A/N: late, but here's a little bit of the rest.
Fandom: FFXII
Characters/Pairing: Vaan/Ashe.
Rating: PG
Part II of Wanted: Single Female. AU modern

people I know, places I go, make me feel tongue-tied

~~ Here's Where The Story Ends ~~~

-

Her father was not pleased. Then, again, his little girl was leaving out into the world of peril; a world that would kidnap her if they knew how much she was worth. Ashelia thought long ago that her father was paranoid and protective. It was quite annoying. The private schools she had to take, and to the point that her father hired the most excellent tutors to home-school her in various and numerous subjects. Perhaps, her dance instructor was not too bad. He was quite handsome.

She had to admit: she liked a little bit of danger. It could be absolutely stifling even with fifty-odd rooms and miles of property she couldn't be bothered to look over, unless she rode on horseback or drove. That didn't stop her, of course. She clearly instructed him not to station bodyguards outside the apartment. It would scare away the neighborhood, and the grumpy old lady Vaan told her about, who did the neighborhood watch would be out of business. Where would that put her duties, huh, father? She had told him then--with her arms akimbo, angry-ice-cold look. Minus the pout; no pouts came in the Dalmasca Empire. Okay, so she had to work on that.

Ashelia was not a spoiled young woman. Sure, for the longest time she was, but no more. She wanted out. But it would take awhile, and a lot of perseverance, threats and ultimatums. Surely, the coast was completely clear when she managed to pull into the street where her long apartment building was located. Something very melancholic crept up her spine, fearing the worst; she gripped the wheel, flooring the car into the lot. Whereas upon arrival, upon the doorstep to her new place, and when she looked into her rear view mirror she saw them pull into the street, showing themselves.

Where in blazes had they hidden themselves? A long line of black large square-ish, limousines which surprisingly looked like they were moving vans; except, they did look like limousines—you know—the ones that had black tinted windows—as if they harboured secret agents inside; or were the mafia or some organized crime syndicate. She harrumphed loudly, tightened her fingers at the wheel, and wanted –oh so wanted to scream. But a lady must compose her self. Still—there was her roommate.

What in the world would Vaan think? She hoped, not much.

An hour later, the moving men her father hired had scrambled off and moved all her furniture in, leaving one suspicious looking van outside. A part-way open window showing someone with a pair of dark sunglasses; this didn't bode too well for her, because she would have to inform him that she no longer needed her father's hired hand. In fact, she immediately called up her father on the phone and told him specifically that she would take up martial arts to protect herself. Climbing up the five floors, she chattered away until she found herself inside her new place of residence.

When she had finished leaving the message to her father, she clicked the thin phone closed, looking up to find that she was in the middle of the living room, with her furniture practically embellishing the place—in fact…it was, all her furniture. She drew her brows together. This was not good. Where was Vaan's? And…where IS Vaan?

She heard a noise in the corner of the room. A muffled noise and she tiptoed closer to find Vaan's bleached hair sticking out from behind the mobile ethanol fireplace that was conveniently pushed up against him. Ashe gasped. She helped him out from behind the large mobile mantelpiece.

"I'm so sorry…" The apology fell from her lips, worried that he would throw her out of their deal. She knew this was all her fault and his furniture had been…had been…her fingers fidgeted. Was this a terrible sign for the first day of her move?

He straightened, a little agitated, "It's okay, I just want to know where my furniture went off to."

"Oh. You don't know?" She will have to scold her father for this.

"No." He gazed at her, "I think your stuff is nice but, some of my own were my parents and well.."

"Not a problem. I'll get it all back and throw this stuff back to where it belongs."

Vaan attempted to stop her, "No, it's okay, really it is. I don't want you to be uncomfortable. You can have your furniture here, but we need to make a list of what furniture you can bring. As you can see, everything here is provided, even your bed."

"Eh, yeah, well that, I must insist on my own bed." She wanted to sound a little less supercilious about it, but it nevertheless came out the way it should not have been, which made Vaan's expression harden a little.

Ashelia frowned.

"Yeah, well, whatever." He shrugged, then stumbled off to the kitchen, searching for something to drink in the refrigerator; sneaking his head into the refrigerated box he was momentarily shocked, his body rigid.

"What's wrong?" Ashe said, worried.

"There's a ton of food in here!" Vaan turned to look at her as if it were such a revelation.

"Yes, and?" She shrugged one shoulder.

"I- I never have-…" Vaan sputtered, reaching up with one hand to scratch his tousled blond head, flashing her quite the brightest smile, showing off his straight teeth, "this is amazing!"

"Help yourself." Ashelia chuckled merrily, feeling a little fuzzy at his warm happy mood.

*

Later that evening, Ashelia settled her toiletries into the bathroom. Since they were sharing a bathroom, she must insist that he place the toilet seat down, and for starters, he has to clean the toilet.

"That's fine." Vaan complied, shrugging one naked shoulder. He was wearing no shirt, donning that particular T somewhere stuffed in his back jeans pocket, the rest hanging down; and he was consuming some fuzzy drink that made his eyes bulge a little.

"I'll help you vacuum the place. If you need me to share any chores. I'm not afraid of hard work."

Vaan deliberately looked at her in that funny way; his eyes scanned her up and down without being lewd, "you sure?"

Ashelia's brow twitched, "Of course not! If I'm to be independent, I have to learn a lot."

"What'd you do at home?" He blurted out, then realized his err, "Never mind."

"It's almost dinner time, should I order us something?"

"Order?" Vaan blinked, "We have a load of food in there. In fact, there's pizza and microwave foods too."

"I don't eat microwave food."

"It's not bad. I usually pop something in there when I'm lazy." He laughed nervously, "Which is, a lot, I guess. Okay, I'm not a good cook."

Ashelia ignored him while placing some of her bathing toiletries on the shelves, took one look at the thin plain towels he had hung there and made room for her own: a thicker, fluffier pale-yellow towel with satin lining and a small embroidered letter: A.

"Okay well, what do you want to eat?" Vaan tried again. She could tell he wanted to be friendly, but all he was doing was hovering.

"How about we order Sushi?"

"What? You mean, raw fish?" he made a nasty face, screwing up his expression as if something bad had come under his nose.

"It's good. Haven't you tried it?"

"Uh, I like beef. And chickens good. Fried chicken."

She turned around, stared momentarily at the sink, with little room for her toothpaste holder and toothpaste, soaps and anything else. His toothpaste looked like it needed a replacement; the bristles were pulled back sideways as if flattened by excessive use.

Ashelia turned to look at him, her eyes couldn't help but see his toned muscles and nice- well they were quite nice—those abs and stomach, "how do you eat so much and stay in shape?" She figured he was pretty athletic, but she liked making small conversation. It made it easier for her to get to know him.

"I play a lot of football, and baseball. Oh, and a little wrestling."

"A wrestling man, huh?" she turned away and proceeded to open the medicine cabinet. Found nothing in there but a bottle of something that was for dyspepsia.

"You drink?"

"Alcohol?" he gulped, "uh yeah. Of course. You?"

"A little. Here and there. With dinner. You know, wine with dinner. But tonight, we'll have sushi with saki."

"What?" He nearly spurted, "I- you know, I – I don't have much money for Japanese take-out."

"I'm paying." She said simply, beaming a smile at him, "it'll be my thank you, to you."

"You're way generous. I like that. But I can't promise I'll like raw fish."

*

He didn't like it. But he swallowed a few to make her happy. It pleased him that she took the time to actually create a scenario for them to have an authentic Japanese ambiance, with some paper white lanterns on the ceiling and those imported dishes that she placed on the floor. Well, not really the floor but a fold out table which looked rather nice with a table cloth. The wrapped take out food was pulled out of the bag and placed neatly on each plate. And for starters, he had to use those interesting utensils. It was an experience, but one he didn't mind.

When they were about to finish their meal the door bell rang and Vaan jumped up, placing his white napkin on the table. "Oh that must be Balthier!"

"A friend?" Ashelia picked at the remaining white rice with her unskilled use of chop sticks, and placed the small pieces of food in her mouth.

"Yeah, I work with him. He got me the job at the airport awhile back. He's a pilot."

"Really? What airline?"

"Oh, not that kind. He's a private pilot, but he said he also has a commercial piloting license."

"All right, I thought—since you got a job at the airport."

He laughed, heading to the door and clicking it on, "Yeah?"

"Vaan," the man through the intercom said, "have I come at a suitable time? I daresay it's frighteningly wet out there. Raining cats and dogs—isn't that the expression?"

He sounded rather cultured too. Ashelia drew her brows together. She thought his friends would be, dare she think it? That they would be rather street-wise: perhaps a bit of an urchin in them. How positively awful she must be –to think that way. It was a good thing she was getting out in the world; the world was so much more than her protective shell she has been bubbled in.

When Vaan turned around, he was consciously wiping his hands on his jean thighs, "He's got connections."

As the door opened, a youthful man walked in, and his presence was quite—almost overwhelming. He immediately gave one the impression of: Look at me! I'm here! She noticed right away, his cinnamon coloured hair—those earrings along his earlobe, sparkling like a gypsy and it only gave him more of suave look. His even suave dark colouring—from the sun's eager touches, no doubt, helped him achieve the look of, well, a pirate. He had a ready smile and slapped Vaan on the arm good-naturedly.

"Vaan, good to see you! Damn, the rain won't let up. Lucky bastard," he said that as soon as he spotted Ashelia, "to be in such warm quarters with an attractive companion."

"Oh, yeah this is my new flat mate, Ashelia."

Ashe was about to get up from the floor, but Balthier was upon her before she managed, "Very pleased to meet you, Ashelia," he bowed rather gentlemanly, his eyes sparkling as equally brilliant as his earrings.

A pretty man, she surmised, if not for the fact that he obviously thought highly of himself. Ashelia politely offered, "Nice to meet you too."

*

He stayed a little longer, because there was a little more sake ordered. He picked up the bottle of rice wine and poured himself more, laughing and having a good joke with his friend Vaan. Ashelia was feeling a little giddier with the wine too. But not too giddy that she was going to make a complete fool of herself. Her face felt flushed and she could swear if she looked into the mirror her face would be aflame with the blush of the wine's influence.

Vaan sat next to her, a little closer and he was drinking the wine as if it were water. When the night moved along, and the rain had let up, they were sprawled over the floor, too drunk to move.

It was already morning when the three came to, with several bottles of ordered sake, and the food gone. Ashelia woke up with a terrible pounding headache. It was the first time she woke up on the floor with two young men, unchaperoned. Well, it was not as if they did anything. They were too busy laughing about their jokes the night before, making discussions about pilot experiences and how it felt soaring through the skies. Vaan's eyes were misted, and whether or not that was from listening to his friend's eager tales of adventure, or the sake, she was not sure.

She stumbled into her bedroom, leaving the two snoring softly on the floor. They would probably be getting up soon, but she wasn't about to be there when they did. Ashelia unbuttoned her clothes and dropped her pants on the floor, only to find herself cuddled deep within the comfy sheets, next to her big stuffed animal and goose-down pillows.

*

The smell of bacon and eggs wafted into her room, and her eyes wearily tried to blink back the tug of more sleep. The scent of breakfast was nice. She would like it here, she knew. There was much to do, too. And for the first time in her life, she felt free, without the prying eyes of bodyguards, tutors, and servants.

As she pulled away the sheets, she edged her way towards the window to shove the curtains aside, allowing the sun's rays to pour in. She smiled.

The sun luminously shined along the streets, the parked cars; and the distant grass on the playground there; by the bridge too—by the hillside and the water radiant against the day. She looked around, and spotted the same boxed limousine with that same man. The one with the dark sunglasses; this time he was outside with his black gloved hands clasped together.

His hair was blond, and his body appeared broad-shouldered in that suit; probably wearing a bullet proof vest too. She sighed. Her daddy assigned a private bodyguard for her anyway. He must have been there all night too. In the rain, or slept in the vehicle.

She slid the window open, yelling rather unladylike, "Hello there! We've got breakfast! Hungry?"

He glanced to his left and right and looked a little nervous, but continued to remain impassive and solidly stood stock still. As if to give the impression that he was there—he was there to stay and no matter what, he was not about to budge for anyone. Well, perhaps, only her father.

"All right, I order you to come up and have breakfast with us."

He hesitated for a moment before he complied to her wish.

She grabbed a robe from out of the closet and tied the belt around her, opening the door to walk towards the kitchen, finding Vaan at the table and Balthier wielding a spatula to the eggs at the stove.

"Good morning, Ashelia," he sent her a sly grin, "I trust you slept well?"

"I believe I did. Nothing but pleasant dreams."

Vaan raised his hand, "Hey, Ashe. Sorry about last night." He looked rather sheepish.

"What's to be sorry about? By the way, I've invited another up here. Put a couple of more eggs into the pan, would you please?"

Balthier raised a brow, "Yes, your majesty." And he cracked open two more, dropping the yolks and all into the sizzling skillet.

"Ugh. I need coffee. No sarcasm without some coffee, first." She retorted back.

She moved along the kitchen, finding the bag of coffee, and bit her lip.

Balthier chuckled, "Here. Water goes in here." He pointed towards the empty pot of coffee. She noticed his ringed fingers: elegant and as pretty as him. Ashelia consciously looked over at Vaan's fingers, which were drumming a little on the table; they were simple, hard working almost calloused hands.

"I knew that." She murmured under her breath.

Vaan got up and offered to help, "I'll do it, Ashe. Sit down and relax."

"All right." Ashelia, being so relieved of the duty, did so. The doorbell rang, and immediately had to stand again to answer, "It's him."

*

The four of them ate after the introductions and the generous amount of coffee. Afterward, when the morning wore on, the dishes cleared, and some orange juice was poured, her new bodyguard, stationed himself back outside, with a full meal. Balthier had to leave too, on urgent business, something about his parked aircraft of some sort and meeting his partner Fran.

When the two were finally alone, Vaan sent her a gentle smile, "well, I have to work." He paused a little there on the chair and then picked up the rest of his drink to gulp it down.

When he finished with his shower, he came out practically nice-smelling and wearing a clean pair of jeans and a white shirt. She got up to take her shower, but before she opened the door to the room, Vaan called out, "Hey."

"Hmm?"

"I had a really nice time last night."

"Me too. We should do it again some time." Ashelia sent him a soft smile.

"Um, is that guy going to be out there a lot?" He thumbed towards the window.

"Believe me, it's better than what my father intended. He wanted several stationed outside. And, he's not a bother. He'll come and go."

"All right. It's, just, well, weird."

"I know."

They stood looking at each other for a moment longer. He shuffled. She was about to turn back, feeling a bit odd about the long pause.

Thankfully, he broke the silence. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Tomorrow's Monday, so I'll be here getting ready for work tomorrow."

"Okay. See ya." He raised his hand, his eyes shyly looked away.

"See ya."

*

*

--The end.