Preparations

Ashe had found herself pacing around the manse. It would take a couple of days for the special skystone to be installed in Balthier’s Strahl. Unfortunate, she thought to herself, since the airship was so small. It would be an uncomfortably tight ride for the seven of them, but at least the sky pirate had been on good behavior lately.

She smirked. Hell, who was she kidding? The pirate was on his best behavior she was sure he could muster up, though he had been grumbling about the manse today, followed by a very amused Viera. She could only assume that he was currently upset over the workers in his airship, since he was rather obsessive over who did work on her. It made no difference to her though.

Ashe was anxious to leave for the Pharos. The Occuria were haunting her, and she was still unsure of the path she would take. Every moment her mind harped on the subject. It made her snap even faster then normal, though everyone let it go, knowing the reasons behind her frustrations all too well.

Well, maybe not all of them.

She ignored it nearly all the time, but in moments of stress, her body would speak to her in ways it speaks to any average young woman. Perhaps in a better time and place, she would be able to give into the urges that threatened to consume her inside and out. Instead, she would only chastise herself, angered that her body threatened to distract her from the far more important matters at hand. Now, as her head hurt from the events of late reeling in her mind, her body screamed for attention that could only be provided intimately. Normally she could get the adrenaline out by rushing out and fighting some local fiends or convince Basch to spar with her. But he was currently in town picking up supplies. And even so, he was insisting on everyone conserving their strength and resting these days. It only added to her pent up frustration.

Ashe stopped in her tracks and looked at the airship resting in the small hangar connected to the manse where Reddas had mechanics working on the Strahl during the day. She was not surprised to see that she had anxiously appeared before the object that would bring them to the Pharos.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of stealing her again, Princess,” came the familiar Archadian accent. “Because I’m afraid she isn’t flying at the moment.” There was a pause as Ashe looked over her shoulder to watch Balthier walk next to her. “Not even anywhere. Damn mechanics tearing her inside out…” The last part Ashe knew was not directed at her but only a general frustration he allowed to leak out. He huffed and put his hands on his hips before looking to his left.

Ashe realized he was waiting for a response. She only smirked. “I thought nothing of the sorts. Unfortunately, it appears I must be more patient then I desire.”

Balthier smirked. “So if you’re not here to steal my ship, then I must ask why you’re here staring at her. I must say, I didn’t take you to be the kind to stand back and admire an airship.”

Ashe rolled her eyes slightly. “I only came to see how preparations were coming along,” she lied. She had too much pride to give Balthier an opportunity to make a joke at her idle wandering and what was really going on in her head.

“I see,” he answered, eying her carefully. The sky pirate took only a few steps forward before stopping. His head was turned over his left shoulder while his right arm extended towards the Strahl. “Well, shall we?”

Ashe nodded and followed him inside of his beloved airship. They took a left into the engine room. Balthier stopped abruptly and cursed at the sight of tools and metal pieces strewn about the engine room. As he carried on about the “Damn mechanics” once more, and the sorts, Ashe crashed right into him.

Balthier staggered a bit, but managed not to topple onto the messy floor. Ashe was so confused that she hadn’t realized that her right hand clung to his hip and her left hand gripped his left bicep through his shirt in a desperate attempt to keep herself upright. “All right there Princess?” He asked, not even looking at her.

But Ashe didn’t hear the words that he had spoken to her. She was lost for a moment in the feel of her body against his. Her senses tingled at the feel of his muscle beneath his clothes that her hands were gripped to and his scent that she was familiar with. His voice was icing on the cake that she was selfishly devouring.

After a few moments, Balthier became slightly confused. His right hand reached up to touch hers that clung to his left arm as he looked over his shoulder. “Ashe?”

Ashe shook her head slightly, trying to snap herself out of whatever trance she had just fallen into. She quickly pulled herself away and mumbled an apology. Her eyes focused on anything but him, especially intently staring at a screwdriver left behind by the mechanics. Balthier looked directly into her eyes for a moment, an eyebrow perking at what he saw.

Ashe drew in a deep breath as he placed a hand on her shoulder to sneak behind her. Her eyes continued to roam around the engine room as she attempted to regain herself. But her hands tingled from touching him. The skin on her shoulder burned from the gentle touch of his hand as he passed her.

Balthier stopped for a moment at the doorway that connected the hallway to the engine room. He drew in a deep breath silently, thinking for a second about the look in her eyes. He knew that look to be one of desire. The half closed eye lids, the dilated pupil… the tell tale signs of desire that every sky pirate seemed to be trained to recognize. But why in heavens name was she giving him that look? And the lingering touch… Not that he minded. It had been a good amount of time since he felt the intimate touch of a woman, and he craved it just as much as any other sex deprived man. But it was probably not the best idea to pursue such an interest in the future queen of Dalmasca. Not a good way to lower his bounty, he knew.

“You coming?” He asked after several moments, staring straight into the hallway.

Ashe’s eyes snapped open at his question, and she couldn’t believe the thoughts going through her head. There was no way she could give into these desires. With a few quick breaths she turned around to him and nodded, trying to pretend as though nothing were going on.

Balthier turned towards her once again. “Let’s go check the rest of the ship and see what we need to pick up tomorrow.”

“Right,” Ashe replied and quickly following him out of the engine room.

His mind reeled, curious as to what just transgressed in the engine room. He also found himself wanting to push the limits and see where this could lead. A small grin slipped over his face as a plan came to him. “In here,” he told her, leading her into a fairly tight supply room. “You start in these bins,” Balthier began, motioning to the two large bins on the floor to the right. “And I’ll start up here.” Ashe nodded as he pointed to the cabinets that were on the left wall and turned to begin. Balthier’s gaze lingered for a moment as she knelt down then leaned over the bin. He turned to the cabinet and went through the motions for a few moments to be believable. He then turned to check the cabinet above Ashe, and made sure to stand as close to her as he could.

The moments seem to drag out for him before she finally rose without looking. Ashe leaned against him accidentally but then jumped away in surprise. Balthier quirked an eyebrow as he wrapped his right arm around her waist to keep her from falling into the bin. “All right there Princess?” He asked casually.

“My apologies,” Ashe began as she turned in his arm to face him, finding him so close again that she swore she could just breath him in. She tried to continue to speak but Balthier met her gaze and she was speechless. And his hand softly tracing circles or squares or triangles – or whatever the hell it was!- on her lower back and it felt so unbelievably good to her. She took a few breaths to try to regain her composure, but with Balthier’s arm around her, there was just no stopping the aching her body felt.

There were no more words said between them, just a long gaze between them that threatened to completely undo them. Balthier was now positive about the look he had seen in Ashe’s eyes, and his heart began to race. Upon feeling his heart race, Ashe’s mind screamed out for her to push him away and return to her room. A long bath would make her feel better and within the next couple of days she would be in the Pharos killing more then her fair share of monsters.

But after a few more moments, she knew she was losing the will to push him away. He was so warm and inviting. She relished in the feeling of being held by him, something she had not truly had in years, and his scent was driving her off the deep end. And in only a moment, he brought his lips to hers, tentatively kissing her to see what her reaction would be. When she didn’t push away, he deepened, eagerly nibbling at her lower lip.

As soon as the nibbling started, Ashe knew she had lost the battle she had been fighting, and steadily losing, over the evening. Without even realizing, she was fervently returning the kiss. One hand clung to his waist while her other found the back of his neck to press him into her. They continued this motion, each pulling the other closer to them for a few more moments, until Balthier finally pulled away. He watched her reaction carefully while trying to catch his breath. “Ashe…” He whispered. Before he could continue, Balthier was once again surprised when she closed the gap between them. One of his hands slowly traveled up her back eliciting a small moan from her. As if that weren’t enough to drive him crazy, she just had to slide one of her hands under his vest and pull at his shirt.

He pushed her away for a moment and kept her at arm’s length while they caught their breath. “Ashe… If we keep this up…” Ashe watched his eyes carefully, her heart fluttering as she tried to find words to answer him. But desire worked its magic on the two of them, and logic was quickly losing its grip as their eyes wandered over each others’ bodies. Their eyes met again, the two of them grinning. “Are you sure?”

Ashe pulled him back close to her again, craving his warmth again. She nodded and began to speak “If you’ll have…“ She was unable to finish before Balthier leaned his head down and eagerly kissed her again. Within moments Balthier had one hand on her back to hold her close, and the other across her chest, massaging one of her breasts gently. He was granted a soft sigh when his lips moved to her neck and his thumb moved over her nipple a couple of times. She quickly pulled his shirt out of his pants and moved her hands beneath it, her hands burning from the contact.

He kissed his way back to her ear while one hand began to creep its way up her thigh. She moaned his name as his hand teased her slowly. Ashe continued to moan softly as it brushed against her through her underwear, but nothing solid enough to grant her any relief. She wriggled against him in frustration, but he managed to keep the touches just light enough that she knew where his hand was. She cursed softly, finding her body screaming louder for attention he seemed to be denying her. Balthier nibbling the neck beneath her ear softly as a single finger plunged into her. He could only feel himself grow harder as she moaned his name, seemingly more satisfied now. Ashe gripped him closer to her as she felt him continue whatever ministrations he was currently using on her. It seemed only a short time later that she was pressing her fingers into his back and sighed the sweet sigh Balthier knew was her release.

And at that point, he knew he had to have her.

While Ashe was catching her breath, he kissed her ear. “Let’s move this somewhere a bit more comfortable, shall we?” He breathed into her ear, causing her to shudder against him.

“Yes…” She hissed as she let him guide her to his cabin, using him as a support for her shaking legs. After a few moments of stumbling that seemed far too long to Ashe, Balthier’s lips were crushed against hers once more in a passion filled kiss. Her mind reeled as she felt his hands moving about her body. When he pulled away, she found herself gasping heavily for breath. She felt his hands undressing her and her heart racing as he did so. Her hands began to tremble terribly as they moved to undo his vest. His hands dropped her collar to the floor and reached for her hands. He pulled them to his face and kissed one after the other. His eyes then opened as he watched her carefully, as if to assure her that it would be all right. It was a look she had seen plenty of times before.

And it was enough for her. She continued to look into his eyes and smiled. The fact it was him here in front of her gave her the confidence to go through with what she knew she wanted. A smile crossed his face when her arms wrapped around him again and her hands began pulling at the components that kept his leather vest tightly on him. After a moment of watching her, he began kissing her neck as his hands continued their work. Within moments their clothes had been tossed aside on the floor.

Balthier wasted no time in leaning down and kissing her again. His hands roamed across her skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake. She pressed her body against his relishing in the warmth he had to offer, finding herself more turned on by the situation then she had ever thought possible. She arched her back when a hand found its way back in between her legs and explored. He nearly lost himself when she whispered his name hoarsely. He felt himself only grow harder when a timid hand began to play with him.

No words were spoken between them as Balthier laid down on his bed and pulled Ashe onto him. He positioned himself at her entrance to allow her to do as she saw fit. When she lowered herself onto him, they both gasped from the pleasure they had each been denied for some time. Once he was all the way inside of her, they were completely motionless as their eyes roamed about each other, taking in every detail, as if there would be a question as to whether or not this was real. After a few moments, he began to rock them slowly, his hands on her hips to guide her, and Ashe felt her world quickly becoming undone.

She had never thought sex could feel so wonderful. She wasn’t sure if it was her upbringing or the time since she last had been with a man, but whatever the reason, everything felt better now then she could imagine. As her pleasure increased, she quickly began to lose track of time, and then even where she currently was. As far as her body was concerned, it had no bearing on the present. And as she came again, she was by no means quiet, not that she would have been able to quiet herself anyway. When she came down from the first high, she managed to open her eyes and look at him. He watched her, had been watching her the entire time, with that smug grin on his face. And Ashe couldn’t have been happier.

He waited only a couple of moments for her to catch her breath before he started to move again, this time picking up his pace. Her eyes shut tight, head thrown back as she bounced. Somewhere in her mind she knew she must have looked ridiculous, but at this point her mind had completely lost control of the situation. But she was okay with it. She had no idea how long their dance continued on for. All she knew was he hit her sweet spot perfectly and brought her to bliss several more times.

“Ashe… Ashe…” He mumbled as his hands clung tighter to her hips. She opened her eyes upon hearing her name and watched as it was now his turn. She watched his body began to shake a little more as beads of sweat dripped down his neck. After a few more thrusts into her, his eyes tightly shut as he let out a long moan. Ashe smiled as a few thrusts later she was the one grinning at him as he wearily opened his eyes.

One of his hands remained on her hip while the other moved to her head and brushed some loose strands of hair behind her ear. He then gently touched her cheek and there was a smile between the two of them as they caught their breath. He pulled her off of him and next to him, his arms wrapped around her snugly. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the moments shared between them.

It was a while before either of them spoke, and Ashe was pretty sure that at least she had drifted off for a while. When she stirred to look at him, she found that he had already been looking at her. “So, would you say all preparations are made?” Balthier asked with a smug grin.

“Yes,” she replied with a slight laugh.

“Good,” he said, rolling onto his side. “So then we have time to play,” he whispered as he nipped at her ear and his hand found its way between her legs again.