He could remember Fran being so quiet at first, but after some time, she could open up and put her trust on him. Partners always share everything, after all.

He smiled down at her peaceful face and walked over to his bed, pulling his shirt over his head. Lying on the silky white surface, he shifted his look upwards and stared at the ceiling. The fragrant scent of flowers in the vase went into his nose, calming his nerves down. He inhaled, filling his lungs with fresh air and closing his eyes in try to sleep. When darkness took over, he soon was embraced by ephemeral dreams. And in his dream land, reality became a far-off dream.

The first thing she saw was the ceiling. She blinked several times, dazzled by the light that seeped through the windows. A minute later she carefully sat up, then observed the room with her crimson eyes vigilantly. Not long after that, her eyes caught the sight of a figure sleeping on the other bed not far from her. She rose from her bed, long ears flipping back and forth as she took more steps to examine the sleeping gunman. Fran tilted her head. "Balthier?" When no response spoken, the Viera turned on her heel heading for the window.

She opened it almost too quickly. Once the window was completely open, she jumped over to the terrace agilely, making no sound as her long feet stepped on the floor. Gentle breeze swept by, causing her lithe long locks to swing elegantly behind. Bathed by the warm light of the sun, her cocoa skin exuded a captivating luminosity. Resplendent rays poured upon the town, lighting the strewn houses up and bringing a new beginning to everyone. Another new day.

Fran breathed in again. The air was just refreshing… It brought tranquility to her. After closing her eyes for a brief moment, she lifted her head. The rooftop did seem to attract her attention. She jumped and stood on the rooftop swiftly, casting her gaze upon the dawned town. Leaves began to rustle while birds flew from their nests towards the sky, singing in every flap of their wings, greeting the new day.

She felt much better now. Staring up at the sky just brought longing to her heart. Oh how she missed flying in the sky again… Looking for new treasures in hidden mines, dungeons…

But this was just too quiet. This serenity didn't match with flying, hunting for things. But now that she thought about this, sky pirates always went against nature, did they not? At this, a faint small surfaced onto her face.

"Fran? Where are you?" Came the gunman's voice.

She instantly jumped down and when she faced the gunman, her partner gave her a baffled look. To answer his quizzical look, the Viera spoke, "I've been on the rooftop. Just feeling the air, that's all. Everything is changing, I can smell it. Ivalice… is changing."

Balthier's voice came out as almost a chuckle. "Oh yes, changing. And speaking of which, I wonder, will we remain as sky pirates, like, forever?"

His partner didn't seem to give a satisfying answer. "That, I do not know. Let destiny speak itself. We can not see our future. But for surely, beyond all the interlaced paths of our life, there is a future. And there will always a time when a thing such as future comes to our grasp. But for now, we just can wait and walk on our chosen roads."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

Silence for a moment. Balthier eventually noticed Fran's eyes on him. His bare chest, more like. A playful smirk came across his face almost immediately. "Why are you giving me that look? What? Never seen a hot half-naked guy before?"

"…"

"Enthralled, aren't you?"

"…That sounds like a joke."

"It does?"

"Anyhow," Fran walked past him and looked over her shoulder. "I wouldn't be surprised if you caught a cold. You really should have worn something." With that she headed for the bathroom and as the door swung close, the gunman sighed.

"Now, that's what I call a joke." He shook his head.

They went out the inn when the sun had risen completely and now everyone was beginning their daily activities. The once serene town changed into something more cheerful. Some people ran hurriedly across the town, exclaiming something no one cared for. Howling mobs were almost everywhere, crowding out the streets like ants. The sky, however, seemed very busy too. White clouds ran after each other, as if they had an airship to catch. Birds were also busy; preoccupied by their own orchestra. Everything was so hectic.

Her voice was a disturbance to the lingering silence between them. "Where are we going, actually?" Fran asked when they walked amongst the people. She didn't have any clue where her partner was taking them to.

"Café. Who knows, maybe I can get a job there. To hunt some monsters, perhaps. We need money first, Fran. We're lack of it. I think Vaan stole our pocket –"

The crimson eyed woman flicked her clinging hair off her face, cocking her head to the side. She apparently had left her helmet in the room; didn't bother to wear it because now she didn't feel the need to. "…I may be mistaken. But I think I heard you speak out an 'I'."

"You are not mistaken, my dear."

She wrinkled her nose. "Since when did you act on your own and leave me behind?"

"Remember the Bahamut?" When Fran nodded, he resumed speaking, "Remember when you fainted and I had to act on my own?" He gave his partner a smirk and Fran, who had been listening to his every word, now furrowed her brows.

"I disapprove with your words. I think I've told you that I didn't ask for that." She folded her arms over her chest, half glaring at the gunman who was only chuckling in amusement. Fran, however, didn't think there was anything funny to laugh at. Yet it was sense of humor that she actually lacked for. "Is there something funny, Balthier?" The Viera asked, quite befuddled by her partner's sudden laughter but she masked herself pretty well. Her taintless face didn't seem to present any noticeable emotions.

"Ah, no. No, m'lady." He snorted. When Fran's white brows were drawn deeper into a frown, Balthier couldn't help but guffaw. This attracted people's attention so he quickly closed his mouth, retaining himself from bursting into any more possible laughter. When his laughter receded, people continued doing their own activities again, completely forgetting about what had happened awhile ago. "Well…" He stared at her for awhile before uttering a conclusion. "You do look pretty without that thing."

With that he stepped into what appeared to be a café. Fran, meanwhile, could only gaze at her partner's back in bewilderment. What his statement was meant for, she didn't know. She shook her head to abolish the popping questions in her mind as she finally followed him into the café.

The smell of liquor went into his nose in an instant. Mingled with the scent of fresh baked breads, it spread across the room and filled the café with the well-known atmosphere. Inhaling deeply, Balthier moved towards the bartender, ordered drinks for the two of them, and seated himself. Only a second after that Fran came, taking a seat beside him.

A cluster of bottles were placed on the table, not very tidily, but neatly enough not to invite displeasing looks from people. The whole room was filled with inevitable noise as everyone talked; whether it was about new treasures or the latest dirty gossip around the town, no one seemed want to stop babbling. Talking was something to fill the gap between their drinks and meals.

When the bartender came back to them with two drinks in his hands, Balthier intertwined his fingers and asked almost immediately, "is there anything new?" The old man turned his head to the gunman, locking gaze with him for awhile before settling the drinks on the table.

"Ya seekin' for a job no?"

"I am." He replied.

The bartender scratched the back of his head. Recalling things was not his first option at that time. Due to him being busy all the time with his café engulfed by crowds almost every time except sleep times, he could hardly remember a thing. "Uhm…" He began, and both Balthier and Fran waited patiently, though Fran didn't look very happy even the slightest. "I think I've got one for ya." The old man bent a little to take something out from a drawer. He showed them a yellow paper, eaten by years and on it there was a picture of a monster. "Need ya to get rid of this and take its claws."

"…Claws?" It was Fran's first comment after quite awhile. The bartended jerked his head at her voice and almost jumped in surprise.

Seeing this, Balthier interfered. "What? Never seen a Hume hanging out with a Viera together?" The expression on the old man's face was obvious enough to explain everything. He did never see a Hume hanging out with a Viera together.

"My apologies. Erh yeah, as I said before, its claws. For herbs, y'know. How does this sound?"

"I'm on it." The gunman grinned before taking a sip of his drink, letting the familiar warm liquid to take over his entire mouth as he savored it. "And Fran," He put the glass back on the table. "Before you can protest any further, I want you to understand the situation. For your safety, you need to rest more. You're not fully recovered yet and I don't want to lose my partner, okay?"

When the crimson eyed woman opened her mouth to voice her objection, Balthier quickly placed his index finger on it. He smiled warmly at her. "No objections this time, okay? We're talking about your life, m'lady."

"…"

"I promise we can hunt together after you're fully recovered."

"…You better keep that, sky pirate."

A smirk emblazoned his face. "I will."

He'd gone out by himself leaving his partner at the café, and now he was surrounded by trees again. Some monsters roared simultaneously, sending chills down to his spines. Gaining his composure back, Balthier inserted another bullet to his gun and scrutinized the area cautiously. His skilled eyes rolled from time to time in try to catch a figure that matched with the picture on the paper.

As he concentrated on the grassy ground ahead, a part of his mind yearned to be recognized. This thought always bothered him whenever he was alone without her. Of course. It was none other than that green glow. It was still a mystery and it seemed like he couldn't get his mind off it. Somewhere deep in his heart, he knew he had to find more about this.

He jerked his head up so suddenly when another roar reverberated in his ears. A familiar figure came into his sight and he knew what to do. He automatically raised his gun in a quick motion and aimed it at the monster, but unfortunately the bullet missed its target. Instead it hit a tree a few inches beside his foe.

He sneezed.

"Damn. I think you're right Fran."

Another sneeze.

Her long ears swiveled back and forth, alerted as they amassed information from the talking people. While her eyes rolled from one side to another studying everything, she learned that Dalmasca was ready to recover and the queen's coronation would be held a year later. However, this wasn't the only information she got. Many people were also talking about the new age of the empire, how Lord Larsa would lead Archadians to years of glory and peace. Everyone seemed to have the same topic for their gossip this morning.

"Care to have more drink 'lad?" The bartender who had told her that his name was Dave asked. She jerked her head at his voice, white curls whipping at her face, red eyes rolling towards his direction, and long ears flipping backwards.

Fran only shook her head politely muttering a quiet 'no thanks' before averting her gaze towards the people again, lost in thoughts. As far as her eyes could see, there was no sign of people grouping with Viera. There wasn't even a Viera there, for heaven's sake. Yeah, except her, of course. Humes most likely didn't partner with Viera, as spoken in history that Viera incarcerated themselves inside the Wood, staying away from whatever was happening with Ivalice and Humes.

But she was different, wasn't she?

She, in fact, had abandoned her home and people and to complete her ironic fairytale, she ended up partnering with a Hume. She gained what she had been looking for; freedom. But to pay that price, she was rejected by the Wood and its people. Surprisingly enough, she didn't really care.

She was different.

This difference… sometimes really bothered her. Sometimes she inquired herself questions that couldn't be answered, sometimes she wondered if her choice to leave the Wood was right, sometimes she asked herself what actually made her different from the others.

Sometimes she was tired of questioning herself and let everything flow like water.

Fran exhaled and interlaced her fingers together, studying the area again as she murmured in a low tone, "how prosaic…"

She couldn't help but smirk in amusement when she saw her companion sneezing over and over in the past ten minutes. She tilted her head as Balthier gave up with his cards and banged them on the table. "Tired already, no?" She said.

"I want to stop sneezing. Really, I do."

She grinned. "You should have worn something, I told you."

"But it was hot, okay?"

"Now who needs to take a break for awhile?"

The gunman didn't say anything. Instead he rested his legs on the table and folded his arms behind his head. Fran eyed him for awhile, knowing how bad his mood was that time. Balthier simply didn't like any 'bad condition' because it meant an obstacle to his treasure hunting and his so-called 'career' as a sky pirate. No job, no money. No treasure, no money.

"How was the hunt today?" She asked in monotone.

"Fine. Except when I sneezed over and over and missed the target from time to time. Sucked, I know." He replied with a heavy sigh.

Her red eyes were suddenly attracted by light coming through the windows. She shifted her look from her partner to it, blinking several times as she spotted the moon hanging in the sky dauntlessly. Fran looked at him again with unreadable expression on her face. "Want to go out in a bit? The moon looks nice today." She asked and he shrugged, but rose from his seat nonetheless.

As soon as they stepped out their room to the terrace, the moon hailed them with its beaming pale light. Clusters of stars stretched across the dark sky, sparkling gaily as they escorted the princess of night showering glitters upon the town. The sky was decorated temptingly, taintless without blemish. For awhile, she just gazed at the heavens, this time awe was clearly seen upon her face. Not so long after that she spoke, "…we rarely can see pretty moon like this from the Wood."

"Oh?" Balthier arched one of his eyebrows.

"In the Wood, there are so many trees that even the sun or the moon is blocked from our sight. We hardly can see a thing. Isolated, it is."

"…Yeah. That… sucks."

"What keeps us alive and hope for tomorrow is the light of the sun. Even though it's only a little, it is enough to bring hopes to our hearts."

"And now," The gunman stretched out his arms a bit and yawned. "Now that you can see the sun and moon fully, how does it feel?" He asked, to which Fran replied with a warm smile. Strange how a small smile from her like that could ease him a lot, relaxing his mind so abruptly…

"It feels good." She answered.

"Something bothering you, Fran?"

The Viera's stomach suddenly gave a jolt as she turned her head to him. His brown eyes gleamed mischievously and a small smirk crept to his face. In her contemplation, Fran finally reckoned he was being an observer right now, with his so-called ability to read people's mind. Not like she really believed him though. The gunman always joked around that sometimes she wondered when he was actually being serious.

A single ear turned to his direction while the other stayed still, unmoving. "Why did you say so?" She asked, eyes rolling towards his profile skeptically. "Being an observer again, aren't you?"

He chuckled slightly, arms crossed over his chest and the previous smirk had apparently changed into something bigger and more impish. "Oh well, I am, am I not? Want me to share this ability so you can read my mind as well?"

"…Not interested."

"Oh okay. Back to our topic. Is something bothering you, woman? Because it seems like you have something in mind."

She shrugged unsurely. "I don't really know. But yes, maybe I have something in mind."

"Do speak."

"…" She inhaled, hoping the fresh night air could bring serenity to her heart and aid her in speaking. She was never the one to talk much; she wasn't as talkative as the gunman, but the bonds between them had helped her to trust him and she could open up and talk more. "I… I have been just wondering what makes me different from the other Viera. Why I wanted to partner with a Hume? Why I abandoned my home, siblings, and friends? Why I chose to leave the arms that held me tightly in the past?" She let out a sigh. "This morning when I was in the café alone, I learned much. Never ever did history mention about a Viera hanging out with a Hume together. And it is clear. I think it's just me that goes against the law."

"I too, go against it, y'know. But who cares?" Balthier said airily, smiling. "What about rewriting the pages of history eh? Sounds like fun, don't you think? I wonder if we get paid by doing that."

"…Only money is in your head, is it not, sky pirate?"

"Ah." He unfolded his arms and gave her a meaningful smile, but she just cocked her head to the side, flustered. "Not really. I do have something else in my mind."

"And you won't speak of it, will you?"

"No until later."

"Hhh… Fine."

"Well, difference is not bad, Fran." He leaned against the wall while she stood still, wind blowing her long locks slightly. Even under the pale light of the moon she still looked as captivating as ever. Compared to her, he was nothing. His skin was too customary for his own taste, while hers looked like coffee – so warm and addictive. Her white hair, regardless of what other people said, he still thought it was beautiful; a gift Humes couldn't have. She was a marvel in his eyes.

"…Care to tell why?"

He smiled, turning on his heel as he looked over his shoulder locking gaze with her. "Because the difference you have makes you special and unique. And so, no can replace you." With that he turned his head, waved a hand in the air, and said, "I'm sleepy. Go in if you've had enough time watching the moon 'kay?" And the door swung close silently behind him.

For mere seconds that felt like a short eternity, Fran could only stare blankly at the spot where her companion had been before, as if that place was something so precious; something memorable and important. She might look so emotionless right now, but inside, her mind was struggling with words and thoughts. Musing had become one of her habits, so it wasn't quaint at all to see her deep in thoughts again, especially when there was only silence accompanying her.

Inside, Balthier's words echoed repeatedly.

Inside, she felt so ease.

And she gained her confidence.

No. She didn't regret leaving the Wood. She didn't regret partnering with Humes at all. Because one of them… had made her realize so many things. A certain Hume had taught her how life actually felt like.

And she thought it was amazing.

Her high heels rang noiselessly in the air as she walked slowly towards the door leading inside. Fran carefully opened the door, closing it once she was inside and a moment later she approached the sleeping gunman. A small smile came to her face as abruptly as warmth had inundated her heart.

She bent a little to draw the blanket closer to his neck.

She hoped it would keep him warm enough.

¤ author's note : an update. & to answer an anon's question, I think I can put vaanxpenelo here, but it'll be minor 'cause this fict centers on balfran. Like yeah, of course. Thanks a lot to those who have reviewed the first chapter.
and I could have updated sooner if only school didn't choose to bitch on me )x
but yeah.

Please review & I'll see you in the next chapter.
(I'll update as soon as I can :p)