FFXII - Balthier/Basch

[regicidaldwarf.livejournal.com]

Title: Opportunity
Author: RegicidalDwarf
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Not worksafe for sex. Other than that, none.
Word count: 940
A/N: This one fought me for a long time, and I'm still not totally satisfied. Sorry it's late. X-posted in regicidaldwarf2

"Care for some company?” he asks when Basch opened the door, brandishing a bottle. The Captain is surprised, but swings the door wide to permit his entry. Balthier sets the mugs he’d brought on the bedside table of the inn room, uncorking the bottle and pouring liberal amounts of liquor in each one. He hands one to Basch who takes it with a nod of thanks, taking a seat. Balthier perches on the edge of the table. For a moment they drink in silence. It is Basch that breaks it.

“The people of Balfonheim are proving reticent to aid us. The Lady Ashe does not wish to waste more time.”

Balthier hummed.

“I suppose we’ll be off tomorrow then. Our Lady is not one to sit on her hands.”

Basch almost laughs.

“No, she is not.” Neither of them mentions the gross understatement of this.

“Better rest up while you can then, if tomorrow we move. It has been too long since we had a night for leisure.” He takes a drink. Basch makes a face into his mug.

“Too true.” If he were a man to complain, Balthier muses, Basch would not stop there, as he now does. He would be complaining about the long hours, the danger, the lack of privacy this quest provides, and Balthier would be offering recompense for his grievances.

But Basch is not a man to complain, and fanciful daydreaming is doing nothing for the closing window of opportunity. Balthier is nothing, if not a man of opportunity.

“The best part about showering, you know,” Balthier says, a seeming non sequitur, “is having someone else wash your back.” He smiles slyly to cover the slight nervous quiver.

Basch pauses, his mug halfway to his mouth.

“Are you offering?”

Balthier’s smile is more lewd now.

“Are you accepting?” There is a pause, and Balthier finds himself held by Basch’s inscrutable gaze.

“Very well then.” Basch stands and walks into the shower room, beginning to undress. Balthier rises quickly to join him, shedding his brocade vest before he reaches the doorway.

Basch is removing his over shirt, pulling it over his head, and oh. Balthier has seen Basch shirtless before, and his normal outfit does not leave much to the imagination, but it covers enough, and their travels have done much to strengthen him after years spent in captive. Balthier steps forward to run a hand over Basch’s chest, his fingertips running over the bumps and grooves of scars that line his sides. Basch tenses beneath his hands, his muscles rippling beneath his skin, and he makes a sound as if to speak. Balthier leans in to silence him with a kiss.

Basch’s breath sucks in, and then he is kissing Balthier back, lifting a hand to the side of Balthier’s face to hold him in place, opening Balthier’s mouth with his tongue. Basch presses forward with his body until Balthier can feel his beginning arousal clearly through their remaining clothing, mimicking his own. He pulls back. As pleasant as this is, it is not the sole purpose for their being here.

“The shower?” he asks. Basch growls low in annoyance – or frustration – but turns to pull the tap and let the water flow. Balthier takes advantage of the moment to shed his remaining clothing. Then Basch is loosening the belt on his shorts and stepping naked under the spray of water.

At first it’s awkward, as they both try to fit in a space only designed for one. Then Balthier grabs the soap and instructs Basch to turn facing the wall farthest from the shower head. His breath catches when Basch obeys. His back is well muscled, true, but it is not that which is holding Balthier’s eye.

Basch’s back is covered with scars, evidence of hard years spent in captivity, subjected to treatment Balthier would shudder to think about, if he let himself. They form a network of raised welts across the broad span of his shoulders, moving down and around to disappear with the curve of his body. Balthier realizes his hands are tracing them, letting soap suds run down and through the grating in the floor.

Basch is shaking beneath his hands. Balthier presses at a scar with his fingertips and Basch hisses. He leans forward and bites at Basch’s neck in an open mouthed kiss. Basch is growling, his arousal clearly visible from this angle. Balthier hums.

“Allow me?”

”Yes.” Basch turns back to face him and Balthier presses close. They are almost evenly matched in height, their bodies fitting together almost perfectly. When they kiss this time it’s more urgent, spurned on by their mutual arousal. Balthier lets a hand drift between them, letting it run over Basch’s chest before dropping lower and curling around his length. Basch shudders beneath his hand, his hips jerking forward almost reflexively. He reaches down as well to take Balthier in hand and they begin a quick rhythm, thrusting against each other.

And then Basch is groaning, low and deep, and he’s coming, spilling over Balthier’s hand, and that sets him off, and he is following Basch over the edge, moaning as he comes. They slump against the wall for a minute before they step back under the rapidly cooling water to wash off the evidence of their exertions. The rest of the process goes rather quickly as neither of them wish to shower in ice water, and soon they’re toweling off and dressing again.

Balthier turns to return to his room.

“We’d better sleep,” he says. Basch nods, and hands him back the mugs he brought in earlier.

“Yes. We leave tomorrow."

Comments

[strawberry-smut.livejournal.com]

Woodamn.
Loved the little bit of biting and how Balthier just gives up on subtle.
This is my prompt, and it's exactly what I was after.

They form a network of raised welts across the broad span of his shoulders, moving down and around to disappear with the curve of his body. Balthier realizes his hands are tracing them, letting soap suds run down and through the grating in the floor.
I swear, I can nearly feel his skin myself. Great imagery.

[regicidaldwarf.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad I could give you what you wanted, particularly since this one fought me for a really long time. (I had to make it present tense to even get anywhere.)

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.

[cog-nomen.livejournal.com]

I love this relationship, and I really adore seeing the different ways that people make it work. I like it this way, too - you've presented it unspoken, an understanding that both of them have reached more or less on their own, and sometimes the greatest things happen that way.

[regicidaldwarf.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was a little worried that the lack of real discussion might make it choppy, so I'm glad it worked for you.

[manic-intent.livejournal.com]

hot. thanks for sharing!