Embrace The Night

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean or any of its characters. I just like using them in my writing.


Embrace the Night
By, Miotis Kain


Ashton lay in bed – his face resolutely buried in his pillow and both hands beating the mattress with a rhythm born of pure boredom. How long had it been? The inn had been quiet for what he was certain had been at least an hour. Everyone must surely be asleep by now. They had better be, anyway, because he just couldn’t wait anymore.
He crawled out of bed – doing his best not to make it creak – and mentally told the dragons to keep quiet. Not that it was necessary; the two had quickly grown accustomed to their host’s new needs. Opening the door a crack, the swordfighter peeked into the hall. The passageway was dark, the only illumination moonlight through a single window. But it was enough to tell him that no one else was up. Carefully, he slipped out of his room and shut the door.
Wearing nothing but a loose pair of pants, he padded down the hallway and welcomed the darkness like an old friend. Even as a child he’d never feared the night; instead, he found it a comfort. Especially now, when it was the only time he and his lover could be together how their hearts demanded – wrapped in each other’s arms, joined body and soul; not like in the day, when they had to pretend that their love didn’t exist.
Reaching his destination, Ashton entered Dias’ room silently. The curtains were drawn, casting the space in obscurity. Lucky for him, all the inn’s chambers were set up the same, so the bed was easy to find. Unlucky for him, he misjudged that last baby step, which resulted in him tumbling across the bed and doing a face-plant into the floor on the other side.
The dragon-endowed man froze – more concerned with the noise he had just made than the dull throb in his nose. But the only movement was the rustle of sheets by his legs. That was soon followed by a pair of strong hands on his waist.
Dias lifted the smaller man onto his lap and pulled him to his chest. Placing gentle kisses on Ashton’s face, he whispered, “You okay?”
“Mhmm,” came the equally quiet reply.
They cuddled for several minutes, waiting for the pain of Ashton’s minor accident to subside. Dias did his part, soothing the ache with the soft touch of his lips and hands. He might be cold toward others – even Rena – but when he and Ashton were alone, he was never reserved in tenderness.
He didn’t have to keep Ashton at bay. He didn’t have to fight off annoying inquiries from Ashton. He didn’t have to deal with Ashton trying to psychoanalyze him.
And it was because Ashton understood him. Ashton knew all the idiosyncrasies that came with his personality, and he accepted them without having to be told the reasons behind them. Ashton didn’t care about who he used to be, because he loved who he was now.
He knew one day he’d have to tell his lover about his horrible past. But not tonight. Tonight he simply wanted to love, and know that he was loved in return. Completely and unconditionally.
In the nebulous darkness, it was impossible for the lovers to see each other. And they both agreed that was part of the fun. This way, it was easier to pretend that the dragons weren’t there and that they were truly alone. It also gave their hands an excuse to explore, which they did now with ardor.
While Dias ran his hands through Ashton’s hair, Ashton caressed Dias’ shoulders; those muscles led to a strong neck, down to firm pectorals, and then to a hard abdominal. Reaching around to caress a strong back, he let his fingers frolic across section of skin he knew to be ticklish and giggled as Dias jerked in his arms. A zealous tickle-war ensued, and before long both men were completely naked – the few garments having been forsaken in the titillating battle.
The smaller man traced the curve of his lover’s spine, following it down until he found the sensitive opening near its end. He slowly inserted a single finger, waited a moment before drawing it out and pressing in again. A second finger soon followed, the two extremities adopting a pleasant rhythm. His free hand curled around Dias' shaft, stroking it in time to the movement of his fingers.
Dias practically purred as waves of pleasure coursed over his body. His hips thrust gently, silently encouraging Ashton to continue. Tangling one hand into Ashton’s hair, his other arm snaked around his waist and pulled their bodies closer together.
The younger man pushed him back to lie on the bed, and nuzzled his face against Dias’ chest. He could hear the ragged intake of breath, could feel the heart pounding with an electric tempo. That powerful body began to tremble, the bliss rising to the brink of release… And Ashton stopped.
Groping around in the dark, Ashton found the inn’s complimentary bottle of lotion; squeezing a generous amount into his hand, he applied the lube to his member. A soft growl of disappointment issued from the larger man’s throat as he felt his lover’s hands withdraw, but any frustration he might have had was quickly forgotten – banished by the pressure of Ashton’s erection against his opening. He bit his lip, and fought back a moan as his body was slowly taken. Ashton carefully withdrew, and as he entered again, his thrust was met with one of Dias’ own.
They repeated their motions, trying to adjust to their reversed roles; this was the first time the smaller man had actually been inside the larger one. Dias, though unaccustomed to the submissive role, found it gratifying enough. Ashton, likewise unfamiliar with being in control, was likewise enjoying the change; but strangely, it wasn’t as good as when he held Dias.
Then again, few things could compare to the sense of whole he experienced when the blue-haired swordsman was inside him. When Dias took him, it was like time froze and the rest of existence faded away, leaving just the two of them to experience a single perfect instant.
Gradually, they began to increase their gait. Ashton resumed caressing Dias’ member as he drove himself into him. Each stroke of his hand and hips made his lover shudder and tighten around him, impelling him to increase his movements. Faster. Harder. His every action was met with an equally enthusiastic reaction from the man beneath him.
Their lovemaking was done in silence, the only sounds their hitched breath and the occasional squeak from the bed frame. Neither man wanted to risk the attentions of anyone who might be up. They were still amazed no one had heard them their first time.
It wasn’t long before they were both on the verge; and they both fought it back, wanting to savor their time together. A low growl rolled in Dias' throat, and Ashton greeted it with a small whimpering gasp. The moments passed, each one eroding their tenuous control a little more until their only conscious restraint lay in their need for noiselessness.
The last fiber of controlled snapped. Ashton slammed himself into Dias, his hand squeezing his lover’s cock almost cruelly. Their bodies shivered in unison, the two men climaxing as one. The brown-haired swordsman buried his face against Dias’ chest to stifle the scream that threatened to overwhelm him, and the blue-haired swordsman in turn released a subdued snarl into Ashton’s hair.
Both men lay panting, their bodies slowly relaxing. Eventually, the dragons nudged their host and Ashton stirred – having unintentionally drifted off to sleep. He groaned. “I don’t want to go.”
“Mmm, I know,” Dias whispered. “I wish we could just stay like this.” He brought his hand to Ashton’s head and brushed back sweat laden strands of brown silk so that he could kiss his temple. “But you know we can’t stay the night in the same room. Not when we’re supposed to be in separate ones.”
“I know,” he whined. He shifted a bit, then lost his resolve and settled back down onto Dias’ chest. Gyoro gently butted the back of his head, and Ururun nipped his ear. He absently brushed them off, and only moved when Dias finally coaxed him into motion. “All right.” He rolled off Dias, and crawled out of bed. He groped around in the dark, and eventually found his pants. As he pulled them on – backwards, initially – he grumbled, “Next time we find an inn, we need to make sure the rooms aren’t singles.”
The taller swordsman chuckled, and pulled Ashton to him for one last kiss goodnight. A quick check verified that the hall was still empty, and Ashton ushered himself into it. He made his way back to his room; just as he opened the door, there were soft footsteps behind him and an even softer voice. “Ashton?”
He spun around, clutching his chest, and was greeted by Rena’s worried face. “Aiee,” he breathed. “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” she whispered.
his mind panicked.
“What are you doing up?”
he told himself. He cleared his throat and tried to look calm. “Oh, I, um, thought I heard something. I got up to, er, check.”
Rena blushed a bit. “Sorry. That was probably me. I had to go to the bathroom. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Uh, nah. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay. Well, goodnight.”
“Um, yeah. G’night.”
Giving him a warm smile, the Nedian returned to her room a few doors down. Ashton breathed a sigh of relief. The dragons pecked lightly at his head, reminding him that he, too, needed to rest. Slipping into his chambers, he shut the door behind him and laid down on his bed – letting thoughts of Dias carry him to sleep.