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

[featheredflames]

"...You named me?"

His eyes widen at the sudden, new knowledge that winds him the way falling from a chocobo would. He had never known...all these years and his name had been a gift from Clive? His brother had named him?

His heart begins to race before he pushes his face right into Clive's chest, tucking his head under his chin. He's overwhelmed.

"Oh Clive..."

[flamebrand]

Ah, so Elwin hadn't said anything about it. It makes something in Clive's chest ache a bit, knowing that his love for his brother had always been something to tiptoe around.

It doesn't matter now, he supposes. Joshua will always know how much he means to Clive, and Clive will make sure of that.

"You're beloved to me, in name and soul." He smooths his touch down Joshua's back, soothing him the way he'd used to when Joshua would cling to his front after a particularly bad fit. "It's a privilege, you know. To call your name."

[featheredflames]

"And it is a privilege to be called by the one I love most."

If there was one thing Joshua would never doubt it would be this, his brother's love and adoration for him. Now, blessedly, he could experience that love even deeper than before. How lucky he truly was. He smiles against his chest, pressing his lips there in a tender display.

"I hope to hear called countless times on the night of my coronation."

[flamebrand]

A blink, as he drinks in the rather raunchy implications of Joshua's latter statement, and Clive laughs.

"You needn't wait until your coronation for that."

He can call Joshua's name as many times as his brother would like, from now until then. Smiling, Clive demonstrates by dipping his head by Joshua's ear and murmuring his name, over and over as he touches along his brother's back, his waist.

"Joshua. ...Joshua."

His sweet boy. Clive thinks that Joshua has no earthly idea how much he really is coveted.

[featheredflames]

He may not know the full extent of his brother's obsession with him, but he knows well enough how much he cares and cherishes him. The low grumble of his brother's voice is warm and threatens to reignite that very same flame that had excited him in the first place.

"Clive...you are a menace..."

[flamebrand]

"I've deprived you for long enough."

If, in fact, Joshua had wanted him for longer than this day, that is. His heart still flutters at the thought of it, that his brother had yearned for him in the same way that Clive had yearned for Joshua for years now.

"Is it wrong of me to want to give back?"

[featheredflames]

He has deprived him, but not on purpose. How were either of them to know that the other truly felt the same way? That their familial love could be breached and far deeper? He huffs out a laugh, unable to help the smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth.

"No, I see nothing wrong with it...so long as you allow me to do the same in return. I wish to share with you all of me, Clive."

He may be the heir and the soon-to-be leader of their homeland, but that didn't mean Clive wasn't going to be right beside him through it all, with same amount of say if he had any say in the matter.

[flamebrand]

All of him. A pretty idea, though Clive knows that realistically, he'll have to share Joshua with the rest of Rosaria: their people need an Archduke, and Clive well and truly does believe his brother to be the most capable young man for the job.

In the privacy of their shared space, though, he can try to believe this little fantasy they share. Can try to fulfill it as best as he can, even. A small smile, and he lands another kiss (the millionth of the night, perhaps) against Joshua's forehead.

"You'll make a greedy man of me yet." Clive doesn't want for much, but Joshua is the exception to his rule. "And likewise－ whatever you want of me, you need only ask."

He takes one of his brother's hands and places it loosely against his chest, over his heartbeat.

[featheredflames]

Palm to chest Joshua can feel his own heartbeat settle into a contented thrum. It's all too easy to fall victim to the fantasy that his chambers provides them both. Here, hidden in the privacy of his room, they can pretend there is no one else. That their lives can be for one another and they have a say in their futures.

"I have all I could ever ask for...the best big brother in all of the Twins."

Which is the truth and not up for debate.

"You are allowed to be greedy with me. Always."

[flamebrand]

He could certainly debate 'best'－ most older brothers have never nearly killed their younger sibling, not to mention never have lurid fantasies about fucking them into the mattress－ but he won't push the point. If Joshua believes that to be true, who is he to take that belief away? Clive will hold to it, and do his utmost to live up to that distinction.

He rolls both of their bodies, him on his back and Joshua splayed comfortably against his chest.

"Then, brother... will you permit me to indulge in you for a while longer?"

[featheredflames]

"You need not ask permission, not now."

Even if he knows Clive always will - it's just the type of person he is. Nestled comfortably against his brother's chest, Joshua is all too happy to indulge any request he might make.

"If you indulge in me I am indulging in you in turn...how could I possibly say no to that?"

[flamebrand]

"Then..."

A low sound from the back of his throat, considering. After he lets that syllable hang, Clive rakes his hand along the small of his brother's back, touching with a bit more intent.

"...I'd like to prepare you for when we renew our vows."

Tracing Joshua's tailbone with his index, drawing small circles on his skin.

"I wouldn't dare risk hurting you on the night of."

[featheredflames]

"Ah..."

What a proposition to make. Clive isn't wrong - what he is offering is something that will have to happen regardless...but to suddenly be presented with the option right now?

Well, so long as it is Clive's fingers that stretch him and not his cock...

"I think that is a very wise idea."

[flamebrand]

Much like 'best', 'wise' isn't the word Clive would use to describe wanting to make Joshua melt, but again－ what Joshua says, goes.

A mild huff, affectionately amused, and he cranes his head to kiss against his brother's ear.

"Have you any oil?" His fingers travel downwards, then slip carefully between Joshua's lithe legs.

[featheredflames]

He shudders involuntarily as he feels Clive's hand back between his legs, the question that follows has his cheeks flaring hot once more.

Did he have oil?

"In the drawer of the nightstand...there is a small vial of oil."

Should he move to get it? He should, right?

[flamebrand]

"Will you fetch it for me?"

Answering Joshua's question for him, without Joshua having to ask. It's obvious that Clive means to utterly spoil his brother for the night, and he pitches his voice low and sweet, for Joshua's ears only.

"After you do, I won't make you move off of me again."

[featheredflames]

"Of course."

Clive need not ask twice and Joshua is quick to pry himself from his brother, hobbling over to his nightstand to root through it. Out comes a little glass vial of rosehip oil which he grips, fingers trembling as he clambers back onto his bed.

Gingerly he presses it into Clive's palm, swallowing the lump of embarrassment that's begun to form in his throat.

"Here...there is still some left."

[flamebrand]

Spying those trembling fingers, Clive takes Joshua's hand as he's handed the oil and presses his lips to the rise and fall of his brother's knuckles, intending to soothe the nerves out of him. It's sweet, in a way, that Joshua is so nervous when he'd suggested something so audacious moments before－ Clive will be thinking about that beautifully arched back for ages－ but says nothing of it.

"Thank you," is warm, as he pulls Joshua closer to his chest again. "Now relax, and remember that you can always tell me if anything feels uncomfortable."

Trust is integral to the process, after all. An encouraging smile, light and sincere, as he uncaps the vial and starts to coat one thick digit with it.

[featheredflames]

Clive always has a way with his words and knows how to soothe him better than anyone else ever could. Naturally, Joshua finds it easy to settle back down against his brother's chest, pulled close as he's told to relax.

He knows he can tell Clive if something hurts, if something is uncomfortable...but frankly he is more worried that he will enjoy it far too much.

"I will." He answers easily enough, cheek pressed to Clive's chest. Oh how warm and reassuring he is beneath him... "I know you will make me feel good...you always do."

[flamebrand]

Enjoying something too much is the ultimate goal, so－ as ever, Joshua is doing everything right. Is what Clive would say if he could read minds, which he can't, so he tries to convey his intent through actions, ever preferring to let what he does speak for itself.

"I pray I don't betray that trust."

Playful, but semi-serious. He would never want to give Joshua any cause to doubt him, but he also doesn't want to make Joshua nervous about what should be a good experience for the both of them, so...

...again, another smile, as he moves his now oil-slicked finger to massage Joshua's sensitive entrance, to circle and rub at its rim to acclimate Joshua to the feeling of the potential intrusion. Gentle and careful, taking his time with it before the actual breach; coaxing his brother to relax and breathe for him as that first digit pushes inwards.

[featheredflames]

Joshua relaxes, or at the very least as best as he can manage to. His heart is thrumming a steady, quickened pace against his ribcage and surely Clive can feel it too...they are pressed together, after all.

It is for the best that Clive is not able to see his face from this angle, not with the way he's tucked it away from him as he feels the intrusion of a slicked, wet digit. It is absolutely foreign, both in sensation and experience, but the thought that this would be Clive's cock in a mere few days has him feeling dizzy.

Out comes a sigh as he relaxes further. Clive can continue. It feels strange, sure, but it does not hurt.

[flamebrand]

Joshua is hot, tight, and Clive tries to work the tension out of him by kissing his hair, his flush-pink ear. The more lines they cross, the easier it becomes to acclimate to the idea of this new relationship that they're building: far more intimate than brothers ought to indulge in, but one that feels like an extension of something they already had.

Terrible, probably. As he said before, Clive was meant to protect Joshua from something like this. He was tasked to safeguard Joshua in every way possible, and he's failed in that respect.

Still, Clive doesn't stop. Especially not after Joshua relaxes into him, giving him tacit permission to continue.

"Think of it, Joshua." A gentle murmur as he explores a little further, movements slow and careful. "We'll be as one soon."

[featheredflames]

He groans as Clive tells him to imagine it and oh, he can. It is far too easy to do so, especially with that thick digit of his working its way inside him deeper and deeper...

"It is all I have ever wanted, brother..."

It isn't a lie. Even from a young age he had fantasized about marrying Clive, joining together with him forever as princes did with their fated lovers. While they could never be openly wed, they could exchange private vows of their own and could join their bodies together. To think he had been the one to say they needed to wait to do the latter...

The more Clive works his finger inside of him the more Joshua melts against his chest. It doesn't feel so bad now. Not at all...

"Clive..."

[flamebrand]

A soft sigh-laugh, affectionate.

"You did often ask me if I could be your wife."

When they were still children, and the concept of marriage eluded Joshua. Clive had assumed that their mother had told Joshua something about the Archduke-to-be eventually having to find a suitable wife to continue the line with; he can't remember what he'd said in response, though. Probably something about both of them considering it when they were older (in other words, when Joshua knew better).

Look at them now, he thinks. A funny thought, sinful as it is. He tips Joshua's chin with his free hand, wanting to see that molten expression on his brother's face as he works him open further, tries to find the spot that will take this from uncomfortable to pleasurable.

[featheredflames]

"I did."

Chin tipped he regards Clive with an expression that can only be described as pure desire. His eyes are hooded and his cheeks ruddy as they continue to heat up with every touch and stroke he is awarded. That's right, he had asked if Clive would be his wife back then...not understanding the ramifications of such a question. Now though he would word it differently...and oh how eagerly he would be his brother's wife if law permitted it. Clive would be his husband...but alas that is simply mere fantasy and nothing more.

"I would take you as my husband in name if I were able to...I do not think you would look very good in a dress."