Drowning in the Red Sea
Author: The Fetid Conceited
Disclaimer: I don't own shit about Star Ocean except for what I write.
Pairing: I'm not even sure myself.
Warinings: Sex. Boys makin' out. Swearing.
X-X
Dusk's last light shone through the emerald leaves of the grove. It was soon silenced as gloomy storm clouds moved in, casting a shadow over the beautiful, secretive sanctuary. A light rain cascaded upon the treetops, refreshing the scene and morphing the painting-like scene into a nocturne. Cliff would've been perfectly at peace were it not for an easily-overlooked sound that only Klausian ears could pick up: the sound of sorrow. There was someone buried within the labyrinth of elegant trees that felt the sight was not that of heaven, obviously. His conscience nagged at him to find that individual and console him, if at all possible. Dashing through the damp trees and leaving fresh footsteps on the lush grass to provide a map for himself, Cliff searched. On and on the endless paths went, with nothing but another clearing or another hill at every turn. The blonde considered calling off the fruitless search until he meandered into a clearing with a lake. Endless droplets of water broke the surface of the lake, providing it with rippling grace. The clear water reflected the turbulent sky, each cloud and lining mirrored flawlessly. However, the beauty of the lake was not what shocked him. There was a figure sitting at the opposite bank.
The Klausian approached with caution as he neared the one he sought. The curvaceous figure was indicative of a woman, though most of her features were covered up with long jet-black hair that lightened at the ends. A pile of ribbon could be seen beside her, presumably used to restrain the leagues of hair. The figure was dressed in a very deep purple, almost black, which caused her to appear pallid, almost ghostly. "Hey, are you all right?" Cliff asked, reaching out a hand and gently shaking the woman.
"Leave me the hell alone, you overgrown ox…" came a caustic reply.
Cliff pulled his hand away in recoil of the retort. "Jeez, you don't need to be so grouchy about it."
"I said leave me the hell alone. Now do it before I snap your ass in half."
" I jus' wanted to see if you were okay-"
"Goddammit, you fucking dumbass!" The soaked figure twisted around to glare at cliff with treacherous crimson eyes. Two-toned hair framed impeccable features; a sight Cliff would be in awe of had it not been for the atrocious personality he was faced with. "For the last time, leave me the fuck alone!"
"Albel?" Cliff replied incredulously. "What are you doing here?"
The younger man strained to tone down his yelling to a stern tone. "Leave or I'll run you through."
"Damn, you've never been so unhappy to see me. Well…" Cliff paused. He was normally a sharp person, but somehow that small detail seemed to slip by him. Not only were Albel's irises red, his sclera were red too. He was the one who was crying. "What's on your mind?" he asked, easing himself down next to his wrathful comrade.
Albel paused for a moment. "Cliff?"
"Yeah?" Maybe the Twisted One will actually open up to him.
"…Go die."
"Thanks, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm not plannin' on it. Not yet, anyways. Now are you gonna answer me or are you gonna keep glaring until you burn a hole in my forehead?"
"You wouldn't know. You shouldn't even care."
"And what makes you say that?" Cliff absentmindedly fiddled with a clump of grass beside him as he awaited Albel's reply.
"Because you'd have to be a masochist to care about someone who's been so vicious to you."
"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. You don't have to be a masochist to care about someone."
"You'd have to be to care about the Twisted One."
"Quit referrin' to yourself in third person. It's creepy. Look: believe it or not, everyone in the group cares about each other. Even you, though it's pretty grudgingly in Nel's book. If you hate it, that's too bad. But you might as well tell me what's up because you know I'm not gonna relent."
Albel's eyes quickly gained a forlorn appearance, his gaze shifting to the rippling surface of the water. "I wish I could say, but… I have a reputation to uphold."
Cliff scooted a bit closer and clapped a reassuring hand on the captain's shoulder. "It's just the two of us, okay? No one will know but me."
Albel retracted his legs from the water and crossed them after drawing them close to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. It was visible evidence of Albel's withdrawal further into himself. "At what point does self-loathing become self-destruction?"
The question took the blonde by surprise. "Huh? I don't think I follow."
The Black Captain shook his head, observing a posture of utter defeat. "Nevermind. It was stupid of me to ask you." The lithe man rose slowly and gracefully, and turned to venture off into the darkened areas of the grove.
Cliff went after the younger man, concerned about his uncharacteristically listless gait and depressed mood. He easily caught up to the other man as he made no effort to retreat from the blonde, and Cliff grabbed his arm to halt him. Albel reluctantly stopped, yet remained adamant in his decision to hide his face from the older man. "Seriously, what's botherin' you?"
"It's nothing. …It doesn't matter." Still, he refused to face the concerned Klausian.
The blonde spun the two-tone around to face him. "Albel, for chrissake, you-" he paused to regard Albel's broken countenance. He had never seen the hardass without a scowl before, and it took him completely by surprise. Without a glare to contort his features, Albel looked absolutely magnificent. His vermilion eyes glowed with vitality, a perfect contrast to his pale skin. His brunette hair dipped in gold was soaked and plastered against his face, concealing part of his ethereal expression, thus providing an air of mystery. Cliff was captivated; he couldn't draw himself away from the sight. He tentatively raised his hand and caressed Albel's cheek, reveling in its silky texture. His bold move only furthered his hypnotic state and he leaned in to kiss the deific man before him.
With Cliff's lips only an inch away from his, Albel began to question his actions. "What are you doing?" he asked, with nothing outside of a tone of curiosity.
"I… uh… well…" the blonde stammered, confused. What am I doing? Was I about to kiss Nox? That'd be as disastrous as kissing a light socket, or better yet, a TV capacitor…
The younger man withdrew his arm from Cliff's grasp, yet refrained from backing away. He stood, with the blonde's arm around the small of his back, and regarded the bewildered man before him, miffed. "I just asked you a question. I never told you to stop altogether."
Cliff shrugged before leaning in to kiss his normally moody comrade. Albel returned his affection fervently while reaching upward to place his hand on the back of Cliff's neck. The older man ran his free hand through the tousled hair of his soon-to-be lover and his tongue sought access to the Twisted One's mouth. The younger man responded eagerly, basking in the attention that the blond so willingly provided. They engaged each other passionately for a time; each surprised at the others actions albeit remaining wisely unquestioning of them. Cliff trailed gentle kisses around to the back of the Twisted one's neck, where he bit down with force. Albel gasped followed by a moan as he was paralyzed in a web of lust. The blonde slowly eased his partner onto the soft, wet grass of the grove and gazed into his vermilion depths. "You sure you're okay with this?"
"Would I let you come this far if I wasn't sure?" the younger man responded, taken with lust. He unzipped the Klausian's shirt before smoothly transitioning to the zipper on his pants. Cliff could feel himself pushing through the acceding fabric. Working quickly, he pulled the ribbon tying Albel's skirt to his waist before slipping the violet cloth off the lithe man's legs. Albel consented to what the blonde was about to do and retracted his legs to give him room. As he expected, he could feel Cliff push into him and welcomed the pain that accompanied it. Albel stifled another moan as Cliff adjusted his pace. He clawed at the skin on his arms, desperate to amplify his already euphoric state. Sensing the reason behind his lover's actions, Cliff came down harder on him. Albel clawed at his arm roughly as he reached his climax, shortly after Cliff's. After taking a moment to respire, the to dressed and laid together beneath a massive oak tree. The blonde wrapped his arms protectively around his new lover as they fell asleep together, synchronized with the lessening of the rain.
X-X
Albel had been watching Cliff with mild interest for what must've been an hour now. The behaviour of the oaf when asleep had been intriguing. After all, who wouldn't watch someone who called out their name with a hard-on? Albel shifted to a more comfortable position, laying on his stomach and resting his chin on his hands. He slowly kicked his feet back and forth in the air as he regarded the blonde's tossing and turning. He calmed down for a time before waking with a start.
"Damn, it was just a-" he instantly became aware of the Twisted One's watchful eye. "Albel? Why the hell were you staring at me while I was asleep?"
"You called my name, and naturally, I looked over. And I must say, you're such a fool." He punctuated his statement with a dark laugh.
"I'd like to see you call me that when your throat's beneath my foot… And what were you laughing about, anyway?" He faced the caustic two-tone with a stern scowl. If there was anything in the world Cliff couldn't stand, it was the host of social problems that the lanky man seemed to possess.
"Were you having wet dreams about me again, Cliff? I'm almost flattered."
The swordsman's mention of his actual name caught him off guard. "What? About you? Hell no. If anything, you were the one having wet dreams about me. You're the one prancin' around in a purple skirt, a spraypainted-on shirt, and women's stockings."
Albel smirked. His sleep deprivation from insomnia normally shortened his already explosive temper, but he saw his little verbal tussle as a way to get back at the blonde for the day he punched him. The two-tone casually rolled over on his back, extending his legs into the air and scrutinizing them. This, in effect, caused his skirt to reveal dangerous amounts of his thighs that Cliff so thoroughly enjoyed during his dream.
The older man caught himself staring and looked toward the far wall of the cavern in which they were staying. "You're a complete nutcase, you know that?"
Albel's grin only widened and he laughed once again. "You're the nutcase to fall for a sadist, maggot." He sat up slowly, making sure to stretch sexily in the process. He turned around to face Cliff and crawled into his lap. "What was your dream about, anyways? I'd like to know; you called out my name, might I remind you."
"Do you honestly think I'd- hey, get off me!" The blonde hastily pushed the swordsman off of his lap, and the younger man reacted with a look of disgust much like a cat.
"Bah, what a stiff." Albel replied before standing to leave. He walked but a few feet before he felt strong hands grip his upper arms and spin him around. "…The hell's your problem, jackass? Keep your hands off me…"
"And here I thought you were the one makin' yourself comfortable in my lap. Look, if you wanna know what my dream is about, you gotta promise to do me a few favors, like keepin' it quiet, for example." He hadn't realized until now how close his lips were to Albel's, and apparently the swordsman sensed it too.
"If you even think about raping me, I'll julienne your dick and feed it to the dogs," he hissed with authentic certainty. He felt Cliff's grip ease up and the taller man backed up. Albel brushed himself off with disgust and continued on his path out the door before stopping and finalizing his visit. "By the way, I lost interest in that little dream of yours. I don't want to know what kind of tortures you subjected me to. Just remember this: if you even so much as lay a finger on me, I'll castrate you with my claw." And with that, he sauntered into Nel and Fayt's end of the cavern.
"Damn, talk about prude…" Cliff scratched his head in confusion before lying back down to sleep. Feeling no hint of weariness, he stared up at the ceiling. "I'll never get that guy, even in my dreams."
X-X
Well, I wanted to begin with a bang. That wasn't necessarily the bang I was looking for, but it will suffice. There's the satisfaction for Cliff/Albel lovers, but don't worry, there will be more fluff and stuff for the other pairings as well. I have a unique plan worked out.
