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Clive wondered, sometimes, if he was seeing things. Strange things. Things that didn’t quite make sense. He would pass Cid in the hallway, their eyes would meet, and Cid’s irises would flicker and change colors. But then he would blink, and the next moment everything would be back to normal.
He might’ve been able to ignore it, but there were other things too. He’d wake up in the solar some mornings and Cid would be staring out into space, unblinking. More concerningly, he wouldn’t always respond to his name, when it happened. Like his mind was a thousand miles away.
They’d been sleeping together for a few months now, since Cid survived Oriflamme and they defended the Hideaway from Kupka. The relationship was somewhere between casual and serious, but Clive could feel something deep starting to take root between them. Like a need they couldn’t quite shake. He wanted to get caught up in it, but there were Mothercrystals to worry about, bearers to save. Things that had to be done.
“Clive, can I speak with you?” Cid said one day, brushing up to him in the Fat Chocobo.
It was strange to hear his actual name, and not lad or love or some other endearment. Cid’s face was serious, though. Serious enough that Clive’s sarcastic reply died on his lips.
“What is it?” he asked instead, lowering his voice.
Cid beckoned him away from the bustle, up the stairs and into the quiet of the solar. But once they got there, he didn’t speak, just lit a cigar and took a long drag.
“Cid, what is it?” Clive asked, feeling suddenly nervous.
Cid looked straight at him, and Clive saw it clearly. His eyes were bright yellow, almost glowing with unnatural energy. Static crackled in the air, completely at odds with the dearth of aether in the deadlands.
“It’s Ramuh,” Cid said heavily, eyes snapping suddenly back to green.
“Ramuh?”
Cid had tried to give up Ramuh at Drake’s Head, but it hadn’t taken. So the Eikon was still with him. And in Clive’s opinion, that was where he belonged.
“Have you ever heard of the hundred year storm?” Cid continued, taking another long drag.
Clive searched his memories, clawing off the dust and rot of the long gap between his current life and his life in Rosalith. He did vaguely recall something, some muttered comment by one of Joshua’s tutors.
“Isn't that something that only happens in Waloed?” Clive furrowed his brow.
“More or less,” Cid shrugged.
“Then what does it have to do with Ramuh?”
“That’s, well,” Cid sucked air through his teeth, looking annoyed. Then he sighed. “The old man causes the storm.”
His eyes flashed yellow again, and Clive took an involuntary step back. But all too quickly they returned to normal.
“It’s an excess of aether that needs to be discharged,” Cid added. “I’ve been putting it off, hiding out here in the deadlands. But Ramuh is–"
He winced, a small pop of static snapping through the air.
“Ramuh is getting… eager.”
“Alright,” Clive replied. “Assuming you’re right–"
“I’m right.”
“Assuming you’re right, what do we need to do? Prepare the Hideaway for some rain?”
Cid frowned, exhaling a long line of smoke. Silence hung in the air between them, but Clive just let it stretch. It wasn’t his job to disperse the tension, not when Cid was being cagey as usual. Not when he was clearly holding something back.
“I’m going to leave for a day or two, put some distance between me and here,” Cid sighed, looking annoyed.
And Clive suddenly understood why he was only now privy to this information. Because Cid was about to leave, and it couldn’t be kept from him any longer.
“Shouldn’t you be talking to Otto?” he frowned, crossing his arms.
“Aye, I talked to him already.”
“Charon? Tarja? Blackthorne?”
Cid waved his hand.
“The place can survive for a few days without me, lad.”
“And I can absorb aether, let me help you,” Clive stepped forward.
“No, it’s too dangerous,” Cid’s expression drew tight. “And we don’t really know what you did to Garuda. We could both get hurt if you try anything reckless.”
There was a certain reason in the words, if Clive had been inclined to hear it. But instead he fumed, glaring at Cid fiercely.
“You’re shutting me out,” he grumbled.
“I’m taking necessary precautions,” Cid replied, smoke drifting over his face.
“Necessary precautions are talking to Tarja, necessary precautions are letting me–"
“I said no, Clive.”
“Why–"
“No. Not this time,” Cid left him no room for argument.
Clive shook slightly, rage rising hot in his chest. How dare he–
To regain control of himself, Clive took a long, long breath. Cid could be difficult, impossibly difficult, sometimes. They’d fought as much as fucked when they’d first got together. But that was a while back now, and they’d both promised to at least try and let cooler heads prevail.
Clive exhaled, letting some of the tension leave his shoulders, going over the situation in his mind. Ramuh on a rampage, Cid discharging aether, the possibility of a storm…
“Alright,” he said, flicking his eyes to Cid’s. “If you agree to two conditions, first.”
“Lad–"
Clive crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows. If Cid couldn’t even listen to him, maybe he needed to reevaluate some things. But as if catching wind of his thoughts, Cid’s rough front crumpled.
“What are they?” he rubbed his face, suddenly looking rather tired.
“You tell me where you’re going to be, so I can find you afterwards,” Clive started.
“I can’t promise–"
“Cid,” Clive cut him off. “It’s non-negotiable. What if you can’t take the strain? What if you collapse out there? What if you–"
“I’ll be near the Kingsfall, a few miles north. There aren’t any villages right around there, should be safe for me,” Cid interrupted, ashing his cigar.
“Alright.”
It was close enough to the Hideaway that Clive could get there quickly, which was all he’d really wanted to know.
“And you at least tell Tarja what’s going on,” he finished.
Cid’s face pinched.
“It’s not that important,” he said carefully.
“Then there’s no reason not to talk to her,” Clive scowled.
They locked eyes, both refusing to back down. Tension crackled in the air for a few long moments, Cid’s eyes flashing from green to yellow and back again. Clive couldn’t believe how obvious it was, now that he was face to face with what was happening. If only he’d confronted Cid a few weeks back, maybe they could’ve worked out a real plan.
“I’ll talk to her,” Cid was the one to back down this time, turning to stub out his cigar on his desk. “That it?”
“Try not to get yourself killed, obviously.”
“Aye,” Cid sighed. “I’ll do that.”
Clive was busying himself around the Hideaway, running errands for Otto, when Gav came charging through the entrance. His eyes were wild, and he was covered in mud. But even more noticeable was a horrible stench, foul and immediately familiar.
“Clive!” Gav exclaimed.
“Did you run into a morbol?” Clive resisted the urge to pinch his nose.
Gav careened his way through a complicated story, possibly exaggerated, that did indeed involve him narrowly surviving an encounter with a morbol.
“...it were lucky I made it past the falls, Clive, what with–"
“The falls?” Clive interrupted, a sudden wave of nerves passing over him.
“Aye, the Kingsfall. Hey, you remember when you–"
But Clive was already pushing past him, thoughts turning rapidly dark. Cid was at the Kingsfall. Cid might be fighting that morbol right this second–
“Clive!”
Not bothering to second guess himself, he started running. The sky was clear, no signs of that alleged hundred year storm. But it had already been three days, he was well within his rights to go searching for Cid. Gav called after him again, but Clive ignored it. They would all figure out what he was up to soon enough.
He made it out of the deadlands in record time, the evening sun starting to slant low over the horizon. Taking a few notes from Gav’s story, he headed straight for where he thought the morbol would be. He only had two potions on him, but hopefully he wouldn’t need them.
And indeed, the monster was where he expected, just off the river in a swampy area. Fortunately, there was no sign of Cid, and he breathed a long sigh of relief. But unfortunately, the morbol was lurking near a backroad they used to get bearers out of Sanbreque. Hence why Gav had encountered the damn thing.
Clive drew his broadsword, knowing he’d have to take care of it.
The morbol was surprisingly easy to fight, compared to the last time. Clive winced at the thought, the sudden memory of Tyler and Wade making his heart ache. But just as he was swinging down a killing blow, there was a strange pulse of aether off in the distance. Clive froze, trying to figure out what was going on.The hesitation meant he wasn’t able to dodge a wave of bad breath in time, the putrid spray hitting him square on.
Angry, nearly retching from the smell, Clive dispatched the morbol with a burst of fire. It crashed to the ground, defeated, but he didn’t feel particularly victorious. With a scowl, he turned towards the river. His father’s clothes might be ruined if they weren’t cleaned quickly, and daylight was fading fast.
At the water’s edge, Clive stripped and started cleaning the leather. He used some nearby underbrush to scrape at it, trying to get off all the lingering fluid. The material would still stink for days, but if the breath didn’t dry everything would at least be salvageable.
As he stood there, scrubbing, there was another burst of aether. This time, with no morbol to distract him, Clive snapped to attention. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, or what was the cause. He finished up cleaning as quickly as he could, including rinsing himself off, before picking his way upwards to a small cave he knew was nearby.
Stowing the leathers inside to dry, he considered his options. The aether was almost certainly Cid, if his story about Ramuh was to be believed. That alone made Clive slightly nervous, but he swallowed the feeling. Everything was going to be fine, surely.
He put his undershirt back on for modesty, ignoring that it was slightly damp. Then he stepped outside of the cave, lighting a small orb of firelight. The sun was fully set now, fading twilight hardly enough to see by. He sighed, quietly resigning himself to spending the night out here. It would be better than walking back to the Hideaway naked, at any rate.
And if Cid was somewhere nearby, well. That was just a coincidence.
Clive went to go collect some tinder, intending to start a real fire, when something changed in the air. It was almost instantaneous, like a sudden ripple of humidity washing over him. He turned his eyes up, only to get hit in the face with a large raindrop.
In seconds, it was raining, an absolutely torrential downpour splattering the ground. The firelight fought valiantly against the deluge, but it quickly winked out. Plunged into darkness, undershirt now completely drenched, Clive pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. His mind helpfully supplied the words hundred year storm, but he scoffed. Was the story really true?
He turned to head back towards the cave, only to realize he had no idea where it was. The rain completely cut out the faint light, the sound of the nearby river, and anything he might use as a waymark. Muttering to himself, Clive conjured another orb of firelight. But it was like the storm only intensified, putting out the fire with a woosh.
Deciding he needed at least some shelter, Clive tried to find the nearest tree. This was near the greatwood after all, there were plenty. As he stumbled forward, a gust of wind screamed past, buffeting him harshly. The ground was quickly turning to mud under his feet, and he nearly slipped.
Cursing, he shielded his face. A sudden boom of thunder rang out as he did, practically shaking the area. Desperate, he kept moving, until finally he managed to find his way under a canopy, the rain lessening a fraction. Turning and looking out over the area, Clive caught sight of a burst of lightning against the sky. It was twisting, massive and arcing wider than anything he’d ever seen.
There was another boom of thunder shortly after, louder than the first. Clive frowned, waiting as darkness fell back over the area. But he didn’t have to wait long. There was another bright light, then another burst of noise.
Then another.
Then another.
Until the lightning and thunder were striking simultaneously, and a white flash slammed into the ground right in front of him. Clive closed his eyes against the force of it, feeling heat and rain and noise all at once.
When he blinked his eyelids open, he froze.
Cid was standing in front of him, hair blinding white, levin rolling and crackling and nearly spitting off his naked body. Aether was heavy in the air, almost burning away the rain. Up in the sky, there was another bright flash of light, striking down to the earth somewhere off to the side.
Glowing yellow eyes bored into Clive, the color woven with purple sparks. It was enticing and terrifying and strange all at once, and he nearly felt dizzy at the sight. This was power in front of him, pure and simple. A pop of static crackled between them, forming a brief current, and he shivered at the caress of it.
“Hello, Firelight,” a doubled voice said, Cid’s familiar timbre weaving with something decidedly inhuman.
He fumbled for something to hold onto, something to ground him against the strangeness of the situation. But there was nothing. Cid took a step forward, levin sparking and twisting as he did. Clive took a step backwards in response, nearly slipping again in the mud.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” Cid smiled at him, but it wasn’t Cid’s smile. It was… different somehow. But for whatever it lacked in charm, it made up for in warmth.
“How– How did you find me?” he stumbled over his words, taking another step back despite himself.
Cid lifted his hand, purple sparks dancing off his fingertips. There was another thunderbolt high up in the air, another boom of noise.
“I am drawn to you, as you are to me,” he replied, levin crawling over his skin.
In the darkness, and the rain, Cid was the only thing Clive could see. It was like the other man was filling his mind completely, taking his insignificant thoughts and casting them firmly aside. He swallowed, throat somehow dry despite the humid air. Trembling with something between fear and anticipation, he took another step backwards, thudding against the trunk of a large tree.
Cid’s smile widened in front of him, crinkling the corners of his burning golden eyes.
“Shall I leave, Firelight?”
The question was punctuated by a tremendous crash of lightning close by, so powerful the rain around them stopped for a long, tenuous, moment.
“Wait,” Clive nearly shouted, not quite sure why it was so paramount Cid stayed, but feeling the necessity of it in his bones.
The rain resumed falling, crashing down in a wave of water. It formed a momentary kaleidoscope around Cid, purple reflecting all around.
“But of course,” the other man said serenely, stepping forward. “Anything you desire.”
They were face to face now, those yellow eyes nearly consuming him. Clive felt his hair rising, as if it was caught in some strange current. All around them small shards of levin fell to the ground, connecting and sparking before jumping away just as quickly. Cid put his bare hand on the tree truck just beside Clive’s head, singing the bark under his fingers.
This close, Clive could feel the aether thrumming in the air. It was dripping off Cid like the rainwater, surrounding them like a flood. Every inhale tasted of power, enough to make him dizzy. Cid’s free hand ghosted over his flank, sparks jumping between them in a line. They stung, but only slightly, and Clive found himself sucking breath between his teeth.
“I-I-I–"
He stuttered, unable to look away.
“Can I kiss you, Firelight?” Cid leaned forward, brushing static over his lips.
Clive couldn’t wait any longer. The anticipation in his blood ignited, a fire he could no longer ignore. And in a second he closed the gap between them, tasting tobacco and Cid. But there was something else there too, rain and sharpness, like the edges of a thunderstorm.
Cid kissed him back gently, but with total and complete control. Like a slow moving bulwark, he lapped over the inside of Clive’s mouth, tracing every inch of him. It wasn’t the same as Cid’s usual lazy kisses, there was a deliberateness to it, a sense of measured containment.
Clive’s eyes slipped closed, and he sighed, letting the tree hold his weight. Cid’s hand ghosted down his flank again, and he nearly moaned at the brush of levin. It was difficult to think, over the roar of the rain, the rush of blood in his ears. But desire was blooming inside him, rising to meet the tides of power crashing off Cid’s body. And suddenly he wanted more, he wanted everything.
“Please,” he gasped as Cid pulled away, a final spark of aether lingering between them as he went.
There was a moment of silence, and then Cid sank down to his knees, golden eyes staring reverently upwards.
“Can I have you, Firelight?” he rumbled.
“Yes, please, yes,” Clive scrambled against the tree trunk for purchase, suddenly aware of his near naked state.
Cid’s hands found the hem of his undershirt, sliding it slowly upwards. More thunder crashed in the sky, searing itself against the back of Clive’s eyes. Cid encouraged his linen into one of his empty hands, so he was holding it up over his taut stomach. Then he settled his own fingers on Clive’s hips, a jolt of power snapping through the touch.
“Tell me to stop, and I will oblige,” Cid said easily, rubbing staticy circles over Clive’s skin.
Then his mouth dipped down, licking a stripe up Clive’s thigh before wrapping tightly around his cock. The sensation was incredible, wet and warm and almost buzzing. He fisted his hand in Cid’s hair without thought, but the levin there only licked gently over his skin, stinging and soothing simultaneously.
Groaning at the sight below him, it didn’t take Clive long to get hard. He knew Cid’s mouth was talented, he knew it well, but he’d never experienced it quite like this. It was like the man didn’t even need to breathe, never stopping his steady pace, sucking and licking and consuming him. Clive tried to pull him back at one point, to catch his breath, only to moan when Cid didn’t budge an inch. Had he always been so strong?
Sucking Clive even deeper, one of Cid’s hands lifted off his hip, tracing a line down the inside of his thigh. HIs muscles tensed at the contact, the brush and snap of levin on his skin. He inhaled breathlessly when that same hand caressed over his balls, then moved farther back, cupping the crease of his asscheeks carefully.
Clive was already feeling deliciously aroused, unsure how much of it was the power in the air, how much of it was Cid’s talented mouth, and how much of it was the four days they’d spent apart. But whatever the reason, he needed this, needed the pleasure pumping through his blood to rise and rise and rise.
“Cid,” he moaned, letting his head thud back against the tree.
There was a spark against his cock, a flick of Cid’s tongue, and he gasped at the thrum of it. Then, suddenly, Cid was swallowing down and pushing a finger inside him at the same time. The dual sensation had him scrambling, panting, tangling his hand in Cid’s white hair. He didn’t understand how the other man’s finger felt so slick, only that it did. A second later, Cid was tapping over his prostate, making him shudder roughly against the tree.
“P-Please,” he stuttered, unable to buck his hips in Cid’s grip.
Cid swallowed again, throat muscles working over the tip of Clive’s cock. Simultaneously, he slid a second finger inside, tapping again. It was all abruptly too much, and Clive shouted his orgasm, spraying his come down Cid’s waiting throat. Yellow eyes stared up at him as he did, drawing his gaze, forcing him to look down.
It was like the sight of Cid elongated the sensations, making Clive feel like he was coming all over again.
“Founder,” he moaned, sagging.
With another calm smile, Cid slowly pulled off his cock. But his fingers kept working, kept pumping and twisting and stretching.
“You look beautiful,” Cid praised.
With a smooth motion, he reached under Clive’s thigh, lifting his leg up into the air. Shifting to regain his balance, Clive couldn’t help but clutch inelegantly at Cid’s head. But it was all worth it at second later, the new angle giving Cid unimpeded access to his entrance. He suddenly slipped in a third finger, minute sparks of levin relaxing that tight ring of muscle.
“A-A-Ah,” Clive gasped, spent cock tingling in the open air.
Rain was still falling around them, though lessened by the boughs of the tree. And sometimes Clive would catch sight of more bright light in the distance, rolls of thunder following the flashes. Cid seemed pleased with each one, a continuous stream of aether still pouring off his body. It was a heady thing, thick and powerful.
“Are you ready, Firelight?” Cid asked him quietly, punctuating the question with a sinful roll of his fingers.
Clive tried to collect his thoughts, scattered wide from his recent pleasure, from the way Cid was staring up at him. Another tap on his prostate had him moaning, a fresh wave of arousal starting to coil behind his cock. Cid had a way of coaxing orgasm after orgasm out of him, but never quite so rapidly as all this. Clive tightened his grip on his shirt, hitching it over his pecs, exposing his pebbled nipples.
“Yes,” he breathed, feeling deliciously stretched.
With a couple more pumps of his hand, a couple more gentle sparks, Cid pulled out and stood up. He kept hold of the underside of Clive’s thigh as he did, pressing it against his chest, exposing the line of his ass. They both waited, noses nearly touching, and Clive was abruptly made aware of the swell of Cid’s own hardness, brushing against his leg.
The first to act, Cid traced another line up Clive’s flank. He wasn’t quite touching, instead leaving a trail of sparks in his wake. Clive gasped when one brushed over his nipple, a small shock of pleasure pulling at his spent cock.
“You cannot imagine how I crave this,” Cid ran his hand just above Clive’s neck, levin caressing him in pulses.
Clive moaned in response, craning his head back, exposing the line of his throat. Cid rewarded him with a brush of his thumb, the touch like elixir against his skin. Then he moved to cup Clive’s cheek, kissing him softly, tenderly. Like he was something very precious.
“You cannot fathom how I require this,” Cid pulled his lips away, shifting his hand to brace against the tree again.
A line of lightning burned up the bark, arching up into the branches above them before jumping back to the ground. Cid hardly seemed to notice it, as focused as he was. But Clive swallowed, pure desire working its way under his skin.
With a slight hitch of his leg, a small adjustment of their hips, Cid was suddenly lining up against Clive’s stretched entrance. The tip of his cock wasn’t unfamiliar, but it felt warmer than usual, pushing inside with a strange reverberation. No sooner had Clive felt it then he understood; it was aether, radiating off Cid’s flesh and over his inner walls.
The sensation was almost indescribable, like an injection of pure energy. It had Clive panting and gasping, almost writhing. Cid pressed kisses over his jaw, his neck, all while sliding deeper and deeper. Whatever he’d used to slick Clive up was working well, turning the intrusion into a pleasant glide, a familiar stretch.
Cid didn’t wait once he bottomed out, immediately pulling back out. After a few more steady strokes he established a rhythm, going in quickly, pulling out slowly. Clive gave up trying to find purchase against the tree, using Cid’s shoulders as a lifeline instead. Everywhere their skin met, levin snapped and popped, currents linking them together.
Clive’s shirt stayed hitched up around his collar bones, sticking wetly to his skin. Rain dripped off his hair, down his back. He closed his eyes against another burst of lightning, blocking out everything but the pulse of Cid’s erection, the thread of his arousal. Callused fingers dug into the meat of his thigh, pushing his leg higher up. Clive let out an involuntary moan, his own cock starting to stir.
“Cid,” he gasped, the other man finally striking over his prostate.
“Yes, Firelight?”
Clive squeezed Cid’s shoulders, jerking to rub his cock against the man’s stomach. The action made him moan with pleasure, and he could tell he was rapidly becoming erect.
“Please, Cid,” he begged, not sure what he was asking for.
“Touch yourself for me,” Cid murmured against his lips.
Clive opened his eyes, staring back into Cid’s golden irises. He fumbled with one of his hands, reaching between the two of them to grab at his cock.
“Nngh!” he whined, the contact just on the right side of pleasure.
Cid soothed him with a kiss, a languid swipe of his tongue. Clive sighed, working himself with a careful stroke. Cid took that as his cue to speed up, no longer pulling out so gently. He started rocking Clive against the tree, another burst of lightning from his palm arcing along the branches, illuminating them like a painting.
They both chased their pleasure, Clive with his hand, Cid with his hips. Clive’s cock was a little sensitive, but he didn’t mind it. The waves of aether pulsing off Cid were like a soothing balm, sharpening his pleasure even as they dulled his pain.
“I’m close,” he moaned, a sliver of arousal making his toes curl.
“Will you come for me, Firelight?” Cid said against his cheek, voice rumbling like thunder. Then his lips closed over Clive’s earlobe, pulling and tugging and tingling with levin.
“Please,” he gasped, stroking faster.
Cid drilled over his prostate, and Clive moaned, turning his hand, squeezing himself just right–
With a shout, he came again, the pleasure of it blacking out his vision for a second. He sagged against Cid’s broad chest, tucking his head into the man’s shoulder. Between them, his cock pulsed a few more times, spend splashing up just to get washed away by a fresh sheet of rain. Clive panted, shivering through the aftershocks.
At some point, Cid gently pulled out, setting his leg back on the ground at the same time. Clive fell onto it gratefully, nuzzling against the skin of Cid’s neck.
“Would you allow me to continue?” Cid asked him quietly.
A hand rubbed soothingly down his back, sparks snapping off his spine. Clive blinked up into Cid’s strange eyes, thoughts hazy. Then he realized it. Cid hadn’t come.
“Go ahead,” he said, straightening up slowly.
Cid brushed his hair out his eyes, traces of violet following the action. Then he cupped Clive’s chin, grip firm and unyielding.
“On your knees, Firelight.”
Clive’s cock gave a valiant twitch, though it was surely spent. Cid stepped back to give him some room, and he took a shaky breath. Then he went down to the ground, finding a mossy patch that wasn’t so muddy. Surprisingly, Cid drifted out of sight behind him, levin occasionally lashing out at the ground as he moved.
Around them, the storm showed no signs of abating. If anything it was intensifying, wind whipping the branches of the trees, levin arcing repeatedly across the sky.
One of Cid’s hands settled on the base of his spine, and Clive allowed himself to be repositioned onto his hands and knees.
“Thank you,” Cid mouthed against his shoulder, kissing a line down his spine before pulling away.
He rubbed over Clive’s asscheeks, kneading them gently. Clive sighed happily at the touch, at the consideration. A few stray sparks brushed over his skin, but he sighed at those too. With every shock, he felt less and less of a sting. It was like his body was starting to absorb them, calling the levin into himself.
Cid spread his entrance with two thumbs, idly rubbing over the edge of it. Clive whined, looking back over his shoulder, only to freeze in surprise. Cid’s face was absolutely rapturous, filled with a joy and desire unlike any Clive had ever seen. Levin raced over his features, illuminating them in steady purple light. Behind them, there was a sudden lightning bolt, and for a second the entire forest was visible.
But Clive didn’t care. He only had eyes for Cid.
“I’m alright,” he said, just as a thumb was slipping inside him. “Keep going.”
“As you wish,” Cid rumbled. He slid his thumbs away, gripping Clive’s hips firmly instead.
Experimentally, Clive tried to move forward, but Cid’s hands were like iron over his hips. For some reason, that strength was impossibly arousing, and Clive moaned despite himself. He could practically taste aether now, filling the air, overpowering the rain.
Cid slipped back inside him without fanfare, a delicious feeling of fullness accompanying his return. And in no time at all he was thrusting, moving with steady strokes. Clive let his head drop, eyelids fluttering. He wondered if he was going to get hard again, if he was going to come a third time. For his part, Cid showed no signs of slowing down, just continuing his religious pace.
Clive’s thoughts wandered, tracing over the lines of the man behind him. He remembered the first time they met, when levin crashed out of the sky and saved his life. He remembered on the way to Lostwing, when he learned Cid was a Dominant. Then later, in the chapel, Cid losing to Benedikta. And again, in Drake’s Head, Cid striking the Mothercrystal.
His memories of the man were painted over with lightning, with power, with the undeniable sparks that flew between them.
Cid leaned forward, striking a deeper angle, cupping one of Clive’s pecs in his hand.
“Nnmm!” Clive moaned, as sparks danced over his skin, drawing pleasure across his chest.
There was a quiet chuckle behind him, a low roll of thunder. And then Cid was capturing his nipple in hand, rolling it lightly between his fingers.
“You feel so wonderful, Firelight,” he praised.
It was like he was nuzzling into Clive at the bottom of each thrust, pushing in that little bit deeper, staying that little bit longer. Small threads of levin kept snapping between their hips, keeping Clive’s attention simmering, his cock meandering slowly back towards interest.
“Cid,” he gasped, the other man brushing over his prostate.
Cid chuckled again, squeezing his hip, his nipple. Then he abruptly adjusted his grip, palm reaching up to cover the back of Clive’s neck.
“Fear not, you are safe with me.”
Suddenly levin was running over his body, arcing down his spine and curling around his chest. It surrounded him like ribbon, the brush of it even reaching down to his cock. Cid sped up simultaneously, forcing Clive’s head down, sliding cleanly over his prostate. In response to the pressure, Clive pillowed his forehead in his arms, crossing them and dropping his body into a sinful arch.
As the levin crackled, Clive keened, a wave of arousal nearly sweeping him away. It was like Cid was touching his nipples, his cock, even his lips all at once. And he was so full at the same time, so wonderfully taken it was impossible to think.
“I only seek to please you,” Cid rumbled, and Clive screwed his eyes shut against all the sensations.
Another squeeze of Cid’s hands, another jump of current. Clive whined, unconsciously trying to jerk his hips.
“Cid,” he begged.
He couldn’t tell if he was hard or not, couldn’t tell if he was coming or not. There wasn’t any direction anymore, no sense of space or location or even time. Cid’s hands manipulated him up, twisting and turning his body even as they somehow stayed connected.
Clive landed softly on the ground, eyes snapping open. He was on his back now, Cid perched over him. Levin traced over his exposed torso like a corset, occasionally pulsing with brighter light. And he was hard, somehow, cock trapped between their bodies, sensitive enough to make him moan.
Cid’s hand traced through the power coursing over him, plucking it like strings, each pull a tug on his erection. His hips had stilled temporarily, and Clive whined at the loss of movement, trying to grind down desperately.
With a small, pleased, smile, Cid thumbed over his collar bone. Then he resumed thrusting, each drive of his cock making the air thicken with sparks. Clive watched them dance above his head, finer than snowflakes, jumping ephemerally through the rain. Cid seemed to be taking him higher and higher, driving him to a place of pleasure he would’ve never thought possible before this moment.
“...Firelight?”
Clive moved his eyes to Cid’s, dazed.
“May I come inside you, Firelight?”
Clive somehow blushed. Despite the fact that he was almost naked, despite the fact that Cid was currently fucking him, apparently he could still blush.
“Y-Yes!” he groaned, a sudden pulse of levin making his hips rock.
Cid grabbed his cock gently, just holding it. Then his thumb started circling the head, touch almost feather light. As Clive stared at him, he saw something flashing deep in Cid’s gaze. It was pleasure, it was longing, it was a story older than history, older than time. The monumentality of it rocked him, and he distantly caught the signs of Cid’s impending orgasm.
With a pant, a groan, Cid pushed deep inside him. At the same time, a tiny spark of levin brushed over his cockhead, and Clive spasmed.
Several things happened at once, each one eclipsing the next. Clive came, splattering weakly over his chest. Despite the lack of spend, it was a deeply satisfying orgasm. His toes curled in the mud, a long moan falling out of his lips. As he did, he caught Cid’s eyes, and it was like being pulled into infinity.
There was something lurking there, something impossibly powerful. It was like levin given true form, crackling and sparking with the wisdom of eons.
Around them, the storm howled, and Cid jerked his hips one last time. Then the entire sky lit up at once, a ring of lightning miles and miles wide bursting to life. It hit the ground over and over, and the sounds of Cid’s orgasm were lost in the resounding cacophonous boom. Stray bolts hit trees all around them, surging to the ground, leaping and twisting and tangling like a net.
Cid shuddered, levin leaking from his eyes, his skin. Power burned in the air, a maelstrom of it, the levin on the ground leaping into his outstretched hand.
Clive shielded his eyes, feeling the buzz of lightning lapping over his body in waves. But surprisingly it didn’t hurt. If anything it was like an extension of Cid’s touch, brushing over all at once. He gasped at the raw sensation, lost on the spiral of his own pleasure.
The light didn’t fade for a while, but when it did, Clive dropped his arm, relieved. He could still hear the rain, ears unhappy but not ringing or in pain. At some point Cid had pulled out, though he was still nestled between Clive’s spread legs, and his body still coursed with levin.
“My apologies Firelight, I did not mean to startle you.”
Clive smiled, still drifting on the high of his orgasm.
“I’m fine,” he said, reaching up to brush a hand over Cid’s cheek.
Idly he glanced between their legs, surprised to see Cid was still hard.
“Didn’t you–"
He looked up in confusion, meeting Cid’s yellow eyes.
“My desire for you is not so easily sated,” Cid remarked, sounding unconcerned. “But you need not tend to me again, if you are tired.”
Clive bit his lip, considering. He could easily fall asleep, the truth of that was undeniable. But another, larger, part of him wanted to keep going. Maybe it was the aether talking, making him drunk on the feel of it. Maybe it was Cid, the way Clive could never deny him anything.
Maybe it was himself, a craving of his own taking root.
“I’m not tired,” he said to Cid, blinking up at him under wet eyelashes.
Maybe it was a trick of the light, but Clive could’ve sworn Cid flared with renewed power, purple sparks showering to the ground. With a rumble, he started pulling up the hem of Clive’s undershirt. It took the two of them a few seconds to get it off, fighting with the wet fabric. Once it was tossed aside, Cid’s mouth descended on Clive’s chest, licking and sucking any flesh within reach.
Clive scrambled under the onslaught, his hands wrapping around Cid’s back.
“What should I do, Firelight?” Cid said against his pec. “What would you prefer?”
With a slight adjustment, Cid humped against Clive’s inner thigh, the velvet skin of his erection brushing there tantalizingly.
“A-Anything,” Clive stuttered, Cid’s teeth nipping at his flesh.
Another roll of Cid’s hips had them both moaning, tiny sparks of levin accompanying the action. Meanwhile, Cid had sucked Clive’s nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it like a cock. It wasn’t something he’d ever done before, and Clive was left breathless at the feeling.
“A-Ah!” he gasped, Cid’s tongue sparking for a brief second.
With a wet pop, Cid pulled off his chest, licking over his nipple in apology. Clive shivered, and Cid’s lips started kissing a line up to his neck.
“Founder,” Clive grasped as Cid sucked a bruise into his skin.
It was like the other man’s mouth was full of static, pitter pattering down relentlessly. Clive bucked his hips, pleasure coiling in his soft cock. The motion rubbed over Cid’s erection in turn, and he moaned against Clive’s throat, sending a fresh wave of levin.
Clive scraped his nails over Cid’s back unintentionally, leaving marks against his skin.
“Firelight,” Cid groaned, lifting his mouth.
The name was starting to scramble Clive’s thoughts. The joy of it, the tenderness, swept cleanly into his heart. But as his attention wandered, he barely noticed Cid shifting backwards above him. Clever fingers traced a circle over his premium, before suddenly slipping inside his stretched entrance.
Clive’s hands fell to the ground, and he grabbed hard at the moss. Levin was discharging off his body now, like he and Cid had become one source of aether. He could feel the hum of it, surging through his blood, wrapping around his spine. As he stared upwards, another blast of lightning snapped across the darkness, tracing unfathomable patterns over the sky.
A brush of pleasure made him start, and he looked back down. Cid’s tongue darted out, lapping a few traces of spend off his cockhead. Clive trembled at the contact, more oversensitive than he expected. With a knowing look, Cid pressed up with his fingers, rubbing over Clive’s prostate.
“Cid!” he gasped, bucking his hips.
He couldn’t deny the pleasure he felt at the contact. But it was laced with a deep ache, his cock protesting loudly.
Cid, however, didn’t seem chagrined in the slightest. He moved his head down to Clive’s thigh, sucking just below the crease of his groin. Clive arched his back, pushing towards the sensation. But Cid just rubbed his fingers again, smearing come and slickness inside.
“Do you trust me?” Cid asked him calmly, looking up.
And Clive was suddenly drowning in infinity again, the tides of him washed away on the eons in Cid’s eyes. He nearly lost himself, a rowboat adrift in a typhoon, before a biting shock against his thigh brought him back to the present.
“Yes,” he gasped, breaking eye contact.
Cid sucked another mark into his thigh, making a pleased sound. Then Clive felt a small pop of static over his prostate. It was a strange sensation, and he eased himself up on his elbows, not quite sure what to make of it. There was a short pause, the lightning rolling off Cid’s body snapping out across the ground.
With a push of his hand, Cid pressed a precise spark of levin into Clive’s prostate. Immediately he gasped, the strangeness melting away into pure pleasure. It was like being fucked and having his cock sucked all at once, an impossibly heady feeling.
Then Cid did it again, longer this time, and Clive jerked, pulling moss out of the ground in desperation. He wasn’t getting hard, his cock completely spent, but that made the pleasure sweeter somehow, purer. The next jolt sent a broken moan tumbling out of his lips, and he was suddenly reminded of how sensitive he was.
Cid worked him studiously, letting the shocks ride just on the right side of overstimulation. Occasionally, he would nip and suck at Clive’s thigh, grounding him firmly. Dazed, rapidly becoming a drooling mess, he could only lay there and take it.
“I want to see you come, Firelight,” Cid murmured, somehow audible over the rain, over the ceaseless thunder.
He licked a long line up Clive’s cock, pressing down on his prostate at the same time. Suddenly overwhelmed, Clive squirmed, nearly sobbing. Cid’s other hand snaked out, pushing his hip down with a shower of sparks. Realizing he couldn’t move anymore, not under Cid’s firm grip, a pulse of arousal shot straight through Clive’s groin. It was half pleasure, half pain, his whole being throbbing with the force of it.
With a wicked smile, Cid’s mouth closed over his cock. Clive whimpered, dropping his head roughly to the ground. He was shivering all over, trying and failing to contain an increasingly desperate series of sobs and whines.
Cid hit him with another jolt of levin, rubbing over his prostate ruthlessly.
And with that, Clive broke, sobbing loudly. It was too much and not enough all at once. His mind couldn’t take the sensations, couldn’t figure out if he should fight or lie still. He only knew he needed more touch, needed Cid to keep going. He needed more levin, more aether, more, more, more–
“Cid,” he begged, desperately.
The hand on his hip didn’t budge, didn’t so much as shift. Clive writhed his upper body, driving his fingers deep into the mud.
“Cid, please,” he sobbed, his vision abruptly swimming with unshed tears.
Rain splashed over his torso, but he barely felt it. Cid’s sinful tongue started swiping over his spent cock, coaxing it into a state of semi-hardness. All the while he kept rubbing Clive’s prostate, the pleasure-pain reverberating through his whole body.
“Please, please, fuck, I–"
Cid pushed down hard with his fingers, a stronger current than before snapping over Clive’s insides.
“I need–"
Clive sobbed, tears spilling down his cheeks. He tried to buck his hips, only to sob again when he couldn't move. It all felt so impossibly good. So much pleasure he might collapse, so much pleasure he might die; the storm consuming him whole. And the current didn’t stop, Cid’s fingers didn’t stop, his mouth didn’t stop. Clive felt dizzy. He couldn’t tell if he was gasping, or if he’d stopped breathing.
“Aa-h,” he moaned shakily, squeezing a fresh wave of tears out of his eyes.
Cid’s tongue flicked over his slit, and Clive screamed, spasming on the ground. He was close, he was so close. There was a chasm opening up underneath him, arousal reaching up in an undeniable storm. He shook, tensing and writhing. Cid’s fingers kept moving, relentless, coaxing him farther and farther until everything crescendoed in a sudden roar.
His orgasm swept over him like a tidal wave, ripping him under. Fire burst from his hands, blasting over the ground and spreading like wings. It consumed trees on either side of them, burning the bark to crisp, steaming the air in a wave of heat.
Levin kept crackling inside him, drawing the sensations on and on. With a wail, Clive semi-primed, another wave of fire eradicating all the undergrowth in its path. Steam started coming off his hair, his torso, his arms. It obscured everything but Cid’s eyes, somehow pulsing brighter than the levin.
As the feelings crested over him, Clive dropped the form as quickly as it had come, falling limp against the ground. He couldn’t stop crying, couldn’t stop trying to writhe against Cid’s mouth. How was it possible to feel so good?
“Cid,” he wailed helplessly, pushing his heels into the mud in desperation.
With a pop, Cid released his cock, and Clive whimpered again at a fresh wave of overstimulation.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he sobbed, panting.
Levin finally stopped massaging his prostate, and he distantly realized Cid was pressing gentle kisses over his abdomen, withdrawing his fingers slowly.
“Cid,” Clive whined, reaching out blindly with his arms.
“I’m here, Firelight,” Cid soothed, wrapping him into a smothering hug.
“Cid,” Clive had almost forgotten how to speak, how to breathe.
He suddenly felt the brush of Cid’s cock, still rock hard against his thigh. Fumbling, he pawed at it, drawing a moan out of the man above him.
“L-Let me,” he stuttered, overwhelmed but determined.
Cid kissed him softly over the lips, slowly removing his hand.
“It’s alright Firelight,” Cid murmured. “Rest now.”
Clive sobbed, the tenderness hitting him harder than the passion they'd shared. Before he knew it, he was being gathered up into Cid’s arms, carried like a bride. He’d only just realized it, but the rain was starting to lessen. It was no longer a deluge. And he hadn’t seen lightning in the sky since he’d orgasmed, the world suddenly seeming very quiet.
He wrapped his arms around Cid’s neck, burying his face in the man’s chest.
Abruptly, there was a reverberation of aether, and Clive blinked against a wave of light. Then it was like he was levin, coursing and burning and leaping through the sky. An instant later the feeling was gone, and Cid crashed to the ground. Clive blinked, confused. There were buildings around, wood burning in lines under Cid’s feet.
Was this… Lostwing?
Then they moved, fast, bursting into what Clive could only describe as a bathhouse. At the sight of them, everyone inside scattered, people vanishing in a rapid stream. Clive found himself being lowered into a tub of cool, clean water, a bath not quite fully prepared. With a measured expression, Cid ran a stream of levin in a strange pattern, looping over the side of the tub.
As the water began to warm, Clive suddenly realized he’d been shivering, wet and cold and covered in mud. He relaxed with a shuddering sigh, settling back into the tub and squeezing his eyes. A few lingering tears ran down his face, the final threads of his orgasm. He could still feel Cid moving around the room, but the waves of aether pouring off him were starting to subside. And finally, when Clive cracked open an eye, he was met with a familiar sight.
Cid was standing there, hair brown, body no longer coursing with levin. He’d found some clean cloths for washing, and a bar of something he was currently in the middle of smelling. Noticing Clive looking at him, he rushed back over.
“You feeling alright, Love?”
“Yes,” Clive replied softly. He was still shaking a little, but the warm water was helping.
Cid looked relieved at the answer, and he held up the things in his hands.
“Mind if I join you?”
Clive nodded, and he scooted forward. Cid slipped into the water, his half-hard cock brushing against Clive’s back. But they were both content to ignore it, focusing on getting clean instead.
Cid started working Clive over with one of the cloths, gently rubbing away mud and sweat. He spent a lot of time on Clive’s back, his legs, occasionally massaging over spots of tension Clive hadn’t even noticed. Slowly, slowly, as Cid worked, Clive stopped trembling. He exhaled a few more shaky breaths, before settling back into himself. And by the time his body was clean, he was starting to get sleepy, the ache in his cock the only reminder of what they’d done in the woods.
“I’m going to wash your hair,” Cid said gently. “That alright?”
“Alright,” Clive murmured.
He let Cid dunk his head, scrubbing vigorously at the strands for a second. When he resurfaced, Cid used the bar he’d pilfered, a light floral scent filling the room. It was soap, of course it was, and Cid gently massaged it into his scalp. When he was finished, Clive let himself be dunked again, rising from the water like a new man.
With a sigh, Clive slumped against Cid’s warm torso, limbs loose and languid.
“Want to stay a bit?” Cid asked, pressing a gentle kiss against his neck.
Clive draped his head over Cid’s shoulder, staring up at the ceiling.
“I think I might fall asleep,” he admitted, shifting in the tub.
Cid pet a soothing line down Clive’s arm, before slowly standing up. He stepped out of the water, dripping over the ground. Clive caught sight of a few flakes of mud, clinging to his legs.
Once Cid covered his lower body in a small cloth, he coaxed Clive out of the tub, wrapping him up in a nearby towel.
“Can you wait a few moments?” Cid asked. “I need to talk to Quinten.”
“Alright,” Clive yawned.
The room felt smaller as Cid left, and Clive wrapped himself tighter in the towel. He found a bench and sat down, blinking blearily. Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a second…
Cid reappeared almost instantly, so fast that Clive wondered if he’d fallen asleep on the bench. The way Cid smiled at him, he thought he probably had.
“Lucky for us, I arranged for a bed before I came out here,” Cid walked over.
Clive made a questioning noise, and Cid chuckled.
“Thought I might need it after the storm,” he explained. “And you know how Quinten is about unexpected guests.”
“I do,” Clive yawned again.
Cid scooped him up before he could protest, tucking the towel around his body and holding him tightly.
“Cid!”
“Trust me, Love. We can move faster this way,” Cid grinned. Then he added conspiratorially. “And I’d rather not traipse around town naked.”
Clive snorted. Then he blinked, and he was turning into levin again. It was shorter than a heartbeat, over as quickly as it began. His stomach turned slightly at the feeling, but as they appeared in a small room, he found he couldn’t fault the convenience.
Cid put him down carefully, and Clive’s toes curled at the cold ceramic under his feet. Wherever this room was, it had been built up inside the fallen airship. Cid moved around, opening a chest of drawers and rummaging through it. Clive took the opportunity to look around, curious. The room really was small, a narrow bed taking up one wall, dresser crammed in on the other side next to the door. And there weren’t any windows, just a couple of flickering candles.
Faintly, Clive could hear the sound of rain, hitting against the ruins.
“Have a seat,” Cid smiled, turning around.
Clive settled on the edge of the bed. He was surprised when Cid went to one knee in front of him, a small jar in his hand.
“It’s salve,” Cid said, slowly folding Clive’s towel open. “You have a few cuts.”
He frowned, not quite believing it. But Cid brushed over his calf, sliding his fingernail over a spot that made him wince.
“See?”
Clive huffed, but there was no heat in it.
Cid carefully applied the salve, holding lightly onto Clive’s ankle. Then he moved to the other leg, and a few scattered scrapes on Clive’s arms. The actions were tender, like Cid very much treasured him, and Clive blinked away a few sudden tears. No one had ever taken care of him like this. Not in Rosalith, not in the army. It was an act that was entirely Cid’s, an expression of something Clive’s heart couldn’t quite contain.
When he was finished, Cid leaned his forehead against Clive’s stomach, still balanced on one knee.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
“I didn’t do anything,” Clive replied, running his hands through Cid’s wet hair.
Cid hummed, before lifting his head and standing up.
“Are you cold?” he asked. “There’s some spare clothes in here.”
“I’m alright,” Clive replied.
Cid helped him into the bed, pulling the blankets up to his chin. Then he knelt down again, arm wrapped comfortingly over Clive’s chest.
“Aren’t you coming in?” Clive asked, suddenly feeling incredibly tired.
“I’ll be back later,” Cid replied. “I’m going to go fetch your armor.”
Clive closed his eyes. His father’s armor… that was important to him. But he’d rather have Cid than a thousand sets of armor.
“Stay for a bit,” Clive extricated his hand from under the blankets, tugging the other man closer.
“Of course, Love.”
Cid brushed his hair out of his eyes, then leaned down so his head was draped over Clive’s heart. It was an incredibly warm feeling, Cid pressed against him. Clive felt like he was dropping into a pool of relaxation, of happiness. And Cid stayed until he fell asleep, slipping away gently into pleasant dreams.
The next morning, Clive woke up with a start, jerking against a solid figure pressed tight against him.
“Watch it, Love. Not too keen on starting the day with a broken nose.”
Memories came back to him in a rush, the storm, Cid’s eyes, everything.
“Cid?” he said hesitantly.
“Aye,” Cid replied against his shoulder, voice thick with sleep.
“What– What happened?”
“Ramuh bloody happened,” Cid muttered, sounding a bit annoyed.
Clive reached down, pulling at Cid’s arm so that he could sit up. But as his fingers slid over the flesh of Cid’s forearm, he froze.
“Cid?”
“Yes?”
“Cid, wake up.”
“I’m awake,” Cid mumbled.
“Cid your arm,” Clive tugged at it, finally working his way into a sitting position.
He was squished between the wall and Cid’s body, barely able to fit. But that wasn’t important. What was important was Cid’s arm, Cid’s left arm.
“What about it,” Cid finally opened his eyes, withdrawing the appendage and blinking tiredly.
Clive snatched his wrist before it could vanish under the covers, tugging it up. Then he sent an orb of fire over their heads, illuminating the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Clive noticed his father’s armor, laid out over the chest of drawers. Meanwhile, Cid squinted against the light, before finally looking down.
And for the first time, Clive saw Cid at a loss for words.
“How is this possible?” Clive asked him directly, dropping his wrist.
Cid’s mouth flapped open and closed, turning his arm over, looking at the smooth flesh.
The curse was gone.
“I don’t–I’ve no idea–"
Clive laughed. He couldn’t help it. It was crazy, but he couldn’t help but feel happy. Like something had actually gone right for once in his crazy life. Cid looked at him in bewilderment, before he suddenly cracked into a wide smile.
“Had to be the storm,” Cid said, a chuckle spilling past his lips. “I guess all that aether fixed it.”
Clive laughed again, a sound of pure joy. He pulled the other man upwards, smashing their lips together in a kiss. Cid fell into it instantly, cupping his hand over Clive’s cheek. And with a few seconds of shifting, Clive was able to settle into his lap, pressing against Cid’s mouth over and over.
Each kiss was an affirmation. An expression of something impossibly fond. And Clive never wanted to move. Never wanted to leave. He wanted to be with Cid, until the world was saved and then every day after.
“Promise me,” Clive said, panting and moving back. “Promise me you won’t waste this.”
“I won’t,” Cid replied, pulling him back down. “I promise.”
And maybe Clive would never know what had happened, if last night he’d been with Cid, or Ramuh, or some combination of the two of them. But he didn’t care. The future finally looked so much brighter than the past, shining in shades of brilliant purple.