ff-kh-luvrgrl: woot! second chapter!
Peter: shouldn't you finish the first chapter before you begin this?
me: ...
maybe.
but I wanted to get this part down! I've already written up to when Balthier and Fran first join the party!
Peter: ((rolls eyes)) so, then, why to we have him here? ((points to a tied-up Tidus, who has a sock sticking out of his mouth))
me: because! Vaan's gonna do the disclaimer, and I think the two are a lot alike! I mean, they both have the same hair and eye color (basically - the shades are different), hairstyle (somewhat), personality, tan (()), they both got the vest-thing goin' on, and they even stand the same!! (You know, when Vaan kinda leans back a little and crosses his hands behind his head? Tidus does the exact same thing in FFX!!!)
((Vaan walks in))
Vaan: okay, now-- wait. who's he?!
me: Vaan, Tidus. Tidus, Vaan.
Vaan: and why does he have a sock in his mouth?
me: because he kept yelling for Wakka until we put it in his mouth.
Vaan: and Wakka is...?
Peter: his boyfriend.
Vaan: ah.
ff-kh-luvrgrl doesn't own FFXII ((I sob)), so don't sue! oh, and this is yaoi, there will be lemons, and also cussing. ((turns back to me)) did you realize that Balthier introduced my chapter, and I'm introducing his?
me: you know, i just noticed that...
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
---Chapter 2: Meeting, Balthier's POV---
We walked into the treasury, and I saw a boy looking at the stone. I signaled to Fran to go around so as to cut him off if he tried to run. He grabbed it, and I decided to let my presence be known.
"Quite a performance."
He spun around, eyes fixing on me instantly. I felt a pang of familiarity, but I shook it off. He does look like Vaan, though. I hope it's not though. Not after-- well, not after what happened. I still feel bad about leaving like that.
"Who are you?"
I raised an eyebrow and answered him.
"I play the leading man, who else?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fran appear next to him. He doesn't seem to see her, though; he's still looking at me.
"Fran, the Magicite."
As Fran speaks, the boy finally notices her.
"Now then, I'll take that."
The boy hold it close to his chest, turning slightly as if to shield it from us.
"No, you won't! I found it. It's mine!"
"And then when I take it from you, it'll be mine," I retort.
Fran walks over and stands beside me. Suddenly, we hear soldiers coming.
"Exit stage right," I announce, and I start to walk towards the door, Fran following close behind.
"The Gods do not smile on us."
"I like it better that way," I say, leaving the room. The boy is still staring at me.
"I'll go get the hoverbike," Fran states. I nod.
"And I'll meet you on that bridge."
We part company for the moment, and I quickly run up the stairs and out onto the bridge. Fran isn't here yet; she'll probably take another minute or two. I hear what sounds like a battle, so look over the side of the bridge. Below me, on the ground, there is a battle in progress.
Suddenly, I hear footsteps. I take off, but then stop and turn once I realize that it sounded like only one set of feet; if it is a soldier, I can easily take him down. Turning around, I see the boy from earlier looking over the side of the bridge.
"What's going on?"
Suddenly, a large airship above us fires a cannon, causing the ground below us to explode. Even though I'm on the bridge, the shockwave the explosion causes throws me off balance.
"The Ifrit, eh? Impeccable timing. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were waiting all along."
He looks at me, startled. Apparently he hadn't noticed me before now... The Ifrit fires another cannon, which causes another explosion. The boy runs in the opposite direction, the Magicite still clutched in his hand. Not one to give up easily, I run after him.
"Stop running!"
As I say this, I remember the last time something like this happened - over two and a half years ago.
Vaan had just tuned 15 a few weeks ago. Balthier would be 20 in 3 months. At the moment, though, neither were really thinking about this; Balthier had Vaan pinned against a wall, and was kissing him senseless. Balthier thought he heard feet approaching, but he ignored it. However, when the feet sped up, running toward us, and the owner of them started yelling at him, he was forced to pay attention. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!" Balthier jumped back, cutting off the kiss, and he and Vaan looked at who was yelling at them, eyes wide. The boy running towards them - probably two or three years younger than Balthier, most likely - looked enraged, and had a murderous glare fixed on Balthier. Vaan stepped in front of him, arms wide, in an attempt to shield him from the other boy.
"Reks, stop! He wasn't hurting me!"
'Reks? Vaan's brother? This could get ugly...' Balthier thought.
"No, only MOLESTING you!"
"NO, HE WASN'T!!!!" Vaan screamed, effectively stopping Reks, who now had a confused and concerned look on his face. Balthier realized that he might be making things harder for Vaan by staying there.
"Vaan, maybe I should go..."
"Yes! Leave! Now!" Reks yelled at Balthier, and he started to to leave, but someone grabbed his arm. He turned back to see Vaan with a pleading look on his face. He knew Vaan could probably see that he was hurt, but he couldn't help it.
"Don't go, Balthier, please. Reks is just mad because I didn't tell him about you!"
His brother makes a sound of disbelief, and Balthier looks back at him, Vaan turning back to him at the same time, still holding onto Balthier's arm with one hand. Reks stared at Vaan, a hurt expression on his face.
"Is-is he your-your boyfriend, Vaan?" he stutters out.
Vaan squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. After he lets it out, he answers his brother's question.
"Yes. Yes, he is."
Reks glares at Balthier, who looks back at him, not flinching, not challenging. "Stay away from my brother, or I will hunt you down and--"
"Reks! Stop it!" Vaan is hysterical. He looks between Reks and Balthier, then makes a noise of frustration and turns, running away. Balthier looks back at Reks and glares at him, then turns and chases Vaan. As he is about to turn a corner, he glances back at Reks. He is still rooted to the same spot, a surprised expression on his face.
"Stop running!"
Vaan turns around, eyes wide, brimming with tears. Balthier catches up with him, then envelops Vaan in his arms. Vaan clutches onto Balthier's shirt, sobbing.
"Shh, it's okay, Vaan. It's okay."
Looking around, Balthier realizes where they are - the alley where they shared their first kiss together.
I am snapped back to the present by the humming of the hoverbike. It's about time.
Fran lands the hoverbike in front of him, blocking his path. He turns toward me as I'm slowing down. As I stop, I hold out my hand.
"End of the line! You have something that belongs to me."
The boy glances behind me, then frowns and looks again, and his eyes widen. I whip around and see a few Imperial soldiers beginning to run towards us. The others in their group haven't noticed us yet.
"Damn!"
"More this way!" one of the soldiers yells, getting the others' attention.
I turn back, yelling, "Fran! Let's move!"
I sprint towards the boy, and when I reach him, I grab onto his waist and jump onto the ledge.
"Off with you!"
I drop him off the ledge, jumping immediately after. Fran has steered the hoverbike directly underneath me, and I land on it harder than I would have liked. The boy is screaming, and I grab his hand right after I land. His body is literally hanging on air.
"Let go of me!"
"Keep this up and I will!"
Meanwhile, Fran seems to be having some difficulties driving the hoverbike.
"What's going on, Fran?"
"I don't know. It's not heeding me!"
"I don't have time for this!"
The boy suddenly yells in fear, not really getting my attention, as he probably just doesn't like flying like this.
"I-I'm slipping!"
This gets my attention. I snap my eyes to him, horrified. He is indeed, slipping from my grasp. My other hand shoots out and I grab onto him, holing him with both hands, keeping him from falling any more.
"Not good!"
The boy's mind seems to be elsewhere for a moment, then snaps back to reality in time to look away from my eyes and at the ground, which we are about to hit.
The last thing my mind registers is him glancing at our hands, still connected.
OoOoO
I groan, holding my head, and sit up. I'm holding someone's hand, so I let go. I look down at the boy and my eyes widen. Vaan... I shake my head, the past night's events returning to me. No, not Vaan. Just the thief. He groans softly, then sits up and looks around. Fran moans, and the boy stares at her. I bet he's never seen a Viera this close before. Fran lets go of her head, looking slightly confused.
"What happened? Our hover didn't just drop - it disappeared."
I shake my head. "Bah. Forget it. Even if we could fly... The Ifrit's playing with fire, and I'd rather not get burned. We'll go the old-fashioned way."
I look at the boy, who is still staring at Fran.
"Not many Viera where you come from, thief?"
He starts, then looks at me. "It's Vaan. Sorry."
Vaan! It is him! Gods, I missed him so much.
"Well, Fran is special... in that she's deign to partner with a hume."
Fran turns to me. "Oh? Like a sky pirate that chooses to steal through the sewers?"
The boy's - Vaan's - eyes widen, something I easily catch. "Pirates? You're sky pirates? So you have an airship?" He looks at me hopefully. Could it be because he recognizes me? I decide to tell him; then I can see his reaction.
"It's Balthier," I say, standing up. His eyes widen, and I think I glimpse happiness in them, but if I did, it was quickly replaced with determination. He pretends to be memorizing this information, and my heart falls. He's pretending he doesn't know me. I don't want to upset him, so for now, I'll play along. But I'm going to talk to him alone the first chance I get. I sure hope Reks had been lying then, the day that I left. The hope that he had been lying had gotten me through some tough situations, giving me a reason to live it through.
"Listen, thief - Vaan. If you ever want to see your home again, you do exactly as I say. Myself, Fran, and you. We're working together now. Understood?"
I glance down at the Magicite, and Vaan holds it close again, frowning.
"Don't even think you're getting this.
I grinned slightly, and started to walk past him.
"The thought never even crossed my mind."
OoOoO
A little while later, we hear what sounds like a fight as we enter the next room. On a ledge above us is a young woman, surrounded by Imperial soldiers.
"Now we have her!" one of the soldiers yells, but she cuts him down, and he falls from the ledge.
"Who would be next?" The woman yells, but the Imperials continue advancing on her.
"Close ranks! Bring her down!" The soldiers close in on her, and Vaan runs to right below the ledge.
"Jump down! Hurry!"
The woman jumps down into Vaan's awaiting arms, and he gently sets her on his feet.
One of the Imperial soldiers sees us and yells to the others; "She's not alone!"
"Our ranks grow by the hour," Fran states.
"And our troubles with them," I add unhappily.
Four Imperial soldiers attack us, and we soon defeat them. When the battle is over, Vaan turns to the woman.
"You all right?"
"Thank you," the woman says quietly.
"I'm Vaan. And this is Balthier and- hey!"
I had turned and started to walk away, but paused, waiting for Vaan, who turned back to the woman.
"What's your name?"
"Amalia"
"Amalia, huh? Nice to meet you."
"There were others with me," Amalia states quietly.
"I'm sorry," Fran tells her.
"No..." Amalia begins, and the magicite in Vaan's hands starts to glow quickly, radiating a bright light. Vaan looks at it in surprise, and Balthier walks over to get a closer look, interested.
"Huh?"
"Oh, now isn't that impressive." I lean closer to Vaan, my intentions not only to see the stone, but perhaps do something else. Vaan, thinking I'm going to try to take it from him, steps back, holding the Magicite close once again.
"I'm afraid the jury's still out on that one," I tease.
"You stole that?" Amalia demands. She doesn't sound happy.
"Yeah!" Vaan replies enthusiastically.
"Have you finished? When the guards don't report in, they'll come looking for us." Fran says.
"If they aren't already," Amalia replies.
"You should come with us. Rather than being by yourself," Vaan suggests, and sigh disappointedly. I think Vaan likes her... as in, crush-likes her. Which means, he's definitely not interested in me anymore. Reks was telling the truth.
"Very well," Amalia replies, then walks past the rest of us and begins to lead the way.
"What's wrong with her?" Vaan asks.
"You have a lot to learn before we even get started on your thievery," I answer, raising an eyebrow.
"What's that mean?" Vaan asks me. Ahead, Amalia has stopped walking, and is most likely waiting up for us. Sure enough, as we reach her, she begins to walk again.
"The situation requires I accept such help I can find. Though it be from thieves. I shall accompany you until we find my companions. No longer." Amalia states firmly.
"Let's think of her as a 'guest', then," I suggest to Vaan. At his questioning look, I continue," Unlike Fran or myself, our 'guest' probably won't be taking orders from anyone anytime soon. And she'll leave when she pleases. So, we keep to our affairs and she to hers. I doubt we'll find her wanting in valor... being such an upstanding member of the Insurgence."
"Resistance," Amalia insists. After a moment, she speaks again. "Well, what are we waiting for?"
OoOoO
After defeating the Firemane, I am ready to get out, get to the Strahl, go into my room, and fall asleep for three days. (Hey, I've done it before.) Oh, and then screw Vaan's brains out, but I doubt he'll be letting me do that anytime soon.
"Stay where you are!"
I snap my head up, thoughts interrupted. A large group of Imperial soldiers on the upper floor has completely surrounded us. After a few moments, a figure steps out from behind them - Vayne Solidor. Amalia starts toward him, and I grab her, holding her back.
"Now is not the time."
The Imperial soldiers surround us. Soon, I find myself in a familiar place - Lowtown. We are handcuffed and being placed under arrest.
"They're the thieves who stole into the palace. Is that what the commotion last night was about?" someone in the crowd asks.
"They think me some common thief," Amalia says disbelievingly.
"Better than a common assassin," I remind her.
An Imperial soldier starts pushing Amalia away from the others.
"These people have done nothing. Release them," Amalia orders.
"What are you doing?" Vaan asks her.
"Don't interrupt me. I'm thinking."
Vayne Solidor crosses his arms and walks away, Amalia being forced to follow him.
"Wait!"
A girl pushes through the crowd, trying to get to us.
"He didn't know what he was doing! You have to let him go! You have to!" she pleads. The guards keep her at bay, and she struggles against them. Apparently, she knows Vaan, as he is the only male besides me that she could be referring to, and I have never seen her before in my life.
"Penelo! Sorry. That dinner'll have to wait." Vaan says apologetically.
"I told you!" Penelo yells.
"That's enough!" an Imperial soldier states, and then hits Vaan on the head, effectively knocking him unconscious. My blood boils, but I manage to keep my anger in check.
Penelo breaks out of the soldier's grip and starts running towards Vaan. I step in front of her, offering her my handkerchief.
"Hold onto this for me, would you? Just until I bring Vaan back."
I know Vaan would not be happy if I let his friend - girlfriend? - get herself arrested as well. Thankfully, she takes it.
"On your feet! You, over here!" an Imperial soldier barks out. I quickly walk over.
"All right, all right. Edgy, aren't we?"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
me: yay! second chapter, complete!
now on to write the third chapter!
expect a lemon!
later!