Sans Raiment

Hello, and welcome back friends! I hope you all had a good summer! School is starting and you know what that means…start writing a story so I can procrastinate and not do school work! I will start this out by saying I don’t have as clear a direction as I did when I wrote my other story. I am also not sure if I will actually complete this. I have no idea how long it will be. With that being said, lets move on to details about the story.

This is NOT a direct sequel to ‘Enabling’. It will probably borrow things from the story because when I think up plot devices I typically like to use them over and over again, but we are dealing with a not so nice Vox in this story. I don’t want to spoil anything right away, so I’ll leave it at that.

As another note, to be clear, the gay/explicite sex that people may be wanting will start either next chapter or possibly in a few chapters. It all depends on how I feel like advancing. And if you don't like Albel hooking up with a set of boobs, well, skip over it. Fair warning.

Edited a third time, this time with 50% less cheesy-ness!

Sans Raiment

Cliff rinsed his hand of blood in a fountain in Airyglyph’s castle courtyard. His doubts about whether or not it had been a wise decision to return to the under developed planet had vanished when he found Albel battling a demon or demigod or whatever, alone in the castle’s dungeon. After over a year of sitting idly on his ass, pretending to be a politician when his heart was telling him to break out on his own (or beat something up), the Klausian had found himself drifting back to the rock he had adventured on and back to someone who had, amazingly, turned out to be more than a one night fuck. Even if he had interrupted a fight to the death with a supernatural being, he had been glad to see Albel.

Albel had not shared his joy at seeing a former traveling partner and lover. In fact, he looked utterly insulted to be interrupted and be given aid in a battle. Typical Albel; it was endearing. After he had cleaned himself of demon blood, Cliff looked at his former lover and grinned.

“What do you want?” The Elicoorian asked testily, sheathing his katana.

“I was just in the area and had been thinking of you.”

“In the area?” Albel raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Last I heard your business takes you far from my planet. So I highly doubt you were ‘in the area’.”

“Fine, you got me, my career is on a permanent hiatus and I wanted to see you. The thinking about you part wasn’t made up.”

The slender captain was silent, taking in the other man’s response. After a moment he nodded his head once and turned to go inside of the castle. Cliff took that as an invitation to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since the group’s departure from Elicoor a year ago, Albel had made a fairly permanent home of the castle. He was given quarters on the lower level, which were finely furnished and had all the amenities he could hope for. Not that he needed such trivial things like a stuffed sofa to sit on or a round table with chairs enough to sit several dinner guests. He had no intention of having guests over for dinner. But the palace did have a pleasant bathing room for the castle’s occupants; not the same bathing pool that the soldiers used, thank the gods. And the kitchen staff was well versed in their trade; Albel rarely ate a bad meal. Over time, the captain had gotten over his pride and allowed himself to enjoy some of the luxury that had been rewarded to him for being a servant of the country. Self sufficiency was still a point of pride for the young man, but he had learned to stop looking gift horses in the mouth and accept the things that were being given, no, awarded to him. Why continue to choke down his own terrible cooking when Arzei had a staff of great chefs at his beck and call?

Albel still made regular holidays in Kirlsa and occupied his old room at the count’s mansion. Woltar was getting older and, as much as he did not wish to admit it, Albel worried about the old man’s health. Though he teased that the old man would never die, the young captain was all too aware of how thin the count had gotten in the last year. Woltar’s age seemed to be catching up with him now that the war had ended and there was practically no need for him to run a military branch. The maids in the house tended the count well enough and Albel had made sure that there was a credible doctor in the town, ready to be fetched at any moment, but he still worried. That anxiety irritated him. He knew that he would lose the old man, one day, but he was not ready for that. He did not think he’d ever be ready for such a thing.

Woltar seemed to understand his concerns. Each time Albel showed up, barging through the doors and rudely shoving the servants aside, Woltar would smile at him, that all-knowing smile, and chuckle quietly. The maids always kept his room dusted and the sheets washed and clean; there was no telling when Albel might make a visit.

But when Cliff arrived on Elicoor Albel was currently residing in his castle quarters. He led the Klausian to his apartments and threw his sword onto the desk as he walked into his bedroom. Cliff followed, thinking nothing of it until the young man turned and growled at him.

“Excuse you.”

“What?”

“Get out of my room, heathen!”

Cliff took a hasty step backwards and the bedroom door slammed shut in his face. He waited for a few minutes, ambling around the small space, before Albel returned in a fresh pair of clothes. He grinned; Albel scowled.

“Sit.” The Elicoorian commanded, gesturing to the table beside the apartment’s kitchenette.

Cliff did so. He looked across the table, taking in Albel’s features. He hadn’t changed all that much in the year that they had been apart, but something about the captain seemed different. His eyes were still shard and cruel, but at the same time they seemed calmer, stiller. Before, when he had looked into Albel’s vermillion eyes there had always been something moving in them, like he could see the gears of the boy’s mind working in their quick circuits. It was a puzzling change, but then again all of their worlds had been turned upside-down after the Luther crisis. Perhaps Albel and Nel’s lives had been altered the most; before Fayt and he had crash landed into the planet, they hadn’t known such a complex universe existed.

“What are you staring at?” Albel asked defensively, unnerved by the sudden scrutiny.

“Nothing, you just seem different is all.”

“Different how?”

“I dunno, that’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

When Cliff smiled Albel’s lip lifted in a disgusted snarl. “What do you want?”

“Why do you assume I want something?”

“You came all the way here.”

“To see you.”

“Why?”

The question gave the Klausian pause. Why? Well, he wasn’t sure why. Because he was on the run from politics? Because he was tired of a boring life? Because he had missed the feisty Elicoorian ever since he had left? Because he desperately wanted to get laid? Because he wanted…something more in life? Something he couldn’t yet define for himself but recognized internally and knew that Albel could provide him? He couldn’t answer, but his thoughtful, lost expression seemed to have spoken for him.

Albel nodded at him, as if he had understood the jumbled mess of the man’s mind, and stood to get them drinks. He handed Cliff a cup of tea several minutes later. The man took it with a grunt of thanks.

They drank their tea in silence. Cliff dropped a few sugar cubes and milk drops into his cup; Albel was content with the sugarless, bitter taste. When they had finished, pushing their cups towards the center of the table, they looked at one another.

“You can stay here for the night. No more.”

Cliff nodded. “Thanks.”

There was an awkward silence. After a minute Albel stood. Cliff looked at him oddly.

“The battle has tired me. I’m going to rest for awhile. I’m sure you can find some way to entertain yourself.”

Before Cliff could answer, the captain had left the table, going into his room and shutting the door with a loud bang that was just shy of being an angry slam. The man sighed, left to his own devices for the time being. He considered taking a walk around the city, but the fight with that demon had tired him as well. There was a sofa in the large sitting room, adjacent from the tiny parlor. It was oddly placed; a fine looking sofa in an otherwise empty room. It was propped against the far wall. There was no other furniture in the room; no table, no chairs, nothing hanging on the wall. It was an inhospitable room with a soft velvet sofa sitting menacingly in the corner.

Cliff considered sleeping on that. He didn’t trust it though. It sat there in the corner, against the wall, the only decoration, daring someone to come and sit and then be swallowed.

“What a stupid thought, I must really be tired.”

He went over to the sofa and plopped down. He sat motionless for a minute, unable to shake the odd feeling he had regarding the piece of furniture, but it eventually subsided. There were no pillows or blankets, but the sofa was soft and he had no problem falling asleep with his head against the armrest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An incessant poking awoke him. When Cliff opened his bleary eyes, blinking them profusely to clear them, he saw Albel crouching above him, bangs trailing down, looking at him with an impassive expression.

“Hi.”

The impassive look left, replaced with a scowl. “Get up.”

He did so. The Elicoorian looked at him then jerked his head towards the kitchenette and the round dinner table beside it.

“The servants brought dinner.”

To say that he was surprised was obvious. Cliff hadn’t expected Albel to feed him, not with the young man’s attitude of fending for one’s self. Albel ignored the look and sat at the table and began to eat. He would not sit around upon ceremony just because the big oaf was waking up from a nap and was confused.

As he lumbered over to the table, Cliff noted that he had slept longer than he had thought. The small window in the apartment cast a rectangle of fading yellow light on the floor. Outside, the sky was dusky purple. He saw that Albel had lit the chandelier above the table and numerous other posts and candles had been lit, illuminating the room in a somewhat eerie, but also romantic, orange glow.

He sat down at the table and looked at the platter before him. A juicy steak was sitting before him, teasing him, tempting him with its sizzling juice and finely cooked brown outside. A heap of potatoes sat next to it, and beside them a mountain of rice. It was fine fair indeed, and much different from the usual sandwiches or burnt meat that he had eaten with Albel before.

“I thought you abhorred the idea of eating fine food while others starved?”

Albel looked at him, a twitch in his eyebrow. “Since you left, trade has been flowing with Aquaria and food isn’t nearly as scarce as it was. There are few starving peasants left. And why should I cast aside good food when it’s being offered? It would just be wasted somewhere else.”

The man grinned, cutting into his steak. He didn’t bring up the fact that hitherto that moment Albel had always said it despicable to take things just because they were offered. The young man seemed to hate the silver spoon and golden platter that was given to him because of his birth rank.

Maybe this acceptance of offerings had to do with the calmness he had sensed within Albel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Watching Albel wash the dishes was like watching a strange and fascinating animal go about its daily business. Not once in their traveling history did Cliff recall Albel helping with the dishes. He would cook when it was his turn, but never clean. Such worked had seemed petty and below him back then. But there he was, scrubbing a soapy dishcloth across a plate’s surface and rubbing a spot away. He supposed that it wasn’t that odd of an occurrence. Albel had lived alone before and since he hated using servants almost as much as he hated taking offerings, of course he would have washed his own dishes.

Albel had shoved the large serving plate which the food had come on out into the hall to be picked up, but the dishes they had eaten on were his own and he tended to them, scrubbing each of them with careful precision. He took care of his possessions.

Cliff canted his head as he watched, once again trying to place his finger on just what had changed within his former traveling companion. The calmness was just a part of it, an effect. What had happened to cause that? He had no doubt that while they were journeying Albel had been a mess of thoughts and emotions and turmoil, but a year seemed ample enough time to sort all of those things out. With a sigh, he decided to let the issue drop. Maybe it wasn’t any of his business anyway. Albel certainly wasn’t giving off any signs that their previous relationship was salvageable or even consequential to him. Whatever was between them seemed to have died the moment Cliff boarded the Diplo and left the small planet a little under a year ago.

Albel put the dishes away. He glanced at his company then went to light the fire in his bedroom. There was another fireplace in the spacious sitting room, hidden behind a painted board that the sofa propped up. No one would know that the fireplace was there unless they had either been in the room before Albel had come to occupy it or they had blueprints. For a moment the young man considered moving the sofa aside and lighting a fire, for Cliff’s sake, but then he thought against it. Cliff was a big boy, he could fend for himself. Surely a little cold wouldn’t hurt him, and besides, the warmth from the fire would likely waft out of his own room.

They spent the rest of the evening in separate rooms, quietly going about their own business, not intruding upon the other’s solitude. Cliff sat on the sofa, using some alien piece of technology to do one thing or another while Albel sat at his desk and completed several reports, the most important one being of his battle earlier today, which Cliff had so rudely interrupted. When he had finished with all of the reports it was dark as pitch outside. He assumed that it was quite late. That was fine for Albel though, he preferred working at night. It was always quieter at night and he savored silence.

His throat felt dry so he moved to get a drink from the kitchen. There was a pitcher of water sitting on the counter. After pulling a glass from the cupboard and pouring, he glanced over the counter top towards where the Klausian was. Cliff was staring at him with fascinated intensity. He stood there, sipping his water while under that gaze, for a minute before snapping,

“What?”

The man shrugged. “Nothing.”

“You were staring for a reason, so spit it out.”

“I was just thinking about how different you are.”

Albel scoffed. “Stop thinking about me.”

A grin suddenly appeared on the Klausian’s face. “Sorry, can’t do that. I like thinking about you.”

There was a flash of anger on the young man’s face, filled with rage and disgusted insult. It was the same look Cliff had seen multiple times while traveling with the Elicoorian (and while they had been lovers). But the look faded quickly.

“If that’s what you’re here for, then I think you should seriously reevaluate your needs in life.”

The response puzzled the man. “I don’t really need anything. I want things, but I don’t need much. Just the basics: food, shelter, clothing.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“I want you.”

They looked at each other across the expanse of the room. Albel stared at him impassively, unmoved by his declaration of desire. With a sigh, Cliff stood and went to the counter. He planted his palms on the surface and fixed the young man with a stern gaze.

“We parted on bad terms.”

“You mean you left on bad terms.” Albel corrected.

“I had to go.”

“You could have stayed.”

“I had duties elsewhere.”

“You had sworn to give them up.”

“I didn’t want to leave, I had to.”

“If you didn’t want to leave you would have come up with a solution.” The young man countered.

“There was no solution, but I didn't forget you! I planned on coming back, but you said not to!”

“You should have listened!"

Albel’s head snapped up, red eyes locking with Cliff’s. They burned with an intense heat, fueled by the rage he had felt at being abandoned, fueled by the hate he had directed towards the Klausian after being left behind. He wanted to hear no excuse from the man. Their parting had been messy, but it had shown that there was no strong bond between them and he was content to keep it that way.

Cliff, on the other hand, felt nothing but a desperate need to convince his once-lover that he did truly have feelings for him and wanted to give their relationship another try. He could not say that he had returned to the small planet to resume their relationship and to be together forever; he still had duties in space to tend to whether they liked it or not. But he wanted to know, once and for all, whether they could mend their relationship. He was guessing not since the Elicoorian was adamantly refusing to believe that he had harbored feelings for him.

The man moved around the counter, towards Albel. Albel straightened, back going stiff as if he expected to be attacked. Cliff took hold of the young man’s wrist, gently but firmly, knowing that Albel would not want to stay and hear what he had to say.

“I know we left on not-too-friendly terms.”

“No shit, dumb ass.”

Albel tried to pull away, but Cliff kept his hold. He took in a calming breath. “I know you’re mad. I would be too. I had made you a promise. I let you down in the worst way. But I came back. Not because I assumed that you would be sitting around waiting for me, but because I now know just what kind of relationship I am capable of having and what could happen between us, if you allow it. Will you talk with me?”

It was a simple request, asked in a kindly manner. Albel denied his request. The young man wanted nothing more to do with the annoying Klausian. He thought he had been well quit of the oaf, but apparently not if the man flew half way across the universe just to visit him. The hand on his wrist tightened.

“Why not? Why won’t you just talk to me?” Cliff demanded.

“Because you left before and that was the last I needed to hear from you. You can go rot in a hole for all I care.”

“You care about me. Enough to have actually started a relationship with me.”

“Once.”

“No,” Cliff said, pulling Albel to him and wrapping an arm around him, “Still. I can see it in your eyes. Buried beneath all of that pain you try to hide, I can still see that you have feelings for me.”

“What of it! It makes no difference, especially not to me! Now release me!”

Albel struggled for a moment, but his jerking and flailing ceased immediately when he felt Cliff’s lips crash down upon his. The feel of the man’s warm lips moving against his own brought on an onslaught of memories he had worked hard to banish. He opened his mouth, tongue darting out to lap at the man’s lips. Cliff grabbed him tighter, tilting his head so he could slip his tongue into Albel’s open mouth. They fought for dominance, trying to force the other’s tongue into submission. It felt as if they had last kissed no longer than yesterday.

It was a messy kiss and somewhere between the clash of teeth and tongue Albel reached a hand up to tug at Cliff’s golden locks. The man grunted and bit down on his lip, making Albel yelp and then moan. The moan sent a shiver through the Klausian. He remembered well all of the moans and interesting sounds Albel could make. He could feel his cock begin to harden in his pants.

When Cliff rubbed his stiffening erection against the young man’s hip all motion stopped. Albel pulled his head back to suck in a breath and then pushed himself away from the man. Cliff let him go, his grasp weak after the kiss they had been engaged in.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

Albel rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth. He seemed to be flushed in embarrassment. “That cannot happen again.”

Cliff furrowed his brows. “Why not? We both seemed to enjoy it.”

“You have no right to my body any longer!”

There was a silence. Albel snarled at his guest and then left hastily. This time he did slam his door shut. Cliff looked at the closed door, frowning. He hadn’t intended to kiss Albel, but it had felt right when he had. He should have expected the younger man would refuse him and put up a fight. But he was determined to at least make Albel listen to him. Tomorrow he would corner his ex-lover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Albel woke up in a foul mood. He had gone to bed angry and had woken up in the same state. When he had fled from Cliff he had been embarrassed and hated both himself and the Klausian. How dare that man return and bring unwanted memories with him! How dare he kiss him! The man had lost that right ages ago. Even so, a part of Albel admitted that it felt nice to have the man’s lips on him once more. But that in no way made it alright that Cliff dared to force such intimate attention on him.

When he left his room the man was sprawled out on the sofa. A scowl quickly came to his face. He wanted the man to leave. Immediately. He kicked the sofa, shifting it. Cliff opened his eyes.

“Good morning.” The man mumbled.

“Get out.”

“What?”

“Leave.”

“Why?”

“Because you are no longer welcome.”

Cliff sighed. He had hoped to avoid this confrontation for just a bit longer. He struggled into a sitting position and looked up at Albel. The young man scowled down at him. He had also hoped that he would wake up before the Elicoorian so he could think of ways to make Albel listen to him. His sleep muddled mind could only think of posing another request.

“Will you please listen to me before you kick me out?”

“No.”

He sighed. “If you listen to me, maybe answer a few questions, then afterwards I will leave without any hassle. And after we talk, if you still feel that you don’t want me to ever come back, I’ll respect that wish. Is it really that much to ask, that you listen to me?”

Albel looked indignant for a minute, as if he were wondering how dare the man speak to him such a way after what had transpired between them, but the look eventually faded. It was nice to know that Albel still had a sense of fairness in him.

“You have ten minutes. Less if you make me angry. So say your fill and then get out.”

The Klausian sighed. He supposed he should be thankful for whatever time Albel gave him. He scooted over and gestured for Albel to sit too. The young man did so, reluctantly.

He thought of where to begin. The very beginning seemed the most logical place. “I know that when we got together we amde some ground rules and I had promised you that I wouldn’t run off to space for some adventure or political job. I told you I would quit and I didn’t. I put work aside for awhile, but I went back to it.”

“I know all of that. Get on with it!”

Cliff cringed at the shrill tone. His ears were ringing. “Back then--”

“--you make it sound so long ago; it was only a year ago.”

“Back then I had been ready to leave all of that behind, but once the after effects of the Luther crisis hit I had to return to work. I couldn’t leave it to Fayt and Maria! They’re just kids!”

Before he could continue Albel interrupted. “I started a relationship with you on the understanding that you would not leave unless we ended the relationship or a massive crisis struck and you and only you could fix it; an understanding that you would not be running off into space countless times and returning home whenever was convenient. That was the deal we made. You barely made three months before you broke contract.”

“I know we had an understanding, but I didn’t realize just how fucked up everything got because of what we did! I had to leave, Albel, I had to! I didn’t want to, but I had to! I wanted to take you with me, but you refused!”

“My place is here! I told you that and that was also in our agreement!”

Cliff put his hands up, stopping the conversation and taking a deep breath. When he had collected his cool he started again. “I know you’re mad. I don’t blame you for being mad, but I’m here to tell you that things are alright now. We can have a relationship, but it won‘t be exactly like in our agreement. I’m done in space, for the most part. I did what I could and now that I’m not really needed I can settle down. I may have to leave again once or twice for small missions, but that’s all. I came back for you!”

“So you came back because it’s convenient to you.”

“You always make everything sound so bad.”

“You forget, Cliff, I had a whole year to get over you. And I did. I want nothing to do with you. You’re nothing more than a worthless maggot in my eyes. Now that you’ve spoken your fill I suggest you leave here of your own free will before I force you to leave.”

Cliff blinked at the threat. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.”

They stared at one another for a long, tense minute. Finally Cliff let out the breath he had been holding and got to his feet. He bent to his side and picked up his travel bag and hefted it onto his shoulder. He turned back to Albel. The young man was glaring. The look brought a smile to his face, even if he was being dismissed. He fished in the side pocket of the bag and took out a communicator. He handed it to Albel. The Elicoorian looked at the item distastefully then snatched it from the man’s outstretched hand.

“I don’t expect you to change your mind,” Cliff said, “I know you better than that. But if you do change your mind, or just want to talk, you can always call me. I’ll always be there for you.” He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the side of the youth’s face.

Albel stood rigidly still until he heard the door to his apartments shut. The tension slowly drained out of his shoulders. He looked down at the item cradled in the palm of his hand. Cliff had taught him how to use a communicator. With it he could send letters or even see people and talk to them. He deposited the little device on his desk and sat on the edge of his bed. It felt a little odd to be alone, even though he had commanded that his former lover leave. The feeling would pass; he knew it would.

He glanced at the communicator. Being in politics for as long as he had been, granted it was not nearly as long as Arzei or Woltar, he knew that one had to think matters over before acting. It had never been his strong suit. He was kept around for his battle prowess and little else. He had a niggling worry that he might have dismissed Cliff too hastily. Then his old rage came flooding back to him and that worry quickly fled. He hated Cliff. He raged inside that the man had dared show his face to him. Still, it had felt nice when they kissed. It had been some time since he had enjoyed the company of another person.

Albel slid his hand from his thigh up towards his crotch. He rubbed the outline of his cock gently as he thought about the last time he had been intimate. He had taken lovers after Cliff; he wasn’t some devastated, love struck, adolescent girl that pined away for a lost lover for years. No, it took a month before he found his way into another’s bed. His relationship with Cliff hadn’t been so serious that it felt horribly wrong to take another bedmate so soon after the man had left. His last time he had bedded a serving girl from the kitchen staff. He pressed his fingers harder against his cock.

She had been lovely and more than willing to take him as a bedmate. Perhaps she did it for the thrill of bedding one of Airyglyph’s captains or the famous Albel the Wicked. Or maybe she was too afraid to say no to him. Either way, he had enjoyed the romp. She was small and warm to lie against, her breasts soft mounds that rubbed against him in a fantastically erotic way that made his cock harden just thinking about it.

Albel shifted onto his bed, reclining against his pillows and pushing the side of his sarong off. He slipped his fingers into the band of his thong and curled them around his stiff and aching cock. The tip leaked and he rubbed the slick fluid over himself, groaning at the feeling. He had been painfully stiff when he had bedded the girl too. She had pumped him rigorously until he was ready to burst. But before he could she pulled her hand free and, with an irritated growl, he shoved her down and plunged into her.

He tightened his hand on his cock. It had felt good, thrusting into her, just as it felt good then to thrust into his own hand. But there was another pleasure that the young man wanted. There was another pleasure he knew of that bedding a woman had not brought him. It had been good, to be sure, taking that servant girl, but what he wanted that moment was to feel someone on top of him, thrusting into his body with hard and steady strokes. Without meaning to, Albel thought of Cliff. He thought of Cliff bending him over the bed, as he had done so many times, and pounding his body into the mattress. He moaned and arched off of the bed.

He could see Cliff’s huge, throbbing cock as it slid in and out of his body. He could hear the wet noise their bodies made when they struck each other. Gods, how he wanted to have that large cock buried deep inside of him then, hitting that wonderful spot that made his feet curl. Albel’s hand was moving quickly, furiously pumping his cock. It should have been Cliff touching his cock, making him cum. That would have made it feel better. But his own hand was enough. Just thinking of the large man pressing against him, sweating with him, fucking him with that impressive cock, made him scream and spill his seed all over his hand.

Albel lay still for a moment as the ecstasy rushed through his body and then tapered off. He felt a chill. He pulled his hand away and shook the semen from his fingers. The little bit that clung to him was wiped on the cover. The young men let out a breath. It had felt good to touch himself; he hadn’t felt the desire to masturbate or have sex in a while. It had never been a large part of his life, he had other matters to attend to and his morning erections could be easily killed by a short stroll around the castle’s freezing courtyard.

As he lie still he thought about his fantasy. He hadn’t thought of Cliff in a fair amount of time. Not sexually at any rate. Why had the man made a sudden appearance in his fantasy? Of course it was because he had dropped in on Albel and stayed the night, but why was he suddenly an object of attraction once more? The young man had thought that his hate would have destroyed any attraction he had held towards the man. He had apparently thought wrong. Old feelings began to bubble to the surface.

Albel sighed, knowing what was coming. He would spend the next few days in isolation, thinking carefully over all that had passed between him and Cliff and where to go from there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first few days after he had left Elicoor were bad days for Cliff. With no other plan in mind, he had flown the Eagle II around the small planet a few times, contemplating his next move. It had hurt to be rejected, but he couldn’t honestly say he blamed Albel. And even if he had thought Albel was being unfair, he knew that Albel was like that, so he couldn’t say that he was surprised either. He had checked his communicator often; letters from Quark and his friends, but no word from Albel. Again, if he was honest, he would admit that he hadn’t expected Albel to send him a message.

He had read a letter from Mirage that said that Maria was attempting to pull a crew together for some mischief. Most likely the entire gang would be there: Leiber, Steeg, Marietta. He had fond memories of all of them and it brought a smile to his face. Cliff was three days into his journey back to Klaus to join the others when the communicator beeped; someone was calling him. Assuming that it was Mirage calling to double check his arrival date, he answered, not paying attention to the screen.

“Yo.”

There was a pause, then, “What kind of way is that to answer a call?”

Cliff jerked the controls, startled by the voice. He snapped his head around to look at the screen, needing to be sure he heard who he thought he heard. He was right. “Albel!”

“Whom else were you expecting?” The young man was glaring.

“I just…wasn’t expecting it to be you. Sorry.” There was another pause. “Do you…need something?” A bit of hope pierced his tone.

Albel shook his head, but it seemed to be an involuntary action, not directed at Cliff. “I have spent some time considering everything you have told me.”

“And?”

Cliff stared at the screen hopefully.

“I won’t let you come back.”

His hopes fell. “You called me to tell me that!? What the hell is wrong with you, you twisted fuck!? Do you think this is funny!? Do you get off smashing people’s hopes?! You’re even sicker than I thought!”

“Are you finished yet?!”

The man closed his mouth at the sharp tone.

“Typical, launching off into some attack without thinking; you really are the brainless wonder.”

“Albel, just say what you wanted to say and leave me alone. Gloat if you have to, but do it quick.”

“You can’t come back because you don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand? What the fuck does that mean? I know you better than most of the people on your planet!”

The image on the screen shook its head again. “Just because you know more than others doesn’t mean you know the important things. And if your tirade just a moment ago is any indication, you have no idea the important things that make me act the way I do and think the way I do. Why should I take you back when my experience has proven to me that someone who breaks his promise will only break more promises? Why should I take you back when you’ve left once, against your word? You’re a free man able to leave whenever you wanted, what’s to stop you form doing that even if you promised otherwise? The things that have shaped me have already answered your request to return with a resounding no, and yet I’m still asking you why I should let you return.”

“Because I’m not like your father. I get that his death was important to you, I do ‘Bel, but you have to move past it. don’t let it keep scarring you on the inside.”

Albel scoffed. “Again you prove that you have no idea the things that have happened to me.”

“Then tell me.” Cliff replied, getting just a tad frustrated with Albel’s cryptic talk.

“I will. But not now. I’ll send you letters.”

“Letters? What the hell is a bunch of letters going to do for me? If you’re refusing to give our relationship another shot then what the hell do I care about some dumb letters you send explaining how bad you think your life is?”

That angered the Elicoorian. His eyes flashed and he snapped back, “After I’ve told you everything I’m going to see if you finally understand! If you do then I’ll give you that second chance you want. However, if you’re just going to be a prick about it I won’t bother and I will respectfully say fuck you!”

Cliff put his hands up in defense. The offer was tempting, but it seemed odd. Very odd. It didn’t seem like Albel’s style. Albel never gave people second chances, nor did he divulge personal, important information about himself. But, he supposed, perhaps there was a reason the young man acted like that. Perhaps the youth was going to explain the whys and wherefores of his nature.

“Alright. Since you won’t let me come back down to be with you, I’m heading back to Klaus to help Maria on a mission. I’ll still be able to get your letters and respond to them. I don’t expect to be gone long. I don’t know how long this little game of yours will last, but can I visit you?”

“Maybe. We’ll see how satisfied I am with the responses you send.”

The man groaned. “You really are a tease, Albel.”

“I’ll write to you soon. And, Cliff?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not so shallow to think that my life is bad. Nor am I so weak as to allow one tragic event to prevent me from living the rest of my life. But there are things you don’t know about me, that no one else knows, that all play a role in who I am today. I live my life as I see fit, but that does not mean that I can control or alter my bone deep instincts. Instincts are trained you know, and it takes great effort to go against them. I’ve managed to go against my scarred and hurt instincts before, but it’s difficult.”

“Albel? What are you talking about?”

“I don’t pity myself. I just want to explain. And I just want you to understand why I am the way I am and why I demand what I do.”

Cliff nodded. “I’ll learn then. You don’t have to worry. And soon we’ll be together again.”

Albel snorted, unsure. “We’ll see. Expect the first letter soon. Goodbye.”

The screen went blank. For a minute Cliff stared at it. He had no idea what Albel had been babbling on about. He supposed he would find out soon enough. A strange feeling of anxiety sat in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t used to Albel speaking so cryptically like that. And the idea that he would reveal intimate secrets was a bit baffling. Maybe it was all a joke…but Albel wasn’t the type that joked.

He shut the communicator off and sighed. His hopes of being reunited with his lover had been dashed. Perhaps there was hope still; it depended on what Albel sent him (and of course how he responded to it). With a man like Albel though, Cliff knew that any important, untold tales that had shaped him into the twisted individual he was today were bound to be disturbing and unpleasant. If they were to have a relationship then perhaps it was good that Albel was opening up to him. That didn’t stop Cliff from feeling nauseous as he imaged just what had happened in Albel’s past. Just what had turned that boy so wicked?

~END

A few notes. I can’t take full credit for that opening scene. There’s a Cliff/Albel artist who has a doujin where Cliff interrupts a battle with Romero when he comes to visit Albel. Kudos to Kuri for her idea and I hope he/she doesn’t mind me borrowing and expanding on it. It seemed like a nice place to start. For anyone confused about the timeline, this is only a year after the Luther Crisis is completed. Cliff stayed behind on Elicoor for a little over two months but left when he was needed to help sort some things out in space. Now my lambs, go review.