A/N: I was very happy to receive this request, because the idea is just too awesome x3 It turned out to be a little longer than I had planned, but since my fics are usually very short, I'm quite happy it ended like this. Thanks for the request, please enjoy! :Meresta
Summary: Balthier knows his apprentice has a passion for airships. Now he just has to teach him the skills to go with it.
Rating: PG-13+
Warnings: Slightly suggesting a malexmale pairing, use of weapons.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XII

Passion

Vaan couldn't sit still. He constantly shifted in his chair, eyes impatiently moving from Fran to Balthier in anticipation. The two pirates tried to ignore him, but this turned out to be quite a hard task to accomplish.

When Vaan started bouncing in his chair, Balthier got up from his, eyeing Fran with a look that begged her to just get this over with. Vaan almost gasped at the action, and if he had a tail, he would waggle it with all he had. Balthier sighed at the thief, finding his nervousness both endearing and annoying.

"Well then, I believe we have a promise to keep." The older pirate started carefully, not wanting the boy to jump a hole in his ship. It was close, because Vaan shot up from his seat like it was on fire.
"Finally!" He exclaimed, running towards the control room.
Balthier glanced at his partner, a look of doubt and fear clearly present. She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled.
"It will be fine."
Balthier blinked, and coughed.
"Of course. He'll be learning from the best, after all."
Fran frowned with elegance, yet decided to keep quiet. He was going to have a hard time as it was, he didn't need her help.

When they arrived in the control room, Vaan had seated himself in the 'driver's' seat, and Balthier felt almost relieved that he hadn't started trying out all the buttons yet. He was grateful to have passed on the 'self-destruct' mechanism a Moogle had once kindly offered him.

Fran took the seat next to him, filling her role as navigator as Balthier stood behind Vaan, placing his hands on the back of the chair.
"Alright." He started, finishing his quick prayer to please let all of them survive. "Let's get her up. Do you remember the procedure?"
Vaan snorted, it scared Balthier a little.
"Are you kidding? I can dream it."
"Well, I'd rather have you execute it then, if you please."

Vaan nodded, the smile on his face fading a little into a focused stare. His hands flew to several buttons and switches, the Strahl humming contently under his touches as she came loose from the ground. Vaan's movements were fluid, flawless, and for a moment Balthier thought this was going to be alright after all. Even Fran was surprised, looking over her shoulder to eye her partner in cheerful question.

Once in the air, Vaan held still, waiting for instructions. Balthier, still a little stunned from the earlier show of skill, coughed and came to.
"Great. Now." He leant forward just a little bit, to be able to point to the right pedals. "Press into the left pedal to supply energy. Just press it lightly, or she'll get overheated. Press into the right one to get her going. I assume I won't have to explain the steering."
Vaan nodded, and Balthier could swear he heard him giggling.

He could register seeing Vaan press down, before the ship shot forward like a rocket, shooting Balthier all the way back against the door with a dull thud. Almost immediately the ship came to an halt again, and now the older pirate was sure he heard Vaan giggle.

Fran did all she could to repress a chuckle at Vaan's faint 'sorry'. Balthier rubbed the back of his head and got back behind him, holding the chair a little tighter now.
"Lightly Vaan, lightly."

Gods, didn't that boy understand that you had to treat a ship with love?

Vaan was not as able as Fran, and laughed nervously. His feet pressed into the pedal again, a little less reckless. The result was a little less fun as well, as the Strahl got into motion. He flew her a short distance, slowly. When he came to a stop again, Balthier let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"Alright, now let's get into making turns. You may have realized by now that the Strahl is a very sensitive girl, so keep that in mind. Move slow."
Vaan nodded and pressed the pedal again. His speed picked up a little, but not enough for anyone to be alarmed by it.

They were alarmed when Vaan turned the steer like he was street racing.

Balthier's grip on the chair wasn't strong enough to keep him standing and he flew to the other side of the room for the second time since they started this lesson. Luckily, he managed to break his fall with his hands, saving himself a few bruises.
In an attempt to get the ship straight again, Vaan threw the steer into the other direction, sending Balthier to almost tackle Fran off her chair. This time, she couldn't repress her laugh, receiving a lethal glare in return. Vaan kept steering from left to right, short, sharp movements causing the entire ship to shake.
"STOP!" Balthier shouted, and Vaan let go of the steer and stopped the pressure on the pedals.

That wasn't a smart move either.

The ship suddenly bent forward, sinking towards the ground in a killing speed. Without second thought Balthier shot forward, not even bothering to throw Vaan out of his seat as he moved over him. Vaan's slight blush got by unnoticed as Balthier saved his ship from dying a horrible death, getting her back in the sky with a few concentrated movements.

This time, Fran wasn't feeling much like laughing.

"Could you please.. not let go of both pedals simultaneously.." Balthier breathed, heartbeat still high in his throat as he moved back. Vaan nodded, still very startled, and Balthier found slight comfort in knowing he didn't do it on purpose. His hands found the steer again, though slightly shaken, they were still determined to get this right.
Balthier, however, wasn't so sure determination alone would be enough. He leant over slightly and placed his hands over his. Fran glanced sideways and hid a smirk, Vaan's second blush not going by unnoticed.

"Alright. Press the pedals again." He said in a low tone, and Vaan complied, carefully pressing down. The Strahl started humming again and both pirate and pirate-to-be, took a deep breath.
"Careful now.." He pressed his hands a little further into Vaan's, and moved the steer slightly to the left. The ship moved fluidly and made a perfect turn. They did another one, this time to the right, and Vaan steered along with Balthier's hands.
Slowly, hesitantly, Balthier released his grip on the steer.
"Easy.." He said, watching as Vaan made the next turn. He got it right this time, the ship moving with grace through a few passing clouds.

"You did it!" Balthier said, a little happier than he should have sounded, but Vaan couldn't hear it. His ears were full with the sound of his heartbeat and the flow of adrenaline, coursing fast through his body. With that, he picked up the speed a little, making sharper turns.

They were still stable, just faster, and Balthier considered stopping him for a moment. Fran considered the same thing, but Vaan seemed to have gotten the hang of it.

He had.

A confident smile slowly appeared on his features as he let the Strahl dance at the touch of his fingers, and Balthier's smile found its way back to his lips. This was the way. Fran smiled as well, realizing the flying styles of Vaan and her partner were very much alike.

"I believe you're ready to take on some of the secondary commands." Balthier said. He moved over and pointed at a tiny green button. "These are the extra lights. Use them when the skies are clouded, or when it's too dark to see ahead. Try them out."
Vaan nodded, and concentrated, moving his hand from the steer to press the button. The ship shook just a little, but Vaan managed to keep her under control as the lights created beams in the sky before him.
"Great, now turn them off again."
Vaan did, and this time the ship didn't shake.

Then, Fran turned a switch, and a small panel on Vaan's control board opened. It had a few different colored switches, accompanied by same colored buttons.
"These are her arms. I'll explain those to you some other time, this is just for you to see their location. Only a navigator can open up the panel to use them, so it is very important to communicate during your flight."
Vaan nodded again, and just as Fran was going to close the panel again, a bird flew right before the ship's front window. It startled Vaan and he hit the brakes, launching Balthier forward, against the panel.

The Strahl made a few low sounds as a small missile was shot. Balthier got back up quickly, almost not daring to look where the tiny bomb would land. Fran clasped a hand for her mouth and Vaan could only stare in shock.

Balthier didn't feel like paying for blowing up some random building, so he took over the controls and launched another missile. The two collided and exploded in the air.

Balthier felt himself relax at the sound and Fran quickly closed the panel, while Vaan still looked pretty much brain dead. Balthier waved a hand before his eyes, snapping him back into reality.
"Let's save the fireworks for more special occasions, shall we?"

His voice was still a little shaken, but it held a smile all the same. After all, they were still living after two full hours of teaching Vaan how to fly. That was an accomplishment on its own.

Vaan nodded again, mumbling something sounding like agreement. When his hands reached back for the steer, Balthier quickly grabbed hold of it first.
"Why don't we stop here, for now." He didn't want to push his luck.
"Yeah.." When disappointment laced around his words, Balthier found himself a little touched. Sighing, he eyed Fran, who simply smiled in return.
"Oh well, we might as well tackle landing while we're at it."

Vaan's eyes lit up again and Balthier let go of the steer, leaving his apprentice at full control. He flew her back to the desert without any commotion, and held still in the air, waiting for further support.
"Alright. While Fran gets the ship ready to land, it's your job to make sure your energy input is as low as possible. The lower it is, the smoother your landing will be, the happier we'll be when we hit the ground."
"Okay." Fran flipped a few switches as Vaan steadily lessened the pressure on the left panel. Balthier was almost surprised that he didn't mess it up, since it was quite a hard thing to do.

"You can land now." Fran said, and Balthier nodded.
"Great. Now, carefully tilt the steer towards you."
Vaan did as he was told, and the ship slowly lowered. He took his time and Balthier was grateful for it, shaking just a little as the Strahl hit the sandy ground.

He held back a shout of 'we're alive!' and settled for a 'great job!' instead.

Fran got up, patted Vaan on the shoulder to let him know he did alright, and retreated. When Vaan didn't get up from his chair, Balthier took the place of navigator and looked at him in a mixture of pride and disbelief.

Okay. So he could get her up. He could get her down. He could pretty much fly her, as long as he didn't have to press any buttons while doing it.

That was.. quite amazing, for his first try.

"So.." Vaan started carefully, glancing sideways to catch Balthier's gaze. "..how did I do?"
Balthier smiled.
"Good enough. Seems like you're talented."
This made Vaan's face light up with so much joy it almost made Balthier look away. Almost.

He decided he did not regret giving Vaan this lesson. It would come in handy later on, and Balthier couldn't deny it boosted his ego a little, being able to say that Vaan learned it all from him.

"So.." Vaan started again, this time a little less careful. "..when will we do this again?"
Balthier blinked, and coughed.
"Let's just, revise some more theory first."

Vaan, though slightly disappointed, nodded again. Balthier watched him as he left the control room, and shook his head, chuckling. There was still a lot he had to learn, but hey, at least he had the passion.

He considered teaching him alone, next time.

Fin.

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