DISCLAIMER: Suikoden 2 and all its elements are properties of KCET. The fanfiction belongs to littlemaiko. Stealing is prohibited.
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~ Silent Little Mermaid 8 ~
Flik found much amusement in pursuing Jess that he didn't mind daily doses of hearty whacks across his cheek. As much as the chamberlain frowned, blushed and fled from his presence, the mercenary knew that there was no hatred or even real displeasure in their relationship. Perhaps kissing the younger man back in Kuskus had been a bad move, but he didn't regret it.
"Wait up for me, mister chamberlain."
"Keep away, Flik."
Not even reading the words on the paper shoved before his blue eyes, Flik grabbed one slender upper arm and cuddled Jess. He checked that no one was around in the castle corridor, and brushed his lips against the white nape with much tenderness. What he couldn't do with Odessa, he could with Jess. The young chamberlain needed aggressive pursuit or else he'd never open up.
Jess cringed and began to squirm, his hands flailing in the space before the two of them. Opening his pale lips to give noiseless protests, he angrily stomped down on the mercenary's foot, inducing a grunt from the older man.
"You are such a spitfire, did you know that, Jess?"
Another kiss, not at all discouraged by the vicious reprisal, scored along the chamberlain's ear. He let out a warm breath, squirming some more. Although he dared not to admit, Flik's insistent stalking and affectionate actions made him weak in the limbs. For what reason, he was afraid to know.
Flik never hindered Jess from writing his objections, so the tea-eyed young man wrote furiously and displayed one page after another of his sharp-tongued retorts. The devilishly handsome swordsman only curled his lips and pushed Jess against the wall, careful not to cause the delicate body even a small bump against the stone blocks of the Camelot stronghold.
"I won't hesitate in this and I told you so. I like you, Jess. From head to toe, inside and out. I like you a whole lot."
I don't like you!, or so screamed Jess' glare, but Flik ignored that as a definite lie. If Jess truly disliked him, then there would be worse treatments than just stomping of a foot or running away at sight. He'd be ignored, cold-shouldered, and completely cast out of the younger man's life.
"And I think that you like me, too."
Jess only glared harder, his hands curling up into fists ready to strike at the smiling swordsman's cheek. However, he was pinned very efficiently, though without any pain, and he could only struggle like a cat caught by the back of the neck.
"I'm new to this wooing thing... but I think it's working just fine." Murmuring more to himself than to the distressed other, Flik leaned down and tried to brush his lips against the lovely silent ones. Just as he got close enough to feel Jess' nervous breaths, he was yanked back by his blue mantle as though he were a child caught in a prank.
"There is a law against sexual harassment, Flik."
"And also for picking on poor lil chamberlains."
Shu had his arms folded before his chest and gave Flik a look of pure dismay while Viktor didn't let go of the hold upon the well-worn azure fabric. With an obvious reluctance, the younger mercenary let go of his trembling chamberlain and turned to those who had interrupted the moment of romance.
"There ought to be a law against coming by at a bad time." Flik shrugged his mantle out of his friend's grip, not looking half as angry as he was disappointed.
"Jess, are you all right?"
Not paying attention to the sulking swordsman, Shu asked in the usual calm tone. His frown deepened upon seeing Jess' flushed cheeks and nervous eyes that were more than a little tinted with scared anticipation. He received a dazed nod of someone whose mind was elsewhere.
"Flik, why don't you come for a drink..." By a side-glance cue from the elegant Asian, Viktor grabbed Flik by an arm and began to drag the younger mercenary away.
"Hey, I wasn't being dishonorable!" Flik protested futilely as he was taken out of Jess and Shu's sight.
**********
Slumping a little against the wall, Jess controlled his heartbeat to slow down and avoided the head strategist's dark gaze. When he stole a look at the other man's beautiful face, he saw a rare grin there, albeit a cool and faint one.
"Flik is rather passionate. I never imagined that he would pursue you this insistently." Shu mused and regarded the chamberlain in good humor. "Well, while the blue one is receiving a well-deserved chiding from the bear, shall we have a talk of our own?"
Jess had to nod, not only because Shu was his direct superior but also from the unspoken command he recognized. The Asian strategist never asked another to do something, and when he phrased something as a question, that meant that he expected it to be acquiesced to.
"Follow me to the office, Jess."
Shu turned his back to the chamberlain and began a brisk and mild-paced walk back to his work office. He always walked in such fashion, as did Jess. Following without an alternative, Jess fought back his mind's urge to recall what Flik had done to him just now. He had noticed while trying to calm his heart that both his nipples were a littler harder than usual; the discovery mortified him more than anything, for they were evidences of his reaction to the swordsman's approach.
Once the two of them reached the book-lined, work-suited office, Shu offered Jess a chair and took seat himself in the desk chair. The long-haired Asian placed a notebook and a pen before the other man, giving a message that he expected a two-way conversation.
"You did a fine job at Kuskus. I truly did not plan on having the two of you attacked, but... all turned out for the best. If it pleases you to know, Kasumi and Mondo took care of the rest of the spies."
// Ah, good to know, yes. But... //
Jess took up the pen and wrote, "Why did you choose Flik as my bodyguard?"
At that, Shu folded his slender fingers over the wooden desktop and thoughtfully replied, "I knew that you will be most comfortable around him. Others would have sufficed, but knowing you, it had to be Flik."
Displeased by the strange assumption, Jess dared to give a frown. The next paper read, "I don't understand, Sir Shu."
"Then I will put it bluntly. You are attracted to Flik."
**********
"You are too aggressive with the poor kid," Viktor warned over a jug of ale.
"I know that, Viktor. He needs that sort of attention or else he'll never give in." Flik returned in mild irritation. He considered spilling the rest of his beer over the older man's face, but he decided against the childish act of retribution. After all, Viktor was all hyped up to give him a pep talk and it would do no good to shower him with alcohol.
"So little like Odessa, isn't he?"
Viktor reminded Flik of the deceased woman, who had been as needy in her own right and pretty much had nailed the Blue Thunder from her end. She had made it clear, Flik remembered, that he was an emotional replacement for the betrothed whom she had lost; then, as time passed... their relationship had turned into something wonderful and irreplaceable.
// Replacement. It worked out fine in the end for her and me. I don't see why not for Jess and me, too. //
"I guess so. Odessa needed no shoving around. She took what she wanted and sometimes without asking. Took her own initiative. Jess doesn't have that assertiveness, or whatever you call it."
"At the rate you are going, though, you'll end up shoving him down to the bed and making him cry through the night. I can just see it coming." Viktor earned himself a good punch to a shoulder for the comment, but he merely grunted and shrugged. "You gotta watch where you tread with these prissy, proud ones."
"Thanks for telling me from your experience." Rolling his very blue eyes, Flik ordered another jug. He had observed Viktor following Shu's tail like a large dog or bear in the days before the head strategist accepted the affection. Realizing that it was how he was acting right now toward Jess, Flik broke into a fit of self-directed chuckle.
"It worked for me, but dunno about you, Flik. Jess isn't the same as Shu, as you can see."
"I know, I know. I wouldn't want to pursue Shu if someone paid me, but Jess is... just..."
"A cute brown bundle of kitten fur, eh? It's written all over your face!"
Laughing and giving each other playful yet painful punches to upper arms, Flik and Viktor dedicated a good time to drinking down their comments about their respective love interests.
**********
"Are you not, Jess?" Shu leaned over the desk a little, his silken hair spilling over the desk most seductively even though there was not a speck of coyness in him.
Transfixed by the question more so than the older man's beauty, Jess hid his face by looking down and shuffled in the chair. If he had an immediate "No" for the answer, he would have written so. However, the case was quite different now that he was forced to think about Flik.
// I don't dislike him at all. ................ //
"I know that when someone like you stay quietly pinned by another, that means there's no real objection." Curling his perfect lips like some wise man playing tricks on an ignorant, Shu leaned back into the comfortable chair. "If I were you and I had no interest in the assailant, I would kick him so hard that he will never function properly again."
The words themselves were comical, but coming from Shu, they became real threats. Jess shook his head that he would never do that to Flik, then reddened at his reaction to the suggested reprisal.
"Jess, you and I are different yet similar. Borrowing Viktor's words, we are prissy and proud. I know exactly what you are thinking."
Up-slanted oriental eyes had Jess cornered in the conversation. Resigning himself to confess, the lithe chamberlain scribbled slowly, "What am I to do if I don't mind him?"
Shu looked almost like a goddess as he smiled and nodded. "Kiss him back."
**********
Flik tapped his foot on the stone floor, his gaze glued to the door to the head strategist's office. He knew that Jess was in there, being counseled in one way or another by Shu, who was trying to be helpful for once.
// ...Not that I expect anything from sir strategist. If he knows anything about love affairs, I'd be damned. //
When the door opened with a small creak, Flik was pleased to find his little chamberlain huddled in the doorway. Remembering Viktor's advise to be gentle and patient, he barely kept himself from grabbing Jess' hand and taking him away somewhere for another cuddle and confession of love and likes.
"Shu didn't upset you or anything?"
Jess shook his auburn-tinted head once and looked about in the corridor, as if to check if anyone was walking by. Flik noticed and grinned to himself; he checked to see, too, and took Jess to his arms when he was sure that they were alone. Shu had closed the door securely the moment the chamberlain had stepped out.
"Viktor gave me a scolding, but he's not my mother."
Very pleased by a shy, faint smile Jess displayed, Flik leaned down to steal the kiss he had missed earlier. He didn't expect anything but a vicious bite, punch or a stomp, but that was all fine by him. Petal-soft lips didn't move an inch until their lips touched, and straight teeth never threatened Flik as he proceeded to take his chances. He almost snapped his blue eyes open in bewilderment when slender fingers tentatively held on to his forearm and back, the lithe body going into a position of acceptance rather than defense.
Flik forgot everything but the kiss and the sweet joy he felt. He had conquered the fortress of Jess' prudishness.
NEXT
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~ Silent Little Mermaid 8 ~
Flik found much amusement in pursuing Jess that he didn't mind daily doses of hearty whacks across his cheek. As much as the chamberlain frowned, blushed and fled from his presence, the mercenary knew that there was no hatred or even real displeasure in their relationship. Perhaps kissing the younger man back in Kuskus had been a bad move, but he didn't regret it.
"Wait up for me, mister chamberlain."
"Keep away, Flik."
Not even reading the words on the paper shoved before his blue eyes, Flik grabbed one slender upper arm and cuddled Jess. He checked that no one was around in the castle corridor, and brushed his lips against the white nape with much tenderness. What he couldn't do with Odessa, he could with Jess. The young chamberlain needed aggressive pursuit or else he'd never open up.
Jess cringed and began to squirm, his hands flailing in the space before the two of them. Opening his pale lips to give noiseless protests, he angrily stomped down on the mercenary's foot, inducing a grunt from the older man.
"You are such a spitfire, did you know that, Jess?"
Another kiss, not at all discouraged by the vicious reprisal, scored along the chamberlain's ear. He let out a warm breath, squirming some more. Although he dared not to admit, Flik's insistent stalking and affectionate actions made him weak in the limbs. For what reason, he was afraid to know.
Flik never hindered Jess from writing his objections, so the tea-eyed young man wrote furiously and displayed one page after another of his sharp-tongued retorts. The devilishly handsome swordsman only curled his lips and pushed Jess against the wall, careful not to cause the delicate body even a small bump against the stone blocks of the Camelot stronghold.
"I won't hesitate in this and I told you so. I like you, Jess. From head to toe, inside and out. I like you a whole lot."
I don't like you!, or so screamed Jess' glare, but Flik ignored that as a definite lie. If Jess truly disliked him, then there would be worse treatments than just stomping of a foot or running away at sight. He'd be ignored, cold-shouldered, and completely cast out of the younger man's life.
"And I think that you like me, too."
Jess only glared harder, his hands curling up into fists ready to strike at the smiling swordsman's cheek. However, he was pinned very efficiently, though without any pain, and he could only struggle like a cat caught by the back of the neck.
"I'm new to this wooing thing... but I think it's working just fine." Murmuring more to himself than to the distressed other, Flik leaned down and tried to brush his lips against the lovely silent ones. Just as he got close enough to feel Jess' nervous breaths, he was yanked back by his blue mantle as though he were a child caught in a prank.
"There is a law against sexual harassment, Flik."
"And also for picking on poor lil chamberlains."
Shu had his arms folded before his chest and gave Flik a look of pure dismay while Viktor didn't let go of the hold upon the well-worn azure fabric. With an obvious reluctance, the younger mercenary let go of his trembling chamberlain and turned to those who had interrupted the moment of romance.
"There ought to be a law against coming by at a bad time." Flik shrugged his mantle out of his friend's grip, not looking half as angry as he was disappointed.
"Jess, are you all right?"
Not paying attention to the sulking swordsman, Shu asked in the usual calm tone. His frown deepened upon seeing Jess' flushed cheeks and nervous eyes that were more than a little tinted with scared anticipation. He received a dazed nod of someone whose mind was elsewhere.
"Flik, why don't you come for a drink..." By a side-glance cue from the elegant Asian, Viktor grabbed Flik by an arm and began to drag the younger mercenary away.
"Hey, I wasn't being dishonorable!" Flik protested futilely as he was taken out of Jess and Shu's sight.
**********
Slumping a little against the wall, Jess controlled his heartbeat to slow down and avoided the head strategist's dark gaze. When he stole a look at the other man's beautiful face, he saw a rare grin there, albeit a cool and faint one.
"Flik is rather passionate. I never imagined that he would pursue you this insistently." Shu mused and regarded the chamberlain in good humor. "Well, while the blue one is receiving a well-deserved chiding from the bear, shall we have a talk of our own?"
Jess had to nod, not only because Shu was his direct superior but also from the unspoken command he recognized. The Asian strategist never asked another to do something, and when he phrased something as a question, that meant that he expected it to be acquiesced to.
"Follow me to the office, Jess."
Shu turned his back to the chamberlain and began a brisk and mild-paced walk back to his work office. He always walked in such fashion, as did Jess. Following without an alternative, Jess fought back his mind's urge to recall what Flik had done to him just now. He had noticed while trying to calm his heart that both his nipples were a littler harder than usual; the discovery mortified him more than anything, for they were evidences of his reaction to the swordsman's approach.
Once the two of them reached the book-lined, work-suited office, Shu offered Jess a chair and took seat himself in the desk chair. The long-haired Asian placed a notebook and a pen before the other man, giving a message that he expected a two-way conversation.
"You did a fine job at Kuskus. I truly did not plan on having the two of you attacked, but... all turned out for the best. If it pleases you to know, Kasumi and Mondo took care of the rest of the spies."
// Ah, good to know, yes. But... //
Jess took up the pen and wrote, "Why did you choose Flik as my bodyguard?"
At that, Shu folded his slender fingers over the wooden desktop and thoughtfully replied, "I knew that you will be most comfortable around him. Others would have sufficed, but knowing you, it had to be Flik."
Displeased by the strange assumption, Jess dared to give a frown. The next paper read, "I don't understand, Sir Shu."
"Then I will put it bluntly. You are attracted to Flik."
**********
"You are too aggressive with the poor kid," Viktor warned over a jug of ale.
"I know that, Viktor. He needs that sort of attention or else he'll never give in." Flik returned in mild irritation. He considered spilling the rest of his beer over the older man's face, but he decided against the childish act of retribution. After all, Viktor was all hyped up to give him a pep talk and it would do no good to shower him with alcohol.
"So little like Odessa, isn't he?"
Viktor reminded Flik of the deceased woman, who had been as needy in her own right and pretty much had nailed the Blue Thunder from her end. She had made it clear, Flik remembered, that he was an emotional replacement for the betrothed whom she had lost; then, as time passed... their relationship had turned into something wonderful and irreplaceable.
// Replacement. It worked out fine in the end for her and me. I don't see why not for Jess and me, too. //
"I guess so. Odessa needed no shoving around. She took what she wanted and sometimes without asking. Took her own initiative. Jess doesn't have that assertiveness, or whatever you call it."
"At the rate you are going, though, you'll end up shoving him down to the bed and making him cry through the night. I can just see it coming." Viktor earned himself a good punch to a shoulder for the comment, but he merely grunted and shrugged. "You gotta watch where you tread with these prissy, proud ones."
"Thanks for telling me from your experience." Rolling his very blue eyes, Flik ordered another jug. He had observed Viktor following Shu's tail like a large dog or bear in the days before the head strategist accepted the affection. Realizing that it was how he was acting right now toward Jess, Flik broke into a fit of self-directed chuckle.
"It worked for me, but dunno about you, Flik. Jess isn't the same as Shu, as you can see."
"I know, I know. I wouldn't want to pursue Shu if someone paid me, but Jess is... just..."
"A cute brown bundle of kitten fur, eh? It's written all over your face!"
Laughing and giving each other playful yet painful punches to upper arms, Flik and Viktor dedicated a good time to drinking down their comments about their respective love interests.
**********
"Are you not, Jess?" Shu leaned over the desk a little, his silken hair spilling over the desk most seductively even though there was not a speck of coyness in him.
Transfixed by the question more so than the older man's beauty, Jess hid his face by looking down and shuffled in the chair. If he had an immediate "No" for the answer, he would have written so. However, the case was quite different now that he was forced to think about Flik.
// I don't dislike him at all. ................ //
"I know that when someone like you stay quietly pinned by another, that means there's no real objection." Curling his perfect lips like some wise man playing tricks on an ignorant, Shu leaned back into the comfortable chair. "If I were you and I had no interest in the assailant, I would kick him so hard that he will never function properly again."
The words themselves were comical, but coming from Shu, they became real threats. Jess shook his head that he would never do that to Flik, then reddened at his reaction to the suggested reprisal.
"Jess, you and I are different yet similar. Borrowing Viktor's words, we are prissy and proud. I know exactly what you are thinking."
Up-slanted oriental eyes had Jess cornered in the conversation. Resigning himself to confess, the lithe chamberlain scribbled slowly, "What am I to do if I don't mind him?"
Shu looked almost like a goddess as he smiled and nodded. "Kiss him back."
**********
Flik tapped his foot on the stone floor, his gaze glued to the door to the head strategist's office. He knew that Jess was in there, being counseled in one way or another by Shu, who was trying to be helpful for once.
// ...Not that I expect anything from sir strategist. If he knows anything about love affairs, I'd be damned. //
When the door opened with a small creak, Flik was pleased to find his little chamberlain huddled in the doorway. Remembering Viktor's advise to be gentle and patient, he barely kept himself from grabbing Jess' hand and taking him away somewhere for another cuddle and confession of love and likes.
"Shu didn't upset you or anything?"
Jess shook his auburn-tinted head once and looked about in the corridor, as if to check if anyone was walking by. Flik noticed and grinned to himself; he checked to see, too, and took Jess to his arms when he was sure that they were alone. Shu had closed the door securely the moment the chamberlain had stepped out.
"Viktor gave me a scolding, but he's not my mother."
Very pleased by a shy, faint smile Jess displayed, Flik leaned down to steal the kiss he had missed earlier. He didn't expect anything but a vicious bite, punch or a stomp, but that was all fine by him. Petal-soft lips didn't move an inch until their lips touched, and straight teeth never threatened Flik as he proceeded to take his chances. He almost snapped his blue eyes open in bewilderment when slender fingers tentatively held on to his forearm and back, the lithe body going into a position of acceptance rather than defense.
Flik forgot everything but the kiss and the sweet joy he felt. He had conquered the fortress of Jess' prudishness.
NEXT