Areyougame 2011 prompt #1

[nal_rene]

Title: A Partner Lost
Author: nal_rene
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word count: 320
Prompt: Final Fantasy XII, Fran/Balthier: Sorrow - Love is not all
Summary:  Balthier speculates the end of a great partnership.
A/N: I apologize for being somewhat late with this. The formatting decided to die on me.
 

 

They didn't know how it ended, or rather, when the end began. One minute they were laughing, sipping cheap wine and eating stale bread, needing few things other than adventure, the sky, and each other. He loved her and she him; What else could they want or need? What else was more important?
 

They had a chemistry that was unparalleled.
 

Then she woke one day and was different; Fran looked at him differently and spoke to him as if he were common. She took more trips to the cities. He spent more time alone on the ship that used to be theirs.

 

Balthier had always known she would leave him one day. Seven years was a long time.

 

When he woke in Balfonheim with a bounty hunter's knife to his neck instead of a soft laugh from his beloved Fran, he knew things had fallen apart. They were no longer in sync.

 

Love, it seems, is not all a partnership needs.

 

Did he not give her enough adventure? Did he cage her? Or had he simply become of no use to her anymore?As they flew to Rabanaster, he wondered if this would be the end.

 

The Goddess Magecite their last adventure, their last treasure.

 

They touched down in the busy aerodrome and Balthier caught Fran's arm before she could exit the Strahl. "The city will be rife with tension over the next few days. Remember the plan," he said firmly. "We watch, wait, and when the Solidor comes to take over the city, we grab the rock and run."
 

After a moment of inspecting his expression, the viera nodded. "I remember," She pushed the button that would bring down the stairs. "Perhaps 'twould be in your best interest not to draw any undue attention."
 

His confident smirk became a painful mask, "You're probably right, as always. Be careful, Fran."
 

With a flick of her hair she replied coolly, "Of course."