Balthier/Vaan Week 2020

XIINE- A zine showcasing the creative talent and passion in the Final Fantasy XII Fandom

“He pulls off the helmet to reveal a head of pale, sun-bleached hair and bronze skin, confirming Balthier’s earlier suspicions. He’s young, even younger than Balthier thought. The fullness of his face suggests that he’s not even past twenty. Hardly old enough to be called a man, let alone a Judge.”

A slightly belated entry for BalVaan Week 2020, day 6: Judge. In which Vaan joined the Empire after Dalmasca’s surrender to seek revenge from within, and is now the youngest Judge Magister in history. Little does Balthier know that he’s not what he seems…

Chapter Two is up today for “Eat the Sun”, a Balthier/Vaan fic. 

Two months have passed since the Bahamut fell. Balthier was just getting used to his new life as a Nobody, until a certain Somebody showed up.

excerpt– It was an unspoken protocol for the able-bodied refugees to volunteer in the day-to-day duties throughout the sanctuary. Balthier, though little help he could be in terms of hunting and fishing, could at least help keep watch over the chocobo pen that afternoon. It wasn’t a tough job. Gurdy did most of the charming as she waved over riders and sent them off, leaving Balthier to wander among the birds and make sure their saddles were secure and feed-bags were full.

There was some fun in it, at least. Stationed at the entrance of the encampment, he was in a prime spot for eavesdropping all manner of conversations; merchants, travelers, hunters all stopped through on their missions. It was fairly busy. From beneath his hood, Balthier collected tales from far and wide. It kept his mind busy on things that weren’t his exhaustion or the ache in his leg.

He was on the far side of the pen, tending to a Chocobo who had just returned, when a distant voice nearly knocked him off his crutch.

“Hey! Long time no see! What’s happening?”

Vaan.

Balthier’s nerves seized like a fish speared below the ice, freezing him in place. Faced away from the direction of Vaan’s voice, he stared straight ahead and dared not to breathe. How had he known where to find him ?

Chapter 1: here

Chapter 2: here

Words: 7.7k Rating: M Additional Tags: Blood and Gore, in-game Summary: That night, Vaan listened to the far-off ghosts of Nabudis. Lives taken by the deifacted nethicite, they were left to wander between heaven and hell. It made Vaan shiver. Would they haunt the barren halls and hills of their kingdom until the end of days? Would they ever be laid to rest? Did they die knowing they were loved?

Did Reks?

Read here

For BalVaan Week, day 3: Clandestine.

I decided to go with one of my favourite themes here - Victorian AU! I read somewhere that pulling on the right glove while leaving the thumb exposed was one of the many ways to flirt back in the way, supposedly meaning “kiss me”. It fit perfectly for what I had in mind for this day.

Chapters: ½ Words: 4.3k Rating: Mature Relationships: Balthier/Vaan Characters: Balthier, Vaan, Fran Additional Tags: Post-Game Summary:

After the events on the Bahamut, Balthier seeks something for insomnia, and waits for the world to forget his name. Hopefully Vaan does not.

Written for @balvaanweek, day one: “Reunited/Dreaming About the Other”

That night, Balthier steeped a pinch in a small tin cup of hot water. The crutch laid at his feet, and across from him Fran applied ointment to her ear in a tiny mirror.

“Think it’ll work?” Balthier asked, taking another sniff from the cup.

“I told you thrice: it did not strike me as noxious.”

Nor did the old man, necessarily, but it didn’t hurt to make sure. “Will you have a sip with me?”

“You would have me go along with your every wild whim?”

“Forgive my gross assumption. You only followed me into the Bahamut,” Balthier reminded her.

Fran plucked the cup from his hands and poured half into her own.

Holding up his tin, Balthier winked. “To a life of a nobody.”

The Steps Between You And I on AO3

Fandom: Final Fantasy XII Pairing: Balthier/Vaan Word count: 2625

Two years after the Bahamut, Rabanastre is busy preparing to celebrate the first year anniversary of Queen Ashe’s coronation. Vaan hasn’t heard from Balthier after their brief rendezvous in Rozarria. Just as he’s started accepting that the bonds of their past companionship are all but severed, he runs into a familiar face in the celebrating city, and old feelings come back in a rush.