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[xshatterheartx.livejournal.com]

Who: Balthier and Fran
When: After Balthier’s visit with Larsa
Where: The Strahl
What: Arguing
Rating: PG-13



Fran was sat on the bed, baby bottles of half drunk milk and opened bottles of potions beside her on the bedside table. Every piece of her armour was removed and her hair down, falling over her shoulders. She cradled the two moogles against her, both of them had come down with moogle flu and were both terribly ill, squeaks and whimpers escaped the tiny Gero, during this, his first illness.

Balthier was tense after his encounter with Larsa. Practically in a bad mood, he stormed through the streets and swiftly into the Aerodrome and onto the Strahl. He kicked his shoes off and slammed the bedroom door open. "That child... I could just..." He began to rant. As soon as he saw Fran and the moogles, his heart softened. A gentle smile came and he moved to sit on the bed. "Are they alright?"

"Mm. They shall survive. Moogle flu." She smiled up at Balthier, rocking the smallest moogle against her breast, holding Nono against her stomach. "There is a bottle of spirits for you in the kitchen. I thought you might need it." The bottle was tied with a ribbon, a silver ring embedded with a gemstone attached to the ribbon.

"I do." He leaned across and kissed her forehead before leaving the room. He slipped into the kitchen and paused when he saw the bottle. There were two ways he could take it. Either she was giving him a gift to cheer him up after everything... or this was a little bigger than he was ready for. Balthier took the first option and slipped the ring onto his left ring finger. Taking the bottle with him, he headed back to the bedroom, flopping on the bed. "I love it." He smiled at her.

"The alcohol or the other?" Fran asked, wriggling her own right hand, showing off her own matching one. "They are most pretty. I did a little shopping." She smiled, passing Gero to Balthier. "Your meeting was stressful, I take it?"

Balthier nuzzled Gero's nose with his own, snuggling up the little moogle. "I do so love the ring." He smirked as he showed her which finger he had it on. It was with his pink and blue one. "A little stressful. Tears and tantrums."

Gero stirred a little, letting out a sad squeak of pain, before sneezing.

"To be expected, he is, after all, a child. I do assume the tantrums were Larsa's and not your own." She teased, reaching for the open bottle of potion and a spoon, giving Nono a gentle nudge. "Time for more medicine, Nono." She gave Balthier's hand a gentle kiss. "You should be careful, I may misread your intentions."

Balthier gently stroked Gero's pompom under his finger. "Humourous, honestly." He replied, rolling his eyes. As she kissed his hand, a soft smile graced his lips. "As should you. Mayhaps I had taken it for a proposal."

The moogle squeaked weakly before tilting his head to look up at Fran. His mouth hung open for the medicine, a light sound of his shallow breathing coming from him.

Fran gave Nono a spoonful of the vile tasting green liquid, before reaching for one of the bottles of milk, putting it in Nono's paws. "My brave moogles." She did the same to Gero, giving the bottle to Balthier to hold. "How could you ever marry me, when you are already bound to the sky?"

Gero scrunched up his nose at the potion, before squeaking at the bottle, chewing on the rubber part, before suckling.

Holding the bottle for Gero, Balthier smiled at the tiny creature. "I may wish to one day. When the sky finally has enough of me." Balthier replied, looking at Gero in a strangely fatherly way. "...Fran. Suppose... what happened amounts to something?" He commented, referring to their earlier encounter.

Nono gagged at the potion before slurping down his milk noisily, pulling the bottle from his mouth repeatedly to breathe.

Fran petted Nono's pompom gently, looking at the moogle for a long, silent moment; not entirely sure how to respond to Balthier's words. "We shall worry about that if the time comes." She replied.

Gero stopped suckling to look up at Balthier with wet eyes, squeaking at him lovingly.

"Worry? Would it be so bad?" He smiled with a soft chuckle at Gero, drying his eyes gently. "I do so think I have fallen in love with little Gero's eyes." He laughed quietly.

Nono purred quietly, looking at Fran as he chewed the tip of his bottle.

"For me? No, it would be... fulfilling. But for you it would be too much commitment and responsibility. And for the child it... would be terrible." She replied, keeping her gaze fixed on Nono.

The tiny moogle squeaked happily, despite his illness, holding onto Balthier's finger with his paws, biting at it lightly.

"I am rather... tired of this lack of faith you have in my commitment." He replied, keeping his own gaze on Gero, frowning rather than wanting to look at her.

Nono finished all his milk, reaching to put his bottle on the bedside table and rolling off the bed with a thud and a pained squeak.

Gero squeaked loud in reply to Nono's squeak, flailing against Balthier in a mild panic.

Fran shifted to pick Nono up, cradling him in her arms, kissing his pompom soothing. "I have faith. And I know if it came to anything then you would not run. But you should not have to be forced into such a situation."

Balthier's frown deepened. "Perhaps it is something I want. You did not consider that, did you?" He sighed and stood up, carrying Gero with him towards the kitchen.

The moogle panicked as he fell but when he was retrieved, he clung to Fran, nuzzling her chest.

Gero squeaked louder as he could no longer see his 'big brother'.

Fran got up with a sigh, following Balthier to the kitchen, cradling Nono against her chest. "Well is it? Something you want?"

Balthier held Gero with one hand whilst using his other to prepare something for himself to eat. Purely to distract himself. "Perhaps." He shrugged slightly.

Nono yawned and curled up in Fran's arms, playing with his own pompom.

Fran continued to hold Nono against her, rocking him gently. "It is a big step. It would change everything. It... is not a decision to take lightly." She replied, leaning against the counter.

Gero nuzzled with a squeaked yawn, chewing on Balthier's thumb lightly.

Balthier sighed slightly. "I know that, Fran. I may be younger than you, but one day, you must realise I am no longer that child you met."

The oldest moogle, despite the growing 'discussion', fell asleep in Fran's arms.

"You will always be that child to me, and I shall always feel I need to protect you from harm." She sighed and took hold of Balthier's hand, pulling it to her stomach, being careful not to nudge Nono. "Tell me. Could you cope? A child requires constant attention. We would have to abandon the skies. The thieving. The drinking. Everything we know and love."

Gero drifted to sleep, with Balthier's thumb in his mouth.

Balthier looked into her eyes, rather than where his hand was. "We may not have a choice, Fran. There could already be something happening." He replied. Glancing to Gero with a smile, he chuckled softly. "We'll raise a pirate child. Other pirates cope, so, why not the best pirates?"

Fran looked away. "Their children are not hybrids." She replied, she hated herself for speaking the words, but she couldn't help it.

Balthier practically snatched his hand away from her stomach, glaring at the phrase rather than the woman. "Hume. Viera. Hume and Viera. What difference does it make?!" He looked to Gero, petting him for his own comfort.

Gero nuzzled into the petting hand.

Fran kept her gaze away from him. "You know it makes a difference! Not to us, but to the rest of the world. The child would be teased, bullied, hated for what it is. You saw what happened to the Feol Viera for being of Viera and Aegyl. They were outcast. I do not want that fate for our child."

For a long while, he remained silent, petting Gero gently. When Balthier eventually spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. "Weakness. From before birth, with that attitude, all we shall instil in our child is weakness. We shan't ever know what our child would be like without having said child." He cradled Gero closely. "And since when did we care about the rest of the world?"

Fran gave a heavy sigh, holding Nono closer to her heart. "I am afraid, Balthier." She replied, locking her eyes on Nono.

"Afraid of the rest of the world? Aren't we always? Forever running from the world that hates us." He leaned against the wall, looking at Gero as he chewed his thumb. "What are you truly fearful of?"

Nono stirred slightly but simply squeaked softly and nuzzled into her.

"Of everything. It is one thing to ignore the spiteful comments and the jeers aimed at me. But if those words were aimed at my child... I do not think I would be able to walk away." She rocked Nono lightly. "And then there is lifespan. It will be hard enough to watch you grow old, what if I have to watch our child grow old before my eyes too?"

Gero suckled and nibbled on Balthier's thumb more, pawing at his palm.

"And if my child is inside you at this very moment? You plan on getting rid of it?" He shook his head and moved out of the room again, trying in vain to find somewhere to hide. In the end, he sighed heavily and slumped onto the bed in their bedroom.

Fran picked up a bottle of Bhejerba madhu, before putting it down, taking a bottle of orange juice instead, returning to the bed, placing Nono down on the pillows gently. "Of course not! I would find the strength from somewhere."

"And if not, I am to live a life without a child." He replied, resting Gero beside Nono and laying on his side, propping his head up on his hand. "Even Ffamran assumed children would be a part of his future."

"That is not what I am saying. I shall carry your child if that is your wish. I just want to make sure that you realise it won't be easy."

"Why must it always be 'if that is your wish'? Do you not wish for us to be a real family?" He frowned, looking at the moogles.

"You do not think us a real family already?" Fran asked, taking a sip of the orange juice. "I wish for children. Whether it is my body or my heart that speaks, I do not know."

"Of course we are a family... a patchwork one. Perhaps I am being broody. Dismiss all I have said." He replied before burying his face in the other pillow.

"You speak because you wish to have your thoughts heard. I shall not dismiss your words."

"I speak because I am a foolish Hume child." Balthier replied, not even lifting his head to speak to her.

"You shall always be my foolish Hume. I would not have you any other way. It does not mean that I do not listen." She sighed, resting a hand on her stomach, rubbing lightly.

"Hmph." He slipped the pillow over his head and pressed it down, sighing softly with his eyes shut tightly. Perhaps he was being childish, looking for a reason to argue after his encounter with Larsa. However, he truly, at this moment, wished just a little for a 'real' family. A blood family. One like he used to have.

Fran petted his arm a little. "I am going out for some air. Can I get you anything?"

A nonsensical noise came from him then he shook his head under the pillow. "I am fine." He replied.

She gave a nod and moved to put her shoes on, not bothering with her armour, or to tie her hair up.

Balthier watched her, frowning slightly. "Take your cloak." He practically ordered, pouting rather childishly.

"I have no reason to hide away." Fran replied, watching him. "The Imperials did not bother with us before, why should they now?"

"I mean... I would rather you... do not walk around too exposed." He pouted even more now, looking jealous.

Fran stood, looking at him with a hand on her hip. "I am wearing the same as I always do, just without my armour."

"Yes. And you are practically nude. I do not wish for other men and women to see that which is mine." He crossed his arms, sitting up to look at her.

"You speak as though I am a treasure you can keep locked away."

Balthier huffed and flopped back down. "Wear whatever you damn well want!" He replied snappily, refusing to look at her now.

Fran sighed. "The moogles shall need more potion and milk after an hour if I am not back!"

Balthier didn't reply, he simply kept his back to her, knowing he'd do what needed to be done anyway.

She moved over to the moogles, leaning down to kiss their pompoms gently, before making her way out of the ship.

He lay watching the moogles sleep, sighing softly. Balthier hated arguing with Fran but this was something that was important right now.

Fran didn't get far. In fact, she didn't even get out of the Aerodrome. Instead she sat by a window, watching the airships docking and taking off.

Balthier watched over the moogles, dealing with them once the first hour passed. He wanted to leave and find Fran but both his male pride and his duties to the moogles kept him on that bed.

After awhile Fran returned. Her eyes were wet with tears, even though she probably wouldn't admit to it. She returned to the bed, kicking off her shoes before sitting on the end of the bed.

When Fran returned, Balthier was asleep with the moogles curled against him. He held them close and his breathing was gentle, despite the nightmares plaguing him.

Fran shifted up the bed, reaching out to pet and stroke Balthier's hair tenderly.

He flinched a little before cracking his eyes open and smiling at the sight of her. As soon as he saw her tears, however, he sat up carefully, reaching to brush them carefully from her lashes. "You have cried..."

"Only a little." She replied with a soft smile. "Were the moogles well behaved?"

"As good as ever." He answered, shifting to sit closer to her. "Why did you cry?" He asked, stroking her hair gently.

"I was just thinking. Do not worry for me, I am merely a foolish Viera."

"That, my dear, is an oxymoron. There cannot be a foolish Viera." He nuzzled her cheek lightly. "Tell me what you were thinking."

Fran once more rested Balthier's hand on her stomach. "About this, of course."

"Let us not speak on it. I rather we do not argue." He kissed her cheek, touching her stomach lightly with his fingers.

Fran rested her hand on top of his. "I do not wish to argue either, but this is something we cannot brush aside."

"Then I shall let you decide." He leaned into her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"What if I do not make a good mother?" She asked quietly.

"You already make a fine mother to our boys." Balthier replied, petting her ears down her hair and kissing her nose.

She smiled softly, nuzzling against him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Gero stirred, letting out a squeak, patting the bed with his paws, before nuzzling against Nono.

Balthier kissed Fran softly on her lips before looking into her eyes. "Come what may. I will always be here."

Nono cracked an eyelid and looked at Gero before grumbling sleepily and snuggling the younger moogle up and letting himself drift back to sleep.

Fran gave a nod, cupping Balthier's cheek. "I may not always seem certain, but I do have faith in you. Always."

"Learn to show it, Veira. Rather than making it seem as if you fear I will make a mess of everything." He replied, smiling cheekily.

Fran laughed softly. "I never said that you won't make a mess of things. I just know you'll be there to pick the pieces back up with me and put them back together."

"Cheeky." Balthier answered back, lazing back beside the moogles again and smirking at his Viera lover.

Fran shifted to straddle his lap, looking down at him. "No more arguments?"

Balthier smiled up at her. "No more arguments... unless you plan on causing more, that is." He smirked.

Fran slipped her hands into Balthier's. "I shall behave."

"Get down here and kiss me, woman." He practically ordered her.

Fran chuckled and leaned down, pressing a tender kiss to Balthier's lips. "Better?"

Balthier smiled and nodded slightly. "Much."

She stole another kiss, practically lying on top of him.