Fanfiction - Final Fantasy XII (Basch/Vaan)

[fannish_nan]

WOW. So yeah, this was posted March 30th at kinkfest but I, for some reason, never posted it here. Uhm. I guess I'm going to have to go back through the archives and see what else I forgot about. XD

Title: Reckless
Author: nanthimus
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Pairing: Basch/Vaan
Rating: PG
Warning: Somewhat attempted humor? *g*
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Word Count: 912
Prompt: Final Fantasy XII, Basch/Vaan: status ailments - bright sun on the water




It happened so fast. One moment, they were walking together - Vaan talking animatedly about his plans to become a Sky Pirate, and Basch listening, making the occasional short comment or quiet chuckle - the next, they were surrounded by Marlboros. This wasn’t a type of monster that Basch particularly enjoyed fighting. Vaan, however, gave a whoop of excitement and immediately brandished his sword.

The battle was short-lived, with Basch striking the final blow. His spear left the monster a crumbled mess on the grass.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Basch looked over at Vaan with a small smile. “Glad to see a bit of action?” he asked, strapping the spear to his back. When Vaan didn’t answer, didn’t even look at him, Basch frowned and stepped forward. “Vaan?”

At the sound of his name, Vaan whirled around, eyes wide and dark, face pale. Basch cursed. He’s been Confused.

“Who…who’s there?” Vaan asked, swinging his sword unsteadily in the air as he took several steps backwards.

Basch paused. I can’t let him get away, he thought, eyes narrowing. If Vaan escaped in his current state, he would be helpless against the monsters. “It’s me. It’s Basch,” he said, watching Vaan carefully. “I’m your friend.”

Vaan cocked his head to one side, eyes almost vacant. “Basch?”

“Yes.” Basch stepped forward again cautiously. “You’ve been hit by Confusion. We need to get to Balthier or Ashe. They can help you.”

Vaan seemed to ponder these words for a moment, face scrunched up in thought, before his gaze hardened and the grip on his sword firmed.

“You’re lying.” He said, raising his sword and getting into a defensive stance. “You’re lying!” He launched himself at Basch, swinging wildly. Basch dodged the deadly blade and stepped behind Vaan quickly, grabbing hold of his wrists and squeezing, feeling the bones grind together. Vaan cried out and dropped the weapon.

“Damn it, Vaan,” Basch said, pulling Vaan close, hands still tight around Vaan’s wrists. “I don’t want to hurt you!” Basch had known, he’d known that they should have brought Ashe or Balthier, someone who specialized in restorative magicks. But Vaan had insisted that they go together, apart from the rest of the party. When Vaan had made that suggestion with a wide grin and hopeful eyes, Basch had found himself unable to do anything other than acquiesce.

Now look at us, he thought, still gripping Vaan’s wrists as the boy struggled, pushing backwards against Basch before throwing himself forward. Suddenly, he went limp, falling to his knees. Basch fell behind him, arm wrapped tightly around Vaan.

“No, no, no, no,” Vaan moaned, shaking his head.

“Hush,” Basch murmured against his ear, rocking him back and forth as if he were a child. “I’m not going to hurt you Vaan.” Slowly, he transferred both of Vaan’s wrists to one hand, the other going down to rest on his hip, steadying him. “I just want to help you.”

The shaking of his head stopped but Basch could still hear whimpers deep in Vaan’s throat. So he kept rocking him, resting his cheek against golden hair and staring out into the distance. There’s a river up just ahead, he noticed absently; the sun shone bright against the trickling water.

After a moment, the whimpers stopped and Vaan was limp in Basch’s grasp. Basch realized he was stroking the smooth hardness of Vaan’s abdomen, fingers tracing muscles absently. He jerked his hand away and froze as Vaan tensed up, a fearful cry erupting.

“Shh.” Basch murmured, immediately petting Vaan again. I’m just helping him, he thought. I’m just comforting him. He didn’t admit to the pleasure he felt at touching Vaan, at feeling the boy relax into him.

He didn’t.

It was at least an hour before Basch heard someone approach and he immediately tensed, grip tightening on Vaan as he looked up.

“Well, isn’t this a pretty sight,” Balthier said, standing before them, hands on his hips, a smirk on his generous lips. “Just what’s going on here?”

“Vaan’s Confused,” Basch said shortly, seeing Balthier’s teasing for what it was but not in the mood to take the bait.

Balthier raised his eyebrows and knelt down in front of Vaan. “I knew it was a mistake for you two to go off on your own,” he said, eyes trailing over Vaan’s face before glancing behind him at Basch. “Why did you agree?”

Basch didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t answer. “Help him,” he said.

Balthier sighed and stood up. “Fine,” he said. “Although you could have just hit him. That certainly would have woken him up.” He raised an eyebrow at Basch’s glare before closing his eyes, casting Esuna on Vaan.

Basch loosened his hold on Vaan as Vaan slumped forward, catching himself before he hit the ground. “Whoa,” he said, shaking his head before stumbling to his feet. Basch stood beside him and Vaan looked up at him, normal confusion in his eyes.

“What happened?” he asked, brow furrowed.

“Nothing,” he said. “You were just Confused for a moment.” Unable to meet Vaan’s eyes, he looked away and came face to face with Balthier, who smirked knowingly. Basch scowled, turning from both of them. “Come now,” he said. “We should meet up with the others.” Without waiting for them, he started walking and heard them follow, talking amongst themselves.

Basch sighed deeply. I think everything would be simpler if I just partnered up with Penelo next time.