A/N: Well everyone, this is it! The 13th and final chapter of 'Starts with a T'! Anyone who has been reading the series up until now must know that I enjoy taking romance very, very slow, but now there's nothing to wait for. I will leave another authors note at the end of the chapter, so please check it out. As for now, I have only one more thing to say before we begin: Please enjoy! :Meresta
Summery: The Rains can certainly kill ones mood, but there's no sea in Ivalice that could drown their love. When given the choice to sink or swim, what will our sky pirates do?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A malexmale pairing, romance capable of handing out cavities, a long awaited gesture of love.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XII.

Together

When Vaan woke up, it was past noon. The rains made darkness come earlier and Vaan realized he had slept through most of the day. It surprised him slightly, as normally Balthier would have woken him up much earlier. He sat up, blinking a few times, before he reached for his head with signs of pain on his features. Ouch, that did explain a lot. A soft knock made him look up.

"..Yeah?"
The door opened and Balthier took a few steps inside.
"Ah, you're awake."
Vaan nodded, unsure of what to say.
"Had a good rest? The headache lessens with time, but I think you've slept through the worst."
"Yeah.. thanks." His voice still sounded sleepy and the wheat blond coughed.
A short silence fell.
"I've made lunch, though it's quite past lunchtime already. Dinner will be a bit messy as the dishes from yesterday haven't been done yet."
"Thanks, I'll be out in a minute."
Balthier nodded, and left the room.
Vaan wasn't really sure if he should be grateful or not, with Balthier conveniently avoiding what he had confessed last night.

The wheat blond felt frightened, of what he had done. Afraid of rejection, of having spoiled it all. It was like the entire atmosphere between him and his partner had changed completely, and this all in just a few hours. It hurt him deeply, making him feel sick, but he had no clue on how to make it stop.

Lunch was finished quickly, with no words exchanged between the two pirates. It was a silence, but not the ones they used to have. This one was uncomfortable, slightly pushing, until Vaan decided to break it.
"So, what will be our next heading?"
Balthier seemed to think for a moment.
"I don't know. The weather makes it hard for us to travel and we've gone by most of the indoor places already."
"Then.." Vaan put his cup back on the table, careful not to let it hit the tabletop too hard. "maybe we should take a break?"
"A break?"
"..Yeah. We have enough Gil to live on for a while, we could take things easy.."
"Are you suggesting to put our partnership on hiatus?"
The younger pirate seemed startled.
"No, not at all!" That really wasn't what he meant. "I just.. I haven't been in the mood for pirating lately."
Balthier frowned. This wasn't like Vaan at all.
"Vaan.." He moved over to sit next to him, looking at him with serious eyes. "Is something wrong?"
The wheat blond shook his head.
"I..guess I'm just tired. I'm sorry."
Balthier got up and reached out for Vaan, who gave him a questioning look.
"Come with me, I have something to show you."

Vaan took his partner's hand and followed him, all the way up to the deck, where sunset was coloring the sky in clear shades of red, orange and purple. Being where they were, the Phon Coast could be seen not too far away, the water reflecting the last sunrays with glimmering perfection. Vaan stared, in awe, feeling his head clear up a little.

"This.. this is beautiful."
Balthier walked up next to him.
"Remember when we agreed to partnership, Vaan?"
The wheat blond chuckled.
"You mean when I bribed you to become my partner, yes."
The brunet grimaced. "You could've used better liquor."
They both smiled, then the older pirate continued.
"It's been over a year now."
Vaan turned to face him, wanting to know what he's getting at.

Balthier could feel his heart beating faster, as he gathered the final bit of courage he needed to pull through. This was it.

"I don't know what killed your mood for pirating Vaan, and if you don't want to, I am not going to ask for an explanation. I just wanted to remind you of something."
Vaan opened his mouth to explain, but was silenced by a finger, decorated with colorful rings.
"I made a promise to you, to always stay pirates and to always keep flying. You should know by now that I'm a man of my word." He retreated his fingers, but Vaan stayed silent. Balthier sighed.
"If you want to run, then do so. I won't stop you from leaving."
Vaan turned his gaze to his feet, still not speaking.
"Just know that I will chase you." The younger pirate looked up, surprised.
"..What?"
"I'll chase you, tail you, every step you take. I'll bribe you with every single gem I own and all the bottles of horrible liquor we have collected over time." He placed a hand upon Vaan's shoulder.
"Point is, that I.."
That's when Balthier lost his words and dropped his head, and Vaan finally started to speak.
"I'm not going anywhere."
The brunet looked up, awaiting his words.
"I..wouldn't even know where to go. You're.. you're my partner, right? Aren't we supposed to stick together?"
Balthier averted his eyes.
"I'm not sure if we have the same definition of partnership anymore."
"Well I can tell you mine." Vaan said, a little louder than his previous words.

"It means working together, as a team, to reach every goal we want to reach. It means bickering over who gets to fly and who gets to navigate, every time we set sail. It means sharing our thoughts and fears, even when there's nothing we can do about it."
Vaan smiled, the most gentlest of smiles, and continued.
"It means chasing mice away. It means sleeping in hammocks, when the thought of dust is enough to make you choke. It means taking care of the other when they're sick, and coping with giggling couples in the guest room." He paused to take a breath.
"..To me, it means the world, and I wouldn't trade anything for it."

Balthier met his eyes, and took a step forward, getting closer to the younger pirate.

"Are you sure you want to stay in that world Vaan. Things never stay the same, you know."
"What I know.." He looked at the ground again, his heart pounding uncontrollably; Balthier was close. "What I know, is that I want to stay here. With you."
"Then our definitions might not be as far apart as I first presumed.."
Vaan looked up to find Balthier already looking at him, moving closer still. Tanned hands found bare shoulders, and pulled the wheat blond gently against leather clothes. The difference in height had Vaan tilting up his head just the slightest, as Balthier leant in to do what he should have done much, much earlier.

Their lips touched, softly; carefully, as if they were still doubting. That doubt soon disappeared as their kiss grew more intense, strong yet tender as they pressed closer still. Of all words existing, none could describe this feeling, this taste, for it was everything. The love they felt, growing stronger and stronger each day, finally became visible, tangible, in the form of each other. How they had waited so long for this moment to arrive, here they were now, wishing it would never, ever end.

They parted, even more careful than they had collided, and pulled back just enough to look each other in the eye. The thought of breathing didn't occur to either of them, and Balthier pressed another short, yet firm kiss on Vaan's lips. He blinked, and Balthier smiled.
"For good measure."
"I love you."
"I love you too." Saying these words felt like flying without an airship, and an enormous feeling of relief overcame them both now they had finally confessed their true feelings for each other.
They were finally together.

Balthier's hand sneaked down to find Vaan's, and held it tightly. The sun had set , leaving the sky to show it's stars, the moon not yet in sight.

"Hey, Balthier."
"Hm?"
"We still have to do the dishes."

Their eyes met, and Balthier answered Vaan's playful grin with a small, tender kiss.

"Dishes can wait."

Fin.

Author's Note.
Well everyone, it seems like this is it. Started at the end of July, this series of oneshots has come to an end. I hope you have all enjoyed the ride, because I certainly have. Writing the final chapter was fun, though I couldn't deny feeling a little bit sad about ending this.
Now for the thank you's;
StarsOfYaoi; For helping me out when I had no clue on how to write something, for coping with my endless rants, and for inspiring me to write Trespasser. You're awesome 3
MyraHellsing, Sadistic Kakashi-FotJNB, Difficile, CuriousDreamWeaver, Sakura Moon, dlvdiva, Unicaty solidsoul, mfm2885 and Akira-of-the-Demons; For reviewing and telling me what you think. You guys really kept me going, thank you all so much!
Everyone who added this to their alert stories; I really wish I could list all of you here, but than the note would turn out to be longer than the chapter x3 Anyway, thank you so much for keeping track of the series, it's been a great motivation!
All readers; For, well, reading! Thanks a lot!

So now you might be wondering if there will be a sequel. I'm not really sure yet, but if you have any suggestions or ideas I would love to hear them. Somewhere during the next week I will start publishing my new Balthier/Vaan story, which has a little less humor and a little more angst, but the same amount of romance all the way through. If you feel like it, please check it out once it's there. For now, I'm tuning out! Take care you all~!

:Meresta