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[xshatterheartx.livejournal.com]

Who: Balthier & Fran
When: Daytime
Where: The Strahl
What: Fran finds out about Balthier’s latest betrayal
Rating: PG-13



Balthier had said he'd only be a few more minutes in The Cloudborne. He'd promised Fran he'd be there within half an hour. However, two hours later, he found himself finally boarding the Strahl. He knew she'd smell the scent of sex on him, but he couldn't exactly shower in that little house. He was still quite drunk as he made his way to the bathroom, hoping to wash before she'd catch him.

Fran came up behind the drunken sky pirate, resting her back against the doorframe. She watched him silently for a moment, crossing her arms across her chest. "Offering free sex with every tenth drink nowadays are they?"

He let his head hang back, closing his eyes with an exhaled expletive. "Go on, call me whatever you're going to call me. I haven't a leg to stand on, as they say." He spoke as he sat on the edge of the bathtub, looking at her.

"Who was it this time? Bar staff? A patron? A moogle perhaps?" She asked, eyes fixed on him, hard and cold.

"Yes. A moogle. It was Clio." He sighed, covering his eyes a moment. "Does it really matter who it was?" He stood up, pulling his shirts off and moving to switch on the shower.

Fran continued to watch him. "It matters to me. So, who was it? Was it Squall?"

"He doesn't know Bhujerba. It doesn't matter who it was, Fran. I'm drunk, I can't really remember their face." He stripped completely and moved into the shower, cleaning himself up quickly.

"And that makes it okay? As always. You were drunk, so we simply sweep it under the carpet and forget it happened."

"It was just sex, Fran. It meant nothing. The same as it meant... it meant nothing with Squall." He scrubbed at his skin quickly, wanting the evidence gone.

"If it means so little to you, then there is no harm in telling me who it was, is there?" She kept her back pressed against the doorway, tapping her claws against her arm.

"Some young boy, it was nothing. I don't even recall his name." He was quick to shower, quickly shampooing his hair before stepping out and towelling off.

"Taken to corrupting the young? Ran out of fair barmaids to charm into bed?"

"Perhaps I did." He replied, walking past her to the bedroom. He quickly slipped on some underwear and a t-shirt.

Fran let out a heavy sigh. it felt like they had been here so many times before. it was getting harder and harder to just turn the other cheek and pretend it hadn't happened. She followed him to the bedroom, resting against that doorframe in turn. "there is a potion in the drawer, you should drink it before the hangover hits."

Balthier shook his head a little. "It's a good wakeup call to what an idiot I've been the night before." He sighed heavily, too. He felt like he was forever trying to damage any relationships he found himself in.

Something kicked at the back of Fran's mind. She wanted to ask, but at the same time she wanted to force the thought away and forget about it. "This boy... He truly was a stranger? He wasn't La... No... you wouldn't be that foolish, would you?"

Balthier went silent, frowning darkly at her words. "No... it wasn't Larsa." He moved to put his glasses on then locked the door, knowing that it was best not to let Nono walk in on this.

"No, I guess not even you are foolish enough to take the innocence of the young prince."

Balthier flopped onto the bed, laying back across it rather than in it. "Never overestimate a fool."

Fran watched him, raising an eyebrow. "So... it was him. You, are an idiot, Balthier. A true idiot."

"Yes. The biggest idiot to ever grace Ivalice's grounds." He sighed heavily. "And for the record, he was the one who started it all."

"Yes, because a young boy such as him can force you into such acts." She glared at him coldly. "Next you'll be telling me he held you down and did it against your will."

"I never said that, I'm just trying to state the fact that he came onto me. I know I'm to blame here, Fran. There is no point in you laying that down." He groaned and sat up, moving to get some pants on. "I'm going for a walk."

Fran was silent for a long moment. "I've tried to look the other way, I really have. I've let the encounters go, brushed them off as one-night stands, told myself that it's just the way you are and that I can't change you. I even let the encounter with Squall slip, even offered you the chance to leave to be with him. And now this... And the worst part is... you don't even feel guilty. It is though you know I'll forgive you so you have no reason to stay faithful..."

"That's wrong, Fran. I do feel guilty. I feel like the scum I know I am... perhaps it is best you and I realise that I am never going to be the man you want me to be." He sighed in frustration, slumping against the wall. "I'm a fool, a liar, an idiot, and most likely some sort of sex offender now, but I'm not the kind of man to say no to that. You and I both know that."

Fran turned her head away, staring at the floor as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Perhaps I should have realised long ago. Before I allowed my heart to be broken. Viera I may be, but I still feel, still love, still hurt." She sighed soft. "I should have ignored my hearts call and stayed as merely your co-pilot. For now, I do not even think it is possible to be that." She wiped at her eyes, moving to unlock the door.

Balthier's heart sank at those tears, having never seen this woman cry in his entire life with her. He rushed to block the door, gripping her upper arms. "Fran... I'm sorry. You deserve so much better than a beast like me... but I'll try. I swear to you, I'll try my damnedest to stop this behaviour. To stay faithful."

Fran stepped back, pulling her arms free. "You say these words. But that is all they are. How long would it last? A day? Two? The first time someone made eyes at you or flirted, it would just happen again." She looked at the floor again. "Do I repulse you so much? My body displeases you that much that you must search elsewhere? Skill with a bow I may have, but skill as a lover... I have little. Please move from the doorway."

"That's not true!!" He stood right against the door, not allowing her to leave. "I've never said those words to anyone, you have to believe me when I say I'll try my hardest. You know my determination and you know my strength." He sighed in frustration. "As for your skill as a lover, it is what I want. I would rather you a gentle beauty than a fire-breathing whore."

"Then why is my love not enough for you? Why do you not come to me in the night and seek my body, rather than go to others?" More tears rolled down her cheeks. "Move from the door, Balthier."

"Because I'm a fool. Because I'm everything you said and more." He sighed a little more, this time holding in tears of his own, refusing to cry. "Don't go, Fran."

"What kind of life is there for us? Every time you are away for more than a few minutes I'll always be wondering where you are or who you are with. How long would it be before you began to despise me?"

"I could never!!" He took her by her arms again, looking up into her eyes. "Fran, I may be a pig, a useless waste of a man... but I love you. I always have and always will."

Fran turned her face away. "Hmph. Love, a foolish word made up by foolish men to woo the fairer sex."

"If you have so little faith in my heart, even after all this time, all we've been through, then there is nothing I can say to sway you." He lowered his hands, taking a step away.

More tears rolled down Fran's cheeks as she stepped past Balthier. "I will never be enough for you, even if your heart does desire me, your body will always seek new excitement. These years at your side, as your co-pilot, as your partner, as your lover. They have been the happiest of my long life. But I will never be enough for you. You have grown a lot since we met, but you are still a child in many ways. Do not run so much. Think first. And trust in yourself. It was been an interesting journey and I wish you nothing but happiness."

"Fran, you know if you leave now, I won't come back. I'm gone." He warned, only wanting it to sway her, not wishing to leave the woman he loved.

"You speak of the strength of your heart, yet you are willing to give up the second I leave?" She asked, tilting her head to look at him. Her eyes didn't hold their usual sparkle, her hurt and betrayal were easy to read in the usually unreadable orbs.

"I can't chase you forever. I've spent years doing that with only these past few weeks amounting to anything." He shook his head slightly. "If you love me, you know how I love you... but I'm a weak Hume. Nothing but a pathetic, self-gaining Hume."

Tears clung to Fran's eyelashes. "I love you with all my heart, and that is why I must leave. I have to set you free. Just like a bird should be free to fly rather than locked in a cage, you should be free to live your life the way you wish. If I stay, I shall end up suffocating you with my need and jealousy. We will end up hating each other."

"I could never hate you, Fran... but you could hate me. You should." He frowned, looking to the floor with his hands slipping to his pockets. "I'm not the man everyone thinks I am, love. I thought you, of all people, would know I'm weak when it comes to my physical needs."

Fran reached out to cup his cheek, brushing her thumb over his lips. "Do not frown. You are the leading man, you must look the part at all times." She wiped away her tears. "It is time to break free of your cage and sly little bird, until you seek what your search."

He took her hand, kissing the back of her fingers before looking to her face. "I can't fly without you, Fran. I've no clue what I seek or search for... but it never mattered with you by my side."

"Then all I have done is distracted you, made you blind to your hearts' call. You will find your wings and you will find what you seek, and then, you will find happiness and peace of mind. Emotionally and physically."

"If you leave... this bird's wings will be clipped. He will not fly." He looked at the woman's face then moved to stroke his hand over her cheek. "There is nothing... not one thing, no person, no treasure, that will ever take away from how much I love and need you."

Fresh tears rolled down Fran's cheeks. She wanted to believe those words so badly, her heart ached in her chest. But she also knew how easily Balthier could charm and smooth-talk even the coldest of people into doing anything he wanted.

Balthier looked into her eyes, wiping away her tears. "A week. We shall spend one week apart. If you truly desire freedom from me then, I shall step back." He tilted his head slightly.

Fran tilted her head as well. "I am not the one seeking freedom." She said softly, turning away from Balthier, walking towards the exit, picking up her bow and arrows as she did.

Balthier stood watching her, his fists clenched tightly. "I do not seek freedom, either, Fran." His voice shook as he spoke and his hands trembled just as much.

The tiny moogle wandered from his sleeping place to watch them. His ears and pompom drooped slightly. "Leaving?" He toddled quickly towards Fran.

Fran stopped and knelt down to be closer to Nono's height. "I am. Nono, need you to do me a big favour, okay? A favour only the most special and talented of moogles can do."

Balthier caught some tears before they soiled his cheeks and watched Nono and Fran, his heart slowing slightly.

Nono tilted his head with a slight squeak. "What favour?" He looked between hume and viera, his expression darkening as he did.

"I need you to take super special care of the Strahl for me while I'm away, do all the jobs I would normally do, and help Balthier fly her." She reache dup and petted his pom-pom lightly, leaning in more. "And look after Balthier for me."

Balthier's frown deepened and he took off his glasses, covering his eyes a brief moment with his hand. He felt sick, he felt like the worthless excuse for a man he was.

Nono frowned slightly, looking between them again. "Why?" Even with his vast knowledge, Nono could not comprehend that his 'parents' were falling apart.

Fran looked at Balthier briefly and then back at Nono. "I have to leave. Just for a little while."

Balthier took a deep breath and moved to crouch beside Nono, petting his pompom. "It's fine, Nono. Fran will be back soon." He caught her gaze with his a moment.

Nono's squeaks sounded sad and he simply nodded before pulling himself from them both and heading back to his sleeping place.

Fran stood then, and looked at Balthier. "Keep an eye on Nono. He may be extremely clever in many ways, but he is still very much a child, rather like you." She offered him a soft half-smile. "Well, I guess this a goodbye for now, sky pirate."

Balthier stood as she did, frowning and looking to the floor. "It doesn't have to be, Fran. You know I'll always have an empty seat for you." He swiped off a few more tears before looking up at her. "If you're not back in a week, I'll hunt you down, viera." He half-teased. He was mostly serious.

"I just need to clear my head. Look after yourself, okay?" She wiped her own tears away and ran a hand through her hair before pressing the button to open the Strahl's door.

"I mean it, Fran. A week. Then I post a bill for you to be brought to me alive and well." He looked at her seriously, leaning slightly against the wall of the Strahl.

Fran half-smiled before walking off of her beloved ship onto the cold, hard tiles of the Aerodrome.

Balthier stood in the doorway, watching her walk until the Strahl's automatic door-closing brought the steps up to block his view and eventually close the ship. Once they had, he turned his back and leaned against the wall, sliding down it to simply sit there, weakened and heartbroken, even if it was entirely his fault.