FicWad

Despite his grand statements, the first thing Basch did upon his return to Rabanastre was buy clothes. Nothing ornate, of course. The coin he obtained by selling his meager loot - and, after a few moments' consideration, his scavenged sword - was not enough for more than whatever clothing could be obtained cheaply at the bazaar. Not to mention that a man in rags buying a full suit of finery would be remarked upon, in any case.

The next thing he did was to rent a room at at inn. He made ample use of its shower to wash off the filth of prison and the underground passage they'd fought their way through. He also chopped off the ratty lengths of his hair.

Finally, feeling almost like himself again, he settled himself in the local tavern for a hot meal and to steel his nerves for what he needed to do. Anyone he met from the Dalmascan resistance would surely consider him a traitor.

He was distracted from the latter when a flash of motion down the bar a bit caught his eye. It was that sky pirate, Balthier.

Basch had mixed feelings about the man. He was clearly a thief, of course, and his instincts told him not to trust him. But certainly, as far as companions to escape from prison with went, one could do much worse. Basch himself was an accused kingslayer, after all.

However, the instinct that pulled at him more strongly was a reminder of the moment they'd finally gotten out of that dank passageway. Basch honestly didn't know which had been better - the sunlight on his face after two years without it, or the way Balthier had deferred to him gently regarding the trek back. It was such a simple thing - "By your leave, Captain." But the boy, Vaan, was still wary of him, if no longer outright hostile - which he certainly had the right to be. And who knew what the viera was thinking. Basch had no doubts that the sky pirate would certainly do whatever he liked, no matter what Basch said. Still, that simple token of respect had hit his soul as hard as the desert sunlight hit his squinting eyes. Between them, he had begun to feel less like he was drowning in darkness.

So, in the end, when the pirate glanced over towards Basch's dim corner of the tavern, Basch greeted him with a wave. Balthier walked over to join him.

"Captain." Balthier nodded. "You clean up well," he said with a look over Basch's new attire and a quick smile.

"Thank you. I must admit, I thought it would be a bit longer before we crossed paths again. Where is your partner?"

"Fran? She had some errands to run. We're meeting later on." Balthier slid onto the stool next to Basch's. "As for the other, it certainly appears that Fate has an odd way about her sometimes. Or perhaps we just have the same taste in taverns."

Basch chuckled. "Perhaps so." The both fell into silence briefly as the bartender set a mug down in front of each of them, and a steaming plate of meat and assorted vegetables in front of Basch.

As his hand curled around a fork, he paused and turned to Balthier. "Thank you."

Balthier raised an eyebrow over the rim of his mug. "Mm? What's this now?" he asked, setting it back down.

"Thank you for helping me. Thank you for... being willing to try to believe me. I know my story must seem improbable."

Balthier laughed wryly. "That it does, Captain. But if there is one thing I've learned in these past years, it is that things are rarely as they appear to be, particularly when it comes to politics or love. I would have been remiss to dismiss you out of hand."

"Still. You afforded me more courtesy than most would, in your position."

"Be that as it may." Balthier tipped his mug at Basch's plate pointedly. "Don't let me keep you from your food. You must be starving for something with flavor."

Truer words had rarely been spoken, and so Basch attacked his meal in earnest. He had most of it, as well as half of his mug of ale, sitting comfortably in his belly before he spoke again.

"How about you, then? Are you as you appear to be?"

A smile spread slowly across the sky pirate's face. "Would that be when it comes to love? Or politics?"

Basch faltered for a moment. How did one respond to that? "I meant in general, I suppose."

Balthier's smile did not fade. "I am no exception to the rule."

No further information seemed to be forthcoming. "Hm," Basch grunted noncommittally as he gulped his drink.

"On the other hand, you, Captain, may be exactly what you appear to be."

Basch glanced sideways at his companion. "What's that? A washed-up old warrior in mismatched clothing?"

"A man of honor and charisma," Balthier corrected. "You draw glances. One can tell by the way you hold yourself that you're no base thug."

Basch started. "Glances? Anyone in particular? Imperials?" He tried to look around the tavern surreptitiously.

"If so, I would have warned you earlier," the pirate said reprovingly. "No, not that sort of glances." He turned back to his drink.

In the silence that followed, Basch could feel what Balthier meant. He sensed no particular malice from the other patrons of the tavern, but the two of them were not exactly inconspicuous. The - unlikely, but very real - possibility of someone identifying him began to weigh on Basch's mind. The prickling feeling of eyes on the back of his neck made the next few bites of food passed through his mouth seem tasteless. He wasn't ready to be recognized just yet.

Next to him, Balthier made a considering noise. "Look, have you let a room? We could continue this conversation some place less public, if you prefer."

Basch stifled a sigh of relief. "Yes, I have. And I do. Let's go, then." He pushed down the last of his food and drink in a few mouthfuls. Leaving some of his remaining coin on the counter, he was quickly walking out the door with the pirate.

They were silent as they walked, but the warmth of the sunlight and the anonymity of the city streets eased the tension in Basch's shoulders a bit. By the time they reached the inn, he was back to considering the enigma of his companion.

As the door of his room closed, Basch turned to Balthier. Whatever questions he might have asked, though, were swiftly cut off by the press of the other man's lips against his own. Startled, Basch stumbled back against the door frame. Balthier's body moved with him, and Basch's body lit up at the contact even as he struggled to overcome his shock.

Then the pirate pulled away with a smirk. Basch blinked.

"...Is that the sort of conversation you had in mind, Balthier?" he managed after a moment.

"Yes." The sky pirate grinned. "Do you object, Captain?"

Basch was tongue-tied for a moment as some deeply seated sense of propriety warred with the fact that he'd been ignoring up to this point - that the man in front of him was really quite attractive - and, more importantly, the feeling of pure want that his kiss had awakened.

The conflict became moot when, after a moment, Balthier pressed close to kiss him again and Basch's arms lifted to grip the man's shoulders without waiting for his decision. He moaned as he gave up and kissed back hard.

Balthier's hands slipped under fabric to settle on Basch's chest. His fingers and palms felt smooth, for a pirate, and the ridiculous rings on this left hand felt cool against Basch's skin. In a moment Basch's own hands were fumbling with the ties and fastenings of Balthier's clothes. Too long, it had been too long since a voice had spoken to him with trust and respect, too long since he'd felt the gentle touch of another. Basch was weak to everything this man offered, but right at this moment he couldn't bring himself to care.

A few clacks of buckles and Basch's new clothes were off, scarcely an hour after he'd first put them on. He forgot about reciprocating for a moment as Balthier's slim hands ran over his arms, his chest, his hips, lingering on old scars and newer scrapes and bruises. When he felt the warmed metal of those rings on his cock as Balthier gripped it briefly, he forgot about everything to simply groan. It took a moment to refocus his vision and realize that Balthier had pulled away to strip off his own clothes.

And then Balthier was naked, sprawling himself out on the narrow bed. He spread lean legs wide, and at some point he'd picked up a phial of the bath oil the innkeep had given Basch without a word along with his room key, and, oh god, he was slicking himself with it, pushing his fingers in deep and arching backwards under Basch's gaze. For a moment Basch was hit with how ridiculously unlikely this situation would have seemed yesterday, and he just stared.

Then Balthier looked at him and drawled, "Come here," and Basch once again stopped thinking.

The feeling when he first pushed in deep nearly undid him. As it was, he couldn't stop himself from continuing to thrust once he began. At least Balthier didn't seem to be complaining, with his breathy gasps and they way he curled his hand around himself. It was a rather embarrassingly short amount of time before Basch came, his vision blacking out and a shudder running down his spine. When he returned to himself a bit, he looked down to see his hands gripping Balthier's hips hard enough to leave impressions, and Balthier's hand moving frantically over his cock. He forced his hands to relax, and a few seconds later Balthier cried out and came as well. Basch managed to roll to one side before his eyes slid shut with exhaustion.

It felt like a long while before he opened them again, but it couldn't have been much time, since the sun hadn't moved perceptibly in the sky outside. Balthier was dressed and standing and, seeing he was awake, offered him his clothes.

"You'll be wanting to get moving, I suppose."

Basch took them and began to pull them on swiftly. "Yes. I should see what contacts I can find in the resistance. I have wasted enough time already," he said, with a certain amount of disgust at himself.

"Time spent to feel human again after years of being dead is hardly time wasted," Balthier said lightly, but the look in his eyes was serious.

"Perhaps. But it has been time enough." Basch stood, fully clothed. Strangely, he felt, at last, not only resigned to the task ahead of him but confident in his ability to tackle it.

The small smile on Balthier's face suggested that he saw at least some of Basch's resolve. "Well. As for the moment, I need to be meeting Fran. With the way these things go, I doubt not that we'll see each other again before long." He opened the door and gave a small bow. "Till then, see you keep yourself safe, Captain."