Categories > Games > Final Fantasy XII > Claret Sky
That which flees
0 reviewsThe rage in his gut is sudden and unexpected, and it rips Balthier's breath away.
0Unrated
10. That which flees
Bal/Vaan - post-canon
Disclaimers still apply.
Whew, crisis semi-averted. I've decided to go with an odd approach to the resolution. I usually like to have the crisis later on, followed by a rapid dénouement, but we'll see how this gradual fall-apart goes. This entire fic is experimental, and that somewhat terrifies me.
Past the half-way point, folks! Thank you to everyone who's reading along, and special thanks to difficile for being wonderful.
--
They fly.
Balthier has no destination in mind. He does not think upon what he heard in Archades. Larsa wonders aloud that he does not hear word of war brewing from the land below, but from the way he looks at Balthier, he knows it is because Balthier has not been, and does not yet want to be found.
Balthier sees the wall between Larsa and Vaan, but he shakes his head when Penelo speaks of her worry and Fran tells her that this is not a rift that outsiders may heal. He shrugs when Penelo turns to him, and she walks away, anger tensing her spine, when he says that it is not his business, or indeed, hers.
Fran looks at him hard.
So they fly, and Larsa shuts himself away while Vaan walks the Strahl aimlessly. He scrubs the skin of his hands raw, once, before Balthier finds him.
In the dark, when Vaan slips silently into his cabin, Balthier only parts his legs to accept Vaan's weight.
He is violent when he bites down on Balthier's lip, but Vaan is careful when he presses in. There is something fervid in his voice when Vaan whispers, and Balthier digs his fingers into slick skin.
He feels the heat of the pain.
--
Ashe finds them before a fortnight is past.
The Estersand stretches, red under the setting sun, and Rikken appears truly apologetic when he escorts the Queen from his ship to the Strahl.
Balthier thinks the Queen chooses an unlikely escort when she does not wish it to be known that she leaves her court. He thinks of Rikken's blunted fangs, and he smiles, but he holds his tongue.
Ashe is near in tears in her fury, and she stands close before Vaan, back arched so as not to speak to his chin, and she shouts of both Archades and Rozarria in her court, and of tension and barely smothered hostilities. She speaks of war, of blame. She asks Vaan what he intends to do next, or if he has indeed thought so far in advance. She shouts until Balthier wonders how her voice does not grind.
Ashe is silent, suddenly, staring at Vaan with parted lips.
Balthier follows her gaze, and he sees Vaan lift an outstretched finger. The tip traces the brooch affixed to Ashe's mantle, following the curves and outflung wings and barbs of the seal of Dalmasca.
"Don't worry," Vaan says softly. "I'll fix it. I'll fix everything."
"For Dalmasca?" Ashe says slowly, as if transfixed.
"For Dalmasca," Vaan agrees.
He tilts his head, and Balthier wonders when it was that Vaan learned to make a leading man's promise.
--
There is a sea pirate in Whitecap Tavern who flashes white teeth against dark skin and ragged black hair, and he presses Vaan into the wall as he speaks.
The breeze carries the flavour of the sea to Balthier, and he sits upon the windowsill with his face to the port of Balfonheim, but he slants his eyes, and he watches.
Vaan looks up at the pirate, his eyes old and shuttered. The tip of his tongue darts out to moisten his lower lip, to lap at the crack in the skin that Balthier had teased and soothed in the quiet of the morning, and the sea pirate grins and leans in to whisper in Vaan's ear.
The rage in his gut is sudden and unexpected, and it rips Balthier's breath away.
He desires nothing more than to kill the man, he thinks with sudden clarity. He wants to rip Vaan away and sink his teeth into the desert rat's neck.
But he sees Vaan's eyes flick to him, glowing as he stares for a moment, wide and unblinking, and Balthier realizes Vaan's game.
He digs his fingers into the corners of his tired eyes, and he walks out of the tavern.
--
Balthier takes some time when he leaves Vaan behind and follows where his feet will.
Balfonheim. It had begun in Balfonheim. The last time he visited the port town with Vaan in tow, he had the Cache of Glabados in his pouch. He was to take Vaan, marooned without his skyship, and Penelo back to Rabanastre in the morning.
He remembers hesitant, dusty fingers reaching for him, a hot, open mouth, and the whispered words "I knew you lived."
Balthier found he could take his wants of a pale-eyed man-child by dark.
Balthier fled to the skies after, with the sensation of those self-same eyes searing into his back.
He feels the damp of the cobblestones under his boots and the chill of the night numbs his fingers. He does not wish to go back to his room at Balfonheim manor, where Rikken, Raz, and Erza have taken up residence and protect the town in Reddas's place. The wind knifes through the fine cloth of his shirt and pebbles his skin, and Balthier sighs and gives.
Vaan is waiting for him.
Balthier considers that he spends his time attempting to teach his art to the boy, and yet it is the artful look in his eyes that Balthier cannot take. He thinks perhaps he must learn to appreciate irony more appropriately yet.
Vaan leans into him, radiating heat and rank fumes of liquor, and Balthier pushes him away so that he stumbles and sits abruptly on Balthier's bed.
"Stop."
Vaan blinks.
"We cannot do this anymore."
Vaan frowns, and he reaches out to the edge of Balthier's vest, but Balthier grabs the hand until he hears bones creak.
"You are falling to pieces, Vaan, and I cannot be a part of it anymore."
Vaan shows no sign of distress at the tight grip Balthier has on him, and he wonders just how much the churl has had to drink.
"Falling to pieces," Vaan says flatly.
"You wish to punish yourself for that which you could not control, and you want me to do it for you because it's easier. Well, I refuse. I do wish to help you recover your life, but I cannot do so like... like this."
"Too close, you mean." There is a mocking edge to Vaan's voice that Balthier has never before heard, and it pushes slivers of disgust under his skin.
Balthier closes his eyes and breathes deeply through his nose, and the urge to punch Vaan in the face passes reluctantly.
"Be that as it may, it does not change the end result." He stares down at Vaan. "You have quite the pretty face, Vaan. I'm sure you could find anyone you wished if you desire someone to hurt you, but it will not be me."
He leaves Vaan in his room and sleeps in the Strahl that night.
--
TBC
Bal/Vaan - post-canon
Disclaimers still apply.
Whew, crisis semi-averted. I've decided to go with an odd approach to the resolution. I usually like to have the crisis later on, followed by a rapid dénouement, but we'll see how this gradual fall-apart goes. This entire fic is experimental, and that somewhat terrifies me.
Past the half-way point, folks! Thank you to everyone who's reading along, and special thanks to difficile for being wonderful.
--
They fly.
Balthier has no destination in mind. He does not think upon what he heard in Archades. Larsa wonders aloud that he does not hear word of war brewing from the land below, but from the way he looks at Balthier, he knows it is because Balthier has not been, and does not yet want to be found.
Balthier sees the wall between Larsa and Vaan, but he shakes his head when Penelo speaks of her worry and Fran tells her that this is not a rift that outsiders may heal. He shrugs when Penelo turns to him, and she walks away, anger tensing her spine, when he says that it is not his business, or indeed, hers.
Fran looks at him hard.
So they fly, and Larsa shuts himself away while Vaan walks the Strahl aimlessly. He scrubs the skin of his hands raw, once, before Balthier finds him.
In the dark, when Vaan slips silently into his cabin, Balthier only parts his legs to accept Vaan's weight.
He is violent when he bites down on Balthier's lip, but Vaan is careful when he presses in. There is something fervid in his voice when Vaan whispers, and Balthier digs his fingers into slick skin.
He feels the heat of the pain.
--
Ashe finds them before a fortnight is past.
The Estersand stretches, red under the setting sun, and Rikken appears truly apologetic when he escorts the Queen from his ship to the Strahl.
Balthier thinks the Queen chooses an unlikely escort when she does not wish it to be known that she leaves her court. He thinks of Rikken's blunted fangs, and he smiles, but he holds his tongue.
Ashe is near in tears in her fury, and she stands close before Vaan, back arched so as not to speak to his chin, and she shouts of both Archades and Rozarria in her court, and of tension and barely smothered hostilities. She speaks of war, of blame. She asks Vaan what he intends to do next, or if he has indeed thought so far in advance. She shouts until Balthier wonders how her voice does not grind.
Ashe is silent, suddenly, staring at Vaan with parted lips.
Balthier follows her gaze, and he sees Vaan lift an outstretched finger. The tip traces the brooch affixed to Ashe's mantle, following the curves and outflung wings and barbs of the seal of Dalmasca.
"Don't worry," Vaan says softly. "I'll fix it. I'll fix everything."
"For Dalmasca?" Ashe says slowly, as if transfixed.
"For Dalmasca," Vaan agrees.
He tilts his head, and Balthier wonders when it was that Vaan learned to make a leading man's promise.
--
There is a sea pirate in Whitecap Tavern who flashes white teeth against dark skin and ragged black hair, and he presses Vaan into the wall as he speaks.
The breeze carries the flavour of the sea to Balthier, and he sits upon the windowsill with his face to the port of Balfonheim, but he slants his eyes, and he watches.
Vaan looks up at the pirate, his eyes old and shuttered. The tip of his tongue darts out to moisten his lower lip, to lap at the crack in the skin that Balthier had teased and soothed in the quiet of the morning, and the sea pirate grins and leans in to whisper in Vaan's ear.
The rage in his gut is sudden and unexpected, and it rips Balthier's breath away.
He desires nothing more than to kill the man, he thinks with sudden clarity. He wants to rip Vaan away and sink his teeth into the desert rat's neck.
But he sees Vaan's eyes flick to him, glowing as he stares for a moment, wide and unblinking, and Balthier realizes Vaan's game.
He digs his fingers into the corners of his tired eyes, and he walks out of the tavern.
--
Balthier takes some time when he leaves Vaan behind and follows where his feet will.
Balfonheim. It had begun in Balfonheim. The last time he visited the port town with Vaan in tow, he had the Cache of Glabados in his pouch. He was to take Vaan, marooned without his skyship, and Penelo back to Rabanastre in the morning.
He remembers hesitant, dusty fingers reaching for him, a hot, open mouth, and the whispered words "I knew you lived."
Balthier found he could take his wants of a pale-eyed man-child by dark.
Balthier fled to the skies after, with the sensation of those self-same eyes searing into his back.
He feels the damp of the cobblestones under his boots and the chill of the night numbs his fingers. He does not wish to go back to his room at Balfonheim manor, where Rikken, Raz, and Erza have taken up residence and protect the town in Reddas's place. The wind knifes through the fine cloth of his shirt and pebbles his skin, and Balthier sighs and gives.
Vaan is waiting for him.
Balthier considers that he spends his time attempting to teach his art to the boy, and yet it is the artful look in his eyes that Balthier cannot take. He thinks perhaps he must learn to appreciate irony more appropriately yet.
Vaan leans into him, radiating heat and rank fumes of liquor, and Balthier pushes him away so that he stumbles and sits abruptly on Balthier's bed.
"Stop."
Vaan blinks.
"We cannot do this anymore."
Vaan frowns, and he reaches out to the edge of Balthier's vest, but Balthier grabs the hand until he hears bones creak.
"You are falling to pieces, Vaan, and I cannot be a part of it anymore."
Vaan shows no sign of distress at the tight grip Balthier has on him, and he wonders just how much the churl has had to drink.
"Falling to pieces," Vaan says flatly.
"You wish to punish yourself for that which you could not control, and you want me to do it for you because it's easier. Well, I refuse. I do wish to help you recover your life, but I cannot do so like... like this."
"Too close, you mean." There is a mocking edge to Vaan's voice that Balthier has never before heard, and it pushes slivers of disgust under his skin.
Balthier closes his eyes and breathes deeply through his nose, and the urge to punch Vaan in the face passes reluctantly.
"Be that as it may, it does not change the end result." He stares down at Vaan. "You have quite the pretty face, Vaan. I'm sure you could find anyone you wished if you desire someone to hurt you, but it will not be me."
He leaves Vaan in his room and sleeps in the Strahl that night.
--
TBC
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