-The princess knows that she's trespassing dangerous borders when she wants more from her personal knight.
Loud Whisper
The sound of a body tossing and turning could be heard as covers and pillows were thrown off a magnificently large bed from the kicking of legs and the flailing of arms. And then, as if barely a millisecond had passed, there was total and utter silence.
A royal beauty laid on her side, frustratingly blowing away at the bangs covering her ruby eyes. She couldn't sleep, not at all, after knowing that he had reciprocated her kiss. But, what confused her was that this had occurred a couple of weeks ago with nothing breaking their daily routine or relationship, and this had kept her wide awake in these many sleepless nights.
Although she knew it was dangerous to have such forbidden feelings for the man, she couldn't help but fantasize about having a deeper, more intimate relationship with the handsome, enigmatic knight. As empty days full of dissatisfaction passed, the young lady felt more and more frustrated with an underlying feeling of insecurity.
Why didn't he advance onto the many opportunities that she had given him during the many seconds, minutes, hours, and days that had long passed? Why did he act as if that small act of passion was of mere unimportance from the passive behavior he had shown? These were the unanswered questions that prodded her mind throughout the lonely nights, but they were not to be remained that way for long.
As she sat up in her bed, sheets messily strewn apart, she had a goal stubbornly encased into her mind. Each of her bare feet slowly touched the ground and stealthily crossed the vast distance between her bed and the wooden door. The sound of a latch opening and closing with a small click would've been heard if ears were listening carefully, and a body contemplating its next decision remained in the long and nearly pitch black hallway.
With each step that took her to the door directly across from hers, the sound of the minute thuds from the movement of her feet and the ruffling of her long attire seemed to ring loudly in her ears. The temperature seemed to drop noticeably in her thin nightgown that was loosely hanging onto her shoulders by a pair of thin straps. The few steps that felt like a million combined with the few minutes that felt like hours seemed to wrestle with the idea stuck in her mind, but her tenacity got the better of her as she surprisingly gained easy entrance into the destination.
Suddenly, she felt a force harshly push her against a firm body, the blunt side of a sword pressed against her neck. But as quickly as it came, it also quickly ended. The owner of both the body and sword slowly disengaged himself away from the trespasser, returning to his bed and sheathing his large weapon. When the man felt comfortable, bright blue eyes that shone noticeably through the dark aimed straight at her, seemingly waiting for an answer or explanation.
She suddenly felt unsure of herself as his gaze pierced right through her, causing her to lose her confidence and avert from his unnaturally too blue eyes. One hand came up to grab the inner elbow of the other arm, her thumb nervously rubbing that area of skin back and forth. Her motions and joints inside her body seemed indecisive as her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, and her eyes spasmodically glanced in different directions.
When she heard a sigh, her eyes finally met his. She saw him stand up, walking towards her, and she blushed in realization at the sight of his bare, toned chest. He stood an arm's length away from her and stared at her, daring her lose focus on his cerulean eyes. "What's wrong, Tifa?" If it weren't for the current predicament, she would've smiled because it had taken a valiant effort to get him to address her so casually.
She tried to keep her ruby orbs on him, but her attention wavered. But then, she felt a hand grab her chin and pull it up-firm enough to allow the action, but light enough to not cause any pain. The move got her to successfully look directly at his face, not allowing any escape. This allowed her to notice the furrow of his light eyebrows and the thin, straight line of his lips. "I-I didn't feel safe for some reason...so I just wanted to see if staying with you... would make me feel better." She wasn't lying; she was scared of her own feelings, hoping that maybe seeking comfort from the source of her affections would better her heart.
He dropped the grip from her chin, rubbing the back of his neck for a bit before resting the same limb back to his side. "I'm sorry, but we can't."
Her body seemed to have a mind of its own when her arms wrapped around his waist, and her head looked up to allow her to speak, look into his eyes, and say, "Please." She felt her answer when he returned the hug by loosely wrapping his arms around her slim figure, a surprising gesture from him. In return she gave him a tired smile that still seemed to brighten up her face.
She followed him to his bed, quite smaller than she was used to, and was disappointed when he left her there to create a makeshift bed on the ground next to her. Seeing this, she took and pulled at the blankets in his hand, sending him a look with her hands on his hips when he tried to argue with her. "Cloud, the floor is cold. I will not have you sleep on the ground to freeze. Who'll protect me if you get sick?" His only response was a weak shrug followed by the slumping of his shoulders.
He put away the materials for his should-have-been, could-have-been bed and reluctantly placed himself under the warm sheets. She smiled when she saw this but quickly frowned when she noticed him facing the wall instead of her, causing an awkward, invisible brick wall between them. The noticeable space in the middle didn't seem to quite help much either.
She held back a sigh and decided that this was probably the closest thing to intimacy that he could probably endure, so she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Except, she couldn't, not if she knew the man she wanted-loved-was merely a few inches away. It was too distracting, too tempting.
She kept wondering if he was suffering like her, trying to maintain her self-control among other things.
It had felt like hours when she finally had her eyes closed and her body stiff from the lack of movement. Her mind was drifting, drifting into the wonders of her fantasy world...
Hot. It was too hot, too intense. The sensations she currently felt seemed illegal, scandalous, unsafe. There was a sense of warmness in the pit of her stomach, causing pleasurable sensations to course throughout her body. The touching of hands caused a searing sensation with its path. Lips became swollen and needy, wanton moans escaping those very mouths. Blond and blue, blue and blond. Masculinity, strength, dominance, passion. Everything felt too real. She had to wake up, fast.
Her body woke up in a cold sweat, chest heaving heavily. Her face felt warm, just like the vacant spot besides her. Wait, vacant? It was still dark; he couldn't have gone far. Feet touched the ground and felt an instant coolness that traveled throughout her body, resetting her normal body temperature. She resided back into the bed, sinking into it to prevent her from getting too cold. She sat up, finally allowing her eyes to refocus properly and was startled by the sight. Familiar blue eyes penetrated her.
He was sitting in a turned chair, his toned arms resting on top of the back of it with his head lying just above those very arms, strong arms that she longed to feel wrapped around her, especially during this cold night. She thought he looked boyishly charming, his stare curious and pure compared to his usual stiff and unchanging face. But what seemed to paralyze her even more was the fact that he had probably watched her sleeping, causing her dream-like state to wake up even more. However, the male figure stood up and walked towards the bed, sitting on the edge, leaning towards her.
She was paralyzed, suddenly realizing everything and nothing. She noticed the one strap of her nightgown that had sneakily slipped off of her shoulder, her hair in disarray, her cheeks warm, and her eyes widening in confusion. Then, she noticed him, his natural musky smell, his beautiful blue eyes, the contours of his face, the surprisingly soft spikes almost falling into his eyes, and the sinfully close proximity between them. Emotions soon took over. What did he see during her time spent asleep? What was the intent behind his actions? What was the reason behind this, behind everything that had taken place so far?
He pressed his forehead against hers, allowing the puff of his breaths from his lips to reach hers, causing her anxious lips to sensitize. She closed her eyes to help calm her breathing and rapid heartbeat that was quickening with each millisecond that passed by, and then she opened them. Lips directly touched hers but were still. She felt those lips move on hers, but not to kiss, but as if to speak words.
The whisper of Cloud's words from his lips onto hers was clear as day. I love you.
A/N: I hoped I concluded well for you hungry readers! Ha. It's been awhileeeee. I'm so sorry; dont hit me! I put this as a separate oneshot because this could have stayed on its own, but this was also for you readers that wanted more to the first piece, "Dull Silver." This piece seems rather short and fast, but that could just be the eternally unsatisfied author in me stating her opinion. Also, I don't know if y'all noticed, but the format was similar to the first piece, especially at the end. I didn't even realize until after when I went to proofread (skimming would probably the more correct term, perhaps), so there might still be some mistakes. Anyway, happy reading and please review!