BU - RE - SU

By Tenshi no Ai

(C) Square Enix

III. -Electric-

-0-

Beowulf thought he knew exactly what Reis was doing. He even believed he knew why. It was all she really could do. It would be so easy to sympathize with her; after all, traveling with Ramza's party through the wilds of Ivalice didn't allow for anything more than longing gazes and fleeting brushes of contact, the things bards everywhere sung about as being the epitome of romance. And he had to admit that he was a romantic, though more of the sort that involved actual conversation and prolonged physical contact. The point of the matter was that he could appreciate his lover's shy advances and even find them endearing, just like anyone else bitten--in his case, chomped on, chewed up and spat out--by the love bug.

But really, she didn't have to brush up against him three times a day. At least.

Now, this was not to say that he didn't want to be touched by her. On the contrary, he would be a very happy man if all she did was touch him. Constantly happy. And he was willing to take what he could get, considering that the only truly private time they got was once they reached a town. However, as the old chemist saying went, too much of a good thing was a poison, something he was getting a firsthand account of.

It always happened the same way. The party would stop for whatever reason, from setting up camp to settling a dispute--both external threats as well as arguments--and while he would stand around like the innocent victim he was, she would come up behind him like a thief and steal away any focus he had on other matters. She always approached him from behind, deathly silent right until she would brush up against his arm. Sometimes she would even glance back at him, a touch of a smile lingering on her coral lips before she would casually turn away. Always though, he would catch her scent, that deep, intoxicating perfume that lured him away to other times, where there were no battles, only her, her lips, her neck, her voice as she whispered his name, her fingers running through his hair, rounded nails digging into his back as she urged him on...

Every damn time.

He was starting to feel like a teenager again. Thank God he owned a cape, even though they were traveling in the hottest days of summer.

Normally it wouldn't be so frustrating for him--he was in possession of a large amount of self-control--but his feelings were exacerbated by the fact that they had only been together again for a mere week after years of loneliness, years of missing her, years of trying to find her on wisps of gossip...and years of never quite finding her. All those years, and now that they were journeying to save their homeland, it seemed that their relationship was being pushed aside in the meanwhile. He cared about Ivalice and wanted to destroy the Lucavi just as much as anyone else, but she was more important. They were more important.

Sometimes he wanted to blame her, but he knew that it would be too easy, too wrong. Instead, he decided to think positively. After all, if she could have her fun tormenting him, he could do the same.

It was a beautiful, clear day at Bariaus Valley as well as miserably humid, something Beowulf had always hated about his stay in Lionel. The group was heading towards Goug after Mustadio had realized that the Cancer stone was what his father's newest invention needed to do whatever it did. They were now in the process of refilling canteens--no one wanted to take a chance with Zigolis Swamp's 'water'. When Beowulf had finished refilling his, he noticed Reis was standing by herself, looking back towards Lionel Castle. She must be thinking about her time there, he thought to himself when, from his vantage point to the side, he saw her expression darken. She could use a good distraction.

After glancing back to make sure everyone was occupied, he quietly approached her, an exercise in futility but necessary for the mood he wanted to inspire. She heard him, something he could tell by the way she suddenly straightened up, but she didn't turn around to acknowledge him. He smiled wickedly as he walked up next to her, casually placing one hand on the small of her back while leaning his head so that the curve of his bottom lip brushed the top of her ear. "Hello, love," he whispered, his smile widening as she shivered.

"B-Beowulf, what...what are you doing?" she whispered back, not moving away from him. "Everyone's just behind us..."

He moved his hand from her back to her hand, easily encircling her delicate wrist as he softly rubbed his thumb just underneath the heel of her palm. With his gloves off, he could feel her pulse throbbing at an accelerated pace, moreso as he began to speak. "Hm...everyone's occupied at the moment." He waited a moment to gauge her response to that--her pulse quickened--before continuing with, "Unless you don't want me around?"

She shook her head minutely. "No. I just...I mean, since there are people around, you might not want to be so, ah, intimate..."

"Intimate? Interesting. I wasn't planning on doing anything." Lowering his head just a bit more, his lips caressed the valley between the cartilage just before her inner ear. Her pulse was erratic, something that amazed him. Did he really have the same effect on her as she did to him? The mental pleasure he derived from that thought was almost as good as any physical pleasure he had ever received, and he enjoyed a long moment of just being close to her before he spoke again.

"Yet."

Her pulse was sparking like electricity just before he let go and walked away, a small smirk on his face.

-End to Electric-

Very, very rough drabble this time around, since I'm dealing with both my finals as well as a job. With my job as it is (pros: money, the amusement I get by having a coworker named Alma; cons: boss, standing for 7 hours a day), I barely have the willpower to churn out a thousand words a week, not to talk of UFC, so for now I'm discontinuing it until I get a well-paying job with less hours a day (which is already in the works). I'm very sorry, but I really need to get a new computer before this one crashes on me again.

Reviewers!

Thanks, TobyKikami. I know libation's more for a liquid sacrifice, but oblation just sounds so...odd. Unlike you, I've never heard of it before a few weeks ago.
Thanks for your review!

Yo, TruebornChaos. I'd forgotten just how popular Monty Python was. And way to ruin the Lionel Castle scene. :P
Bah, that 'iBook thingie', as you so put it, is a beautiful laptop from Apple. With my job going the way it is, I should have enough money for it by mid-July. And thanks for your kind words, both on the job as well as the chapter. By the way, I forgot to say this in last week's reply, but happy birthday!

Nice to see you, Luna! Yeah, lovey-dovey couples with no problems whatsoever is not only impossible, it's extremely boring to read about.
Good luck with finals. This time around all of mine were reports and take-home tests.

Solitary Confinement (awesome name, by the way), you're entirely too kind. I thought that what the game showed of the two was very well done and tasteful. But yeah, I'm really happy you see the evolution of Beowulf and Reis between WHW to now. Thanks for your review!