Stone 3

Vaan could say two things about this little adventure.

One: was that his captors were strong.

Second: That if he didn’t obey he would be jerked around like a ratty old doll, courtesy of Vaan accidentally getting in the way when a monster was attacking.

Third: Vaan was NOT a little girl! He could take care of himself! Vaan absolutely hated that he was being protected like he was weak.

‘Okay, well, maybe it’s more than three.’ These jerks ignored him; they mistreated him (not that he wasn’t used to that kind of treatment), and even when danger wasn’t around, they treated Vaan like a little kid!

It. Really. Pissed. Him. Off!

Vaan was actually relieved when they finally saw the entrance to the West Gate. When the trio made it toward the populated area Vaan gasped when he was grabbed by Balthier and dragged into the Aurodrome.

“Hey! We’re not going into the city?” Vaan had hoped to loose them in the crowds.

“Nope.” Balthier said carelessly.

“What about supplies?! Restock?!”

“All on the ship.” Vaan frowned. Well damn, this wasn’t going to work out.

“Come on! Can’t you at least let me say goodbye to the others?!” Balthier paused and gave Vaan an incredulous look.

“What others?”

“The other orphans. We all work and live together. Migelo looks after us.” Vaan explained only to be jerked forward again.

“Hey!”

“Sorry. I can’t risk you trying to worm your way out. For all I know that story could be a ploy to lead us to a place where you can escape, hm?” Vaan looked down to his feet in a pout.

“I’m not lying.” Vaan muttered. Though Balthier was right about the intention, Vaan wasn’t lying.

“Well, if it is true, you can greet them and tell them all about your adventure of being kidnapped by a Sky Pirate when you get back.” Vaan glared at Balthier’s back.

“I hate you.”

“Indeed.”

“You’re just a… Big jerk.” Balthier quirked a brow.

“You’re so very creative.”

“Shut-up.” Balthier made a face of distaste. When the pair finally caught up with Fran at their port Balthier toted the blonde toward the ship.

Vaan’s mouth fell open and he stared in awe as he walked into the chamber. He’d never seen a ship like this, not up close any way. Vaan couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. Balthier smirked.

“You like her, do you?” Vaan nodded absently.

“I’ve never seen a ship up close.” Balthier walked Vaan up to the ship as the door lowered and pulled the teen inside. Vaan gazed around the inside the ship, it was… The greatest thing he’d ever seen, and adrenaline pumped through his veins in excitement when he realized he was going to be in this thing while it took to the skies. Just like he’d always dreamed, although different circumstances would have been much preferred.

“Vaan, sit down.” Vaan moved over and sat down in the chair, immediately jumping when his hands were grabbed and tied behind the chair.

“Hey! Let me go!” Vaan cried when Balthier finished and the man stood in front of him with a quirked brow.

“What? You think I’m just going to risk letting you run a muck in my ship?” Vaan sneered.

“I wasn’t going to! Let me go!” Balthier turned toward the front of the ship where Fran was already seated and getting ready.

“Let’s take off.” Vaan snarled and struggled around in his binds, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Balthier.

“Will you just be quiet?”

“Fuck you!” Vaan snarled and Balthier shook his head as he began to flip switches and the power of the motor began its powerful hum. The boosters began to hiss and the ship began to shake. Vaan jerked his gaze up ahead to the cockpit, just being able to see out part of the front windshield when the darkness split and bathed the entire cabin area with blinding golden light.

Vaan froze and gasped when he realized the ship was beginning to move and the bottom of his stomach tickled when the ship angled backwards, leaning the blonde back in his seat before it shot off into the sky with a surprisingly smooth glide that once again tickled Vaan’s stomach.

When the trio were up in the air, Vaan’s heart was racing and a strange sort of overwhelming glee overtook him.

“Can you guys please let me go?” Balthier ignored him.

“Come on! I wanna see!” Vaan begged.

“No can do.” Balthier finally said and Vaan glared. He was finally in a flying ship, and he could barely see anything! Deciding to be the resourceful teen that he was, Vaan began to work a finger into his wrist band and fetched out a small knife just as wide as the gauntlet. Vaan grit his teeth when he relocated his hands to start sawing at the ropes.

I’ll show him…

It took a few hours of silence with a few words exchanged between Balthier and Fran before Vaan was successful in cutting through one rope, and after that, the wrapped binding fell loose to the floor behind his chair. Quickly stashing back his knife, Vaan watched the two a moment before slinking to the floor when Balthier seemed particularly distracted by something a gage was saying and complaining about bad maintenance, and then quickly disappearing into the hall where the hatch was located.

Standing up against the wall, Vaan saw a door across from him and with a cautious peek toward the cockpit, moved over toward it. Opening the door quietly Vaan slipped inside like the silent clever street rat that he was, and looked around to find himself in a small, but tasteful bedroom. There was just enough space to walk around the twin bed, and there was a closet built into the wall at his left, and a desk against the bed in the larger side of open space, but even that was particularly thin. But what caught Vaan’s attention was the drawn curtain over a small window.

Locking the door Vaan moved over toward the window and pulled open the curtain, gasping as he gazed at the misty white streams of clouds snaking alongside the ship. Down below he saw the planet, and all the green they were passing over. Vaan pressed his forehead to look straight down, in complete awe. He’d never seen so much green land. Only the land outside the western gate ever got green, but it was ugly and swampy. It looked beautiful down there.

“So, have you seen enough yet?” Vaan gasped and spun around, finding Balthier standing at the door with it open, holding up a lock pick. Vaan sputtered and fell against the small square window.

“I-I… Whose flying the ship?!” Balthier walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

“It’s on auto pilot. Fran can take care of the rest.” He looked up at Vaan.

“Now, may I ask why it is that you’re invading into my personal quarters?” Vaan floundered. Crap! He had wondered but…

“I just wanted to see! Is that so bad?!” Balthier stood up and walked up to Vaan, trapping him against the window.

“It is, when I tie you up and tell you to stay put.” Vaan glared and Balthier sighed.

“Can’t you be a good boy and be less of a pain?”

“You’re a jerk! An asshole! You’re already kidnapping me! Can’t you be satisfied that I can’t get away all the way up here in the air?!” Balthier leaned on his arm over Vaan’s head, his other arm blocking access toward the door.

“You’ve got quite a mouth, you know that. Perhaps I should get a bar of soap to wash it out.” Vaan glared.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Balthier smirked. Vaan grit his teeth and pushed into Balthier like a football player. Balthier stumbled back a step in surprise but quickly righted himself. Grabbing Vaan’s arm just as the boy was climbing over the bed, Balthier managed to tug the blonde teen back, but as soon as their chests met, the ship pitched and shook violently, throwing both of them off of their feet and onto the bed. Vaan gasped when Balthier’s heavy weight crushed on top of him and wiggled around, but froze when the ship shook again and Balthier braced himself on top of Vaan.

“Don’t move!” Balthier hissed and Vaan stopped breathing in anxiety when everything seemed to calm down. Looking up, Vaan felt his face heat up a little in embarrassment and heart pick up pace when he noticed how close Balthier’s lips were to his face, the good smell of whatever he was wearing, and his warm breath… Slowly, Balthier got up and stood straight. Vaan laid still, feeling slightly confused, and a little ashamed. Just as Balthier relaxed a little the ship pitched to the side and both flew against the wall, Balthier managing just in time to pull Vaan over in front of him so that Vaan, the lighter of the two, landed on him again.

“What’s going on Fran?!” Balthier cried but the door slammed shut. The ship righted itself and both men fell into a heap of tangled limbs on top of each other again on the bed. With a grunt Balthier quickly disentangled himself and moved toward the door, bracing against the wall as he opened the door and carefully made his way toward the cockpit. Vaan carefully followed his example, but another hard jolt knocked him over flat onto his back. Vaan’s head smacked hard, temporarily blinding the blonde in darkness before returning to normal. Vaan groaned and stumbled up, finally making his way to the cabin.

“Get in a seat and buckle up!” This time, Vaan quickly took his old seat and found the restraints.

“What’s going on?!” Balthier was hitting buttons and trying to steady the ship.

“We’re being attacked, that’s what!” Vaan’s heart jumped and his mouth fell open in horror when the front of a ship came right at them, pulling up just in time to grant them a view of its underbelly.

“They’re going to pay for this.” Balthier muttered as Fran took to returning a volley of their own shots.

“This thing has guns?!” Balthier once again corrected the ship’s movements, but something still seemed wrong. Were they… Going down?

“Damn! One of our thruster’s been hit!” Vaan’s heart raced faster than he ever remembered when he realized… They were no longer up in the sky, but falling to the planet…