Star Ocean 3: Cliff Fittir & Albel "the Wicked" Nox
Fandom: Star Ocean 3
Pairing: Cliff Fittir/Albel Nox
Set: Gamma
Rating: up to hard-R (one sentence might be bordering NC-17, so caution?)
Notes: Three years! ....Yeah, I've been wanting to complete this for three years. Good thing I didn't claim it first, eh? Heck of a wait. Glad it's done.
01. Ring
Disappointed and annoyed, Cliff eyed the failed experiment critically, held out the misshaped ring to Albel, and said, "Here, have it; it won't make your arm any uglier."
02. Hero
"Martyrs are sent to hell!" Albel hissed, but despite his anger, the cage of claws dug no further than irritation-deep into the sides of his face; Cliff believed it to be a victory.
03. Memory
The fondest memories were the ones that pissed Albel off the most, and heaven help him, he took pleasure in reminding the Elicoorian of them all.
04. Box
Albel touched the smooth surface with a guarded expression, thinking back unwantingly to the last words Cliff said when he left two months ago--"When I'm not here, that's yours, so let it be the only thing you don't kick the shit out of,"--and wondered if Cliff really had left him alone on this foreign world with nothing more than a chest to temporarily call his own.
05. Run
"It's only cowards who can't face their feelings."
06. Hurricane
Albel tends to knock people off their feet naturally, whether it's from his coarse attitude or when he slices his sword your way with the power of a tropical storm, the wind itself a weapon to be feared more than the blade: Cliff knows both all too well.
07. Wings
Elicoor's dragons were cool, Cliff admitted, but Albel mounted on the back of a Dragon Brigader's charger was just plain erotic (and not fair on his libido).
08. Cold
Klausians were, by nature, more adapted for warmer climates, so as Albel was able to strut around Aireglyph's chilling temperatures with little protection from the nettle freeze, Cliff felt like he was being teased all over again.
09. Red
"You wear it well," Albel purred, licking at the ribbon of red splashed on his cheek, leaving Cliff to imagine what they would look like together, drenched.
10. Drink
The kids were in bed, the adults at the bar; what could be better than being something-called-drunk while trying to slide a hand he could afford to lose up one creamy white thigh when no one else was looking?
11. Midnight
It was happy hour time!
12. Temptation
Curse the rodent child for being a pain in the ass, for pulling both himself and Cliff into the water around Sulferio, and giving Cliff the excuse to spend the rest of the day squelching as he stepped with his vest slung brazenly over one bare shoulder.
13. View
While the boot to the collar bone was a (mildly) painful ordeal, the gracious view under the hideous skirt more than made up for it.
14. Music
Albel once played the dragon's stringed horn at his mother's knee, before his father's totalitarian presence overrode what his mother wanted of him, so when he succumbed to a moment of weakness and touched one in the street market, never mind for a fraction too long to be simple curiosity, Albel suppressed his unnerve when Cliff asked him too closely and too quietly, "Do you want that?" and stalked away with a grunt.
15. Silk
The game was a Klausian one, that Albel called 'marginally tolerable' and secretly thought 'pleasant', where two people bound their wrists against each other's in ties and did nothing more than touch one another in alternating courses of flesh (metal) and silken gloves.
16. Cover
"I could hide under there," was the last crack Cliff ever made about Albel's sarong.
17. Promise
"You won't kill me?" Cliff asked, surprised, and Albel simply nodded.
18. Dream
Mirage was not impressed with the state of the tiny 'office' when she entered it early that 'morning', and didn't want to know why Cliff's scribbled artwork of two specific people in questionable positions (as far as she could make them out) were strewn all over the desk like crumbs.
19. Candle
There was an Earth myth about a woman married to a god and never saw his face but once behind the light of the candle, when asleep; Cliff was looking down right now, and felt a kinship with the woman, because the face he was gazing at right now could only ever be seen by candlelight.
20. Talent
Cliff was flexible; Albel didn't complain (loudly).
21. Silence
There was never any between the two, because they made nothing but noise, be it opposing opinions, cursing fests, or the simple act of carnal givings (of which only the resident neighbors were treated with); there was no such thing as silence.
22. Journey
As much as it was an inspiring trek, it was all better left behind...well, not all things; some journeys still needed continuing...not that Albel was cooperating, at all.
23. Fire
Note to self, Cliff thought, either don't smother fire-caught hair with bare hands again, or cut off braids too long to prevent a repeat affair indefinitely...even if Albel would happily cut off something more near and dear on the latter.
24. Strength
The muscles against him were flexing against the grasp, tightening and loosening, met with angry remarks about his mother and his heritage, and it didn't detract from feeling what could tear him apart, before taking Albel's body and tossing it in the stream; because any longer, and Albel would have escaped.
25. Mask
"Shatter for me," said one, and was told, "You first," back.
26. Ice
The cave was sort of frozen, Albel was kind of not, and Cliff shouldn't have been surprised, but he was when he made the choice to lean discreetly over to blow hot air on Albel's neck, and watched him shudder.
27. Fall
It didn't kill him, the height the velocity the impact, but it hurt, and he tried to rational it was worth it when Albel was suddenly hover over him, half worried half angry all cradling his neck, but oh the pain, it was not.
28. Forgotten
She heard the endless string of noise from the other side of the door and Mirage tried not to be aggravated with her friend: he shouldn't be fucking the Elicoorian when there was a congressional assembly to attend in fifteen minutes.
29. Dance
He loved baffling his great, stupid ox, and the expression he was getting now--eyes wide, jaw dropped, and wondering if he was in trouble--was well worth being on top of him naked, a suspended ring in hand, and writhing atop him like it was the blond's punishment, because he was never treated like this, or to this.
30. Body
Albel moaned (he could deny it later) as Cliff dug his thumbs into his shoulder blades, nape, his lower back, and practically screamed (there was no living that down) when the heels of Cliff's hands pushed up against his spine, and it was oh so very good indeed.
31. Sacred
"Not he--!" was all the say Albel got before Cliff decided it was time to kiss him silent before the statue of Apris.
32. Farewells
A touch of fingers to a lax palm was all Albel needed to say hello everyday, and goodbye once.
33. World
Albel was as techno-savvy as a rabbit, but even he came to understand what kind of difference it would make on their relationship, had Cliff been 'fake': punching him in the gut wouldn't ever be as satisfying.
34. Formal
Cliff proposed to him one day, at lunch, down on one knee and everything; it took a panicked boot to the face before Cliff could tell him, "Like hell I wouldn't wait until you were near-dead before being serious about it."
35. Fever
It said something about Albel himself when the only time he showed open and active affection was when Cliff was delirious and on his side so he wouldn't drown in his own puke.
36. Laugh
The chuckle that followed their first time was a sound Cliff paid rapt attention to, since there wasn't much difference between Albel's "That was fun, now you need to die" laugh and his "That was fun, I think I'm satisfied for now" laugh.
37. Lies
"Oh you son of a bitch, you can too play this game!"
38. Forever
Religions came and went no sooner than one mind change, but never did it matter what was waiting in the afterlife: if Albel could just find one that believed in an endless restless droves of battle, he would force Cliff to convert to it, with a whisper of, "I want you at my back, eternally," as his enticement.
39. Overwhelmed
Cliff was an atheist, yes, but when Albel had the thought to grab him by the crotch in a rather unfriendly way (with the metal arm), eyes blazing in red-eyed fury, he was prepared to say a few prayers to about ten or eleven different deity systems, and got out no much that an unmanly squawk when he was tightened upon that one little fraction.
40. Whisper
"I could unmake you with a touch," came the faint breeze, "and you will want it again, and again, and finally once more with feeling."
41. Wait
There was an order they couldn't quite decide on, which is why Cliff was thrusting into him now instead of sucking him off, so Albel only had himself to blame if he wasn't coming while Cliff's hand was wrapped tightly at his base, because if Cliff had to wait to get what he wanted, so did Albel.
42. Talk
No conversation was ever an intelligent one between them; instead, they said all they had to say between "jerk" and "maggot".
43. Search
I stood in the shadows of dragons and their terrible majestic countenance for my whole life, and I'm not shocked when I find dragons pretending to be people, oblivious to themselves as inheritors of their souls and having forgotten their life in the sky, so why am I when I see one swimming in the eyes of the lummox, who cannot stop looking my way?
44. Hope
There was a spark of hope toward the future when Cliff could press into the crook of Albel's neck, and not have him flinch or pull away.
45. Eclipse
At some point, Cliff got close enough to be able to appreciate the shaded layers of Albel's hair coloring, black-over-blond; it kind of make Cliff smile to note the blond was sunbeam yellow and the black like a shadow covering the sun, because perhaps it could mean for all Albel's coldness, there was a shine of something warmer underneath it all...then Albel swiped his hand at Cliff to make him vacate his personal bubble, and Cliff began to doubt it.
46. Gravity
Nine times out of ten, Cliff was the one who sought out Albel; on those rare, precious one-out-of-ten chance occasions Albel came looking for him, Cliff couldn't help but hide away the fuzzy feelings behind the start of another insulting tirade.
47. Highway
"I swear, it's the quick-- well, second quickest road to heaven."
48. Unknown
"Of all times you just had to get Adventuresome on us!" he cried, as both he and Fayt pulled on the metal arm and shoulder, with Albel pushing his free hand against the wall, but the arm would not budge, and Albel shouted back, "Keep your mouth shut, worm!"
49. Lock
Cliff suckled on a patch of cream-pale skin on Albel's left side, just above his nipple, until a dark spot appeared and Cliff knew it would be a hickey by tomorrow, and he loved the idea of looking at it, because there was the lock, and he had the key.
50. Breathe
And only once did they find themselves alone in the field, many years later, surrounded by the bodies of an uprising and caught in a fair drizzle, finding themselves almost flush with foreheads touching, hand of flesh gripping hand of metal within raised eyesight, and soaking in the adrenaline of the moment, stealing either other's air and exhale mingling between their lips; this is what it meant to be together: alive.
Pairing: Cliff Fittir/Albel Nox
Set: Gamma
Rating: up to hard-R (one sentence might be bordering NC-17, so caution?)
Notes: Three years! ....Yeah, I've been wanting to complete this for three years. Good thing I didn't claim it first, eh? Heck of a wait. Glad it's done.
01. Ring
Disappointed and annoyed, Cliff eyed the failed experiment critically, held out the misshaped ring to Albel, and said, "Here, have it; it won't make your arm any uglier."
02. Hero
"Martyrs are sent to hell!" Albel hissed, but despite his anger, the cage of claws dug no further than irritation-deep into the sides of his face; Cliff believed it to be a victory.
03. Memory
The fondest memories were the ones that pissed Albel off the most, and heaven help him, he took pleasure in reminding the Elicoorian of them all.
04. Box
Albel touched the smooth surface with a guarded expression, thinking back unwantingly to the last words Cliff said when he left two months ago--"When I'm not here, that's yours, so let it be the only thing you don't kick the shit out of,"--and wondered if Cliff really had left him alone on this foreign world with nothing more than a chest to temporarily call his own.
05. Run
"It's only cowards who can't face their feelings."
06. Hurricane
Albel tends to knock people off their feet naturally, whether it's from his coarse attitude or when he slices his sword your way with the power of a tropical storm, the wind itself a weapon to be feared more than the blade: Cliff knows both all too well.
07. Wings
Elicoor's dragons were cool, Cliff admitted, but Albel mounted on the back of a Dragon Brigader's charger was just plain erotic (and not fair on his libido).
08. Cold
Klausians were, by nature, more adapted for warmer climates, so as Albel was able to strut around Aireglyph's chilling temperatures with little protection from the nettle freeze, Cliff felt like he was being teased all over again.
09. Red
"You wear it well," Albel purred, licking at the ribbon of red splashed on his cheek, leaving Cliff to imagine what they would look like together, drenched.
10. Drink
The kids were in bed, the adults at the bar; what could be better than being something-called-drunk while trying to slide a hand he could afford to lose up one creamy white thigh when no one else was looking?
11. Midnight
It was happy hour time!
12. Temptation
Curse the rodent child for being a pain in the ass, for pulling both himself and Cliff into the water around Sulferio, and giving Cliff the excuse to spend the rest of the day squelching as he stepped with his vest slung brazenly over one bare shoulder.
13. View
While the boot to the collar bone was a (mildly) painful ordeal, the gracious view under the hideous skirt more than made up for it.
14. Music
Albel once played the dragon's stringed horn at his mother's knee, before his father's totalitarian presence overrode what his mother wanted of him, so when he succumbed to a moment of weakness and touched one in the street market, never mind for a fraction too long to be simple curiosity, Albel suppressed his unnerve when Cliff asked him too closely and too quietly, "Do you want that?" and stalked away with a grunt.
15. Silk
The game was a Klausian one, that Albel called 'marginally tolerable' and secretly thought 'pleasant', where two people bound their wrists against each other's in ties and did nothing more than touch one another in alternating courses of flesh (metal) and silken gloves.
16. Cover
"I could hide under there," was the last crack Cliff ever made about Albel's sarong.
17. Promise
"You won't kill me?" Cliff asked, surprised, and Albel simply nodded.
18. Dream
Mirage was not impressed with the state of the tiny 'office' when she entered it early that 'morning', and didn't want to know why Cliff's scribbled artwork of two specific people in questionable positions (as far as she could make them out) were strewn all over the desk like crumbs.
19. Candle
There was an Earth myth about a woman married to a god and never saw his face but once behind the light of the candle, when asleep; Cliff was looking down right now, and felt a kinship with the woman, because the face he was gazing at right now could only ever be seen by candlelight.
20. Talent
Cliff was flexible; Albel didn't complain (loudly).
21. Silence
There was never any between the two, because they made nothing but noise, be it opposing opinions, cursing fests, or the simple act of carnal givings (of which only the resident neighbors were treated with); there was no such thing as silence.
22. Journey
As much as it was an inspiring trek, it was all better left behind...well, not all things; some journeys still needed continuing...not that Albel was cooperating, at all.
23. Fire
Note to self, Cliff thought, either don't smother fire-caught hair with bare hands again, or cut off braids too long to prevent a repeat affair indefinitely...even if Albel would happily cut off something more near and dear on the latter.
24. Strength
The muscles against him were flexing against the grasp, tightening and loosening, met with angry remarks about his mother and his heritage, and it didn't detract from feeling what could tear him apart, before taking Albel's body and tossing it in the stream; because any longer, and Albel would have escaped.
25. Mask
"Shatter for me," said one, and was told, "You first," back.
26. Ice
The cave was sort of frozen, Albel was kind of not, and Cliff shouldn't have been surprised, but he was when he made the choice to lean discreetly over to blow hot air on Albel's neck, and watched him shudder.
27. Fall
It didn't kill him, the height the velocity the impact, but it hurt, and he tried to rational it was worth it when Albel was suddenly hover over him, half worried half angry all cradling his neck, but oh the pain, it was not.
28. Forgotten
She heard the endless string of noise from the other side of the door and Mirage tried not to be aggravated with her friend: he shouldn't be fucking the Elicoorian when there was a congressional assembly to attend in fifteen minutes.
29. Dance
He loved baffling his great, stupid ox, and the expression he was getting now--eyes wide, jaw dropped, and wondering if he was in trouble--was well worth being on top of him naked, a suspended ring in hand, and writhing atop him like it was the blond's punishment, because he was never treated like this, or to this.
30. Body
Albel moaned (he could deny it later) as Cliff dug his thumbs into his shoulder blades, nape, his lower back, and practically screamed (there was no living that down) when the heels of Cliff's hands pushed up against his spine, and it was oh so very good indeed.
31. Sacred
"Not he--!" was all the say Albel got before Cliff decided it was time to kiss him silent before the statue of Apris.
32. Farewells
A touch of fingers to a lax palm was all Albel needed to say hello everyday, and goodbye once.
33. World
Albel was as techno-savvy as a rabbit, but even he came to understand what kind of difference it would make on their relationship, had Cliff been 'fake': punching him in the gut wouldn't ever be as satisfying.
34. Formal
Cliff proposed to him one day, at lunch, down on one knee and everything; it took a panicked boot to the face before Cliff could tell him, "Like hell I wouldn't wait until you were near-dead before being serious about it."
35. Fever
It said something about Albel himself when the only time he showed open and active affection was when Cliff was delirious and on his side so he wouldn't drown in his own puke.
36. Laugh
The chuckle that followed their first time was a sound Cliff paid rapt attention to, since there wasn't much difference between Albel's "That was fun, now you need to die" laugh and his "That was fun, I think I'm satisfied for now" laugh.
37. Lies
"Oh you son of a bitch, you can too play this game!"
38. Forever
Religions came and went no sooner than one mind change, but never did it matter what was waiting in the afterlife: if Albel could just find one that believed in an endless restless droves of battle, he would force Cliff to convert to it, with a whisper of, "I want you at my back, eternally," as his enticement.
39. Overwhelmed
Cliff was an atheist, yes, but when Albel had the thought to grab him by the crotch in a rather unfriendly way (with the metal arm), eyes blazing in red-eyed fury, he was prepared to say a few prayers to about ten or eleven different deity systems, and got out no much that an unmanly squawk when he was tightened upon that one little fraction.
40. Whisper
"I could unmake you with a touch," came the faint breeze, "and you will want it again, and again, and finally once more with feeling."
41. Wait
There was an order they couldn't quite decide on, which is why Cliff was thrusting into him now instead of sucking him off, so Albel only had himself to blame if he wasn't coming while Cliff's hand was wrapped tightly at his base, because if Cliff had to wait to get what he wanted, so did Albel.
42. Talk
No conversation was ever an intelligent one between them; instead, they said all they had to say between "jerk" and "maggot".
43. Search
I stood in the shadows of dragons and their terrible majestic countenance for my whole life, and I'm not shocked when I find dragons pretending to be people, oblivious to themselves as inheritors of their souls and having forgotten their life in the sky, so why am I when I see one swimming in the eyes of the lummox, who cannot stop looking my way?
44. Hope
There was a spark of hope toward the future when Cliff could press into the crook of Albel's neck, and not have him flinch or pull away.
45. Eclipse
At some point, Cliff got close enough to be able to appreciate the shaded layers of Albel's hair coloring, black-over-blond; it kind of make Cliff smile to note the blond was sunbeam yellow and the black like a shadow covering the sun, because perhaps it could mean for all Albel's coldness, there was a shine of something warmer underneath it all...then Albel swiped his hand at Cliff to make him vacate his personal bubble, and Cliff began to doubt it.
46. Gravity
Nine times out of ten, Cliff was the one who sought out Albel; on those rare, precious one-out-of-ten chance occasions Albel came looking for him, Cliff couldn't help but hide away the fuzzy feelings behind the start of another insulting tirade.
47. Highway
"I swear, it's the quick-- well, second quickest road to heaven."
48. Unknown
"Of all times you just had to get Adventuresome on us!" he cried, as both he and Fayt pulled on the metal arm and shoulder, with Albel pushing his free hand against the wall, but the arm would not budge, and Albel shouted back, "Keep your mouth shut, worm!"
49. Lock
Cliff suckled on a patch of cream-pale skin on Albel's left side, just above his nipple, until a dark spot appeared and Cliff knew it would be a hickey by tomorrow, and he loved the idea of looking at it, because there was the lock, and he had the key.
50. Breathe
And only once did they find themselves alone in the field, many years later, surrounded by the bodies of an uprising and caught in a fair drizzle, finding themselves almost flush with foreheads touching, hand of flesh gripping hand of metal within raised eyesight, and soaking in the adrenaline of the moment, stealing either other's air and exhale mingling between their lips; this is what it meant to be together: alive.