Coronation

[featheredflames]

It is all far too much attention for Joshua's liking.

He knew this was how it would be, that there would be a certain amount of fussing the be expected...but this was beyond the scope of acceptable fussing surely. So much unnecessary commotion over a fitting of ceremonial robes that he wouldn't wear more than a handful of times at that... Would it not be better to spend time focusing on the clothing he would be draped in when he finally dawned his father's mantle? The day-to-day wear that he would need to sport as Archduke of Rosaria.

That would come later, in time, he had been reassured. This outfit would get at least a few days of wear out of it. The ceremony was to last more than a singular evening, festivities dragging on for nearly a week after the event of the coronation itself. Already Joshua feels weary at the thought. Fancy suppers and meeting with dignitaries were in his future but right now his present reality was a miserable one. Fabric is cinched around his waist as measurements are taken and pins are adjusted. He feels like a doll as he's fitted, made to stand for bells on end. Founder he could only hope that some semblance of reprieve would find him soon, hopefully before his knees gave out...

Swallowing he stares out the window, doing his best not to move as the tailors do their work as quickly as they can. It would be unfair if he told them to stop - they were only doing as they had been instructed to, to rework and refit the robes his father wore on his crowning day. Joshua cannot help but think they don't suit him - Clive would wear (and fit!) them far better than he. Yet it was tradition...and while he may be able to escape the tailors ere long, there was no escaping protocol and the duty that loomed over him.

Comments

[flamebrand]

When they were younger. Clive thinks back to when they were just children, to memories of Joshua tucked against his front and breathing softly in sleep, free of fever and pain. Hallowed, precious moments they carved out for each other when the adults in Rosalith left them to their loneliness, to cold beds and soft coughing.

Their world has changed drastically since then; yet still, this remains the most sacred thing Clive has ever known. This gentleness between them, the luxury of being seen and understood.

"Come here."

A soft whisper, as a warning. They fall onto clean bedsheets, side by side and front to front, and Clive tucks Joshua closer, tighter.

His precious brother. His one and only. Every minute of every day, Clive thanks fate that Joshua was born.

[featheredflames]

Clive is warm.

Chest to chest he feels the warmth of his brother's skin radiate into him as he shares his embrace, drawn into it and as close as physically possible. Already he feels at ease and at peace in Clive's arms, to be held much like he had all those years before. Joshua wonders if it would always be this way. He decides that yes, it would be - regardless of how old they both got, he would always be Clive's little brother and Clive would be his everything in turn.

"I could stay like this forever."

[flamebrand]

"Would that we could."

Warm and held and safe. The world is nowhere near kind enough for that, really, and the both of them are far too active in spirit to be idle for too long, but― a nice thought, anyway, to imagine them tangled and seen until the end of their days. With Joshua, it's the sort of pleasant fantasy Clive can get lost in.

Lips press against soft hair, and the warm flat of Clive's palm traces along the lines of Joshua's body, from waist to back to shoulderblades, mapping him with gentle touches. Each dip and curve committed to memory, given attention with fingertips and calluses. His brother really is the most beautiful man Clive has ever seen.

"Even forever with you wouldn't be enough."

[featheredflames]

It wouldn't be. There's something about Clive's words that hit deep as he snuggles closer, letting his eyes fall shut with a sigh. He focuses instead on warm hands and gentle caresses, not the finality of their lives. Joshua cannot help but worry that his newfound responsibilities will make the time they share with one another less than it already is, but there is no reason to fret until it comes to pass.

"It seems far too finite for my liking."

Out comes a huff as he nudges his nose into Clive's chest. They were supposed to indulge in one another, but the magnetic draw of innocent comfort is far too alluring to ignore it seems.

[flamebrand]

Joshua will be even busier with his responsibilities as Archduke, and Clive will inevitably be sent away to Dhalmek frontlines or Sanbrequois borders, where Ifrit will loom tall over Rosarian enemies. 'Forever' is a pretty fantasy, but it's one they can both share in this small, intimate space, away from others' eyeshot or earshot. Their taboo, their secret.

Joshua gets comfortable, and Clive hardly wants to disturb his brother's peace. Indulgence can wait if his brother wants just this; they've been deprived of even something as innocent as this for ages now.

"We'll make the most of our time." A reassurance, as he reaches for the bedcovers to draw up and around his brother's bare skin, keeping him insulated. "...Are you tired?"

[featheredflames]

The truth of the matter is that their lives are going to change very shortly, and while Joshua had the yolk of his father's responsibilities thrust upon him already, they would be all encompassing once he was crowned head of their country. He would be kept busy and Clive would be sent off and away from his side. The thought is a miserable one, one that has him instinctively clinging tighter to his brother.

They'll make the most of their time, as Clive has said and reassures, tucking them both in. It's so warm. He feels so safe...but he doesn't feel tired.

"No, not yet. Besides, it would be a shame to go to sleep right now when I am still eager to delight in you."

[flamebrand]

A Shield of Rosaria, having to do his duty. Once Joshua is Archduke, his name will extend outside of Rosalith and beyond her borders, and it will be Clive's responsibility to see to it that Joshua can rule without worry. This is how he'll protect his brother from here on out― not just from his bed or by his side.

He'll cross that bridge when he has to. (Soon.) For now, he's content to listen to Joshua's immediate needs, and eases into the idea that his brother might be amenable to something more than a harmless cuddle after all. A low half-laugh, and Clive gently dislodges Joshua's face from his chest to tip him up into a kiss again, slow and deep and affectionate just for the sake of it.

"...Permission to touch you, then?"

When their lips part, punctuated by a reach downwards, and a featherlight brush of his knuckles against the front of Joshua's soft trousers.

[featheredflames]

The kiss reignites the desire that had been lit earlier when Clive had pressed against him in the stables. Eagerly he kisses his brother back as Clive shows him tender affection before asking for permission to touch him.

With wide, sweet eyes he smiles back at his brother, swallowing with a delighted shiver as Clive touches him between his legs.

"Permission granted, Brother. I will happily accept your will."

[flamebrand]

His will. The term is highfalutin for what essentially boils down to Clive's basest desires, but the fact that Joshua phrases it as such makes his heart swell in his chest. An acknowledgment of their agency, and the choice they're making with every line they cross. What Clive is doing is unforgivable, but done by his own volition.

It's sweet of Joshua to remind him. Yes, this is Clive exercising his will, and yes, Clive will choose Joshua every single time.

"You'll do more than accept it, I hope."

Like, say, derive some pleasure out of it. Another kiss, more brief this time, and he starts to shimmy Joshua out of both his trousers and his underwear, gently pulling them down to his knees before he lets his hand wander. Clive's touch floats from a soft inner thigh and then upwards, ghosting fingertips along the outline of Joshua's cock to gauge his interest.

It's unbelievable, still, that this is happening. That he's been permitted. That he's laying here with Joshua beside him, open and sweet and willing to let Clive do more than he ever thought possible. Just the idea of that is enough to make Clive's breath warm and the heat between his own legs strain against his smallclothes; god, it must be wicked to be so attracted to his brother, but he wants what he wants.

[featheredflames]

It may be a sin but Joshua is more than willing to indulge in sin if it is to lead his brother to contentment and joy. Small clothes and trousers pulled down, Joshua does not shy away from his brother's touch. Instead he meets his gaze in full, spreading his legs to welcome his touch further. Already with the gentle caress to his cock he can feel himself begin to harden, chest constricting as he tries to keep himself from smiling too wide at his brother.

"More than accept...oh Clive I will enjoy you to the fullest. I promise you that."

Let them not be bogged down my societal expectations and understandings of what is wrong and right. Behind these doors they are free of such chains and answer to none but their own hearts.

[flamebrand]

Oh, that smile. Clive folds like paper whenever he sees it, feels his heart flutter when he realizes that it's for him. Like flint and tinder, sparking and bright. He thinks to say, briefly, that Joshua will be the death of him, but even as a flirt-adjacent tease it still rings a little too close to home, so―

―none of that. Instead, his fingers close around Joshua's outline gently, enjoying the feeling of his brother slowly filling out, getting warmer against his palm. It's only gentle petting at first, a not-quite-friction to ease them into this new intimacy they're chasing. Thumbing, touching, tracing. Very well-mannered, despite Clive's arousal making his breaths heat with every new inch of Joshua he's permitted to explore.

"I could spend all night touching you," he murmurs. A little sex-brained, toeing just along the line of affection-stupid. His erection brushes Joshua's thigh, and he shivers at the feeling of it.

[featheredflames]

It is all too easy to grin around his brother, especially when the curve of his own lips triggers Clive to smile in turn. It's such a lovely sight indeed, and to know that he is the cause of it causes Joshua's heart to warm in ways he cannot begin to put word to. As he is stroked and begins to harden under his brother's touch, Joshua groans encouragingly, reaching out to smooth his own fingers over Clive's face and hair.

His comment has him giggling despite himself, the sound airy and light as he bites down on his lower lip, lashes low as he meets Clive's gaze.

"Then we are blessed to have all night, are we not?" He shifts, tucking strands of hair behind Clive's ear, flicking the earring they once shared to tease. "I am yours for the evening, dear brother."

[flamebrand]

If Joshua's smile set Clive alight, it's his brother's laugh that truly undoes him. Light and buoyant, it's the sound that Clive has always held to when the world felt bleakest― the sound that Clive would fight tooth and nail to protect and preserve.

And fuck, if Joshua isn't a vision stretched out on bedsheets. Pale skin slightly flushed from arousal, kiss-bitten lips reddened and inviting. Clive leans in to press his mouth against his brother's smile, and tips into the feel of fingers righting the haphazard mess of his black hair.

A mirrored laugh, when he feels that flick.

"You spoil me."

Clive feels spoiled, certainly. A hum, and he shifts to finally pull his own arousal from his smallclothes, trying to swallow down how shamefully hard he's gotten just from petting Joshua, then slots himself against his brother in an attempt to grind their cocks together, sharing heat and friction.

"You've had me on the edge all night."

[featheredflames]

"I think I am the one who is far more spoiled, Clive."

Out comes a groan as soon as he feels the hard heat of his brother's cock against his own, blue eyes as wide as saucers as he meets his gaze. Was such contact supposed to feel so good? Little had been done between them already and yet...

"Founder Clive...your cock is..."

Big is what he wants to say, but he bites his lower lip instead, swallowing a keen as he grinds back against him.

"You think you were the only one on edge this evening? You affect me more than you think."

[flamebrand]

Hearing cock in Joshua's delicate voice does something to Clive that he can't describe. His breath hitches at the sound of it, then trails off into a soft moan; an impatient shift of his waist and hips, and he grips his brother's waist to better position both of their bodies.

Fuck, if Joshua doesn't feel perfect. Their build and shape are disparate, opposites in every way, but the way they fit and move together makes sparks fly up and along Clive's spin. He can count on one hand the amount of times he's felt another human's skin on his, but this rewrites everything Clive knows about intimacy, about what it can and should be like.

A low hiss through his teeth, and he presses closer. He licks his lips, then lick's Joshua's lips.

"You were perfectly poised during dinner," Clive huffs, laugh-adjacent. "I should know― I never took my eyes off of you."

[featheredflames]

Oh it is sinful to feel Clive grip his hips and waist in such a fashion, palms big and rough against his soft middle and bones. Yet Joshua delights in it, wants more of it even, and how fiendish of his brother to lick at his lips like a wanting dog.

He groans Clive's name, his own hiss sounding like the simmer of low flame.

"You were watching me?" Of course he was. Stupid question to ask. Then again, he feels pretty stupid right now, the more his cock rubs against his brother's. "I suppose I am better at suppressing my wants than I thought."

[flamebrand]

Clive doesn't have much of a functioning brain left anymore, pressed front-against-front with Joshua like this, trading breaths and jests, but he tries. Another exhale, almost a chuckle, and he angles himself so that his next grind slicks all the way over Joshua's pretty cock, hips moving to the rhythm of a slow, methodical fuck.

No penetration, though. He promised, and Clive can be good for his brother. Only for his brother.

"I wonder what it would take to fluster you."

A bit of a challenge. Joshua is criminally adorable like this, and Founder knows that Clive doesn't exactly want to share it with others if he can help it, but.

Still. The hungry part of Clive that wants to treat Joshua like a lover is curious, and it makes him move faster, chase his pleasure more insistently.

[featheredflames]

Is he not already flustered? Joshua cannot help but give Clive a bewildered look, arms hooked around his brother's neck as his cheeks flare hot. He shifts beneath him, huffing out a moan as his legs spread further apart. Why had he asked Clive not to fuck him in full till he had been coronated? Why had he decided to place such a restriction on them both?

Oh he is a fool, but he will endure his own foolish decision.

"You already have..." A tug, coaxing Clive close so he can kiss him, needy. "Every touch and press of your body to mine is like flint and sparks to my core."

[flamebrand]

Cute, Clive thinks, as Joshua all but begs him for a kiss. He can deny his brother nothing, of course, so he obliges the request by tilting Joshua's chin and parting his lips, breathing in time to their broken inhales and exhales, trading heat as they move with more purpose.

But, a moment later: a tease. Clive shifts, precome-slick cock slipping away from Joshua's front, trailing wetly along his inner thigh until that hard, hot length is snug between his ass, slicking along his cleft. A stuttering moan, and he rocks his hips there for a few seconds, erection brushing against Joshua's entrance with each slide.

"My firebird," he murmurs. "Once you become Archduke, I'll know how brightly you really can burn."

Another kiss, and another thrust. Joshua's cock rakes up along the ridges of his stomach, and even that sets Clive aflame.

[featheredflames]

His firebird. Yes, he was Clive's. No one else could lay claim to him, nor would he ever allow it. How could he when his brother's touch was so perfect? How could he when his promise of ruin was so tempting?

Each kiss he chases with desperation as Clive shifts and his cock slots instead between his thighs. He's slick, but not enough, and while the angle is pleasing as he slips against him in such a maddening way, Joshua wants more. He knows it could be more.

So why not take more?

"Clive..." he pants out his name, resisting the urge to bite his brother's lips. "I've an idea."

[flamebrand]

Clive has both his hands bracketing Joshua's waist now, gripping and shifting in time to the rhythm of his hips, but he stops mid-motion when Joshua calls for him. Eyes glazed with lust, he refocuses and tips his head the way Torgal does when he doesn't quite understand a command; his thoughts struggle to catch up with his instincts.

But it's Clive's beloved firebird speaking, so he pays attention. One more open-mouthed kiss for good measure, and he pulls back just an inch.

"My clever brother, always full of ideas." Clive adores him. It shows in the way he looks at Joshua, brows slightly downturned in fond appraisal. "Whatever you wish, Joshua."

[featheredflames]

Admittedly he loves those hands on his waist. Clive's hands are bigger than his, and while he had long, slender fingers of his own, there was a weight and power behind his brother's palms as he grips him firmly. The rhythm is pleasant too, and it is somewhat of a shame to have him pause...but this would be better surely.

Or so Joshua thinks.

"On my knees...I think, if I get on my knees...and you put your cock between my thighs..."

And take him like an animal is the part he leaves unspoken, his eyes conveying what is unsaid.

"Would you like that?"

[flamebrand]

Blue eyes widen a fraction, then flit downwards to the smooth, unblemished skin of Joshua's inner thighs. Obviously, the idea excites him― his cock twitches in interest― and Clive huffs a short, affectionate laugh as he leans in to rub foreheads with his brother.

"A sinful thing, for you to propose getting on your knees for any man."

Joshua Rosfield, Archduke-to-be, who will kneel for no one, offering that sacrilegious gesture to the family's failed eldest son. To be fucked between his thighs, no less.

It makes Clive's blood run hot, and he sits up in a way that suggests that, yes, he's eager to know what this will feel like.

"...I'd like that, regardless. We'll sin together."

Another peck, this time to Joshua's jaw. Clive has a lot of these in his arsenal, if Joshua hasn't noticed by now.

[featheredflames]

But it's not just any man, it's Clive and that makes all the difference. Never would he do this for anyone else. He cannot even fathom it. To debase himself in such a fashion...but it is not debasement if it is for Clive's sake. No, it is far more sacred is it not? It may be a sin to everyone else...but was it truly in both their eyes?

"If it is a sin to delight in pleasure with my beloved brother, then I will happily sin a thousand times and more."

Clive is so affectionate it makes his heart swell, what with the way he rubs his face upon him and kisses him so gently.

"I wish to please you, more than anything."

[flamebrand]

A thousand times. That makes Clive laugh again, louder than his usual short puffs of breath: the kind of sound that he's only ever made in Joshua's company, low and throaty and from the heart. Unguarded in a way that Clive will never be in front of anyone else, because Joshua is the only person in the world that Clive can exist in front of without fear.

"I don't think you're capable of displeasing me, Joshua."

Genuinely meant. Clive may worry, and Clive may fuss, but there's not a single thing Joshua could do that could make Clive cross with him in any way that would matter.

Which is probably a little heavy to say, if they want to get to fooling around. Lowering his shoulders to relaxed neutral, he rakes his palm over Joshua's cheek, feeling the contours of that impossibly beautiful face as he bids:

"But, by all means..." His lips slant, as coquettish as a serious-minded man like Clive can be. "...Kneel for me, my firebird."

Audacious. The Undying would have his head for speaking to Joshua thus, but there's no actual intention to command Joshua anywhere in Clive's tone; it's only a tease. In every other situation, Clive would even drink bilgewater if his brother demanded it of him.