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]

Of course he would say that. Characteristic of Clive to deflect and make it seem as if his service to him was all he truly needed. Whether that was the truth or not it doesn't matter. Clive his hard and Joshua can feel it, along with his own cock, despite everything, beginning to harden once more.

Damn the Phoenix and its regenerative properties. It is the only explanation he has for any of it.

And oh, how sinful it is to hear the word wife on his brother's lips in regards to himself. If only he could be...

"If only you could fill me and leave me with child..."

[flamebrand]

Clive never knew the depth of his brother's desire to be taken in the way that he claims. Not just to be fucked, but bred― a truly sinful thing to contemplate. It drives Clive out of his mind to think of it, and he rewards Joshua with more featherlight kisses against his hair, his face, as he continues to spread him with thick fingers.

"I'll fill you as many times as you wish," he breathes hoarsely. "And, Founder willing, it may one day take."

A lurid, impossible fantasy. But they're the both of them lust-soaked enough to verbalize it, and Clive says so with a particularly clever crook of his fingers inside Joshua's tight heat.

[featheredflames]

In all fairness, while Joshua has had fantasies of being bed by his brother, he has not thought so long and hard about them in meticulous detail. Only now, in the heat of the moment, with Clive's fingers deep inside of him does he realize how much more he wants - if it were possible to have.

The notion of having a child with Clive is ridiculous. It is impossible, truly, and yet the fantasy of it, of having a family with the person he adores more than anyone else, is one he wishes could be made reality. Well, there is no reason he cannot indulge in entertaining the thought, especially when those temping digits wriggle and tease him further.

"One day..." he repeats, drunk on pleasure. "Our family will grow, so help me Founder."

It's silly, he knows it is...but there was never any harm in a bit of playing pretend.

[flamebrand]

It's a sweet thought, and of course his sweet brother would think to have it. Both of their idea of family have been fraught at times, and Clive has wondered－ on more than one occasion－ what it might mean for him, a son unable to be loved by one's own mother, to have children. If he even has the right, or if he even should.

That thought is a damper on things, though. Right now, it's better to think of Joshua and his dreams of making something intimate between the two of them. Something safer and more full of love, perhaps, than what the both of them had when they were young.

(All Clive really needs is Joshua, though. He won't say so, not right now.)

"You'd be beautiful, full of child. More radiant than the Phoenix itself."

He dots another kiss of affirmation against Joshua's lips, content to lick the pleasure right out of his brother's mouth.

[featheredflames]

Children, at least for Joshua, have always been sweet beings, and while he has not had much interaction with them over the years, he is not ignorant of what duties would be expected of him eventually that would inevitably make him a father. It seems cruel though to bring a child into the world out of a union that would be devoid of love, for who could Joshua love more than his brother?

Things would be simpler if he had been born a sister to his brother instead...but fate had had other plans in store for them both.

He flushes hot from the compliment, imagining it for a brief moment. It's surly sacrilege in some way, to even entertain the thought of having Clive's child but oh what a child it would be...

Clive licks at his lips like a hungry pup and Joshua is left whimpering in return as he rocks his body slowly against his brother's.

"You would surely have everyone jealous...they would all know what you have done to me."

[flamebrand]

If they have children, Clive thinks deliriously, he hopes they'd have Joshua's sweet temperament and his beautiful, bright eyes. A purely indulgent fantasy that Joshua might be able to pry out of him in future couplings－ and god, it's still incredible to think that this will be the first of many nights to come.

Questing fingers alternate between slow and fast, still giving pleasure even as Clive speaks softly to his brother, his tone at odds with the lurid meshing of their bodies.

"The heads of the high houses would all faint, and every eligible young man and woman would be green with envy." A low sigh, coarse with slight possessiveness. "I've seen the way some of them look at you."

[featheredflames]

His forehead bumps against his brother's broad chest, the waves of pleasure those tantalizing fingers wash up his spine leaving him dizzy.

"What?" he starts, forehead sweaty and stuck to Clive's skin. "Who? How do they look at me?"

Truthfully, Joshua hasn't noticed any looks at all. Mayhap he was dense when it came to such things. Had he overlooked flirting from others and not realized people's intentions?

Then again did it matter?

[flamebrand]

How, Joshua asks, and the answer is straightforward:

"With less-than-innocent interest. You underestimate how beautiful you are."

Like Joshua and his affinity for water despite his inability to swim, Clive occasionally finds his brother lacking when it comes to self-preservation instincts (pot, kettle, etc.). It isn't that he doesn't trust Joshua－ he does, completely and fully－ but he trusts the intentions of others less.

His free hand combs through Joshua's hair, petting him gently.

[featheredflames]

The Phoenix inside him practically preens at the sensation of fingers stroking through his hair, his back instinctively wanting to arch despite Clive's digits still inside of him. Beautiful. Could he really be considered such?

"I do not think I would call myself beautiful."

He isn't ugly by any means, but Joshua does not give his looks much thought at all beyond the primping and grooming he's subjected to against his will.

[flamebrand]

"You light every room you enter."

An easy answer to Joshua's slightly-skewed perception of himself. (Or so Clive thinks.) Fingers continue combing through soft bangs, then slide sideways and down to smooth the longer strands tickling the nape of his brother's neck.

"One smile from you could change the course of an entire debate." He continues, petting and stroking and touching. Not an inch of him lets up; Clive is determined to blanket Joshua in as much love as he can. "I look at you, and I forget myself."

Beautiful, radiant, perfect. Clive adores him.

[featheredflames]

In a way the petting feels almost better than the way Clive had finger fucked him, the gestures so tender and sweet that Joshua feels himself melting all over again. Thank the Founder he was made of flesh and not ice, for he would be a puddle and nothing more with how warm his brother's love left him feeling.

"You flatter me too much, Clive..."

So much so it was a little embarrassing...but Clive was indulgent when it came to him and it brought him joy in a way Joshua rarely saw reflected on his face. As long as he could make Clive smile did it matter if he was a bit flustered for it?

Of course not.

[flamebrand]

Free to love, and free to express it (in the secluded safety of this room, that is). All his life, Clive has been stifled by the weight of his duty and half-hung on the noose of his purpose; he doesn't take this current freedom for granted. It's the sort of permission he's never had, an invitation to be wholly himself.

So, yes. He will lay it on a bit thick, all things considered. Maybe in a year's time when everything feels less new (debatable if that'll ever happen), he'll be able to temper himself a bit better. For now, though, he coaxes Joshua with warm hands and soft kisses, savoring the flush on his brother's skin.

"If it embarrasses you, I'll keep my mooning to myself."

[featheredflames]

"It's all right... I will allow it."

Just for Clive, though. Anything for Clive. If his brother wants to count the ways he loves him, then so be it. It may cause his cheeks to flare hot but to deny his brother the joy of expressing himself when he was so reserved otherwise?

Joshua could never bring himself to do that.

"If you wish to adore me, who am I to tell you to stop?"

[flamebrand]

A light, buoyant laugh, and: "you're more than allowed to say no to me, you know."

Says the man who can refuse his brother nothing. A hypocrite through and through, but only in matters related to his brother: 'practice what you preach' falls to the wayside when Clive is speaking to the biggest exception to every single one of his rules.

He lets his fingers quest for a few more beats, confident in his understanding of Joshua's comfort before they slowly, carefully draw out.

"It won't stop me from adoring you, but I can be less vocal about it."

[featheredflames]

"No, I rather you not silence yourself."

He sighs once Clive's fingers are free of him, still incredibly pliant as he rests against his chest. If his brother does not move him, he sees no reason to himself. He would much rather lie here and enjoy his comforting warmth for as long as he can.

"Be yourself around me, Clive. That is all I ask for."

Even if it means he may end up embarrassed by it sometimes.

[flamebrand]

"Myself," he echoes. He lets Joshua settle against his chest like an oversized cat, not minding the deadweight at all. Surreptitiously, he wipes his oil-slick hand against the sheets to clean them before starting to draw soothing circles along the small of Joshua's back, letting his fingers travel up and down his brother's spine on occasion. Again, like soothing a well-behaved feline.

"You're the only one who sees so much of me." A pleased murmur. "The only one who cares to look."

[featheredflames]

Clive is warm and Joshua cannot help but enjoy the comfort he derives from resting against him. There is nowhere else he would feel more safe and that is something he would never trade for anything. Clive strokes over his back and all he can do is hum with delight. Indulgent, truly, all of this is, but why not be?

"How could I ever turn my eyes away from you, Clive?"

[flamebrand]

A rhetorical question, Clive knows. He smiles about it, though he can think of many reasons for Joshua to potentially turn away－ then again, he supposes that most of them are moot. There's very little about him that Joshua doesn't already know about, or hasn't experienced firsthand.

(Ifrit, mostly. The horror that the Eikon inspires, and the aftermath of its rampaging.)

Fingers tangle in the longer strands of hair behind Joshua's neck. It's growing out; Clive wonders if Joshua means to wear it long.

"You seemed plenty capable of it when Ambrosia was present."

Teasing. He's not actually jealous of his precious chocobo; he just wants to hear his brother call him ridiculous. It's an easy, affectionate rhythm that he can settle into with no one but Joshua.

[featheredflames]

"You are ridiculous, do you know that?"

A predictable response, but it wouldn't be right it if weren't. Clive knows him better than he knows himself at times, and the familiar back and forth is ever so easy of a pattern to find solace in. He hums as he's pet, as thick fingers run through the strands of hair at the nape of his neck. He feels more dog than bird right now, but those are details he need not voice at the moment.

"One must never ignore nor leave a lady waiting, you know that."

[flamebrand]

If not for their general state of undress and the sweat-slick stickiness of their bodies, Clive might mistake this moment as something from their childhood. Joshua tucked against his chest, content to give Clive his weight as Clive shared stories of the things outside of the four walls of his brother's bedroom. Things that happened out on the castle grounds, a new book that their father had brought for Clive to read.

It strikes Clive, how happy he is in this moment. Happy to have Joshua, happy to be accepted by him, happy to be speaking so plainly. Happy to be known, despite the taboo of it all. He should feel worse about it, but he doesn't. Can't.

"She's far more patient with you than she is with me." He laughs, and rests back against his pillows. "Birds of a feather, I suppose."

Not the biRD PUNS!!!!

[featheredflames]

Haha, very funny brother. Joshua snorts as his reply, unable to keep a smile off his lips. Clive's laughter was the sweetest of sounds, a rare one that was usually reserved for him, he's noticed. It makes it all the more cherished, as something Joshua feels he ought to covet.

"Mayhap she will teach me how to build a nest." Wouldn't that be a funny notion? "I could make one right here. Would you help me Clive? Pick out the finest branches and straw for me?"

If he wants to tease that he's a bird, Joshua might as well lean into it.

[flamebrand]

Branches. Clive's brows shoot up, skeptical and amused at the same time.

"Nothing so uncomfortable for my brother, I should think. Blankets and cushions seem a better alternative."

Not that Joshua needs coddling－ he's no longer the small little boy who coughed when the air grew chillier in the evenings－ but still. Without treating him like something fragile liable to fracture at any moment, Clive would still prefer him comfortable and safe in his hypothetical nest.

"Would my songbird like a nest?"

[featheredflames]

"Well if I am to be your wedded mate, I think I deserve one."

Their conversation has skewed into absurdity, but it is fun all the same. Joshua amused himself with fingers in Clive's hair, fussing with strands that had been once tamed but now messed by their passionate tryst.

"Would you build me one, brother?"

[flamebrand]

Clive's hair is a lost cause; it will perpetually remain shaggy unless someone forces product into it, which is likely to happen on the night of Joshua's coronation. A short-lived tidiness, given what they've already promised will happen after the ceremony is done.

Meanwhile, Clive bumps against Joshua's palm like a hound leaning into a particularly beloved hand. Warm as he is, he likes his brother's brand of heat as well: softer, gentler. Ifrit consumes, but the Phoenix sustains.

"I'll fill it with your favorite things." Which is a yes, silly as it is to be talking about making a human-sized nest. Joshua never got to dabble in frivolity, so they might as well do so now. "And it'll be the place we both retire to for the night."

[featheredflames]

Joshua likes his brother shaggy. While it had been some years now since Clive had his hair clipped and neat, it's far more fun to mess like this, to tease with fingers and watch move when the wind catches it from time to time. The way Clive leans into his hand reminds him of Torgal and it draws out a laugh from the soon-to-be archduke. He scritches behind his ear, just for good measure.

"My favourite things?" He leans in, conspiring. "So long as I've you in the middle of my nest I will be content."