AN: Hello again. This chapter is mostly just pointless fluff. Note that I said mostly. Isaaru seems to be getting a little bit aggressive. I honestly didn't mean for that to happen, but I think it works this way. Please enjoy the chapter.

Cloister Thirteen

Beclem awoke to find a warm blanket covering him, and an even warmer pair of arms wrapped around his torso. He nuzzled Isaaru's neck gently, wondering how he had been lucky enough to find himself in this predicament. The last thing he could remember was looking up at the sky to see a dark red shape hovering above him.

He sighed to himself, and gently nibbled on Isaaru's earlobe. This, he realised with a grin, was the first time they had ever been allowed to share a bed together. He would have preferred spending the night before in other circumstances than they had, but he certainly wasn't complaining. Maybe another day he would be permitted his simple wish.

Isaaru stirred in his sleep, and Beclem froze, not wanting to wake his lover. It was too late however, and Isaaru awoke with a quiet yawn that sounded more like a mewl, before wrapping his arms even more tightly around Beclem's body.

"Good morning Beclem," Isaaru whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"All right," Beclem answered. "I can't even feel the poison any more. Where are we?"

"On board the Celsius," Isaaru answered, just before placing a kiss on Beclem's neck.

"The Celsius?" Beclem questioned. "The Gullwings' airship?"

"Yes," Isaaru sighed. "Lady Yuna apologised last night. They picked us up from behind the Palace and gave you an antidote for that poison you inhaled."

"Hmm…." Beclem moaned against Isaaru's neck. He stayed that way for a while, just enjoying the simple pleasure of being able to lie in a bed with his lover, before sighing. "This is nice."

Isaaru chuckled, and placed another kiss on Beclem's neck which lasted much longer and which included several small nibbles. "Yes," he agreed, as his lips left Beclem's skin for just a second. "It is, isn't it?"

The bridge of the Celsius was a chaotic hub of energy when Beclem and Isaaru entered it later that morning.

"Look who's finally woken up," Buddy commented from his position at the navigating equipment.

"Good morning," Yuna said, nodding at the both of them.

"So is it true?" a blonde bundle of energy said as she raced up to them. This was Rikku, Yuna's young Al Bhed cousin, guardian and close friend, and also a legendary fighter, having accompanied Yuna both times the Summoner had saved Spira.

"It seems like a strange pairing if you ask me," another woman with dark hair and even darker leather clothing said as she sidled up to the two men. "I never would have seen it coming. You have nothing in common."

"You would be surprised," Isaaru said.

"Hmm…" the woman said, looking sideways at them as though she was still trying to figure out their relationship. Beclem and Isaaru had both met the third member of the infamous Gullwings trio before. Her name was Paine, and she was even more fierce a fighter than her two companions.

"What's going on up here?" another voice said from just behind Isaaru and Beclem. The two men looked behind them to discover a man of a few years younger than them both, with a kind face and blonde hair.

"Oh," Yuna exclaimed. "Sorry. You were just sleeping so soundly that I couldn't wake you up. Isaaru; Beclem; this is my fiancée Tidus."

"We've met," Isaaru said, smiling at the young man. Beclem acknowledged Tidus with a simple nod.

"Hi," Tidus said, waving to them. "How're you doing, Isaaru?"

"Tidus," Yuna continued. "You've obviously met Isaaru, and this is Beclem. We're letting them stay on the ship for a while."

"What I want to know is why!" a rather irate and heavily accented voice said from the pilot's seat of the Celsius.

"'Cause if we had left them there," Rikku said indignantly, "then the Yevonites would have killed them dummy!" She whacked the Al Bhed at the pilot's seat on the back of the head for emphasis.

"That is what I am not getting!" the man protested. "What did you two do, huh? I am the leader, and I say we are not going to carry any criminal type people on board this ship!"

"Sorry," Buddy told Beclem and Isaaru, as he grabbed the other Al Bhed around the shoulder in an effort to stop him from flinging around his arms so much. "This is Brother."

"He's your brother?" Beclem questioned. "The two of you don't look a thing alike."

"He's Rikku's brother," Buddy explained. "He sure as hell better not be mine, and Brother is his name. Confusing, but you'll get used to it."

Buddy pulled Brother closer to him and began talking to him in hushed tones.

"I'm sorry about that," Yuna said. "Brother is technically the leader of the Gullwings, but everyone seems to forget about it."

"THAT IS A CRIME?" Brother suddenly shouted from the front of the bridge.

The bridge was suddenly silent apart from Buddy's hushed explanation to Brother, and Rikku's smothered giggling.

"Yevonites are strange!" Brother exclaimed as pulled away from Buddy. "Why they make you being in love a crime makes no sense to me at all."

"A crime?" Tidus asked as he scratched the side of his head. "So you two were going to be arresting for what; being in love?"

"That's about it," Beclem confirmed with a nod of his head.

"I guess I'm still getting used to some of Spira's laws," Tidus admitted. Neither Beclem nor Isaaru questioned what he meant by this. "That's so different from back home. No wonder Wakka wasn't getting the hints."

"What!" Yuna shrieked.

"Just kidding," Tidus said, laughing at the horrified look on Yuna's face. Tidus turned around then and smiled at Paine.

"I'm surprised your reaction wasn't a little bit more impressive," he told her. "You being a conservative and all."

"I'm not that conservative," Paine said; her expression not changing at all. "Besides, I used to have a couple of friends who were… very close. I did all the panicking I needed to when I walked in on them."

"Eep!" Rikku squealed. "You're not talking about Gippal are you?" Paine simply smiled, making Rikku squeal again. "You are aren't you? Poopy."

Isaaru simply smiled as the antics of the Gullwings continued. He soon felt fingers gently reaching out to touch his own, and he wrapped his hand around Beclem's, turning to give his lover an encouraging smile.

"I could get used to this," he said. "What about you?"

Beclem frowned for a moment, before taking in the kind smile on Isaaru's face and grinning back.

"I've been in worse places," he answered.

He continued to watch as Buddy continued his effort to get the now outraged Brother to calm down. Rikku was still pestering Paine to tell her more about Baralai and Gippal's relationship. Tidus and Yuna were talking quietly to one another, leaving Beclem and Isaaru to place a chaste kiss on one another's lips without anyone noticing.

"Yeah," Beclem added, as they pulled apart. "I could get used to it."

Beclem sighed as he stared out at the expanse of the Bikanel desert, before wrapping the strip of fabric which covered his mouth tighter around it in an effort to block out the sand which was still managing to sneak in.

He recalled the conversation which had led him to this mess.

"We need supplies," Isaaru had commented. "And clothes."

"Well you can't go anywhere," Beclem had argued. "Too many people would know your face."

"Then you will just have to go by yourself," Isaaru had retorted.

"What in Sin's name am I supposed to do if somebody recognises me?" Beclem roared.

"No-one is going to recognise you," Isaaru told him, as he placed a comforting hand on each of Beclem's forearms. He leaned forwards and left the slightest of kisses on Beclem's forehead. "Not without your mask at least."

Isaaru smiled encouraging at Beclem. "I will talk to Lady Yuna and the Gullwings and see if they will be able to drop us off somewhere on Bikanel Island; then we are almost guaranteed that no-one will know us, and if they do, chances are that they won't care."

Beclem leaned in close to Isaaru then for a moment, resting his head on Isaaru's shoulder. Isaaru smiled and placed another kiss on Beclem's forehead.

"If through some highly unlikely occurrence you find yourself in trouble, I will come and rescue you," he told his lover. "I promise you that I will; even if it means standing against the whole of Spira."

Beclem sighed, the memory giving him just enough courage to walk into the small Al Bhed village. Compared to most Spiran cities this was no more than a tiny town, but it still had enough to satisfy all of its residents, including the supplies and clothes that Isaaru and he needed.

He stopped by a weapon's stall, wondering if he had enough money on him to buy Isaaru a new staff. He inspected a few of the weapons, before coming to the decision that he would have to buy everything else before he would know whether he could afford to buy his lover such an expensive gift.

He moved on to a clothing store, and chose some robes which looked as though they would fit Isaaru, in pale blue and deep red, colours which they both liked. He was just about to choose something more modest for himself, when he heard a voice shriek out on the other side of the tent.

"Beclem!" it screamed. "It's you!"

He started, preparing to run away as fast as he possibly could. Before he could though he felt someone jump onto his back, and felt the strip of fabric over his mouth get torn away.

"Hi!" Keekah said as he turned around to face his attacker. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything. I was just really surprised to see you here. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Picking up supplies," Beclem said, gesturing to the half-full bag at his side.

"Your face is really nice," Keekah said suddenly. "I can see why Isaaru likes you now. You should never have covered it up."

Beclem sighed and shook his head at the half Al Bhed's words.

"So you heard about us all the way out here then?" Beclem asked.

"Yes," Keekah answered solemnly. "There have been a lot of requests from New Yevon for information about the two of you, but I think a lot of the Al Bhed are secretly hoping for you to get away with it. After all, many of both the Al Bhed and Guado could be arrested under the same laws you are if the Yevonites decided to crack down on it."

Beclem sighed again, and returned the strip of fabric to its place over his mouth. Keekah looked at him with her head on the side for a moment.

"How did you escape from Bevelle?" she asked him.

"We had some help," Beclem revealed. "We're staying on Lady Yuna's airship at the moment. Don't let anyone else know about it though."

"Don't worry," Keekah assured him. "I won't."

She looked up at the ceiling of the tent for a moment, while Beclem moved on to the next lot of clothing.

"I take it Isaaru is still on the airship then," Keekah finally said. Beclem nodded in reply.

Keekah nodded once more at him, and exited the tent without another word. Beclem watched her leave, wondering what had prompted such an abrupt ending to their conversation, before resuming his shopping.

He had just finished picking up all the supplies that were needed, and was passing the weapons stall once more when Keekah ran up to him again, smiling widely.

"Hands out," she said, as she rummaged in her bag for something.

He frowned, but ended up placing his hands in front of him as she had requested. Keekah smiled at him, and placed a large double handful of something on his palms. It wasn't an impressive gift; consisting of a few basic medical supplies, a small amount of Gil, and a small charm of some sort. The charm caught Beclem's eye though, and he held it up to the light, watching as it cast different coloured rays of light around it.

"It's not much," Keekah admitted, "but the two of you need them more than I do."

"What's this?" Beclem asked her. The charm was unlike anything he had ever seen before, consisting of a globe made of some sort of clear iridescent material and having been decorated by a simple bell and several ribbons.

"That's my lucky charm," Keekah told him. "I don't actually get to use it much though. It's supposed to do something to enhance your magic. Isaaru probably would know more about what it does than I would."

"Do you know anything at all about magic?" Beclem asked her.

"Only a little bit," Keekah admitted.

"Good," Beclem said, pocketing her gifts and grabbing her by the wrist. He dragged her further into the weapons stall towards the staffs before letting go. "That's more than me. You can help me pick out a good staff for Isaaru then, because I don't have a clue what I'm doing."

Keekah simply smiled at him sheepishly, and began inspecting the staffs with him.

"You know something," she said. "I'm glad that the two of you are happy together."

Beclem didn't ask how she knew that they were happy, but part of him hoped that she could see the smile beneath the strip of cloth covering his lower face.

An hour later Beclem and Keekah had chosen a fine but relatively basic weapon for Isaaru, and Beclem called to the Celsius to land and pick him up once more. A rather frantic Isaaru interrupted his conversation with Buddy.

"Beclem?" it called. "Thank Yevon. I was so worried. You've been gone for so long."

Keekah giggled at the worried tone in the ex-Summoner's voice.

"It was only two hours," Beclem told his lover.

"You said it would only take one," Isaaru said.

"I ran into an old friend," Beclem explained, passing the communicator to Keekah, who had been gesturing for Beclem to pass her the small device for most of the conversation.

"Hi Isaaru," Keekah said into the communicator, her voice full of excitement. Beclem listened into the one half of the conversation that he could hear clearly. "No, he hasn't been…"

Beclem snatched the communicator back before the conversation could go any further, and spoke into it.

"I'll see you soon," he said.

"See you soon, honey," Isaaru returned, making Beclem grimace and switch the communicator off.

"Honey?" he repeated, not sure whether he was touched or revolted by Isaaru's new pet name for him.

Beclem was welcomed onto the airship by an enthusiastic embrace from his lover and one giggling Rikku. Isaaru took one look at Beclem's expression and frowned.

"I told you he would hate being called 'honey'," he told Rikku, just making the Al Bhed laugh even more.

"I guess it could be worse," Beclem said, giving Isaaru the new staff. Isaaru stared at his lover and the gift in shock. "This is for you… love," he said, before walking off with a quite obvious blush on his face. The presence of even that smallest of spoken endearments in Beclem's speech made Isaaru gasp happily before walking off after his lover, leaving Rikku to giggle at the two men's antics by herself.

An hour later saw Beclem, Isaaru and the Gullwings standing on the bridge, debating Beclem and Isaaru's future.

"You could always stay on the Celsius for longer, you know," Yuna said.

"No," Isaaru sighed. "We couldn't. We've already been far too much of a burden for everyone here."

"Bikanel is always a good option," Paine commented.

"Yeah," Rikku added. "The two of you could become diggers. It's sort of hard work, but the pay is all right, and no-one would care that you are who you are. I bet there are tonnes of people like you digging for a living."

"You think so huh," Beclem said, pondering the idea. It did have its benefits after all, and it was better than anything else they had thought of.

"Well, think about it," Yuna suggested. "We can always take you to Djose Temple tomorrow to sign up, and then we can drop you back on the island if you decide that's what you want."

Beclem and Isaaru looked towards one another for guidance, before smiling weakly and involuntarily shuffling closer to one another.

"We'll think about it," Beclem said.

That night saw one very excited Isaaru enter the cabin of the Celsius, pulling Beclem along with him. Suddenly Isaaru stopped dead in his tracks. Beclem stopped one step later than his lover, accidentally assisting Isaaru in his plot to pull Beclem back into an embrace.

"Guess what," Isaaru whispered, as he began to kiss Beclem, first on the ear, and then venturing lower onto Beclem's neck.

"What?" Beclem moaned softly, leaning back into his lover.

"We have a bed all to ourselves tonight," Isaaru answered. "Just you and me, and some blankets, and no cold stone."

"Sounds good," Beclem groaned, letting out another more unintelligible noise as he was thrown rather ungracefully over Isaaru's shoulder.

Isaaru threw his lover down on their shared bed, and stood at the other end, surveying Beclem for all of a second, before he pounced on him, pressing him against the covers in a passionate and demanding kiss.

Beclem moaned loudly, surprised by Isaaru's sudden aggressiveness, but definitely not about to protest against it. He opened his mouth and legs almost immediately, ready for whatever Isaaru was going to do, even though both men were still fully clothed.

Isaaru pulled back from the kiss, ignoring Beclem's arms, which were placed on his shoulders and were desperately attempting to make him resume the action. He smiled confidently at his lover, before sliding down Beclem's body and removing Beclem's trousers.

Beclem moaned as he felt Isaaru's lips and teeth gently scrape against his skin, firstly on his hip, and then over more sensitive areas.

Beclem thought that Isaaru was going to go further, but Isaaru moved back up to kiss him once more, leaving certain matters which were, in Beclem's mind, quite pressing, to be left unattended for now.

Beclem found himself rubbing up against Isaaru, trying to get his lover to do more, but Isaaru just grinned and whispered in his ear seductively.

"You need to be more patient Beclem," he said, covering Beclem's mouth with his own once more.

Beclem's legs wrapped around Isaaru, pulling the man's body closer to him, just as his arms attempted to do the same. Isaaru grinned at the lose of control Beclem was already experiencing, before slipping one hand inside Beclem's other clothes and gently caressing the spot on Beclem's back which always made him go crazy.

Beclem let out a satisfying groan at this action. His hands moved from Isaaru's back to begin tugging impatiently at the robes that his lover still wore. Isaaru gave into Beclem's impatience for a while, moving slightly so that Beclem could slide the robes from his shoulders.

Beclem smiled as Isaaru's outer robes were shed, throwing them to the floor before starting on Isaaru's other clothes, pulling them off so frantically that Isaaru's inner robe tore a little, before both it and Isaaru's underclothes joined his robes on the floor.

Beclem grinned and clung to Isaaru as he felt his bare skin sliding over Isaaru's now. He let out a series of short, soft moans as their lower bodies ground against one another, trying to move so that Isaaru would take him.

"Uh uh," Isaaru chastised Beclem, as he used all his willpower to pull back from the ex-Crusader's tight embrace for a moment. "You've still got clothes on."

"Fine," Beclem said, lying back with his arms stretched above his head in an effort to make it as easy as possible for Isaaru to undress him.

Isaaru just smirked at this action, and began very deliberately, and very slowly taking Beclem's vest off, making sure he caressed Beclem's skin at certain points as he did so. Beclem began squirming impatiently, whimpering for Isaaru to be quicker and stop teasing him.

Isaaru silenced Beclem's whimpers with a fiery kiss, finishing removing his vest with one swift movement and let it fall and join his own clothes on the floor.

He then began the painstakingly slow process of removing Beclem's undershirt, spending more time caressing and teasing Beclem's soft skin than actually concentrating on taking the garment off.

Eventually it too came off and joined the other clothes on the floor, and Beclem's impatient wriggling and mewling became even more desperate as he felt Isaaru's skin touching his own.

"Please," he whispered, arching against Isaaru.

(AN: I did have some more detailed stuff in here, but it needed to be edited a little bit so that it was suitable for the site. Sorry guys.)

"I love you. I love you," Beclem repeatedly whispered between kisses and soft bites on Isaaru's neck and shoulder.

Beclem moaned loudly as Isaaru finished inside of him, the feeling making him follow his lover into bliss.

When they became themselves once more, Isaaru smiled and rolled onto his side, taking Beclem with him in a tight embrace.

"I love you too," Isaaru whispered into Beclem's ear.

Beclem smiled at him, and placed a kiss on Isaaru's lips. It lasted for quite a few minutes, before Beclem nuzzled into Isaaru's shoulder.

"And now," Beclem whispered. "We are finally allowed to fall asleep together."

Isaaru smiled at this comment and pulled Beclem closer.

"I guess we got our wish," he said.

Their eyes both slid shut within a couple of minutes, and their smiles didn't once slip from their faces while they slept.

The city of Luca was extremely quiet at night. All the crowds which usually packed themselves into the area around the famous Blitzball stadium during the day had now retired to whatever nightspot or hotel visitors and sports-stars alike chose to frequent.

All this meant that the two guards who were watching the main entrance to the stadium were currently finding their shift incredibly boring. At least they had one another to hold a conversation with. They were, after all, quite close friends.

"Wedge," the first guard said, in an attempt to strike out some form of conversation. "Do you think we should try out for another team next season?"

"Do what you want Biggs," the guard named Wedge said. "But if you ask me, it's a lot more financially stable if you just stick to being a guard. If you want the glamour of being a Blitzball player again then fine. Just don't blame me if you pick the loosing team, like we did this last season."

"I couldn't play Blitzball by myself," Biggs argued. "It's just not the same without you. It's no fun."

Wedge grinned at this comment.

"Yeah," he said. "And I couldn't survive a shift this boring without having you to talk to, so don't you go running off and leaving me here by myself all right?"

The two guards smiled at one another once more, before resuming their job and staring out at the dark and empty streets of Luca. They stayed like that for a while, before Biggs took a rather deep breath, and attempted to strike up a conversation again.

"So," he began. "Did you hear about Summoner Isaaru and that guy, what was his name?"

"Beclem," Wedge answered with a frown. "Yeah. I did."

"I heard that New Yevon still hasn't found them," Biggs laughed. "I'd like to know how they escaped with that many people after them."

"Cowards," Wedge interjected, stopping Biggs's words immediately. "They committed a crime; they should act like real men and face the punishment instead of running away from it."

"What?" Biggs asked, a little shocked by the fierceness in his friend's voice. "But their punishment is death."

"Don't you think they deserve it?" Wedge asked.

"No!" Biggs said so loudly that his voice echoed throughout the empty streets. "No; they shouldn't die for it. You can't help who you fall in love with. They shouldn't die just because they fell in love with the wrong person."

"How can you say that? Those two; they're freaks."

Biggs sighed. "You've never been in love then, have you Wedge?"

"No," Wedge said, shaking his head. "At least, I'm pretty sure that I haven't."

"It kind of creeps up on you," Biggs explained. "I mean, you don't plan to do it or anything, but before you know it, they're your whole life, and…"

"Ssh…" Wedge interrupted him again. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It was like this really strange sort of sliding or hissing noise."

"No, I didn't… Wait, was that it then?"

"Yeah. What do you think it was?"

"I don't know," Biggs answered. "I've never heard anything like it before in my life."

The two of them froze as a rather small and soft looking sphere of white floated in front of their eyes. It popped spontaneously in front of them, spraying them with a chalky white powder. Biggs and Wedge coughed as some of the powder made its way into their throats.

A loud crashing noise suddenly erupted behind them, and they turned around, nodding at one another before running into the stadium to discover the source of the noise.

They were stopped short as the ground beneath them began cracking as something large forced its way up from underneath the stadium. Pyreflies began floating around the stadium. A dark shape rose from the centre of the arena, growing and growing as the pyreflies joined with it.

The ground continued to split and shatter, and Wedge and Biggs were forced to run back away from the stadium.

The fiend that had forced its way into Luca stadium turned around and fixed Wedge and Biggs with cold yellow eyes.