FicWad

Being in Archades again put Balthier's nerves on edge. The familiar stink of the old city had brought memories he'd thought himself rid of rushing back, and ascending the stairs to the city proper only set his discomfort deeper. They needed to get their business done and get out quickly, but considering Draklor and the decided conspicuousness of the group they had, that seemed unlikely to happen.

He'd hoped to get in and out of the city without having anyone recognize him, but of course that was hopelessly optimistic when Jules was around. Damn him.

Rounding a corner away from Vaan and the others, Balthier was somehow unsurprised to see the man in question lounging comfortably against a wall, apparently waiting for him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked anyway-for form's sake, considering that Jules certainly hadn't come up the stairway behind them. He was already having trouble keeping his irritation out of his voice, which boded badly for how the rest of his time in the city would go.

Jules, on the other hand, just sounded amused. "Surely a pirate should know that there are much subtler ways around a checkpoint than under cover of a riot? Particularly for a man who's been around as long as I have."

"Of course there are." Balthier said without intonation. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Jules just raised an eyebrow. "Now that it's just us, let's talk business, shall we? What brings you and your motley crew to Archades?"

"They're not-" but no, if there was one bit of information Jules did not need to know-"Well, I suppose they are my crew. In a manner of speaking." If news of /his /return was valuable, he didn't even want to consider what price a Dalmascan princess or dead captain would bring. Balthier made a show of looking around the street they stood in. "Is it safe to talk here?"

"Likely not," Jules admitted with a grin. "Follow me."

Relief that Jules didn't inquire further overwhelmed Balthier's better judgment, and he found himself walking behind Jules without question. They turned a few corners, finally ducking into an alley behind one of the shops. His curiosity was aroused, though, as Jules pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked a door. As they stepped in to a small, mostly empty storeroom, he attempted conversation again.

"I didn't know you were doing well enough to afford living space in Nilbasse, Jules." He looked around at the crates and dusty corners pointedly.

"Ha, very clever, Master Balthier." Jules closed the door behind them. "As it happens, there are merchants I do business with who are more than happy to let space for a few private chats, at the price of a market hint or two." Jules resumed his lounge against a stack of crates. "Never pay cash when a few words will do, that's a streetear's motto."

"You always did have your hands in everything." Balthier sighed. Jules smiled a smile that made him wish he'd chosen a better turn of phrase. Shifting uncomfortably, he tried, "And do you have words for me?"

"That depends. Tell me what you need, then we'll see if you can pay."

Good. Down to business. Balthier tried not to think about how light his gil purse was at the moment. Vaan handing over pocket change was one thing, but... "We need to get into Draklor. All of us, and secretly."

Jules actually looked briefly surprised. "Do you, now? I don't suppose you'd give a hint as to why. It'd be worth a discount."

Balthier just stared at Jules coldly.

"Thought not. You always were too tightfisted when it came to anything of real import." Jules examined his nails for a moment. "I may indeed have an avenue for you, though. Full price, it's two hundred thousand gil, and that's a deal for getting you into one of the most highly guarded places in the Empire. Nay, the world."

Balthier's stomach sunk. "I don't have two hundred thousand gil."

"No?" Jules said lightly. "Pirating not as lucrative as it could be? Perhaps you're not cut out for it after all."

"I've had a run of bad luck." Which was somewhat of an understatement.

"Ah, well. Happens to us all. And it does suit you, the pirate look. Now you've grown into it a bit." That smile was back, and the leaden feeling in Balthier's gut turned to queasy butterflies. "There is another option, of course."

Damn and damn. He'd thought he was done with this. But the only other currencies Jules took were gil and information. He didn't have the first, and the second was worth far more than his pride. So here he was. "What do you want?"

Jules grinned and tossed dark hair out of his eyes as he leaned forward. "How about you use that mouth for something better than scowling prettily, hmm?"

Right. Balthier tried not to think as he moved close and reached for the ties of Jules' pants. A few seconds of work and fabric dropped. He curled his hand around Jules' already half-hard cock. He felt a stirring himself as he looked up briefly and saw Jules' head tipped back as he hummed. "Ah, yes. I have missed this."

That triggered something in Balthier. "You know, I'm sure you could get this for much less than two hundred thousand gil down in Old Archades," he said sharply as he dropped to his knees with a slight creak of leather. He could smell Jules, musky and sharp, and that was familiar too.

"Not the same, not the same," Jules said as Balthier stroked him to hardness. "No one's as attractive as you are on your knees, Master Balthier," he husked.

Rather than having to think too hard for a response to that, Balthier leaned in and wrapped his mouth around the head of Jules' cock. Jules gasped and his hips bucked. Balthier withdrew a bit, but the head still brushed the back of his throat, forcing him to struggle not to choke and sending a thrill of lust straight to his groin.

"Sorry," Jules said, though he sounded giddy rather than apologetic. Balthier tried to ignore the way the sound made his pants even more uncomfortable. "It has been a while, as I said."

Finally deciding to just ignore everything but the task at hand, Balthier set to work. He wasn't sure it was entirely possible to suck cock vindictively, but he did his best, attacking as much as he could take with lips and tongue-and once or twice, teeth, when Jules' hips thrust involuntarily again-and gripping and stroking the base solidly with his hand.

He wasn't sure the intention got across, but at least it stopped Jules from making any more comments.

After some dizzying time, Jules finally gasped out, "Ah, yes, Ff-Yes." His hand landed briefly on Balthier's head. Balthier stayed in place, and then Jules was coming, warm fluid sliding down Balthier's throat. "Master Balthier."

Balthier wiped his mouth and looked up at Jules, who was panting and slumped in an entirely different sort of way against the crates. He waited a few breaths, then stood. His cock strained against the front of his pants. "Well? What's your avenue?"

Jules blinked. "Right." He leaned forward a bit, shrugging his shoulders and doing a short of full-body roll that did strange things to Balthier. Then he reached down to redo his pants. "Your best bet is probably to hijack one of the light airships used by suppliers, and take the service entrance. They're parked in Central fairly often, so I can probably arrange that to go smoothly. I don't have any contacts inside Draklor itself." Jules' eyes tracked down and settled on Balthier's groin, where his state was completely evident. "But you should stay here another while, first."

"No thank you." Balthier said coolly. "I can't be certain when news of the Bunansa son's return will be spread wide enough to make my movement difficult."

Jules frowned, and if Balthier didn't know better, he might even have said he looked hurt. "Master Balthier, surely you know our relationship is worth enough to stop me from revealing you quite that easily?"

"I know no such thing." Balthier said. Then he felt bad, because it was slightly-/vaguely/-possible that Jules was sincere. So he reached for his bag. "If you want to be helpful, give these chops to Vaan, and tell him to meet me in Central." He headed for the door, then paused for a few breaths to attempt to get himself under control.

"I shall see you around, then," said Jules confidently.

"Hopefully I'll get into Draklor and out, and we won't," said Balthier, and left.