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Entry tags:
FFXII: Heroics
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Pairing: Balthier/Ashe
Warnings: None
Rating: G
Summary: Ashe finds an excuse to catch Balthier alone in the Pharos. For my little sister.
"You're wounded," Ashe says, looking at his arm.
"A mere scratch," Balthier says, plucking at the bloodied sleeve. "I'm glad I have quite a number of spare shirts in the Strahl. It hardly becomes the leading man to wear a bloodied shirt."
"It hardly becomes the self-proclaimed leading man not to heal himself when he's injured," Ashe says softly. She takes a step closer and puts her hand lightly on the injured arm. Balthier stands still and watches her as she casts a cura spell, his eyes not giving away his thoughts. When Ashe steps back, she frowns a little. "The others have not waited for us."
"As was no doubt your design." Balthier smirks a little. "Princess, you don't have to make excuses to be alone with me."
She can feel her cheeks heating up. "I did not -- "
He rests a hand on his hip, looking almost as if he's about to start tapping his foot impatiently. "What is it you want to ask me? We should hurry up and catch up with the rest of the group. They might be in need of their leading man. Or, indeed, the leading lady's sword arm. And the Pharos is hardly a place to dawdle."
Ashe frowns a little, not sure what he means by referring to her as the leading lady -- whether he means anything beyond his usual faintly mocking words. She chooses to ignore it, instead looking back behind them. "You said to Vaan... if something untoward should happen to you... You said that you might need to do something heroic. What did you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
"I didn't think you would risk coming as far into this as to risk your life."
Balthier's smile is stiff, a little fixed. "It is my father's mess, this. Want it or not, I'm in it now, from the moment I set out to steal the Dawn Shard. I may be a pirate now, but I have some honour."
"Pirates are rarely heroes."
"This one may have to be," he says, quietly. For a moment, they look at each other. Ashe shakes her head.
"This is not a cause you believe in. You're in this to find some treasure -- something valuable. Death is not a precious commodity -- I will not have you dying for a cause you care nothing for!"
"Your cause, I care nothing for. You yourself... a different matter. Let us go."
Balthier starts to walk before Ashe has even processed what he said. She doesn't know what to say in reply: doesn't know what to say even when she catches up to him, or when she's walking at his side, nor even when they've reached the rest of the group.
Pairing: Balthier/Ashe
Warnings: None
Rating: G
Summary: Ashe finds an excuse to catch Balthier alone in the Pharos. For my little sister.
"You're wounded," Ashe says, looking at his arm.
"A mere scratch," Balthier says, plucking at the bloodied sleeve. "I'm glad I have quite a number of spare shirts in the Strahl. It hardly becomes the leading man to wear a bloodied shirt."
"It hardly becomes the self-proclaimed leading man not to heal himself when he's injured," Ashe says softly. She takes a step closer and puts her hand lightly on the injured arm. Balthier stands still and watches her as she casts a cura spell, his eyes not giving away his thoughts. When Ashe steps back, she frowns a little. "The others have not waited for us."
"As was no doubt your design." Balthier smirks a little. "Princess, you don't have to make excuses to be alone with me."
She can feel her cheeks heating up. "I did not -- "
He rests a hand on his hip, looking almost as if he's about to start tapping his foot impatiently. "What is it you want to ask me? We should hurry up and catch up with the rest of the group. They might be in need of their leading man. Or, indeed, the leading lady's sword arm. And the Pharos is hardly a place to dawdle."
Ashe frowns a little, not sure what he means by referring to her as the leading lady -- whether he means anything beyond his usual faintly mocking words. She chooses to ignore it, instead looking back behind them. "You said to Vaan... if something untoward should happen to you... You said that you might need to do something heroic. What did you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
"I didn't think you would risk coming as far into this as to risk your life."
Balthier's smile is stiff, a little fixed. "It is my father's mess, this. Want it or not, I'm in it now, from the moment I set out to steal the Dawn Shard. I may be a pirate now, but I have some honour."
"Pirates are rarely heroes."
"This one may have to be," he says, quietly. For a moment, they look at each other. Ashe shakes her head.
"This is not a cause you believe in. You're in this to find some treasure -- something valuable. Death is not a precious commodity -- I will not have you dying for a cause you care nothing for!"
"Your cause, I care nothing for. You yourself... a different matter. Let us go."
Balthier starts to walk before Ashe has even processed what he said. She doesn't know what to say in reply: doesn't know what to say even when she catches up to him, or when she's walking at his side, nor even when they've reached the rest of the group.
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To me, Ashe's panic over Balthier came almost out of nowhere. I mean, there were all the indications that they might be heading that way, and then there was nothing in particular, and then -- BOOM, Ashe is getting all worried over him in a way that would ordinarily make me go "omg oh-tee-pee". It bothers me that there wasn't some kind of scene to be a bridge between what came before and the ending. My sister is the same way, so that's why she bugged me to write this. xD
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Yeah, I agree for the most part. I just felt like I needed just a little more to make it feel less... gratuitous. It didn't have to be that much, but just a tiny, tiny bit more. I'm probably just being greedy. :p Obviously, it didn't spoil the pairing for me anyway, since I'm busily writing Balthier/Ashe (and considering making a claim, but I have too many claims), but it just threw me a bit at the time.
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Actually I ship Ashe with anything that moves except the other two main-party native Rabanastrans, but that's a whole other thing.
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...Mind, I'm an omnishipper anyway. I'm pretty sure I terrified The Dark Is Rising fandom by being the first person in its relatively long history to write OT3 fic (or the second person, maybe, 'cause if I remember rightly there was one OT3 fic I saw, but it was a different OT3). :D
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